12 Journals of 2016 - February

Hi Everyone

I can't believe I taped this tutorial ages ago and am only just remembering to post about it now!  I almost missed the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2016 challenge!  Better late than never though!

Tim mixed two different techniques for this months tag and it was fun revisiting embossing with texture paste and mono printing with your stencils.

As you may know I am making Journal pages based on Tim's monthly tags this year and I can't wait to see how the journal builds as the months go by.  So this months page looks like this:

One of Tim's techniques was all about creating texture with embossing paste and embossing powder and that is what lead me to make all the hearts with all the different textures.  You will see from the tutorial how I started my journey and how the ideas progressed to create the final page.

Each month I will also take inspiration from something that month brings to mind - this month of course it is all about romance and valentines!  I wrote a poem to my hubby who I have been sharing Valentines day with for over 30 years now.

Some months I may be inspired by something that has happened in that month and I will create a tag to document that and on the reverse there is, of course, a photo of Tim's tag that inspired the page in the first place.

I really hope that I inspire you to play along with everyone over at Tim's blog and to remember you don't have to create tags!

If you click on the 12 Journals of 2016 category in my Labels list on the left-hand sidebar you will see all the other pages as we make our way through the year.

'Till next time enjoy your creativity and thank you for popping by X

Imagine That!

Hi everyone

Please visit me over on the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® blog for another of my projects as part of this seasons Guest Design Team.  I am having a wonderful time and have made new crafting friends and have been using lots of new products that I am in love with!  So much mixed media fun to be had mixing and matching my products to achieve different looks as you will see in this tutorial.  A mixed media canvas full of layers and techniques for you to try for yourself.  Hope you like it.

Thank you for popping by X

12 Journals of 2016

Hi Everyone

Many of you have been asking where are the 12 Tag of 2015 that I missed last year.  I am afraid they are still missing in action but it is my intention to catch up with them and to share them with you.

This year I decided to play along a little differently with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2016.  Tim has decided to revisit and revitalise techniques from tags past!  I am going to take his inspiration and turn them into journal pages (I have soooooo many tags!)

So each month I will add another page to my journal and at the end of the year I will show you how to bind them all into a gorgeous journal to celebrate a year of creativity.

Here is my first page (a little late!)  Tim's tag was all about a chalkboard technique with some metal foil embossing.  Here is what his tag inspired:

Each page will have a companion tag and on one side is a photo of the original inspiration:

You can see I have styled the tag to match the journal page and the other side of the tag will have a photo that was either taken in the month of the page or is a memory photo for that particular month.

This month my eldest son, Damian, came home to visit us from Spain and I took the opportunity to take a few photos!  Gotta be done ;-)  So the page photo that the sketch was based on was taken 12 year ago and this tag photo was taken in January.  My how they have grown.  Callum was 17 on Friday…….Makes me feel old!!!

I hope you enjoy following my 12 Journals of 2016 and here is the video of how I got from Tim's inspiration to my interpretation.

Cutting Guide

Page Size - 10 1/4" x 7" scored at 5" and 5 1/4"
Tag Size - 6" x 5 1/4"

As you will see I had a ton of creative fun and that is what Tim's challenge is all about.  Follow this link to see what everyone else got up to.  I was too late to add my link but I will be on time for February!!  I should have that page up in a couple of days.

I'm off to dish up the tea now!  Hope you enjoy following this journey and thank you for popping by X

PS  Don't forget to subscribe to keep in touch with my progress.

Introducing a Brand New Concept!

Hi Everyone

So happy to be announcing a new collaboration with the lovely Bibi over at Rubber Dance Stamps.  As you know I have been on the Design Team for quite some time and have loved every minute!

Today we are launching a brand new concept and bringing you Stamps and Tutorials in one awesome package!!!

What you'll get:

* Access to 10 online classes  (video tutorials).
* Pdf with project photos, cutting guides, printables and suggest materials lists
* A whole set of rubber stamps, shipped to you from Rubber Dance

The Tutorials:

​Helen Allen (me) a teacher and designer with over 9,500 followers on her YouTube Channel. I will guide you through each of the 10 projects, giving you lots of great tips along the way.

The Stamps:

Will be sent to you from Rubber Dance. This time it is a whole set of unmounted, great quality, red rubber Mushroom Stamps.

The Concept:

​Do you often find yourself buying stamps with only one project in mind and then can't think what to do with them?!  Then this idea is just for you! Now you can buy your stamps with 10 video tutorials that give you all the inspiration you need to get the most out of your purchase!

Within this set of comprehensive tutorials there are plenty of techniques for you to try with your new Mushroom stamps: In addition to many fun and cool cards, you can make a pretty home decor plaque, Mini Note Books and even a Mixed Media Journal Page.

You can kick start your creativity when you buy your Mushroom Stamps by Rubber Dance with 10 video tutorials by Helen Allen.

This is the first of many Stamp and Tutorial packages we will be bringing you.  We really hope you enjoy purchasing in this way.  Let us know what you think in the comments down below.

Do you want to buy yours right now then please click on this link to see more photos of the projects and to make your purchase.  We look forward to crafting with you very soon!

Please share this post with your friends to help us spread the word!  Thank you…...and as usual thank you for popping by X