Wednesday 24 September 2014

'By the Sea'

Hello again! I've been away for a week but before I left I'd really hoped I could have made something to schedule as a post whilst I was absent...but it wasn't to be. However I did take a few supplies with me and I will be sharing some makes with you over the next week. Over on Country View challenges blog this month the theme is Nautical. As I was staying near the sea it was easy to be inspired to make these journal pages which I'm entering in the challenge.


Sorry but I've only the finished pages to show you. Unfortunately I didn't take any paint with me partly because I just couldn't choose which fresco paints to leave behind and partly I thought I should explore using the colouring mediums I've been accumulating, like my distress pens and portfolio oil pastels.

Limited supplies encourage you to be creative...however I have to admit I did find a basic craft shop and they had some paint tubes on offer for a £1 each so I picked up a blue, beige and 2 greens so I could make a painty background. I also picked up some gel medium from an artists shop. I hadn't taken any matte medium with me because I didn't think I'd need it. The gel medium isn't a glue but I was able to smooth some through a stencil which when dried gave a slightly raised effect which I then highlighted with a white inktense block I'd taken. Hopefully you can see the texture, I also think it gave it a weathered look.


I took some stamps with me and one of them was the Crafty Individuals 397. I salvaged some tissue paper that had been wrapped around something and stamped the images in black archival. I coloured the back of the lighthouse and the seagulls with white picket fence distress marker before tearing around the images and sticking them in place with a mixture of the gel medium and some PVA glue. I used all but one of the stamps in the set. The numbers are stamped on a piece of white cotton (literally a scrap I'd chucked in my bag at the last minute).


I've added some tiny shells and I found some netting on the beach which I unraveled and used. I used the distress pens to stamp some foliage from the CI 395 set and I've used white instead of black lines to frame it to add to the whitewashed look.


 Lastly stamping on tissue means you can reverse the images without losing any clarity, so the one seagull stamp became two seagulls facing different ways.

Thanks as always for stopping by....I hope to catch up on some serious blog hopping now. 

11 comments:

  1. Hello Ruth,
    Goodness you were inspired on your break; these pages are just amazing, very nautical and when you think you were limited in your supplies you did exceedingly well, sometimes when we have too many products we mess up BIG time; well I do anyway. Great work indeed, and thankyou so very much for joining us this month at CVC.
    Smiles:)
    Sue

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  2. Love your gorgeous pages Ruth.xxx

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  3. Oh my goodness Ruth, your pages are just stunning! You have done a wonderful job with your limited supplies, the lighthouse is fabulous and those feathers are gorgeous. How wonderful to spend time by the sea too, it clearly inspired you! Anne x

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  4. Fabulous! I can almost smell the sea air! These are such beautiful calm pages. Chrisx

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  5. Gorgeous pages, lovely textures xx

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  6. A gorgeous scenery Ruth...love the colours you've used...they give a perfect seaside feel!
    greetings, Alie

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  7. So beautiful, and certainly agree that being limited in supplies can make you more creative. Loving this :)

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  8. Fabulous journal pages Ruth - they speak so much of the sea you can almost feel it. Thank you for joining us at Country View Challenges for our Nautical challenge this month. Jennie

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  9. Absolutely inspired with that tissue stamping Ruth! Love this. Jenny x

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  10. Congrats on your Top 3 win Ruth, knew this was a winning piece when I saw it, it is stunning xx

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It would be lovely to read any comments left, I really appreciate them all. Thank you so much for taking the time to drop by.