This is Us . . . for Challenge YOUrself!

Hi everyone! Guess what? October’s here and it’s time for a new challenge at Challenge YOUrself!

Challenge YOUrself #142 opens today,  October 7th, 2025 and closes on November 4th, 2025.

The theme for this month's challenge is . . . "Black and White plus One." Create a project using black and white plus the addition of just one color - preferably one of your favorites!  You can use as many shade of this color that you like.

Here is my take on this challenge:

I began creating my page with 12 x 12 white textured bazzill background paper. I chose a photo that I love - it was taken during a recent trip to Ocean City, New Jersey. One of my dear friend’s daughters captured us at the beach. I added a piece of red patterned paper to back it up, along with strips of different black and white patterned paper that I had from my stash. I also incorporated various ephemera, red and white twine, black paint splatters, and a large black arrow and letters to create my title.  I really enjoyed making this page and absolutely love how it turned out!

You can check out Challenge YOUrself #142 on Facebook and find out more information about the challenge at their blog.  And the fun part is that this month you have a random chance to win a 12 x 12 Simple Stories scrapbooking kit.

I hope I have inspired you to play along with us at Challenge YOUrself this month!

Thank YOU, so much, for stopping by my blog today.  Have a wonderful October and enjoy the Fall season.

I am Happy . . . for More Than Words Challenges and Art Journal Journey Monthly

Hi everyone!  I am here today sharing a project that I made for the new More Than Words challenge.  

Did you know that More Than Words challenges re-opened April of 2025? I was excited to see that they have new challenges in September as well.

How do they work?

Here is more information about how you can participate in September's challenges . . .

Don't forget to use the proper hashtag on IG when you enter: #MTWChallengeSept2025

The September Week 3 challenge:

I decided to make a mixed media art journal page using Lisa Oxley's "Bright and Bold" Artist Series pack from ArtStacks' for week 3.

This pack is available in both digital and printed forms. Head over to www.artstacks.com.au/shop to see all of the beautiful papers inside this pack!

Here is the art journal page that I created for the third week of September’s MTW Challenge:

I truly enjoyed creating my art journal page. I have been interested in participating in the new MTW challenges since they re-opened, and finally found some time this week.

Their September Week 3 items are as follows:

Word: Happy - Happy was used as my title.

Technique: Paint - I used watercolor paints for my background.

Misc: Rainbow - The rainbow images and hearts are from ArtStacks' "Bright and Bold" Artist Series pack by Lisa Oxley.

For more information about MTW challenges, head over to MTW on IG .  And you can see what their talented design team members have created, too!

I am also linking up my page to Art Journal Journey Monthly's challenge for September.

This month is hosted by Mia from Craftartista.

Her theme for September is ‘Make Your Own Background!' 

I loved making my own background for this art journal page.  I also want to take a moment to thank everyone at AJJ. I really love participating in their challenges every month.

That's it for today.  

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.  Your visits mean the world to me.  

Enjoy the rest of your September.  

Happy Halloween . . . for ArtStacks and Art Journal Journey Monthly!

Hi everyone!  I am here today sharing a project that I made for ArtStacks.  First of all, I cannot believe that September is here already!!  And secondly, I would love for you to take a look at what I created . . .

I've made a mixed media art journal page using a pack from ArtStacks' newest "Seasonal Celebrations" category. 

Tamara Laporte (#willowing) has done it again with a fabulous ArtStacks pack full of all sorts of Halloween trickery! Gorgeous witches, scary bats and spiders and oh-so-cute little monsters and pumpkins are supported by words and other images to match.

This pack is available in both digital and printed forms.

Head over to www.artstacks.com.au/shop to see what's inside this pack!

And here is the art journal page that I made:

I couldn't wait to create something with Tam's new, amazing "Trick or Treat" pack. 

Here are my creative steps:

• Tamara Laporte’s “Trick or Treat” pack was used to create a Halloween-themed art journal page.
• I used digital images that I printed at home.
• “Spooky” sheet music was adhered to a page in my manilla art journal.
• The 'witch, cat, and pumpkins' images from the pack were used as my focal point.
• Complementary water-colored swirls and machine-stitched circles were added.
• Tissue paper bats were added using gel medium and allowed to dry.
• The fussy cut crescent moon was glued to the top of the page.
• The entire page was stitched around.
• The “Happy Halloween” title from the pack was added using pop dots.

It was so much fun combining the paper and digital images. I hope you’re inspired to make a Halloween-themed project of your own!

For more information about ArtStacks, head over to their website - you can see what their talented design team has come up with at their blog!

I am linking up my page to Art Journal Journey Monthly's challenge for September.

This month is being hosted by Mia from Craftartista.

Her theme for September is ‘Make Your Own Background!' 

I loved making my own background on my art journal page for Mia's theme. 

I also want to take a moment to say "thank you" to everyone at AJJ. I look forward to creating something for their challenge every month.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Enjoy your September.  

I Love You to the Moon and Back . . . for Challenge YOUrself and Art Journal Journey Monthly!

 Hi everyone! Challenge YOUrself's September challenge is now open! 

Challenge YOUrself #141 runs from September 7th through October 4th at midnight:

This month is a sketch challenge.  Here is a closer look at the PageMaps sketch:

I created a 12 x 12 mixed media scrapbook page for this challenge:

I used patterned paper from 49 and Market's 'Starlight Dreams' collection as the basis of my page. I layered different sized paper and embellishments from the same collection to make my background. I also used 2 favorite photos of Katie and me, one taken in 2001 and one in 2019.

I am linking up my page to Art Journal Journey Monthly's challenge for September.

This month is being hosted by Mia from Craftartista.

Her theme for September is ‘Make Your Own Background!' 

I had so  much fun working on this project for Mia’ theme. The background that I created is made layering various patterned paper and embellishments from 49 and Maraket's Starlight Dreams collection.

If you’re interested in making a project for Mia’s September theme, head over to Art Journal Journey Monthly to find an incredible group of friendly and talented artists from around the world.

Here's wishing you a wonderful and creative September! 

Awesome . . . for Art Journal Journey Monthly!

Today I am sharing a mixed media scrapbook page that I made for Art Journal Journey Monthly's August challenge.

August is being hosted by Chris from Pearshaped Crafting.

Her theme for August is ‘Hot Summer (Nights or Days)!' She was inspired by Neil Diamond’s legendary concert in August 1972!

For this challenge, I created a 12 x 12 mixed media scrapbook page:

I started by using a piece of cardstock from the amazing “Wherever” collection at 49 and Market. The photos are from a family beach trip in August 2019. I absolutely love this photo of Anne wading in the ocean. We woke up early one morning and took a stroll along the beach. It was super hot that year, even early in the morning, the weather was extremely warm! But the ocean breeze made it really comfortable and fun to be out. I know one thing - I’ll always cherish memories of this and all of our family vacations!

It was so much fun to make a page just for Art Journal Journey Monthly this month! I hope you get a chance to check them out, too

Have a wonderful and creative August, everyone!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.

There is a Galaxy . . . for ArtStacks and Art Journal Journey Monthly!

Hi everyone!  I am here today sharing a project that I made for ArtStacks!

I've made a mixed media scrapbook page using ArtStacks' Artist Series packs by Tamara Laporte. (@willowing)

Head over to the ArtStacks' shop to see everything that is included in these amazing packs!

Here is the art journal page that I made:

I’ve been loving Tam’s latest packs, and decided to create a sister page to my “Endless Potential” art journal page that I made back in June.

To begin, I created an off-white background and incorporated various sized rectangles, by utilizing Tam’s background images from her 'Mystical Universe' pack. Next, I added torn, corrugated white paper. Then I fussy-cut and adhered the gorgeous image of the woman (also from the 'Mystical Universe’ pack) to my page. Once more, I chose a sentiment from the same pack and made it the title of my page.  The turquoise stars are also from the same pack, while the doodles are from Tam’s original 'Fabulous Faces' pack. Finally, I enhanced the background by adding stenciling, black stars, ink splatters, and machine stitching around the border. The entire process was remarkably easy and fun!

For more information about ArtStacks, head over to their website - you can see what their talented design team has come up with at their blog!

I am also linking up my page to Art Journal Journey Monthly's August challenge.

This month's host is Chris from Pearshaped Crafting.

Her theme for August is ‘Hot Summer (Nights or Days).' She was inspired by Neil Diamond’s legendary concert in August 1972!

While creating this page, I was reminded of the warm summer evenings and all of stars that adorn the night sky and galaxy after the sun sets.  I hope this goes along with Chris' Hot Summer Nights theme!!!

If you’re in the mood to make a project for AJJ’s August theme, head over to Art Journal Journey Monthly.  I think you will have an amazing time meeting so many talented and friendly artists there.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. Have a creative August!

Sacred Heart Hospital Reunion . . . for Challenge YOUrself and Art Journal Journey Monthly

 Hi everyone! Challenge YOUrself's August challenge is now open! 

Challenge YOUrself #140 runs from August 7th through September 4th at midnight:

This month's theme is to use your stencils!

I used this color wheel stencil that I had in my stash:

and created this 12 x 12 mixed media scrapbook page:

I used an incredible sheet of patterned paper from the 49 and Market's Kaleidoscope collection as the basis of my page. I also used the color wheel stencil with embossing powder to add some raised textures and to go along with Challenge YOUrself's theme. The photo is from a recent Sacred Heart Hospital reunion. We all met at a casual outdoor restaurant on July 10th. It was super hot that day, but you can’t tell from the photo! This was just one of the photos taken - there were at least 30 people there, and it was so great to catch up with nurses, doctors, technologists, social workers, and so many more, from 30 years ago!  

I hope I have inspired you to join in on the fun at Challenge YOUrself this month! We’d love to see your projects with stencils!

I am linking up my page to Art Journal Journey Monthly's August challenge.

This month is being hosted by Chris from Pearshaped Crafting.

Her theme for August is ‘Hot Summer (Nights or Days)!' She was inspired by Neil Diamond’s legendary concert in August 1972!

I had an absolute blast working on this project for Chris’ theme. The photo that I used is a perfect fit for the theme because it was taken outside this past July, and it was scorching hot that day!

I also wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone at AJJ. I’ve been blown away by the talent and creativity of artists from all over the world. Their artwork is truly amazing!

If you’re up for creating a project for AJJ’s August theme, head over to the link above at Art Journal Journey Monthly. You’ll have an amazing time meeting so many talented and friendly artists.

That’s all for today. I hope you’re having a fantastic and creative August!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Cheers!