Drink the coffee! - inspired by Bloobel Stamps images

Hi everyone! This is the first art journal page I have created in ages and the first colouring I have done in a couple of months. I thought I would have to retrain myself but it all came back...LOL. A while ago, I  had a great "enjoy every day" chat with my sister over a yummy cup of coffee at Timmy's. The idea for this page and the quote came from that conversation and was just what I needed to make me want to return to my art. I knew just the images I would choose to illustrate it: Tea Break and Cake Break by Lisa at Bloobel Stamps.

The images were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cut, and matted with black before being popped up on foam tape. Diamond Stickles was added to the coffee steam because coffee is really magical...LOL. The 6 x 8 inch mixed media paper was spritzed with one of my favourite Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray combinations: Yellow Rose of Texas, Hottie Patottie Hot Pink, and Marigold Yellow Orange. Once the background was dry, I added pattern with Tiger Lily Archival Ink and Kaisercraft Criss Cross stencil. Additional  detail was added with Jet Black Archival Ink and one of Ellen Hutson's Bokeh Dots stamps plus a TH dotty stamp.

Checked Washi Tape was applied to white cardstock, fussy cut, and then adhered to the bottom of the page to ground the pair and create a floor for the cafe. Scraps of drywall mesh were layered over the background in three places to add a little texture without adding busyness. The sentiment was printed on white cardstock and the open letters were filled in with markers. The strips were then matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam tape. Black Big Brush Pen was used to edge the page before it was matted with black cardstock to frame it.

Thanks so much for popping by today. The three of us appreciate it. Now go and seize the day...and the coffee...and the cake :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Bloobel Stamps Progressive Challenge ~ Fantasy Creatures

Hi everyone! Each month, Lisa at Bloobel Stamps runs a Progressive Challenge on her Facebook page. If you played along the previous month, you get a discount code for the current month's image so you can play along again. This month the challenge was to use one of five Fantasy Creatures which Lisa created. There are dragons, a flying pig, a unicorn and this adorable fairy. She is called Shy Fairy and I couldn't resist her.

I coloured this little sweetie with a mix of Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. Her wings were given a sparkly layer of Cotton Candy Stickles on the outside sections and Icicle Stickles on the inside sections. The flower centers were accented with Cinnamon Stickles because as far as fairies are concerned, the more sparkle the better :) She was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black cardstock, and popped up on foam tape.

The background began as a piece of textured blue cardstock which was cut to a 6 x 8 inch rectangle. Texture Paste was scraped through one of the stars from TCW Layered Stars Stencil in three places to create the magical background. Once dry, the inside openings of the stars were shaded with an Inktense pencil activated with a waterbrush. This was also done to the outside edges to deepen them. Cobalt Archival Ink was used to add Carabelle Studio Letter Background as well as Stampotique Originals Dot Swirl stamps in several places. Black dots were added with Jet Black Archival applied to a TH stamp.

The sentiment, printed on white cardstock, was cut into individual words. These were matted with black and popped up with foam tape. Sparkly silver enamel stars were spread out throughout the background. To complete the page, a simple border was doodled around the edges and the page was matted with black cardstock to frame it.

Thanks for joining Shy Fairy and me today. We are both delighted that you did...although she is more reserved in her delight than me...LOL. You still have a few days left to join Lisa's Fantasy Creatures challenge on the Bloobel Facebook group. Be sure to pop by to see all of the awesome creations in the album. People are so talented and creative. And if you are looking for inspiration, stop by Bloobel.com where you are sure to come away with a lengthy list of must-have images. Love 'em all!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Oh The Places You'll Go ~ Inspired by a Bloobel Image

Hi everyone! Happy Father's Day if you are one :) Today I created an art journal page featuring a Bloobel image who has been waiting on my desk for ages for me to finish colouring. She is called Suitcases and is setting off on an adventure any moment. She has her bucket with her map and list right beside her and her suitcases jammed full of dreams.

I coloured Suitcases with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils using a little gold and silver gel pen for the metallic bits. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black cardstock, and trimmed out leaving a narrow black border.  Foam tape was used to pop her up and create natural shadows.

The background began as an 8.5 x 5.5 inch rectangle of mixed media paper onto which I had pulled a gel print. I used Liquitex Basics Acrylic paint in Light Blue Permanent, Cerulean Blue Hue, and Brilliant Yellow Green, along with Joggles Ancient Ruins and Carabelle Studios Des Carres Avec Des Ronds stencils. Joggles Nonsense Latin Text stamp was applied with Cobalt Blue Archival ink and one of the Stampotique Originals Circles Cubes images was also stamped with Jet Black Archival ink. Texture Paste was scraped through TCW Tiny Circles stencil to add more dimension and texture. A strip of text paper was adhered beneath Suitcases and the bucket to ground them. Both white acrylic paint and blue Zig Clean Colour Brush pen were scuffed over the text to blend it into the background and knock back the printing. The sentiment, printed on white cardstock and matted with black, was popped up on foam tape.

Suitcase's bucket started as a clip art image to which I added coloured pencil to make it my own. The line separating the inside of the bucket from the front was sliced and a rolled map and several destination strips were inserted into that slit. Foam tape was used to pop up part of the bucket. The rolling of the map made the center of the bucket curve which added dimension. Bits of washi tape were adhered below Suitcases and the bucket. A trains sign was added to the top left corner and three punched photo corners to the other three. A simple doodled border plus a black mat framed the page to finish it off.

Thanks for joining Suitcases and me today. We are delighted that you did that. To see more of Lisa's awesome stamps, be sure to pop by Bloobel.com. She has an amazing selection of fabulous fun images. Love them all! You can see the creative projects people are making with them at Bloobel Stamps Facebook page, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Bloobel Stamps Progressive Challenge ~ Bored at Work

Hi everyone! Each month, Lisa at Bloobel Stamps runs a Progressive Challenge on her Facebook page. If you played along the previous month, you get a discount code for the current month's image so you can play along again. This month the challenge was to use this hilarious Bloobel image called Bored at Work and create something to either amuse him or say what he's thinking.

I coloured Mr. B with a mix of Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils, using a metallic gel pen on his silver buttons. He was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and matted with black card stock. Once he was trimmed out again leaving a narrow black border, he was popped up on foam tape.

The background began life as a 5.5 x 8 inch piece of packaging on which I gel printed with brown and pale blue acrylic paint. I know for sure that Carabelle Studio Squares and Circles Art Template was involved as well as TCW Microbial stencil and black paint. I can also tell you that I used a VLV triangle stamp. Beyond that, I haven't got a clue...I do a bunch of backgrounds all at once and sometimes I forget to write down the magic formula...LOL. I created the big ol' pile of pooh and the shovel from scraps of cardstock and mop-up papers, shading them with coloured  and Inktense pencils and fussy cutting. I cut a slit in the manure pile so the shovel would look like it was stuck in.

The saying was printed on white card stock, cut into segments, and matted with black. Foam tape was used to adhere the parts to the background. A simple border was doodled with black pen and three red gems were added to the top left corner to play off the shovel and his tie. Finally the piece was matted with black card stock to frame it and tie it all together.

Thanks for visiting Mr. B and me today. I hope your day is going better than his! You still have a couple of days to enter Lisa's Progressive Challenge which you can find on the Bloobel Facebook group. I can see so many other ways to use this image. Check out the other fabulous entries while you are there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Your Crazy is Showing - Bloobel Progressive Challenge Entry

Hi everyone! Each month, Lisa at Bloobel Stamps runs a Progressive Challenge on her Facebook page. If you played along the previous month, you get a discount code for the current month's image so you can play along again. This month, she offered the choice of 11 fabulous images or you could use a different code to buy them all at a special price. The theme is Flower Garden and I decided to use the absolute quirkiest (IMHO) three of the collection for my art journal page.

This is Clarissa Flower. She like the others is coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils.

This lovely is called GM George Flower. He , like the others, was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, then matted with black, and fussy cut leaving a narrow black border.

The third of the crazies is called David Daisy. He, like his friends, was popped up on foam tape to create dimension and shadow.

The background was created with two different designer papers which were layered and then altered. Ellen Hutson Bokeh Dots Stamps were applied to both backgrounds using either Forget-Me-Not, Jet Black or Coffee Archival Ink. Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through Carabelle Studio Weft Fabric and Numbers Art Template. Some doodling, ant brads, and a printed sentiment completed the design.

Thanks for popping by to meet these three amigos. To check out the other amazing creations made by the people playing along with the Bloobel Progressive Challenge, be sure to pop by the Bloobel Facebook page. It's not too late to join in either. You have until the end of  April to enter your creation made with one of the Flower Garden collection images into the Facebook album. Then you will be eligible for the coupon code for May's challenge. Check out the other amazing images in Lisa's shop, too. They make me smile...and want to colour them all :)

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Easter Parade ~ Bloobel Stamps Progressive Challenge

Hi everyone! Each month, Lisa at Bloobel Stamps runs a Progressive Challenge on her Facebook page. If you played along the previous month, you get a discount code for the current month's image so you can play along again. This month, she offered choice of six fabulous images or you could use a different code to buy them all at a special price...which, of course, I did because who can resist! The theme this month is Easter Parade based on that wonderful old Judy Garland/Fred Astaire movie.

I decided to create my own little Easter Parade using Easter Parade Judy, Easter Parade Fred, and Easter Parade Bunneh. They were each coloured with a mix of Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. They were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black card stock, and fussy cut leaving a narrow black border. Foam tape was used to pop them up. Fred was given Black Diamond Stickles with Lagoon Stickles in the center of the punched flower on his hat.

Judy was given Buttercup Liquid Pearls on her dress trim and buttons, and on the flower centers on her hat. The flowers were punched from mop-up atcs sprayed with Lindy's so they sparkle, too.

Bunneh was given Lagoon Stickles centers on his hat flowers and his wonky eyes were covered with Glossy Accents to add dimension and shine. Aren't they a well coordinated trio? You can thank their stylist...LOL

The background of this art journal page began as a 7 x 9 inch rectangle of designer paper. One of the designs from the Stampotique Originals Circles Cube and Joggles Nonsense Latin Text stamps were added with Garden Patina Archival Ink. Carabelle Sudio Mini Checkerboard stamp was added with Jet Black Archival. The sidewalk was a torn piece of textured tan coloured card stock which was stamped using Stampotique Originals Brick Road and Tree Branch Archival. Both Coffee Archival Ink and brown Prismacolor pencils were used to add shadow and darken some of the bricks. The same was used to edge the sides of the sidewalk before it was adhered to the background. Black pen was used to outline it and add faux stitching. A sign post was created with black card stock and white glittery stickers. Next to the sidewalk, Inktense pencil activated with a waterbrush was used to add shadow and dimension.

White cheesecloth scraps were adhered above Judy and Fred to create puffy clouds.

The sentiment, which is a line from the Easter Parade song, was printed on white card stock and matted with black. Foam tape was used to pop it up. Small music notes were drawn with black pen and accented with black rhinestones. The same black pen was used to draw a border around the outside edges. Turquoise washi tape was added to the edges to bring some of that lovely colour from their outfits into the background and add a little more pattern. Garden Patina and Coffee Archival Inks were used to edge the background before Black Big Brush Pen was added. Finally, the page was matted with black card stock to frame it.

Thanks for popping by and watching Fred, Judy, and Bunneh's Easter Parade. It's always wonderful to have a crowd at one of these things :) To check out the other amazing creations made by the people playing along with the Bloobel Progressive Challenge, be sure to pop by the Bloobel Facebook page. It's not too late to join in either. You have until the end of March to enter your creation made with one of the Easter Parade images into the Facebook album. Then you will be eligible for the coupon code for April's challenge. Hope to see you there!

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

There is a Dance - art journal page inspired by a Bloobel Stamp

Hi everyone! I had this sweet woman's face and hair coloured and that's as far as I got so I figured I'd better get her dressed. She is called Curtsey and she is from Bloobel Stamps.  I love her cheesy grin and her lovely bows :)

I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. She was first fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then fussy cut a second time once she was matted with black card stock. She was then popped up with foam tape to create a natural shadow.

The background began with a 6 x 8 inch rectangle of designer paper. The paper was double sided so I tore some pieces of the print on the back and adhered them in 4 different places along the edges. White gesso was brushed over the pieces and the background to help them meld. Cornflower Blue Archival Ink was used to add a star stamp from Carabelle Studio and a grid stamp from elsewhere. Black dots were stamped with Black Archival Ink and Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through a Carabelle Studio circles stencil. Bits of washi tape backed with white card stock to make the pieces opaque were adhered along the four edges of the background.

The sentiment was printed onto white card stock, cut into individual words which were then matted with black. Foam tape was used to adhere them to the background. To connect the pink in the image to the background, pink enamel hearts were added to three of the pieces of washi tape. The edge of the background was inked with Cornflower Archival and then Black Big Brush Pen. A simple black border was doodled around the edges before black card stock was adhered to mat the page and serve as a frame.

Thanks for joining my cute Curtsey friend and me today. We're happy you stopped by. To see more of Lisa's fabulous images be sure to stop by Bloobel.com. There is also a fun Progressive Challenge and the opportunity to join the TrooBloo Subscription Club. Check them out when you are there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Old Family Recipe - Bloobel Stamps Progressive Challenge

Hi everyone! Lisa at Bloobel Stamps is having a Progressive Challenge for the month of February using the fabulous image called Bake Me a Cake. If you played along with the January Progressive Challenge, you were able to purchase this stamp at a discount. If you didn't get to play in January, you can still purchase the Bake Me a Cake image and then qualify for the March discounted image. I love this image because it comes with a whole bunch of layers, icing, and add-on images to make your cake just the way you want it...so fun!

I coloured this little chef with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. The cake layers, icing, and embellies were all coloured separately and then fussy cut on the black lines. The parts were then layered onto the image background. The whole image including the cake was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and matted with black card stock. After fussy cutting her a second time, she was popped up on foam tape for added dimension and natural shadow.

The background began with a piece of plain designer paper cut to 8.5 x 11 inches and then printed with an all-over mustache pattern. Coffee Archival Ink was used to stamp VLV's number stamp and Stamper's Anonymous Coffee Splatter stamps in a few places. It was also used to edge the outside of the mustache paper. Jet Black Archival Ink was used to apply VLV stitching stamp. Two pieces of washi tape backed with white card stock were added to give the little chef a place to stand and each was edged with Coffee Archival Ink to help them blend into the background. Three black rhinestones were used to embellish the outside edge of the washi.

The sentiment( if you mustache, it's an old family recipe) was printed on white card stock, trimmed into individual words, and matted with black. A die was used to cut the label for the puffy mustache sticker. The edges were inked with Coffee Archival Ink and faux stitching was added with black pen before the label was popped up on foam tape. Three smaller black rhinestones were used to mark the dots between the two sentiment parts. A border was doodled around the outside of the background paper and the loose openings were dotted with white paint pen. At this point, the mustache paper looked a little too busy so white paint was dry-brushed here and there to knock it back a bit. Punched photo corners were adhered to the four corners and the entire piece was matted with black card stock to frame it.

Thanks for joining the little chef and me today. We are glad you did! To see more of Lisa's fabulous images and learn more about her Progressive Challenge, be sure to visit Bloobel.com. You still have time to enter this month.

Life is good; so is art...and cake!
Bonnie

Bloobel Progressive Challenge ~ I Must Protest

Hi everyone! Lisa from Bloobel Stamps and Colouring Pages is having a Progressive Challenge in her Facebook group using the fabulous image I Must Protest for the month of January. I managed to finish my art journal page just under the wire which means I get to play again in February. You can check out the other fabulous entries over in the FB group...so many clever protest signs.

I coloured my protester with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, choosing to add a coffee themed message to my sign. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black, and fussy cut leaving a narrow black border. Foam tape was added to the back of the image to create dimension and a natural shadow.

The background is the reverse side of a mixed media pad cover. It has this awesome texture and I had used it to clean off my brayer while gelli printing. The sketchy circles were stamped using plastic canvas and black paint. White Texture Paste was scraped through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil and allowed to dry. Jet Black Archival Ink was used to stamp the heartbeat (a VLV stamp) and the dots. A free coffee cup image from the internet was fussy cut, matted with black and then doodled on before being adhered to the background. Cheesecloth "steam" was added to the image. To give my protester and the cup somewhere to stand, coffee phrases were printed in a strip, matted with black card stock, and adhered along the bottom of the background.

A kraft paper border was die cut and the pattern emphasized with a black pen before it was adhered to the left side of the page. Two coffee themed buttons were layered onto the border. Black Big Brush Pen was used to edge the background before it was adhered to a black mat to frame the page and draw the eye in.

Thanks for dropping by. My protesting friend and I are happy you did that. If you haven't already entered Lisa's Bloobel Progressive Challenge, it's not too late. You can still purchase the image at Bloobel.com and you have until January 31 to enter. If that doesn't leave you enough time, make sure you buy the February image so you can play next month. Love these quirky characters!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Java...Java...

Hi everyone! I needed to take a break from Christmas images and this image from Bloobel Stamps has been calling me very loudly. Her name is Just One Coffee and she makes me laugh. I know that desperate look in her eyes where you just know that a small regular just isn't going to do it...LOL

I coloured her with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and fussy cut her leaving a narrow white border. That thickens all those crazy hair strands so they are less likely to tear off in the fussy cutting or gluing. I then matted her with black card stock and trimmed her out again leaving a narrow black border which helps her show against the background. Foam tape was used to pop her up and create a natural shadow.

The background was created using my gel plate and pulling prints onto white card stock. I used two colours of pink Liquitex Basics acrylic paint and brayered them onto 1/2 of the 5  x 7 inch plate. Then I used a bottle cap to create rings and stamped the lid off each time on the other 1/2 of the plate. I cleaned the brayer horizontally across the page and then printed the gel plate design vertically on the same page. Extra pattern and texture was added with Carabelle Studios Texture Etoiles Stamp and Magenta Hue Archival Ink. More was applied with Cactus Flower Archival Ink and a VLV numbers stamp. The word Java was stamped repeatedly with Jet Black Archival ink and the stitching pattern was stamped with the same ink.

To give my coffee fiend a place to stand, two washi tapes, one which had been punched with holes, were layered near the bottom. The sentiment was printed on white card stock, cut apart and matted with black. Foam Tape was used to pop each word up. Two coffee themed buttons were adhered in opposite corners to emphasize the diagonal line of the image. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the background before it was adhered to a black card stock rectangle cut slightly larger to serve as a frame to the page.

Thanks for popping by today. The crazy coffee lady and I appreciate you doing that. To see more of Lisa's wonderful quirky images, be sure to stop by Bloobel.com. You are sure to smile and to find many Must-Haves there!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

So Cold ~ Inspired by Bloobel Stamps

Hi everyone! I had so much fun creating an art journal page with two of Lisa's fairly recent releases from Bloobel.com. These sweet and goofy little robins just crack me up. The short hunched down one is called Cold Christmas Robin and the other one standing up is called Quirky Christmas Robin. They come as separate stamps but they go so well together :)

I coloured both robins with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils using short choppy strokes to create the feather texture. I used 4 or 5 different colours for each section. The robins were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then matted them with black card stock. Once they were trimmed out again, they were popped up on foam tape for dimension.

The 6 x 8 inch mixed media background was spritzed with Delphinium Turquoise and French Lilac Violet Lindy's Starburst Sprays. Three sizes and shapes of snowflakes were punched from both white and black card stock. These were adhered to the background with the black slightly offset from the white to create a shadow and help them show against the background. Two branches were hand cut and adhered below the robins so they had a place to stand. A Derwent Inktense pencil was used to shade under the branches. Black pen was used to outline some of the snowflakes.

The sentiment was printed on white card stock...it makes me laugh! The words were cut individually, matted with orange sprayed card stock, and then again with black. The word "cold" was given an extra matting to emphasize it. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the background before it was matted with black card stock.

Thanks for joining the robins and me today. We're glad that you did. Be sure to pop by Lisa's shop to see all of her fabulous images. She has a bunch of delightful Christmas ones as well as ones for all occasions or no occasion at all. It's a fun place to visit and become inspired.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

New release from Bloobel Stamps~ Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Oh my word...have you seen this fabulous new release by Lisa Bloobel at Bloobel.com? It's called Mommy Kissing Santa...and yes, I have been humming that earworm song for days now! But how cute is the image? I just love Lisa's quirky and fun characters, as well as her unique drawing style.

I coloured Mommy and Santa with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils. I think I smiled the whole time I coloured them :) They were then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, adhered to black card stock, and trimmed out again leaving a narrow black border. Foam tape was used to adhere them to the background and add dimension and natural shadow.

The background began with a white card base to which I added a black mat slightly smaller then the base size. Next a rectangle of green patterned paper was cut to fit 1/8 inch inside the black. From another designer paper, a letter to Santa was cut 1/8 inch smaller on three sides and 1 inch shorter on the bottom. Vintage Photo Distress ink and faux stitching were added to this letter. This layer was matted with black card stock to help it pop and was then adhered to the green background.

The letters to spell MWAH were stamped onto the letter to loosely follow the shape of Santa's hat. A lipstick kiss image was fussy cut and matted with black before being adhered to the top right corner. Three punched hearts were added to the bottom corner to help balance the design and also bring a third point of red to complete the visual triangle. A strip of another designer paper was cut to serve as a border for the bottom of the card and also to give Santa and Mommy somewhere to stand so they weren't floating :)

Thanks for joining Santa, Mommy, and me today. We're so happy you did that! Be sure to check out Lisa's other amazing stamps at Bloobel.com. She not only has a fabulous selection of Christmas themed stamps but there is also a huge collection of other wonderful images for all occasions just waiting to spark your imagination...and make you smile.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie