If I want to go out, I choose to
go into the garden!
By Brenda Brown
This is just the cutest notebook die ever, the booklet is
cut in one piece and ready to be altered straight away.
Mine was cut from strong board so I worked straight
onto the substrate layering paints using my dip, drip
and dry technique, adding stamped text and some
stencils before sealing with a coat of homemade dirty
glaze to mute the colours and give them a vintage
feel. On the front cover I used wildflower die-cuts
and acrylic watercolouring combining them with an
altered mini frame to hold the flowers in place. One
would never expect to see something crocheted in the
garden but I just loved the look of these two pieces
which are a fabulous contrast to the more natural
elements used.
There’s a little bee amongst the flowers and with the
hexagonal die-cut they are a nod to my love of bees
and the hope that they will not be lost to the world
forever.
Materials
Eileen Hull Products Brenda used...
• Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die NotebookLimit Of Your Imagination
By Elizabeth Robinson
I love starting with a base layer of colour on my journals,
by using acrylic paints and my Gel Press plate. It’s a great
way to get rid of the white space. I stamped the beautiful
Aster Vine from Artisan Designs using VersaMark and
then used a fine white powder to emboss it. I chose three
shades of the new Blends2 inks, Pansy, Tutu and Leaf
to use. The inks are super thick and go a very long way.
They are really beautiful to watercolour with, as they are
loaded with pigment you don’t lose any of the colour
when you dilute them. This was a test to see if they went
over the top of the acrylic paint, and yes, they did! I left
the cover to one side to dry naturally as I didn’t want to
re-activate the embossing. I also added a little of the
Pansy around the edges of the journal to finish it off and
frame the design.
Materials
Eileen Hull Products Elizabeth used...
• Sizzix Notebook Die
• Colorbox Blends2 Inks