Creative Artiste #127 June 2026

 ....Welcome to a new challenge at

Creative Artiste

Creative Artiste is a monthly challenge blog for everyone who likes to mix their media. So, as long as you like to use various mediums on your creations, we'd love to see you enter the challenge.

A big Thank You to everyone who entered the challenge last month. Your projects were all wonderful and our winners have been announced on the blog.

Our theme is always
"Anything Mixed Media Goes"
We have opportunities to be a Guest Designer for all our winners.

I have made a wooden birdhouse using a kit from the fabulous Samantha K Gifts & Crafts and I've decorated it with cogs and gears from Samantha K too.

1. I primed each section with a coat of white gesso.

2. I then glued the walls and base together with Prima's 3D Matt Gel. I used some washi tape to hold the pieces in place while they dried.

3. I gave the house a base coat of Marabu Chalk paint and painted the roof panels with Prima Art Alchemy metallic acrylic paint.

4. I gave the inside of the house and the underside of the roof panels a coat of black gesso.

5. I used a mix of turquoise coloured acrylics, applied by dabbing with a sponge, to create an ombre effect on the house walls. The sponge leaves a nice light textured finish.

While the house dried I prepped the decorations.

6. I sorted the cogs/gears, flowers and glass beads. according to where I wanted to place them.

7. The Cadence rust treatment products I used. 

8. It's a three step process to create the rust effect on the cogs. Rust Effect Paint first, then sprinkle the Rust Powder, and finally the Activator Spray before drying.

9. The fourth step, if you want to use it, is to apply the Antique Powder for the patina.

I glued all the cogs/gears, flowers and beads in place with Prima's 3D Matt Gel. 

10. Once set, I finished the house by tapping on some Pebeo Gold Gilding Wax.

You can find the birdhouse  and cogs/gears here in the Samantha K shop.

Now it's your turn to have fun and create your mixed media projects. You can enter our challenge as many times as you like. A full list of the rules is on the challenge blog. For more inspiration please visit the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog to see the fabulous mixed media projects created by our multi talented team.

Remember to have fun crafting and enter your "Anything Mixed Media Goes" creations in our 

June challenge. 

I have entered this project in the following challenges:

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-202606-june-2026-anything.html

https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/miucb-83-anything-goes-optional-stamp.html

https://lovetocraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/05/ltccb-92-and-ltccb-91-winner-and-top.html

Crafts Galore Encore June 2026

It's June already and it's been another mixed bag of weather. I wish Mother Nature would make her mind up. One day it's scorching and the next has chilly winds and heavy rain. Still, we have managed a couple of fun outdoor activities in nice weather. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more nice weather in a couple of weeks as there is an outdoor concert we're going to that was cancelled from last year due to bad weather.

Meanwhile, there's a new challenge at

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

and our sponsor this month is:

Fred She Said

who are offering a prize of $10 gift voucher to our lucky winner.

I've created an A5 card in landscape format.

I started by covering the base with a pink card from my stash. I added a paper from G45's Flights of Fancy and a vertical strip of another pretty paper from the collection. 
I matted both on white card. I also cut a band of pink card and matted that on white card and placed it across the front.

I chose to work with Hummingbird and Columbine digi set which comes with the bird and flower images either together, or singularly, in both JPEG and PNG format. I coloured one of the images with my Copics and mounted it on pink card.

I took one of the flower images from the digi set and flipped it before colouring it, cutting it out and mounting it on foam pads as an embellishment. I finished the card with a bow, a stamped sentiment and three pink gems.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful projects and cards created by our talented team using Fred She Said images.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this in the following challenges:

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/05/classic-design-challenge-05-2026-mayjun.html

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html

https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2026/06/tb-june-2026-challenge.html

Creative Artiste #126 May 2026

 This is the second blog post today, please scroll down to see my Crafts Galore Encore challenge post.

 ....Welcome to a new challenge at

Creative Artiste

Creative Artiste is a monthly challenge blog for everyone who likes to mix their media. So, as long as you like to use various mediums on your creations, we'd love to see you enter the challenge.

A big Thank You to everyone who entered the challenge last month. Your projects were all wonderful and our winners have been announced on the blog.

Our theme is always
"Anything Mixed Media Goes"
We have opportunities to be a Guest Designer for all our winners.

I have created a fantasy underwater canvas that measures 8" (20cms).

 

I started by priming the canvas with a coat of white gesso. 

1. I used my own texture paste through part of AALL & Create stencil #87.

2. Once dry, I sprinkled on Lindy's Gang powder Guten Tag Teal and Lindy's Magical Caribbean Blue with water to add colour.

I then prepped the elements and left them to dry before adding to the canvas.

3. I die cut some foliage using Tim Holtz Holiday Greens dies and coloured them with Lindy's Gang shaker powder Lederhosen Laurel and water.

4. I die cut the Fantasy octopus and Spellbinder's anchor several times each. I layered and glued them together for strength before painting them with DecoArt acrylic paints (in photo) by dabbing the acrylics on with an old brush.

5. The bubbles are laser cut greyboard from Tando. I sprayed them with a DecoArt Mister in Primary Cyan.

6. I dabbed the shells with a watered down orange acrylic.

To assemble the canvas I fixed the Tando bubbles to the canvas then added the ferns and the octopus with Prima 3D Matt Gel.

I tucked the anchor in the corner and finished the canvas with a couple of strings of beads.

Now it's your turn to have fun and create your mixed media projects. You can enter our challenge as many times as you like. A full list of the rules is on the challenge blog. For more inspiration please visit the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog to see the fabulous mixed media projects created by our multi talented team.
Remember to have fun crafting and enter your "Anything Mixed Media Goes" creations in our 

May challenge. 

I have entered this project in the following challenges:

Crafts Galore Encore May 2026

This is the first of two blog posts today.  

April just seemed to fly by and now it's time for the May challenge on the 

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

and our sponsor this month is:

Gecko Galz

who are offering a prize of $25 to spend in the shop for our lucky winner.

I have made a pretty birthday card that measures 8"x 6" (20 x 15 cms)

I used one of the images from the C'est la Vie ATC sheet for the background paper and mounted it on blue pearlescent card. I then wrapped white seam binding ribbon the length of the card.

I printed one of the images from Butterfly Blues  collage sheet twice. I cut out just the butterfly from one of the prints and fixed it to the entire image with foam pads for a dimensional effect, then mounted it onto the blue pearlescent card.

I created the sentiment on the computer and finished the card with a bow and some gems.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful cards created by our talented team using Gecko Galz images.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this in the following challenges:

Creative Artiste # 125 April 2026

Welcome to a new challenge at

Creative Artiste

Creative Artiste is a monthly challenge blog for everyone who likes to mix their media. So, as long as you like to use various mediums on your creations, we'd love to see you enter the challenge.

A big Thank You to everyone who entered the challenge last month. Your projects were all wonderful and our winners have been announced on the blog.

Our theme is always
"Anything Mixed Media Goes"
We have opportunities to be a Guest Designer for all our winners.

I have made an 8" (20cms) mixed media canvas this month. I have used Lindy's Magicals set Beauty School Dropout to colour all the elements.

1. I started by sprinkling Lindy's Kissing Kenickie Coral all over the canvas and adding water to activate it.

2. I sprinkled some wooden hearts and paper straws too.

3. I wanted a bit of a contrast for the paper flowers, so, I used Pink Ladies Pink.

4. Some die cut leaves were sprinkled with T-bird Turquoise.

5. Once the Magicals were dry, I splattered some diluted gold acrylic paint over the canvas, hearts and flowers.

I coloured a torn piece of watercolour card with Lindy's Pineapple Crush from Caribbean Cruise set and added that behind the hearts and straws arrangement.

The hearts were added to the straws using Prima's 3D Matt Gel.

I arranged the roses and tucked in the leaves  using the 3D Gel

Now it's your turn to have fun and create your mixed media projects. You can enter our challenge as many times as you like. A full list of the rules is on the challenge blog. For more inspiration please visit the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog to see the fabulous mixed media projects created by our multi talented team.
Remember to have fun crafting and enter your "Anything Mixed Media Goes" creations in our 

April challenge. 

Have a lovely Easter weekend everyone!

I have entered this project in the following challenges:

Crafts Galore Encore April 2026

Happy April Fool's Day! I do hope you haven't been caught out by any jokes.

The clocks have gone forward, the evenings are longer and the weather is warming up nicely.

Welcome to a new challenge on the

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

and our sponsor this month is:

Conjuror of Dreams

who are offering a prize of 2 sets of their collage images to our lucky winner.

I made a 6" birthday card using one of the gorgeous images from this month's sponsor.

The card has a fold back front. I used a brown Papermania card as the base layer on the card with a blue mottled card from my stash.

I printed one of the images from the Watercolour Blue Jays set and matted it onto some card. The Blue Jays set comes with 4 gorgeous images of the birds.

I coloured the edges of the mat card with a brown Copic to match the image.

I coloured some Spellbinder die cut leaves with Copics as embellishments and printed the sentiment on my computer. I finished the card with some gems.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful projects and cards created by our talented team using Conjuror of Dreams images.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this card in the following challenges:

Creative Artiste #124 March 2026

  ....Welcome to a new challenge at

Creative Artiste

Creative Artiste is a monthly challenge blog for everyone who likes to mix their media. So, as long as you like to use various mediums on your creations, we'd love to see you enter the challenge.

A big Thank You to everyone who entered the challenge last month. Your projects were all wonderful and our winners have been announced on the blog.

Our theme is always
"Anything Mixed Media Goes"
We have opportunities to be a Guest Designer for all our winners.

I have created a triptych to welcome Spring.

I have used three canvases that each measure 4"x 8" (10 x 20cms).

Before I show the step-by-step photos of the techniques, first I have a tip for supporting the underside of the canvas when applying mediums to it.

1. Firstly, I gave all three of these canvases a coat of white gesso followed by DecoArt Americana Decor Timeless chalk based paint. I then lightly dabbed on some pale grey acrylic paint to create a slightly mottled effect on the two outside canvases.

2. To stop the canvas from bowing when applying texture paste, or stamping, I cut several pieces of cardboard, trimmed to fit inside the canvas.

3. I glue the layers together to create a block and fix a strip of ribbon to it.

4. I can now tuck the cardboard inside the reverse of the canvas which will stop it bowing under pressure. I simply pull on the ribbon to easily remove it. The block can be reused until it starts to get compressed. Then I just add another layer.

5. I applied texture paste through a Tim Holtz stencil. I deliberately made the paste look rough to mimic brickwork.

6. Once the texture paste had dried I replaced the stencil and dabbed on a mix of Docrafts and DecoArt acrylic paints with brush, careful to not paint between the bricks.

7. I created a trellis by gluing some wooden drink stirrers together.

8. I made a short length of fence by gluing some lolly sticks.

9. I painted both the trellis and the fence with DecoArt white acrylic.

10. I curved some kraft card and glued it in a flat backed barrel shape. I made three of these in different sizes.

11. I fixed the trellis and one of the large pots to the centre canvas with Prima 3D Matt Gel. I die cut lots of flowers and some flourishes from card I'd coloured with Distress Oxides.

12. I arranged, and attached, the flowers and flourishes to the canvases, adding pearl beads to the flower centres.

I stamped the 'Grow Beauty' words using a Samantha K stamp set, cut around them and fixed them to the middle canvas. I added a wooden wheel and some wooden butterflies to finish.

Now it's your turn to have fun and create your mixed media projects. You can enter our challenge as many times as you like. A full list of the rules is on the challenge blog. For more inspiration please visit the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog to see the fabulous mixed media projects created by our multi talented team.
Remember to have fun crafting and enter your "Anything Mixed Media Goes" creations in our 

March challenge. 

I have entered this project in the following challenges:

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/02/classic-design-challenge-02-2026-febmar.html

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html

https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/03/miucb-82-anything-goes-optional-die.html

https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2026/03/march-2026-tb-challenge.html

Crafts Galore Encore March 2026

Welcome to March! 

And Happy St David's Day!

Spring is almost here, the days are getting lighter and the weather is getting less cold. But, before we can celebrate any warm sunny days, there is a new challenge starting on the

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

and our sponsor this month is:

Moondrea Designs

who are offering a prize of 3 digi images from their store to our lucky winner.

I have made an A5 birthday card this month in pretty Springtime colours.

I started with a textured green card from Papermania and layered it with a Papermania smooth light green card. The daffodil paper is the March paper from G45's Flower Market Collection.

I added two strips of layered green card over the paper at the top and bottom of the card.

I used the Daffodil Maiden image from our sponsor and coloured her with my Copics. I matted her onto smooth yellow card from Papermania and fixed her to the card on foam pads.

 I printed the headdress a couple of times, coloured the flowers and fussy cut them to use as an embellishment. I attached them to the card with foam pads.

I printed the sentiment and layered it onto yellow card with another daffodil.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful projects and cards created by our talented team using Moondrea Designs images.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this in the following challenges:

https://morgansartworld.blogspot.com/2026/03/morgans-artworld-challenge-98.html

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/02/classic-design-challenge-02-2026-febmar.html

Creative Artiste #123 February 2026

 ....Welcome to a new challenge at

Creative Artiste

Creative Artiste is a monthly challenge blog for everyone who likes to mix their media. So, as long as you like to use various mediums on your creations, we'd love to see you enter the challenge.

A big Thank You to everyone who entered the challenge in December. Your projects were all fabulous and our winners have been announced on the blog.

Our theme is always
"Anything Mixed Media Goes"
We have opportunities to be a Guest Designer for all our winners.

Creative Artiste is back after taking it's annual break in January. My batteries are recharged and I'm looking forward to another year of creating mixed media projects to hopefully to inspire you.

February features St. Valentine's Day. My husband and I decided not long after we were married, nearly 42 years ago, not to give each other over priced Valentine's gifts. It's more fun to surprise each other randomly throughout the year with thoughtful gifts, flowers and chocolates.

And, after giving each other the same card one year for Valentine's Day, we decided not to bother with cards either. It wasn't even a romantic card, it was a jokey one!

Saying that, I have made a heart project for this month. But it's not a Valentine's one. I've called this 

"My Stone Cold Heart"

I have upcycled a cardboard box with a drawer insert. The box measures 7"x 5"x 2"  (18 x 12.5 x 5 cms).

1. I started by giving the box a coat of black gesso. Once dried, I painted it with a dark brown acrylic.

2. I gave it a coat of DecoArt Weathered Wood and let that dry. I then added a top coat of Burnt Umber acrylic. The Weathered Wood allows the top coat of acrylic to split as it dries revealing the base layer and giving an old 'peeled paint' look. I gave the inside of the drawer the same treatment.

3. I assembled a selection of metal elements and a panel of card treated with acrylics and Weathered Wood. They were all glued in place with Prima 3D Gloss Gel.

4. Once all dry, I used a stiff brush to add Pebeo Silver Gilding Wax to the elements.

5. I wanted to use a Prima plaster heart I have from an old Flaming Hearts set.

6. I gave the heart a coat of black gesso.

7. I filled the space in the heart with Prima Art Stones and Soft Matt Gel.

8. I gave the heart and stones a coat of black gesso.

 

9. I cut some squares of greyboard and painted the edges with black gesso. I then applied some DecoArt Crackle Paste and left it to dry. I added some Crackle paste to the heart also.

10. I dabbed black, and white, acrylic paint over the crackle to colour it. I used more black on the larger square.

11. I added a mix of black and white acrylic to the heart, using more white paint to make it lighter.

12. I layered the squares and fixed the heart on top. I glued the whole piece to the inside of the drawer.

Now it's your turn to have fun and create your mixed media projects. You can enter our challenge as many times as you like. A full list of the rules is on the challenge blog. For more inspiration please visit the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog to see the fabulous mixed media projects created by our multi talented team.
Remember to have fun crafting and enter your "Anything Mixed Media Goes" creations in our 

February challenge. 

For all of you who like to celebrate, have a lovely St. Valentine's Day!

I have entered this project in the following challenges:

https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/01/muicb-81-anything-goes-optional-use.html

https://lovetoscrapchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/ltscb-177-anything-goes-ltscb-176.html

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/01/classic-design-challenge-01-2026-janfeb.html

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html

Crafts Galore Encore February 2026

The evenings are getting lighter and the temperatures have slightly less of a chill. That can mean only one thing, surely. That Spring is just around the corner.

While I sit here waiting in anticipation there is a new challenge starting on the

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

and our sponsor this month is:

Polkadoodles

who are offering a prize of 3 digi stamps to our lucky winner.

I have made an A5 card to celebrate the much anticipated arrival of Spring.

I started by layering an orange and a light green card onto the card base.

I used the Bee Buzzy set of images for my card. There are 15 images in the set and I chose 4 of them for this card. I used a graphics program to arrange the images and printed it to fill the card front as one image. I coloured the images with my Copics.

I hand wrote the happy sentiment in two halves and finished the card with some colourful gems.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful projects and cards created by our talented team using Polkadoodles images.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this in the following challenges:

Crafts Galore Encore January 2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I hope you have all enjoyed the Christmas festivities, however you celebrate.

 But now it's time to get back to business ....

.... there is a new challenge starting today at

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

and our sponsor this month is:

Wendylynn's Paper Whims

who are offering a prize of two collage sheets from their store to our lucky winner.

I used an image from the  collage sheet Toulouse Lautrec Style Art Images. The collage sheet has images of a dog, cat, birds, plants and lovely women to choose from.

I made an 8"x 6" (20 x 15 cm) card.

I started with a layer of an old orange textured card from Papermania on which I matted a paper from First Edition's Paradise Crush 8" pad. It has embedded glittery highlights.

I hand cut the image from the collage sheet and mounted it onto a die cut scalloped oval. I then added that to the card with foam pads.

I added a couple of strips cut from the orange card and a few orange flowers.

The card was finished with orange gems.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful projects and cards created by our talented team using Wendylynn's Paper Whims images.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this in the following challenges: