Tips for the gardener... for AJJ

In my garden there are.......................

Insects

Most gardeners like to have a healthy flourishing garden, but for many pests can be an issue.

So this page in my journal, features some garden tips I cut out from a magazine, where there was a list of what to grow, where to plant it and how it would help our plants to grow.

It is a kraft paper journal so I used a base paint of watered down acrylic white, followed by a flower stencil coloured with distress inks.

French Marigolds.

Plant near tomatoes and their pungent smell

 will keep white fly away.

My parents used to grow these and I can say from experience that

the smell is very unpleasant

But the tomatoes were fantastic.

Nasturtiums

Planted beside brassicas, the white flies choose to lay their eggs on the leaves. instead of your cabbages.

A big plus is that we can eat the flowers. 

Poached Egg plants

Loved by beneficial insects like hoverfly,

 the kind you want to encourage in your gardens

, their larvae will eat the blackfly and aphids.

I'm sure we have all been given ideas from gardening friends and its much better than the  harmful chemicals we see on sale in the shops.

A page for Art Journal Journey

for my theme of

In my Garden there is..................

Thank you for calling in to see me today.

I always appreciate the comments you take time to leave for me.

Happy Holidays for TioT's

Happy Holidays

is the next challenge theme over at 

Try it on Tuesdays

Please pop over to see what the team have been making, where there is loads of inspiration to see,

as well as all the challenge details.

My card, started off  with this digital page, created using elements from Mischief Circus kits.

The greetings added and the final matting and layering.

Thank you for calling in to see me today.

Your comments are always appreciated.

If you have called in to visit on T Day,
please scroll down to my earlier post.

Poppies, cycling and Tea on Tuesday.

First of all I am sharing another journal page for 

Art Journal Journey

A simple page today  for  the theme .......... In my garden there is.....

A watercolour background, finished in my digital program.

I loved the words [cannot remember where I found this quote] and wondered

 if I could only grow one flower in my garden , what might it be.

The poppy won my vote.

It means so much to so many people, my family included.

Now I am off to visit and share a cuppa and a chat with friends over at

Bleubeard and Elizabeths

We are away in our caravan , staying in a lovely town on the Scottish Borders...Melrose.

The weather is awful, wall to wall rain today , so not many photos to show of the town

This is the old Abbey

Back in the caravan we decided to spend an afternoon watching TV

Tea made, didn't have to jostle with the crowds

Here they come,  sprinting to the finish.

they had been riding nearly 6 hours.

We just watched the last 2 hours.

Even a photo finish at the end.

After a small delay, we were jumping with the crowds 

as it was announced that Mark Cavendish had won.

I think you can tell that cycling is a sport we follow as a family.

Thank you for visiting  and sharing a cuppa today.

An English Country Garden for AJJ

First of all  I would like to wish all my blog friends in the U.S.A.  a

HAPPY 4TH of JULY

..........................................................

I would really love to have had  an old style English country garden,

 but mine is firstly a family garden

 and can in no way be a show garden. its lived in and loved.

However it didn't stop me from creating this digital page 

and sharing one of my garden dreams with you.

for July's theme at....

 Art Journal Journey

In my garden there is..........

Thank you for your visit to see me today, you are always welcome.

Created using images from 

digital kits, Mischief Circus

 and Daisy Trail

The Bee hotel for AJJ

In my garden there are........Bees

Bed and breakfast for Bees.
It is always a sign of summer for me, to see the Bees buzzing around in the garden.
My garden is quite natural, with trees, grasses and flowering shrubs.
I don't get phased if some of it has a wilder look.
Yes, order would be good, but not for us.

The idea for this page cane from an article in a free gardening magazine about making bug houses.
The base layer was  torn from the  magazine

How to make instructions, also torn from the same magazine.

At this stage I gave it a random colour wash, took a photo and off....
you guessed it to the computer for the digital finishing touches.

I hope you will call over  and join the folk  at
 Art Journal Journey
where is months theme is

In my garden there  is.............


Thank you for calling in to see what I have been making.
I always appreciate your comments.

The Garden Party of AJJ

Gardens are for everyone, including the family pets.

Folk who have had a dog or a cat may agree with me

 that at times they consider us to be at their beck and call.

We certainly know Meg's ways of letting us know what she wants.

Here is a fun digital  page for Art Journal Journey

for the theme of

In my garden there is.........

 Meg hosting her own garden party for her friends.

Even Pandora the garden statue is enjoying a strawberry, 

Polly the parrot isn't  keen on the left over wine. 

Sam better hurry up and remember where he put the bones, so the 'pet',  party can get started.

Thank you for calling in to see me.

I always appreciate your comments.

In my garden there is..........for AJJ

A short while ago Valerie and Susi from
  Art Journal Journey
asked me if I would like to join them for a second time,  as their Guest Hostess for July.
 I was absolutely delighted and  it took me no time the say 'Yes please'
This is the blog that really sparked my interest in creating journal pages, I had dipped into journals for a while, but the inspiration to be found there is amazing

My choice of theme for  July is  ...
In my garden there is.....

I hope you will join in, you don't even  have to have a garden, just imagine what you would like to see, even if it is only  a small pot plant.

This is how my page began with a
photo of my garden taken in May

The first layers on my journal page.
Water colour washes, stamps and snippets of book pages

Next stage.
add the photo, torn around the edges.

Stamped and fussy cut bird
 and die cut wild flowers.
They were water coloured as well

Nearly finished,
 a few digital additions
 when I took the photo into my computer and  it only needed the words adding.

Thank you for calling in to see me today,
I always appreciate the comments you take time to leave me.

I am looking forward to visiting you in the coming month.