Altered popcorn bucket - halloween

Well it's technically Friday but this is Thursdays post cos it's been one of those days when nothing has really gone to plan time wise... but in a nice way. Dad continues to improve and is getting into trouble from the nurses already for not doing as he's told... though when they see the glint of devilment in his eyes I know telling him off will be very tongue in cheek :D He always manages to come out of hospital with a dozen more friends than he went in with. Thank you all for your comments wishing him well.. it means a lot to me. I've spent today running backwards and forwards to appointments and the like so no crafting done today... planned to do it this evening but ended up on the phone chatting for 3hrs (could be more actually ... sorry Sharon but when I talk .... I really talk...rofl)

So it's just as well I have my Blue Peter project ready (you know... here's one I made earlier...lol)

My final Halloween creation... well the witching hour is almost here. I ate all the popcorn from the tub.... but only in the interest of Trick 'a' Treat you understand... DG will need it empty to store his collection of goodies :D

More black paint on this one... but only because on my bottle on the post further down the paint took an age to dry... so I started doing the bucket in between coats.

I was really good with my addiction too... cut up some RIBBON... lots of it!!!

Made sure that the time was displayed in the window so the witches will know what hour to go witching on their broomsticks....

and ensured there was a bat to keep an eye on the bubbling cauldron :D
Pumpkins and monsters are ready for tricking ... with bags ready for the alternative treats


with huge grins to scare you into submission...lol

and whoever misses out on tradition could well find themselves followed around by these fellas... just to make sure you get the message. So Happy Halloween and boo to you all ;-D

Credits (all images except computer generated lettering are Kate Hadfield)

Thanks for looking

hugs

Chris xx

Get well soon card

The last couple of days have been a bit of a worry for me because my Dad had an operation yesterday for his 4th knee replacement (no he hasn't got 4 knees... he's just had to have them both replaced twice :)

The last time he had the same op we thought we were going to lose him due to infection and complications after the op... so this time was more worrying because of that. It was necessary for him to have the procedure again because of his constant agonizing pain but sometimes the risks seem really high... because of other health problems he can't have general anaesthetic so has to have an epidural and be awake... although I must admit he seems to enjoy knowing what is going on and wasn't at all worried about the banging and other noises associated with having bone manipulated and foreign objects screwed into place ( though it makes me nauseous just to imagine going through something similar myself!! )

Thankfully so far everything has gone according to plan and seeing him today has made me feel better because although tired he seems quite chipper. Dad loves amusing cards and was made up with this one... suits his sense of humour to a Tee :D Who says Halloween stuff has to just be for Halloween!!

The papers are from Willow Design stamps (Occasions collection CD) and the image again from Kate Hadfield... a little bubble of computer generated text completed it nicely and Dad loved it :D So thank you ladies for your beautiful designs !!

My Dad isn't one to let things get to him and as long as he stays reasonably well... he will go all out to make sure he is home with us as soon as he can be. I know he would hate to think we are all worrying over him but I will just be so relieved when he is out of the hospital and well on the road to recovery. He isn't a young man and has had more than his fair share of pain and suffering so I'm hoping that when he is mobile again he and my Mam can look forward to a lovely happy holiday together... they really really deserve it.

See you soon

hugs

Chris xx

Altered milkshake bottles - Halloween

A little while ago I spotted these delightful Halloween downloads by Kate Hadfield on Scrapbook Inspirations blog and just knew they would make some fabby goodies for DG and I had one of those electric light moments with a milkshake bottle he had finished with. So I bought another and decorated two of them to be filled with 'BOO JUICE' (blackcurrant squash...lol) when he goes on his trick 'a' treat escapades with his cousins.
The first one I decorated by dribbling black poster paint around the rim and allowing it to drip down to the bottom and then letting it dry. As the bottle is plastic the paint sort of separated to leave this webby looking effect on one side which I quite liked so I left it that way.

I printed out some lettering from the computer for the letters and also for the 'Happy Haunting' around the lid and then stuck on the friendly ghosts :D

The second bottle caused me a few headaches because I decided to paint it all... but the paint had other ideas... it kept separating. If I had been savvy then I should have coated the whole thing with pva glue first but as usual I find out the hard way...lol I managed to completely cover it after about 6 coats of paint but would definitely do it differently next time.

I printed out the downloads and continued to decorate the bottle just by sticking the pieces on... some with foam pads so they stood out a little...
and added more computer generated text on the sides with more decoration.

I loved this cool Dracula... in fact I'm batty about it...lol


So a haunting they will go and enjoy their 'Boo juice' on the way... although I think I had better provide them with straws too... ooooh maybe one more thing to think about decorating eh...lol

Have a great evening

hugs

Chris xx

Gothic arch challenge-wee witches

Well I had a wonderful weekend away but more on that later... for now here is my entry for this weeks Gothic arch challenge which is 'wee witches'. Most kiddies love Halloween but my little witch (image from Lisa's altered art) don't look too happy ...lol Maybe she didn't get many treats... or maybe she's thinking she will have to share with her companions Mr bird and her faithful black cat so her candy won't stretch very far :D It could be however that she just doesn't feel too happy about wasting time having her photo taken when she could be out having fun trick 'a' treating... what do you think?

On my arch I used Cosmo Cricket Halloween goodies... just love the squirly rub-ons and the black chipboard letters...


and as all wee witches need their own little black cat companion... mine's a die cut with eyes that glow (didn't have bling small enough so opted for shiny silver pen).

More Halloween goodies to come this week leading up to the witching hour cos I had heaps of fun making some more to share with you last week... but you only get to see them one at a time or you will be here all day :D

Now then... my weekend away was totally fab... what do you get when you put together 4 kids on their best behaviour who decide to play together nicely (and that's a miracle on it's own) and 3 women who have shared a lifetime of memories and are the worlds best at being skitty with each other (in a nice way of course as only sisters can) ?

I'll tell you what you get... a totally wonderful couple of days filled with cupfuls of laughter, reminiscing and fun AND not a bit of alcohol in sight I may add... but then we really didn't need it I assure you :D We laughed 'till we thought we could laugh no more... only to start again to the point of hysterics... it ended up being painful but at the same time just what the doctor ordered. Even the kids were joining in...though most of the time they hadn't a clue what we were laughing at!!

The highlight of the weekend for me was a moment when I was laughing so hard I was forgetting to breathe... when my 10 yr old niece turned to me and said in an ever so serious voice "Auntie Christine you need to stop laughing so loud because you'll disturb the lady who lives in the flat below" "Oh is she an old Lady" says I... thinking that the noise would maybe be a bit much for her and feeling a tad guilty... to which the reply came "No but she's just passed her driving test" !!!!!!!! The result was to send me into another bout of spasmodic...gut wrenching laughter from which I thought I would never recover... Kids' don't you just love 'em. The only regret I have is that I forgot my camera because I was rushing around at the last minute to go away and missed so many fab opportunities for brill' photos... but I guess you can't have everything eh :D

Thanks for popping by... see you soon

hugs

Chris xx

Journey ATC

I got a last minute chance to visit my sister in Chester for a few days so by the time you read this (if automated blogger plays nice and posts it) I will hopefully be having a relaxing family catch up and won't be online for a couple of days. Sorry to those of you I haven't been able to visit before I left... I will pop by your blogs when I return :D
This is a little Atc I made a few days ago... very apt as I'm journeying myself...lol All images from Crafty Individuals except the little girl who is from Lisa's altered art. Thanks for looking and see you very soon :D
Have a fab weekend
hugs
Chris xx

Big Art Adventure (fabric arch challenge)

Well I was determined that my creation for Rosie and Linda's challenge this week was NOT going to be the last one in BUT then as I tried to do my post last night Mr Blogger decided to be pacman... he chewed up my post and spat it out... I wasn't best pleased I can tell you, do you think he just needs a rest sometimes like us or is he just playing games!!


So anyway I'm last again...lol and on top of that I had a total blond moment with the challenge because for some strange reason even though I popped over to the girls' blog to check on it twice I had decided that it had to be completely hand sewn... although the prompt was for a 'fabric arch' duh!! Still I did have fun making my arch and playing around with my hand sewing for a change. I have been looking for an excuse to use this fabulous fabric that I received as a RAK about 2yrs ago... couldn't bring myself to use it back then because I thought it was so pretty but I just knew I wanted to use it for my arch.

I had to add some bling but I also did some chain stitch, running stitch and blanket stitch.. how good am I eh... though not the neatest sewer in the world I find hand sewing so relaxing. I decided to make my arch functional and not just pretty so I put some wadding inside so that I could use it as a pin cushion. It is about 6in tall but as you know I've got man hands and didn't fancy struggling with something tiny this week :)
I had a 'happy accident' with my main image... I used this beautiful girl which was a free image from Art-e-zine .... but it was supposed to be coloured.... my printer however decided otherwise. Just as I began printing my picture out onto transfer fabric.... the printer decided it would be fun to run out of 2 ink colours, only me being me... I didn't realize that it was printing out in black and white with a hint of turquoise 'till it was too late!! I still think she looks lovely though and I did give her a flower in her hair for extra prettiness :D

Now they say things come in three's and it really appears to be true in my case this week...lol First of all printer playing games, then Mr blogger having some fun of his own and as if that wasn't enough in one week... I spent the evening with my blogging pal Chriss last night crafting and eating cream cakes (heh heh... no choccie this week). Had a fab time as usual and left quite late to come home.... but NO that wasn't to be either!! Drove my usual way to discover the access to the road I normally take (the only way I know) was blocked off by a Police car... obviously an accident had occurred or something equally serious. So not really knowing another way, I tried to backtrack and join my road further up... but no that wasn't to be either, so not having my sat nav in the car I was stuck and ended up with no other option but to drive back to Chriss's almost 45mins later to beg a bed for the night....lol Luckily she is a sweet friend and let me back in ha ha :D So it then turned into a gossipy late night with both of us getting no sleep before 3 a.m. and then reminiscing over old memories from our childhood till we were laughing so much we could hardly breathe.... eeeeeh but what a lovely end to a totally peculiar week :D

Okay I'm off because as usual I am getting verbal diarrhoea... could be here all night and DG is impatiently waiting for me to take him to the shop for sweeties... may find myself in the proverbial dog house if I ignore him for much longer...lol

Hope you're having a fun day

hugs

Chris xx

A little birdie told me...

that I would be very happy if I made a birdie card...lol I love all of the birdie paper and stamps etc that are out now amongst all of the other new designs which my pennies don't always stretch to. I keep slapping myself on the wrist for not using up the HUGE amount of stash that I've had for ages BUT there's nothing quite like the feel of a brand new piece of paper or the sound of something new the postie is dropping on the mat!! I loved these Papermania papers as soon as I set eyes on them aren't these birdies cute :)
A nice summery card which makes me feel good today after braving 2hrs of gale force winds at a bootsale this morning. Must be mad but it was quite good fun trying to play catch with some of my items...to save them from diving off the table and hitting someone around the chops...lol

I'd have been worth a small fortune if I had, had a penny for everytime the guy next to me shouted "Gloves a pound" and "scarves for two quid"... got on my nerves after a while but hey he did a roaring trade cos everyone was so cold, so he definately wouldn't have cared that I felt like wrapping one of the scarves round his own neck and pulling on it tightly.... eeeeeeeeh how wicked am I rofl... I'm a nice girl really honest!!

Anyway the highlight of the morning was coming home and making myself a huge sausage, onion and tomato sauce sarnie... oooooooh it was totally yummy, almost succumbed to the hot dog van while I was out but just knew my own would taste so much nicer in a stottie bun... especially as I had to wait for it, would have taken a pic to show you but my tummy wouldn't allow me to wait that long. I will be complaining when my thighs start wobbling more than they already do BUT right at this moment I'm thinking it was worth it....lol

Will be back a little later with my sewing for Linda and Rosie's challenge cos I didn't quite manage to finish it yet... so don't forget to pop back for a look... I'm quite pleased with how it is coming along even though I had a happy accident with it.... but that's another story:0

Catch you later

hugs

Chris xx

Encaustic wax canvas and an introduction...

Hi all... no I haven't morphed into a different person... I still look like her maj (royally waving at you like yesterday...lol) but I know you are going to wonder why this lovely lady is on my blog....

Well before I stepped down from my post as Fiskars Ambassador I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Joanne Sanderson who is one talented lady. However because she was poorly back then she kindly finished the interview for me last week and I forwarded it to the new girls over at Fiskarettes to feature on the blog. Joanne creates the most wonderful cross stitch designs and is also a published papercrafter and Author of some fab craft books.

So I just wanted to let you know that you can read our interview here on the Fiskarettes blog. See some more of Joanne's designs on her website and pick up lots of hints and tips on her blog... I'm sure she would be happy if you paid her a visit :)

Now my crafty offering today is an Encaustic wax painting done on canvas... I just adore painting with wax although I really don't spend as much time doing it as I would like to lately. I keep dipping my fingers into many craft pies but can't settle on any one thing... I just keep hopping from one craft to another depending on how the mood takes me. Next on the list of want to do's is some more sewing because I've neglected that too and I do enjoy it when I get started :) Anyway Linda and Rosie's big arch adventure challenge this week is sewing so it's a great excuse to get stuck in. Hopefully I will be able to show you what I came up with tomorrow.

Have a great evening everyone

See you soon

hugs

Chris xx

Up for a giggle...don't spit your coffee over your keyboard

Okay I wasn't going to share this with you... cos I'm shy Mary Ellen I'm shy...rofl BUT as I decided to share it on the Fiskarettes blog I thought it only fair to put it on my own blog too. Chriss has been daring me to do it for ages so now she has to put hers on her blog as well (are you listening Chriss...lol) Although she is better dressed than I am ;-)

Somehow I managed to end up with proper Nanna legs AND shoes... says a lot about my papercutting doesn't it. Bet you LOVE my natty handbag and gloves though don't ya...don't ya... you know you want some too right!!! I've got bling so that's all I really care about and In DG eyes I'm the Queen of the Nanna's so I had to have a crown :D

I'm entering this for the Artygirlz blue and orange combo challenge... in for a penny in for a pound... may as well let everyone see it and let the world laugh at my expense.... Laughter is good for the soul so they say :D

Ok Ok get up off of your knees and wipe your eyes.... I dare you all to make one of your own... it's not easy to make yourself look beautiful with paper clothes unless you are a good paper cutter... go on... go on... it will be good for you to share. Come back and let me know if you do one so I can come look :D

Hugs

Chris xx

Fairy fridge magnet

Still in my altering phase and trying to create new things I decided to make myself a fridge magnet. Something pretty to look at with a sentiment to remind me when I am being forgetful (which is often...lol) that I should try to be more patient with myself. Don't know how many times I've gone to put a pan in the fridge or put the milk in a cupboard!! Concentration is the key... only more oft than not my head is in the clouds with thoughts of what I want to create next or full of the necessary little details of doing the shopping list and paying the bills uuuurgh ;-)
The main image and those gorgeous wings and crown came from Scrapz and though they are only small they definately add a bit of glamour don't you think.

I love butterflies so just had to add one, more German scrap... I love using this and it is so cheap that I can afford to use it lots...whooohooo

The base is made from folded ribbon (oooh aren't I getting good... think my addiction to hoarding it is declining...lol) placed on top of folded strips of vellum, another of my must have products in my craft box but underused lately. The words are cut from a sentiment strip also available from Scrapz... just finishing my little magnet off nicely....

and here is the completed thing... not a great photo as I managed to miss the bottom off..lol but you get the idea.

Hope you are having a fab day :)

Catch ya later

hugs

Chris xx

I believe in Fairies.....

I do... I do... I do....lol Well someone's been looking after me cos after a good night and most of the morning sleeping I now feel ready to take on almost anything... and on top of that I'm in a fabulously good mood which isn't too common for me. I'm beginning to think I'm a manic depressive...lol I'm either down in the dumps or on so much of a high I could swing from the chandaliers (well if I had some that is) Cor that would be a sight for sore eyes...believe me!!!
Anyway I did these cards a while ago and forgot to share them with you so I thought since I'm once again in the fairy mood these cards are just the ticket today :) The stamps were designed by our blogging pal Sharon and you can visit her blog here or get some of her stamps for yourself here. Hey just noticed I used some ribbon....oooooooer strike me down with a feather...lol The paper on the first one is from one of June's digital freebies at Cens loft. Sorry can't remember which one but she always has lots of fab digital papers that you can download and print off to use in your paper crafts. She is also starting to do pdf downloads for those of you who want an easy way to get some great designs for yourself.

The papers I used on these two cards are from Marieke Vermeulen... I love Marieke's designs because they are just soooo colourful... she has got a great sale on printables in her Etsy shop right now so pop over there and see some eye candy for yourself, you won't be sorry and if you'd like to see some of her fab projects go visit her blog too :D
Hope you are all having a fun day... I'm off to blog hop now and catch up with you all. Thanks for all your good wishes while I've been poorly sick... you guys rock!!
See you soon :D
hugs
Chris xx

Boo bag - Gothic Arch challenge and Papergirls sneak peak

Ooooooh a long post tonight because the best laid plans this week have gone astray. I had intended to get round to visit everyone's blogs but well luck hasn't been on my side since my last post. I spent the day with my crafty friend Chriss on Thursday crafting through her birthday and having lots of laughs along the way, most of Friday was spent getting ready to go visit my sister for a couple of days but then hey ho I got a bug!! It must have been a super big bug cos it totally knocked me for six..... I think this one had pit boots on the amount of thudding it did with my tummy :-0 So no visiting or blogging for me as I have spent the last couple of days either in the little girls room or in bed!! (ooooh maybe a little too much information ok but you get my drift...lol) Thankfully I am now starting to feel much better so I will be visiting you all very soon but in the meantime here is a bit of eye candy for you to peek at :)

Halloween won't be long in coming now and while I don't really bother with it myself my DG loves it as most kids do... so I have a few things that I have made for him, to share with you over the next couple of weeks.

Once again I have been playing at making flowers albeit different ones this time, was gonna use ribbon b u t I just couldn't bend my arm up my back for this one... maybe soon I will overcome my horror of cutting it into tiny pieces.. I'm working on it ;-)

All of the cutie images I used to create my little Boo Bag are from Cens Loft I love them lots and you can get them as a free download in either digital form or as printables for those of you who like to be hands on. I indulged in a little bit of doodling too on my gift bag and filled it with sweeties... quickly before I was tempted to stuff my face with them...lol

My next piece was for last weeks Gothic Arch challenge (Haute Couture) which I didn't get posted in time but since it was finished I wanted to share it with you anyway. I love girly things and Black and White and I think the two go so well together... classy and elegant. I love the glamour of old films and the beautiful way the filmstars used to dress, I could soooo see myself in the era of those movies... glammed up and partying with a glass of bubbly in my hand, diamonds dripping from my earlobes with a figure to die for.... shame I have to come back down to earth and deal with reality ain't it ...lol

I used to wear killer heels... through summer, rain and snowstorms... nothing less than 4" heals would do... and pencil skirts ooooooh I had them in every colour imaginable BUT that was before my toes began to throb at the sight of a pair of pointy toes and my hips began to gain a wobble all of their own ;-) aaaaaw the distress that causes me...lol

Oh well guess we can't have it all... I'm happy and loved and relatively healthy (now I've kicked that big bug into touch... I hope) so I think my cup runneth over... what say you :)
Now for a sneak peek of something else I have made.... to see the whole thing you have to pop over to The Papergirls blog where you will find a pic of the whole thing :)

Okay before I hit the sheets running I have to ask you this.... Does anyone else adore Dawn Porter? She is just the most adventurous funniest gal on the box right now... she is up for anything and I just finished watching her do a programme on Seriously Dirty Dancing... oh boy what a treat. Not only cos I love the film Dirty Dancing (though not nearly as much as DD who has seen it in excess of 200 times since it was first released) but because Dawn Porter had me howling with her antics and sheer enthusiasm all the way through. She recreated the last dance of the movie with a dance instructor and did brilliantly, I must add that the highlight for me was seeing her do one of the "dirty dances" in a pink ballerina fat suit... I don't think I have gut bustingly laughed like I just did in many a month.... absolutely out of this world...fantabulous it was!!

That's my lot for tonight... I will be back tomorrow with some more creative goodies and doing some blog hopping too... I'm off to bury my head in a soft squishy pillow and wrap myself snugly in my winter weight quilt hopefully to dream nice dreams and wake up feeling on top of the world...lol

See you soon :D

hugs

Chris xx

Linda and Rosie's awfully big art adventure challenges

Okay everyone hold on to your hats cos this is a Loooooooong post...lol After a few hiccups and problems with my camera I have finally managed to upload the creations I have made for Rosie and Linda's last three Art adventure challenges and I have to say I have had heaps of fun with these and been taken well out of my comfort zone :)

In reverse order challenge 4 was to alter an empty beans can :) I wasn't sure where I was going to go with this but because I found one of those plastic can saver lids in my kitchen draw I decided to use that to decorate the top by adding one of my paper flowers. I already had this made up so the papers were an easy choice.

I added a chipboard embellishment to the front as I intend to use it to save little pieces of paper with little memories written on them to help me with my scrapbooking. How often do you wish you had written something down to jog your memory... well this is going to be my way from now on :)

This is the top of the flower looking down so that you can see the vellum middle and the seed beads... I am loving these at the moment attached with 3d gloss. Sorry the photos are a bit pants at the moment I am working on it I promise :)

Challenge no 3 was to create an ATC altered doll... now I really had fun with this one... meet Acrobatic Amy...lol I wanted to do something different so out came my sketch pad and colouring pens and with the addition of a few other bits and pieces she was ready to join the circus...lol

She wanted to be a girly girl... but all glammed up too so I gave her some flowers in her hair and some girly jewellery bits to adorn her arms... she was well chuffed I tell you... she kept looking up at me and smiling her approval. One thing that she insisted on was legs that would go right up to her neck... you know the sort of legs we all would give our high teeth for...lol Well I couldn't let her down could I....

and just to make sure she felt completely comfortable I let her wear her lovely colourful tights for when she would be indulging in her acrobatic feats...

Well the girl was so impressed she immediately launched into her acrobatics to let me know how blissfully happy she was and oh boy what a show... she's so flexible... what a gal.... hope you enjoyed the show....rofl

Okay last but not least Challenge no 2 was to create an album in a matchbox.... now this one for me was a tad difficult... not because of the challenge... I will try anything once but just the sheer size of it. The problem is I have got man fingers... honestly my hands are massive, so fiddly little things sometimes cause me heaps of problems. I did get there in the end though and was quite elated at the fact that I managed something half decent :)

The images were all rub-ons (sorry can't remember who by) and I went for a theme of Ladies accessories. I haven't fastened the tiny album together yet just so you could see the pages as some I did 3d. I actually for once did some major stamping to make the paper to cover my box and pages with ... because my friend Chriss gave me a special gift (thanks Chriss x) of two gorgeous stamps and I just had to play with them.

I used German scrap to add a bit of bling to the front which I got from Scrapz and then lined my box before decorating my tiny pages :)

Wow!! that was a long 'un ... need to get my breath back now...lol I will be looking forward to this weeks challenge and if you want to get yourself thinking out of the box and try out something different then pop over to Rosie and Linda's challenge blog yourself and join in with the fun.

See you soon... happy crafting :)

hugs

Chris xx