I dream of the sea....

clear blue skies and crystal clear warm water to splash and swim in and a gorgeous golden sandy beach to relax on with the sun on my face :D 

Oh but then I wake up to cold wet dreary days and wait for the snow that it's well cold enough for!!

Well what do you do on days like this.... you look at something that makes you feel happy and reminds you of your dream...lol   These earings I made are my most favourite in the whole wide world... the things I love most about jewellery making are that you can make something just to fit your mood... or to match perfectly to your favourite outfit and also know that they are unique to you.  Wonder what these say about me ;-)

Thanks for looking

hugs

Chris xx

Sunday Stamper challenge 97

This is the first time I have joined in with the Sunday Stampers challenge but this fab new stamp from Crafty Individuals fits the theme this week which is "Birds".  I stamped the whole image with Stazon and then coloured my background with Distress Inks adding droplets of water afterwards to remove some of the ink to create this gorgeous delicate background.

I then stamped the whole image again cutting out the bird segments seperately and water coloured these with various Distress inks and my trusty water pen (which I couldn't live without...what a fab tool it is).  I then added these segments over the originals with 3d foam pads.

I had originally intended to turn my finished stamped piece into a card but then I decided I liked it too much to give away.... so I distressed an Ikea photo frame which had a perfectly sized mount for my birds and now it's gonna take pride of place in my kitchen where I have decided to have my ART WALL...lol

Well I've started now so I am gonna have to fill it...lol   It will be nice to just pop in and look at my wall for inspiration when I need it... instead of having all my pieces tucked away in folders and containers and it will be sooooo colourful... which I love :D 

Have a great day

hugs

Chris xx

Masquerade Art journal page

Another art journal page to share with you today... inspired by the song Masquerade by the Carpenters.  It's one of my favourites and I had no plan for my page other than a mask somewhere but I was pleased with how it turned out.

Now just in case you haven't got a clue what I'm on about... I found this on YouTube... check it out if you've time :D

See you tomorrow
hugs
Chris xx

Little Bird atc

Well this atc is technically a bit of a cheat... I say this because it was really a combined effort. The background was created by my pal Chriss but she didn't like it and was going to throw it in the BIN!! "Bling-kin-eck girl you can't do that" says I and grabbed it before she could dispose of it. Haven't you heard the saying Chriss me love... One man's trash is another man's treasure...lol
So I added just a wee bit of paint to the background (the yellow stuff...told you it was just a wee bit) and added this cute little birdie from Crafty Individuals which I coloured with distress inks.
I'm so glad I rescued it cos I think he looks sweet :D
hugs
Chris xx

ATC club March challenge-Garden Fairies

This months theme for the Atc club swap "Garden Fairies" was set by the lovely, talented Nancy. If you'd like to join in all you have to do is create 5 atc's to the theme... you keep one yourself and then send the other 4 off to Chriss by the end of March and you receive 4 swaps from the same theme... totally cool and I love receiving mine cos they are always so fabulous. More info can be found here.
I had a ball creating these... though it did take me a while. I made me a secret garden :D Tim Holtz distress inks on the go again...love them.

The fairy and daisy stamp (on inside of the doors) are Crafty Individuals.

I covered inside of my Secret Garden with rock candy stickles... you can just sort of see it on the fairies dress but it is lovely in real life and makes her look magical :D

hugs

Chris xx

Oh the joys....

of playtime with Distress inks and Tim Holtz goodies... so much fun to be had and lovely colourful fingers to finish with lol
I'm now back home after my fab time with Chriss who is an absolute joy to share crafty time with and who introduced an almost teetotaler to the joys of drinking Brandy and coke (turning me into a virtual alcoholic) rofl
I have the joys of looking after DG this weekend so no crafting but more lovely company and I'm sure lots of fun and games.
So just quickly sharing this arty piece I made. Distress inked background with a pen nib stamp for added decoration (sorry don't know who's it is). I used a grungeboard oval frame for this fab stamp ... part of a collage stamp from Paperartsy (which I think bares an uncanny resemblance to the great man himself...oooeer)!!

The stamped image was placed on top of some crinkled paper and then I added sepia accents for that lovely raised glossy look. Finished off with a couple of brads and voila :D

Lots of lovely mess left over but OMG it was worth it. Lots more to share over the next few weeks cos Chriss and I did LOADS of artwork these last few days.... mojo was in overdrive for a change.

Have a fab weekend

hugs

Chris xx

London lady atc

Well I'm having a fab time at Chriss' ..fab company...great food and LOTS of crafting but very little sleep. We didn't go to bed at all last night... I finally gave in at 9.30am this morning and had to go for some shut eye and got about 5 hrs lol. , Chriss is going for the marathon cos she is still going strong even if her eyes look like little slits in her face....bless :D
We've made LOADS of stuff... played like kids in nursery school and laughed and skitted each other mercilessly... that's what friends are for eh.
Can't show you what I've made yet... will reveal all over the next few days... but here is one I did earlier, always have summat tucked away. I love these fab stamps from Tanda Stamps and this gorgeous background paper which is from Crafty Individuals totally yummy.
Ok gotta go cos my Tim Holtz goodies are screaming to be played with and I am so loving getting messy... you should see the colours of my fingers...rofl

See you soon
hugs
Chris xx

Beaded charm bracelet

A little change from papercrafting today. I made this a while ago for my niece ...love making girly things so it's good that I have lots of nieces to share things with.
What girl doesn't love something that jingle jangles on her wrist... even us big girls eh.
Off to do some crafting with my girly pals Chriss and Debbie tonight and hopefully have a play with some stamps and my distress inks... whoohoooo Bet you wish you were coming...lol

Have a great day
hugs
Chris xx

Face attempt no 2

Well this was my second go at a sketched face with colour and though I think she is looking a wee bit more realistic she's still not quite right. I gave myself a hard time over her nose but I think it looks a bit more 3d than the last one...lol

The distress inks are fab to add colour with my waterbrush and I think I am going to be using them a lot because they are sooooo easy to use. This little lady had a butterfly in her hair but I had to remove it to scan her (no batteries in camera) so I will share my page again with you when I have finished it. Constructive criticism welcome :D

Have a great day

hugs

Chris xx

Art Journal cover

Well I didn't quite get to wallow in self pity over my bug invasion as my pal Chriss decided that no matter if I was poorly or not it was time for us to have another get together and playtime. So I packed my bags and headed off with my germs (hope I didn't spread 'em) and had a fab few days creating... in between the coughing, sneezing and sitting with loo roll plugging me nostrils (what a sight for sore eyes...rofl)
Debbie joined us for some fun and I finally got to play with my Tim Holtz goodies though not in an obvious way. Some of you will know from previous posts that I have trouble with faces so I decided that it's time to face my demons and practice makes perfect. I am gonna fill an art journal with my face sketches and paintings and hopefully I will improve through time and end up being to do what I've always wanted to and that is to do a lifelike facial portrait.
So this is the front and back cover of my journal and I used my Tim Holtz distress inks as watercolours for this sketch. I used a flourish stamp from Crafty Individuals to decorate my little lady and used the distress inks and grungeboard for the background and lettering.
More faces to come later as I actually managed to do 3 while I was with the girls... there's nothing like a bit of encouragement from your number one fans...lol (Thanks lasses...MMwwaaah)
hugs
Chris xx

Walk tall art journal page

Got the dreaded lurgy again... just when you think that no more germs would dare invade your body they creep in and attack!! Spent 12 hours last night curled up in bed wearing my pj's, a fleece AND my dressing gown n socks under my quilt, in an effort to keep warm and stop the shivering. Hey it's supposed to be spring and flu bugs are supposed to be winter things wot happened.


ok I'm moaning lol... makes me feel better... just ignore me :D
Sharing another page from my art journal with you and then I'm gonna go make a hot drink and wallow in self pity rofl
hugs
Chris xx

'Family' fridge magnet

I so often create something that I end up putting in a folder and end up not looking at again for months. Are you the same? I make cards, atc's or other art that I give away or swap too but rarely do I create anything and display it in my own home.
So I think that should change and I begin with this magnet for my fridge. The backing is vellum that I have curled the edges on. I topped it with a piece of hand painted background, a flower and an edged slide image from Lisas altered art.

It will give me pleasure each time I look at it in its new home in the kitchen :D Much better than hiding it away eh.

hugs

Chris xx

Play.... art layout

I haven't done a layout for A G E S but I wanted to and as I couldn't be bothered to sort through photos I decided to just use this cute little fella from Lisa's altered art to do a fun layout. I will replace the pic with a photo of DG when I sort them out :D
I used a scalloped chipboard sheet (from bubblyfunk) which I cut into three after painting with brown acrylic paint. The truck, tree and lettering are from Basic Grey Archaic... love the stuff.

It really is a happy talent to know how to play and we should all be able to play more often... 'specially with craftybits eh.

hugs

Chris xx

I love Paris stamped collage 6"x4" artcard

Stamping is so versatile... I love how you can use parts of stamps to create a totally unique look. This collage was created using lots of different stamps from Crafty Individuals.
I wanted to see what I could achieve without any colouring of the stamped images. I used just black and chocolate inks onto white paper and then adhered this to my handpainted background.
Have a fab weekend
hugs
Chris xx

It could be spring....

is in the air. First glimpse of sunshine and what a good place it takes you to. Don't know about you but the sun always lifts my mood... even if it is still cold out, the brightness makes you wanna put on the music and dance around with the hoover. Eeeerrrrrm well maybe not but you have to admit it feels better than looking at dull dreary clouds eh.
So in honour of the sun and pretty things that grow under its watchful eye... I created a tag full of colour and blooms and wuvverly flutterbies :D
Backgrounds are my own... other images are all from Lisa's altered art.

Hope it's sunny where you are

hugs

Chris xx

oops is it March already...lol

well of course it is.... but I missed Valentines day with these atc's I did...duh!! Still better late than never... no point waiting 'till next year to share cos I truly will have forgotten about them by then. So get your romance goggles on...awwwww sweet love :D
Think this little man is a wee bit young for the love stuff but she's a little angel so it matters not.

This little fella has flown hundreds of miles to tell this little missy his heart belongs to her... chuckle chuckle get a load of that cheeky shy look ...heh heh...love her face.

Backgrounds done painterly...slosh, slap, slosh

Images all by Lisa's altered art.

Thanks for stopping by :D

hugs

Chris xx

Basic grey wedding dress - Dress it up challenge 2010

Well Valentines day is well and truly behind us but I must be in romance mode because for the March Dress it up challenge I made me a wedding dress...lol Well that's a must have for most girls isn't it so my dolly has to have one (well when I make my dolly that is).
This gorgeous Basic Grey paper was just screaming at me to be used and I guess a traditional wedding dress would be white or ivory...but hey what about the more mature lady... someone has to be on our side.

The gorgeous sticky

bling was a gift from DG and was meant for hand decoration (bit old for that...me) but it looks fab on my dress I think.

I added some silky fabric rosebuds to the bottom and as I love paper sculpture I thought it would look good along the edge as added decoration too.
Hope you like

hugs

Chris xx

One stamp-three different looks

I just love this stamp which can be found at catslife press it is so pretty and I had a lot of fun using it. For this first atc the image was stamped onto patterned paper and cut out before putting it onto a distress inked background which I used a script stamp on. (think it was crafty individuals) I also used a rub-on along the bottom edge.
This atc was done with coloured pencils although the scan doesn't show the texture very well. Love this effect as it's so delicate.

The image for this one was also stamped onto patterned paper, cut out and placed on a pre stamped background. The butterfly and corner are Crafty Individuals stamps... think the lettering is too but not too sure. I sometimes collage stamps onto backgrounds and forget which ones I've used... although some images do stick in my mind. The circles are rub-ons... love them cos they can be used on all sorts of projects easily. I love easy ;-)

Thanks for looking

see you soon

hugs

Chris xx