Thank you....

to every one of you who have followed my creative endevours and for all of the support you have given me.  I just wanted you all to know how grateful I am and how much I have appreciated every single comment you have left for me.

I have decided to take a long break from my blog because I am struggling to find any pleasure in creating as I am not in a good headspace right now.  For my own sake and for my family my health has to come first... so right now I feel that this is the only option open to me.

I hope to see you again... one day in the future.

hugs

Chris xx

Recycled box

I discovered an old watch box and decided it would be a good idea to recycle it and turn it into a gift in itself.  I used one of the hearts from the Tando Creative chipboard cogs set to decorate the lid of the box.  Using two coats of acrylic paint and sanding back the top layer with an emery board to reveal the one beneath.

The box was covered and lined with vintage effect paper and I used adhesive ribbon around the edge.

The gifts inside include a handmade booklet with tear off pages....

and four corner bookmarks.

Thanks for looking...see you soon.

hugs

Chris xx

Less is more challenge card

As I seem to be in card making mode I thought I would join in for the first time with the LIM challenge which this week is circles.  I used these pretty sewing themed stamps by Creative Expressions coloured with Distress inks.

I hope I ticked all the boxes for the challenge...it's been a while since I've done one.
Have a great day
hugs
Chris xx

Flower mask card

I don't seem to have made a card for ages so I thought I'd rectify that using one on the new masks from Tando Creative.  I love this floral one and used a brush to apply the pink acrylic paint to a spare piece of card which I then cut down to fit the front of an A6 card .

I love cards that are tactile as well as pretty so I placed adhesive half pearls in the centre of each flower.  Quick and simple and fun to make.

Thanks for looking

hugs

Chris xx

As She Sleeps....

she dreams....that the fairies have been and done all the housework.  In her dreams she has the energy to move everything that needs to be moved for the workmen to come and fit the eagerly awaited new kitchen and bathroom... that she will do it all in time and that she wants to do it.

She dreams that the clock stands still... giving her lots of hours to create to her hearts content and keep up with her blogging .  She also sees her sylph like figure appearing like magic without the healthy eating and hours of Zumba excercise...

But then.....

........................................... SHE WOKE UP (rofl)

hugs
Chris xx

The Bread Art Project

Have a little fun and join in with this worthwhile project.  I thoroughly enjoyed it... it's really easy and for a good cause.  Go to The Bread Art Project and upload your art or make some from scratch... I'd love to see what you do so do leave me a comment if you join in so I can come see YOUR art.
Have a fab weekend
hugs
Chris xx

Ribbon flower heart hanger

Making wire edged ribbon flowers is so relaxing and fun and the best bit is that you can then add them to your project to make something pretty.  I used a Tando chipboard open heart as a base for mine after covering it with black acrylic paint.  I glued the flowers around the heart with a glue gun as these are quite large.

I used black ribbon as it fits with my decor and added some black edged braid to hang my heart.

I think the heart would look equally lovely covered in tiny flowers in rainbow colours... but hey that's a project for another day.
hugs
Chris xx

Summer of Color - Pink

This weeks Summer of Color challenge is Pink and this wasn't my intentional piece... in fact I didn't even realise at first that there was pink in the Encaustic wax covered sheet I had used to add to some Tando bare chipboard to make my mosaic pieces for this bookmark (sheesh colour blind or what...lol)

 I definitely added pink beads to decorate the fine lengths of chain on purpose though.

I know there are other colours so I hope it fits the challenge... but well... all pink just wouldn't have had the same effect. 

I carried on to make a pair of earings as I well and truly had the mosaic bug... it may be fiddly cutting your own tiles from chipboard but it's very therapeutic too.

I used chipboard for the front and back of these and covered the reverse with other pieces of Encaustic wax coated paper which were more pink.

Then because I had leftover bits... and because I can't bare to throw anything away I made a necklace.

Quick and easy compared to the other bits.

Used double chipboard for this too so that it could be reversible.

Sorry for the long post ...Congrats if you got this far... blimey got a bit carried away...lol
hugs
Chris xx

Wish you were here atc

A little bit of distress ink and some collaged images make for a quick and easy atc... been too hot here today to do much more.  I love the weather BUT I hate the pesky fly that has invaded my home and has followed me everywhere today...even been cheeky enough to sit on my laptop aaaargh

I haven't any fly spray so have attacked it with a tea towel, a rolled up paper and even some hairspray lol... in the hopes of eradicating it or at the very least sticking it's wings together (oh that makes me sound so cruel..ha ha ha) but all to no avail... it just keeps on driving me nuts!!

hugs

Chris xx

Crafty Individuals challenge -Vintage with a heart

I decided to join in with Crafty Individuals' challenge this week which is 'Vintage with a Heart'.... only just managed to get it done in time... got a bit mixed up with my days this week lol.

Anyhoo I covered a sheet of Tando bare chipboard with this gorgeous sheet of Crafty Individuals paper ...

and added this gorgeous girlie from their glossy images... love her!!

I covered and added this Tando chipboard tree (cos it's one of my favourite pieces).....

...and to finish off I used wire with some tiny beads and paper hearts to hang my piece .

Have a great weekend all.

hugs

Chris xx

Just Peeking

The pencils are out again...just felt like experimenting.

 

She was meant to be peeking out from behind the wavy edge but I don't think I managed to get enough depth. Back to the drawing board ? lol I'm happy with her face though and I don't think the adjustment will take long. Thought I'd share anyway.

Have a great day

Hugs

Chris xx

The Summer of Colour challenge-Green

For this weeks Summer of Colour challenge I felt like getting sticky so did a collage journal page with cuttings from magazines and some doodling.  Bliss...sticking and doodling two of my favourite things to do.

I like to put down pieces randomly and see where they lead me and then find something a little interesting for the focal point. Butterflies are always a nice addition to any artwork  and I love them whatever shape or size they are don't you.

Thanks for looking

hugs

Chris xx

Fathers day gift

There's nothing quite like a homemade gift for Fathers day especially for the man who has everything.  My Dad like many, is partial to a sweetie or two while he watches T.V. of an evening so I decided to buy some of his favourites and use some recycled coffee jars to turn  into nice containers to hold them.

I designed and printed out some labels and tags in colours I thought he would like.....

then filled the jars with Everton mints and liquorice.

I then decided it would be nice if he had a co-ordinating card.

Hope your Dad has a lovely Fathers day too.
hugs
Chris xx

The Summer of Colour challenge - Blue

The Summer of Colour is a new ten week blog party celebrating art in all it's hues.  Any medium is allowed including journalling, jewellery, painting, atc's, cards etc etc.... each week will be based on a different colour and this week the colour is BLUE.

I thought I would have a play and do something different... I seem to get hooked up on doing one thing and doing it for weeks at a time... sometimes painting, sometimes journalling and drawing etc... but I am really trying to get back to experimenting and not getting so hung up on any particular medium.

So while I have been trying to clear up some folders on my computer I came across some old photos I had taken and some old artwork I had forgotten about and decided to play around digitally and see where my muse took me.

This is the result and I'm really quite pleased with it... it's VERY blue..lol but it made me happy.

If you'd like to join in with the challenge go HERE and check it out... I think it's going to be heaps of fun.

hugs

Chris xx

Party on down

Another journal page to share today... and if you feel like partying then I think this little fella from Stampotique is looking for a partner.  Doesn't he look dapper in his bow tie and pink trousers.  Bet you would run a mile if he asked you to dance but hey only real men dare wear pink ( or so I've heard...lol)

Lots of fun with Dylusions ink sprays again and some doodling with me favourite white pen... I was born to doodle... I just know I was cos I loves it !!

Have a great day

hugs

Chris xx

Picture magnet

All Mum's deserve gifts at any time of year and after mine was poorly recently I made her this large picture magnet to cheer her up.  I used a chipboard sheet and chipboard pieces from Tando Creative and a beautiful vintage image that was supplied for a challenge on Hands and Heart ning.

 I covered the chippie sheet in acrylic paint and glitter (although my photography doesn't show this up too well I'm afraid) before decoupaging the image and  I adhered a piece of magnetic sheet to the reverse so that it can be displayed on the fridge.

I painted the smaller chipboard pieces and added glitter before covering with Diamond glaze and added a teardrop gem to the top piece.

It took a while but I think it was worth it in the end.
Thanks for looking.
hugs
Chris xx

Mixed media playtime

I love Tando chipboard sheets they are so versatile and can stand up to a real battering and in the making of this handmade art journal they certainly did that!!  As is often the way I had a rummage in my DIY cupboard and came across some 'No More Nails' and I know it's meant for putting up shelves lol ( or sticking men to walls if the advert is to be believed ha ha ha).... but I thought it would be fun to experiment so I squished (arty farty term) some all over my piece of chipboard and then attacked it with my fingers,a comb, a pen and some bottle tops.

It takes ages to dry so I had time to have a real play before I left it for a couple of nights to dry rock hard. It dries so hard you could hit it with a hammer (although I didn't try it...don't think a black eye would be much fun if it bounced back at me..lol)  When it was dry I used various acrylic paints to add colour...

another experiment but I loved the result.

I could have made a spine for my art journal with a slim piece of chipboard but decided I like the look of the stitching so just made front and back covers.  I just used a thick layer of acrylic paint in various colours for the back cover as I want the journal to lay completely flat when I open the front cover. I am going to use the journal for sketching and will probably only draw on the right hand pages leaving the left hand page clean to protect my sketches

I had so much fun messing around with this that I am sure I will do this again and I totally love the texture ...it's great for something to be tactile as well as good to look at.  Below are a few close ups of some of the pattern and texture.

See you soon
hugs
Chris xx

It's been a while....

but it wasn't intentional... I took a few days off from blogging to spend some time with my Sister but then somehow I just couldn't get back into blogging or creating.   Days have turned into weeks and I've started a million crafty things (ok slight exageration..lol) but then hated them all.... think my inner critic has been on overdrive!!   

On the positive side I have begun to excercise again (both to help my weight loss and to give me some well needed energy) and oh baby it's Zumba all the way.  Boy is it a cool way to have fun excercising... gets quite addictive really and gets the adrenaline pumping.  My Sister has been joining in with me so we have a little contest going on who can get to their desired weight first.... a little competition is good right.... and I'm happy to say I've lost a stone in 4 weeks and I'm already feeling fitter and healthier.

I'm giving myself a kick up the butt this week on the creating front so I will be back soon hopefully with some pretties to share but in the meantime I will leave you with another journal page.

This one was created with Dylusions ink sprays, images from Dyans downloads (hat and legs), Lisa's Altered art (flowers,dress,cat in chair and words) and the overpainted doggy face is from a magazine.

hugs
Chris xx

It's been a funny old week...

...this week and I'm still not sure whgere the time has gone.  Not on much creating though that's for sure!!

I've done some spring cleaning... lots of it... had a  two day visit from my bestest crafty pal Chriss and shared some time with my gorgeous Grandson.  I've tried unsuccessfully to get my laptop going only for it to crash yet again (definitely need a new hard drive now) and managed to get my hoover to give up the ghost too....I think bad gremlins have moved in to all my electrical stuff!!

I had a bit of a soppy moment yesterday when I saw DD all dressed up in her first suit (she doesn't do formal wear normally) and I'm not ashamed to say that I had a huge lump in my throat and though I don't often talk about her on my blog I feel like I want to say how proud I am to be able to say she is mine.  She has grown up into a beautiful young lady and she makes my heart sing.

Okay I'm yabbering so I am going to leave you with my latest dylusions journal page and I hope to get chance to visit you all this week.

hugs

Chris xx

oooh pretty colours...

still coming out to play and these are Dylusions ink sprays.  So yummy yummy you could eat them!! I did some spraying through and over stencils for the background. I  dipped the lid into a puddle of ink on my craft mat to create the green circles and used the edge of a credit card dipped in ink for the lines on the top left. I used a white pen to add the lettering and doodling.

Found the dog image in a mag which I covered with Gesso and then used a paintbrush with the pink ink to re-colour it. The head and hat images are from Dyan's downloads... cute eh. 

hugs

Chris xx

Shoes art journal page

Who doesn't like shoes.... answers on a postcard please...lol.   Well I do... but they gotta have heels to be branded favourites.  I don't just like wearing them... I love looking at them too.  I don't have as many pairs as I used too... but if I was rich I would have a room full!!

This is the last painterly page for now... but I have been doing more with my dylusions ink sprays so still have more to share.

hugs

Chris xx

Red dress journalpage

This week will be all about journalling pages... because despite my laptop and my drawing tablet both dying last week  I at least had my camera  and my oh so slow desktop computer to get me by... that was until my camera decided not to play either... OMG how much bad luck can someone have in a week!!  So I'm afraid although I have some yummy goodies to share I have to rely on my scanner for now.

So another painterly page ... this time overpainting images taken from magazines after doing the background.

Bits of doodling and cut out text.

Thanks for looking. Be back soon.

hugs

Chris xx