playing with digi...

I just love digital kits and the new digital atc kits from Lisa's Altered Art are fabulous to play with whether you love this style of creating art or prefer the traditional sticking and pasting of images using arty backgrounds :D
My queen of flowers is completely digital... using this gorgeous lady as the focus and building up layers from the kit to create the background and give her her crown....

and this atc is done the traditional way using one of my painty backgrounds and images from the kit that have been printed out and then placed where I wanted them. Would you have known the difference I wonder :D

My free painted backgrounds are still up for grabs a couple of posts down so don't hesitate to grab them to make your own atcs/artwork with.

Have a fab day

hugs

Chris xx

I almost forgot....

to share with you the scrapbook pages that my DG and niece did last week that had me laughing so much. Kids have such a unique way of doing things and the two of them had a ball playing with their photos. All I said to them was write something about the photos you use and decorate them how you like.... the result... I couldn't have made it up!!
These are two of my nieces pages... this photo is of her mum at a fancy dress party clowning around... Or 'Underwoman' as my niece decided to call her...lol

Next is the 'poorly' page... cough, cough, cough :D

DG page with a photo of him 6yrs ago trying to open my car and his text reads ' I have a car. Guess what I can even open it. Bet you didn't know that. Let's drive off. Leave my Granny behind. Hurry up Man. (I nearly wet myself reading that...lol)

Now just to show how much he loves me... the text... 'Christeen (sp!) What a beautiful Nanna, You're the best. xxxx

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww bless :D

A couple more digital Christmas Atc's to share with you, just so you know I've been doing some crafting :D

Both created from digital kits from Lisa's altered art.

Thanks for looking

hugs

Chris xx

If I were a rich (wo) man....

la la la la la la la la would I be any happier.... probably not :-D and as I hardly ever remember to play the lottery I guess there's not much chance of me getting rich any time soon... but if I feel like singing then that's good enough for me.
I did just that this evening....spending time with DG and my niece scrapbooking over the weekend definitely put a smile on my face (will show you some pics of their creations later in the week) they were so funny. Kids just seem to have such a unique view of things and I roared with laughter at some of the pages they did. Oh it certainly did me the world of good having that laugh and I was buzzing tonight... yes me!!! buzzing...lol
So I turned on the karaoke machine (okay I can hear you groaning) but I find singing therapeutic... specially when no-one else is listening.
I sang to myself (saddo...lol) for an hour and I enjoyed it soooo much I think I should do it again real soon... either that or I need to get out more!!
On top of that my mojo seems to have returned with bells on so today I'm not complaining (phew bet you're glad to hear it)
I got my hands on the new digital atc kits from Lisa's Altered Art and they are so cool.
I have worn out my fingers with all my previous doodling and journalling so 'doin it digi' was a welcome change. There are two digital atc kits to play with and the Christmas one really rocks my boat... tis BEAUTIFUL.

I can see this kit being one of my all time favourites :D

Hope you all had a fab weekend.

hugs

Chris xx

Digi Layout-blooming

wey hey hey.... looksee at me.... two layouts in no time at all, phew what's happening to me. Mojo's come back properly me thinks and I am sooo enjoying doing some layouts for a change. The new digi downloads from Cen's loft have certainly helped give me a boost and now June has some fab elements to go with all of the colour basics papers. Don't forget to go and get yours you won't want to miss them. This layout of DD is done with all different pieces from the downloads... the only addition is the wet chipboard alpha which is from free digital scrapbooking.
DD is changing all the time and I really love this photo of her... she looks so young sometimes despite being in her late 20's... she even still gets asked for i.d. when she goes out which doesn't always go down too well.... especially when all she is trying to do is buy a bottle of wine from the co-op lol
Have a great day all
hugs
Chris xx

Fun and Funky cards

Well I was hoping that by today at least I was going to be 100% over this bloomin' cold BUT it has got it's teeth well and truly into me and I can't shake it off so my apologies for not getting around your blogs this week... I am hoping to catch up with everyone over the weekend :D
Not much creating going on here cos I really just can't be bothered but I thought I would pop in and share with you a few cards I did a little while ago just for fun and to fill up my card box... seeing as my memory doesn't stand up to the birthday test quite often... I like to have a little supply of standbys.

This one was made using Kate Hadfields Halloween downloads ( I know Halloween is well gone!!)but I think the characters are so much fun and I enjoyed thinking of different ways to use them :D The little bubble stickers were from one of my £1 shop finds and I even used some ribbon... which I almost never do on boys' cards.

The next card was created from papers and sentiment from Willow Design Stamps (Occasions cd)... along with the obligatory bling...lol

Another character from Kate Hadfields Halloween downloads for my final card... well black cats are supposed to be lucky aren't they... with the addition of some Cosmo Cricket velvet and twill ribbons :D

I think I'll nickname this handsome cat Buddy cos he seems to have acquired a little following and made himself a couple of cute friends... courtesy of Photofunia... boy I love that site...lol

Tiny things please tiny minds eh...rofl

Okay that's all folks... will hopefully be back after the weekend with a tutorial for you and some colourful creations made with my new alcohol inks...whoooohoooo Yes they did arrive but I haven't played with them yet (now you KNOW I'm sick don't ya!! lol)

Have a great weekend all

hugs

Chris xx

Willow sketchie challenge

Today's card is one I made for the first Willow sketchie challenge There will be a new challenge sketch every Thursday... I'm a bit late with this one as the new challenge will be up today but better late than never eh :D
I turned things around a bit from the sketch because I wanted to add a flower under my brad and I also used lace instead of ribbon but I think sketches always give you a head start in whatever you are creating so I love them.

The main image is from Crafty Individuals stamped in black and coloured with felt pens (cos I don't have any alcohol inks yet boo hoo) and the papers are a freebie from here...

the sentiment is a rubbon and finally I added it to my with my twisted wire.

Thanks for looking everyone and have a fab day.

hugs

Chris xx

OMG... I won...

the Christmas card challenge on Karen's blog.... SQUEEEEEL SQUEEEEEEL SQUEEEEEEEEL... whoooohooooo.... can you tell I'm excited!!! I NEVER win anything (now I'm not feeling sorry for myself..that's just how it goes :D) so my hair was standing on end when I got the e-mail to say my card was chosen last night and I am still on a HIGH this morning...can ya tell...rofl
I really loved making this card because apart from it being the first Christmas card I made... I love doing hybrid creations :D The papers are from Cen's stuff Forgotten digital kit which I printed out and this sweet little girly is "Ellie" ( created by June)... who will be available soon as downloads for cardmakers too :D

I did lots of hand doodling and paper curling...

added some lace and paper sculpted flowers and squirls...

and of course there had to be some bling :D

I will be doing a little tut on making a similar card soon... so do pop back for the details.

Thanks for looking and have a great day :D

hugs

Chris xx

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