Plant kindness..Gather love

Sorry I haven't been around for a while but my head's been in a funny old place!!  Not been able to draw...or craft.... or concentrate on anything including blogging. I've watched more telly over the last week or so than I've done in years. It's been driving me crazy  (I KNOW...I'm that already...lol) but irritable is the only way I can describe how I've been feeling...oh and really frustrated with my inability to get things moving.  I spent a few days with my pal Chriss in the hope of doing some crafting and eventually managed to do ONE thing cos nothing else seemed to come together... usually the ideas are buzzing around like little bees gathering pollen... but not this time.  Poor Chriss had a lot to put up with as I was a bit snappy too... thank goodness my mood seems to be lifting a bit now and thank Heaven for good buddies who put up with me :D

Anyway on to crafting...I thought this little saying was cute and it inspired me to make this altered chipboard piece with one of the bare sheets of chipboard available from Tando Creative. The chipboard stands up to a lot of battering and is an ideal base for the crackled paint effect using pva glue and acrylic paints.

I applied the glue and paint quite thickly and got a fab result with some really deep indents which I love.

Adding some flowers and watering can seemed in keeping with the saying and I did intend to make a hanger with my piece but I have decided to use it as a cover for an altered book containing some favourite quotes now... so that I can keep out on display because I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Now then I have a couple of awards to share.  This one I received from Sandy (thank you sweetie)
I have to reveal something unusual about myself and then pass the award on to eight other peeps.

OMG what can I tell you ?????   errrrrm.... errrrrrm.... errrrrrrm......

 I'm not a full Shilling...rofl (does that count..No...OK back to the drawing board!!)

I HATE comedies...even though I love to laugh and have a MAD sense of humour.... most sitcoms and comedy films drive me even MORE insane.  I could scream out loud when DG stays with me and wants to watch things like 'Friends' and 'Fresh prince of Bellair'  They irritate me beyond belief and I just can't laugh at them... especially shows that have 'canned laughter' aaaaaargh  (I think something inside of me is switched off...ha ha ha) 

Ok peeps I pass this award to the following girlies...hope you have something more unusual than me to share :D

Sioux
Sally
Jill
Electra
Netty
Anisha
Linby
Karen

BLOG AWARD

I also received this award from Linby (Thanks me lovely)

I have to share this one with 3-5 other peeps so I award this one to the following girlies

Sandy
Lori
Shashi

If you made it to the end thank you for sticking with it... OMG was that a long post or what!! lol
I hope to be back with you soon but bare with me cos I'm still not creating much but I will be popping by to see what you have all been up to... you  just gotta have been more productive than me ;-)
hugs
Chris xx

Sunflower baby

Time for cutie drawing instead of grown up girlies for a change.  I'm doing another sketching workshop because I want to find my own style and I think that to do that I need to have experience of lots of different methods of sketching.

I think that eventually something will just click and then I will just draw MY way :D 

If you like sketching as much as I do why not check out the pencil drawing techniques at Monica's ning group... there are lots of amazing workshops on offer too including mixed media fabric art, mixed media faces and lots more :D
Back tomorrow with some awards that I need to share.  See you then.
hugs
Chris xx

Opposites

Sharing more of my pages for February's Sketchbook challenge today.  More on the theme of opposites... the first page containing the opposites of colour and greyscale and also circles and lines. It's good to have a play without having a finished sketch in mind... just going with the flow is so relaxing.

The second page is the opposites of line drawings and shaded  facial features. I had drawn the part face (top left) and decided to continue on the page...turning it as I went so I could fill most of the space with boxes.

I am enjoying filling my sketch book like this and it will be great to look back on to see what I have completed.
Have a great day
hugs
Chris xx

Meet Eloise....

...no she isn't anyone I know,  but I decided it would be rude not to not give my girlie's a name.... instead of face1, face2 etc..lol

Don't ask me where THAT name came from... it just sort of popped into my head...so Eloise she is :D

Now I know that some you prefer just the pencil version.... but I just can't stop playing in Photoshop although I just coloured the eyes and mouth in this one.

Thanks for looking
hugs
Chris xx

My latest pencil offering...

is another of my girlie's. Really happy with the way this one turned out.

I particularly like her nose.... I know sad or what .... but well noses I find the hardest to get right so I'm pleased that this one turned out to be a cute one :-) Bet she would be too if she could talk ;-)

Couldn't stop there either... after I scanned her I did a little bit of photoshop magic... love the transformation that colour produces.

Brings her more to life don't you think?
hugs
Chris xx

It's a mans world...

and you men can have it!!!  Isn't that a cool saying..it really made me laugh.  Sorry can't remember who the stamps are by cos I did this tag a while back and just found it in my folder.

the background was done using distress inks and acrylic paint.
hugs
Chris xx

Fish boy tag

I love the  stamps I used on this tag....which were designed by the lovely Hermine... the little boy just has the cutest smile :-)

I used Tim Holtz distress inks fro the background, stamping and colouring.

Would be really cool if we could ride on a fish...just think of the fun we could have...lol

hugs

Chris xx

Once upon a time Twinchie

I much prefer making twinchies as opposed to inchie... simply cos I can fit more on them and they aren't as fiddly for my fat fingers.  The alcohol inks came out for the background....


and then I added a bit of magic with the toadstool fairy and flowers from Lisa's altered art.
Simples :D
hugs
Chris xx

Life isn't black and white...

so I thought I'd give my favourite girlie the colour treatment.  I love to play about in photoshop and it is amazing what you can do with just a few clicks of the mouse :D Mind you this transformation did take me a little while but I think it was worth it.

It's a huge change from my original sketch which you can see here if you didn't already.  Let me know what you think.
hugs
Chris xx

Tissue paper...

is my best friend when I'm drawing... I have tried paper stumps, a brush and fingers for blending but the tissue just gives a much more delicate result.  I've also been playing with white tack (same as blu tack but white) as an eraser and it's so cool and cheap as chips.  It makes getting those highlights in the eyes mega easy.

I know her hair is a bit wierd but I'm experimenting :D

hugs
Chris xx