Make it colourful at TIOT

Hi everyone, it's been great to get back to my desk. I have cleared a space at the moment as I still have a lot to take out!

We have a new theme at Try It On Tuesday - 'Make It Colourful' and as you will see the Design Team has certainly used a rainbow of colours

A few weeks ago a friend took me to a craft show in Leigh. I bought some Paper Artsy stamps designed by Kate Crane. Kate was at the show demoing and I picked up a handy tip!

I used some new stamps and some from older sets. I stamped then masked some of the images before using watercolour pencils to colour in.

The tip? The black marks at the bottom are overlays of acetate that have marks added through Kate's stencil before cutting into strips - its a really quick way of adding marks to a page as they can be cut up and kept in a box ready to use.

We hope you can join us at TIOT this time and 'Make It Colourful' please. 

I am also adding this to Aimeslee's Art Journal Journey theme this month - 'Anything Goes'

Thanks for looking, Chris  
 

T Stands For the revisits and A VISIT!

 Hi everyone, I'm not sure I should be posting this at all as I didn't get a chance to visit many folk last time I posted on a Tuesday. My excuse is though, I was discharged from the Fracture Clinic two weeks ago.I am slowly getting used to walking around reasonably normally, although I am still hanging on to my stick for a while. I had to promise to take it easy for a while and as hubby was there he is making sure I do!

So, I am hoping that you would like to see more of France....

There are so many lovely Medieval buildings - these were in Auray.

We spent most of one day at Pont Aven. We had visited last year on Market day, which was great but we missed having a look around, although as you can see the weather was about to change and we had to shelter for while. 

Our main reason to visit was because close by was the Chapelle de Tremalo where Gaugin got his inspiration for his painting 'The Yellow Christ' There are some interesting facts about both if you click on the links

There are figures all around the eaves

There was an exhibition about Gaugin in French only and we had to rely on Google Translate to read captions. It was still looking gloomy outside!

The next morning this was the view from our bedroom window.

We waited until the mist cleared before heading to our favourite Crêperie for lunch! We visited this place twice last year - the  'Crêperie du Puits serves the most delicious Galettes(savoury pancakes)

It's here I will pause to join in at T Stands For Tuesday over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog 'The Altered Book Lover'

We had water to drink. 

We saw quite a few places in this are with scenes painted on them

This was another Crêperie.

This is the building next to it

Another day we went to Vannes, another town we wanted to see more of. It's quite a walk in the hot sun to get to the town gates.

This cat looks so relaxed at the back of this yacht - I'm sure it proves that cats will sleep anywhere!

We drove home past another painted house and got back to see the setting sun shining on the trees.

..and then saw the rising moon.

This was the night of a very strange visit and although we wanted more moon pics we didn't want to open the French windows. As we sat listening to some music I noticed a really cute dog looking in at us. It turned to be a Cavalier King Charles and as we went to look out we saw that he had three cat friends with him.wandering around on the terrace.

The next morning we asked the owner who they belonged to and she had no idea she was pleased we hadn't let them into the gîte!!!!

We found out later in the week that this group of friends are quite well known further down the little hamlet we were in!

We never saw them again!

I really will try harder to get to visit this time but I have just discovered that the battery is low on my tablet - the only device I can be assured of to publish my comments.

Thanks for looking, Chris

Make It Feminine at TIOT

 Hi everyone, I have just read that it's only 18 weeks until Christmas! That's too early for me to start preparing, but I do have some female birthdays coming up so it's just as well that our new theme at Try It On Tuesday is 'Make It Feminine' which has got me on track to at least make some cards.

The Design Team have lots of Feminine inspiration for you too!

I am trying to get 'back to normal' after having my fracture boot removed but it's a slow process! 

I spent an afternoon making geli prints which got me back into my craft room. I do find using the Geliplate very relaxing.

I ended up with quite a selection of prints

I chose one for my background and stamped a Lindsay Mason girl, I then stamped another onto white card and cut it out - minus the pony tail and the shoe laces. When it was stuck on over the first stamped image you can't tell.

I added words from the same stamp set - they were too long to fit so I stamped them and cut them out. Here's my tip for adding words, don't try to get them straight! I arranged them at slightly different angles - I just know I wouldn't get them straight, so this way - no need to fret!!! 

I added some clear gold stems around the background. I used a WRMK Chomp scallop cutter for all of the corners of my layers.

I hope to see how you 'Make It Feminine' at TIOT over the next two weeks. The rules are here if you need a reminder.

Thanks for looking, Chris

T Stands For Taking It Easy

Hi all, as you may know, I am still having to take it easy - I have my stool with a pillow on it for my foot to rest on and various boxes of 'stuff'  around me. One of the things I am doing is writing a journal (as well as my calendar journal) to record my recovery from the fall I had back in June. My elbow is looking much better and my grazed knee has a peculiar lump on it, which I guess will eventually look OK. My foot hurts less, it was very bruised as was the shin on my other leg but the bruising took a while to go!

Okay, so, enough of my predicament - I have more photos from France. I probably won't add many words as I sit rather awkwardly at the computer.

I am continuing our D Day beach visits 

These two photos were near Aromanches.

This was at the  British Normandy Memorial. 

The columns are full of names of those that fell in battle on the Normandy beaches - 22,442 over the 12 weeks of the Battle of Normandy

While there I was lucky to meet the man who made this installation - Standing With Giants - Dan Barton, a lovely sincere man who wanted to create something to make sure that we never forget those who suffered to give us the freedom we have today. 

They represent the 1,475 men who died on the beaches on D Day

Here are the two nurses who lost their lives tending the wounded and were killed on 7th August 1944.

This is where this memorial is located but there were also other signs for all of the other landing beaches

It was very moving to see theses figures against the backdrop of the beach.

After our visit to this area we travelled south to a gîte in Quistinic, difficult to find at first but with beautiful views and peace and quiet apart from birdsong. 

Here is the view from the breakfast table and is my ticket to join in at T Stands For Tuesday at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog The Altered Book Lover. 

Talking of bird song - the loudest were the Blackbirds...but one female blackbird had a different agenda - she did not like cars. We watched on the first morning as she continually attacked the wing mirror - it was only when we went out that we saw the mess she had made down the side of the door. During our visit we saw her attack our car every day, even though we tried parking in different positions, she also attacked the cars in the garden opposite and when we mentioned it to the owner of the Gîte it seems that the blackbird attacked her car too,

Here is hubby coming in from cleaning dirt from the car one day!

 

I am hoping that tomorrow when I have my foot x-rayed that I will no longer need to wear the fracture boot.

Thanks for looking, Chris

Keeping It Simple at TIOT

Hi everyone, here we are in August already. Many of you will be on holiday this month so we are going to 'Keep It Simple' at Try It On Tuesday. The Design Team have lots of inspiration for you so please take a look here. While you are over on the TIOT blog it may be useful to check up on the (few) rules we have.

I have made a card - it's an open card and I think mine may be a notelet as I have some catching up on mail to do.

The flower is a Crafty Individuals stamp designed by Sharon Bates which I stamped and then masked off to add little frame made by inking the lid of my ink pad. I coloured the flower with Lavinia Mattints, the colours mix beautifully and allow the stamped image to show through well.

I hope you will find time to 'Keep It Simple' and join us at TIOT this time, as usual the theme runs for two weeks.

Thanks for looking, Chris

Wonderfully Wild

 Hi everyone, I have my calendar journal to show you today. Hopefully the next time you see this page there will be an entry saying that my fracture boot has been given the 'boot'!

Jo of Let's Art Journal blog is hosting at Art Journal Journey this month with her theme 'Wonderfully Wild'

I have gone to the rainforest to find my wild animal -a jaguar!

I made a page using brushos through a dotty style stencil which I had to move around the page. I used a Stamperia paper pad for the images, the jaguar peeping through the leaves, a jungly background strip and an orchid and leaves. The letters are Tracey Evans design for Aall and Create.

I am behind with my blog catch up so only noticed today that Jo has used the jaguar image too, so I hope that will take a look at her blog.

Here is my July page filled in.

If you want to read this feel free, there's a lot of TV/film watching, puzzles, sorting things out, but you will see also that with the help of hubby and friends have been able to go out for coffee and meals too.

The boot has made me so hot though and I am always pleased to get home and take it off and rest my foot.

I have started to write a daily journal which is making me more aware of things that need to change....but I won't go into that!! I got the inspiration from attending Journalfest at the end of June where there were some interesting speakers.

Thanks for looking, Chris