WOYWW195

I don't think I'm the only person who wants more time for crafting but I'm retired for goodness sake!! This week I've either been out or had visitors - EVERY DAY!!!!!(all this and a newly retired hubby who needs a hobby!)Oh! sorry….ranting…why am I here at 9am? Yay! It's Wednesday - at least I can see what other folk have been able to do, courtesy of Julia at Stamping Ground! I haven't got a lot to show…

...my 365/calendar journal(closed until Friday), although there's a clue with the mop up paper on the right ..and this.

It had patches of white until I sprayed it with water, scrunched it up and left it to dry over night - this it how it looks this morning - can't wait to put it to use!!
The two stamps at the back are knights in armour for something I'm working, correction, want to work on, and will stay there until I do!
The other thing that I want to show you is YEUUCH!- Dusty Concord Distress Stain - gone green! A nice shade I admit but not DC!!

So, am I having a crafty day today? - Nope! Half price cinema day again, so we're off to see Song for Marion, although it's an 11.30 start so maybe this afternoon? We've heard varying reviews but we are still going to give it a go - well, for £6.50 for two it's a bargain!!
I'll be back to see you later, hope you don't make me too jealous when I see what you've been doing!
Chris
ps I did finish the heart box! - here

Angel page

I've been playing in my journal (and not much else really)but have wanted to join in again with Dawn's Journal Journeys challenge, which this month is Choose a word.

 I stamped this Lost Coast image(Eraser angel) onto a page that I had made some time ago - didn't like it so splashed on some white acrylic paint before using some Kaiser craft background stamps and splatters of distress stains. She is coloured in using distress markers and my Inkessential white pen.
It was only when hubby was throwing away a pen catalogue and I spotted the huge pen photos that I got the idea for the rest of page! I scratched off some of the print and wrote on the handle before writing around the pen about the peace that believing in angels brings! I wrote the word PEACE and then stamped the dictionary meaning from the Lost Coast peace stamp and then parts of it randomly over the page! 
Thanks for looking, Chris

Heart box

I bought this Tando Creatives box a few weeks ago, but haven't been able to devote much time to it - just been snatching the odd hour or two! I had an idea from the start what it would be, and when I saw a challenge from Crafty Individuals I was over the moon as I had already got the papers ready!
Crafty Individuals produce the most beautiful paper collections(I have spares at the caravan)and I used papers from book 3 and book 7.

front

and back

I painted(Paper Artsy Fresco- Sky blue) and stamped the inside with script before I glued on the papers, distress inked(brushed corduroy) around the edges, stamped and embossed the bird cage(CI234) in silver, coloured the bird - part of a present from a friend(PA sky blue) and then distress markers. The flowers - large one made with my new TH tattered movers and shapers die and small ones - Prima were added later.

The two tags - one in a pocket made from the paper so that I can write a message, and the larger one to match the theme - For My Friend stamped with CI052 and the face (CI065) stamped onto a torn of piece of bread bag from M&S

Assembly wasn't as easy as it was when the box was in it's original state, and as you can see in this pic it crumpled a bit, but overall I'm happy with my box. 

Light had failed by the time I took this photo! It is the same colour  but look what electric light has done to it!

I am entering this in

Tando Creative Challenge - Love, Love Me Do 

Sir Stampalot Stamping Sensations challenge - Fur and Feather

Sarah Hurley Challenge 77 - Anything but a card

and of course

Crafty Individuals February Challenge - For My Friend

Thanks for looking, Chris

WOYWW 194

I know - it's late ! Thing is - hubby gets 2-4-1 cinema tickets with his phone on Wednesdays and "Skyfall" was only on at 10 o'clock(or 8 tonight) so we were up and out by 9.30 - no time to take photos or blog!!Well worth it though - we missed it when it came out, but because it won the best British film BAFTA they are showing on the big screen again-it was a good, gripping, 'proper' story - not the usual gadget filled Bond!-and all for £6.50!
So, please Mistress Julia, forgive me for reporting for work desk duty a little late! (If you want to know why I grovel look here)
So here is my desk at 3pm(ish)

I'm mid way through two projects at the moment, the heart box that I started last week is almost complete - there's a little flower there by the glue, the tag is still a way off! I'm also adding to my journal which is almost full and you can see peeping out to the right! 
So enough waffle - need to join in now, I've a lot of snooping to do!!!
Thanks for visiting and apologies for not getting back to some of my visitors last week - my grandchildren came up the the caravan and we were out and about(and shattered by the evening!)
Chris
ps The film we saw last week was "I'll give it a year" - very funny if a little 'naughty'! 

Just for fun

Just been playing!

My little travel journal that I keep in the car has been neglected lately but here are some things I did earlier!!!

I am intending adding to these over the weekend
Thanks for looking, Chris

Happy Valentines Day!

I love seeing all the Valentines day displays in shop windows - I know it's become a big marketing thing - just like Halloween, but both events are at a time when nothing else is going on and it sure does brighten shopping centres up!
I made this little wall hanging piece for hubby - don't know what he'll think of it, but he knows it's kept me quiet for a while lol!

I started it at the caravan and wasn't sure where I was going with it - just wanted to play with my new Tando creative cogs and the Docraft Chronology stamps! I had some corrugated card and had bought some bronze paint so painted that up first. The flowers and fabric bits were just scraps in a box I keep for making things with my grand-daughter. I cut the heart out of some Papermania paper, distress inked it and sprayed with Perfect Pearls....and then....bits of tissue paper and mop-up paper torn up to go round the edge. The cog was backed with a little bit of my Arthur book - can you see where it says "love" in the middle?
I then brought it home to finish, put the clock on the bottom(it's to do with something mushy I've put on the back that I don't want to share - Sorry!), the card letters distress inked and stamped with Kaisercraft script, came from a sheet I've had for ages, found some nice ribbon and I am quite happy with it.
I am entering it in the following challenges:
Anything but a card - Share the love
Frilly and Funkie - Lacy, Heartsy Valentines project

Thanks for looking, Chris. Oh! and I hope you have a lovely Valentines day!

WOYWW 193

Another whole week has gone by and it's time to share my desk with you! The desk flash mob that pops up every Wednesday is courtesy of Julia at Stamping Ground.
Here's mine this week. I seem to have a lot going on this week in the way of craftiness so excuse the rather untidy little area I still have left!

 I've painted the Tando Creatives heart box ready for decorating -using - ta!da! - my new Paper Artsy Fresco paints that I got my hands on at the Manchester craft show - Oh! I love them! As you can see I had to use baby wipes to paint with - can't remember where I tidied my set of brushes to! You can also catch a glimpse of the flowers made with a little bargain - an Alterations die for mini tattered florals.
It's actually snowing real flakes here this morning instead of the usual 'trying to snow' flakes we seem to have been getting!

 Don't think you can see them though! Can you see the derelict pub through the tree - it is a listed building - the front is beautiful, but sadly a few years ago there was a fire and it has sat there abandoned since then - wish someone would come along and breathe some life into it!
Well that's it for now, we are off to the cinema so I'll visit later if you don't mind!
Chris 

Journal cat

I had two trips to the Manchester craft show this week - once when I spent far too much and another when I didn't spend much at all. Both trips were great because I met up with friends and crafting acquaintances too! 
Suffice to say I was quite weary by the time last night came as I had also done a 'big shop' on Friday!
Eager as I was to play with my new goodies I sat and did some doodling while on the settee watching tv!
The background had been painted and inked some time ago and was waiting for me!
This is what I came up with

Well, I drew the little cat and the branches - but didn't really have anything in mind - until this morning - so I had a little heart from Tim's Heartwings die which I bought on Thursday, along with some fresco paints so I used the heart and painted on some green paint. Stamped Lindsay's little cat without her ball of wool, used letters from one of my little boxes and doodled the edge and some little hearts! Last thing to be done were the butterflies from a box of Cavellini stamps.
I hope you like it! 
I am hoping to enter it in Hel's Sunday Stamper challenge.  
Thanks for looking, Chris

WOYWW192

We are still at our caravan so not a great deal to show! I use the dining table or work on my knee when we are here but today is going to involve glue and water so I have put everything on the table!

We had a mountain of magazines to get rid of and looking through them has resulted in lots of torn out pages - including the one you see here ready to stick in opposite a page that has gone seriously wrong(going to remedy that this morning). What you see here is my journal(almost full), my pencil case, my box of neo-colourIIs and other bits and pieces, cosmic shimmer glue,book pages, my phone - so I can connect to the web, my phone charger and a bird recognition book - I caught a glimpse of a new bird to the feeders and want to find out what it is!
Oops!....... two hours later....ok, so I got distracted - phone calls, birds - it is definitely a long tailed tit - in fact a pair.., and a coffee break with hubby.
If you want to know why I'm showing this look here at Mrs Dunnit's blog and all will be explained!
Hoping to not get distracted again and pay you a visit, Chris. 

You win some - you lose some!

I had a card to make for a male relative this week but didn't bring anything away with me remotely manly! I did bring my Craft Stamper which arrived before we came away and I saved until we got here (just to prove I do have some craftwise will power lol)
I also had a little shopping expedition to Kendal so popped into Kitten and the Goat just down the road from my favourite Reticule fabric shop. The shop is amazingly well stocked for such a small space and Pandy has lots of examples of her own work on display - scrumptious!
I only went in for some little pink gems to mend something for Rita, but as Pandy was showing me the colours she had I spied some fantastic papers - The Chronology range by Docraft - all steampunky and manly - hmmm, OK, then up above them Tando Creative steampunky hearts and some lovely keys, hmmm, OK, Pandy showed me something she had made and I have seen lots of projects on blogs so I came away with those and very happy was I!
I was meeting hubby in WH Smiths and guess what, on the front of magazine a Chronology stamp with lots of cogs, a globe and a watch - so, I have my ingredients!
Saturday evening, feet up, magazines open found something that inspired me so gave it a go on Sunday

Not happy, smudged the ink, and a slightly odd shape, so yesterday, another cold windy day I made this

Much happier and this is the one I'll send.
So if you want to see the original it is in the March Craft Stamper

Paula used a Stampotique stamp, which looks amazing but I think my steampunk version looks ok too!
Thanks for looking, Chris

Just a tag

I've been playing today, I had to make a  Birthday card anyway but got something in my head which I haven't quite finished, but with the leftovers plus some new goodies I treated myself to in Kendal yesterday I made this

The heart is the reverse of a little set I got in the Works, inked with pink and copper. The flower was made from some I had in with my scraps with a leaf made from music paper. Around the bottom are some little scraps of mop up paper and tissue from a parcel I received! The little  kisses heart was cut from my Arthur book.Some tissue paper and stamping with Kaiser craft stamps and I ended up with this.
Off now to watch Dancing on Ice! Thanks for looking, Chris

January,February 365 calendar journal

Here is my February page. I know, I've got a bit of a romance theme here but why not?!
I love taking part in this challenge, hosted by the amazing Kate Crane at the Kathrynwheel - although I very nearly didn't - my journal went missing -  for days - I won't bore you with the tale, but if you want to read about what happened it's here

I used my favourite(for the moment) distress ink Picked raspberry dabbed onto my craft mat and rubbed on with a baby wipe - I don't think I've ever used a wipe to apply ink but I wanted a lighter swirly look. I then sprayed my stencils with water and dabbed them onto the paper and quickly pressed paper towel over to dry up the water - I love this effect! Then more stencilling by dabbing on PR again with a sponge. The dancing lady is a Crafty Individuals stamp(sorry don't know the number) and the rose is an old Elusive Images stamp with the buds stamped again at the bottom - I coloured this in using distress markers.

Here are my completed January pages

We are taking a break at our caravan at the moment, this is the first year the site been open all year round and now that hubby is retired it would have been rude not to come wouldn't it? There are only about five being used at the moment(probably more will come tonight) It is a very small site - none of that big entertainment centre nonsense and I'm being distracted by the birds right outside my window - Mr Robin pushing the others out of the way!!

Thanks for looking, Chris