T stands for.....Thanks, Tom and the bees!!

First of all my Thanks....to Yvonne for my fabulous package that arrived last Thursday..

 ..not one but two brilliant ATCs,and wrapped up inside this package...

....a really lovely collection of tissues and napkins..you will be seeing one of them in use soon!

Thanks also to all of you for being so encouraging during June and July for my guest stints at Simon says stamp Monday and Art Journal Journey. I have had such a great time (busy, but most enjoyable!)and I do hope I didn't miss out on commenting on any entries! 
Here is my last page - the flowers are for you!

 I use Dylusions spray and dabbed it with a paper towel and then added part of one of the magazine gelli print fails stamped with script. I added a Crafty Individuals flower stamp onto some book paper( a reminder here that Try It On Tuesday - Use Book Paper challenge is still running until next Monday!)and added a paper doll with some threads from some mending I did behind her! The quote is something I  hope we all get a chance to do!

Thanks also to Susi and Elizabeth for inviting me to be  guest host at Art Journal Journey, your encouragement above all has really made me smile!!

Okay...Tom....Cruise! We went to see Mission Impossible - Fallout today! I love every minute, especially seeing parts of Paris that we recognised! At times I was actually sitting on the edge of my seat!!
Some exciting chases and good one liners....and a decent plot!

The bees are in Manchester town city centre, they are all over the town and we saw some folk with location maps so that might be for another day! Meanwhile here are the ones we passed..

 You can just see the Cathedral roof and the Old Wellington pub is one that was moved 100meters so that a new shopping are could be built - it is often a meeting palace for football fans (the Football museum is just around the corner) visiting the city but it is always busy!

Now of course I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T Stands for Tuesday 

I have gone back to France again as though we have had quite a few drinks out I keep forgetting to take photos!
I am pretty certain I haven't shown you these before - apologies if I have!

Breakfast on our last day in Paris, before our walk to Parc Montsouris.
I took the next two photos of the dining area when we returned to pick up our luggage.
There is also a book case full of art books to browse through 

 No, the steps aren't real!

We also saw these steps on our walk!

I have no idea who they are!!

This shelter is use for yoga groups  - on this day only two ladies were there.

I'll be around to visit as soon as I can, Thanks for looking, Chris

Playing with new and old stamps!!

While we were away over the weekend I just had to call into Rowantree Crafts in Carnforth - I had ordered some stamps that hadn't arrived last time I called in....little did I know that they had arrived within minutes of me leaving the shop and although they chased after me and looked around the local supermarket(where I usually head for after a visit)it was the day I decided to treat hubby to coffee and we had left the car park! How's that for service??!!

The stamps were the second set of Darcy's new stamps at Paper Artsy(you may remember I used her other new set here!)
I hadn't taken a lot of things away with me so scribbled on a page with NeocolourIIs, added water to blend them....

...and stamping

I only had two stamps in my bag - a dotty stamp and a number stamp, I stamped the '0' only several times over sideways on and made a pattern with it.
When I got home yesterday(and after the Tour de France was over - what a great winner!)I added something I haven't used for ages - mica powder!

I stamped the images and cut them out.I used the bird house and the bird from two of Darcy's older sets.

I used a black brush pen to go around the edges of the images and had a bit of a slip up so gave the girl a little fringe. I added some dots with a gold pen.
The great thing about these new sets is the words that come with them - I used some from each set and cut the 'in' from another word.

This is my latest page for 'Art For Arts Sake' my theme at 'Art Journal Journey' 
I have so enjoyed seeing all the entries that everyone has made, been inspired to try some new techniques and been reminded about others! I am so grateful for the support I have had here too!

One last page tomorrow and it's T Day too!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Courage using my Gelli plate

A while ago I took part in the Gelliplate challenge organised by Birgit Koopsen.
I learnt so much but this method is one of my favourites, it doesn't always work and is very dependant on the paper and image you choose!
I have used my Gelliplate to make a magazine transfer image using the method here on Birgit's blog.
I started with this image...

 ...brayered some ink onto my small plate and pressed the image on top - it is important to only use a thin layer of paint

...so far, so good

I wanted it to be in two colours so added pink.

 A bit of a blurred image as I was rushing before the paint dried

I pressed on the paper I was using and.....

...hurray...it worked(I did have a couple of fails using other images that I won't show you - tee hee!!)
I made a journal page to celebrate!

I used some Brushos and spritzed then added some Infusions

 Next I stamped some Carabelle Studio background stamps randomly over the page and stuck down the image

I stamped the Visible Image quote onto a piece of leftover card and stuck it on! I added some spatters in purple and pink and drew a wiggly outline around image and quote!

This is of course my latest page for Art For Arts Sake, still a few days left, at Art Journal Journey.

Thanks for looking, Chrisx

Green wings

I saw something while we were out recently that gave me an idea for a journal page - only thing is I can't remember whether it was a magazine cover or a shop window - it was the colours that stood out to me - I don't even remember that much else about it!

I set about making a green background, not quite the greens I wanted but I was happy with it.

I used distress crayons and then added some transparent 3D gloss gel through an AALL and create stencil by Autour de Mwa and a Carabelle Studio stamp spritzed with water to lift off some of the crayon.
I stamped some of Bipashas stamps onto white paper in black and green Versafine Clair ink - I like this ink as it does give a clear image when stamping details.
I cut them out and added some of them to my page.

I added some of Autour de Mwa's background stamps too along with a Bipasha bee and a Tracy Evan's flower. I found an image of a bird and part of a tea advert with the white flowers on as well as a couple of torn phrases from a scrap of book paper on my desk.

 I decided to split the word stamp by stamping YOU on the page and then cutting up the rest of the words that I had stamped onto white paper 

As I wasn't happy that the bee's wings didn't show I stamped them onto some green paper and cut them out and stuck them in place and then tore another piece of the black stamped protractor and stuck it over the green one in the top right of my page!
Finally black and white paints were spattered over almost everything!

This is just another page for Art For Arts Sake at Art Journal Journey that I really enjoyed making!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Thursday This and That...

I told you last week about the cards I made but then.......Oh you know.....!!!

Cards have all been delivered now so I can show you those.
First a new baby card!

I coloured in the socks, but everything else on the washing line is paper pieced! The stamp is an old one.
The flowers were punched out of the same papers that the clothes were cut from.

I would like to enter at 
Stamping Sensations - In My Garden (not that this line of baby clothes is actually in my garden but I would love it if it was!)


Next came a new Grandparents card

 I kept this simple and I know that the new Grandma loves Zinski stamps!
Next came a card for our great nephew!

I used Paper Artsy Elenazinski stamps here too!
He loves monsters etc and loved this card - and got the humour too!
I would like to enter this card at 
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes

Finally another page for Art Journal Journey.
I used a gelli print that I made when I took part in the Gelliplate challenge organised by Brigit Koopsen.
It was made by spraying inks on my gelliplate and placing on some torn paper towel in strips.

I added stamping using some Paper Artsy Hotpicks, a Woodware quote and some doodling!

Thanks for looking, Chris

T Stands For..........tape and tripping in Paris!

Hi everyone! 
I discovered a new way to make a tape transfer! 
I use an old plastic insert from a lunchbox as my palette when I am painting and quite by chance one day I picked up some paint with a some clear tape and since then have had some pretty random bits of tape to use in my journals..but what if..I thought...I make some patterns in the paint remaining ...so that's what I did with a stamp(which I cleaned straight way afterwards each time!! 

The paint built up a little and today I decided to lift some off.

I made small pieces and stuck them on my page over some mop up green oxide ink!

I spritzed some water over some Distress oxides mixed with a little gold paint to get a shimmer on my paper 

I stamped a Lynne Perella image on the paper and also on my page...

..and used part of another LP stamp around the edge of my page

I stuck the blue image over the top of the one on the page

As you can see the page is quite shiny.
It is also my latest page for Art For Arts Sake  at Art Journal Journey
As it's Tuesday I am here to join Bluebeard and Elizabeth for T Stands For Tuesday.

We have been out and about as some of you may know but no photos so I am taking you back to Paris.

This was at a cafe that we stopped at after I had tripped over after taking a photo of this garden....

..which was being made on reclaimed land - it should look great in a few years time.
Just after taking this photo I didn't notice the dip in the pavement around a tree and did a slow motion fall! I grazed my elbow a bit but felt a bit wobbly so we stopped so I could sit down at the first place we came to!
I was fine and we went on to see  Notre Dame..

...these musicians...

and this...

I am very late getting here so I will visit tomorrow!

Thanks for looking, Chris