New notebook!

My handbag notebook is full so time for another one - a really quick one though as we were also trying to pack!

I don't know where this stamp was from or whether I should have cut it up smaller - some of the butterflies are flying in a most peculiar manner!!!I used Adirondack Earthtones ink - Stream and Plum, with a Crafters workshop stencil and then wiped off the excess ink over the card.
It is just the right size for my bag and no bits to catch!

Thanks for looking, Chris 

Happy Easter!

I have scheduled this post so that I can say "Happy Easter" to everyone and a big Thank you for all your encouraging comments.
I have made an Easter page in my Dylusions Journal to show you.

I used a set of Dina Wakley stencils and masks to make this - not sure whether it's finished though - I may go back and doodle more!
I added a small text stamp through a circle mask and some small circles cut from a piece I made at Dina's workshop.

Hope you all have a lovely time!

I would like to enter in
Simon Says Monday Challenge - Pastels
Our Creative Corner - Colour your World


 Thanks for looking, Chris

Guest Designing at Country View Craft Challenges

I was so lucky to have won a challenge and a £20 voucher at Country View Challenges and was delighted to be asked to be Guest Designer today - the challenge is to Use Kraft Card, which just happens to be one of my favourites!
I needed an Anniversary card for a young(ish) couple we know so made a card with a bit of fun to it!!
If you have come from the Country View Challenge site you will have seen 'Mr' - there's also a bit about me there too!
Here is 'Mrs'

I love this accordion die but felt a bit lazy so I used a ready folded card and lined it up to cut away from the edge (this wouldn't work if you are making an accordion card as you would need the tabs)

Next I stamped my birds onto another piece of Kraft card - a Woodware set called (appropriately) Love Birds - using Paper Artsy Fresco paint - Snowflake

I used slightly watered down Snowflake paint to dab through Memory Box Diamond and Flourish stencils.This was for the outside of the card.
Using a tip from my lovely friend Lindsay I decorated the card before assembling - much easier!

The Spellbinders Bird Scroll was made with some patterned paper and cut down and repeated, with the birds having hopped around a bit!!! For the flowers and leaves I used the same papers. A few more little flowers were cut using my Hydrangea punch.
Now I expect you are wondering just what Mr Bird was after…..

….well….

….a kiss from his love of course!!

The stamped flower was a little one I found floating around in a stamp box - I used Rose and Lake Wanaka paint(and little bit of Snowflake) to stamp them and to colour in the birds. I used a white Unibal Signo to give centres to the flowers.

I hope you like my card enough to inspire you to take part in the challenge and that you will take a look at the fabulous samples from the CV design team - a talented bunch if ever there was one!!

Thank you for looking, Chris

12 Tags of 2015 - March

Well, our holiday is booked but I have had to wait 2 days to get my hands on the computer where I had downloaded my photos ( or is that uploaded? Dunno!!)
So, my version of Tim's Tag - girly colours - I have been making a few bits and pieces for my Grandaughter so pink and turquoise again!!
I used Picked Raspberry and Tumbled Glass Distress paints here with just a tiny bit of Picket fence

I do love butterflies - truly, and so does my GD, but this new (to me) set - Classics 16 - not only has a pear on it but this really cute bird - I know I will be using this a lot!!!
I really loved making this, a really interesting technique (look here for Tim's Tutorial)and one to try in the future with different colours and pastes.I used a combination of Silver and some Aged Aqua Frantage
I rubbed some Picked Raspberry paint over the word band….

…..and on the little heart and the top of the pin

Errm - she may not get this as I've just noticed that the pin has MY age on it!!

Oh! and the holiday - not till June - we are off to France by train, stopping off in a few places before going to stay with my (ex)SIL and BIL! 

Entering late in to Tim's 12 tags of 2015 - March

Thanks for looking, Chris 

ps You can see my DT piece for TIOT here and there's another exciting day tomorrow - please call back!!!

Try it on Tuesday - They Who Have Wings

Good morning everyone, hope the wind didn't get you last night! Our new topic at Try it on Tuesday is a Spring-like - "They Who Have Wings", so plenty of scope if you join in! (this includes fairies of course!) The Design Team have included all sorts of winged creatures so please do take a look here.

I had my Grandaughter in mind when I made my birdhouse hanging

I coated everything in Paper Arstsy Fresco paint then a layer of DecoArt crackle paste that I mixed with PA Orchid and Snowflake Frescos -I wasn't too fussy about mixing thoroughly as I wanted a weathered look - then left it to dry

I rubbed some ink (Brushed Corduroy and Tumbled Glass) into the cracks and sanded some of it back

Next I made some faux wood paper to go on the eaves by painting craft card with PA Snowflake and then dry brushing with some brown distress inks and drew planks with a Pitt pen

Next my flowers - cut out of a patterned stiffish paper in oranges and pinks - rubbed inks over my mat - spritzed and ran back of flowers through it - went out and left them to dry naturally as that were a bit wet and I was worried they might tear! 

The ends of the petals had a quick pinch before layering them and finishing off with a stamen made from a cheap punch from Hobbycraft (I think it's supposed to be a snowflake!)The smaller ones are from a Papermania set of sunflowers - I just cut away some of the petals and turned up the remaining ones
The leaves are Petaloo that I've had for a while.

The house was randomly stamped with one of my favourite stamps from TH 

I added a ladybird onto the eaves and made her shine with glossy accents, a bee came along to the nectar on the flowers and a little bird is peeping through the hole

The back is some paper I got from HomeSense and the bird(who had his back stamped over and over with a text stamp to make feathers) is from my MAMBI paper from TKMaxx ages ago!

My GD hasn't seen this yet so it will go along with her Easter Egg next Sunday!

I do hope you will have a go at this challenge - any kind of project as long as it fits the theme.

Thanks for looking, Chris  

Strong woman!

Just a quick journal page - using my new Paper Artsy Lynne Perella set LPCO31.
I loved this stamp from the first time I saw it.
This is how the page started, using Jenni Bowlin paints(the colours have the most beautiful names) really creamy and react well with a spritz of water!

From here it was a case of stencils, stamps and doodles with part of a lattice die cut and some packaging from some new coffee cups.I stamped text over and over itself to make a pattern rather than to read the text.

The image was coloured in using Distress markers apart from the ruff - white Signo uni-ball
Lettering was done with good old medium Pitt pen.

We are back home now for a while so hoping to catch up a bit!!

Thanks for looking,Chris

Dreaming, just dreaming!

Toffee and lace….Mmmmmmmm! When I saw Julie-Ann's recipe this time at Dragons Dream TIO (Challenge 187) that's exactly what I thought! Couldn't get started straight away - appointments, meetings, outings….but when I finally got the time I couldn't find the stamp I wanted - Aaagh! what to use, rummaged and found this one - perfect!

I do love this image …….by Leonardo da Vinci …the stamp is one I bought at a show and have no idea whose! 
Painted my tag in Vintage Lace Fresco paint(how apt!)and masked her off, then dabbed Mocha Mousse(the nearest I have to toffee colour) through a TH stencil! The words - some from a sheet - Artistic Stamper I think, and then stamped up the Dictionary stamp and rubbed off the middle before stamping over the lighter words.
Inked the edges with was left on a sponge and added some vintage lace to make her shawl.
Thanks for a great recipe Julie Ann - I am putting this on view in my craft room to keep me calm!

Entering the Dragons Dream TIOT challenge 187 

Thanks for looking, Chris