Green Inspiration..

Really..it is green!!

Earlier this week we decided to take some things to the charity shop(again) and have a little walk - we went past the houses and came to one of my favourite places to walk locally - we usually walk from the other end so we got an entirely different view of it!

 Some of the plants were really tall!

 The lower path is quite overgrown

 Despite being so close to the motorway the birds were singing all around!

 Nettles may have a sting but they also have delicate little flowers

 Almost to the road..

 ...and I turned round to take this - men are digging up the top end near the road  - I hope we still have Bluebells next year !

I was inspired to make a quick page - it started with the base you can see of some paint mop up through stencil - over this I stuck some torn GREEN paper, which is showing as yellow here - we were expecting rain as I took the photo and now it is in full pelt down mode!

I used my favourite Carabelle Studio leaves by Brigit Koopsen and added some dotty/spotty stamps using different greens. The quote I used is from a set that was possibly a freebie - I stamped the leaves a couple more times! One of the quickest pages I have made for a while but so relaxing!!

I am joining Gill at Art Journal Journey where she has chosen the fantastic theme - 'Inspired by'!

Thanks so much for looking, I may be absent for a little while.....we'll see, Chris

T Stands for....this and that!!!

Hi everyone! First of all I have another card that I hope will serve to remind you that there is  still one week still to go for our 'For The Boys' theme at Try It On Tuesday.

A very easy to make card - I stamped some text randomly over the card and stamped some stars using some cream paint. The image is from the same Tim Holtz Theories set that I used for my Simon Says Stamp Monday wall hangings.No measuring or cutting - I just tore round the image, a piece of black paper and a stamped greeting! I added the small talk sticker as a little message for the recipient!

It being Tuesday of course it's time to join Bleubeard and Elizabeth   for T Stands For Tuesday

The other week we went to have a little browse around the shops in town - well, of course we needed a coffee before we caught the tram home so we popped into M and S! We decided to share a scone as it was getting quite late in the day. 

 Hubby had a Cappuccino while I stuck to an Americano.

I thought I would take you back to our first day in London - way back in April
We were able to check into the hotel early, so as the British Museum was just around the corner decided to go there as our first outing!
We went straight to the mediaeval history area but I was so engrossed that I forgot to take photos! As we wandered around we came across this that I thought might give our host a little smile - it is about Plains Indians - it took up all of 3 cases!!

 I took this next one as a little joke - do you see any resemblance? 

 No, me neither, tee hee!

We were also just along the road from a shopping centre with a wonderful emblem!

These birds were either end of the centre.

Things are quite hectic here at the moment - seems to be one thing after another - hopefully on to something calmer now!!

Thanks for looking, Chris

A bicycle made for my three - a new SSSM challenge

Hi everyone! 
The month is whizzing by and I am here again joining the brilliant Design Team at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for our new theme 'Transport it'

When I first saw the bicycle made for three on Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Theories set I immediately thought back to when my three boys used to share their garden toys - I recall we had a tractor,a pedal car, a scooter,a couple of bikes(different sizes)
Of course there were times when they all wanted to get onto the same one but it was always sorted easily!
I wanted to make them something to give to them on Fathers Day (Yesterday at our family gathering)to remind them of those days! I wrote a message on the back of each one which made them smile! 

I started with some Tim Holtz Idea-ology 12x12 Lost and Found paper
in different colours, which I stuck onto some rescued packaging card.
I added a variety of stencils mainly by AALL and create (stencils 17,12) and a Dylusions stencil - old school alpaha 

I used AALL and create stamp 10 using Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Ink

I used my trusty Crop-a-Dile to make holes in the tops for some twine to hang them

I painted some little boxes that I have had in my stash for a while using Paper Artsy Fresco paints

 I left them to dry while we had lunch....

 ...and then scraped on some Paper Artsy crackle glaze After that we went to the cinema to see Jurassic World which had quite spectacular sequences but an absolutely preposterous storyline(imho). 

When we got home I painted over all of the boxes with a pale blue paint - you can see how quickly this crackle forms as the first one was already crackling really well before I had painted them all!

Next I cut a Seth Apter die not the one here but there is a good choice in the store.
I used a lot of different Paper Artsy Fresco paints to get a rusty effect and did the same onto one of the elements from the  Tim Holtz Sizzix Mixed Media thinlets die

I painted around the edges of some torn corrugated card with Paper Artsy White Fire Fresco paint 
I decided to stamp the Bicycle on some book paper - as you can see it does depend on which paper you use - I wanted to use my Tales of King Arthur book but I got a better image on the smoother nutrition text book I used to use in college.

I tore around the edges and stuck it onto the corrugated card.
At this point I used Espresso Distress ink to edge the coloured boards and the corrugated card and a lighter colour Brushed Corduroy to edge the boxes.
It was then just case of assembling and adding various Idea-ology bits and pieces.Tim Holtz Idea-ology- paper clips hinge clips  Small Talk words

The challenge gives you the chance to be in the spotlight as well as a very generous voucher to spend in the Simon Says Stamp store

Here are some links if you want to see the whole ranges of:-

Tim Holtz Idea-ology
AALL and Create
Tim Holtz stamps
Tim Holtz Sizzix
Paper Artsy Fresco paints

Thank you for looking, Chris

Beautiful Dragonfly!

Hello everybody! I have been playing in my square journal using some of my favourite AALL and Create stamps!

You may wonder why!
The other week we went to Nostell Priory, not far way from Doncaster where we visited Stamp Magic (where I met up with friends and well, maybe a few things did happen to come home with me - you can see here and here)
We have passed Nostell Priory a couple of times but it has always been later in the day so we went to Stamp Magic with the intention of leaving ourselves time for a visit.

We weren't quite prepared of how extensive the grounds are so have  a visit planned for the Summer wth our grandchildren and son.

We did get into the formal gardens though - here are just a few photos.

These Cornus flowers are so beautiful in their simplicity - no more beautiful than this peony - both are lovely in their own way

 We headed out to one of the woodland areas and down to the lake

 Speedwell Blue reminds me of being a child - this is quite a big clump but I used to love finding these and Scarlet Pimpernels when we went on walks.

On the path we spotted Damselflies but they were so quick that neither of us got a decent photo!

We headed back across the Pennines after a coffee.

The next day at home hubby went to the local shops and came back and called me to grab a camera...right outside our door on the railings looking down on the path below was this beautiful dragonfly!

Hubby's battery was dead so I took these on my phone camera! I can hardly believe how sharp this photo is and how the Dragonfly seemed to pose - he was still there the next morning but by lunch time he was gone! 

So, here is the page I was inspired to make.

I used inks and gesso textured with a pen end and rubbed over with distress crayon, a little bit of sequin waste and stencilling then stamping with parts of AALL and create stamps before adding Tracy Evans's dragonflies. I cut more wings, added some stickles and then added some home made tape decoration at the bottom!

I would like to enter at 

Country View Challenges - The Written Word

Frilly and Funkie -Letter Perfect Challenge

Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge June

and of course - Art Journal Journey and Gill's theme 

of 'Inspired By'

Thanks for looking, Chris