New Toy!

At last I found the time to nip up to Paddy's Stamping Place in Prestwich(btw she has a stock clearance sale on at the moment) Ages ago I asked her for a needle felting kit and although I knew she had got it I had no time to go up there. On Wednesday I thought I'd better go before she put it in the sale! Sooo yesterday, as well as being a good girl(stretching it there, he he!)and doing some housework(sorry guys had to do it!!)I had a play!

I actually started this at Paddy's way back in February as part of my Burnt Offerings but it didn't look good at all. I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out - if you squint it looks a bit like a stormy scene!

Then I had a go at a seascape - not sure about this either but until I look at it in a few weeks this is how its staying for now.

 The back looks interesting too!

It is so relaxing just sitting with the little brush and the needle!  I nipped into Manchester today and found myself in Abakan(don't know how - it's quite a tidy step from the bus terminus!!)

Bought a bag of felt bits for £2 and these-

I'm hoping I can blend a few colours together with the little teasle brush and I got  a tube of clear beads. I've made myself a little box up to take away so should be really chilled :)

Off to get myself a drink before bedtime!

Thanks for looking, have lovely weekend,

Chris

A TRIO

This title just about sums up this post. I tried yesterday, and tried, tried and tried again but whatever I did blogger just wouldn't even recognise me. Couldn't post, couldn't comment, when I eventually got to sign in still couldn't do anything - same again this morning UNTIL....lightbulb moment - try another browser YAY!!!

So here is what I wanted to say yesterday! I did eventually get away at the weekend, only overnight with hubby, and it did rain some of the time but I feel refreshed! Of course seeing a view like this from my door helped!

 A lot better than my usual chimney pot views at home!

So, feeling much better I set to with a new stamp to make what?

A Sympathy card!!!

  Just stamped and embossed, bit of ribbon and Craftwork cards sentiment.  Then a 'Thinking of you' card.

Stamped onto patterned green paper from a magazine, layered onto Crafty Individuals paper punched with MS punch, ricrac and Craftwork cards sentiment.

Mmmmm, bit depressing considering my good mood, soooo...

stamped and embossed onto Crafty Individuals paper, coloured with Tombow pen then mounted onto more free paper, flowers punched from more Crafty Individuals paper and this looks a lot cheerier and will be used as a notecard to a friend!

The stamp is by Paperbag Studios that I bought from Happy Daze here
It arrived less than 24 hours after I ordered it!
Off now to make a special card for a friend!
Thanks for looking,
Chris

UNCOMFORTABLE!

I love messing about with inks, paint, glue, cutting bits and pieces out for my journals, but the other day I went off to Sale and was persuaded by Nichola to make something using recycled materials. Looking at the array of selection of materials I began to get worriedLOL! (wish I'd taken a piccie). We looked at a few photographs of landscapes then Nichola told us to get on with it. Well...a roof tile, thick gloopy PVA, Polyfilla,sandpaper, slate, tissue paper, broken pots, stones, string, crushed china, an old road atlas and a lot of mess and I came up with this.

took this by laying it on the floor and standing over it

and this on my table

I am sort of pleased with myself for persevering, but know that this just isn't my thing! I can sit with ink on my hands happily, but kept going to wash my hands - what a wuss!! The others made really great pictures, especially Tina. It was an experience, but not one I'll be repeating soon!!(no offence Nichola)

I should have been away for a couple of days, but number 1 son rang on Thursday morning to say he was still poorly. This left me with time to look for something to cheer me up(any excuse)and a little package arrived today, so I'm looking forward to playing! 

Have a great weekend,

Chris

HAPPY DAYS AND HAPPY DAZE

I'm off for a couple of days away with my eldest son, so hopefully happy days! Another real happy day was Saturday at Port Sunlight Stamper Show, where, YIPPEE!, Happy Daze had a stand - with piles of Stampotique stamps and walls(small walls) of Paperbag Studios stamps dislayed. Not only that..... THE Jo Capper-Sandon was demoing - Happy Days or what? Of course I bought as much as I dared - the big bill last week still to be paid! I also did something I don't normally do at Port Sunlight....I nipped across the road, but only to see lovely Lindsay Mason, who, as usual, was creating masterpieces, using her stamps and drawing. I've had a go at drawing a fence but still a lot of practice required!
Since then I've been doing a bit of journaling and made a couple of quick cards for birthdays this week.

 This for my nephew, using a magnolia stamp and my favourite Garden stamp by Galerie Vernissage for Inkadinkado, coloured with Promarkers, I used a Woodware punch to make a border.

This card was made by  using Faded Jeans And Weathered Wood Distress Stains onto white card , Penny Black flower stamp coloured with Promarkers, Hobby Art butterfly coloured with Sakura pens, matted onto white then Crafty Individuals paper.
Both really quick and thin enough to go through the post!
Well,time I was off! Back soon with something that took me right out of my comfort zone!
Thanks for looking, Chris.

MY TREASURES

A while ago I attended Sylvia Woods Burnt Offerings workshop, I made a little book with one of the pieces I made. 

I wasn't sure what to do with it,let it sit for a while but then decided to turn it into a 'Gran's brag book'
To match the burnt look I printed the photos out in sepia, having first given them 'interesting' borders using Print Shop.

I stamped some of the pages using my favourite Kaisercraft background stamps.
I look forward to taking this with me whenever I go away.
Have a lovely day, Chris.

Oh Dear!

I don't know what's happening, but things are still not right with blogger and I know it's not just me this time:(
Just going to share journal page with you today. I'm quite pleased with the way it's turned out. I've had the background for a while - its a babywipe that I used to mop up ink ages ago, but liked the way it looked and glued it to some paper. Yesterday after sewing some curtains I sewed the pointed grasses on to it. I then doodled in some weeds and grasses. It looked a bit dull so coloured a Stampotique toadstool and a butterfly I've had for ages by using Sakura pens. No words came to mind so I'm leaving as it is! 

I hope to link this to enter the Stampotique Challenge.

Thanks for looking, Chrisx

New look

Good Day to all, I think at long last I'm beginning to get the hang of this. 

I promised a look at a little notebook I've made. It started out as something I could take away with me, and something to use up scraps and it just went on from there - a little bit of collage,stamp in and just enjoying myself!!  

Kaisercraft text stamp, scraps, heart from a bargain sheet 

when a shop in Morecambe closed down,Studio G letters

   Crafty Individuals image, Kaisercraft stamps, 

Martha Stewart lace punch

Kaisercraft stamps, Crafty Individuals image, Eiffel Tower image from card bought in Accesorize, Martha Stewart leftovers from craft club project, scraps

 Kaisercraftstamp, Cuttlebug text, squared paper 

Darkroom door stamp, Penny Black stamp, scraps, 

music napkin, Crafty Individual bird stamps.

                 Tim Holtz salvage sticker, tissue tape and adage ticket, scraps and Kaisercraft stamps

I really enjoyed doing this and have already started another,I kept it thin enough to pop in my bag but on reflection don't think I will (not just yet anyway).

Woop! Woop! and not so Woop!, garage just rung to say car will be ready tonight - then gave me the cost!$!?! Oh well.....

Thank you for looking and for your comments, which I love reading, Chrisx

                             

A NEW PEAR!

While on one of our trips away we went into Morecambe, having walked around in the wind for a while we were on our way back to the car when hubby suggested I might like to go the little craft shop just off the front. Having a little look around I found a Rubber Stampede pear stamp which I just had to have, then I found it had been reduced - great!!
So, while waiting for the garage to ring on Monday(btw car still not been fixed -boohoo!)I set to and made 6 cards no less!

Plain and simple - Martha Stewart 'lace', 

Kaisercraft text and 'the pear'

Plain and simple - twine, ricrac, Kaisercraft text, birthday sentiment that I've had for ages and 'the pear'

An experiment,LOL, I had been cleaning off stamp in between using it and liked the look of the wipe so after it had dried I stamped on it, so - Martha Stewart lace,kraft paper, Craftwork cards sentiment and 'the pear'

Another experiment - a background using a pear napkin, 'the pear' stamped and embossed onto kraft paper with just a hint of 

bundled sage on the paper

Another plain and simple - 'the pear', stamped and masked, Kaisercraft text stamp,ribbon and a sentiment from my box

Finally, another experiment,'the pear' stamped and masked onto baby wipe, Kaisercraft text stamp, mounted onto card stamped with Kaisercraft music stamp and edged with Martha Stewart 'lace'.

I also carried on with a little notebook I am making, here is the cover

I hope to be back soon with it finished.

Off now to get my head around how to get all the shopping without a car - although my youngest has offered to take me. It just goes to show how reliant I have become on having our own transport, my mum used to do the shopping for the family without one, so how come I feel so darned grumpy about this!!

 Thanks for looking, please feel free to make a comment, I need cheering up:(
Chrisx

so not organised!!

There was I, April pages finished, May pages ready, photos taken, and then what happened? (see previous post)I have had a call and garageman he say - your clutch has gone missus. So, having been really careful with money last month because I have plans to go to Port Sunlight stampers show, I now need even more money than I probably saved to pay for said clutch.....darn!!!!
So here are my May pages ready

 I used one of my favourite stamps from Stampendous along with some stencilled flowers and a Craft Stamper freebie and basically should have stopped stamping long before I did so I'm not especially happy with this, although I do like the colours. Journal spots were done by stamping onto my craft mat with distress inks and smooshing and spritzing, very therapeutic!
Here are my finished April pages, as you can see I've been quite busy, no wonder April went so quickly!!   

Thanks to Kate at http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/ for 

the motivation to keep a 'diary', my boys are most impressed 

that I've kept up with this and I hope they and my 

grandchildren will enjoy reading them someday.

                         

Thanks for looking, I didn't do so well getting to look many others last month so hope to make up for it this time, Chrisx

Back to normal -never!

Hubby back to work, time to craft - noooo!!
We went out for a little jaunt at the weekend to Styal Mill, beautiful gardens,

Below is the handkerchief tree

met eldest son and my youngest grandson, had lunch - then went to leave, we were going to nip to Wilmslow to pick up some more salad stuff, as we left the car park our little car made little squealing noises which we thought must be from the dusty carpark, by the time we reached the supermarket(not far) the squealing hadn't stopped and there was a horrendous smell.
Two hours later and with the help of a friendly AA man and my youngest son's partner (son had been drinking) we got home and our poor little car had been abandoned for the night outside the garage we go to for repairs etc.. Had to notify police and council to explain why we had left our car on double yellow lines, although there was a note inside from said AA man which he assured us would be treated as 'official'.
So.....I am waiting for a call from garage with the news. I am hoping it is just a bag caught in the  engine,(it was a very windy day), as we have had a similar smell once before while we were away and the garage we went to found a plastic bag wrapped round everything!!
I have tried to concentrate on making some cards and tags but I am on pins waiting for the phonecall.


Will be back later(I hope) with piccies of 365journal.


Thanks for looking, and also for those who make comments, Thank You, they are much appreciated.
Chris