High Viz!

When I saw that the Stampotique Designer challenge this time was for an ATC I decided to have a go - on Thursday!I then got so involved with sorting stuff out that I left no time to make anything...at all! However I am really organised now - for me!
So yesterday I had a go at this...

The little 'Strut your stuff" bird always walks with attitude and seems to me that he probably would jaywalk, which is why I've given him luminous beak feathers and toenails(whoops! I mean claws lol!)using some Zebra gel pens that I've had for so long I was surprised that they still worked!
The idea came about because I only have a few dictionary pages at home - the dictionary having already moved to the flat - and the j page was in my little bag of pages that I tore out before I took them.
The background is made by using two shades of some old Twinkling h2os - smooshed on a mat, dried, and then put back in to pick up the blobs(a trick picked up on Hels Sheridan's workshop)
I hope he stays safe!
Thanks for looking, Chris

Sunday Stamper!

Which for me seems to be Friday Stamper! If you don't know what I'm talking about look here. Hels Sheridan - "Superstamper" - sets up this challenge every Sunday but somehow I never seem to manage to get round to my attempt until the end of the week:(

The theme this week was summer colours and I made a sparkly background by using some old h2os splodged onto a mat and rubbed my tag over the top, Sun is an old faithful stamp by Rubber Stampede and I stamped the words using Studio g letters onto a background that was in my box of scraps and cut them out. Only thing is ever since I started this I been singing the song - hope you are too!
Thanks for looking, Chris

Something funny happened...

I bought some new neo colours -no that's not funny!I also followed a link to Andy Skinner's blog(or that!)
Andy has a clip on his blog about primary colours so I decided to test the theory - and it works! I couldn't resist drawing in some features - see the funny little blue duck here. 

 I also had a go at mixing yellow and red and ended up with the little punk boy!
I then thought I would do a test of all my colours

Through the rainbow colours here (neutral colours -not nearly so interesting on another page)I then decided to look at how they mixed with the next one down - to clean my brush I just swiped it on the paper I had torn out to test making the blue. It was only when I was sitting watching tv that I noticed that I could see little fishies!So I had to put the duck and the boy in the water! Hope you don't think I'm losing itLOL!!


Thanks for looking, Chris

Having fun!

Yesterday we managed to surprise my hubby and now I can breath again! He is 60 today but I knew that he wouldn't want a big fuss so my sons arranged to take him out for lunch. If we'd been at home I would have had no chance of a surprise, so being at the caravan was the only option....and we did it, although he was becoming a little frustrated with the fact that I was sooo slow getting ready to leave!(he had plans on taking me to lunch on the way home)

This was just after our grandchildren had appeared at the door! Lunch was lovely and we had a saunter by the canal afterwards.

We also had a great day in Settle on Saturday,and for once it wasn't raining! Had to visit Cottontail crafts of course, but only bought some buttons and some squares of fabric for making brooches. 

The views on the way were fantastic

 These trees just stood out on the horizon and we had to stop to take a piccy.

On our way back we had coffee and scones at Country Harvest near Ingleton and also picked up a few food goodies.

I took my little sketchbook with me for the weekend and spent some time doodling

This one started and finished

This one started some time ago but I wasn't happy with it

In between making cards for April birthdays(piccies still on my phone)and making secret arrangements, I also played a little with my Neocolours

Just blobbed and then drew in what I saw (oh dear!)

I did some scribble pictures some time ago too after looking at Carla Sonheims blog.

Finally some pictures from the garden at the caravan.

Primroses and forget-me nots

My lovely tree stump - which now has foxgloves growing in the top!

and this beautiful cloud formation on Saturday evening

Back home and time to blog! I have deliberately not blogged because I wanted to make sure the problem had gone away -it has- but now I'm wondering - what has happened to blogger?

Thanks for looking, Chris

Phew!I haven't been hijacked! PLEASE READ!

Thanks to all of you who have been concerned about  s-t-r-a-n-g-e things happening on my blog!

I must admit I did panic a bit and after several searches and phone calls have found that this disgusting site called atat.ro can get through a system that is supposed to block all pop-ups on Safari.


 As I have a mac Safari seems to be the best provider(?) for macs and the very nice man at Apple says that they are working on this. Meanwhile can I ask you to be patient if this happens to you while looking at my blog and just cancel this pop-up.

I have also been taken to another page altogether - something about dates but I just click off that straight away too!

Hopefully they will realise there is going to be nothing to gain from using my blog and stop this soon:(


Hope to be back later, just sorting out some things for the charity shop!!
Chrisx

Time flies indeed!

I had every intention of posting this yesterday.... and the day before, but somehow I seem to have lived up to the meaning of this little atc totally!

 I am enjoying the challenges Hels sets for Sunday Stampers and knew straight away that I wanted to use the dandelion stamp. Unfortunately we were away and the stamp was at home and of course once home there's the washing and other stuff that gets in the way!
So here I am late again! I do hope the Roman numerals on the clock still count for this weeks 'Numbers'!
This is a special week for Hels - her 200th Sunday Stamper challenge - pretty impressive don't you think!
I do hope I'm not toooo late!
Back later with more, Chris 

Travelling!

We're travelling again - only up to our caravan but before I go I am just going to scrape into Hels' Sunday Stamper challenge - TRAVEL - with a journal page.

The background I made ages ago in my little moleskine so all I needed to do was add a few more of my scraps and stamp a Creative Expressions ballon on the map scrap and as you can see I'm loving this quote from Lindsay's "Urban Angel".
Right, that's it! Off now to pack before hubby puts a bag in the car without my things in(craft bag already packed he! he!
Happy Easter everybody, thanks for looking, Chris

I've got a good excuse!

I know I am late with this but I've been playing with my grandchildren!(look here if you want to see what we made!)
I love taking part in Kate's 366/12 calendar journal challenge - I love looking back at good times (and bad)as well as looking at how others taking part make their pages.
Here are my April pages - already started to fill them in!

 The lovely lady on the left is from Lindsay Mason's 'Urban Angel' set(from her new 'Off the wall' range. I used the words to make a nonsense poem(of sorts lol) The eggs are petals of flowers from the same set. Strut your Stuff birdie(Stampotique) may have laid all those eggs(or maybe not-who knows!)The background was made using my favourite distress inks on mat, spritz and smoosh method!I drew the little banner because I hope we are in for an exiting time this month!
Here are my March pages complete too.

Off now to check tiling progress in our flat but hope to get around to looking at what others have been up to later.
Thanks for looking, Chris

Great time!

Oh yes! It was colder than we'd have liked but after buying some of Lindsay Mason's "Off the wall" stamps at The Paper Warehouse in Kendal we didn't notice the weather. When I say we I mean my two grandchildren and I, but it also gave Dad and Granpa time to do a bit of gardening and reading! 
The weekend started on Saturday when my grand-daughter and I went to the demonstration day in Kendal. It was great to see lovely Lindsay again and her new stamps - these sets are brilliant and we spent some time deciding which to get (although I can see myself having to get them all!) We also got to see Esther Gundry for a bit of a catch up! There were some fabulous products being demo'd, all I need is a LOTTO win!
Off we went into Kendal town to 'Reticule' -the most fabulous little shop with lots of textiles and haberdashery - bought a few goodies and then met up with 'the boys'!
After tea we got started and my grandson joined in. We stamped then coloured the 'Urban Angel' images using a combination of crayon and gel pens and finally (the next day) came up with this.

The twigs were decorated with glitter glue, some bits of ribbon and some sequins that had been on the front of a comic!
Over the three days we made two similar reels.

finishing off

concentration!

 This is 'Gwendoline' with some more hearts, leaves and flowers from the 'Urban Angel' set. My grand-daughter had a discovery moment which made me so proud of her - she suddenly appeared with a flower that she had turned up from the centre to "make it more real'!
The last one we made was using a set of 'Molly Bloom' stamps and I must thank Clare for the inspiration, as she had a decorated reel on her demo table that took our eye - nothing like this, but when we saw a bag of reels in 'Reticule' we were away!

We didn't spend all our time indoors, we got out for a walk and lunch at Leighton Moss reserve and also to the beach at Morecambe for a bit of kite flying!

Add a bit of bug hunting in the garden and playing with a ball and yes - a great weekend!


Thanks for looking, I will get back soon with my 366/2012 journal pages, Chris