Tim's tag - July 2015

I saw Tim's Tag for his '12 Tags of 2015-July' and thought immediately - France!! Well, we had only been back a couple of weeks then (where did that time go?)

The details of Tim's tag and the tutorial are here…
this is what I came up with..

It will go on the front of my Travel Journal - if only I can find time to add some finishing touches to my journal that is!!!

Dashing now….again!!!!!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Cool green!

I missed most of the colourful flowers in our caravan garden this year as we were away in France. At the moment we are in a lull between one flowering and another - it will soon be time for my Hydrangeas and Budleias to flower…but that's okay because I love to look out at the different shades of green!
It is the inspiration behind this card for a special card for a family member (won't say who - just in case she sees this!!)
I usually make flat cards to post but we will be hand delivering this!

A few photos along the way…

Corrugated card brushed over with Paper Artsy Fresco paint - Guacamole and Nougat

Some Frantage added..and a few of those nail art beads! 

Some of my lovely MAMBI paper stamped with Woodware text

Book paper stamped on both sides  with the butterfly stamp

I am entering the following challenges

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - Summer Days……I will be spending more days at our caravan….hopefully with better weather than today!!

Taken last week..and it was raining  then too

Frilly and Funkie - Raise It Up!

Simon Monday Challenge - No ordinary paper

Moo Mania - In the Garden

Thanks for looking, Chris

Another Paris journal page

I am trying to keep quiet - Hubby had a wisdom tooth extracted this morning. I am not going anywhere today, so a chance to catch up on some crafty time and little bit of blog catching up too I hope!

I started this page a few weeks ago. I bought some tissue wrapping paper with a mixture of black, white and a brown printed with French text and images - only thing is can't remember where from(hubby says may have been Aldi!)
I covered a journal page with part of the print paper and dabbed some copper acrylic paint through a Rebekah Meier stencil of a fleur-de-lys.

After that….nothing…although I did keep going back to look at it hoping for inspiration!

I was wishing I had that Tim Holtz die with the Eiffel Tower and a fleur-de-lys on it, that would surely help, but I'm going to a craft shop on Saturday for Lindsay Mason's workshop and I am bound to want to spend some cash then…?! Well, yesterday our car had to have some unexpected work done so we had to go and pick up my GD a few miles away with a courtesy car (we park at my son's and walk to meet her)Afterwards we had to drive back and pick up our car - quite near to a Hobbycraft - I wanted something in MDF so went into look. Not only did I come out of the shop with my MDF item(more another day!!) but….yay! the TH die - reduced to £6.50!!!
So here is my page

I cut the Eiffel Tower out of book paper then stamped over randomly with a lattice stamp. The paper had some stamping added to it - Fleur-de-Lys from a Visual Images set(I tried to match up with the stencilled ones!) and more lattice. 
The Gibson girl(Artistic Stamper) is enjoying her evening at the Opera and despite her haughty look is travelling back home by Metro, having made her grand entrance earlier from a hired car! 
Her backdrop is a swirl from the same Visual images set stamped onto tissue and stuck on and dabbed over with Vintage Photo.The Eiffel Tower is standing on a bit of stencilling using Potting Soil ink and then moved over and re-stencilled with PA Fresco Nougat.
When I stuck the tower on it seemed a bit lost so I used Tim's technique (from 12 Tags of 2015 - February) of using a black soot Distress marker and smudging it around the edges - I use this quite a lot since learning about this! The opera loving girl got the same treatment with a Vintage Photo Distress marker.

I am entering the following challenges

Stamps and Stencils - Happy Holidays

Country View Challenges - On Your Travels

 A Vintage Journey - Destinations

That's Crafty - Stencils and Masks

I am hoping you are not getting tired of seeing my holiday photos as there are still more to come!

I am also linking to 
Art Journal Journey - Post and postage theme 
and Brenda's Visual Journey at Bumblebees and Butterflies 
Brenda has the most gorgeous pages on her Visual Journey today …it's Paris at it's best!!

Thanks for looking, Chris

WOYWW 320

What's on my desk? Not a lot to show…a combination of things to cut and things that have been sorted to use! 
Julia at The Stamping Ground invites you to show all for 'Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday', come rain, hail or shine!

I have something going around in my head so I'll see what happens!!

We have been quite busy following our few days away at our caravan over the weekend and still have some more appointments over this week and next! The highlight of our week is going to be a workshop with Lindsay Mason on Saturday. Hubby liked what she demo-ed some time ago and this is the first opportunity we have had to go together! I hope he will be okay though- he is having a wisdom tooth out tomorrow!!

We have a couple of things to do today…pick up GD from school and go to pick up our car - hubby took it in this morning for something minor….I think you can guess the rest!!! Fortunately he got a courtesy car for free!!

Thanks for looking, Chris 

T is for……too hot!!

I'm joining the party at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog - The Altered Booklover to celebrate 2 years of 'T stands for Tuesday' where you are invited to share your drink!
Today is the day where you can also pass on an ATC, a great idea and as they say on Dragon's Den…."I'm in!"

 I have tried to keep in with the colours Elizabeth uses for her logo

…well, ok, not quite there!!I used Chipped Sapphire distress ink over manilla card and stamped a couple of partial Paper Artsy clocks and some text. The cups were stamped onto mop up paper towel from my Brusho session last week and then stuck onto some of the leftover watercolour paper over the brightest yellow part I could find!
My page title says 'Too hot!' - this is because I know that where Elizabeth lives it would definitely be too hot for me!! (I hope you are having a good day today E!!)  

It was quite hot in Paris when we had been for a walk on the Promenade Plantee, I requested our drink in what I thought was quite good French but the waiter, to my dismay answered me in English! When I asked where we so obviously English before he could answer the man at the side of us said - "Oh Yes!!" He did turn out to be very nice and had lived in London for several years! He did reassure me that my French was OK!!

Looking forward to seeing who I will send my ATC to!
Edit - If Krisha and the girls are next I will get making some more!!!  
Thanks for looking, Chris

It's hot and it's Tuesday

I could be referring to the weather but no - today is our new challenge at Try It On Tuesday and this time it's 'Hot and Wild' and the Design Team have some fabulous inspiration for you over on the blog. Some of us are 'hot', some of us are 'wild' and we hope you will join us - all the details are here! 

I have made a card for someone special

I started by dabbing some Brilliance pearly pink ink around the edge of the craft card and then dabbed Picked Raspberry distress paint and some of my trusty Adirondack copper on top

The corrugated card had it's edges run through some H2O's

I used a selection of papers including one for acrylic paint and some watercolour papers and splashed some orange red and yellow Brushos around before spritzing.

After stamping the Stampotique 'Strut your Stuff' bird several times  I cut three rectangles to fit the card and after mounting onto more Brushoed paper sprinkled on some Nail art beads as 'sand'

Although the little birds are looking a little wild, they clearly live somewhere hot, I imagine they know the words to 'Speedy Gonzales', a song I used to love in the sixties!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Beside the sea

I made this card for my son's partner a while ago,before we went on holiday! 

He used to be a sea farer so I wanted to make a card to remind him of those days! The map is of an area I have happy memories of!  I used distress inks for the background and flicked some water over it. The stamps are Crafty Individuals. I stamped the seagull and the cases onto a separate piece of card to make them stand out!  

I would like to enter in the following challenges

Stamping Sensations - Feature a Creature

Country View Challenges - On your Travels

Crafty Individuals - Face value

Thanks for looking, Chris

WOYWW 319

I don't seem to have been here at Julia's Stamping Ground for a while but I think it is because time is moving so fast! 

My desk with work in progress…if you came by yesterday you will have seen the little pile of papers spread out drying, they are now waiting for the next stage!
The paints are still there because I need those colours again…so…what else to see? My overflowing jelly carton desk bin,script stamps,(also one of the few Stampotique stamps I own),two packs of gel pens - different makes,two little punches I bought on holiday. You will also see my favourite photo of my GD(the one she doesn't like!)other than that I would prefer that you do not look too long and hard at the chaos around!!

Hmm! Seven hours later….had to pop and lend someone a hand, then it was GD pick up time!

I am sure that by now there are many tales of dear Eliza, such a lovely lady whose comments always cheered! We remember Yoda when she first got him and followed his progress with cheers every time he made an appearance! I am sure the news affected us all and our thoughts will be with her family and of course DeDe. It was Eliza who requested that I get an e-mail link put on. At the beginning of this year she had a rare visit to the cinema (claimed she had sent her family into shock!)and I know she enjoyed my film reviews. 

Film Review!
I thought there would be no more, but last Thursday Hubby and I, having found that our local Odeon has a 'Silver Screen' showing of recent films we decided to give it a try! For £3 pounds each we saw the film and had a free cup of coffee and a biscuit. There were eighteen people in, mostly over 60's (the 'Silver' part, he! he!)although the screenings are available for all ages. 
We saw 'Still Alice' a tale about a woman who develops early onset Alzheimers disease. Not many laughs, but brilliant acting from Julienne Moore(she won best actress oscar) and the rest of the cast. A thought provoking film indeed!!

I do hope I get to visit lots of you this time but if I don't I shall leave you with some words of Eliza's wisdom - if I don't, I just have to "suck it up, like everyone else!" she said you would understand…and I know you will because Julia started this link of friendship and I think we do understand each other - it's why we're here!!

Tempus Fugit indeed!

Thanks for looking, Chris

T Stands for….tangle and loads of dressing!!

I love to join Elizabeth and her furry pals Bleubeard and Squiggles on Tuesdays, you're invited too as long as you bring your drink with you!!

Today I have been returning to something I did a while ago - it's on my blog somewhere(hmm…should I have saved this for '2nd Look'?)
Every so often I get an urge to tangle, although I don't think it is really - just doodling!!!(I even have a board on Pinterest devoted to zentangling and doodles)
This is how I'm getting on

 The one on the right started almost the same way except I used inks for that one. This time I scribbled on some Neo-colour IIs and used my water brush to blend the colours.
I am now using a Pitt pen to draw around and separate the colours - I will enjoy sitting with this at our caravan to fill in the patterns.
Now, my drink, not entirely healthy but we were on holiday, our first day in Troyes. We found a lovely square..

not far from here

and here

this is what we had

I'm sure your eyes are drawn straight to the huge amount of dressing on that lettuce - it's a good job we had decide to order one with frites and one with 'salad' so we could do a swapsie.
As you can see our drink was Coke Zero, we had been drinking our water all morning!!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Paris - journal page and more!

Hello there! Just a quick apology before I begin to show my page…I have been doing my best to visit you...I have found it easier for those of you that post more often, as I have decided that as I see your post come up in my sidebar or reader list on blogger I will try to visit and scroll back(easier said than done but please..bear with!!!)
We were out and about over the weekend, a bit of shopping, walking and an afternoon out with grandchildren - all this to distract me from the fact that Mr Mojo went off out before we did and stayed out all weekend! This afternoon I tried to entice him back by playing in my journal - I was able to meet the criteria for a few challenges and I do believe at some point that he sneaked back in!
My page is about my love for Paris

I had already stamped something on the page but it hadn't stamped well so the page was just left. Today I gessoed over the stamping then painted over with Fresco Snowflake. Snowflake was also used through a stencil - the contrast with the blue was knocked back a bit with a dab of snowflake on a sponge. I painted a piece of deli paper with Nougat and stamped the Crafty Individuals Paris girl before colouring with distress inks and tearing around the edge.
The Memories stamp is part of a Visible Images stamp and the post mark and Carte Postale is from Tim's atc stamp of Mona Lisa. A little bit of random text and a real old stamp and I was almost done! The heart is part of a denim coloured napkin from a restaurant while we were in France - quite sturdy so after sticking on the muslin and lace I stamped an Eiffel tower on some of it and cut out the heart, stuck it to some book paper and padded it out with a little more muslin

The embellies (French shopping trips!) were rubbed over with a little bit of Snowflake too
The girl in the picture has been aged up a bit by giving her some makeup! I think she loves Paris as much as I do!

St Germain where we spent some time window gazing and people watching!

The Montparnasse Tower may not look very glamorous but the view from the (expensive) restaurant are amazing with a good view of the Eiffel  Tower - we didn't go up this time but we have had a coffee there, it's cheaper than the viewing platform!!

Porte St Denis

The next few photos are of the amazing Sainte Chapelle - a place we would probably have still missed if my Paris Visite card hadn't refused to work so we had to detour to get another!

It was very crowded when we went and I would love to go back on a quieter day!!

I would like to link to Art Journal Journey where the theme is Post and Postage 

Anything but Cute 

where the colour inspired them is 'Summer Romance' - this is really all about my romance with Paris(we worked out it was our seventh visit)

Country View Challenges where the theme is 'On Your Travels'

A Vintage Journey where the theme is 'Destinations'

Crafty Individuals - where the challenge is 'Face Value'

Thanks for looking, Chris

Journal page - 'Post and postage' at Art Journal Journey

I haven't been able to join in at Art Journal Journey for a while but when I found a page I had started in my journal that had been left 

decide to tone it down a bit and came up with this

I added some Grunge paste through a stencil which happily allowed the ink to bleed through the gesso I had used to tone things down a bit! The words are from my Arthur book where I often find lines I like.
Has the young lady(Artistic Stamper)broken up with her lover and she is reading through old love letters or is he away and these letters are arriving daily?
The 'stamp' is from a set I bought while in France.

Thanks for looking, Chris

Try It on Tuesday - Framed!!!

Our new theme at Try It on Tuesday is 'In the Frame' and if you pop over to the blog you will see some fabulous examples to get you thinking! The details are on the blog but just to remind you that anything you make is acceptable as long as it has a frame somewhere!!

Sometimes the time just seems to run away so I made this for myself as a reminder that I can't do everything!!

It looks different with sun light shining on it

It started out as a little party tray for peanuts - I bought six of the clear plastic trays two years ago when visiting my SIL and hubby.
One appeared on my blog

but the photos seem to have disappeared from the post!!It was made for my Granddaughter!

The rest made their way to the garden fete we had here two weekends ago - and were sold!!!

I used a variety of alcohol inks to colour the frames and then found small images as well as using punches and chit chat words to decorate them.

I hope you will come and join us at Try It On Tuesday this time!

Thanks for looking, Chris