Dreaming cat!

Hi everyone, as I mentioned in my post earlier today, we were out most of yesterday and the page I started still needed finishing 

We have seen lots of magnolia blossom this year and that was my inspiration for my page.

The page started as a second pull from a gelliplate to which I added some lotus blossom (an AAll and Create stamp) stamped twice so that I could cut out some of the flowers that got lost in the background.

The cat is one of a few images I cut out of a Stamperia paper collection - it reminds me of one of my childhood cats who used to love sitting in a sunny spot in the garden with his eyes closed - I don't think he was asleep, just happy to be daydreaming in the sun.

The words are from a Tim Holtz Clippings sticker book

Here are a few magnolias(plus) that we have seen on our garden walks lately. The nearest we are going to get to a lotus!

Not magnolias but rhododendrons (maybe Azaleas?)but a beautiful pink

I like to think that Eileen would have liked these photos.

I know that she would have loved all the tributes and 'Inspired By' posts at Art Journal Journey by everyone this month. 

Thank you all so much. 

I have really enjoyed working with Erika of BioArtGirl blog this month to honour our friend Eileen.

Rest In Peace dear friend.

Thanks for looking, Chris

  

 

Just a Tag

Hi everyone, we had an outing yesterday, on the way home hubby decided to take a detour which meant we were later getting home than we had planned. This meant that the page I had planned on finishing didn't get done, neither did my blog visiting!

So, first my tag. It's an 'Anything Goes' kind of tag!

I used some watercolours to make a grey background, much like some of the skies we have had this week in between some sunny intervals.

I added some spatters with the leftover mixed paint.

I tore some scraps into smaller pieces to fit the tag and stamped the flower, designed by my lovely friend Sarah Anderson for The Artistic Stamper. I stamped the postmark from the same set and then added some scribbles with Derwent water colour pencils. It still didn't look right so tore up some AAll and Create washi tape and stuck it over the scribbles. 

I am entering this at 

Tag Tuesday - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes

I also have a final page for Art Journal Journey both that will be my next post....it features this cute cat

Thanks for looking, Chris

T Stands for Tatton Park and little bit of Wanderlust

 This week has really raced past, we've had walks, had our second Covid jabs(without too much hassle and just a little bit of arm pain for a day)and we completed two Wanderlust pages.

Of the two of mine I prefer this one from week 17, a lesson by Kasia Avery

We were using magazine pages and although I have some with more artily posed beautiful models I was more taken with a little scene from a gardening magazine(more on that later)It shows a couple looking over a fence and I used layers from the same magazine to surround it.

I decided to add some words to it as it reminded me of our garden walks. I am also including it for Eileen's 'Inspired By' theme at Art Journal Journey where Erika and I have been co-hosting this month, now that Eileen is no longer with us.

Hubby found some images in an old Geographic magazine.

He was delighted to find this leopard.

We both enjoyed using oil pastels onto gessoed areas.

I wasn't quite so thrilled with mine from week 16 where Dyan Reavely showed us how to make a silhouette page.

Hubby's is fabulous

We are really enjoying these classes.

So, our walk at Tatton Park - it was hubby's birthday on Friday so it was his choice of where to go and what a good decision it was.

Its apple blossom time

The Guneria is sprouting again

The Japanese garden is now surrounded by a brand new bamboo fence

The back of the Japanese Garden

We left the main carpark and drove down to the lake for our picnic and it is here I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T Stands For Tuesday

Cheese bagel, homemade sausage roll and tomatoes

Hubby took a photo go the cups on the dashboard...before bringing it outside to drink.

Oh and that magazine....

..has this in it....

...lots of gardens in the UK at 2 for 1 prices - we aim to get the money we paid for the magazine back in our first couple of visits.

It is the May issue if you are interested and it is still available.

Thanks for looking, Chris

Inspired By A Song at TIOT

 Hi everyone, two weeks have just flown by and it's time for our new theme at Try It On Tuesday and we'd love to see how you can be 'Inspired by a Song'. The Design Team have a whole range of musical delights to inspire you to take part.

I made a journal page in my large Dylusions journal. I really did mean to take a few photos but...sorry..I was enjoying myself too much.     It wasn't the page I intended either, I had a different song in mind but during walk at Tatton park On Friday I found myself singing this song. Ray Stevens has always been a favourite of mine and this is one of my favourites of his...'Guitarzan' is another favourite...hmmmm!!!

I took around 200 photos so selected a few and printed them out.       I started by smudging paint on to my page in squares and then added some scribbles around them with Woodies, smudging them with damp finger. I added some stencilling and some scraps of paper which had been conveniently coloured in the colours of my page. I stamped, coloured and cut out the Crafty Individuals Bluebells and then arranged them on my page with some of the photos.

I left a space for the computer generated words. Finally I added some stamped flowers from a little set I bought at the Orsay in Paris a few years ago.

I am doubly pleased with this page that started with a visit to the gardens at Tatton Park which inspired me to sing the song. It also is a tribute to Eileen, who sadly died after an operation earlier this year. Over at Art Journal Journey her chosen theme 'Inspired by' still has a few more days to run. Eileen used to say that she loved to see my photos of the gardens we love to visit. 

I hope you will be singing a song that will inspire you to join us at TIOT. 

Anything you would like to make is acceptable but please stick to the theme and it would be great to let us know about the song that inspired you!

Thanks for looking, Chris 

Inspired by....

Hi everyone, I have another page for Eileen's 'Inspired by' theme at Art Journal Journey.

It is inspired by some new stamps that Hubby bought me for an Easter present.They are by Stamperia and complement some of the papers that I already have. 

It started off with this background - I gessoed over some of it as it seemed quite bright.

I stamped the image onto tissue so that they could face each other as though the paper image is looking into her soul. I added more papers and some Aall and Create Stencilled roses.The butterflies are in the same set and I masked and stamped the words to read the right way round.

Eileen, who sadly passed away before she could host her chosen theme definitely would have agreed with the 'Do What You Love' quote.

Thanks for looking, Chris

 

Inspired by a walk and Nicole Warrington!

 Hi, as I mentioned in my T Stands for Tuesday post earlier today we went to Lyme Park last week.

We do love the formal gardens but we really wanted to walk somewhere wilder! I was hoping to see lambs but they have been put behind fences for now and we only spotted one lamb while we were eating our picnic.

As we walked up the hill, thinking we might do a short circular route following the main pathways when I saw a seat a short walk away from the path under some trees. I had to use some of hubby's photos here.

It wasn't really positioned for a special vie but will be a shady spot in SummerWe met another couple, the only people we got close enough to speak to, and were able to exchange a few words about the area and the fact that no one else seemed to want to come this way. They told us that the way we were walking we were bound to come across the stags...and we did! Hubby used his zoom to get some good shots.                             

He was a bit worried that they seemed to be looking at me - I had walked ahead.

But these seem to be looking directly at him!

Hubby also spotted a Kestrel before it flew off over the hill

I have always loved making landscape art and frequently the teacher of a Wanderlust class was Nicole Warrington - I love seeing her work on Instagram here - she is known as Coastal Nicole.

Here is the watercolour page I made for Eileen's 'Inspired by' theme at Art Journal Journey.

It is a memory of the sights we saw on our walk, combined into one scene.

Here are some of my previous landscapes

A collage

Sometimes I add some stamping

Another watercolour

Sketching onto Infusions powders

This one used some peeled paint and some sketching

I'm ready to make some more.

Thanks for looking, Chris