Sunday Stampers Happy Heart

Wooo! Had a great day at Port Sunlight yesterday with Sarah, met up with lots of old friends and bought...well, just a few new goodies! Few!!!LOL
So, last night after flopping on the sofa to watch Casualty went off to my work table to play with some of them and made most of this page which made me very happy - lovely zingy Dylusion sprays and mask along with a fern mask from Crafty Individuals!

 Having seen Sarah's journal IRL I was inspired to draw with ink, not with a stick but with the bottom of the tube for the nozzle. To see Sarah's fantastic stick drawing see here - and while you're there have a look at some of the other amazing stuff she's produced!
Of course being the impatient type I couldn't wait for the spray to dry so ended up with a few splodges! I still went to bed feeling very happy!
So I get up this morning and see that Hel's Sunday Stamper Challenge is only "Happy Heart"! Hels has made a fantastic tag with some serendipitous wording. So out came another of my goodies from yesterday - some word art from the amazing Jenny of Artistic Stamper - mixed two stamps up added some painty circles and a bit of stamping from an old Elusive Images stamp - Oh Yes! - very happy!!
Thanks for looking, Chris

What a Day!

I was lucky enough to attend Kate Cranes workshop at Art from the Heart in Harrogate on Saturday. Up early(no problem - I was sooooo excited) and off to pick Sarah up. I was surprised that the journey didn't take as long as I thought it would, so time for a quick look round first - if you've been yourself you will know that there is so much to take in!

Then the workshop, it was great to find that there were so many people that I knew, Gez and Sheila who got me into this blogging malarkey, Elaine and her mum Kath, Pat who I met last year in Manchester. It was also nice to meet others from blogland and put a face to the name so to speak, namely Flutterbycrafter and gotpaintinmyhair. 

Kate is a fabulous teacher and after gessoing some pages I got to use the Dylusions paint, I wish I had bought this before now it is f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!!! 

We added texture by using more gesso and stencils,and Kate had prepared a little bag which contained(among other things) the Stampotique image and some acetate with the bee on it which we then cut the wings off to go behind the image.The text stamp is one of Dyans. I just had to use a quote from 'Miranda' to go with this as I was really having a ball!!
The second page was started by Kate giving us all a rub-on to inspire us, mine was a world and led me to this.

We also had the excitement of Sheila's birthday with choccies and cake!!

Sheila getting ready to blow out her candles

The day ended far too quickly, but not before I had a little wander around the shop to select some goodies before the long drive home(thanks Sarah he!he!)
Thanks to Kate and everyone else for a fantastic day and BAGS of inspiration!
Chris

Three sided coin anyone?

I've got a dilemma, I'm going to a Kate Crane(yes,the Kate Crane!)workshop with my friend Sarah and I'm supposed to take a small journal.The thing is I don't know what to do....should I take one I've started already...or should I take said 'one I've started already' and turn it upside down and start from the back....or do I take a new one(I do have one that I bought as part of a special offer)? I'm also so excited that I'm not thinking straight at all and with de-cluttering, thinking we may have found our new home and having our decking re-vamped - it's now a lovely shade of green thanks to hubby and eldest son, I suppose come Saturday morning I'll grab both and decide when I get there!


It was our anniversary on Tuesday and my son who was staying with us went off with my grandson for the night to go camping(in his words "to leave us lovebirds on our own"!!)It was nice to go out and not feel guilty about leaving them with baked beans on toast he!he!We found a lovely pub, 'The Lunesdale Arms' in Tunstall near Kirby Lonsdale and had a fabulous meal in peaceful surroundings! 


I didn't have much time for crafting other than make fish and sharks with my grandson - lots of shiny stickles involved(a very aptly named product where my grandson is concerned!!!)

I did however complete a journal page that I'd already started.One night I went out onto the decking and looked up and through the stars could actually see the Milky Way - I know....small pleasures, but it inspired me to make this page.
The background was a very bright pink but by the time I'd added Weathered Wood and Faded Jeans distress stains and let them move around before spritzing then mopping up, then dabbing Corduroy Distress ink around a star, sprayed everything lightly with Silver Perfect Pearl spray and stamped with some spotty Kaisercraft background stamps I was happy enough to add a Crafty Individuals image and add some words and a bit of doodling!


So, tomorrow we are off for a couple more viewings to confirm (or not) whether we are actually going to make a decision!!


Thanks for looking and Thank you too for your comments, they are much appreciated, Chris     

MIXED BAG!

Where shall I start? We went away last weekend, so relaxing! Took a couple of journals and my new needle felting kit (more later) and also did loads of gardening. Everything seemed to have died off... until we cleared the weeds and cut the hedge back(this can be done for us but because I have unearthed four(yes four!) Hydrangeas in the hedge over the past 2 years I prefer to do it myself and just leave the tops to be cut)Seeds are coming up and we have bought some new plants and I think this year could be the best year yet. 

Mr and Mrs Duck came to help, Mr Duck liked paddling where we watered and Mrs Duck helped herself to a drink from the drip tray under a pot.

This pot is outside our bedroom window, where this lovely stump sits, surrounded  by weeds and I like to keep it fairly wild around there for the insects and birds.

Behind it is this view....and a little to the right...this

Lighting is different as first was early morning and last was evening.

We were lucky to see this tender scene over the road one evening.

So,what did I do with my needle felting?

and then added beads when I got home.

Oops! yes it is the same piece!

I also did this

I had a picture in my small journal that I put in ages ago when I first wanted to have a go at needle felting.

Not quite, but I'm happy enough with it.

We both felt very relaxed when we came back..then I had to go for my dreaded retinopathy screening. If ever you have had one you know what I mean when I say that the eye drops feel like a thousand needles have been shoved in your eyes. 

Still, two days later we went off to the Cubby Hole in Crewe for Sarah's Art of Moodling exhibition preview. That girl is so talented, such a range of artwork! See her pictures here,(includes a pic of my hubby who was persuaded to "have a go" at a communal piece)

So how to top that? Well, my son's ex-partner has gone 'mobile' so I had my hair cut at home and she brought my grandson over. He loves to craft and I just happened to have finally got my hands on some of Lindsay Mason's new stamps - 'I dreamed of castles' and 'Hoist the flags' so I gave him paper, stamps, ink and crayons and away he went...

He found he could make the castle bigger by adding to it with the smaller stamps - how clever! Here he is adding some trees that I got from Circa designs bargain box at Port Sunlight.His stamping technique is really coming on - not a single smudge!(obviously hasn't inherited the pearshaped way he!he!)

Finally (phew!)my other two grandchildren came yesterday and both had a go at needle felting and guess what - silly Gran forgot to take photos. Will have to see if I can get a photo next week.

Well, if you are still here, thanks for looking. I look forward to any comments you care to make and will be back soon with more of what I'm doing today.

Chris

That's Better!

Good morning, and it is indeed, blue sky and a few clouds and the temperature tower on the main road was 8degrees when I dropped my hubby off to work at 7.30(so that I can have the car today)!

Builders at the back - gone, mice - GONE(most definitely - sorry animal lovers but they were in my kitchen!!)

Spent a lovely weekend with two of my grandchildren,trip to the park in the sunshine and then a visit in the rain to Leighton Moss reserve near Carnforth, it is a fantastic place with great access to most of the hides but the children were delighted to see from the paths - great tits collecting nesting material, robins singing to them, a thrush having a bath, a duck climbing a tree(well, it was a mis-shapen willow with a slope)and some beautiful elf cup fungi. Yes, we did get wet but we soon dried out in the fantastic cafe they've got there.

I've also had time for some crafting.
These are the cards I made for friends birthdays this week
This one made with a Gorjuss girl from a set I bought at Dawn Bibby's last year, backed with Prima paper,and of course Martha Stewart lace and Craftwork sentiment.

This one using Stampotique and again good old MS punch and Craftwork cards sentiment.

I've also been playing in my journals.
Acrylic paint applied with babywipe, stencils, Wendy Vecci stamps, mop-up kitchen roll and music paper napkin all inspired by the lovely work Sarah Anderson does.
This one -just because it was the first day of Spring yesterday - another play with acrylic paint, bubble wrap, stencils,pastels and paper. the tulips came from a magazine cutting I've had for a while and just makes me feel happy.I messed up my stamping so went to the computer for words and used a brush pen to write SPRING.

So I'm off now for a morning of playing!!

Thanks for looking, back soon with more piccies, Chris

It worked!

Hurray, it seems I can make links, but...the strangest things have happened - my post page has reverted to "normal", todays first post seems to have been posted some time yesterday(it wasn't - it was about 2 hours ago) AND I can now see my photos instead of gobbledegook.
So here are some more journal pages
I love this little Stampotique fellow, loaned to me by Sarah,I found these lips ages ago but was just waiting for the right face to fit them on to,
and this because I 'found' two boxes full of all sorts of candlesLOL

Thanks for looking,
Chris

OUT TO LUNCH

again! This time with my eldest. He had expressed a desire to go to the John Rylands Library in Manchester for some time so when he rang and suggested today I jumped at the chance ...no housework again:) We got in early-ish to find that they didn't open
until 12 on a Monday so we walked around Spinningfields for a while, went back, had a coffee and then went to explore. I have been several times before and had hoped that the small book display was still there .. alas it finished last week. There was however a fantastic display on bookbinding. After he had walked around marvelling at the fantastic architecture we had time for lunch. I knew exactly what to order - Northen platter which comes on two huge platters with separate plates - its like your own mini buffet all for £14.95(for 2) and includes either a hot drink or wine. There was so much we had to ask for a 'doggie tray' to bring home cheese(2 kinds), chicken and pork pie!

I have been meaning to show you my mini book made with the multi-talented Sarah (http://sarahanderson1.blogspot.com/) at the Sale Craft class.
I finished it at home last week but forgot to take piccies. Hope you like it






I used a selection of stamps ranging from Wendy Vechi and Elusive images to Unity, Hero Arts and The Stamp Man, stencilling masks and lace punch were courtesy of Sarah. I didn't like what I had done with the purple so toned it down with a white gel pen

Thanks for looking,
Chris