Art journal pages

I finally got time to play! These pages were started at about this time last year following an idea from Pat. I gessoed two pages then closed my journal and then opened it again and let it dry before colouring it(can't remember what with, but it was probably Neocolours II) They were done in preparation for our holidays, along with lots of other pages, but I never got around to using them. While sorting out the h-u-g-e pile of scraps and pictures I'd saved I found just the thing!

 When I was about 6 I had to go to Great Ormond Street Hospital. As we lived in Lincoln my Mum went to stay with relatives in Surrey. When I came out we stayed on a bit longer and one of the days we went to Brighton. There are no photos as my Mum thought I looked so poorly in them they were destroyed when she went through them in a clear out! Along with this magazine picture I have used some bits torn from a Crafty Individuals stamp, some shell stickers that came with a little journal last year and a piece of paper I tested paints on, the bunting is from one of my old college text books, painted with twinkling h2os.

This is just a bit of doodling around some magazine pictures with a very 'true' statement lol!


We are still waiting on solicitors to get a move on so that we can get a move on ourselves! The plus side is that we have had a chance to take things to our flat, do some decorating and be even more ruthless with STUFF!!! 


 My hubby retires today so life is going to be little different from now on! 


Thanks for looking, would love it if you could leave a comment, Chris

Balancing Act!

A bit of a strange week, had to say "bye bye" to a special piece of furniture which put me in an extremely bad place, then been back and to to meet plumber, flooring man, kitchen man(my son actually) and then searching for bath, tiles etc...

So what more could I do - a journal page! I've had some time to myself this week and I already had the background that I prepared way back last July. Used a magazine image, a jewellery catalogue I picked up in House of Fraser last year and some Crafty Individuals paper.


I also had time for something else inspired by a page in here

I bought this book last year in the hope that I would use it for inspiration, I'll be back to show you another time, for now off for another appointment!!


Thanks for looking and for your encouraging comments, Chris

Always in a rush....

but I'm just having a break from you-know-what so thought I would show something from the Summer Holidays

We went to Kendal one rainy day to see the Quaker Tapestry - I'd heard about this some time ago but had never managed to go on a day when they were open. It was well worth the visit and I will go back again as there was too much to take in all at once!
After a delicious lunch in their cafe we went for a wander around the town and came across a Bookworks where I found this..

A little journal with lovely paper, some stickers and 3 Pitt pens, I do so love a bargain! When we got back to the caravan I got out my Inktense pencils and my idea-ology mask and a bronze Versamagic ink pad to make this.The image came from Printshop.I was so keen to try out the paper that my spelling went to pot, much to hubby's amusement!
Thanks for looking, my time is up!!
Chris

Downsizing!

Along with all the de-cluttering I've made a page in my little moleskine - I don't use it often preferring A5 size but yesterday used a background that I didn't like much to do this....

....because we think we may have found somewhere we like, need to go into one or two things but we shall see!!!
OK off for a little break with my youngest grandson and his Dad - deep breath and go....
Thanks for looking, Chris

More journal pages

Hi Folks,we are in the middle of a massive de-clutter so I was pleased that I had some backgrounds done and I was able to sit and play with ease.

This one was just because I found this picture in a magazine along with the lovely(banned)cup cake! Just added some words and a NoNo arrow from a Dyan downloadable sheet!

I also started this on my new squared paper journal - don't know where I am going with this!!
Okay on with the GRAND CLEARANCE!! We really are such hoarders- we've got five big bags of shredded paper and we've already filled the big recycled paper wheelie bin so will have to go to the tip with those and the three big bags of papers and magazines that won't go in!!!!
Still we are feeling more positive about this now and we are going to view somewhere tomorrow!
Back soon, Chris 

Morning Has Broken..

I love listening to the birds in the morning and this journal page just seemed to fit with the background I prepared some time ago, I just added some mop up paper towel, then used yet another(clean) paper towel to add some 'snowcap' paint dabber for clouds and then turned the paper towel around and dabbed 'lettuce' through a piece of lace to make a couple of bushes. I drew the tree, birds and birdhouse with Tombow pens.

I have also made some more of these.....

At the weekend we were planning to go to a Food and Craft show at Dalemaine House but when we got there it had been cancelled! Never mind...just down the road was the Alpaca Centre, smiley little things they are! Ooh! and guess what? They had this HUGE bag of clippings! Great for needle felting! Gorgeous subtle colours!

the tissue box may give you an idea of the size of the bag

We had a lunch in the Rhegged Centre then on to have  wander around Penrith, a lovely town if a bit sprawling. Walking down by the church I spied a craft shop(Penrith Crafts) - fantastic - small but very well stocked so bought myself some more Claudine Helmuth stickybacked canvas and multi medium matte gel...thought that was it, but the owner was so enthusiastic about a new product she had in that I just had to have some - haven't tried it yet, so looking forward to that today.

On the way home we decided to go to Shap Abbey, so pleased that we did. No one else around, we got a real feel of the isolation of the place, up a winding path then round to the front of the abbey which was huge, although ruined (thanks to Henry Vlll!)A lot of the original stone had been taken for building farm buildings in the nearby area but English Heritage have put signs around and you can imagine just how busy a place it must have been!

The weather stayed fine so we still had a lovely day, 

we did wonder what weather we were going to have when this was our view on Friday night!!

Thanks for looking and for all your lovely comments, 

Chris

Some journal pages

Hope you are all warm enough today,what a change there's

been in the weather.

While I was away at the weekend I finished off a couple of journal pages(and started a few more)

This is one I started months ago at Lindsay Mason's first journaling workshop, but didn't know where to take it then "voila!" saw a programme about Paris(the best place I have ever been!)and there it was! I added Stampotique fairy and toadstools which I coloured with promarkers, I tried to keep the words paler but not sure whether to go back with a sepia pen.

My next page was just a thought.

I had some cosmic shimmer paints and some other shimmery paints(forget what they are called) and I just used them to paint blocks, sprayed some of the ink across the page then just added a bit of Lost and Found paper, Elusive Images stamps, Crafty Individuals text stamp. I stamped the flower twice, once with Brilliance ink and then with Dusty Concord distress ink. I love the shimmery look and will definitely use the same paints for backgrounds again.

Thanks for looking,

Chrisx

How quick?

Just wondering how quick is a quick post, I have cards to make before I go to craft class this morning, where I hope we are going to learn how to knit a brooch!

Had a relaxing weekend up in Carnforth, didn't want to leave the lovely view and come back to rows of houses...but here I am!

A few weeks ago at lovely Lindsay Mason's journaling class I started three pages,one is on another post here, one is still work in progress and then there's this one.
We painted a face straight onto paper, really scary,LOL. My poor lady's eyes looked as though she had a serious deformity so I tried(when I got home) to give her eye make-up - BIGGG mistake! So OK, here she is .... I used some scraps of paper, some Lost and found clocks, Graphic 45 watch and white rabbit,the words came from a selection of mags. These pages quite sum up my life sometimes (my boys always give me a meeting time sometime before I am due to meet them -but I've sussed them he!he!) I thought retirement was supposed to be quiet!
Must go or I'll be late for craft class!!!
Thanks for looking, Chris

The real me?

I've been on an exciting secret mission for a dear friend so not much to show - except that I have completed a journal page that I started in Lindsay's journaling workshop last week - it pretty much sums me up LOL
Last night I completed a page in my little moleskine, I started to doodle in the corner last week but realised it just wasn't me - so left it, but yesterday while tidying I came across the lovely Conte pastels that a friend bought for me from a charity shop. Sunday's supplement kindly supplied the little red bird and I managed to white-out the doodling so it doesn't look so fierce.
So, sort of rescued,I think it needs more so I will probably come back to this.

I do enjoy the comments you make so Thank You, and Thanks for dropping by
Chris

A Loverly time....

I have been having a great time! Friday - craft show in Manchester - not particularly impressed, but did meet some old friends and met two kindred spirits, one of whom I have followed on her blog -Liverpool Lou
Bought some lovely Kaisercraft background stamps and some masks for when I want to get really inky!
On Saturday my hubby drove us through the pouring rain and massive puddles all the way to Meadowhall at Sheffield where we met up with my brother and his wife who had come over from Lincoln. We hadn't been able to meet up at Christmas so it was pressie swap time!(they gave me a beautiful scrapbook kit which will be great for scrapping a book about my mum and dad) We spent a lot of time either sitting drinking coffee/tea or eating, so that we could chat and the time whizzed by and we were soon on our way back to find that the puddles had got even bigger.
Sunday saw me driving through the puddles - rain had fortunately stopped- To Dawn Bibby's Design Studio for a day art journaling with Lindsay Mason. I went to her Introduction to Art Journaling workshop last year as I had just started to journal during the Summer. This time we learned some new techniques and revisited some old ones but in a different way. We used spray inks, acrylic paints, stamps, inks - all the things I love. We used magazines to help to build a page - my theme was "the race against time".

When I have added a few finishing touches I'll share the rest of it with you. We used Gesso to help us draw a figure. The most challenging task was to paint a face. We all showed our work(with lots of giggling)

The whole day was made so much better by sharing it with a lovely crafting friend, Sheila and several other lovely crafters. Joanne popped by to say hello to everyone too. It was the most enjoyable day and was over far too quickly!
On Monday I spent some time taking photographs of my existing journals so here are some pages.



Thanks for looking and for all the lovely comments you make.
Chris