November, December, January…..

…and I've only just remembered to post them!!(So much for being organised!)
Here is January, a snowy affair….

and here are November

and December

I'm not sure whether I will link to Kate's blog yet as she is no  longer having a Linky link - I understand why, just not sure what to do next! I will still continue with my calendar journal though!!

We've been away for a few days so I'm looking forward to a big catch up with some of you!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Portrait of Billy!

I was so pleased to find this in a new folder on my desktop the other day! Hubby has been transferring old photos onto the computer so I found this folder that says 'Chris - pre 1995' - the year I moved in with him! In it there is a photo of my Grandad and my Mum at my wedding to my first husband. I have quite a few photos of my Mum and my Mum and Dad but none of my Grandad so I put a copy of it into 'Print Shop' and cropped it! 
If it is blown up it looks too grainy but fortunately the inspiration from various sources,( I love the way Tim uses his found relatives - now I have one of my own!) meant I could do something with it!There also just happens to be a challenge at A Vintage Journey that requires a portrait!

Some time ago I was lucky enough to win some amazing blog candy from lovely Alison and there were a couple of little hangings so I decided to use one of them - I covered it with torn up book paper and then coated it in a combination of Snowflake and Little Black Dress PA Frescos - quite streakily, then when it was dry used a dry brush to stroke on some Irish Cream.

 I then stamped it with a TH film strip and used the edge of the stamp to distress the photo

I found it easier to put the edges of the photo onto the stamp.

I crumpled some paper from a Tim pad and used some Remnant Rubs - Botanical set - bought last year but put away(err…to look at?)
I'm really impressed with these, I bought them, as I had tried them at Tim's workshop last year, I also used one of the word bands, painted with LBD and then partly wiped off!(I wanted it to look a little grimy) I used some twine from the scrap box on my desk to tie it on. The words sum up how I felt about my Grandad.  

Now, it's here I need to tell you about my Grandad! He fought in World War I and then worked on a farm and then for a firm of nurserymen in Lincoln until he retired! He was known as Billy and when my Dad went to work there too - also a William - my Dad had to change his name to Ken(his middle name so as not to be confused with his Dad) After his retirement Billy took to visiting the local tip and rescuing items he thought could be useful (yes, up-cycling is not a new thing)My first grown up bicycle was one such item - put together with an assortment of bike parts - hand painted in a lovely shade of sky blue! My Grandma though, wanted nothing to do with this 'hobby' and he had to enter through the back gate with his grubby finds and go straight to his shed!
My Grandad always had a twinkle in his eye and I loved visiting, especially as his garden led to the riverbank where there were swans who would wait for their daily treat!

I wanted the words to be at the centre of the hanging, the rubs represent his nursery life.

The next thing was to add something to represent his scrap metal finds - Cogs and buttons again painted in LBD and rubbed off lightly.

I used some more TH paper, used a distress tool around the edge and added Black Soot Distress ink, to mount the photo.

The twine at the top got the LBD treatment too as I thought it looked better!

I would like to enter in the following challenges

A Vintage Journey - 'Use a Portrait'

Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge blog - 'Choose your Challenge' - ink, paint,twine, stamping,distress tool, ephemera, button,brad.

Try it on Tuesdays - 'My Favourite Things' - easy - Texture and Embellishments(and Grandad!)

Craft Stamper Magazine - 'Take a Stamp' - the stamped film strip is to focus the eye on the photo.

Thanks for looking, Chris  

WOYWW 293

What a whizz of a week - it's time to show our desks again over at Julia's Stamping Ground already! I've had a bit of tidying going on again - threw out - to charity shop or tip - six bags(ok, they were supermarket bag size!)I've bought more storage boxes - Sainsbury's had plastic shoe boxes - 5 for £5 - to organise myself a bit better!
So…my desk…

…….has also been tidied, for no other reason than I got fed up of working in a small space. If an explanation is what you'd like - basically - to the left - a pile of papers for playing with, back left my little jelly pot desk bin, back right propped up, some stamps, new before Christmas but not yet played with! Above that my note book from Joanne(see mine here and others that she made here). Hidden under the mat is part of something I'm posting later!
I've just realised that I have my favourite photo of my GD - moved along slightly - normally out of sight - she hates it but to me it's a lovely memory of a happy day!

Cinema report(hope you don't mind Julia)
'Exodus' last week was OK, padded out by lots of fight scenes but a much better film than Noah (which I think took liberties!)

I'll be back later and will probably edit this as we are off to see 'The Theory of Everything'

I'll also be visiting later too,so for now Thanks for looking, Chris
  

Imperfection!

I'll come to that shortly but first I'd like to welcome my new followers - I really do appreciate the support! Secondly, I would like to say 'Thank You' for all your kind comments on my Dragon's Dream tag, it's amazing what a lift comments can give!

Okay so,'imperfection'……I'm quite patient as rule but when it comes to crafting I get on a roll and often don't think things through!
This happens especially in my journals - usually for other projects I gather what I think I will need first. Of course, the resulting mess is one thing, but often I am not so happy with my pages! The point is…does it matter? 

I had a page started in my A5 journal but certainly wasn't happy with it - went back added some more colour, still not happy….
Last night I saw Kate Yetter's post on Paper Artsy's blog. The challenge there this time is "Fragile Papers" so I went to my folder and took out some music paper, a page of German text and a small scrap of my beloved MAMBI paper! 
I painted over the papers with a mixture of PA Snowflake and Toad Hall Fresco paints and let it run down the page, then rubbed it off the shiny MAMBI paper. Kate added texture paste through a stencil I used some Deco Art Crackle paste mixed with a little Peacock feathers Distress ink.

I stamped the bottom corner with one of the stamps from Sara Nauman's set ESN09 and then went around the top corner with part of Darcy's text stamp from EDY10.

I then added, from my scrap pencil case, parts of leftover LPC030 and a scruffy die cut of am umbel that hasn't quite cut out! I added the quote, 'embrace imperfection' using Tim's chit chat stickers and a quote I had from a collection I have taken from weekend Express magazines - fits the bill perfectly!

I though it still needed something else though - but what?…..

more spattering - all over with PA Frescos Sky and snowflake mixed up with water.

It isn't the page it started as but Thanks to the inspiration by Kate it is done!!

 I am linking to the new Paper Artsy Fragile Papers challenge

also to Brenda's Weekly Visual Journey at Bumblebees and Butterflies, where Brenda says 

"'Keeping a visual journal is a journey of experimentation; giving time to be free in expressing yourself and not constrained by others expectations. Practicing design, layouts, composition, colour mixing, techniques, materials, mixed media. Creating your own exercises, titles, mood boards, taking yourself out of the box, finding yourself. Bring new ideas to life, to spark you off in new directions, to allow your own imagination and creativity to develop in complete freedom'.

I'm going to try,

Thanks for looking, Chris

GD at Dragons Dream

I'm so excited about this - Dragons Dream Tag it On is one of my favourite Challenge blogs and at the start of this new year they have a totally new set of themes for their challenges - I'd love it if you took the trip on the link here to see it and possibly take part!

When I won a top three with my 'J and Diecuts' Elizabeth asked me if I would like to be a Guest Designer for the new theme I'm afraid to say I shamelessly jumped at the chance!

The challenge is tag based and as you know I love making tags.
The theme (although I hope you have already checked it out!)is 'Turquoise and Bling' - this is not the tag I made at first - it was a bit Christmassy and the challenge has been delayed slightly so I made another in a similar vein

The background was distress inked with Broken China and Black Soot then stamped in black and white using a Prima swirly stamp. The tag has a die cut panel using some of my MAMBI paper, rubbed over with Broken China. The Umbel is from Woodware, the grasses are from Paper Artsy Eclectica by Darcy 
The bottom corner die(from a corner set by Spellbinders) has been cut down a little as I felt it was a bit overpowering

As you can see the MAMBI paper has a lovely silver sheen to it!

The Dragons Dream DT have made some amazing tags so please do take a look!

Thanks for looking, Chris

WOYWW 292

A Happy New Year! It does seem like ages since I joined in, we were child minding on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve at our caravan meant no connection! A lot has happened since you last saw my desk although not a lot in the region of my desk has been tidied, more of a shoved to one side, as I have a Birthday card to make, shamefully with my good intentions to be organised it is a belated one!

Even more shamefully I am hoping to combine it with a challenge!!
At the moment just a few bits collected together.
We are off to the cinema this afternoon - 'Exodus' - not sure about it myself, having been disappointed with 'Noah', but hubby wants to see it and I must say the trailer looked OK!

An exciting day for me, as you may see later in my next post! 
For now, I can hear a couple of coffee cups being stirred so I'll be popping round in a while to peek at your desks, which of course Julia is hosting over at her blog Stamping Ground.

Thanks for looking, Chris 

A resolution?

Not really, but there are a few things I would like to do this year! One of them is to be more ORGANISED!!! Will it happen? If you know me you will probably say "No!" However, I am going to try! I still need to get stuck in and throw stuff away - I tried last year but there was so much I couldn't part with(not just crafty stuff) now I think I'm ready! Okay boys, if you are reading this I expect you are laughing! 

I have had a little help from my friend Joanne (see my previous post) an alongside her notebook I have this..

It is a small notebook from Mujji - the sort I use as a shopping list/reminder book for my handbag.

I used the peeled paint effect for the front cover along with a Tim Holtz Artistry clear stamp set and Paper Artsy Eclectica ESN04 and ESN09 sets by Sara Nauman

The back is done with TH Latticework stencil and the same TH set alongside ESN04 and Paper Artsy Lynne Perrella LPC030.

I intend to record challenges in this book (I find challenges a good way to encourage me to experiment) and with that said I wish to enter this in the following challenges:-

Anything But a Card - New Beginnings

The Artistic Stamper - New beginnings  
Thats Crafty Challenge Blog - Blue is the colour

Now I'm off to use this book and start as I mean to go on this year!!

Thanks for looking, Chris