Me time

These two journal pages have been  work in progress for some time. I started with good intentions with the base stamping, colouring  and the usual mopping up of excess inks. Then somehow the preparations for Christmas crept up on me.

I decided on a little me time today to add some bits and pieces.   A couple of Graphics 45 images, material scraps, die cuts etc . The quote  which is a bit hard to read on the photo says--Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.
I am still working out what that could  mean to the look of this thrown together collage page.
So with that in mind I only used two single words on the other page.  Memories and thoughts, two precious words that can mean so much to us all in many ways.

Thank you for stopping by, I do so appreciate you taking the time to  pop in.

Christmas Tree

Our last challenge theme  for 2013 over at Try it on Tuesdays is 'Trees '.
It can be any type of tree you wish to use, please pop over and see our  interpretation of this theme.

I have to admit to going down an easier route for this challenge and used  a piece of printed fabric.

This was frayed a bit around the edges, mounted on a Kraft card, with a Christmas button and bow placed in a corner.

On the left is another I made at the same time.

Thank you for  stopping , I do so appreciate you taking the time to visit me.

Tree Baubles.

A few photos today,  of tree decorations.
They were made in the same way and  have  reached their destinations.
So I can now show you  some of them.

The picture on the right  shows the reverse side on some baubles.
Both sides were painted with acrylic cream paint.
The Santa image  and words are from Stampendous stamps.
Additional colours are Distress inks,
Vintage photo, Barn Door and Bundled Sage.

Some were edged with Antique gold embossing powder.
They were all sprayed  with a coating of Silver Spray Sparkle and Shine. This make it real difficult to get a reasonable photo.

I  had some wax left from another project and used it to cover Santa's beard on this bauble.

Thank you for taking time to stop by.
 I hope you are enjoying the build up to Christmas and are not rushed off your feet like I seem to be.
I vote for at least a 28 hour day and an 8 day week,  at this time of year.

Make over time.

Altered Recycling/Re-purposing  is our new challenge theme today over at Sugar Creek Hollow.
Time to give the boring box on the left a make over.
I didn't have an end result in mind, so just got going with a coat of cream paint to begin with. Which when dry I promptly covered with some pretty papers.
Well I did say I had no plans.

Next came the top panel.
The card was shaded  randomly with Weathered Wood, Shabby Shutters and Spiced Marmalade distress inks.  I used my Inkadinkado Poppy stamp and a well used old French script  stamp, stamping up with the DI greens.
This then was cut to size and layered up with a piece of lace trim.

So with the panel made,  it was at the assembly stage. As always with my love of  vintage/shabby chic ,  ribbon, lace and flowers needed to be added.

I hope you will pop over to see what we all made and welcome our Guest Designer for this challenge Laney, you can find her here.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look, I always appreciate your comments

Deck the Halls

Not a craft post from me today, but I thought I would share with you a few  photos my OH took when we visited Wallington Hall in Northumberland on Saturday . It is half an hour  by car from where we live and owned by the National Trust. It was decked out in all its splendor for Christmas.

I think the stone gargoyle heads in the lawn look as if they are waiting patiently for some one to try getting past them.

 This was the fire burning in the entrance hall.

Mother Christmas , who had just finished telling a group of children a story in the Drawing room.
We did have a good chat about how Christmas has changed, but  we agreed that Traditional  ways were best.

The Dining room all set for the festive dinner.
No we were not invited.

This was the library, with an array of gifts waiting to be opened.

The Clock Tower with Santa's sleigh outside, all the reindeer were made with rushes.

I started writing this when we got home, then our internet went off. So 3 days later I am able to post it.

I had to add a bit of craft interest, sitting in the  corridor was this  child size, hand  made model,  complete with his Guide Badge.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos.

12 days of Christmas

This is my last Fat Page swap of the year and as you can see it has a pocket  full of tags. The other side looks exactly the same.

 On the right you can see the first 6 tags. All the backgrounds were created at the same time. A stenciled snowflake background, using  blue inks.
The same stencil  at the top, spread  with Grunge paste, which I pressed  with silver glitter, before I removed the stencil.

The 12 Days of Christmas stamps are by Hampton Art. I used black Archival to stamp these up, so  they showed up  against the busy background.


Thank you for stopping by to take a look. I always appreciate your comments.





I will be joining the festive fun at these challenges.---
Country View Crafts  December challenge which is  Bah, Humbug.
 After all the preparations and lead up to this festive season, I can relate to  this sentiment some days.
Stamping Sensations  the December challenge here is Free and Easy
Artistic Stamper-- Creative team challenge for December is Anything goes

Frosty the Snomwn

A snowy tag from me today. The new Tag Along challenge theme is 'Frosty the Snowman.'
So here is Frosty, an Indigo Blu stamped image covered with white Flower Soft. I knew I would find a use for this someday. The background is a left over piece random stamped and textured card.
I hope everyone is safe from the storms we are having here in the U.K.
Our greenhouse door was a casualty this  a.m.  Broken  glass to clear away so Meg wouldn't  cut her  paws  when she was out in the garden.
Thank you for taking time to  stop by, your comments are always appreciated