whats saving my sanity right now.......

.......measures 5 x 8.5 inches and is my go-to guy for some relaxation and unwinding at the moment.....no Allan hasnt shrunk LOL its my beloved art journal :) I {heart} it so so much......In the last few weeks alot has happened in our little world and the stress is getting to me in alot of ways. Many dont  know but I suffer terribly with anxiety as a result of stress.... there are days when I dont answer the phone and will go into panic mode if there is a knock at the door. This is all part of my anxiety and while most times I can control "it" there are many that I cant and Im trying to use my art journal to let it all out and use some positive affirmations in my text to try to encourage myself to -stop over thinking,stop worrying,stop wondering and just breathe.....I cant control everything and make everyone happy I have to just try to get on with things and let whatever happens happen.......My inner control freak is squealing "noooooooooo" but my heart says "yes it has to be this way".

I constantly over think what people say,what people think,how I should be and what I should be doing.....Ive always done it but am hoping to help myself and stop!

So anywhoo.....the "journal girls" I have been drawing and painting started out as just for fun but they seemed to reflect my feelings in their expression (totally unintentional) so they have become a bit of a selfie thing with me venting my feelings into the paint,chalks and crayons and for whatever reason it seems to help. Im noticing a transition in their expressions since I started and will share a flip through in my next blog post if anyone wants to have a lookie at the journal so far? Leave me a comment if you would like to see :)

Im starting to do little tutorials (photos and videos) on the forum in my shop here starting with a nice cruisey watercolour background :) Next will be stamping and paint yummmmm.....are you going to check it out and have a go?

Heres a little taster of whats in my journal so far -massive thanks to my Ma for buying it for me too *mwah* loveyalove xx

 "Today I choose positive nuturing thoughts that nourish me on all levels"

 The latest art journal girl and my fave so far I think....this one isnt finished yet ;-)

 This little lovely will be my art journaling video I will share once my hubby has edited the video for me ...im too technically challenged lol

So dont forget leave me a comment if you want to see a flip through of my art journal ;-)

Have a fab weekend and thanks for visiting

Krissy xx

Last day......

......of being 30..........yep tomorrow its the big 31 for this princess, we normally do the big get dressed up and go out for dinner thing but this year I have requested fish and chips on the beach with my honey :) We may drag the dog along too seeing he quite enjoyed his first beach adventure last week when I visited the beach in the hopes that mother natures healing waves would fix my skin woes.....she rocks....nearly all healed woohoo!

I had to have a few days off thanks to extreme pain and couldnt sit comfortably so it was a case of lying down or standing up which meant I couldnt sew or scrap but I discovered I could draw in old book pages so I set about scribbling some girls faces so I could paint them when I could sit again. I used one on this art journal page...........

Im having fun with this art journally stuff -having a play with colours and some of the art stuff I learnt at school :) Ive done a few more paintings too...including a commissioned piece (SO thrilled about it ....it makes my heart smile that someone wants a piece of my art in their house :D)

Okies Im off to play with some fabric or paint or paper........

Enjoy your valentines day tomorrow :)

Krissy xx

Scrapping and the gratitude journal

Back again as promised with some scrappy shares :) I had a play with the new "Tranquility" kit in the shop now at Wicked Princesses. I have had all the photos of my Kloe girl printed since just after she passed away last year but wasnt brave enough to scrap them til sunday when I just felt it was time.....I had friends over to scrap and broke my 8 week scrapping drought with these four :) I didnt cry at the time but had a little one later when I was remembering some of her little quirks. She deserves an album of her own and so it shall be...Im determined to scrap each and every one of her photos and document all our memories of her :) I know some of you are probably thinking "Its just a dog!" But Al and I dont have kids so our fur and feathered friends are like our kids and an important part of the Christie house so when we lost her  lost a little piece of ourselves too. Anywhoo enough of my waflle.......

It would seem my style has warped again lol This is a regular occurence after a scrappy break for me.....maybe its my getting back into art thats influenced it this time?

This one is my fave ......

No about the gratitude journal......Im a firm believer in things happening for a reason. The reason isnt always obvious at first (or ever sometimes) but there is always one. A few weeks ago my beautiful friend Tam was chatting to me on msn about doing a gratitude journal swap at WP and showed me a link to what they are all about. I was in a tizz and flat out,stressed and made a mental note of the concept but was too flat out to do anything about it at the time.

I was at the local junk shop on thursday and bought 2 x notebooks (I have a stationery fetish lol and had plans to make journal covers to sell at Kaycees) I brought them home sat them on the shelf and forgot about them. I got a text from a friend asking if I wanted some scrappy company at the weekend and we made a date for sunday. Sunday morning im faffing about on the internet and what pops into my head? The gratitude journal :) I googled it again and found this site and the first thing I read was...

 'Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.' -Melody Beady

I then decided that sunday night I would start saying thanks and keeping my gratitude journal every night full of positive things that I an grateful for. It turned out that my friend loved the idea too and I thoguht it would be helpful to both of us and hey presto I remembered the 2 notebooks I had bought *insert cheesy grin here* So there you have it the reason for the two books was found and my gratitude journal was born :)

So thats that :)

Ive been painting again .....a spot of mixed media fun on a canvas ...now that she is out of my head I can play with some other ideas :)

Sending lots of good vibes to my QLD friends during this awful weather and the flooding {{huggles}}

Thanks for visiting and for leaving comments on yesterdays post *mwah* I appreciate it xx

Krissy xx

Remember me?

Im the girl that used to blog all the time? Occassionally scrapped and always waffled on about all sorts....well I still waffle thats never going to change lol

Its been a mighty long time between posts on my little old blog and to be honest I wasnt sure if Id be back at all......last year was shall we say "less than fabulous" in my little world and as a result of heaps of stress,lots of tears and being sicker than Ive ever been in my life my creative mojo and my happy bubble was rather deflated :(  But Im not going to bore you all with the gorey details of it all because 2011 is gone and 2012 is a new year with new chances,new ideas and a new outlook :) Well its not all new really some things I had forgotten and have re-newed love for :)

 It wasnt all bad in 2011 though 2 of my closest friends had beautiful baby girls, my Dad got a clean bill of health after a scare with his kidneys and I started Kaycee's handmade for all my sewing adventures :) (Find me on facebook-heaps of bags,hair accessories and more)

I once was the sort of person that would draw and paint everyday......my hands where always busy expressing what was in my heart and mind with the help of paint,pastels,pencils and paper. I would lock myself away for days doing my "thing" then I would be totally drained afterwards. I loved every minute of it......my first drawing was when I was about 4 (I know crazy that 1.I remember and 2.I could draw at that age :O ) It was pebbles from the flintstones (hehehe showing my age now)....mum carried around those little yellow sticky note sized pieces of paper in her handbag for years lol I wish I still had them but they where lost in our journey from the UK to Australia when we emigrated...... from then on I was always drawing,making,creating something or another. A relative asked me when I was about 10 what I wanted to be when I grew up and I told him "An artist" he laughed and told me that it "wasnt a real job thats a hobby" (I giggle now when I think of it because my job is art related and yes it is a hobby but a business too *pokes out tongue* The last drawing I did was in 2001 for Al and I's 1st christmas.....we where love-rich but dollars-poor so I decided to do a drawing for him and frame it as a pressie.....then that was it I stopped drawing.....no idea why or how or when it all stopped but it did......Until November last year that is lol

I had the great pleasure of being invited to my gorgeous friend Donna's retreat at her home and me being a slacko non-driver asked if anyone would be interested in having some company for the drive and the fabulous and lovely Gigi (uber talented mixed media artist and owner of Gist-Creative) offered me a lift.I had met this fabulous lady years before at a crop day but hadnt seen her since so it was great to catchup in the car then have the pleasure of sitting beside her all weekend........and it is her I have to thank for reigniting my artistic flame :) I was sitting there shuffling papers and thinking about all my worries when she offered me some of her mixed media paper and the use of her scrummy art supplies and this is what happened..........

The one on the right (Never give up) was my first attempt at some mixed media fun ,her wings followed and "hope" was when I got home :)

some close ups.....

 my favourite quote and was very appropriate for my mood at the time...

 There is always hope....

These where all in November and my mum was most chuffed to see me using some of my arty style again so she and Dad got me a huge stash of yummy art supplies for christmas and from there came these.......

The ballerinas.......

I christened my new sketchbook with this scribbly doodly figure in late December 2011.......

Ive since done a drawing for Al's birthday too but cant show that til he gets it ....he told me he didnt want me to "buy him a present" so I didnt I made one instead lol

Then came this .........."The light at the end of the tunnel" Im having this outlook for this year.....there can be no light without the dark....I will find my way through the forest and into the happy light again.

A bit of mixed media therapy after I finished my housework on saturday afternoon I have to say I {heart} this painting....and thats not something I normally say about my art but I really enjoyed working on it and I think it showed me a new mindset....

SO thats where Im at .....happily creating through not just scrapping but also sewing for Kaycees and painting for me :) This year WILL be better ......I intend to make it bigger and better and happier.....

Ive started my gratitude journal too....giving daily thanks for all my positives and steering clear of the negatives from now on :)

If you are still reading my blog after this humungus post or are a follower then thanks ....for reading,for sticking around and for being fabulous xx

Signing off with paint on my hands and happiness in my heart once again.....

Krissy xx

P.S I did scrap too , I will share those tomorrow :) xx