holidays and birds

It's the school holidays, so that means a bit more time for messing about. Combined with having no car for a week whilst mine was off the road, I got quite productive for me! I'm not quite sure why, but sometimes it takes me hours to do even the simplest atc, and other times they just fly out. Anyway, I'm on a bird phase at the moment - they are everywhere in all things crafty.

The background is distress inks, for the wire I used Tim Holtz's borderline mask, and the bird is also one of his new stamps. To emphasise the wire element, I wound wire and beads around a cocktail stick to make a border.

Continuing the bird theme, this atc was one that took me a fraction of the time that the previous one did, and my husband says he much prefers it to the other one.
I used Claudine Hellmuth acrylics for the background, a paperartsy stamp for the tree, and the free stamp from this months Craft Stamper magazine for the bird.

I also managed to get around to doing a journal page of our recent ski holiday. It was the first time my sporty husband had ever been skiing, and some time since I had been, so it was something of an experience for both of us. It is a long time since I have laughed as much, as often, and a long time since I have been quite so tired! I thought that getting some of the thoughts and memories down would be a good way of reminding myself of the things I need to remember for next year's holiday!