Introducing Chris Sexton ...

the winner of our guest designer in July with her wonderful interpretation of the August inspiration ...

 

I brushed a piece of white cardstock with water, leaving the outer edges dry. I then dropped yellow and blue watercolour paint around the page and blew the paint with a straw towards the outer edges of the page, allowing some of the colour to mix. I then spattered the page with a small amount of red. Lastly I sprinkled salt in some areas, then dried the whole sheet with a heat gun. It helps to minimise warping if you tape the page to a solid base before you start.

Hello, I'm Chris Sexton. I'm married (40 years in Dec)  and live in far north east NSW. I'm a retired school teacher and was introduced to scrapping just before I retired about 5 years ago. I fell in love with the craft and have been creating ever since. I have made many albums for family and friends plus loads for myself about me, my family, my travels, my house and my garden. One of my biggest problems is storage, both for my albums and my stash. It's starting to take over my life (not to mention my bank account).

I don't have a set scrapbooking style except to say my layouts are usually clean and uncomplicated. The one thing I love is pattern paper. There are so many gorgeous papers around and I tend to buy impulsively. If I love it I have to have it  and worry about how I'm going to use it later. I enjoy visiting blogs and leafing through magazines to get inspiration for my layouts. There are so many clever, creative scrappers out there. I have especially enjoyed entering the challenges on the ARTastic website, which I started doing at the end of last year. They have both inspired me and stretched me and I'm now prepared to take more risks and be a little more adventurous.

When I'm not scrapping, I love to read, take photos, paint with watercolours, work in my garden, look after my dear old mum, spend time with my precious family and travel with my husband. Retirement has opened up another world for me and I love that I can now indulge my passions.

I had breast cancer ten years ago when I was 50 and that was a big wake-up call . I now endeavour to make the most of every day and make more time for the people who are most important to me; my family and friends. I am grateful for the little things and feel that every day of the last ten years has been a special blessing. Life is GREAT!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to be a guest designer at ARTastic for August.  You can see more of my work  HERE.

 

I've included two more of my layouts ...

 

"Just too cute" - a layout depicting two of my gorgeous nephews

 

  

"Timeless Beauty" - a layout of my paternal grandmother as a young teen

 

 

Welcome Chris.  We are delighted to have you join us on ARTastic this month.

 

Remember you have until 11.55pm on August 31st to submit your entries.  We'd love to see what you do.