Wall Decoration

I've had these papier mache punctuation marks hanging around my craft room for donkey's years gathering dust. They were on sale at a craft show along with letters of the alphabet. I couldn't think of a word I wanted to make but I loved the abstract nature of just having the punctuations.

I've kept them very simple, no fancy embellishments, just patterned paper, gleaned from Graphic 45's Olde Curiosity Shoppe and Tropical Travelogue collections.

I simply laid the symbols onto the back of the paper and drew around their shapes in black pen. I cut a rough outline out and glued the symbols to the paper. I frilled the border with scissors and glued it to the sides before adding the side strips.

And now they adorn my craft room wall.

A Blank Book to A Frame

As predicted, I haven't had a lot of time to craft and play this month. However, it hasn't stopped me from loosening the strings around my purse and spending a little online. One of my purchases was the blank book covers by Neelz Expressions. I saw these at the Stitches show on the Tando stand and there and then, knew I had to have them.

So when they hit the stores at the beginning of the month, I popped both the Ancient & Squared Off versions in my basket. So, behind the scenes here, whenever I had a few minutes, I'd be dabbling away with the Ancient book kit.

And though it doesn't look it, in the final cut, there was a heck of a lot of time put into it. The painting of the edges, the cutting out of the paper & the sanding of all those many, many curves. It took quite some patience on my part. But it was worth it.

However, as much as I love the design and it's official purpose as book covers, I had the urge instead, to create a frame out of it.

So with the help of my newest purchase of Spellbinders Elegant Card Maker Labels 4 Die, I created a simple, elegant frame design on the inside.

And there you have it. I may not have been posting here very often but I have been keeping my hand in with creating and crafting. Not sure what I'd do if I wasn't cutting paper up of an evening.

Pxx

Lenses that go blip in the night & Cat Food

Well I didn't think I was going to post anything this week. My spare time, such as it is, has found me doodling, drawing & sketching. There's even been a couple of Art Journal pages. But nothing crafty. However, at the last minute, I looked over at my two empty boxes for cat food, which store my pens and remembered my friend Neet's post.

I had apparently inspired her to use empty cat food boxes to store her Promarkers, after I bought mine to a crafty day out. Neet, in turn, took it to a new level by actually decorating her boxes and not only that, adding inserts.

So, in turn, I was inspired to do the same...

I flattened the boxes out and covered one side of them in papers from my A4 Nature Garden Pad (no matter how much I use, I still have a thick pad of paper left). Then, with a glue gun at the ready, I reassembled them.

I cut into a couple more boxes to make the cardboard separators for inside the boxes. I covered these with more paper from Nature Garden & carefully glued them inside, using the pens as a guide. Finally, a strip of paper around the top lip and Washi tape around the bottom.

And in order to blog these boxes, I of course require my handy DSLR camera. Problem is, that the darn lens has a sticky shutter and needs to be sent off for maintenance. Which means I have to learn how to capture what I make with a spare "point and click" camera. After being taught how to control and tame my Canon, I feel like a fish out of water again, now that I'm back back on a camera's  "auto" setting.

Well I hope you are all set to have a good weekend, chock full of creativity. Here, in the UK, it's going to be a wet one, so perfect for staying indoors and playing with crafty goodies. We have a guest staying this weekend, so we'll be putting our heads together, trying to think up outings and adventures which don't involve us looking like drowned rats afterwards. Not that I mind if it's wet but the others are all fair-weather people. So it'll just be me going for a country stroll :)

(P.S. Just as I was about to sign off and post this, Nick came in with a present he's bought for me: a frog, in a clear, plastic container. I've just added the water, as per instructions and apparently within 72 hours, a prince will appear - so that's my weekend sorted then haha).

Px

Altoid Tin Challenge

The local craft stamping group I attend on a monthly basis, set us a creative challenge at our last meeting. To alter an altoid tin. Each of us was furnished with an empty tin and told to take it home and transform it.  Well it has sat on my desk, daring me to make something of it for the last few weeks and suddenly I realise that the next get together is looming. So with paints, gesso, paper and fabric in hand, I set about it's alteration.

I began by painting it with a thin layer of white gesso, to give the surface a key for painting onto. I then mixed a tiny amount of blue acrylic paint into a big dollop of white and brushed the outside in two coats. When dry, I took Ranger's White Opal Liquid Pearls, and smeared the surface with a thin application, using  my finger. This gave it a shimmering, almost metallic appearance. I glued paper twine around the lid and cut a patch of fabric to glue to the top. I frayed the edges of the fabric and adhered it using Ranger's Glue N' Seal. I used a Spellbinders heart die to cut out a shape from mulberry paper and cut out words from an old charity-shop book I have in my stash. I adhered everything with the Glue N' Seal before coating the surface of the tin with a thin layer of Glue N' Seal. It does just what it says on the tin :) Finally I dotted the edge with liquid pearls.

Inside the tin, I cut out a patch of linen fabric to line the bottom. I added a sprinkling of small buttons and a shell to accompany a miniature handmade book.

The book was made from the smallest die in Spellbinders Labels Number 17 set. I made a concertina book using ribbon as the binding. On the outside of the book, I drew a freehand heard using the liquid pearls. Inside, I decorated the pages with more drawn hearts which I coloured with acrylic paints.

And there you go, my entry for the altered altered tin challenge.

If you're wondering if the pictures have been installed on our walls over the weekend, fear not, they are still gathering dust in the corner. So did baking win over? Nope. We had an idle weekend, interspersed with trips to the shops for essential food supplies, a spot of gardening, a couple of countryside strolls and waiting on the cat hand and foot. We blinked and the weekend was over. Never mind, the next one has a bank holiday. We may actually do it then haha.

Px

Paintbrush Can Makeover

Hello there friends. I know, I know. There hasn't been much activity on here recently. That's mainly down to the fact I haven't made very much to be shown. I don't know where the time goes but it's not been in my craft room, that's for sure.

However, the Easter holidays are just around the corner, so I'll hopefully find myself spending some of it playing around with my crafty stash. Meanwhile, the only craft project I have made in the last few days, is this.

My desk is cluttered with art materials at the moment and I'm attempting to tame the mess, little by little.  One of the small steps I've taken, is to create a home for the paintbrushes. And yes, though my style of recent, involves a lot of layers and embellishments, I decided to keep the design a bit cleaner. Especially as the containers started life as packaging for a very popular brand of crisps and all I wanted was to cover it up. I mean, from a practical point of view, the canisters were perfect. But I do have plenty of paint and paper around, so I knew I could just spruce them up without going OTT.

So out came a couple of sheets of patterned 12x12 from Crate Paper which I trimmed to fit and glued around the cylinders. I used a border punch to create a frill for around the top before finishing with a touch of blue & black ribbon. I created the labels on the computer, printed them out and cut out the shapes using Spellbinders dies.

And yes, I thought about creating more of a flourish to them with a selection of shabby embellishments but nothing I arranged around, actually added to the design. I preferred them clean and simple. I mean, they're only for holding brushes and they are much nicer to look at already, than if I had just left them as they were.

Now I just need to find a bit of shelf space to put them on and move onto creating storage for the paints, palettes and journals.

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter Break and find plenty of time for creating too.

Pip pip. Px

Shabby Chic Binder

Shock horror! I'm not posting a handmade card today :) Instead I've been painting, inking and glueing onto an ordinary ring binder.

Now that I have sampled the delights of acrylic paint, I'm like an addict going back for more. The creative Jekyll & Hyde sides of me have undergone a change again. I've drunk the potion and unleashed the artier nature in me lol. And it's been further enticed by a spur of the moment visit to the NEC Craft show yesterday, where I popped by Paperartsy's stand to watch Leandra work wonders with paints and inks.

So once I returned home, I settled into my craft room and covered a ring binder in gesso. Once dried, I then added paint, chopped up some patterned paper to size, from Basic Grey's Periphery range, wrinkled the edges and glued to the front, side and back. On the inside, I went neater with an untampered layer of Anna Griffin paper.

That just left the fun part. Decorating the front with an assortment of accessories and embellishments. Yes, as you can see, flowers, lace, butterflies, buttons, filigree corners and pearls have all made it onto the assemblage. My current "go tos". However, I've also added leaves but this time, cut from linen, which is new for me. As are the paper feathers (I found a tutorial here and just knew I had to have a go).

Finally, I'm going to enter this into The Thrifty Thursday challenge on the Inspired by Charm blog (it began last week and there are some beautiful entries. Can't wait to see what people have submitted this time around). Enjoy your weekend everyone. Pxx

Inspired By Acorns

Okay, so this post is a bit different. I've veered away from my usual crafts, to indulge in a spot of home decor. The idea to paint acorns isn't mine. It comes from a website of a lovely chap called Michael Wurm and his wonderful blog, Inspired by Charm. In particular, this post here.

If I lived closer to his wonderful shop and bed & breakfast, I'd be broke (& he would be able to retire) as I'd buy everything. I'd also be the size of a house as he cooks such mouthwatering recipes. I defy you to look through his blog without drooling.

What's more, if you click and join his facebook page, you will enjoy a daily inspirational quote. He collects and shares them and boy are they quality.

Anyhoo, he's been trying out something new everyday in October and posting them onto his blog. And to illustrate his intention, he used a photograph of bright red acorns. He had so many requests, that he shared how he did it.

I loved the idea and wanted to have a go at something similar. Not in red, but in cream and white. So I gathered up a selection of acorns and laid them out on my craft table. But instead of using spray paint, I opted for acrylic paints and a brush. I coloured the cups in a buff paint and gave the acorns two coats of titanium white. It takes me back to a time in college when we bought a selection of fruit including apples, grapes and bananas & spray painted them white. We made a monochromatic still life from them and drew, photographed & painted the arrangement. I'm sure it was to teach us about light and shade.

So now I have a variety of these acorns scattered over one of my fireplaces, poking out from behind the ornaments and candle holders & I can truly say I've been inspired and charmed :) Px

An Altered Box in Vintage White

Well! What a fantastic day Saturday was. For a start, the weather was gorgeous. Lunchtime, I was sat outdoors almost burning in the October sun. When do you ever need sun cream in October? Anyways, as I write, the weather, though warm, is returning to normal. I'll be in a thermal vest by the end of the week.

The second reason the day was special was because I spent it with a wonderful group of local crafters. The day was organised by my amazing friend, Neet. She brought along a plain wooden box for each of us, complete with inspiration as to how to decorate it. The delight in this group is that when given the same project to play with, the results are stunningly individual and different. No two look the same. Mine, you can see above but to see what I mean about the variety, check out Neet's blog post here to see how others interpreted the workshop.

I'm on a vintage white vibe at the moment. It's still new to me and I'm enjoying the learning process of what works and what doesn't. So I tried it out on my piece. I began by painting the whole box in a cream acrylic paint and letting it dry (the sunny day was a boon for this and fortunately each layer dried quickly). The next coat was a crackle solution. Finally, when this had air dried, I slapped white acrylic paint over it. Though you can't see it well in the photos, there's a lovely subtle distressed look to the box.

That took up a good chunk of the morning but it was the afternoon was the fun part. Creating handmade flowers in cotton and linen, and decorating sewing reels in canvas and book text strips. Then there were the goodies that the group shared around. I was very lucky to be sat next to Jo, who proffered up such beauties as the cufflinks, a mini bottle of beads and, my favourite, a lavender bag.

I also sat close by to Donna, who had brought her art journals with her and which I was privileged enough to browse through. Such freedom of expression. Such colour. Such talent. Plus I saw how wonderful a soft backed moleskine journal is for allowing the pages to include chunky elements. I'm tempted to start up art journals again. Watch this space as they say.

If there's a downside to the weekend (apart from a dodgy back) it's the unpacking and the mess that I've created in my art room. There's not an inch of clear space. Every time I move around in it, I trip over something. Methinks a clear-out is due in the next few days.

Enjoy your week everyone! Pxx

Shabby Chic Box for Stash Storage

Last year, my wonderful friend Jo (who is a talented whiz at inky, creative, & beautiful crafting - just check out her blog here and see her lovely creations), handed over a surprise present for me. She'd already gessoed it, ready for me to put to good use. Well, as is not unusual (ooh is that a litotes? A grammatical style as favoured by our ex prime minister John Major?), it has sat on a shelf in my craft room since then, gathering dust, awaiting some attention. So finally this week, I've gotten around to decorating it.

You can see from the photo above, the holes in the roof where once there used to be string threaded through, before I took a pair of scissors to it. The roof is detachable and therefore makes an ideal box for storing stash.

Well, the first step, after removing the string,was to detach the bottom tray. I then papered over the whole box. I turned the tray upside down, papered over that too and then reattached it to the box. I threw a variety of embellishments at it, including wooden floral pieces (another gift from Jo) and handmade burlap spiral flowers. The result is this...

It's now sitting on my shelf, crammed full of the fabric flowers I've been messing around with making whilst sat in front of the TV in the evenings, catching up on films. One day, I'll have a big spring clean of my craft room, smarten it up and then perhaps I'll take a photo, complete with the box in situ. It feels more like a job to do over Winter though, when I hibernate and rarely leave the house lol. It often takes a back seat during the Summer months when I prefer to go gadding about outdoors as often as I can. In fact, when I've finished up here, I'm off for a short stroll by the river, for some fresh air and exercise. Hope everyone out there in blog world is also having a relaxing, creative weekend. Px

Vintage Altered Art & Terrible Wordplay

Remember these white boxes from a few posts back? Well, slowly but surely, they've been coming together and have now been transformed into these:

Not bad for a charity shop find. And you know what else? Upcycling, I've realised, is one of my favourite ways to craft and I don't do it nearly often enough.

I began by coating the bare wood of the boxes with gesso before painting over, with my chosen colours, in acrylic paint. I then watered down more gesso and whitewashed over the paint to give it that aged style.

The next part was the creative, fun stage; adding the decoration and embellishment. It's at this point, I can really lose track of time as I pull out my hoard of stash and start arranging it. I don't have a plan, beforehand, I just go with the moment and start adding what I think will be the focal pieces. Then I build around them. This is where serendipity wades in. For instance, I had the oval frame placed on the smaller box and was trying to come up with a small word I could spell out within, using chipboard letters. Influenced by the image of the lady in the hat on the patterned paper, the word style came to mind. It fit perfectly.

Then, in a flash, the expression, Style over Substance popped into my head. Then it occurred to me - layer the embellishments so that the smaller box can be rested on top of the larger one. Use lettering to spell out the word Substance on the bigger box and I can literally place Style over Substance. I know, it's awful wordplay isn't it? But once the fuse was lit, I ran with it. It wasn't something I planned at the beginning. It's that beautiful moment when your creative muse gently guides you.

The flowers are all handmade. The ones decorating Style were done using Tim Holtz's Tattered Flowers die. The large one on Substance was created using a white ribbon which I dyed pink and then spiralled around a punched out 2" diameter circle, coated in tape adhesive. The peach flowers are from a batch of Prima ready-made.

The papers I used to decorate the boxes are from GCD Antiquities collection.

Hope you like the results :) I'm now just waiting on Nick to return home from work and the pair of us are going to tackle a recipe which has so far challenged us, in it's making. We've had four attempts to date, so cross fingers for endeavour five. I'm not going to say what it is yet because the moment we have success, I'll blog it. It's also going to be one of my New52s. Speaking of which, I've booked a New52 experience for my upcoming birthday in a few weeks. It's something food related (as always) and I'm really looking forward to it.

Hope everyone else is finding time to indulge in their creative, crafty passions. Pxx

Charity Shop Find - The Before

Thought I'd show you a project I'm in the middle of at the moment. I've had the urge to alter something for a while now and sitting in my craft room have been two wooden boxes I found in a local charity shop which I picked up for next to nothing.

The first step (and the dullest) is the prep work. In this case, that means adding a priming coat of white gesso. Now it has dried, the more creative (and therefore enjoyable) process can begin, of decorating them. The smaller box has been painted already but I've yet to tackle the larger one. Hopefully, within the coming week, I'll have found the time to finish them and I'll take the "After" photo.

Till then, I hope everyone has a a creative, playful week. Pxx

There's More To Crewe Than The Train Station

Crewe, in Cheshire, is one of those places you always stop at if you're taking the train but never visit. Well, until now, that was my experience too. However, I've found a really good reason to leave the train when it stops here and it's called The Cubby Hole. Only a 20 minute walk (if you go at my break neck pace) it's a wonderful shop run by very friendly people and the group that meets there are a tremendous bunch.

Yesterday, I had a lovely time at a workshop there, held by the bubbly Sarah Anderson (who is one of the ladies behind the Play Date Cafe). She was showing us tools, tips and techniques to decorate metal (& believe me there are plenty of double entendres used in explaining them but I shall gloss over the conversations we had). We all had a practise session before each being given a book from a charity store to cover. It was then over to us to use our imaginations and come up with whatever design we pleased. I opted for using a texture plate in the centre to create a cobbled effect and to outline with a rivet technique.

I then spent an hour adding colour using Ultra Marine Blue & Teal Staz On inks. I received plenty of complimentary noises and admiration for it but really I was happier when it was just gold. I know, these days I am so far removed from "arty inky". I adore it in other's work though. Everyone else added beautiful arrangements of colour. They all looked so polished and creative (see these here). But for me, out came the cleaner and an hour's worth of inking was wiped out in seconds.

I decorated both the front and the back in the same design and that's the piece I came home with. What you see in the picture here, is the finished book once I added my own embellishments back in my craft room. I stayed with the metallic theme in my choice of decorations except for the black cord of elastic used to create the fastening. Now all I need to do is put the book to use and fill the pages.

And after all the cake and chocolate I ate there, I'm going to have to eat nothing but lettuce for a week. Worth it though.

Ikea Ribbon Box

Shock, horror, I've been dabbling in some light DIY. Nick has allowed me the use of the drill and workbench and best of all, I've managed to use it without causing damage to myself, the piece I was working on or the surrounding area. Not that I'm going to make it a habit.

The reason for picking up a power tool, was this new wooden box that you can buy at IKEA, called a Prant. And it was the perfect size to alter into a ribbon box for holding the 300 ribbons I possess. I've seen ribbon dispensers that you can buy ready-made but they only have a dozen or so holes. I needed something bigger.

First I marked out the positions for the holes on the side panels, 100 each side, with a pencil. I then did the DIY stuff with the drill. I then adhered Patterned paper to the side and the top panels (Basic Grey's Periphery range, plus some K&Co). Once dry, I followed IKEA's instructions and assembled the box. To finish, all I needed to do was insert the ribbons through the holes.

I don't yet have a home for the box. However, I'm in the middle of yet another craft room clear up. It's too big a job to tackle in one go, so I'm working on it corner by corner. During the process, I'm going to create a space on one of my shelves for this little beauty to sit on. Now all I need to do is use more ribbon in my projects. At least it'll be easier to find the colour I want each time.

Something you wont have seen on here for a while

These days, I blog mostly cards and the occasional scrapbook page but there was a time when I made a lot of altered art. Well, here I am at it again! All thanks to my wonderful friend Mo, who led the Vicky Stampers group this weekend. She encouraged us all to have a play with Decopatch, which is the craft of gluing patterned tissue over 3D objects. You can easily buy ready made, papier mache objects to cover but I took in a selection of pebbles and a wooden vase that I had picked up in a local charity shop (see previous post).

The first step was to lightly sand it, remove the twine and coat in white gesso. When dry, I used a combination of blue rose and denim patterned tissue, torn into 1" square pieces to decorate. The rest of the day I spent, chatting, socialising, eating naughty treats (Chupa Chups and donuts), and generally chilling. Once I got it home though, I dug around in my stash to find something to adorn it with. To begin, a ball of glittery wool was wound around where the twine used to be and I added a a couple of colours of chenille to accent.

I then tried all sorts of combinations of items placed onto the vase but always came back to a simple, minimalist approach of these three buttons. Well, button shapes anyway. They are made from UTEE which had been poured into my own homemade moulds using mold 'n' pour and vintage buttons. And there we have it. All it needed was three synthetic flowers purchased from IKEA and it was finished.

If I told you I had just made a box, is this what you would have imagined?

Again I have to thank Papertrey for their house template in the making of this box. My goodness it's fiddly and you spend quite some time cutting out all the intricate shapes but it really is a joy to put together. And the template only makes the bare bones structure. The fringed roof coverings and decorations are all my own ideas etc. Tht's what's so great about these templates. When you add your own touch it becomes a unique creation.

It's my Play Date Cafe entry which this week has three almost neutral earthy tones of blue, gold and yellow. Blue & gold/yellow sit opposite each other on a colour wheel and are therefore complementary which is why they work fantastically together. However, I didn't read what the colours were and went purely from the swatches and mistook the gold for a muddy golden orange. Fortunately, the hint of ribbon and roof button are both gold so I hope to get away with it. Teach me to read the whole darn post next time haha.

And if you're wondering how I made the windows, they're shrink plastic. I cut them out with a nesties die, stamped on the back, punched two holes and then shrank 'em down.

Oh and btw this isn't a ten minute make either lol. Kept me quiet for a fair few hours I have to say. Honestly, when all I need is a box, surely I can make something less elaborate? Ah yes, of course, that takes me to my next post...

Books into boxes part two

With all the trouble of converting a small book into a box, I decided I needed to try again and see if I could make it easier. I took a large book of drivel (some romantic fiction which a child had scribbled all over) and this time removed the pages from the cover in two quick cuts of the knife. With just the covers intact, I then proceeded to cut four thin strips of mountboard to make the box edges. I decorated both book covers and box separately before adhering them together. A much better result and much easier. For starters, less cutting required.

When I next find the time to overhaul my art room and store my stuff away, I'm going to have a bounty of beautiful boxes just sitting there waiting to help me out.

When I alter a book, I think inside the box

The first attempt I made at altering a book into a box turned out to be more complicated than I'd initially thought. Thank goodness for K&Cos Que Sera Sera papers. I've said it before and I'll say it again, they cover a multitude of mistakes, or in this case, joins. I took a small chunky book and cut a niche out of the pages. I then covered it all in patterned paper but ran into so many problems with the hinge inside. Rips, smudges, creases, tears and tears with tantrums thrown in for good measure. Finally worked out but I figured there must be an easier way. And there was....more tomorrow.

As Cath said to me..."Very Dramatic, Very You"

On Saturday I had a fantastic time courtesy of the Victoria Stampers club and my friend, Alison who joined me there for the first time. We both had a brilliant day and her finished project was superb.

The exceptionally talented and crafty Neet took us through the steps to making a Palooza. What's a Palooza you ask? No idea. It's a class that the Ranger meister himself, Tim Holtz, taught and Neet was lucky enough to attend. The IKEA store had been raided for mirrors and sold on the day and we all decorated over the top in our own fashionable ways. I had a red frame and started out making a monochrome design. Then I started playing around with adding black to make it more visually interesting and once I'd gone down that route, I added gold as an accent. Yes, I know, very oriental but that wasn't my intention.

When my lovely friend Cath walked by and saw it, she looked at me and laughed, "Very dramatic. Very you". I didn't stick everything down on the day because the glue I intended using would take several hours to dry properly and so on Sunday, I sat in my art room and finished it off. Cath's words came back to me as I was trying to think of something I could place in the centre to cover the mirror (hateful things). So I knocked up the type on Indesign, played around until I was happy and printed it out. Moments later my reflection was removed from the Palooza. It can now hang in my art room to inspire me.

From Messey to Clean & Classy

I decorated these frames a good many moons ago in my messier, artier phase of exploring creativity. I have fallen out of love with them and stripped them back to the basic frame. I then sanded and smoothed them down and began the process of adding paper and ribbons to suit my present desire for all things clean and simple. I needed a three letter word and "red" seemed a perfect word to hang in my art room on my wall to inspire me and remind me of my roots in Graphic Design.

Its just a box...okay?

I've had my pad of K&Co's Que Sera Sera for a few months now. The collection has a wonderful vivid colour to it and is texturally very busy. Perfect for this project where edges of paper are cut out and but against each other. With so many joins, the layered patterns, all but mask where each piece meets up with another. It all just blends together. It's like wallpapering. If you're not careful and choose a repeating pattern, you have got to be precise in placing them side by side.

So anyway, I have this empty chocolate box (I know, BIG surprise!). I don't have a use for it but I know I want to cover it then decide on it's purpose. The Que Sera Sera was finally taken out and placed on my craft table and my knife finally sliced through selected sheets. I needed to be precise with the measuring and cutting but it actually went really smoothly thanks in the main to the benefits I've already explained about its collaged properties.

I also have lying around some Cosmo Cricket Wanted chipboard letters which I haven't touched since buying. So in my continual effort to start using what I have, not just letting it gather dust, I dragged them out. I had to think of a word that was small and would fit neatly on the lid. The brain was empty. Then it hit me. Its a box! Just call it that.

So now I need to put something into it. Will it store stash? Embellishments? Pens? Or should I make a crafty insert. A book? A Card? Don't know yet. But when I do, you may see this box again in a future blog post :)