Tuesday 31 January 2012

Tags for Tag Tuesday

Yesterday wasn't too busy, so in the afternoon there was time for a nap and some crafting. The theme over at *Tag Tuesday*this week is *lace*, so I have made three romantic tags - Valentine's Day is coming - using lace.





Today we have programme again from 7.15 till about 3 o'clock this afternoon, so there should be enough time for some painting this afternoon. I've just seen that Auntie Cissie will be going to France this week, bet she will have a good time there!

Have a good day you all, have fun, take care and thanks for dropping in!

Monday 30 January 2012

Journal Pages and a Tag

Hi everybody, hope you have all had a good weekend and are all fit and ready for the start in the new week. We had a quiet and fun time here, so I am ready for all the treatments that will be waiting for me this week.

I used different colours for my journal pages this time, but I must say that there are other colours I like better. Let's see what colours jump at me next time!




The tag is my DT piece for the new challenge over at *The Cheerful Stamp Pad*, where the theme this week is *Love is in the air*. I have made a vintage style tag with lots of Victorian roses, cupid etc.


Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Sunday 29 January 2012

A Happy Saturday Afternoon

I am happy to say that I had no bad surprises with vanishing blogs yesterday, for which I am very thankful! Had a nice lazy day reading, playing in my art journal, baking cake, and painting with some fellow patients in the afternoon. We had moussaka for lunch, with salad and fresh fruit, and then after a short nap we started baking our lemon cake, which turned out very well and was most delicious. We squeezed fresh lemon juice over it while it was still warm, and then made lemon icing to top it. I managed to get a photo of the last 2 slices, that cake went away like hot cakes! The nurse on duty joined us for coffee and cake, and a good time was had by all. I didn't invite Auntie Cissie though; I thought if she came there would be no cake for the others. Next time I will bake more, and then she can join us!


And this is a photo of one of the ladies who hid in the corner of the kitchen and licked the bowl out!


These are the goodies Kristin sent me, we used some of the stickles yesterday while we were painting. Thanks again Kristin!



Here's wishing you all a good and restful Sunday. Take care of yourselves, have fun, and thanks for dropping in!

Saturday 28 January 2012

An Afternoon Shock!

Good morning you all! It felt really luxuriant today not having to get up early; the extra hour or so in bed was really welcome. I just made myself some coffee, as I skipped breakfast today, and can enjoy it at the computer, just like back home!

Yesterday afternoon I sat down happily after my last treatment, and started commenting on some blogs. At the first one, I was asked to sign in, which I did. Then I saw a notice telling me that there had been some strange activity on my blog, and it had been suspended....I looked, and yes, my Blog was gone. Disappeared. I couldn't believe my eyes! Then I tried to sign in again, and this time got told to type in my mobile number, and Google would send me a code. I tried, and kept getting a message that my mobile number was wrong - which it wasn't. After about an hour of patiently, then rather frantically typing in my number, it worked, and I got the code. I typed it in, and still, nothing happened....Then I decided to go for a walk before I exploded, and when I tried again after coming back, my dear blog was there again! What a fright!! I wrote yesterday that I was having trouble leaving comments, and some people advised me to use Chrome. But I have been using it for over a year now, so the browser doesn't seem to be the solution. Anyway, I am just happy right now to have my blog back.

And to cheer me up after all that, I received a little parcel from Kristin of *Twinkle Twinkle* Blogspot. She sent me loads of Stickles in different colours, so I can glitter here as much as I want without making chaos here in my room. And some lovely ATC water-colour papers and vintage Valentine images with hearts and roses, so the production of sparkly Valentine cards is now possible. Thanks a lot Kristin, I am always bowled over by the kindness of the Blogger family worldwide. I will take a picture later and post it tomorrow.

This afternoon we are planning on baking a cake; we have a little kitchen on our corridor, and so we are going to bake, make coffee, and then have another painting class, so that sounds like fun.

Here's wishing you all a great weekend, take care of yourselves, and thanks for visiting!

Thursday 26 January 2012

More Tags

Just a quick post today, I have a lot of treatments today. Yesterday I had a long afternoon nap, which was very enjoyable, but it didn't leave much crafty time.

The first tag has been made from a lovely linen label which was on a jacket that one of the ladies here bought for herself. The gold flourishes were all already on it, too; I just added the image, the ribbon and the flowers. The second and third stag were a result of a little clearing up action on my work-space .






Have a nice day you all, take care and thanks for visiting!

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Journal Pages and a tag

Good morning you all! It's got quite cold here now, the last few days were mild, but it looks like winter is on its way.

Yesterday I had plenty of time for painting and crafting in the afternoon, so finished off some more journal pages and managed a tag, too. The journal pages all seem to turn out more or less the same just now, I'm not quite sure why....But I am just stuck on the blue-green shades, and that always reminds me of being underwater.




The tag has been made using a label from a tee-shirt, a piece of jute and a twinchy made from crafty secrets paper, embellished witha scrap of lace, a flower and a bow. I think I like the label better than the shirt it was on....


Okay, that was all for today. I need to get going, as we have got a busy morning again with lots of treatment and some more tests. Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for dropping by!

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Two mini canvases & Two Tags

Yesterday I had a nice, peaceful afternoon crafting. The weather was an exciting mix of rain, hailstones and wind; not really suitable for going walkies, but great to play around with paint and paper etc.

The 2 mini canvases - in twinchy size - have been painted with remnants of blue, green, white and gold acrylics. I added a large white daisy to each one, and then fixed them one above the other onto a white ribbon. I thought they would make a nice present for one of the nurses or therapists here.


The theme over at *Tag Tuesday* this week is vintage. I have made 2 tags, both with images Donna sent to me at Christmas. The first image has been fussy cut, partly coloured with water-colour pencils, and then placed onto a piece of vintage paper and a scrap of lace, all of which has been mounted on a tag cut from a piece of Anna Griffin card-stock. The second image has also been cut out. The tag is made of cardboard, covered with some vintage book paper painted with gesso, and embellished with a ribbon and another scrap of vintage lace.



Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Monday 23 January 2012

New energy for a new week

Hi everybody. I have had a good rest for 2 days, had my back treated, and feel more human now. Thanks a lot for your kind comments and encouragement to rest; something which I do find rather difficult....

Yesterday I finished the journal pages I started on Friday, and I must say, I like them, which is not always the case. I painted the background with 2 shades of blue, yellow and green, and a touch of gold acrylic paint. A added some torn paper , did some background stamping with diamonds, script and music, and wiped it over with gesso to tone it down a bit. Then I put on the top layer, with faces, doodling and some text, and drew the leaves with ink, and coloured them with watercolour pencils and a gold edding.




So, here's wishing you all a good day, and a good start in the week. Take care, and thanks for dropping by!

Saturday 21 January 2012

Taking a day off

Hi my lovelies, hope you are all well!
I am extremely knocked out just now, and have problems sitting at the computer because of my back pains, so I am taking a break. I hope to be back tomorrow or Monday at the latest, with fresh energy. Today I just need to do NOTHING!!
Take care of yourselves, and thanks for visiting!

Friday 20 January 2012

Paint Party Friday and Postcard Challenge week 3

Hi everybody. Another week has fled by, and I have just managed to get my postcard finished on time! Two *parties* at the same time, that's great - Paint Party Friday no. 45, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin, and Darcy's Postcard Challenge, Week no. 3, where our destination this week is Brazil....


Auntie Cissie’s best friend Thelma – well, one of her best friends – had planned a trip to Brazil. Unfortunately, she slipped over on a banana skin while leaving her favourite bakery in Whitechapel, so Cissie bought the ticket off her for a good price, packed her case, and got ready to fly. She was not completely convinced that a land so far away would be suitable to guarantee her enough food, and was rather worried about all the foreigners living there. Jason told her gently on the phone, *Don’t worry, dear; they are all very hospitable, and when you go there, you will be the foreigner*. Auntie Cissie told him, *Don’t be silly, Jason. I’M BRITISH! British are NOT foreigners!* Jason decided not to argue further, and gave Cissie a large box of chocolates to eat on the plane in case she got hungry. As she rather tearfully waved goodbye, she called out, *I will probably look like a skeleton when I come back*. Jason just waved, while thinking to himself, *Not bloody likely!* And then he drove back home thinking about which of his girl friends to ask over for the evening.

Aunt Cissie is very relieved to find that the food is wonderful, that there are huge portions, and that she will not starve there….. She is also pleasantly surprised that her bikini causes such a stir on the beach, and enjoys the winks and sly smiles of the men and the astonished stares of the ladies, which she takes for envious looks. She FEELS good, and that’s all that matters to her! Here is her postcard sent to Jason. Auntie Cissie has had her photograph taken in front of a sparkly Brazilian flag, and sporting her new bikini. As fate would have it, the Brazilian post issued a special stamp with cup-cakes on it, probably in honour of Auntie Cissie.




The postcard has been painted with acrylics onto water-colour paper, and glittered with stickles. I haven't decorated the album page yet, but hope to get it done for tomorrrow!

I have also managed to finish my WIP from earlier in the week.


I am really looking forward to the weekend, as we have no treatments then, can sleep longer and paint more!! I am really knocked out just now!
Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks a lot for dropping in!

Thursday 19 January 2012

A Tag and a Quick Post

Hi everybody! Hope you are all well and fit. Had a very busy day yesterday, and today sill not be much different. I managed to make a tag in the evening, and finish the picture I started the day before. The Tag has been made with some glittered paper. The bird and cage are from TH; I added the lace and some feathers. The owl is a stamp from LaBlanche, stamped and then embossed with clear EP and perfect pearls.


I will take a photo of my finished picture in the course of the day. Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Wednesday 18 January 2012

A busy day & a WIP

Yesterday I was in bed at 8p.m. I was so tired after my long day with different treatments, physiotherapy and GYMNASTICS, not to mention my little art class in the afternoon, that I couldn't stay up any longer.
Okay, first the GYMNASTICS! Err - well - yes. Now I know how a beetle feels when it's stranded on its back....I think we will leave this topic for the time being, I evidently need some training! So glad nobody I know was watching!!

We had a fun afternoon painting, using 2 shades of blue, white and green, and the ladies enjoyed themselves. We painted with loo rolls, sequin waste, and tooth-picks; later we drew faces or hands and adorned them. Next week we want to do some more. My piece is not finished, as I needed to help the others. The pics are really bad, sorry, but the light in my room is not good for taking photos in the evening.


The white tag is for my tag over at Tag Tuesday. I am not at all happy with it, but I was just tooooooooooooo tired in the evening to start again!


I am still having problems accessing some blogs, and on top of that, my USB internet stick is sometimes so slow it drives me mad, and I just don't get as much done as usual!

Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!



Tuesday 17 January 2012

More Journal Pages & a Photo

Hi you all. We had lovely weather yesterday, very cold, but bright and sunny; it was good to see the sun again. Today should be the same, so hope to get a free hour this afternoon to go for a little walk. I now have my *time-table*, so Mondays to Fridays are filled with different therapies, even gymnastics - gulp!! Hope I survive it! And this evening I plan on doing some painting with some of the ladies here - I planned it with one lady, and then others heard, so we will be having a painting class in the common room; should be fun!

Yesterday when I came back from breakfast, the moon was still in the sky, it looked so pretty, I just had to take a photo.


And here are the journal pages I made at the weekend. I have used different shades of blue, together with some white and red for the basis layer, and scraped the paint on with a loo roll! Then I used some vintage book paper and sequin waste to give some texture, and added a bit of stamping, before doing some doodling and collaging. Whatever, it was fun to make!





Hope you have a good day, take care of yourselves and thanks a lot for visiting!

Monday 16 January 2012

Monday....

Hi everybody; it's Monday already and another week has begun. Time is flying, as always. I had a quiet day here. It stayed misty all day. I did go for a walk, but it was cold and the streets were all deserted, so decided it would be better to come back here and paint. I have started some more journal pages, which will be finished tomorrow.

I made a tag, too, for the challenge over at *The cheerful Stamp Pad*, where the theme for the next 2 weeks is *Birds of a Feather*. Do hop over and join in if you can!


Just a short post today, I have a lot of appointments today! Have a good day you all, take care and thanks for dropping in!

Saturday 14 January 2012

Have you ever been cupped?

Hi everybody! This week I have started my treatment here at the clinic, and I got cupped! It's an alternative healing method, which they use to support the other therapies.

Cupping is the method of using glass or plastic cups to create localized pressure by a vacuum. The Chinese have been doing this since ancient times by using heat inside glass or bamboo cups. Nowadays, cupping sets use suction to create the vacuum. The vacuum inside the cups causes the blood to form in the area and help the healing in that area.

Ancient Chinese medicine believes that the body contains "Meridians". These meridians are pathways in the body which the energy of life called Qi ("chi") flows through. It flows through every body part, tissue, and organ. Cupping therapy is mainly performed on one's back because there are five meridians on your back. When these meridians are opened, the internal energy is able to flow through the whole body.

Another healing aspect of cupping therapy is through the release of toxins in your body. The suction from the cups can penetrate deep into your tissues causing the tissues to release harmful toxins. It triggers the lymphatic system, clears the blood vessels, and stretches and activates the skin.

Cupping therapy has been found in ancient records dating back 3500 years and it is still used today by many alternative medicine practictioners. New advancements in technology and materials have been integrated with cupping therapies and its uses now range for many different treatments and applications.

The cups suck themselves onto the back, and stay there for about half an hour, and when they are taken off you have a nice circle pattern, which doesn't go away for hours.

This is not a pic of me, it was one I found on the net:






I will be having lots of different therapies in the coming weeks, and hope they will bring some relief.

This morning I took this photo of a beautiful tree in the garden here, which I can see from my window.




And of course, I still have plenty of free time for crafting and painting, so that is good. Today I am going for a walk around the little town, and I have discovered a thrift store that needs to be looked at!


Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Friday 13 January 2012

Paint Party Friday # 44 & The Postcard Challenge

Hi you all, welcome to PPF no 44, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin, and the second week of Darcy's postcard challenge. I have combined both challenges this time, as I can't mess as much as I would like to just now! Our destination this week at Darcy's is SPAIN. Jason is off to Spain, as he has got a hot tip to buy a genuine Picasso for only 150,-€ - well, he thinks it's genuine, but he doesn't really have a clue, as will be revealed in the coming weeks. He is also visiting some of the sights, but seems to regard the Spanish Muchachas as the main things worth seeing, and spends a lot of time taking pictures of these beautiful girls. *Beautiful* is one of his favourite words, as *delicious* one of Auntie Cissie's fave words is.


Since Cissie came back from Austria, they have regularly spent time with each other, catching up on family business, and of course, eating....
He tells her the sad story how his Mum nearly got eaten by a crocodile, never quite got over the shock, and had to have regular sessions with a psychiatrist to try to get over her fear that a crocodile was lurking around every corner. This made Auntie Cissie very sad, so she quickly hid her crocodile handbag…. Jason was overwhelmed by Cissie’s favourite fish-and-chip shop, and the giant portions which were served there, but still found room for the mounds of cream cakes Cissie served in the afternoon.

He has spent the last week in Spain, where he bought a painting, supposedly painted by the Grand Master Picasso himself, and after hiding his bargain in his case, he spends the rest of the week visiting the famous sights of Spain....

The postcard has been painted onto water-colour paper. I used the tourist symbol of Spain, and added a cut-out of Jason's fave Spanish sight.


The stamp has been made from a scrap I found in my box; I couldn't find the real stamps....


And here is the album page, and the postcard in its pocket:



And yesterday evening I made three more vintage tags:





Have a nice day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!




Thursday 12 January 2012

Journal pages, tags and photos

Hi everybody. I had a bit more peace and quiet for crafting etc yesterday, as I didn't have quite so many appointments, so was able to spend more time with my crafty bits and bobs. The only problem here, is that I have to pack everything away again at the end of the session, I don't think they would take kindly to a stash, paint and glitter trail!

The journal pages are once again more or less the same but different.... I used some background stamping, partly painted over with gesso, *my* faces, lots of doodling and some cut outs from some old magazines I found flying around here.




The tags have been made using some paper and cut-outs from Crafty secrets. I stamped the butterfly with vintage photo and Victorian velvet, cut it out, and glittered it with some stickles. I made a mini tag to place onto each tag, added some pale pink ribbon and some silk roses.



And here are a few pictures of this little town, showing the old half-timbered houses and a strange *pet* that someone is keeping on the balcony....






Have a good day you all, take care and thanks for visiting!