Sunday Sketches and More Journal Pages

Today is Sunday, I overslept again -shame on me! And the sun is shining. Donna has been out of bed and dancing around, which is great news, and seems to be on the mend. WELL DONE DONNA! Today is Sunday, and that means it's time for Sunday Sketches over at Sophia's Blue Chair Diary. I have been doing more sketches this week for my *75 days, 75 sketches challenge*, so I am showing a few out of my collection. Wgen I first started, 75 sounded like an impossible hurdle, but now I have 25 finished, one third down! I have been carrying on sketching small things out of various drawers and shelves. The magpie has been sketched from a photo in a book, there are loads of them in the trees outside my windows, but do you think they are prepared to sit still for an hour while I sketch them?? The first one is a brush hidden in a pen, the second one a miscellany objects from my drawer, and the third a candle-snuffer.

And I have more journal pages to share; I have used different papers for the collage background, trying to use lots of different textures. I have used 2 photos of my husband as a little boy; one with *Heidi* his toy dog, when he was about 8 months old, and the other one taken about a year later.

And I made a card for a challenge at Splitcoaststampers. It's a challenge to use over the rainbow or the wizard of OZ. I made a hand painted rainbow, with different images swirling about - the scarecrow, and of course, the red shoes. I cut the rainbow out and put the end of it into a crock of gold. The rainbow opens up to a painted scene, into which I have placed a holiday pictures from Crafty Secrets. The gold frame is from LaBlanche. I have written the text of the song onto the reverse of the rainbow.

So, I think that was enough for today. Have a good day you all, Donna enjoy having the OP over, take care of yourselves, and thanks for dropping by.

It's Saturday, weekend again!

Good morning you all. I don't know what time of day it will be when you read this, but it's morning here now. And if I'm not mistaken, it's feeling a bit warmer today. I don't want to say it too loudly in case I scare it off! Would be nice not to freeze today.

Yesterday I spent nearly the whole day playing with my journal. The paper in my daily scribble journal is not very good quality, and when I use wet paints or too much gesso, it goes through the paper. I was wise enough to leave 2 pages free before painting the pages from yesterday, and so I have *repaired* these pages to make them usable. I stuck an old ledger page over each spotty *backside*, and then took it from there. I had a pile of nice hand-made paper, which I tore into trips and added along with some torn book pages, some sacking, lace, TH tissue strips etc until the pages were covered. Then I added some photos, of 2 great aunts of my husband(taken about 1900) on the left side, and one of Erika and her brother, taken about 1920 on the right. I decided to leave the rest as it is, as I liked the collage without covering it up with too many photos.

And I made a tag, which was supposed to be autumn and lace, using the dress form from TH, leaves and lace. I got a bit carried away, and now you can hardly see the dress form or tag....Oh well, somethings do go wrong....And it does look like autumn, just not like anything else!

So, here's wishing you all a good day, and I'm sending huge hugs and sparkly vibes galore to Donna, who had a knee operation yesterday. Get well soon Donna, miss you! Take care you all, and thanks for visiting!

PS I just read on Donna's Blog, that she has been up all night taking pics of the people who go past her door and blogging them, Good for you, Donna!

Paint Party Friday is here again!

Good morning everybody, and welcome to Paint Party Friday, hosted by Eva and Kristin. Hope you will find time and see the work of some of the talented people who play along every week.

I have painted some journal pages this week. I went to IKEA - the swedish furniture store - recently, and saw some material printed with lots of pictures like a story book. I couldn't afford to buy any just now, but it inspired me to paint these journal pages. The pages have been drawn with water colour crayons and pencils, painted, and then edged with a pen and black ink. It was fun to draw all these haphazard pictures, linking them with the *bean-stalk* and then working them into a little story. I think I will try something like this again.

And I made a tag for Rebecca's Blog Challenge Garden. This time we have to make a tag out of recycled materials. I have made the tag and the sentiments from my Coffee packaging, the ribbon was from an Easter egg, the lace and paper scraps are ancient. Just the fairy image is new.

So, that was it for today. Have a nice day, and happy PPF to all participants. Take care, and thanks for visiting!

A mixed bag

Brrrr, its a chilly morning here again, and yesterday evening I sat here wrapped in a blanket as it was so cold. But the weather prophets have said it should get a tad warmer this week, so I sure hope they are right. We had nearly no summer, and if they take away autumn and throw us directly into winter, I will protest!

Today I have my journal pages to share with you. The pages have been painted with white gesso mixed with a touch of black to give grey. Well, you probably wouldn't have known that if I hadn't said it, would you? I found the pictures of Pisa's famous leaning tower in one of the prospects I was recently cutting up, and decided to use them. I was only in Pisa once, and it was a day when it was raining cats and dogs without stopping, and so grey is firmly anchored in my mind with Pisa. And I have also used a photo of the Gehry Buildings in the Harbour here in Düsseldorf, built by the Canadian Architect Frank Gehry, who specialises in unusual shapes and angles in his work. You have to look twice when you first see them, as they are leaning as much as the ones in Pisa,but FG does it intentionally. I don't think I am a great fan of his work, I much prefer ancient buildings, but his stuff is all very eye catching and worth looking at. And I put a quote from Paul Verlaine on my page, too: *Il pleure dans mon coeur comme il pleut sur la ville*. At least I have written it properly here, I typed it wrongly in my journal, but I will alter it later.

And I have 2 tags to share, made for the Gingersnaps *Once in a Blue Moon* challenge GCSP 09. I have made 2 travel themed bookmarks, one of Paris, and one with New York as the *Big Apple*.

And here's another joke from Narda:

What I Want In A Man!
Original List: age (20 something)

1. Handsome
2. Charming
3. Financially successful
4. A caring listener
5. Witty
6. In good shape
7. Dresses with style
8. Appreciates finer things
9. Full of thoughtful surprises

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 32)

1. Nice looking
2. Opens car doors, holds chairs
3. Has enough money for a nice dinner
4. Listens more than talks
5. Laughs at my jokes
6. Carries bags of groceries with ease
7. Owns at least one tie
8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal
9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 42)

1. Not too ugly
2. Doesn't drive off until I'm in the car
3. Works steady - splurges on dinner out occasionally
4. Nods head when I'm talking
5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes
6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture
7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach
8. Knows not to buy champagne with screw-top lids
9. Remembers to put the toilet seat down
10. Shaves most weekends

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 52)

1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed
2. Doesn't belch or scratch in public
3. Can tow a RV or drive a Motor Home
4. Can cook a BBQ
5. Doesn't re-tell the same joke too many times
6. Appreciates a good TV dinner
7. Helps with the housework

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 62)

1. Doesn't scare small children
2. Remembers where I have put things
3. Can still tow a van without causing chaos on the road
4. Only snores lightly when asleep
5. Remembers why he's laughing
6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself
7. Usually wears some clothes
8. Doesn't notice my facial hair and wrinkles
9. Remembers where he left his teeth
10. Stops trying to tell jokes

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 72)

1. Breathing.
2. Doesn't miss the toilet.
3. Remembers where we both live.


Okay, that's all for today. Take care, have a great day, and thanks for looking in on me!

Strange faces in the woods....

Yesterday I had to go to the doc's, and this time I drove very carefully through the Rhine Tunnel so as not to get another speeding ticket! I also went for a walk with B's doggy, Emily. We took out usual walk though the woods. There is still a lot of greenery on the trees, but they are starting to turn colour.

And I saw some fungi growing on a rotting tree stump. I don't know what sort it is, but it has some interesting shapes and colours. I am sure I can see a ghostly face in the fungus on the left hand side - can you see it too?

And by turning the picture 90° to the right, I can see a bearded man in the middle of the other one. Can you see him, too? Or perhaps something else?! Perhaps the witches are hanging out there till Halloween....

Well, apart from dreaming in the woods I managed to get a tag and my journal done. The tag is for the *Just for fun* *shades of green* challenge. I distressed the tag with TH inks in bundled sage, crushed olive and forest moss, and stamped it with a collage stamp from LaBlanche in forest moss. The bottle has been cut from a piece of green packaging. The poison label is from the Graphics Fairy, the bony hand from my stash, and the skull is from *My Tattered Angels*. Was fun to make; Halloween is coming nearer and nearer....

For my journal I did a scribble background with blue and green wax crayons and painted over it with water. The pictures I have used for my collage were cut out of some magazines and prospects I was sorting out. The tigers are rub-ons. It was fun doing something completely different again. I don't plan what I am going to do, I just open up the journal and do the first thing that occurs to me. And I am not advocating drinking three bottles of wine each day!

So, that was enough for today. I hope the sun comes out today and warms us up a bit. Have a good day, whatever you are up to, take care, and thanks a lot for dropping by!

Monday Again!

Good morning you all, here's wishing you a good week. It's really chilly here, there's a definite nip of autumn in the air now!

I had another lovely, crafty day here at home; didn't have to go anywhere or do anything, so I didn't! I got some more tags done, played around with my journal, and had a good nap in the afternoon.

The first tag has been made for my DT piece at *The cheerful Stamp Pad*, where you have to use something transparent this week. You have 2 weeks to enter the challenge. I distressed my tag with TH inks, stamped the background with a collage stamp and a script stamp - both from LaBlanche - and added a vintage image from a German Ladies' Magazine from 1899. The image has been covered with a film strip printed onto acetate.

the second tag has been made for the *Dedicated Follower of Fashion* Challenge at the *Dragon's Dream*. Ever since I read about it, that song has been going round and round in my head. I distressed the tag, stamped it with what I call *sock pattern* in forest moss, and added an image from Graphics 45 and one from my old ladies' magazine. As embellishments I added some shoes and a shirt, and that was it!

For the journal pages I used a picture of my Great Auntie Fanny, as I have been thinking about her a lot these past few days. I used pink, as that was one of her favourite colours. She was a good friend to me, and I always felt good when I was staying with her.

That was all for today. Have a good day, take care and thanks a lot for visiting!

Sunday Sketches and Catching Up on Challenges

Yesterday was a good day. I stayed home, didn't go shopping, didn't tread in paint - I just had a nice day crafting. Before I could start, though, I cleared my table as much as possible, so that I had room to work. I can actually see the table top now!

Over at Sofia's *Blue Chair Diary* it's time for Sunday Sketches. I want to share a couple of the sketches from my *75 days, 75 sketches* book. I have completed 19 sketches up till now; some passable, some good and a lot bad, but I am practising and learning. In the past few days I have been sketching everything in my top drawer, and things flying about on my working space!

Then I spent some time catching up on challenges. The first one is for *Try it on Tuesday* where we had to use an old stamp. I used one that I have had for 3 years and never used, it's just not what I like, but i think it's made quite a fun tag. The background has been distressed and sprayed, and the image - from LaBlanche- has been stamped with soot black and embossed with black EP.

The second tag is for the GC 115 at Gingersnaps, Tribute to Teens. I have used an image from Scrollsworks. The background has been distressed and sprayed. The film strip has been printed onto acetate. The text round the edges reads: *Teens - the time when the film of life starts to get faster, and then runs wild before getting normal again*

The card has been made for a challenge at Splitcoast stampers, using scraps and 2 images from Crafty Secrets, which were among the things Jan kindly sent me. The love heart was made for another project, where it didn't look right, so I cut it through the middle and turned it into wings.

And last but not least, I got another parcel yesterday, this time from Narda, who sent me an assortment of crafting goodies and embellishments - silk roses in all colours, dimensional die-cuts. bows, bling and rhinestones galore, ribbons, and the most wonderful sequined, beaded and crocheted bands, so I am going to have fun with these things. It was a bit like Xmas for me this week, I feel really overwhelmed from the kindness of friends. Thanks a lot, Narda!

Okay, I will save the other things for tomorrow, this post is long enough! Have a good Sunday, take care, and thanks a lot for visiting!