Monday again....

Hi you all, just a short post today, we kept having power cuts yesterday, so was too frustrated to write more! I made a sort of shadow box on Saturday in vintage / steampunk style, here it is:

The shadow box has been made from a cardboard box that had candles in it. The head has been molded and coloured with Inka Gold in copper. The hat and pen nibs are cut out of paper, and rolled round a knitting needle to give them some form. I used a little tag from Graphics 45 for his body. The background photo is one of mine, printed onto acetate. The cogs have been cut from cardboard and sprayed and embossed with my *dirty Mix* of EP leftovers, AKA kitchen-floor sweepings.The large flower has been cut from vintage book paper and dipped in melted,clear EP. The other bits and bobs are from my stash. I am linking to the Pan Pastel Vintage Challenge and to Anything Goes part of the Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent challenge at Doodleartifacts


Just seen that I am featured on The Crafter's Workshop Blog today! Have a good day you all, take care and thanks for visiting!

Happy Mail galore and more....

Hi everybody, hope you are enjoying your weekend. Had a quiet day yesterday, crafting a bit of this and that, but not really getting started on the things I wanted to do - but the main thing is, that it was fun! I also cleaned out the fridge, because while I was searching for the margarine, which I later discovered on my working space, surrounded by crafty bits and pieces, I discovered lots of UFOs - unidentifiable fouling objects. And strangely enough,2 pencils and my well chilled scissors, which should have been in the drawer of the table....Somebody must have muddled things up again, darn those fairies!
And I have had a great post week. Apart from the lovely goodies from Diane that I have already shown, I got 2 cards from the Inspiration Avenue Postcard Swap, one from Terrie and the other one from Gemma. Terrie made a pretty mail-art envelope, too.

Thanks both of you for the beautiful postcards, they will be treasured!

And I won a stamp from Blockheads (link on my sidebar), who do a draw each week, and last Sunday I was lucky!

Yesterday I couldn't resist the temptation and made some more grungy postcards, with blended paper backgrounds, vintage images and image transfers, and some stamping.

Here are the *backsides*:

And last but not least I did another double page in my journal. This time my prompt was London, so had to put a little Queen and Union Jack into it for the celebrations. I have painted the Thames, and tried to put in a few landmarks, which have been stamped and/or printed onto acetate, and a few little pictures I got from the local paper here. I just pulled the next prompt while I was thinking about it, and I don't believe it - Marx and Lenin!!! Well, I had better start knitting a thinking cap to get some inspiration for this one! But now, here is London:

That's all for today. Hope to see you again tomorrow, thanks for dropping in and take care!

Big Mixed Bag for Friday

Hi everybody, there 's a lot going on today, so this will be quite a long post. It's Friday, which means it's time for Paint Party Friday, week 12, year 2, hosted by Eva and Kristin, and Darcy's Postcard Challenge, week 22. This week our participants are off to Thailand. And as it is also June 1st, it's time for the Calendar Challenge at the Kathryn Wheel, hosted by Kate.

So, I will start with Jason and Cissie....

Jason is in the dog house. Shannon is furious. Thelma is cross with both of them. And Cissie is in despair.
Jason had planned a holiday in Thailand with some of his mates, a sort of *last fling* but Shannon is dead set against it.
They are all in their fave fish-and-chip shop, having a loud argument while eating their double portions. Jason says: ‘This will be the last time I go away without you, Shannon!’ ‘If you go away without me, it will be the last time you ever see me!’ hisses Shannon. ‘Well, what can happen to him in Thailand?’ asks Cissie, ‘They are all so friendly and kind!’ ‘That’s what I’m afraid of’ says Shannon, ‘Some of them might be too kind to him! I know what his idea of all inclusive is, and he ain’t going nowhere without me!’ shouts Shannon. Cissie and Thelma do not know what to do or say. Cissie does not like to say ‘no’ to her dear Jason, and Thelma would like to have him out of the way for a few days, so she can have some time with Shannon, but she doesn’t know how to broach the subject without getting everybody furious.
Then Latif, the proprietor of the Chippie, comes over, coughs apologetically, and says, ‘Well, I don’t like to interrupt, but….’ ‘Then don’t!’ The four say simultaneously. Latif remains friendly, and says, ‘I think I might have a solution for you!’ ‘What?’ they all demand. ‘Well, you see, my oldest son Azhar will be 18 soon, and we would like him to have a nice holiday where he can – err – gain some experience of life before he settles down and gets married.’ ‘See!’ says Jason, ‘’E’s got the right idea, ain’t ‘e!?’ ‘If you can tell me one experience of life you haven’t yet sampled, apart from staying sober three nights in a row, I’ll marry you myself!’ says Thelma. Shannon is horrified, and Jason decides it would be better not to answer. Cissie says to Latif, ‘Well, if you buy the tickets off Jason, I am sure none of us will be against it, will we now?’ Shannon grins from ear to ear, Thelma smirks, and Jason looks rather shattered, but says bravely, 'Okay!’ He knows when he's fighting a lost cause! Case closed. They get up to go home for their tea and cream cakes, and Latif says that their meals are on the house to celebrate the occasion. Cissie thanks him, but says, once she thinks that they are out of earshot, ‘If I’d have known that, I’d have had another portion!’ Latif says to his wife, ‘And that is exactly why I didn’t say it earlier! I am not stupid!’

Azhar is very happy to be off with a group of mates instead of with his family, and flies happily to Thailand. They spend three days in Bangkok, before doing a sightseeing tour and visiting some of the famous beaches.

Bangkok

WatChiwatthanaram

Beach at Chiweng

(Images courtesy of Wikipedia)

This is the postcard he sends to Jason:

For the flag I added some strips of glossy paper in blue and white, and topped it with the Thai Emblem, the Garuda. This is a figure from both Buddhist and Hindu mythology. In Thailand, this figure is used as a symbol of the royal family and authority. This version of the figure is referred to as Khrut Pha, meaning "garuḍa, the vehicle (of Vishnu)." The National Emblem is also the Emblem of the King of Thailand.

For my June Calendar I have made a snakes and ladders game, symbolic for life's ups and downs. The background has been sprayed with wild honey and spiced marmalade. In real life the colour is a bit darker than it seems to be here; it has not photographed well. The snakes have been doodled free hand onto some patterned paper and cut out, before accenting the eyes a little.

And for PPF I have pulled a piece out of the 'Oldie Box', painted in 1992, using tempera colours. I have found a whole box full of naked ladies, I might show some more of them from time to time!

Okay, enough for today. I got some more post from the USA today, a postcard and a stamp, but will show them in my next post. Have a good day you all, thanks for coming by, and take care!

Happy Mail from the USA

Hi everybody, I am happy to say that the postman brought me a lovely, fat envelope from Diane yesterday. I knew a surprise was on its way, but there were so many goodies inside I was still surprised. Everything was tied up into neat little packages, wrapped with pretty tissue and bound with fine twine, all of which will be re-used, too.

After carefully opening the little packages, all these goodies appeared - butterflies, little smiley beads in the form of moons and stars, beautiful buttons, brads with pearls and gem-stones, fantastic metal keys, charms, sparkly embellies, die cut frames, peel-off corners, masses of gorgeous lace, glass flowers and some of the most beautiful, hand-made paper I have ever seen:

And one of Diane's fantastic cards, with matching paper lining the envelope, and inside a riot of pop up fairies and butterflies. I have received a lot of beautiful cards, but this one is easily the most lovely one ever. Thank you, Diane, for putting so much love and thought into your present. It has really made me feel special!

I spent a lot of time just drooling over all those lovely goodies, spread them all out on the couch and just enjoyed them!

Today I have to go to the orthopedic specialist again for some more acupuncture and treatment for my foot and other aches and pains, so hope it helps! Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks a lot for visiting!

Tag Tuesday on Wednesday - Bunting

I cannot say that I am a fervent follower of the monarchy, but I do very much admire the Queen. She has been *In business* now for 60 years, and still going strong - hats off! I respect her enormous discipline and consciousness of her office, and how she carries out her duties, day for day. I am sure she has had a good life, too, with certainly more diversions, pomp and ceremony than most of us, but she has done her job well. And she has shown herself ready to learn and to listen to advice - I am thinking of her bowing at Princess Diana's funeral. And let's admit - she has had her share of troubles with her family, too!
At Tag Tuesday our theme this week is bunting, and my tags are meant as a little 'homage' to Queen Elizabeth II. As an oldie myself, I remember the parties at her coronation. I was lucky, I went to four - one on the street where we lived, one on the street where my Aunt lived, one at school, and one at a ladies' club, where I accompanied my great aunt. The parties were a great treat in those days. Growing up in post war London was dreary - grey streets, bomb sites which we used as playgrounds, buildings blackened and burnt. Rationing was part of daily life. Sweets and sugar were still rationed at this time, and so parties with jelly and custard and cakes were a real treat! Not to speak of a whole bar of Cadbury's chocolate each to take home. And other presents. At school and at one of the street parties we were given books; 'The Coronation Book of kings and Queens' and 'The Little Princesses'. At the other parties we were given commemorative mugs. The Mugs I gave to my sister when she left England and immigrated to the USA in 1958, as she wanted them as a keepsake; the books I still have and use. And it was also the first time that I was able to watch TV - my Aunt had bought a TV set for the occasion, and we all squashed into her tiny front parlour to watch it all happening.
Okay, enough reminiscences for today, I am starting to feel like Methuselem! (Spell Check evidently never heard of Methusalem, and advised 'Methadone'!!!)

And here's a song we learnt at school:

Here's a health unto her Majesty,
With a fa la la la la la la
To drink this loyal toast of wine.
With a fa la la la la la la.
And he that will not drink her health,
I wish him neither wit nor wealth,
Nor yet a rope to hang himself.
With a fa la la la la la la la la la,
With a fa la la la la la la.

And in case that was not enough:


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

Vincent Van Gogh Journal Pages

I was really wanting to do some work on my journal over the weekend, as the promt I picked out was *Van Gogh*, but I had promised myself not to do anything till I had cleared my table....Yesterday I was on strike, did NOT want to clear away all those bits and bobs, but today I ground my teeth together and got on with it. I was able to celebrate a happy *Wiedersehen* with lots of things that have been AWOl for weeks. I also had a brilliant idea. There is a drawer on one side of the table, which I thought would be perfect for foam squares and all the other little things which I am always looking for. I could just sit on the other side of the table, but I never felt comfortable sitting there, for reasons not known to me or the rest of mankind. Then I had the BIG IDEA - I turned the table round. Now the drawer is there, for me to fill with all those countless little pieces that crafters need to have at their finger tips. It has taken me six years to get this far! Oh well, better late than never! And while I was at it, I swept the floor and tidied the rest of the kitchen. Then I knew that I had deserved to start work on Van Gogh! I wanted to do some pages like I did for Frida Kahlo, with a printed background showing her works, but I wanted to paint, so I tried - but I am no Van Gogh! Anyway, I did my best, painted one of his pics as best I could, and then made 2 computer-generated transparencies as lay-ons. The left one shows a letter with a drawing, the right side a faded letter to his brother Theo, overlaid with his drawing *Sorrow* and a saying of his. I didn't draw anything before hand, just painted directly onto the paper, and resisted the temptation to use sharpies to give more definition afterwards.

I had a fun time painting it, perhaps I should try this more often.

For the challenge over at 'The Cheerful Stamp Pad' this week, 'The Sweet Life', sponsored by Stampotique, I have made a card for a little girl, who loves pink, blue and lilac. The background has been embossed with a texture fade folder. The middle panel has been cut with an ancient die, sorry, don't know from whom. I stamped it with the image of the kids and the lovely sentiment, and embossed with Ranger Tinsel EP before colouring with water-colour pencils. I threaded a narrow, pink ribbon through the holes, and added the lilac daisies.

By the way, several people suggested turning the third part of my triptych round so that the reddish part is outside. I have turned it, and it does look better - thanks!

That's enough for today. Take care, have fun and thanks for dropping in!

Sunday and sunshine - rare combination

Hi everybody. Yesterday I decided to have a lazy day at home and do some painting. I wanted to do a square painting, but then I found these three 15 x 8" canvases, and decided to use them I have made three which go together to form a triptych. I painted them first with a layer of white, with a tiny bit of yellow in it so it wouldn't be too bright. Then I added the colours, just sticking to more-or-less geometric forms in yellow, greens, some orange and a tiny touch of red. I did a little bit of patterning with a CWS reversed chicken wire stencil, and that was that. I still haven't quite decided how to hang them, and may swap left and right again, or turn them - we shall see. I have them hanging on the kitchen wall.

Here I was trying out which side looked better where....

And this is how they are hanging now. What do you think?

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