May there be peace and prosperity....

Hi you all! The title is the first part of the quote for the challenge over at Artists in Blogland - 'May there be peace and prosperity within your walls'.

The background has been painted with acrylics using white, terracotta and pink, and then sprayed to give more colour. I then stamped the whole page with a stone stamp from Kaisercraft, to give the effect of a wall. I used a bit of Inka Gold to put a few shiny spots onto it, to look like sunlight. I wrote the text of the quote, which is Psalm 122, verse 7, in Hebrew, in an arc across the wall. I used a large plate to draw the curved line! I then added it in English, too. The pictures along the bottom edge are some I took in Israel, in Achziv (links) and Jerusalem. I altered the colour to sepia, and fussy cut the images. This brought back lots of memories for me, as Jerusalem is one of the towns I love very much, and another place where I feel at home. I am also linking to Art Journal Journey - 'home'

I was asked yesterday for instructions for the favour bag which I blogged. (Please see yesterday's post if you are wondering what I am talking about!) I hope you can read my scribble! Mine was made with A4 paper, but you can enlarge it if you want -  then the ribbon will need to be longer, though.  I made an oooops, as well. The holes have to be punched in D & F - please correct - they are marked correctly!Please feel free to copy!

Have a great Sunday, stay safe, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Paper Saturday, Alpha Challenge and a Tag

Hi you all, hope you are enjoying your weekend.

We have had a few days sunshine here, which is good, but the people in the flooded areas of Germany are still suffering - many have lost everything, and are homeless. It is an awful situation, and the worst flood since 1501! Here we were lucky, the Rhine stayed in its bed, and the water stopped rising 50 cm under the danger mark, for which I am very thankful. And I won two 'Top 3' blinkies this week, at Simon Says and Make my Monday.

This is going to be a bitty post - a bit of this and a bit of that.

I have at last finished my piece for the Alpha challenge, which this time has to be a letter between fe and fr.

I chose firmament. I have based my picture on the old engravings of the firmament, showing a flat world, and the heavens arched above and round it. I used lots of different stamps to create a scene, and drew in lines with black ink which are always seen in the old engravings. The angel at the bottom is pointing to the scroll, where the definition is written. I used twinkling H2Os to colour wash the scene after stamping everything in archival black. I went round the stars with a gold gel pen and added some Stickles to the sun, moon and the cherub's wings.

I am also linking to Simon Says Stamp and Show - 'S' - for a Scene with a Scroll, Sun, Stars, Stickles and Sparkles.

And it's Manon's Paper Saturdays, too. I have made a little favour bag. These are quick and easy to make for little presents,  and can be made bigger or smaller as required. This one will be filled with some home made cookies.

I made the Tag for Tag Tuesday, but didn't get round to blogging it till today. We have reached the letter 'v', so being big-headed I chose the word 'Valerie'. The photo-booth strip is ancient history, from the 1970s. It is always sooo hard to sit there and not make grimaces! I am linking the tag to Pan Pastel Challenge 'tags'

Sorry that the photos look scratchy. Firstly,  they are old and scratchy - like me - and secondly, I have a printer which will not print properly....

Hope you all have a good day, and a great weekend. Take care, and thanks for visiting!

Friday is party time

Hi you all, another week is over and it's time for Paint Party Friday again, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin. I have made a spread in my giant journal again, which I am also linking to Piarom's 'Mix it monthly' challenge 'Vintage meets Picasso'.

I had a lot of fun painting, collaging, stamping, stenciling and doodling here. I did the background with yellow and purple, and added in some blue here and there to fill the gaps. The ladies who are floating around have been stenciled using color-box ink in peonie, and I have partly outlined them with a gel-pen, leaving other parts to let them melt into the background. I put 'my' head into the left corner, and beautified it with eyes and a mouth from an advert. The images were black and white, so I was able to colour them as I wanted. The legs, shoes and painty hands are all from different adverts, mixed with parts of Conny's 'Picasso'. The butterflies were cut with an X-cut punch, and the quote is from Harlan Edison. I know a lot of people don't like him, but I do, although he is rather impossible sometimes....I had great fun doodling the patterns and  flowers, and adding in lines and squares at different places. As this also has a lot of numbers on it (CWS stencil) I am also linking to Dawn's Journal Journeys where the theme this month is numbers.

I put the eyes on the bosom because I know a lot of men like to look women in the eyes....

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

The Jewel in my Crown

Hi you all!

Well, actually, the only crowns I have are dental ones, without jewels, but never mind!

The challenge over at  Out of a Hat this week is 'jewel in the crown', and here is my card:

The background has been stamped using various stamps from LaBlanche, and then the lion and window were stamped twice and fussy cut to make them pop a bit. 

And someone is behind the window, watching....

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

For the Men - new challenge at TIOT

Hi you all! Today is the begin of a new challenge over at TIOT - 'For the men'.

I have made yet another easel card. The image is from Gecko Galz, and reminds me of Downton Abbey.

I fussy cut the image and mounted onto some dark brown paper with a very elegant design, and mounted that onto some gold embossed paper - nothing but the best! I added a few punched swirls made from a scrap of the gold paper. The sentiment is a quote from Winston Churchill. The little card on the stopper can be opened and closed with the ribbon.

The image and background were printed out for me by Diane, and came together with the things I showed yesterday. Thanks again!

I am also linking to Sugar Creek Hollow, 'make a masculine card for Father's Day'

and to Simon Says Stamp and Show - 'S'  - simple, satisfied, shiny, satin, sleek man.

Have a nice day, take care, and thanks for coming by!

Happy mail and another Masculine card

Hi you all, hope you all had a good weekend!

Last week I got a lovely card and letter from Diane in Michigan. I had told her that my printer was making problems, and printing everything with a stripe pattern. She was so kind and sent me some print outs that I needed for challenges, and the lovely papers you can see below, all the way from Michigan. Now, that is what I call special delivery! I can't show the images she printed, as they have already been used in various projects, which I will show soon. She sent this beautiful card with it. It is even nicer in real life, if that is possible, and I have it here on my desk now.

And these are the gorgeous papers - wow!

Thanks a lot. Diane, you are a star!

I made this little joy fold card using one of the papers:

At Sugar Creek Hollow the challenge is to make a masculine card for Father's Day in shabby  or vintage design. I have made a vintage one. The background shows a vintage photo of an office, overlaid with some numbers printed onto acetate, and a phone, which I printed out, covered with glossy accents, and fussy cut. The old Jalopy is from TH, and the dashing young men are from Gecko Galz 'Smart Dressed Man' collage sheet.

The stopper of the Easel card has a hidden pocket under it for a sentiment or a little present.

Art Journal Journey - Home

 Hi  you all. The theme over at Art Journal Journey this month is 'Home'. I was asked to be the guest designer this month, so thanks for asking! And now to some explanations to my journal page.
I have lived in several different countries, and have been in Germany for many years, but my home was, is and always will be London.

I grew up in post war London. The buildings were all blackened from bombs, smoke and fire. There were gaps everywhere where houses had been destroyed, sometimes whole streets. These bomb sites were our playgrounds. I was born near the Tower of London and the Docks, and lived in the heart of Jack-the-Ripper land - and loved it. It was one big adventure from start to finish. Places to hide, ruins of bombed-out houses where we played 'house', little alleyways and cobbled streets, loud and lively markets in Cable Street, Petticoat Lane and Spitalfields, dark Churches - especially Christchurch Spitalfields which we all convinced was haunted, and a beach at the Tower of London, which has now been closed for many years. Much of the area underwent demolition, but a lot of the old streets and houses are still there, much cleaner and better decorated than I remember them. Docklands has become a paradise for the rich who live in the lofts made in the old warehouses. But the Tower is still there, and Tower Bridge, which is now white and clean as new again. And when I visit London, I always take a day to walk around my old haunts.  It's a good feeling to be there, even though so much has changed.

The predominance of grey in my picture symbolizes the dirt, dust and smoke of London after the war, and the broken lines the destruction. But in between there is blue and yellow, for the blue skies and sunshine, and for the positive feelings I associate with my home town.

The row of pictures at the bottom show Fournier Street and Christchurch, Tower Bridge, the Tower, Warehouses, Harads Place and Fournier Street again.

And my head is full of London, as you can see.

This was exactly the right theme for me, thanks! Have a good day, take care, and thanks for looking.

'Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, that I love London town'