A Collage and a Journal Page

Hi everybody!

Yesterday was another wonderful, sunny day, although it stayed frosty. It started off with frost on the fields, -4° and a beautiful sunrise, and I was able to enjoy 2 good walks along the Rhine, making a total of nearly 18000 steps, over 8 1/2 miles, so I was proud of myself for that.

The collage I am showing today, which I have called 'Life on various levels', is one I started 2 years back, and which I have worked on here and there, and finished at last. It's still not quite as I wanted, but I think that's something we have to reckon with. I used acrylic paints, stencils, some scraps of gold leafing, lots of bits and bobs from my table, lace, buttons, die-cuts, cut out images, a serviette and some of the transfer images that Jeanette sent me this week. I found some scraps on which I had used candle wax and stamped into it, and included them, too.

 

The journal page has also been made with other flying bits and bobs on a painted, stenciled and stamped background. The robin red-breasts were from a Christmas serviette. I have created a little world where sky and sea mix and meet in silence - even the birds are blowing bubbles instead of chirping.

The last photo was taken just before sunset at the Rhine:

I am linking to PPF, hosted by the lovely Eva and Kristin, and AJJ, silence, hosted by our gorgeous Susi.

Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by.

Tag Tuesday and More

Hi everybody!

Tuesday means that it's time for Tag Tuesday, and our theme this week is decay.

For my tag I used a photo taken at an old Jewish graveyard in Brandenburg during a field trip there some years back. I cut a tag from recycled black card from an old calendar, and gave it the form of a cabinet card, as this reminds me of the form of a gravestone. I cut the photo to the same shape. The text is from the well-known hymn, 'Abide with me', which we used to sing at school in London, and although I am not a religious person, I always liked this hymn. I added a spot of colour with the flowers and left everything else in black and white. I love the way the stone is leaning against the tree, and how new shoots are springing up - the eternal cycle of life, death, decay and new life.

Today was rather wet, with lots of showers, so I didn't wander too far from home, and did three short walks, with  total of just over 14000 steps (7 1/2 miles).  In the afternoon the sun tried to come out, and the sky was really impressive.

 

At the Rhine there were dozens of wild geese, bobbing about in the water where a stream flows into the river, then taking off and flying away in groups. I stood there for so long that I got wet feet, but I loved watching them.

 

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

Lions, ducks and horses

Hi everybody!

We had a lot of wind and rain here all night, which meant lots of puddles on my walk today. But it stayed dry all the time I was out, which was good, although their was a biting wind along the Rhine which seemed to be nibbling at my ears! Puddle jumping is a sport which I have practised since I was a toddler, and which stood me in good stead today.

I love these mossy and rather dilapidated lions on the bridge over the moat.

And the ducks were busy as usual, they don't mind it being wet.

  

Between my morning walk and the afternoon one nearly 18.000 steps!)  I did some crafting, got some of my DT cards for Gecko Galz done, which I can't show yet, and made this one for Artful Times, where the theme is 'Year of the Horse', for the Chinese New Year.  I don't have any Chinese stamps, but remembered this drawing which I made back in the 1980s, using soft, blacklead pencils. I had the idea from the son of a friend, who always drew horses. I took a photo of it and printed it out as my focal motive, matting it with dark grey mirri-board, and red and black cardstock. As an embellishment I added the little sticker with the rose and some Chinese/Japanese? writing.

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

Happy Post, lots of steps and a card

Hi everybody!

Hope you have enjoyed your Saturday.

Here it stayed dry most of the day, although it was cold and cloudy, and I was able to get a loooong walk this morning, and a shorter one this afternoon, making a personal best record of 20659 steps, which makes just under 10 miles. In between my walks I did three machines of laundry, which also entails lots of running down and up 54 stairs each time, and did some H*******K, so I was proud of myself for that!

This card is one I made last week using some of the elements out of the set my neighbour gave me, and think it has turned out quite well. The text means *Give yourself time*. The white floral frame is a foil overlay, which has been glittered on the reverse.

These 2 big, fat geese waddled from the stream to the moat today - wonder why one lot of water was better than the other? Or did they just fancy a change?

I always think that this tree is watching me, it seems to have a face. Perhaps some poor wood sprite has been imprisoned there?

 

The  evening sky over the Rhine was beautiful:

 

I got another surprise package this week, from dear Jeanette in Hamburg, who always makes wonderful journal pages and paintings.  Thanks a lot, I am looking forward to playing with everything - stickers, owl serviettes, LaBlanche transfers, a wonderful Fairy Stamp, and last but not least, the lovely card that Jeanette made for me. Thanks again! Sorry about the reflections on the photos!

 

I have been very lucky lately, and am thankful to have so many kind, generous and loving friends in Blogger Land.

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

Hearts and flowers

Hi everybody!

We've had a couple of cold and damp days here, not good for the aches and pains of my old body. I still went out for my walks, clocked up 15000+ yesterday but only 13000 today - it rained too hard. But I did a few kilometres on my stepper to make up for it, although being outside walking is, of course, much nicer.

I like to eat Bressot Camembert cheese, which always comes n pretty little round, cardboard boxes, which are really too good to throwaway. I re-purposed 2 of them. I gave the lids a coat of off-white emulsion paint as a base.  I used structure paste to make the diamonds with the stencil Diane gave me, and then gave it a coat of pink paint. Isprinkled on some Frantage shabby pink embossing powder, and then used some Inka Gold in  gunmetal grey to tone it down a bit. The rose was stamped twice using the free stamp from Craft Stamper (thanks Sandy!), coloured with water colours and then given some sparkle with glitter paste before being fussy cut. I mounted the roses over each other with foam pads to give more depth. The wings are a TH die-cut, painted silver, and the heart was made in a mould (mold for those on the other side of the big pond!) using candle left-overs. I painted it pink to match the box, and swiped it with the gunmetal grey. By the way, it's not a good idea to speed up the drying of the paint using a heat-gun on wax....A little strip of lace was used as an embellishment, and now it is ready to begin its second life with a chocolate marzipan heart in it....

I am linking to FSC, Hearts and flowers.

The second box has been covered with a silver doily, and the sides with a strip of paper from Basic Grey's True Love digital set,  pp1. Gecko Galz is doing a cross promotion this month with these products, and you still have time to enter the challenge on the GG website.

I stamped flowers from the paper, and heaped them on top of the box, placing half pearls in the centres of the top ones. I gave the paper round the edge a coat of paper varnish to make it more durable.

This was a quick and easy make over, and has made another home for a chocolate Valentine heart....

I am linking to Manon's  Paper Saturdays

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

He-Art-ShAdow Men

Hi everybody!

Thursday started off here cold, misty and damp, so my morning walk was rather chilly at the beginning, but still nice. In the afternoon the sun came came out and lured me out for another walk, so I clocked up 17.000+steps again, another 8 miles. But I must admit I am always super hungry when I get back, and had to eat carrot cake to replenish my energy levels.

I had fun visiting my feathered friends, as always.

I love how these two are snuggling together, they let me get right up close, too!

Waiting for the boat.

 Once again, all the gulls are looking in one direction, except for an odd man out in the middle, he was watching me.

For Paint Party Friday, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin, I have painted a set of two canvases, each 15x7 1/2". I painted the backgrounds with a warm cream, and used various shades of brown for the shading and framing. I used my diamond stencil from Diane with structure paste, and highlighted it with cinnamon Stickles. I used my own stencils for the men, and drew them with charcoal, adding a bit  of colour with some brush strokes and  using punchinella as a stencil. I used pastel chalks to add more colours. I have called this set He-Art ShAdow Men. I am linking to Simon Monday Challenge -  'A' is for....and to Country View Challenges, Monochrome.

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by, your visits and comments are always much appreciated!