Fantastic dreams, a hedgehog and blue skies

Hi everybody!

In between doing a lot of walking this week as the weather was good, and visiting the eye-clinic and the doctor, I did manage to get quite a lot of crafting done. As there is never time to do everything, I just left the H*******K away, that really is a time saver. I am sure we will have some bad weather sooner or later which will be fine for staying home and doing things I don't like!

I made a journal spread for the AJJ challenge, fantasy scene. I am trying to show the fantastic world we enter when we sleep, 'perchance to dream' (Shakespeare), where everything is possible. We can fly, hover above and watch ourselves, don't think it strange to see strange animals and plants, or to have a clock-face and a butterfly on your nose. Flowers bloom in winter, the stars shine golden, and fragments of speech come to us and slip through our grasp before we can store them. 

The pages were painted with blues and purples and some metallic colours and gold ink, and then I used background stamps in the still wet paint to give some texture. When it was dry I set to work stamping the flowers and grasses (Artemio) with embossing ink and white EP. The figures have been stenciled, as has the owl, and I gave the floating figures a thin coat of white paint, to let the colour underneath shine through, and added some glitter liner after drying. The script fragments represent the words and dreams we forget, and I used a fractured script for my sentiment to underline it. The bird, the butterflies, and the flower in the middle were collaged. The script fragments are on very thin paper, and also transparent, not covering up, just seeming to  float. 

  

I am also linking to Hels Sheridan's 'Ink on your fingers' - dream and to

Simon's Monday Challenge - transparent

 At Artful times  the challenge is to use game  pieces. I used a whole puzzle, which I painted with sparkling H2Os, and stamped with the lovely hedgehog image from LaBlanche. The quote is from Lewis Carroll, and one that I like very much.

And of course, I am linking to Paint Party Friday, hosted, as always, by Eva and Kristin.

 The past days have started out with frost and mist, but got better and better as the days proceded, and today was no exception. I walked to the sculpture park to enjoy the spring flowers and blue skies:

I watched the planes coming in to land - we are near the Airport here .

The water in the lakes was blue:

And the clouds looked good against the blue skies at the Rhine:

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

Transparent

Hi everybody!

It was a busy day here, I had to go to the eye-clinic for the next examinations and treatment, so I am pleased that it is over - till the next time, anyway. Not all the results are good, but I am trying not to think of it just now. It was cold and frosty when I set out this morning, with mist hovering over the fields, but soon the sun came along and waved his golden wand and the frost and mist just evaporated.

 The challenge at Simon's Monday Blog this week is 'transparent', a theme I like, and which I have tried to show here by using various layers of stamping one over the other, but so that everything remains visible.  The background has been stamped with Archival sepia, the next layer - flourishes and numerals - with Archival olive, and the top layer in Archival black, which was also embossed with clear EP on the butterflies. They were then given some colour with gel pens and glittered with Eucalyptus Stickles, Some of the flowers in the background were treated to some dired marigolds distress Stickles. I mounted the tag onto two other tags in rust and brown and fixed them together with an eyelet. The bottom layer has a strip of butterfly tissue tape, and I added some transparent flowers. The transparent butterfly has been printed onto a transparency, fussy cut, and distressed with Stickles from the reverse.

I just managed a short walk this afternoon after my hospital appointment, but saw this beautiful piece of decaying wood, It was fascinating to see all the little channels and tunnels where the worms have done their work - wormwood. I thought this would make a good background paper, too. If you like it, you can download it and use it.

These two beauties were holding their afternoon nap:

And this tree is just beautiful against the blue sky background.

That's all for today!

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

Locks and Keys for Tag Tuesday

Hi everybody!

Our theme at Tag Tuesday this week is locks and keys, which offers many creative possibilities.

I made 2 tags, as I couldn't stop once I started....

 The first one has a background stamped in various layers and then distressed, and mounted onto a second tag made from corrgated cardboard, partly peeled, painted, and 'rusted' with Viva rust. The sentiment is a stamp from TH, the flourish is from LaBlanche, and the background stamp is from EBAY - I don't know more! I fastened the tags together with a large eyelet, and added a heart-shaped lock from LaBlanche on a ballchain from TH. The key is a brad from my stash. I clear embossed the sentiment after stamping to give it more definition.

I am linking to Simons Monday Challenge, Transparent.

 The second tag has been made from a piece of card where I tried out some new stamps from TH that I got as a present some weeks back. I distressed the card with dried marigold and wild honey, and stamped with Archival sepia in a random fashion till the tag was full, The heart was made in a mould using candle wax remains, and coloured with Inka Gold in gun-metal grey and copper. The tags have been fixed together with a TH paper clip, and I added some tissue tape and lace in one corner.

Today started off cold and misty again, but got better in the course of the day. I walked along the beach, and enjoyed watching everything.

I love the different colours of green, each tree seems to have its own special shade.

In the afternoon I visited the horses, I sometimes wonder what they are thinking about when they are standing around all day.

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

Birds, a bike and a horse

Hi everybody!

Today started off cool and cloudy, but this afternoon was sunny, and I enjoyed my second walk with the sun warming my back. After my morning walk I got to work chopping veggies for a potato and carrot stew, which turned out very well. And I am pleased to say that no fingers got hurt!

While my food was cooking I made a bird tag for Tim's 12 tags of 2014. I did not copy the tag, as I do not have the same stash,  but made my version after TH's inspiration. The background of my tag has been stamped with background stamps from LaBlanche. I stamped the nest (TH) first on the tag and again on some glossy card with Archival black and clear embossed it. Then it was fussy cut and fixed with foam squares. The little bird on the branch is from Catherine Moore, and the larger bird at the bottom from TH. The small black birds have been made with a MS punch. I used Archival black and clear EP for them all. The TH bird has also been fussy cut, and fixed over a cut out egg with foam squares. I cut a second tag from green coredinations, and fixed them together with an eyelet (WRMK). I added some lace under the edge of the top tag, and  a bundle of 'twigs' made from dried lavender stalks so that the birds can help themselves when building their nests. The little eggs in the nest have been coloured with glitter liner.
I am also linking to Take a Word challenge - eggs

 I felt very inspired to do the bird tag today after watching crows flying up to the castle ruins with twigs in their beaks, evidently building their nest up there - a room with a view indeed!
Then I walked on to Schloss Kalkum, and saw the first 'babies' of the season - this pair of geese had 7 little goslings flitting around and pecking in the grass. It must be a full time job keeping an eye on so many little ones!

I went nearer very slowly, so as not to get them too excited:

But this one really had his beady eye on me, and started making some very warning noises, so I went, as I did not want to be chased by a wild goose!

The ducks were also having fun on the mill stream:

And in the afternoon I watched this swan doing a turbo swim over the lake:

Here are a lot of riding stables nearby, and a lot of people ride in their free time. And I often see people taking their horses for a walk, which always looks a bit strange. But today was even stranger - a lady on a bike leading a horse - or was the horse leading the lady?

That's all for now.

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

Transport

Hi everybody!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Today was cool and windy, and the clouds chased each other across the sky, giving some very dramatic views. I was still able to go for 2 nice walks, and enjoy watching how the vegetation is growing and changing from day to day. Spring is a wonderful season.

This week there are 2 challenges to do  with transport. The theme at the Craftroom Challenge   is transport  and at the    Cheerful Stamp Pad  it is modes of transportation, so I have made a wall hanging to cover them both.

 I started with a piece of corrugated cardboard which I partly peeled and  painted. I embossed some of the edges with gold Utee, into which I stamped, and the other edges with Vivacolour Rust. I used various scraps of DP as matting, one of which has train tickets printed on it. The cogs have been die-cut from Cardboard, and then painted and embossed with gold and rust. The transport stamps used are from scrolls work, the 'passengers' from Paper Artsy. I stamped the steam car in vintage photo, and the locomotives in Archival siena and black. The 'ladies' were both stamped with archival black. After fussy cutting I gave them all a coat of clear varnish. I fixed them with foam squares, putting the lighter colours at the back to create some depth.  When I was small my great Auntie told me to always  take a piece of string in my pocket if I was travelling anywhere, to tie things to my case, or to repair things.... So I tied some string round it in memory of her.

As I was walking near the old ferry this morning, I heard a loud noise, and saw a tractor speeding down the lane leading to the ferry, and was very astonished to see it drive onto the ferry. I suppose even tractors sometimes need to cross to the other side. 

 In the late afternoon, the sun lit up some of the trees in spite of dark clouds, making a wonderful show of colours.

 Here's wishing you all a great day. 

Take care, and thanks a lot for coming by.