Red hot Frida and cold and wet walks

Hi Everybody!

Friday here was wet and cold all day. On my walks I only met dogs, horses and some big umbrellas with legs under them. But ALL of the benches along the Rhine were free today, I could have sat anywhere I wanted....

I am sure it will not come as surprise when I say that I have another Frida journal page to share today. Yes, I have Frida fever, and it probably won't stop till the end of the month - and I am enjoying it!

This time I have tried to combine the challenges at Moo Mania and More,  Hot Summer, and AJJ, Frida. So I made my Frida page in hot and summery colours. I based my drawing on a Frida picture I got on a bookmark,  drew it in A4 size, and scanned it into my computer. I digitally changed the colour to red, and printed it out onto paper that I had painted and spritzed with red and yellow water-colours. I added more colour using gel pens in red, neon-yellow, green, brown and white. The words I have chosen are from a page in her 'painted diary' and mean love, heat and pain. It was fun using colours I don't usually even think of!

I am also linking to Manon's Paper Saturdays

Everything was wet today, but the rain does make the grass really lush....

There were hundreds of wild geese at the Rhine, making a big noise,  the usual ducks, and of course, the resident swan. It really was weather for the ducks!

This afternoon I visited the horses here round the corner. They are definitely susceptible to bribery, and love apples and carrots.

And one lesson we can learn from the horses, birds and other animals, is to take things as they are, to keep calm, and just carry on....

Have a great weekend, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Frida in blue and gold

Hi everybody!

I know I say every week that time flies quicker and quicker, but it's true - another week is nearly over, and it's time for Paint Party Friday again - hosted as always by Eva and Kristin. And I am sure it will not exactly come as a surprise when I tell you that I have taken Frida Kahlo as my subject again! We are all in Frida Fever just now!

I used 2 canvases, 15x8", which had been painted dark blue and stenciled with a diamond pattern at some time in the distant past and then somehow hidden under a pile of junk stash. Anyway, I first pasted  a triangle from the bottom almost up to the stop, using a thick mixture of  metallic paint and  bead gel. I used a spatula for this as it was too thick for a brush. Then I sprinkled a handful of micro-beads over it, and waited, not exactly patiently, for 2 days till it was dry. The pictures of Frida Kahlo were mirrored,  printed out, and fussy cut. I soaked them in water to make them more pliable, and then glued them with decoupage glue from LaBlanche. When they were dry I used 2 coats of glossy varnish to make them more durable. Then I had some sticky fun with glue and gilding flakes, and that was it.

I am also linking to Art Journal Journey, Frida Kahlo.

Today was cold and mostly wet. It was gray and overcast in the morning:

And not much better in the afternoon

And the horses  just carried on as always....

Here's wishing you all a great day. Have fun, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Frida in green and blue

Hi everybody!

There seems to be crazy weather all over the world just now - floods in the states, storm and hurricanes here and there, and very unsettled and wet here, not like August.

Today I am sharing 2 more Frida pieces I painted today. The drawings were done with black ink in the first one and charcoal in the second. I was not happy, and decided just to throw some paint onto them, which I did. I used some new water-colours sent to me by Chrissie, and had fun throwing, dripping and smearing.

I haven't found a Frida quote for the second one yet - any suggestions?

I am linking to Art Journal Journey, Frida Kahlo, and Paint Party Friday.

This the lovely, travel water-colour box from Chrissie - thanks!

And some photos from my walk today. The horses came and posed for me:

These are growing all along the Rhine:

I collected a lot of these seed heads, as they make nice decorations:

The graffiti is on an old pump house near the Rhine:

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

Cards, a rainbow and more

Hi everybody!

Hope you are all having a good day.

We had varied weather here again, winds, rain, sun and a lovely rainbow in the evening, which lasted for more than half an hour.

Today I am showing 2 of the DT cards I made for GG.

 Gecko Galz  and Itkupilli are joining in a cross promotion this month to show how well the products can be combined. The background paper is  from Itkupilli,  and the image from the Dance Jewel it sheet. The arched door was from my stash. I distressed the edges of the paper, and matted it with sea-green card to bring out the green in the paper. I used a 6x6" card in gold.

(Material list: card blank, matting paper, BG paper from Itkupilli Primavera 2/14, die cut frame, fussy cut image, foam squares)

This oriental style card was made using an image from the Japanese Traditions 2 collage sheet. The image was matted with red and black card. I used a card-blank 8x4". I made a mat from a piece of card 1/2" smaller, glued it to the card, and covered half of it with the cherry blossom paper. All edges were inked,and I stamped the script along the middle left. I hope I have it the right way up! The dots were added with felt pens and stickles. I used a black die-cut as embellishment.

(Material list: card blank, card and paper for matting, stamp, image, die cut.)

I had a long walk along the shore this morning, it was less windy there than on the tow-path. The Rhine is still carrying high water and the swan and the ducks are enjoying the extra 'islands'.

This bush was being blown hard!

The row of love-locks along the path by the castle is getting longer - I wonder if they are all still together?

This afternoon I made another batch of jam with peaches, adding the usual spices, 

ginger and raisins soaked in rum (of course, just for disinfection!). It has a very mellow and rich taste, and one jar walked out with my neighbour, so now I only have 3! But the middle one is a very big one.

The rainbow is always something which cheers me up, and I stood and watched it till the last remains had disappeared.

Have a great day, take care,  

and thanks a lot for coming by!