This and that on Wednesday

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are all well and fit.

We had another nice day here, rather windy, but a nice mix of sun and clouds, blue skies and grey. We are expecting wet weather again tomorrow, so it's always good to be able to make the best of the good days.

This Tag (8") is one of my DT pieces for Gecko Galz this month. The background paper is  'Province Town harbour' from the 'Mayflower' paper pack. I inked the edges with wild honey and rusty hinge DIs. The image is from the 'Be thankful' stamp set, printed onto acetate. I kept the embellishments simple, using just burlap, a horn button, an embossed leaf and seed pods.  The background paper and digi stamps can be printed out to any size, which makes them very flexible. I am linking to Moo Mania and more, bright and cheerful.

I love these trees growing rather wild behind the little lakes here. It is a nice, overgrown area where I like to wander.

I saw this strange fungus along the bank of the stream. Was rather hard to take a photo, as I did not want to slip down the slope into the stream. It looked furry, and had a diameter of good 6". Perhaps someone knows what it is?

The clouds scudded along all day, blown by a very stiff breeze. 

Recently I have often seen crows down by the Rhine, they seem to find food there. Perhaps they go fishing?

He's definitely got something in his beak.

And the horses were partying....

Have a great day, whatever you are up to, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Another Double Tuesday

Hi everybody!

Every 2 weeks here it's a double day, with new challenges at Try it on Tuesday and Tag Tuesday. At TIOT our them is 'spooky' , and at TT 'Autumn extravaganza'. Both themes that I really like.

For Try it on Tuesday I made a witch house from an altered box. I painted the outside and inside 'walls' a nice, mouldy looking black, papered the walls with Halloween paper, and hung up some fancy curtains. The furniture is minimal, the witch Evilena, does not like clutter, and is quite happy with a pumpkin to sit on, a broom to get rid of spiders and to fly,  a good selection of poison bottles and a spell book she inherited from her grandmother.  Her daughter wanted TV, but Evilena did not allow it, so her DD left home.

For Tag Tuesday I made a quick autumn tag. I used a scrap of cardboard (8") from an old box, which I embossed with Utee gold into which I stamped while it was still warm. The other side is a scrap of painted card. The leaves are natural ones, which have been embossed with tinsel EP, Frantage gold and Frantage aged copper. A few seed pods and a scrap of burlap, together with some recycled  embellishments finished it off. I am linking to Soartful challenges, leaves.

I have been trying to get a photo of this woodpecker for weeks, it flies off as soon as I move to the window. But yesterday I managed to catch it, sitting in the branches of the birch tree.

I saw this web today between the stones and drain-pipe of one of the ancient houses here. I was surprised to see how strong and waterproof a spider's web is, and how beautiful:

And the evening sky was once again a treat to see:

Have a great day you all, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by.

Still life and land life

Hi everybody!

Time is flying fast, and the weekend is almost over.

We had a beautiful, sunny and dry weekend here, so I was able to be outside a lot, and enjoyed my walks through the autumn landscape very much. I managed another 15 kilometer today, so was happy with that.

I have made a mixed-media piece for  Mix-it-monthly, where Conny wants to see a still life, with light and dark blue, yellow, red and white. Well, the colours are at least more or less right!

I started off by sticking some paper scraps and bits of vintage paper onto my paper (A3), and some strips of bandage. The chemist here recently had a box full of old bandages which were to be had for nothing, as they were past their sell-by date, which means they are possibly not sterile any more, which did not worry me. 

Then I gave it a thin coat of gesso so as not to completely cover up the papers.

Then I painted squares, using water-colours, in various shades of red, yellow and blue. I let each layer dry before adding the next one. It was much brighter than I wanted - sorry, forgot to take a photo, so I gave it another coat of diluted gesso.

I used a large scroll stamp (thanks again, Chrissie) to stamp into the wet background to add some more texture and patterning.

Then I drew my blue glass vase with pastel chalks, and added some tulips (well, I hope they look like tulips).  And that was it. I am linking to Mix-it-Monthly, still life,  Artist Trading Post, anything (mixed media) goes, and Moo Mania and More, bright and cheerful

Today I walked to the dilapidated castle, Schloss Kalkum again. 

I met these nice horses on my way:

The old water mill always looks beautiful:

The castle ghost is  starting to spook about:

I love the still corners of the park:

The ducks were happy and hungry as always:

Then I walked home through the fields, where the farmer was busy harvesting:

And I visited the  cattle again - aren't they gorgeous?

I took loads more photos, but will save them for another day.

Have a great day you all, whatever you are up to, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!