TIOT, TT and a JV for AJJ

Hi Everybody,

Hope our day is going well!

If you are wondering what all those abbreviations in the title mean, I can translate them for you: Try it on Tuesday, Tag Tuesday and a Joint Venture for Art Journal Journey!

Today a new challenge is starting at Try it on Tuesday with the theme 

'Sewing and Buttons'.

You have 2 weeks to join in, and all formats are allowed. You can see lots of lovely examples on our blog. I made a felt elephant, all stitched by hand, with real buttons etc. I know it's not perfect, sewing elephants is something I haven't tried before, but I suppose there is a first time for everything! I am also linking to Moo Mania and More, flowers.

At Tag Tuesday the theme is Music. I wanted to use my Mozart stamp, but he seems to have gone on holiday. I found a nice image by Gecko Galz, which I mounted with pink and blue matting. The butterfly has been crackled and distressed. The quote reads, 'A world without music is like a bird with broken wings, a nest without eggs or a butterfly which has forgotten how to fly'. I only wrote the first part along the side of the tag, and the rest is on the back.

Now to the joint venture for Art Journal Journey, the sea. 2 weeks back I looked after my little friend Sally while her Grandma was at the doc's. She helped me make this page. The brush wipe page with added Gelato colours was from me, and Sally, who has just turned 9, drew the octopus by herself, and painted it. The choice of pink metallic paint was all her idea, too. I drew the outlining when it was dry, and wrote the text. Sally had fun punching out butterflies, and added them to the page so it wasn't so boring. She punched lots of other butterflies, birds etc and took a big bag full  back home with her. I think she has talent!

I tried reversing the colours, and like this version even better:

My resident jay was hungry today, and spent a lot of time attacking the fat balls:

Looks like he's saying 'Yummy!'

And Lilly and Lucky have the last word again:

Have a great day you all, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Under the sea and by the river

Hi Everybody!

I wish you all a good start in the new week!

This will be a quick post today, time has run away again.

For Art Journal Journey, the sea, I have made another underwater page. The background was painted, sprayed and dripped, and I outlined the drips with a gold pen. There is an eclectic mix of creatures, under-sea butterflies, fish, a turtle and shells. I used stencils for the two figures which I painted with Vivacolor rust, and doodled some vines round them. I wrote the quote 'The sea, the mother of all life' with gold.

My walk led me down the Rhine to the next village today. 

The white cattle are back after their winter break

I love this twisty, narrow path leading down to the water

The Rhine is still very high

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Seaweedia

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. The weather was quite kind to us today, apart from a few sudden, heavy showers.

For Art Journal Journey, the sea, I have another of my pages to share where rather a lot is going on  under the sea.  Seeweedia, the gardener-mermaid (recognisable by her green hair) is tending a garden under a glass bell, where even butterflies can live. Her little son, Fin is learning to ride a sea-horse. The skull of some long-gone pirate gets used as a lamp, and the fishes take messages from one family to the other. The background of the page was a brush-wipe page, enhanced with extra colours and then stamped with a crackle stamp to give some texture. The under-sea bubbles are stamp by Ryn, and have been white embossed. The other images were in my stash (I am never astonished about how many various images I have there, just that it borders on a wonder to find the right thing at the right time). The quote is a variation of the Beatles' 'I want to be...' song. Other bits and bobs were doodled.

Back in the world of reality:

This huge ship was made up out of four parts, each carry different machines or cars

Have a great Sunday you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

A goldfish, water and flowers

Hi Everybody!

The weekend is here, enjoy it!

Last week I watched a programme on TV about antique mosaics found under the sea, and one series showed fish and waves. This inspired me to make my fish using gilding flakes and paper scraps to make the mosaic waves. I drew the fish first, filled it in with the flakes (how to get stuck up without really trying....) and drew the outline with a black pentel pen. Then I added the waves. The background was painted with greens and blues over a brush-wipe page. I am linking to Art Journal Journey, the sea. The quote is from Albert Einstein:

'Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid'

The weather was quite pleasant today, so I enjoyed my walk, first along the stream:

I passed the meadow where the horses were grazing:

I enjoyed the sight and smell of the blossoms:

I watched the ships on the Rhine:

The water is still very high:

My way home led me through the little park, where I enjoyed the wild flowers, which have shot up with all the sun and rain:

Have a great weekend you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!