Lots of this and that

Hi Everybody!

Lots going on today, so I'd better get started right away.

My tag for Tag Tuesday will be shown tomorrow!

Today is the start of a new challenge at TIOT -

Make a scene

As usual, projects of all formats are welcome, and you have 2 weeks to link up your creations and join us - hope to see you there!

For my project I made a hybrid piece, using some digital pieces (Daisytrail) on a hand water-coloured background. I chose London for my scene, as I grew up about 500 yards away from the Tower, and for me it is always home.

For Art Journal Journey and our 99 faces challenge I have another hybrid piece. The background has been painted, the sunrise is a slightly altered view taken from my window, as is the bird. The plane is also a photo of one of the big birds taking off, and the face is my drawing, which I have layered here onto the background. The text is the Irish blessing, a verse I really love.

I think this page is a view of my little world.

I am also linking to Kim Dellow's show your face.

And today is T stands for Tuesday over at Elisabeth's, so a big welcome to all the T Gang Ladies.

My drink is - as always - coffee with milk foam, yummy.

On November 11th we celebrate St Martin's Day. 

St Martin of Tours started out as a Roman soldier and was baptised as an adult and became a monk. He was a kind man who lived a plain and simple life. The best known legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share it with a beggar during a snow storm, to save him from dying of cold. That night he saw Jesus in a dream wearing the half cloak, and Jesus said to his angels, 'This is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me'. He was known as friend of the children and patron of the poor and needy. The holiday originated in France, then spread to England, Germany, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Here in Rhineland the children hold a lantern procession after dark, and someone enacts the part of Martin,seated on a horse, and it is very pretty to watch. It is tradition to eat roast goose for festive meals, and also 'Weckmann'. A weckmann is made from sweet yeast dough, and covered in sticky icing sugar, and sometimes with almonds. The pipe originated as a Bishop's crozier, and somehow turned into a clay pipe! I sacrificed myself and bought a large Weckmann so that there is enough to share with all you, so go ahead and try a piece! Yummy with coffee or tea.

The photo is not from me but from a local newspaper

Most of the leaves are now down, but the ginkgo trees are the last ones to loose theirs.

Have a great day you all, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Face first into the new week.

Hi Everybody!

Hope your weekend was good, and wish you all a good

start in the new week.

I have 2 pieces to show today.  The first is a hybrid piece using a face which was created by a serendipitous accident. I wanted to print one of my older faces onto tissue to put into a journal page, and then the tissue and the backing paper it was on got caught in the printer. I managed to pull it out, but it was wrinkled like a concertina, and then I saw that the face had changed completely, and I think for the better. I smoothed it out without taking away the folds and took a photo, which I then scanned into the computer and have used here. The background is one of my paintings. I digitally added the face and the moon - another of my photos, here coloured purple. The window and David are from Algeradesigns and the winged angel is a freebie from Itkupilli. I had fun saving this face and re-creating it to a new one, which I am linking to 99 faces and to Kim Dellow's Show your face.

This is face number 2, just 97 to go!

My blogging friend Teresa  does a post every Sunday called 'Sunday's little Blessings', and she posts sentiments and/or beautiful little drawings which she generously gives as freebies. In this journal page for Art Journal Journey, inspired by autumn colours, I used one of  her lovely word arts, so this is a big 'Thank you' to dear Teresa of Tickle Expressions.

The background is a brush-wipe page with several layers of colour scratched on with my scratchy brushes and stamped into the top layer while it was still wet. I added Teresa's sentiment, my moon and the silhouette with the herons. The birds are from Itkupilli, as is the golden crown.

I am also linking to Moo Mania and More, crowns.

The new railing to stop us falling into the Rhine is finished at last, and now we can walk the whole stretch again without let or hindrance, and the benches are back. It was even warm enough this weekend to sit on them.

I must admit I prefer the old and rather rusty railings round the castle ruins.

The flower shop is wonderful whatever the time of year:

I had a bad night again and was awake very early, but such lovely skies really make up for it:

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

To everything there is a season....

Hi Everybody!

Hope your weekend is going well.

We had strange weather here today, warm and humid, very unusual for November!

Today Susi and I are beginning a new, private challenge - 99 faces.

Susi finished her 49th face for the other challenge yesterday, so now we are starting again. If you think we are a bit crazy - well, could be, but it's fun!

For my first 'new' face I have made a hybrid/mixed media page in A3. The background is a collage which I scanned. The face and the profile are my drawings, the nude is a water-colour sketch I made in the 90s, and the starling is one of my balcony visitors. The nude is sitting on one of the columns from the basilica. The script in the background is one of my old family documents. The clock-hands, butterfly, an overlay and the 5 were added digitally, and were freebies. I printed it out, and fitted it into my painted page, for which I used titan buff, green-gold and ocker, all from Decoart. I used various stencils to pull it all together. The quote on the page, 'To everything there is a season.....' is from Ecclesiastes 3:1

It is also meant for Art Journal Journey, inspired by autumn colours, and

Kim's Show your face

The photos today were all taken on the road where I live. I just looked for rusty bits and bobs, and found them:

And the rusty leaves fit to the rusty parts:

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!