Having fun

Hi Everybody !

Hope you are enjoying you weekend.

We went to the Stempel Mekka in Hagen yesterday,  and met up

with lots of nice blog friends again, and saw soooooo many goodies there. It was just difficult to choose anything, as there were so man things to choose from. Susi bought me a great stamp from Lost Coast Designs, I will show it later in the week.

For Art Journal Journey, Elizabeth's lovely theme of 

'Back to school'

I have another hybrid piece. I used my heads on a brusho-ed and dripped background. The left head was filled with a collage representing free time and holidays, and the left takes us straight to the reality of school:

The day started off with a beautiful sunrise:

We set out just after nine, took the tram into town, and waited at the Main Station for our train:

The hall was very full, and there was so much to see:

Sylvia (Barnie) was busy on her stand:

Heindesign was one of our faves:

Long queues everywhere, as ladies waited to get their backpacks 

filled up with crafty stash:

My absolute favourite is always Lost Coast Designs:

It was hard to decide about anything....

We kept ourselves going with coffee and  more coffee:

We met up with Rosie

All in all, it was a fun day, meeting friends , chatting,

and seeing what's going on in the crafty world of stamping.

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Paint Party Friday

Hi Everybody!

Here I am re-showing a cat painting inspired by Rosina Wachtmeister. It is a mixed media piece with a dripped, brusho-ed and sprayed background:

 For Art JOurnal Journey, back to school, I made a page using more photos taken when I was a teacher. My class had the task of decorating all of the windows in the great hall for a Christmas bazaar. It was a 5th grade, who had fun designing, cutting, gluing and mounting the pictures and silhouettes onto transparent paper and then fixing them onto the windows. It kept us busy in our art class for 4 weeks, and was a good example of team work:

And here the photos:

 -

Today I went to the airport to pick up a VIP who is visiting me just now - here she is - Susi, better known as Froebelsternchen, now in Kaiserswerth for a few days. Our first stop was to have lunch in an Italian restaurant, and Susi drank a glass of Alt beer, a speciality from Düsseldorf:

We had a sunny walk through the town this afternoon - I think we look good in front of these rusty sculptures in the castle grounds:

Have a great day you all, take care

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Back to school again

Hi Everybody!

Hope your week is going well.

I have been busy bringing my chaotic flat into some semblance

of order before my guest arrives tomorrow. Well, it looks better than 

it did before, and I am looking forward to a fun week with Susi.

For Art Journal Journey, Elizabeth's lovely theme of back to school, I have another hybrid page, once again using a school photo of Erika. Many people wanted to know who she was and what happened to her. She was a distant relation, descended from the sister of my great grandfather. By a strange chance, I was asked to visit a lady living in our old people's home, who wanted to talk to someone in English and/or Spanish, and I went along to see her. We got along very well, and I was asked to become her official carer, and to look after her affairs if she would at sometime not be able to do it herself. After I had retired from school I worked at the home where she was living. One day, she asked me to get down her album of photos, and showed them to me, and her family tree - imagine my surprise when I discovered that we were related! She died at the age of 93, and I had the privilege of conducting her funeral and seeing her buried in her home town, from which the family had had to flee under the Nazis. Many of her former school friends and townsfolk were there, and it was good to see 

that the circle of her life was completed in this way.

For my journal page I have used another of her sport team photos; Erika is on the right:

These photos  were taken on her 90th birthday.

At the celebration with her younger brother:

We have had a week of good weather and I have enjoyed watching the sunrise day by day:

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

New challenge at Moo Mania and More

Hi Everybody!

Today we are starting a new challenge at 

Moo Mania and More -

Alphabet

As always, projects of all formats are allowed, and you have 2 weeks to

link your creations to us.

I made a piece meant for Art Journal Journey, Back to school, as well.

I made a hybrid page over a brightly coloured background painted very quickly with acrylics:

At the farm shop they had a wonderful display of pumpkins:

The bookshop is also advertising for back to school!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!