Tuesday 17 January 2017

This, that and a Mouse in a House

Hi Everybody!

For Art Journal Journey, Erika's lovely theme of
'tell me a story', I have a hybrid page. I started with a gorgeous 
grungy background from Foxey Squirrel, and then added various 
elements and photos. Mr Umbrella man is there as
time traveller, and is wondering  what's up -
why are the girls wearing sunglasses? Who lives
in the house? Who's standing behind the window turning 
his back to us? Whose book is that on the steps? 
what's in the barrel? Do you know any answers?




Yesterday I got a parcel in the post. It was sent to me
from Sandy in Florida. She sent it on December 5th 2016.
I don't know why the post didn't 
get it here more quickly, but I was  đź’—VERY đź’—happy
to get it in the end.


Inside I discovered this wonderful little mouse lady from
'wee forest folk':


Then  I remembered that Sandy had sent me a kit for a little 
house a couple of years back, and put it together
to make a Mouse House. It still needs another
coat of paint inside, but I wanted to show you. 
Thanks đź’—Sandyđź’—, you are a darling!


Some views from my balcony:





And my amaryllis has grown 28" in 10 days and
is starting to open:


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

Monday 16 January 2017

T stands for This, that and TIOT

Hi Everybody!

Hope your week got off to a good start.
After my fall on Saturday I got awful pains in the 
night, so dragged myself to the ER Sunday morning.
I have 2 cracked ribs, and as well as the bruising on my
knee, I am developing a black eye with a matching
nose - I must have kissed the ground with power!
Pity it's not carnival, it would make a good
disguise....And as I am not allowed to lift anything,
or bend, or do housew**k, I am happy that there
is something positive to report.... And I have a few weeks
to read, do some crafting, watch old films etc -
'Always look on the bright side of life.....'

On Tuesday we are starting a new Challenge at TIOT -
Anything but square.
As always, you have 2 weeks to link your creations to us,
and projects of all formats are allowed, as long as they fit the theme.
I made a mixed media tag (8"), using lots of elements which are 
not square. As usual I used my clear-the-table-technique, 
AKA everything but the kitchen sink - scraps of old 
letters, paper napkins, stenciling, stitching and more:






And I have another not square piece.
I altered a Moleskine A5 journal I got
for my birthday, using a piece of my vintage, rusty linen
from the erosion bundle and an iron-on
beaded owl - quick and simple:



I am linking the journal cover to Art Journal Journey.

And today is also Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, I would like 
to welcome all of the nice ladies of the T Gang.

This was taken on New Year's Day. People take their Sekt down
to the Rhine, use the bottles as rocket-launches,
and then leave all their garbage behind them
when they stagger home!


 I like to bake a tray of spice bars each week, they are cheaper
and better than shop cookies. These were
filled with strawberry and ginger jam - help
yourselves:


I had an English visitor and made 'Toad in the Hole',
sausages backed in Yorkshire pudding batter:


 And lemon cake and cappuccino are high on my list of faves:


I was fascinated to see men working at the top of the old mill
last week:





And the moon this week was really magical:





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



Saturday 14 January 2017

More this and that

Hi Everybody!

Today we had some crazy, mixed up weather.
It wasn't as cold as the last few days, we had 
sunshine, wind, clouds, blue skies, grey skies, snow and rain, 
all one after the other.
I went for a walk, and stumbled over a loose
paving stone, and kissed the ground like the Pope. I managed
to turn a bit in falling and landed on my 'old' knee
and not on the new one, so I was lucky, and got off with
a few bruises, a graze on my knee and a hole
in my trousers.

I spent the rest of the day safely at home, reading,
crafting and having fun. I have been making a
lot of large, mixed media tags lately, and am sharing one I
made last week. I used an 8" tag, which was painted, 
stenciled, collaged and stitched:






I am linking to Simon Monday challenge, square

And this little heart was made with remnants left over
from last week - corrugated card, scraps of serviettes, gilding
flakes, vintage linen, string and sewing:


The winter skies are beautiful:








Lots of snow showers:


And a magical night sky:


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


Friday 13 January 2017

It's weekend....

Hi Everybody!
It's weekend - have a good one!
I don't know why I always look forward to weekends,
because as a pensioner, my life is made up
of weekends - I guess it's still some
primal memories from working days.
Every day is a gift, so we need to celebrate,
try to be positive, leave negative people and stuff
off the plan and just have fun! 

For Art Journal Journey I made a hybrid piece
for Erika's lovely theme of  'Tell me a story'. The quote is from
Hamlet's famous 'To be or not to be' speech:





(Here I combined my own elements with some from Mischief Circus)
I am also linking to Paint Party Friday

Good weather to stay home and keep warm:









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