Sunday with sun

Hi Everybody!

Today the snow is almost gone, and we even got  a few

rays of sun - I am hoping so much that we will now start

moving towards spring! Thanks to those who asked

about my cracked ribs, they are healing slowly but

surely, I am being very careful, and the only pains now

are when I cough or try to turn over in bed.

This, too shall pass!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and we all so need

more love and less hate in the world.

I made a concertina tag book, 7x4", using tags for the front and 

back, stitched onto the peeled and painted

cardboard for more stability.  The tags were pasted

with the usual eclectic mix of scraps and paper-napkins,

and given a thin wash of diluted gesso. The heart was stitched

from some of the lovely fibre Gill sent me, and

some lace and flowers. The concertina pages were cut from

good quality cream card stock.

Front:

Back:

Both together:

An 'arial' view:

It started out like this:

Lots of background 'filling':

A quick coat of gesso before adding the top layers

of colourful napkins:

I am linking to Allsorts challenge, hearts and flowers, Simon Monday Challenge, Young at Heart, and More mixed media, 

anything goes,  optional red; Go Tag Thursday, Paris, romance.

I have been re-organising my shelves so that I can show some of

the pretty books I made/ altered:

Today started off well, but it soon turned very stormy:

It all soon blew over and the day was cold but bright:

Amaryllis bloom number 8, alone in a bud vase:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Snow time is crafting time

Hi Everybody!

Time flies by so quickly - I have the feeling that I just

finished writing my last blog, and here I am 

already writing the next one.

We got a shitload of snow dropped on

us in the night, although 2 days back they promised

 that today would be warm and springlike - anyhow, the

experts are predicting the change now at the

beginning of the new week, so let's hope

they soon get things right!

I made this pair of 10"tags yesterday, using various bits and bobs from

my messy table and also a few more things that were in

the wonderful goodie-box from Gill.

I made a really messy background, recycling the rest of

the cardboard from my knee-socks - for 1 pair of socks I got 3 pieces

of cardboard, 2 plastic clips and a plastic bag, which is resealable. I used lots of gesso, brushos, sprays,  EPs, fibres and bits and bobs which I pasted on:

The face is made using a stencil from Dina Wakley, 

the bird, cage, flowers and diaphanous 

white material for the dress from Gill - thanks Sweetie! 

The words were stamped with a cheap set of sentiments,

 No-Name from the 1€ shop for 20 stamps. 

I did lots of sewing to put it together.

I am  linking to Stamps and stencils, texture, crackle

and paint, and to Simon Monday Challenge, young at heart; and to More Mixed Media, anything goes, optional red; and to 

Allsorts Challenge, hearts and/or flowers.

And as the colours fit so well for Linda's lovely challenge

 '50 shades of red' at AJJ, I placed them in my journal

and made them into a journal spread.

And you might not believe this, but I cleared up my table -

well, a bit anyway:

I enjoyed sitting at my table crafting and enjoying the

aroma of a marble cake baking in the oven - yummy!

I stayed home today as I don't want to fall over again

and kiss the ground, I just took the pics from my

balcony!

My cactus is covered in snow:

 I threw out a few hand-fulls of bird food, they found it:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Weekend this and that

Hi Everybody!

It's been a grey day with an icy wind blowing from the East,

and I'm hoping the weathermen are right

and that it will soon warn up.

For our new challenge, 'Bookworm' at Tag Tuesday

I have a digital tag, using parts from Serif, Mischief Circus and me:

I made this tag last week, once again using freshly picked and peeled

cardboard, garnished with creamy gesso, bits of napkins and 

other UFOs from my table-.The girl in the metal frame is one of 

my stamped and painted coffee pod papers. I added lots of 

zigzag sewing to finish it off:

I am linking to More mixed media challenge, anything goes

with optional red

And more views of my clean and tidy work-space, with a sneak peek

of something else I'm working on:

On my way home through the grounds of the Florence Nightingale Hospital

I saw this fountain, I think it will look good

in summer when the water is flowing:

There are a lot of the original Victorian house and villas there, I love

the chipped blue paint on the window:

The pigeons are all sitting huddled up in 'their' tree, it's

a long winter for them, too.

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!