Tuesday post

Hi Everyone!

Tuesday is always a busy day, so I'd better get started

straightaway.

At TIOT we are starting a new challenge

-let's get messy-

As always, projects of all formats are allowed, and you

have 2 weeks to link your creations to us.

I made a triptych of tags from recycled cardboard, 

adding lots of layers of paint, crackle, fibres,

art-stones, moulding paste and whatever else I found

on my table.  The figures were made from black paint and 

home-made stencils:

Some close-ups of the textures:

 I am also linking to Stamps and stencils, texture, crackle and paint and to

Simon Monday Challenge, use your fave tool -

my heat gun.

For Art Journal Journey, Linda's theme of 50 shades of red,

I have a hybrid page using a wonderful

background from Gill,  'Heathers', and a photo of my dear Leah with

her big love back in the 1940s:

And today is of course Elizabeth's 'T stands for Tuesday'.  so I want to 

offer my visitors a hearty welcome with a slice of sour cherry 

cake with cream and almonds, and a 

nice mug of cappuccino:

And some photos of our sunny Monday. It started off

frosty:

The gulls enjoyed the sun along the river:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by

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!