Thursday, 3 August 2017

Going shopping

Hi Everybody!
Hope your week is going well - here it's just
going too fast to catch up on it!

For Paint Party Friday I have a mixed media collage
using  an altered postcard. Once again I used
a b/w postcard from the 1930's, showing a statue from Georg Kolbe.
He was a prolific artist and sculptor,  but a little too eager to please the Nazis 
for my taste. I coloured the card with soft, feminine colours to soften
the hard lines of his work, using oil pastels.
 I did a lot of sewing, and stitched it all onto
corrugated card, adding some coordinating colours of burlap
and feathers:





I am also linking to altered eclectics, anything goes, and 
eclectic Elapu, anything goes

For Art Journal Journey, Jo's theme of 'poetry in motion', I have
a digitally made piece using freebies from Serif and Foxie Squirrel.
The little girl in the centre of the rusty frames is Erika
again:




Today I had planned to go for a walk along the Rhine, but as the
weather was very inclement, I changed my plans and went on
the tram to Nord Strasse, a shopping street almost in the centre of 
Düsseldorf,very 'towny', always busy, and 
with lots of 'normal' shops - in comparison to the beautiful
 and for me much too expensive
shops in our little place here.
There are lots of street cafés, and there is always something going on:





The road is always busy; bikes, cars, buses, pedestrians and trams
 often struggle to get through:





There are some quiet yards behind the houses:


This shop only sells candies and chocolates -
I did not go in!


Organic fruit and veggies:


A cow guarding the snack bar:



Kebabs with and without meat:


Fashion:



The street also boasts several Euro-shops and 2 thrift stores,
so I did not come home without some bargains. More
pictures to follow tomorrow!

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

Wednesday, 2 August 2017

On the other side of the tracks

Hi Everybody!

First of all, thanks to all who made fun suggestions about
my mystery picture yesterday, I enjoyed reading them
very much!
Today is flying by again, and I haven't even started on anything yet!

I made several things suitable for the postcard challenge at
TIOT, which is still running for nearly 2 weeks,
so here are a couple of the other things I made. First off, I made this
very simple postcard album to take my vintage cards of London.
I used a TH embossing folder for the front, and the pages can 
easily be removed or added to as they are only held by the string.
I now have three of these albums in various colours:



The spine:


Some of the vintage photos:


The 'family' has definitely grown older since then!


This postcard was stamped, collaged and sewn  onto linen and then
painted:




The reverse was stamped:




It has now safely arrived at its destination!

When I leave the house I first need to cross the bridge over the little stream:


Then I go round the corner to the tram stop. I can't walk so
much these days, so go one direction on the tram
and one on foot. While waiting, I always look over at
the 'no man's land' on the other side of the tracks; this shortens the
waiting time:










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

Tuesday, 1 August 2017

Cats and a mystery.

Hi Everybody!

Hope your day is going well!

Donna recently sent me a whole sheet of cat stamps, and I
needed wanted to try them out. I made a quick background using 
distress oxides in peacock feather, salty ocean and twisted citron, with 
a hint of black soot to add depth. I stamped the cats in rows using 
Archival black, and added some colour to their eyes 
and noses using Gelatos. I sewed the 8" tag to a background
made from a recycled calendar, and added a black bow and a cat
charm. I am linking to Moo Mania and More, cats,
and Country View Challenges, blues and greens, and to
Tag Tuesday, my fave colour combination:





I made this digital piece using 
 a freebie set from Mischief Circus, called
Songbirdy debut. Now you might be wondering
why those people are where they are, and what they are doing there. 
Who is the ghostly woman in the background? Why are they
with a zebra and not a horse? And above all - what is hidden in that box
at the front right? And could it all change when the clock strikes 12.00?
If YOU know the answers, please let me know!




And this piece, made a year or so back is meant for Elizabeth's
2nd on the 2nd. It shows my late husband as a rather
rebellious school boy:





The photos were taken yesterday morning,
I love watching the sun rise:








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