T stands for a liTTle Giveaway

Hi Everybody!

As I sit here writing this post I'm listening to the sound of the rain and the wind in the trees - wonderful. So pleased we have some rain for the parched earth and dried up plants and trees. I'm very much enjoying these cooler, respite days after the harsh heat wave. Yesterday night I went onto my balcony and watched the night sky, and saw not only a lot of stars but a shooting star from the Perseid meteor shower, and made a wish....

On Tuesday we are beginning a new challenge at Tag Tuesday. Our lovely Wendy chose the theme this time - landmarks. That gives you a lot of choice! My fave landmarks are, of course in London, my home town, so I chose Big Ben for my tag. I stamped onto a scrap of painted paper for the BG, adding some other paper scraps as mats. I did some crazy sewing to hold it all together:

Tuesday is also time for Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, so here a warm welcome to all of the nice ladies of the T Gang.

Last weekend, when we visited Venekoten Lake, we started off with a visit to a lovely little pub/restaurant in the little village of Overhetfeld, near the border to Holland. The pubs and eateries are all strategically placed around the village green, a wonderful place with rows of trees for shadow, and an ancient chapel in the middle. This fun chef welcomed us as we arrived:

We had some breakfast - for G a pot of coffee and some delicious cakes:

I had cappuccino, served with a delicious cookie, but almost forgot to take the photo....

The chapel of St Maria an der Heiden is very tiny, but beautiful:

There are beautiful baroque elements inside:

You have to stand behind the screen to take photos:

This is one of the other pubs around the green, complete with 'horse' waiting in the yard outside:

I have  a stamp set from Jane Davenport to give away. I evidently ordered the same set twice! I will send anywhere in the world, so if you would like it, please say so in your comment and I will pick a name out of the hat:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Happy Weekend

Hi Everybody!

I've been enjoying some cooler air here. It will probably get warm again in the next days, but one thing at a time - I just want this to last!

Some colourful ladies drawn with water-colours:

I am linking to Simon Monday Challenge, tape it up

Some of the trees are looking really like autumn already:

Thursday was very cloudy, storms chased the clouds and the hot air away:

Have a great weekend, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

This and that again

Hi Everybody!

Yesterday was really the hottest day of the year till now, but I'm pleased to say it's starting to cool off,  and we even had a bit of rain this morning. There will probably be storms passing over, but I hope that after that we will be back to our normal, summer weather.

During the past weeks I had to spend a lot of time at home, as it was too hot to go out in the afternoons, and I played in my journal. Here are 2 of the mixed media journal spreads.  I worked with water colours, coloured pencils, gelatos, stamps and mermaid markers from Jane Davenport (brush pens filled with dye-ink).

I am linking to Paint Party Friday

I used more or less the same things here, except for the stamps. I just added the stenciled birds and some JD washi tape. I am linking the purple face to Simon Monday challenge, tape it up.

Last Sunday G had another of his wonderful ideas, and early in the morning we drove to a lake - the Venekoten See - which is near the border to Holland. We were able to stroll around the lake, enjoying the cooler, morning air, and found a nice place to sit and eat the food we had taken with us. This really is a perfect place for a hot day, with lots of trees giving shelter and a nice breeze from the lake. The walk from the car-park to the lake led through the woods and along by a crystal clear stream:

There was also a horse ranch and stables on our way:

All in all, a wonderful place to spend a refreshing few hours. Thanks G!

We also visited the nearby village and sampled good food and coffee there, but I will show you those photos on Monday.

Have a great day, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!