Haberdashery and flowers

Hi Everybody!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Have a great, new week and stay safe!

I have another tag for Michele's haberdashery challenge at Tag Tuesday

It's a rather surreal scene, and looks like the dress forms are having a conversation, with the couple outside watching them through the window....You still have a week to join in the challenge!

And I have a hybrid page for Mia's challenge at AJJ.

The flowers were a quick water colour study made at art group several years back, placed onto a hand-painted background. I put it together using various elements from Serif:

We had lots of beautiful sunrise scenes, even with clouds it looks wonderful:

And I find lots of beautiful flowers wherever I walk:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Weekend post

Hi Everybody!

We had another warm and sunny day here, but some cold and nasty weather has been predicted for the next couple of days. Okay, I have enough new books to read, and bad weather is always good crafting weather, so it shouldn't be too bad, and it could be really enjoyable!

For Michele's haberdashery challenge at Tag Tuesday I have a hybrid tag, using some altered photos and some digital elements, all put together in Serif:

And I have a digital entry for Mia's flowers challenge at AJJ.

I used my vase and shadow photo for the background, and added elements from Mischief Circus (Face, lady) and from Serif (flowers). I think we have all felt like this in recent weeks, captured behind glass and longing to be out and free again:

And I have the rest of the photos of my visit to the castle and village of Kalkum last week:

It's interesting to see all the elements of the coat of arms:

When one door closes another opens:

Looking round the corner:

A window in a window:

The village street:

The mill stream:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Mateo's Law - a new book from Sandra Cox

Hi Everybody!

Our lovely Sandra Cox

has published yet another of her wonderful books.

 It's called

Mateo's Law.

I haven't read the book yet, but I have read a lot of her books, and they were all really good.

So what's it about?

Blurb:

A modern day, shape-shifting sheriff.

He’s the sheriff of a sparsely populated county in Montana. His blood brother and childhood best friend is Chief of Police on the Blackfoot Reservation, but they no longer speak. His deputy is a Southern transplant with the body of a high-priced call girl, a voice of honey and a mouth of a trucker. And if that’s not enough, he’s got a secret that would stun those that know him best. Other than that, it’s business as usual for Sheriff Mateo Grey.

Excerpt:

Mateo took a step past her, alert, dangerous.

Blair put a hand on his arm. Warmth surged through her fingers. Motionless, his nostrils flared. She withdrew her hand.

One heartbeat. Two. The dark closed in around her.

Then the tension in him vanished as quickly as it came.

“Whatever, whoever is gone.”

“How do you know?” But she knew what his response would be. The same one it always was.

And if you want to know how the story continues, get the book!

And Sandra has asked an extra question:

If you were a shape-shifter and had the choice, what animal would you be? Would you choose a secluded or highly populated area to live in? Got a place in mind?

Well, I think I would want to be a cat and live with one of my cat loving friends, because their feline princes and princesses just have wonderful lives. And I would like to live in a large, old villa, a bit out of town, and near a lake or river - that would be my idea of bliss!

What about you?

And here is the lovely lady herself:

Bio:

Sandra is a vegetarian, animal lover and avid gardener. She lives with her husband, their dog and cats in sunny North Carolina.

Her stories consist of all things western…and more. She is a category bestselling Amazon author, Eppie finalist and Golden Ankh Award winner.

You can find her at:

 https://www.sandracox.blogspot.com .

Her twitter handle: Sandra_Cox

Her Amazon Page: 

http://tinyurl.com/SandraAtAmz

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Long legged spotted stargazers

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are enjoying your day. We are still enjoying sunny weather here, and we have a lot more 'freedom' because of the improvements in the Corona Statistics, but here in our county North Rhine-Westphalia I think they are moving too quickly. We have an ambitious 'overlord' who is hoping to be re-elected in November and he wants to be seen as a strong man. I think we know others who want to be re-elected in November....Perhaps it affects the character? I just hope it goes well! Today I went to the shops with Nathalie, we wore our masks as we have to, and I had gloves, too. We were  there early, so there were not many people, and I felt okay. But it was exciting! And shelves full of noodles and toilet paper and flour.  But I didn't buy any, I have enough! And the prices have all increased, some things by 20-30% and others by even more. I suppose it was to be expected.

I have been busy crafting this week. I found some simple bird templates I made many years back, and decided to play with them again. I used the paper template to trace the birds onto some white linen recycled from an ancient pair of summer trousers. First of all I ironed the material onto some butcher's paper to make it easier to handle. I coloured the linen with some distress ink in wild honey which I ironed to fix the colour. Then the 2 birds got different coloured spots - black spots for the 'female' and turquoise ones for the 'male'. I sewed around the birds with black thread and then cut the beaks and legs from gold cardboard. The wings and tails were made with scraps of gold netting, some sequined tape and gold netting. These birds represent the  long legged spotted stargazers, only to be seen in the land of Balconia-by-the-Rhine. These birds are always seen in pairs, and the female stands on the back of the male so that she has a better view of what is going on in the neighbourhood....In return, the female bird massages the back of the male while she is standing on it....

My birds have been placed onto a hand-painted and textured  A3 (12" x 17") background. The quote is by J.M. Barrie:

I am linking to Paint Party Friday

And  here are some more of the large and small birds that live here:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!