ARTchix Birds

After a looooong break Helga from ARTchix Studio has posted a new ATC swap themed "Birds" lately - here are the ATCs that are already on their way to Tamara, Susan, and Angie.

Engineers

I´ve been happy to see that Hidden Vintage Studios at DeviantScrap have come up with a kit (named "Stached") of some lovely male images - if you´re like me, you are on the hunt for good vintage photos of men so often! These are very versatile, and I´ve made them Steampunkers here, adding elements from Mr Whiskers and Pixelmusic.

No Certainties

Here´s another before and after with a once dull photo ... I don´t remember where I took this one, but I thought it would look cool with Nancy Donaldson´s new billboard textures. Of course you have to look very close to see the original architectural structures here, but I really think letting go of certainties sometimes leads to interesting new perspectives.

Blues and Greens

If you like knitting socks, you probably have a lot of leftovers in many colours. I´ve used most of my blue and green leftovers to knit these cozy overknees following the directions you can download here. They really fit well!

Alfred

Time to get out your bunny ears and listen to the world around you - just have an eye on other people so they don´t get lost in their surroundings ...

You´ll find more wonderful human bunnies in the new "I´m All Ears" kit by Hidden Vintage Studios at DeviantScrap; additional elements used here are by Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.

Shades of Grey

... is the title of Jasper Fforde´s novel I´m just reading, so maybe that inspired me to stamp these two ATCs?!

(Don´t you think this lady looks a bit like desperate housewife Karen McCluskey?)

Buy

Have you ever bought something because someone else told you that you should? Did this person say the new shirt/dress/glasses (...) made you younger/let you appear slim/fit your style (...)? Well, sometimes these vendors´ tricks are more than obvious, but even though we know that well, we want to believe in their lies. That´s the story behind this collage made with images from Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com.

Go Green

This week´s SPA challenge is "Green", so my green dressed lady wears a shamrock hat proudly!

(Lady by Land of Nod, hat by Rucola Design.)

Urban Cowboy

Coming from the rural parts of the U. S., this cow wanted to go shopping in the big city, so here he is proudly showing his new clothes, shoes, and hat!

All images by Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com.

Textured Shakespeare

Welcome to another texture play with Nancy Donaldson´s free textures! This time I´ve used a very dull photo of a Shakespeare statue in a park in Weimar (taken on a vacation a few years ago) that you can see below on the left ... After using three of Nancy´s grunge textures and one of her encaustic ones as well as a frame overlay from Jerry Jones, I only had to add my favourite Shakespeare quote from "The Tempest" to get a result I really like.

The last of the three pictures shows another way I´ve used the textured photo for a digital collage, combining it with a book frame (Christina Renee), a nib (Sherrie JD), stars (Manuela Zimmermann), and another Shakespeare quote (Tangie Baxter).

Shopping with Mom

When I was a child, I didn´t get many clothes that were bought especially for me - I had to wear what was left from my two older sisters (and was completely out of fashion when it was "mine" five respective eight years later ...)

Then when I was about ten to twelve years old, my mom went shopping with me and one of my sisters to buy clothes for us, and that´s among my worst childhood memories, really! We returned in the evening after hours of hours in the shops with lots of stuff I didn´t even like (mostly socks and underwear and some things my mom considered to be practical and durable). Half of the time it was totally boring for me because she talked to the vendors while I had to wait, and I also hated having to try on different clothes, especially because I didn´t like most of them. So that´s the story behind my digital collage above - the little boy is trying on clothes and waiting patiently until his mom will tell him it´s enough and he can have the ice cream she has promised him as a reward for the awful shopping afternoon ...

It´s amazing how sometimes looking at a collection of images can bring up memories you thought you´d lost a long time ago ... (I wish there had been a reward for me and my sister in those days in the past!)

(All images by Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com.)

Spring Friends are here!

Spring is in the air now, can you feel it coming? And with the new "Spring Friends" kit from Hidden Vintage Studios at DeviantScrap I couldn´t resist making a few Easter themed items!

The "March Hare" collage is digital, using a background from Crowabout Studio, a heart by Paula Kesselring and a title by Tangie Baxter.

But if you´re more on the cut and paste side, just try the jpg files that come with the kit - for my "Egg Hunt" I`ve combined the lamb with stamps from Stampin´ Up! and GreenPepperPress, and for "Hoppy Easter" I´ve used a border by Tumble Fish Studio and letters from Crowabout Studio.

Zetti Princess

Just a little Zetti play for a personal ATC trade ...

Feathered Friends

... is this week´s theme for the SPA challenge.

Bow Legs

This week´s Three Muses challenge is "Couples" - well, mine isn´t too happy it seems ...

(All images by Finecrafted Designs.)

More Fun with Hidden Vintage Studios!

As you can see, I´ve had much fun with both the first image kits from Hidden Vintage Studios!

(Did you know that their images come as jpgs too?)

The collage below is a second piece made with the Siblings Rivalry kit (all additional images by Tumble Fish Studio).

The two collages above were made with the Red Headed Stepchildren kit, and the first one features two freebies you can download from the new Hidden Vintage Studios blog here.

My first collage "Wearing of the Green" illustrates a popular Irish song about those times when wearing shamrocks as patriotic Irish symbols was forbidden (all additional images by Tumble Fish Studio).

The second one is quite unusual for me because I´ve used a fantasy setting here ... (background by Mr. Whiskers, lightning by Downunder Studios, bird by Tumble Fish Studio, all at DeviantScrap; crow by Angela Blanchard, lizard by pixelmusic, brushes by Fall´n Stock).

... and smile!

Yes, if you love really good vintage images, you should smile today because Melissa and Tracey have launched their "Hidden Vintage Studios" at DeviantScrap today, yeah! Congrats to both with this piece using their wonderful girls image.

(additonal elements by Tumble Fish Studio, glass negative by Christina Renee)

Daffodils

As I´ve never been to Wales, I had no idea that the daffodil is the national flower of Wales and St. David the patron saint. I´ve found some very interesting information online when I googled this week´s SPA theme ... and decided to ignore it, LOL! Well, I´m a reader and a lover of poetry, so of course it had to be William Wordsworth´s famous poem for my postcard! (What a pity that a single card is just too small to use all verses ...)

(Credits: envelope by Jen Reed, Daffodil by Dover Images, Lady on couch by Finecrafted Designs, brushes by HJR and FidgetResources.)

The Power of Words

Here´s a little handbound booklet made from torn watercolour paper, then stenciled and stamped, using several quotes I like. You´ll find it in the latest March/April issue of Somerset Studio (page 117). See the front cover above and the back cover below, then the three spreads.