O Rose

all images from G and T Designs

O rose, thou art sick!

The invisible worm

That flies in the night,

In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy,

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy.

William Blake

Owls

I´ve been happy when I saw that this month´s theme for our ATC exchange at The Artists´ Nest is Owls - I think I could have made six ATCs instead of the two I needed ... I´ve used rubber stamps from Red Lead and Indigo Blue and a collage image from ARTchix Studio for my ATCs.

Feel the Rain!

When I noticed this week´s SPA theme "Rainy Days", I said to myself: "Hey, that´s a theme I really know a lot about!" Is there any town in the world that has more rainy days than Münster?
I have borrowed this lovely girl from a beautiful painting of Marie Bashkirtseff that I´ve loved from the first moment I saw it. I cut the girl out, sanded the image, adhered it to my own background, and painted over it, then added Roger Miller´s words. The weather forecast says we´ll have a storm front tomorrow, so I´ll have to hold on to my umbrella tomorrow!

She´s Having a Ball!

In my town, the Christmas market will start on Monday, and the booths can already be seen everywhere - yes, it´s going to look like Christmas soon! And it´s time to make some Christmas artwork, maybe by using the lovely new "Christmas Junque" kit from Tumble Fish Studio at Deviant Scrap! And if you´ve missed her three previous Christmas kits, you can now buy them bundled together for a special price.
My first sample on top is a tribute to Josephine Baker - just with Christmas balls instead of bananas ... she´s definitely having a ball!

This second collage is quite traditional, and you´ll find a wide range of Santas like this one in the kit.
My third piece gives the opposite of my own Christmas wish - as I have to travel to see my family for Christmas, I always hope that there won´t be any snow before New Year´s Eve!

Joyful Jewelry

You wouldn´t believe that I´ve had a little job in a shop for beads, buttons, and wool about 20 years ago if you have a close look at these charms ... Even in those far gone days I´ve been happy to knit and explain techniques but wasn´t very talented when it came to bending wire ... So usually I´m not very fond of creating jewelry and charms, but I´ve made an exception for a swap at Red Lead!

Her Name is Dot

This week´s SPA challenge theme is "Pattern(s)", so my card this week features circles, dots and a spiral.

Naughty or Nice?

Did you realize that there are only six weeks left before Christmas??? Well, I was shocked when I noticed that fact - it´s time to get my train ticket for Christmas now if I don´t want to pay more than necessary ...
And it´s time to get in a Christmas mood, so I´ve been very fond of Hidden Vintage Studios´ new kit called "Better Not Pout", and I was so inspired that I even made four pieces with it!
The first two are digital and combine the kit with images from Tumble Fish Studio.

And the following pieces are samples for cut and paste artwork with the coloured and sepia collage sheets included in the kit; the first one is the first one in a long row of Christmas cards I´ll have to make, and the second piece is a tag envelope. Both combine the images with stamps from Oxford Impressions and Scrollswork in a very minimalistic colour range.

Moleskine Pages

I´ve made two pages in my Moleskine journal using Tumble Fish Studio´s new kit "Journaling Pieces 2" - so much fun stuff to play with! This kit has 7 collage sheets (that I´ve used for my cut and paste pages of course), but you can also make digital collages with the images as pngs. Have fun journaling!
(You´ll see more details if you click on the images to enlarge them, but it will be difficult to read the words written round the shape of the lady above, so here they are: "Well, I´m sure it would be if I had one ...")

Tangled Up

Have you ever tried zentangling? Now you can even doodle digitally by using Hidden Vintage Studios´ new kit "Tangled Up" - these black and white images really pop if you combine them with colours, but you can also make a completely b/w layout. And of course you can print out the included collage sheets and combine the images with your own doodling - hope you´ll give it a try!

Journaling Again

Journal pages are pure fun, no matter if they´re done in a cut and paste collage technique or digital. The spread above is an altered book spread while the sample below is completely digital. And both were done with the new Tumble Fish Studio kit "Journaling Pieces 1" exclusively. The kit comes with png images as well as seven printable collage sheets, so it´s your choice how you want to use it. Have fun!

We Find Our Way

Thanksgiving is getting near, and to celebrate it, Hidden Vintage Studios at Deviant Scrap have come out with a lovely new kit called "Howdy Pilgrim" - you should have a look at it here. I´ve made a cut and paste postcard this time, as the kit provides png as well as jpg images.
And in case you´ve missed their "13 weeks of Halloween kits", you can now get them all bundled together with a 60 % discount - there´ll be another Halloween next year, and most of the images can be used for other occasions and themes troughout the year.

Hot Air Balloon

... is this week´s SPA challenge theme, and here´s my postcard for it - the stamps I´ve used are by Paper Artsy, Oxford Impressions, Artistic Outpost, and Red Lead.

It´s Digital Scrapbooking Day

... and sales are waiting for you in your favourite image shops - for example my friends Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio and Tracey and Melissa from Hidden Vintage Studios have their sale at Deviant Scrap from November 2nd - 4th - you shouldn´t miss it! And remember that even if you don´t work digitally, you can use all these images (even the pngs) for printing and then using them in your cut and paste collages.

Flitter Everywhere!

Have you ever used Mica flakes on your art pieces? Well, you see them on my first two tags above ... as well as on my kitchen table, kitchen floor, my desk, carpet and scanner ;-) But wow, they really make these tags festive, and I´m sure I´ll also use them on some of my Christmas cards this year. 

These tags were made for the annual ARTchix Sisters Christmas tag swap. I´m sorry that the last one was unscannable and the photo is a bit blurry, but the gift and giving hand are just too bulky. Hope you´ll like that tag nevertheless.

Lovely Paris

... is the name of my November ATC for our monthly ARTchix Sisters group lottery. I´ve just read that I´ve won our last lottery, so I´m looking forward to a few beauties in my mailbox. What a great way to start the new month!