The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

"Christmas" is this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and I think we all have the upcoming holidays on your minds right now. 

What do you think about this time of the year - do you take your time to enjoy some cozy hours, or do you feel stress and a lack of time to fulfill all your commitments?

For me, it´s always a mixture ... I really don´t like the cold weather and always hope that we don´t get any snow, but I´m looking forward to some peaceful Christmas days with my family and to take a rest at the end of the year.

(For this week´s digital postcard, I´ve combined elements from Jen Maddocks, Jopke Designs, Miles Beyond the Moon and Erica Zwart.)

Angels & Music

While it´s rainy and stormy outside with thunder and lighning, we´re all trying to getting into the annual Christmas mood, but I must confess that this isn´t easy this year - I just can´t find those quiet and peaceful hours that are necessary to come to a rest, think about the year that´s almost over and prepare for all things to come. Maybe a little angelic music would help? For me, Bach´s tunes are nearest to that, so I´ll try them tomorrow. How about you? Which music do you like to hear at this time of the year?
However, "Angels and Music" is this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and making my digital postcard felt like a first step to get into the appropriate mood. Please click on the image to see a larger version with all the details. (All elements used here are from Jen Maddocks.)

Blue

First I must apologize for my blog absence - I´ve been more or less sick for the last 3 1/2 weeks, and every time I thought it was over now, I´ve been sick again.
Though I didn´t have serious health problems, feeling bad for such a long time makes you feel blue - especially if you´re not able to concentrate on anything you´d like to do. So when I read the theme for the new Sunday Postcard Art challenge "Blue", I immediately decided to combine both meanings of blue. So here´s my digital postcard for this week featuring many tones of blue plus a mood that´s not really happy.
For the background, I´ve blended three of my own gelli papers, then added elements from Mamrotka, Miles Beyond the Moon, ViVa Artistry, Jen Reed, Lorie Davison and Blagovesta.

Scarecrow

We´ve had a warm November so far, but this weekend it´s definitely Autumn weather with rain and wind (though it´s still warm). What I like about Autumn are the warm colours of nature, and I´ve used them for my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge. When Mandy (who is running that challenge blog) asked me to host again, I thought that "Scarecrows" could be a nice theme that we haven´t seen too often. I just hope it´s interesting enough for you to show us your interpretation!
(By the way - do you really think that such a puppet is able to scare the very intelligent crows?)

I am Home

Once again, my sister Sabine is hosting the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and she has picked "Owls" as this week´s theme. I like the mystery owls are associated with, and as they symbolize wisdom, it´s hard not to like them, isn´t it? I´ve made a digital card this time using images from Mr Whiskers, Jen Maddocks, and Art by January. Come on and show us your own owl inspired art!

Nevermore

Autumn is here along with darkness, and Halloween is just around the corner - such a great opportunity to think of Edgar Allan Poe and make a card in honour of him. Poe is this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and I´ve made a card for it using rubber stamps from Red Lead, Crafty Individuals and Cherry Pie, inspired by Poe´s great poem "The Raven" of course.

Alcohol Lift-Ink - First Attempts

Have you already tried the new Alcohol Lift-Ink pad? Here I have a few photos of my first attempts for you. You start by dripping several alcohol inks on a non-porous surface like Yupo paper, and then stamp on that background with a well cleaned stamp inked with that new ink. The stamp lifts up the ink and leaves a white print, and you can then print the colours left on your stamp on a porous surface (I used watercolour paper here) to get two lovely backgrounds in the end.

My detail photo below shows a further step that I tried on the dragonfly piece by overstamping with black archival ink - I love the shadow effect in my result.

Memoria

"Cena" is the name of my latest digital collage using Songbirdy´s new "Memoria" kits out now at MischiefCircus.com. It´s not clear if that bird of prey´s dinner is the fish or if that bird is dangerous to the woman on her night walk - what do you think?

Into the Woods

We´ve had a wonderful day today with sunlight that gave the yellow and red leaves a beautiful glow against an incredible blue sky, and it felt a bit like the last day of summer - but it´s definitely autumn now. In the woods and even on the streets you see squirrels hoarding acorns and chestnuts, and I love watching them. So here´s my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Into the Woods", and I can´t wait to see your own interpretation of that theme and hope you´ll share it with us.

Requiem

Summer is definitely gone now, and on dark and rainy days your thoughts may go on trips that aren´t always delightful. But if you´re like me, you tend to see the beauty in darkness and feel attracted by dark art. So for me, Beth Todd´s new Songbirdy kits called "Requiem" came in handy to start the season ...

Alice in Wonderland

My sister Sabine is hosting this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and she has picked the theme "Alice in Wonderland", so here´s my card for this week. If this theme inspires you to make your own 4 x 6 card, please don´t hesitate to join the challenge and share your art!

One rubber stamp, two ATCs

What I love about working with rubber stamps is the challenge to use a certain stamp in as many different ways as possible. I´ve found the stamp with the three guys during my vacation and fell in love with it because of its uniqueness, and I couldn´t wait to use it when I got home - here are my first two ATCs, and I´m sure you´ll see this stamp used on more projects soon ...

Venus

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Venus" I´ve made a rubber stamped postcard using an image of the Venus of Milo. (I´m a bit late this time because I´m on vacation right now and didn´t have internet access for the last few days.)

If this theme or my card inspires you to make your own 4 x 6 postcard in any medium, please don´t hesitate to join the challenge and show us your art - the more artists enter the challenge, the more fun we all have!

Art

I´m a bit late for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, but it´s still Sunday ... so here´s my card for this week´s theme "Art". I´ve bought that quote stamp just recently and still had it on my kitchen table, and I thought it was just perfect for this challenge. (And of course it´s the exact expression of what I think about art - it´s absolutely necessary in today´s life!)

The Best of Summer

How is your summer? Here it is still hot, too hot to work - I can´t wait to see a bit of rain and to feel the need to wear trousers again ... But usually I really like summer, the warm colours, the warmth (not heat!), the life outside ... With the beginning of the new month, Mischief Circus came out with a new Monthly Mischief collection, and I´ve used only Songbirdy´s part of it to make these two digital collages called "A Dream" and "Done". Have a look at Beth´s Monthly Mischief August papers, elements and beauties and get some inspiration for your summer themed artwork.

Some like it hot ...

This summer is hot hot hot, and most of us (at least those who have to go to work every day) can´t wait for a few colder days, some rain, and cool nights that allow us to sleep again.
But to make the best of these temperatures, you could have a look at the new Songbirdy kits called Summer and Summer Characters that I´ve used to make these two collages. They reminded me of the good things usually connoted to Summer: Bold colours, refreshing water, bathing beauties etc.

Stripey Legs

From time to time, I´m hosting the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and for this week, I´ve picked "Stripey Legs" as my theme as I love a Zetti look. For my sample, I started with some Zetti legs and ended up with two close friends who like each other so much that they try to get as close as possible ... I can´t wait to see your version of stripey legs, so I hope you´ll join this challenge!

Do You Believe in Fairies?

"I believe in everything until it´s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it´s in your mind. Who´s to say that dreams and nightmares aren´t as real as the here and now?" - John Lennon

Though I´m a rational person, Lennon´s words resonate with me, and I like the idea that there´s just something in the air that we can´t explain completely ...

This postcard was made for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Fairies", using elements from Tumble Fish Studio (sadly retired), Crowabout StudioB and my own background scans.

Themed Postcards

Recently I´ve been on vacation for almost two weeks, and I´ve had some more time for my favourite pastime then of course ... so here are three postcards I´ve made for some special occasions.
The first two pics above show my retirement card for a dear friend in the U. S. - hope it has found its way to her in the meantime!

The second card above was made for a "Postal" themed challenge organized by a German rubber stamp company. And the last one below went to the same company for their challenge themed "Shopping". Of course I´ve also decorated the back (addressed) sides of these cards.

Cats (or Dogs?)

No, I don´t have a cat - the only pets I´ve ever had were canaries when I was a child. Nowadays I feel lucky when a couple accepts the bird house on my balcony ... But I also like dogs and cats (though I´m allergic). I´ve often thought about the way they see us humans and the world and what´s going on in their brains. Are you a cat person or do you prefer dogs, and why?
I´ve made this card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Cats" - maybe you´d like to join the challenge!?

New ATCs

As I´ve been on vacation for more than one week, I´ve had some time to play with some of my favourite rubber stamps, so I´ve made a few ATCs for my trading album.

Dolls

I never liked dolls, not even as a child, but I´ve always liked paper dolls. Here´s my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Dolls".

Dystopia

Do you know what a dystopia is? It´s the opposite of the term utopia (first used by Thomas More in the 16th century) and means an undesirable society - think of 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and so on, there are so many great examples in literature.
For me as someone who loves literature and meaningful art, the new "Dystopia" kits from Songbirdy and Holliewood Studios at MischiefCircus.com came in like a bomb that made ideas explode in my head, and I just couldn´t stop creating.
Usually there aren´t many political artworks in the digital art community, and most sites and groups avoid political or religious themes. I´ve often missed that kind of art in the midst of all these pieces of beauty and affirmation because I´m someone who likes to discuss things rather than brushing them under the carpet ... so these Dystopia kits came in handy for me and are my new favourites!
If these collages aren´t your cup of tea, just wait a bit and there´ll be some colourful beauties soon, but for now I´m happy to show some darker pieces here.

Self Care

My friend Nancy from Crowabout StudioB at MischiefCircus came out with some beautiful new backgrounds today called "Blissful Play Paper Pack". I´ve used one of it for this collage and added elements from other kits of Nancy (New Day, Funky Couture, Being & Becoming and Where the Light is).

It´s been a while ...

I haven´t made a lot of ATCs lately, but when I saw the theme "Postage People" in one of my groups, how could I resist? So I sat down for an afternoon of playing with my postage as well as rubber stamps, some gelli plate backgrounds, washi tapes and quote stickers, and here´s my result.

This´n´That

It´s time for a new collection of coordinated kits called Monthly Mischief over at MischiefCircus.com. I´ve been playing with Songbirdy´s two kits This´n´That Papers and Elements only for these two collages, and I think you can see how much fun I´ve had making them ...

No Games

My favourite childhood memories are those of Sunday afternoons spent with my parents and siblings, playing all sorts of games. Even nowadays, I love playing cards and many other games with my friends. Playing games can help to get focussed or just to relax, and I´m playing games almost daily.

But then there´s real life, and that´s quite another thing for me. Especially when it comes to love, I don´t play any games - what you see is what you get, and what I say is what I mean. I´ve learned the hard way that this is not normal, and it´s not what people expect. There have been men who expected that I´d play games with them only because other women had done that before, and I wasn´t able to make them believe that I don´t.

So here´s my very personal card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Games", using a gelli plate transfer, a scan from my own stuff and words from (sadly retired) Tumble Fish Studio.

Registered

Faces are among the most interesting items to view, study, and draw, and there have been published lots of good books as well as online courses dealing with the problems of drawing faces especially during the last years (thinking of Dina Wakley, Pam Carriker and Jane Davenport here, to name just a few). And there are little helpers out on the market such as rubber stamps or stencils that you can use to get the main features of a face before you make it your own creation using colourful shading, adding hair etc. My card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Faces" was made with the help of a stencil from Pam Carriker for Stencil Girls, the rubber stamps are from Tim Holtz.

Don´t wait for your muse to come ...

 ... start NOW! That´s what all artists tell you, and they´re so right - otherwise you´ll get stuck with your projects and have to make Halloween and Winter journal pages in May ;-)
I received two letter journals from my sister Sabine in November and January (?) to make entries in them, and she said that I could take my time, but then came the new job, new worries followed the old ones, I didn´t have any time to create at all for many weeks, and then I felt completely uninspired. Well, today I felt uninspired as always, but at least I´ve had TIME, and so I just started making these and yes, finished them. And in fact, I don´t believe that the results would have been better if I had waited for my muse - sometimes things just have to be done, and you just have to like what comes out. I hope my sister will like these entries, too.

The Sky is the Limit

I really like to play with what´s already on my desk, so for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Crowns and Wings", I´ve used one of my Postage People again - and who wouldn´t like to see Audrey crowned and winged? So here she is, trying her new wings ... I´ve used stamps from BLine, Stampotique and Red Lead for my card this week.

It´s Party Time Again!

Yes! It´s that time of the year again to celebrate Mischief Circus´ birthday, and it´s the 8th now. As someone who isn´t interested in traditional digital scrapbooking but loves to make digital art, this is really a reason to celebrate - where else could I get the basic images for my kind of digital art?
The theme for this year´s birthday collaboration is "Altered Reality", and I´ve already been shopping tonight ... I´ve made these two samples with Beth Todd´s Songbirdy kits Altered Elements and Papers.

There´s a wonderful sale at Mischief Circus right now, and of course Nancy Baumiller from Crowabout StudioB is having a sale, too!

Mail Art

My sister Sabine is hosting this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, an her theme is Mail Art. Well, tell me "Mail Art", and all I hear is Postage People - so here´s Martin Luther´s wife Katharina von Bora taking a trip to the early 20th century, and it seems like it´s your job to say if this is mail art or not ... all I can say is that I´ve had fun making this card.