Water Stamping

Have you noticed the new Compendium of Curiosities challenge? If you´ve bought that book by Tim Holtz you´ll know what this is all about - every Monday there will be another challenge from this great book of stamping techniques. Have a look at Linda´s blog here.

This week´s challenge is water stamping. I like to combine water stamped images with regular stamping to get more contrast.

Beatles Swap finished - finally!

Maybe you didn´t notice, but this year my annual blog swap didn´t go as smoothe as in the past years. Four (!) envelopes to the U. S. got lost in the mail - so if you didn´t receive three thank you mails for your cards it may be possible that your ATC has been among the lost ones.

Those wonderful participants who sent an extra ATC for me made it possible for me to send all four patient U. S. players a second bunch of ATCs so that everyone has received three return ATCs now.

So let me say thank you to all those who sent an extra ATC - I wouldn´t have been able to send out 12 extras without your help!

Hope to see you all again in next year´s swap.

Sanding - two new videos

I´ve just uploaded two new videos on Youtube - both about sanding as a mixed media technique.
On the left you can see a postage person whose body was made by sanding a magazine image.


On the right is a 4 x 6 card which is completely sanded. The first video shows how it was made. Have a look here to see the whole process.

And this spread in my altered book themed "Untold Stories" also has sanded elements; the second video shows how the altered photo on the left and the postage person on the right were made using sand paper. Have a look here to see the process.

Steampunk

I´m going to attend a stamping convention in Hamburg tomorrow - it can´t be wrong to take a few more ATCs for personal trades with me ...

No. 39

Here´s another one of those lovely 5 x 7 chipboard houses - this time it´s not for the Red Lead Altered Houses swap but will be used as a gift I think.

Questions (no answers)

You may have wondered what happened to my Alphabet Discovery Book. I just haven´t had the time to work in it for a while, but today I finally got back to it and made my letter Q spread. It´s not my best work, but as this book is my personal journal, it´s the journey that matters in the end - and to finish a project that´s big fun.

Hurt

Song lyrics are one of the greatest inspirations for my collages. Sometimes I just can´t get some verses out of my head until I´ve "illustrated" them - which can be very loosely and intuitive like I did here. This skinny quotes the song "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails, wonderfully covered by Johnny Cash.
"I hurt myself today / to see if I still feel. / I focus on the pain, / the only thing that´s real."
If you want to see more songs used in art pieces have a look at this week´s Three Muses challenge.

Insects

What do you think when you think of insects? Don´t bug me? Carpet Crawlers? Well, I´m not a big fan of insects in real life (I´ve been bitten too often - ouch!) but like to be reminded of another small world completely different from ours - so George Eliot´s words quoted here gather up my amazement when it comes to our small coinhabitants. This 4 x 6 card is my entry for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge.

To-Do List

Here´s my monthly skinny page, this time for Lorraine. I´ve tried hard to do something less negative but failed ...

So here you can find some favourite verses of Russian poet Anna Achmatova (1889-1966). I thought that the mysterious look of Botticelli´s Simonetta Vespucci fits perfectly with these words.

Home Sweet Home

... is this week´s Gothic Arches challenge theme.

Orange

Seems to be a week of special challenges for me - after having to do a yellow piece, now orange is this week´s Wednesday Stamper´s theme. I don´t like orange very much but like to use it for some special occasions and themes and mostly in combination with black and a little bit of pink. So here´s my orange 4 x 6 card for this challenge. The stamps I´ve used are by Cherry Pie, The Artistic Stamper, Beeswax, Stamp Francisco, and Flamingo.

Ships

My ATCs for a Ship themed swap.

Yellow

... is probably my least favourite colour, but as I love a challenge I´ve had fun making a yellow ATC for the bi-weekly ARTchix lottery. Looks like we´ll have some sunnier days from now on!

Swapped Out!

It´s over now - 21 envelopes are packed and waiting to be put in the mail tomorrow. Please let me know when you receive your return cards! Hope to see you again in next year´s blog swap!

Beatles Swap Update No. 8

Look at these great buttons that Tamara sent as an extra with her Beatles ATCs - aren´t they lovely?

Then have a look at the last two entries from Tamara and Ingeborg 1, 2, and 3.

Today is May 15, the due date for my swap, and I´ve just found the last two envelopes in my mailbox, so yes: this swap is complete and ready to be swapped out! I´ll do this over the weekend and put the returns in the mail on Monday.

We´ve been 22 participants this year, 8 from Germany, 8 from the United States, 2 from Australia, 2 from Canada, 1 from England, and 1 from Malaysia. Thanks to all of you, you´ve made the last weeks much more colourful for me!

ARTchix Tag Swap

For this swap we were wanted to use Helga´s most recent collage sheets on our 2 1/4 x 4 3/4 tags. I have used her lovely sheets about moons, tea, cats, and poppies here.

Beatles Swap Update No. 7

Time for another swap update, but as you can see I´m running out of ATCs for these updates, LOL! So here´s a 4 x 6 card just to illustrate the theme ...

Last week I´ve been watching a DVD with the musical "Across the Universe" - do you already know that movie? I like it a lot and sang and whistled half of the time because the soundtrack is a compilation of songs written by The Beatles, but sung and arranged quite different from the originals. The DVD extras show that the actors sang all the titles themselves, sometimes live, and that´s what makes this movie so lovely. I even recognized Bono as Dr. Roberts :-) If you still need some inspiration for your Beatles songs ATCs, just go and watch that movie! But hurry up, your ATCs should be in my mailbox before Saturday!

Since my last update, I received ATCs from Charlotte, Katrin, Debbie (sorry, I e-mailed you twice to say I got them, but my mails both came back to me!), Linda, Marnie, and Sabine D. So there are now 16 entries in my swap box, but I´m waiting for 5 more - hope théy´ll arrive this week!

And here are more links for you to finished ATCs from Fatma 1, 2, and 3, Charlotte, and Sabine D. - have fun looking at them!

Sunnier Days, Please!

It´s May now, but it´s still cold and rainy - can´t wait for sunnier days!

This week´s SPA challenge is Umbrellas, and this is just the right theme for the weather we have right now ...

My card goes to Barbara D. , my partner in the ARTchix sisters postcard swap. But though my naked Steampunk postcard made it to Illinois in two days (!!!) I don´t dare to send this one naked again - it´s just too wet outside!

Flying Home

Here´s my second 5 x 7 chipboard house for the Red Lead swap. It features four Red Lead stamps as well as two of their collage sheets and one of the lovely Patina birds flying on the roof. I have fixed the bird with wire and also used that wire to make the hanging.

Beatles Swap Update No. 6

Today the mail man didn´t come at all, how disappointing!
But during the last days, I have received Beatles ATCs from Trudi, Fatma, and Elizabeth H. - thanks, ladies!

Most of you participants have their cards finished and mailed, so here are more links to beautiful ATCs from Glenda, Julia 1, 2, and 3, Sarah, and Katrin.

Those of you who haven´t mailed their ATCs should hurry up because there are only 9 days left! Or if you have to drop out please let me know so that I don´t wait for ATCs that will never arrive ...
Please remember that all your ATCs should be in my hands before May 15.

In & Out

This is my first house for the Red Lead "Fly Away Home Altered House Swap". It´s made from a 5 x 7 inches chipboard house. I thought it would be nice to have the bird inside and the boys outside the house this time.

Green Beach

Green is this week´s TMTA challenge theme, and as I´ve made a green beach themed ATC just yesterday, here it is ...

Beatles Swap Update No. 5

You´ve all been so busy that it´s time for another update!

This week I have received Peggy´s lovely ATCs, thank you!

And here are a few more links to finished ATCs from Marnie, Linda, Trudi, and Debbie. Go have a look and have fun on their blogs!

The due date is approaching, so if you´re across the pond, please finish your ATCs soon and get them in the mail to me so that they arrive before May 15.

Last Minute ...

... I´ve made three house shaped ATCs for a swap that my sister runs - so glad she´s waiting for all cards to come in!

Totally Tim

This week´s Wednesday Stamper´s challenge is themed "Tim Holtz", so I´ve made this Totally Tim card today - all techniques and products by Tim.
The background card is covered with paper from his new paper stacks, the middle ground was made using his Dabber Resist technique, and the boy is another Tim paper tinted with Distress Inks.
The crown is made from Tim´s Grungeboard using his Rusted Grunge technique (with Vintage Photo Distress Embossing Powder and Ink).
The letters are Tim´s Salvage Stickers, and of course all stamps used are Tim´s (the circles, the swirls, and the postage stamp).
Well, yes, I´m a Tim fan :-))

Zetti Time!

I knew the Zetti postcard would be easier for me :-))
The only difficulty again was to use only water-resistant materials for this naked postcard - hope it´ll arrive safe and sound!

Steampunk

This is my first postcard for another Paper Traders swap - we have to make two 4 x 6 postcards, one Steampunk and the other one Zetti themed, and send them naked (without envelope) to two different partners.
It wasn´t easy for me to avoid all those things I usually use but that aren´t water-resistant - like watercolour pencils, distress inks, and watersoluble wax crayons. I´ve used a lot of Gesso here, only permanent inks, and I hope that the faux-rusted Grungeboard pieces and the metal gear that I´ve glued with Diamond Glaze will arrive together with the card ...

Beatles Swap Update No. 4

Time for another swap update!
I´ve had two more sign-ups so we´re 22 people from 6 countries now - and there´s still plenty of time to sign up, make three ATCs and send them to me before May 15.
In the meantime, I have received the ATCs from Marilyn, Birgit, Lay Hoon, and Lenna, so I already have six envelopes here in my swap basket.
And here´s a link to Lay Hoon´s ATCs.

My own ATC is about a Beatles song I have always loved since I was a child - Eleanor Rigby. The beautiful melody perfectly captures the melancholic mood of the lyrics, and I´ve chosen my favourite sad verse here.

White on White

If you´re visiting often, you know that I love colour - so the White on White theme of this Paper Traders ATC swap has been a challenge for me. I´m sorry that the scan isn´t better, but believe me that there are many more shades of white and much more texture than you can see here ...

All Around My Hat

This week´s Three Muses challenge theme is "Hats and Crowns and Wings and Things", so I thought that my skinny page for Hermine just fits in - isn´t this a nice hat?

In the Sky

I´m still on vacation but not by airplane, phew! So I didn´t have to spend days and days waiting on airports but could just enter the train and go where I wanted to go. Some other people might have thought "If I had wings" so that they could have returned home easily.
"In the Sky" is this week´s Wednesday Stamper´s challenge theme, and here´s my 6 x 6 card.

Green, black, and white

Three more ATCs for personal trades; I´ve just been playing with what I´ve had lying on my desk.

Beatles Swap Update No. 3

Another swap update - so soon? Yes, and that´s because YOU have been so busy that there are three more links to finished ATCs!
Please have a look at the ATCs of Peggy, Lenna, and Elizabeth H.. And if these inspire you to make your own: There´s still plenty of time to join this swap, just send me your 3 ATCs before May 15.

April in Paris

... is this week´s SPA challenge theme.
If you look right into the man´s face, you´ll get the impression that this couple isn´t as much in love as it seems at first sight. My interpretation is that the lady just told him that it´s over but that they´ll have a wonderful memory for the rest of their lives - "We´ll always have Paris" ...

Beatles Swap Update No. 2

It´s time for a second update, and there´s some news for you.
During the last week I have already received Martina´s and Sabine´s ATCs, and I´ve had another sign-up.
For all of you who haven´t signed up yet: There´s plenty of time left to join and send three Beatles (or Stones) songs themed ATCs to me before May 15.
Have a look at Birgit´s and Sabine´s finished ATCs here - aren´t they lovely?
And my Nowhere Man ATC here is just an example to show that you don´t need to go with the song title but can pick any verses of the lyrics that speak to you - as did these to me.

Tagged by Sarah

I´ve been tagged by Sarah so I´m showing the tenth image of my picture file here - an old 6 x 6 bird page. As I still have it here, I can see that I´ve made it in July 2007.

I know that most of my friends don´t like to be tagged, so I don´t tag five other people - just show us the tenth image of your picture file on your computer if you like!

Create Art Share Happiness

... is the title of this ARTchix postcard swap.

New Videos of my Book Pages

My BIL has made two new videos for me, showing some of my book pages. You can find them on Youtube here and here.
As always, it´s not my own art room that you see in the video (but my sister´s), and the hand´s that are flipping through the books are my BIL´s (as well as the music).

Did you know?

Two more ATCs for trades at the stamping convention.

Bunny Man

This bunny has a secret - did he recently move to a big city? Has he been a member of Echo and the Bunnymen? Did he send you some Easter eggs this weekend? However - he´s really looking at you and wants you to listen to his story. He´s a happy bunny who has found his place in the world and encourages you to follow your own plans and have fun.

When I saw this week´s SPA challenge theme "Bunny People", I immediately knew that i HAD TO participate - what a fabulous theme!

Busy

As every year, I´m away from home right now visiting my sister. And as every year, we´re both busy making ATCs for personal trades at a stamping convention that we´ll attend in two weeks. I don´t have much of my own stuff with me, so this is why you see a lot of her stamps and some pics I´ve found in magazines. Sometimes I love the challenge to make ATCs with whatever I have at hand.

Happy Easter!

Have you already painted some eggs?