Wednesday 24 December 2014

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to you all!
I have chosen this beautiful image from The Graphics Fairy to 
wish you Seasons Greetings.

Swedish Santa Image

Saturday 20 December 2014

Tag Tuesday- Christmas Angels

On Tag Tuesday the theme this week is Christmas Angels.

For my tag I used a beautiful angel image
from the Graphics Fairy. I placed her on some antique paper
lace (Graphics Fairy again), and a circle of stars printed on
my gelli plate. The background is sparkly felt, covered
in shimmering stars, and gold paper and ribbon were added
to set it off.

Friday 19 December 2014

Oxford Christmas Market

I went to the Oxford Christmas Market yesterday, and had
a great day. There were some lovely stalls, with a wide
range of foods, drinks and original items, many hand-crafted
and some were small businesses, which I always like to 
support. It was pleasant to wander round with a glass of
mulled wine , browsing, tasting and shopping.

Seasonal small cakes from Merangz
Who could resist these?
A rainbow of colours
Traditional decorations
Delicious cheeses
Pretty stalls

Oxford

Tuesday 16 December 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 This morning I have been making cranberry jelly, 
whilst listening to Christmas songs on the
radio. What could be more Christmassy?!
Looking at the ingredients, the gorgeous contrast
of reds and oranges, seemed a perfect combination
for a photo. Then I wandered round taking more
seasonal photos.

Cranberries and orange
Add cinnamon
Bubbling in the pan
Ready to eat!
Wreath bought in the market, made of orange, cinnamon, chilli and apple 
Little chilli wreath from the market
Drying chillies in the kitchen
They cast a beautiful shadow
Our Christmas tree, complete with pine cones!



Monday 15 December 2014

Tag Tuesday-Christmas Greenery and Let's Dance

Here are my tags for Tag Tuesday.
Just in time with this week's tag, plus the previous one!
It is such a busy time of year, that I have been falling behind.
I have enjoyed looking at all the wonderful tags.

Here is my Christmas Greenery Tag.
I had a lot of fun playing with  my Christmas
stencils and stamps!
I used a stencil for the three images in the foreground,
pine cones, poinsettia and holly, on card. The background was 
stamped with holly onto textured card, and then
I added washi tape -my favourite! A red ribbon adds the final
touch.




Here is my Let's Dance tag.
I used an image of dancers from a greetings card,
 added sparkly nail polish to the dancer's dress, and
highlighted her make up. The background is glittery card.
This is a timely tag, when it is nearly time for the final
of Strictly Come Dancing, which I have been following avidly!





Monday 8 December 2014

Christmas Wreath

At the weekend I went on a wreath-making course, at Harcourt
 Arboretum. There was a demonstration on how to make 
wreaths, then we were able to 
make our own, using  natural materials gathered from 
the Arboretum and Oxford
Botanic Gardens. It was great fun, and I am 
so pleased with my wreath!

My wreath
Plenty of greenery to choose from
Dried seed heads and berries

Ready to start work

 In place on the front door

Monday 1 December 2014

Peacock butterfly

I had an unexpected visitor in my kitchen- a peacock
butterfly! I couldn't believe it came so late in the year,
and wonder where it came from. I don't expect it to
last long, but put some sugar water on a saucer for it,
which I realised  when I took the photo
 is the  Boleslawa peacock pattern!


Thursday 27 November 2014

Tag Tuesday-America


The subject for this week's Tag Tuesday
is America
 I made a quick tag this week.
This image from the Graphics Fairy seems perfect 
for my America tag on Thanksgiving Day.
I mounted it on this lovely stars and stripes
fabric which I bought in Joanne's last time
I was in the States.
Happy Thanksgiving to all you American readers!


Saturday 22 November 2014

Cyprus

I had a very enjoyable holiday in Cyprus. Richard and I
were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. It was
the obvious holiday destination for us, as it is where we
went for our honeymoon, and later lived there for three
years.
We had a lovely time revisiting old haunts and seeing old
 friends. We managed to pack a lot into a week!
Here are some photos.


Pissouri
Pissouri Bay-View from our balcony
Curium Beach
 Limassol's New Marina
Smart yachts in Limassol's New Marina
Cafe area in Limassol's New Marina
Nicosia-traditional cafe
Nicosia-modern cafe

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Tag Tuesday-Skylines and Circles


I have been away again since my Berlin trip. My husband and I had a
holiday in Cyprus to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. It was 
a trip down Memory Lane, as we had our honeymoon in Cyprus, and 
later went to live there. I will post about it soon!

For my Skylines tag, I did a simple watercolour painting, using black
pens as well. This is the view from my studio when I stand on a chair 
and look out at the world! I liked the effect of next door's house 
silhouetted against the skyline.


 I made two Circles tags, using gesso for the
background and printing with a selection of
jars and lids from my jam jar stash. I thought
the gesso would be thicker and stand out in relief
more, but I couldn't thicken it, so it is not as 
3 D as I would like. I added salt crystals for extra
texture.




Thursday 30 October 2014

Autumn Project-Finished painting

Here is the painting I did for my Autumn Project. It is worked in
water colours and acrylic inks. You can read more about the
Autumn Project  here


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Berlin




Last week I accompanied my husband to a conference in Berlin.
I spent an action-packed few days on sightseeing tours with 
social events in the evening, which included a cocktail party,
a Cabaret show with songs from the musical and a dinner dance in a 
Museum. I visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and did a Cold 
War Tour. The Art Tour day was spent visiting the Old 
National Gallery and the New National Gallery, a contrast in both
 building styles and in the art works. We spent a beautiful, sunny day
on a river trip in Potsdam
Berlin is such an interesting city, with so many new buildings and changes
taking place, but the memories of the past are all around.

Here are some photos of Berlin.

Part of the Berlin Wall which remains 

The Brandenburg gate
The French Church

Sony Centre
Potsdam
Dutch Quarter in Potsdam
Bridge which divided the former East and West Berlin,
still painted in light and dark green 

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Tag Tuesday-Autumn Extravaganza


This week the theme for Tag Tuesday is Autumn Extravaganza.

It really feels like Autumn now. The nights are getting darker, 
there is a chill in the air, the leaves are starting to turn,
and berries and fruits are abundant.
I was really pleased with the Autumn Extravaganza theme,
as in art class we are doing an Autumn Project. In preparation
for a painting we have been collecting ideas for autumn, so it
fits in well with the tag! If you want to see the start of my Autumn Project
you can view it on my blog here

For my tag I have made an Autumn wreath, filled with the fruits of autumn.
It is painted in watercolour, with accents in gel pens. The brown background
 represents bark, and was a rubbing with Inktense blocks over fabric
 for texture. The border is Washi tape.  It is finished off with 
a sprinkling of autumn leaves, made using a Martha Stewart maple
 leaf cutter, which I bought in the USA a 
couple of years ago. I photographed my tag on some of the
 pictures I have collected for my project.







Monday 13 October 2014

A Country Lane

It was a lovely day for a walk. After a morning of rain
and dark skies, the weather cleared and I was glad 
to have some fresh air. There are a lot of berries at
the moment, adding spots of colour. Otherwise
everything is still mostly green, but the leaves are
 starting to take on their autumn colours.