Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to you all!

I have chosen this beautiful image from The Graphics Fairy to 

wish you Seasons Greetings.

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.

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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.

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

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 

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.

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.