DOTEE'S AND A GAMBLING MAN

Last night i created a pink journal page i do not know why i just felt like using pink it's O K nothing special.

 Today we were promised sun but it never arrived but when i was walking Wilson across the fields it tried very hard to break through.I wish i had been able to take a better photo but i only had my phone. The columns of light looked like something from a Star trek film.

As i was walking across the field i spotted something in the hedge i soon realized it was the remains of a Chinese lantern. I love these they are so magical we released them at our son's wedding and it was the perfect end to a perfect day. But a lot of people are trying to get them banned stating that they are dangerous to animals and crops and that cows eat them  and the wire frame damages their stomachs. I have to ask myself why a cow would want to eat one, any way as i walked towards it i was thinking that perhaps they were right i could see the frame and although we do not keep livestock i was a little annoyed.

as i found it

this was after i just scrunched it up.

But on closer inspection i found it was one of the Eco friendly ones with a very thin cane frame and i was able to screw it up to almost nothing. So i would like to think that in the future they will all be made like this.
The rest of my day was taken up finishing the Dotees for Monika's swap over at milliande. it is a Easter Bunny swap i could not decide whether to use a human face or a rabbit face and i went for the latter.If i make any more i think i will stick to a human face.

I also managed to create an assemblage in a can today something i have not done for quite a while.

I started with two fish tins and hinged them together using tape.I then covered them in tissue and painted with acrylics. After that i sprayed them with ranger distress ink although this was not such a good idea as it would not dry on top of the acrylic. It was then just a case of gathering supplies to glue in.

MINI ALBUM DAY

It was very overcast today and quite cold although i feel daft saying that when a friend in Canada has temperatures of -40. So a short walk was taken across the fields we have had a lot of rain and the rhine was quiet full.

And of course Wilson being a Labrador just had to get in .The white you can see on the gate is tape that i have put there and written on asking people not to enter. This may seem a little mean but it is private property and we are trying to encourage as much wildlife as possible and it not helped by dog walkers.Last week i encountered a man walking his dog who panicked when he saw me because as he said his dog was unpredictable. I explained he was on private land and requested that he did not come in again. You would have thought that the fact he had to climb over a locked gate would have given him a clue.A couple of weeks ago it was a young woman i recognized from the village who had two dogs and her son .I approached her and she assumed i was another dog walker and told me she was coming in every day. We are a small village and i do not want to be heavy handed but we are a rural  and there are plenty of public places to walk.

I am always intrigued by what little animals may inhabit these holes in the field.

After the walk i decided to finish the mini albums i had cut with my new Sizzix dies.I started by inking them with Altered Originals spray ink.

These are the smaller ones and i also finished the larger one which measures 9" x 5" which i suppose is more practical i think the smaller ones are very cute though.

CUT WITH SIZZIX BIGZ  XL DIE FROM CARDBOARD BOX

COATED WITH GESSO AND THEN ACRYLIC PAINT

BIG SHOT

A PIECE OF SCRAPBOOK PAPER EMBOSSED WITH A CUTTLEBUG FOLDER IN BIG SHOT

SPRAYED WITH ALTERED ORIGINALS SPRAY INK

EMBOSSED PAPER TORN TO FIT COVER

BEAUTIFUL PAPER RECIEVED FROM  TRINE (DENMARK )

PAPER TORN AND ADDED TO COVER

FLOWERS CUT WITH SIZZIX FROM THE SAME PAPER

AND A DRAGONFLY

I now have to decide if i should used more cardboard for the pages or watercolour paper. But i think in keeping with my new GREEN way of thinking i will stick with cardboard.

I had panicked this morning when i realised the closing date for Monika's Easter bunny dotee swap was getting close.So i cut several templates from various fabrics with the trusty SIZZIX they will not be a traditional Dotee shape. I had several different fabrics to use and i also had several vintage pieces including a hand embroidered tablecloth and lace table runners. I managed to cut the shape from both.

Add caption

CUT FROM VINTAGE EMBROIDERED TABLECLOTH

COLD DAY

Well not that cold but miserable and gloomy so i stayed in and created 2 journal pages. The first one came about as i was putting magazines out for recycling. As i flicked through the pages this one jumped out at me. I altered it with Brasso added some Sizzix die cuts rubber stamping and neo colours.

I called it INSPIRED BY OSCAR as i had been watching the coverage on the news before i found the page.

The second page  i will call DREAMING OF SUMMER no planning with this one just grabbed anything  that came to hand. I could never make a video of myself creating as i have no plans things get picked up and dumped wherever i can find a space.

Yesterday i posted a photo of the sun streaming into my kitchen. Well inspired by Jan over at milliande who posted in the Lens group  this is what happens when you leave the door open .

  JUST JOKING

GREEN POWER

I had not realized that i had not blogged for a few days not sure where the time went but  i have had a lot on my mind.Anyway a quick update on the solar panels   THEY ARE GREAT we have produced 26.3 kwh of electricity since Wednesday morning and considering it has rained each day that is not bad.
I have been quite busy with swaps over at milliande i sent of 2 sets of ATCs one on the theme of spring and one on the theme girlfriends unfortunately i forgot to photograph them so i am keeping my fingers crossed that they will arrive. i have also done a set for Rachels swap on the theme of OWLS. I also sorted out all of the pre cut ATCs  i have most cut from old paintings and was surprised to find i had over 500.

  I also created another journal page with the prompt SINGING IN THE RAIN

I started with a magazine page altered with Brasso and then just painted ,stamped and collaged and added my own words. I was really pleased with the result.

I had a few new toys arrive on Friday

These are my most expensive dies to date and they create albums so  they are very versatile I also had several more embossing folders.

I was walking in the field when it was raining hard  I took this photo of a down pipe with rain water pouring out and altered it with PICNIK. and i did the same with photos of the large ash tree in the field.

taken with camera+ app on iphone

I
Now for today Sunday  it was nice to wake up to sunshine streaming through the window,

 one of the first things i did today was to comment on blogs that i follow (.Lynda if you are reading this i went out with Wilson minutes after reading your comments on litter and leaving my comments on the subject,) Like Lynda i am getting really annoyed at the amount dumped and anyone reading this is probably bored with me going on about it.  But as i started to walk down the lane from the house i was confronted with this.

As i walked towards it it almost looked as if someone was having a picnic in the hedge once again as in one of my earlier posts a lot of children's toys. The bike looked in good condition and i am sure there are many children who would be only to pleased to have it.

Anyway once i was over the shock we continued on our walk and was i pleased to see more and more signs of SPRING.

On our walk we usually pass this garage door and it always makes me smile

Back home Wilson had his regular drink from the cattle trough and i took these photos of Fungi i  am always amazed a the structure and colours of the various fungi.

enhanced with Picnik

 And lastly it is funny how you can see something so often that you end up not seeing it at all. this chain has been on the fence by my wildlife pond for years but i only thought to photograph it yesterday and then enhanced it with Picnik.