Happy New Year

happy new year to all who read my blog .... here's hoping 2017 is a better year than this past year.

The theme on Sunday Postcard Art is NEW

I've combine New Year with new goodies.

new stencils I received from  my friend Anne

New Year postcard

thanks for looking

Mandy xx

Do what makes you happy

This week's Sunday Postcard Art is an OPEN theme. Do whatever you want as long as it's a postcard 😍

Here's mine

TFL

Mandy xx

Sleigh Bells ring

well.... Christmas has crept upon us yet again.

Sunday Postcard Art this week is hosted by Hazel and is Christmas Baubles.

TFL

Mandy xx

Music is love

for this week's Go Tag Thursday's theme of Music...Ive made a couple of tags...

using vintage music paper

TFL

Mandy xx

la Sirena

I think Deann's theme on Sunday Postcard Art this week has enormous possibilities.... 'what's on your mantle' is the theme ~ which purports to a Christmas mantle.
However, I've gone the literal route.... I have  numerous Mexicana items on my fire (I don't have a mantle) and this includes a mini shrine featuring a Mexican Loteria card 'la Sirena'

here's my take on the theme

TFL

Mandy xx

Christmas Tree oh Christmas Tree

This week's theme on Go Tag Thursday is Christmas Trees.... not feeling too Christmassy as yet but there's always time for Angels.

I'm also entering this tag into the Morgan's Artworld challenge of make a tag

QKR stampede Christmas tags challenge

Craft for the Craic ~ anything but a card

TFL

Mandy xx

Fairy winter Wonderland

This week, we are embracing WINTER over on the Sunday Postcard Art blog this week.

I've used one of the Winter Fairies from Lisas Altered Art collage kit.

I'm entering this into the A vintage Journey... winter magic Challenge

I used these wonderful metallic watercolours that my friend Carol got me for my birthday. They are so lush

TFL

Mandy xx

Two's Company

this week Kay is hosting Sunday Postcard Art and the theme is Two of a Kind.

I had an afternoon of playing yesterday and came up with these two.

Diabo enjoyed helping out.

TFL

Mandy xx

texture

this week's prompt on GoTagThursday is TEXTURE

I've used layers of vintage papers cut into rectangles, some texture paste through a stencil and some glitter paste

TFL

Mandy xx

Home is where the Art is

here's my tag for GoTagThursday  cutting it fine yet again (I did make this at the weekend.)

TFL

Mandy xx

feeling grateful?

Earlier this year, I got myself a 'things i'm grateful for' notebook... I was hoping it would keep me looking to positive things that are in my life.... I have yet to fill in a single page.  It's kind of hard to be happy, content, or even grateful when Lily died last year. Perhaps it is time that heals but it seems a distant dream at the moment.
I'm just getting through life one day at a time.

TFL

Mandy xx

We'll always have Paris

I spent the whole week looking for my date book for the postcard blog and just cannot find it. I cannot think for the life of me where on earth it's gone. Therefore I had to pick a new theme which is Fleur de Lys....

I don't know why this picture is so grey it's very turquoise IRL

thanks for looking and hopefully playing along

Mandy xx

lessonVI

Good Hallowe'en Sunday morning.... of course not Hallowe'en until tomorrow but everyday would be Hallowe'en if it was up to me!

This week I decided I'd change the October Hallowe'en to Glimmer Shimmer n Shine

I've recently bought some amazingly lush and lush and lush paints from Pebeo. ooohh delicious

hope you get a chance to join in with us over on Sunday Postcard Art

TFL

Mandy xx

my eternal love

here's my entry for this week's SPA... ghosts and goblins

it's a mixed media postcard and I've used images from Ikupilli and Hidden Vintage Studios.

TFL

Mandy xx

grunge love heart

Well.... here is my second make for That's Crafty

it's a teeny tiny canvas... around 2inch squared (give or take)

I love to use texture paste and get grungy and this canvas combines both.

Check out the That's Crafty blog to see how I made this little cheeky number.

TFL

Mandy xx

Mini Art Journal Page

Hi everyone

So pleased to say that I'm guest designer over on the That's Crafty blog.  I must say That's Crafty is my go to online store or any store to be honest as they are few and far between in the flesh so to speak.

I've used some Carabelle Studios stamps to create this Art Journal page..... head over here to see how I created it.

love using this A6 size journal.... it's so much fun.

Thanks for visiting

Mandy xx

Wizard me this

wow, we've had some challenging themes over the past couple of weeks. When Hazel told me about the wizard theme I did rack my brains for it. Pinterest is my go to place for images a lot these days. I know I didn't want to go down the obvious route eof Wizard of OZ (besides there's a WoO esq theme next week.) and so.... the quest for an image ensued and I ended up with this image of James Franco  that was used to advertise The Great and Powerful OZ

Thanks to Hazel for choosing this theme...

There's plenty of textured layers on this postcard

 I just love a little grunge!

TFL

Mandy xx

Travel

is the theme on GO Tag Thursday
This is my tag.... I've taken with and without the flash.... looks like a completely different tag!

TFL

Mandy xx

Yellow Submarine

Marion has chosen the theme of The Beatles for this week's SPA

love these psychedelic images that were used in the film of Yellow Submarine

looking forward to checking everyones entries out

TFL

Mandy xx

Queen of Autumn

Hey guys....
i'm late blogging this... no excuses as I made this on Sunday!!
The theme is 'leaves' and Ive chosen to use autumnal leaves in my creation.  The lady is off a collage sheet from Art Tea Life on Etsy
You may not be able to tell on the picture but every one of these leaves is cut out by hand and built up.

Tfl
mandy xx

Artful

Hi guys

This is my tag for the Go Tag Thursday theme of Go BOLD.... well now are bold colours the same as BRIGHT colours? That was my interpretation of it.

TFL

Mandy xx

Mother Nature

“Life is fleeting, yes, but also eternal; it will always find a way to begin again.”
― Kelseyleigh Reber

here's my entry for SPA where the theme is Mother Nature this week.

TFL

Mandy xx

Windows of the Mind

this week's Take a Word is yellow. I'd seen a lot of yellow door images on pinterest but then I stumbled upon this building with lots of  windows.

this is a page in my mini A6 journal.

TFL

Mandy xx

Hot Cocoa

still a bit for that isn't it?

I love these vintage adverts though and this one has inspired my theme for Sunday Postcard Art this week.

TFL

Mandy xx

Moments

here is my tag for Go Tag Thursday where the theme is book print.

I've used book pages on the background of my tag plus I stamped the flowers onto book pages before water colouring them.

TFL

Mandy xx

Diablo

Our little baby boy, Diablo is now 5 weeks old and is a real munchkin. He's very mischievous and a rascal.

His eyes are just starting to change colour.

love him

Mandy xx

New Journal

A few week's ago I got myself a smaller journal A6 in size... however,  after one page it fell apart... the glue had not gripped the pages.

so yesterday I found this one, it's still A6 and it's sewn together (from Rymans - £3.49)

the pages aren't super thick 110 gsm but seem to work ok.

so here's the first page in this journal.

i'm entering it into the Take a Word challenge of circles.

TFL

Mandy x

Round and Round

this week's SPA theme is chosen by Kay and it is WHEELS

When I first heard the theme I could only think of wheels/cogs machinery but having pondered upon the theme some more I had some ideas.... spinning wheel... wheel of fortune... bicycle wheels. I love the idea of the wheel of fortune tarot card and so I found this fortune teller image on a sheet I had from Art Tea Life on Etsy and also on the set of images was this little tricycle.

it's very textural IRL

TFL

Mandy xx

beside the seaside

this week's Go Tag Thursday is BEACH HUTS

here's my tag

not a brilliant photo due to phone camera and dodgy eyesight!

TFL

Mandy xx

Any Which Way

The theme on Lunagirl Moonbeams this month is ANYTHING GOES.... well if anything goes then ALICE definitely goes!

why not come over and join in for a chance to win $10 to spend instore

anything goes challenge

TFL

Mandy xx

My Myrtle and MegaEsophagus

Last week, after extensive tests my baby girl Myrtle has been diagnosed with megaesophagus.

For months now Myrtle has struggled with choking. She has been treated for kennel cough and lungworm to no avail.

Now, it has progressed to her being sick after eating, after drinking water, she cannot go for a walk or wear a collar. She is even sick whilst sleeping, although feeding her earlier than usual is helping with this.

This disorder causes her muscles in her throat to not push down her food into her stomach.

Luckily, (touch wood) I seem to have developed a way to feed Myrtle so that she isn't sick. Water is still a problem though, even though she is drinking from an elevated height. I took her out for a 10 minute walk yesterday and Myrtle was sick twice. So I cannot take her out as it's not fair to Myrtle.

we will perserve daily with dealing with the ME

mandy xx

Diablo

This week is pets on SPA so I thought along with my postcard, Id update you as to the animal antics at Octopode Towers

A year to the day Lily died, her cat Priscilla gave birth to one very beautiful ginger boy kitten. I honestly hand on my heart believe he is a gift from my Lillabelle.

 here is my entry for SPA

TFL

Mandy xx

i do believe in fairies

I do, I do

This week's theme on Go Tag Thursday is children, I've turned this little cutie into a fairy

TFL

Mandy xx

Eggs is eggs

This week's Sunday Postcard Art is hosted by Hazel.

I had a look through my stash of collage sheets, found some nests and eggs and came up with this postcard

TFL

mandy xx

wings tag

I love tags. I know you all know that about it. I have boxes of tags that I've made and often wonder what I can do with them.

But.... whilst at Anne's last week... we both took an idea from Pinterest and made a pocket page for tags. It's slightly smaller than an A5 so I could build my own book, put it in my journal or use in a folio.

here's my tag for go tag Thursday

 here's the base of the pocket page.

 the three tags that are going into the pocket page

 the tags in the pocket page

 I think it's really quite effective :-)
TFL
Mandy xx

Modes of Transport

This month's Lunagirl challenge is Planes, Trains and Automobiles..... here's some ATC's I've created for the theme.

TFL
Mandy xx