Merry Christmas

I just want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you who take the time to look at my blog!!

 

It's time for a doll!

Not worked on a doll for a while so it was time!!I'm not exactly sure what to call this one.......she started out going to be some sort of snowman-doll but ended up as something else!!! When I look at her all I can think is "wood-witch" so that is what she is I think!!

 Here she is sitting in her nest of paper scraps.

 Normally when I work on a doll I take the hair off and usually push out the eyes but a while ago a friend Hermine Koster altered a doll and left the hair on. She worked some paint through the hair and I thought it looked great.......so I left the hair on this time! I used gesso to try and give a frosty feel, there is also some glitter in there (not showing up much in the pics) and a few stars.
Hermines doll

 Why an orange nose? Well this started out as a sort of snowman doll and snowmen have carrots for noses, they also have coals for eyes, buttons on their tummys and twigs for arms!

 

           

Yule

 Journal page made with odds and ends.......a bird cut out from a leaflet

 some scraps of brown paper........

 one of this years Christmas stamps torn from an envelope......

add a bit of ink and gesso and a stamped word.....page done:)

Words

Thanks for all the thoughts on whether to add words to my cards or not.......as you can see I have decided to go ahead and add words. I am glad I did as I like the way they look now.

 Added a crown to the bird too:)

I can't remember

the last time I made a card!! But I made some today.........I saw a very similar idea to this over the weekend and thought they would make very quick cards...........and they did, these were super quick and easy!

 I can't decide if these need some words of some sort......maybe just one big-ish one? Can't decide.......opinions welcomed:)

 And maybe the bird needs a hat?

 

Hope

Have always liked this quote.........decided to make a  feather........ once made I thought it could also double as a tree!

 Liked the way this corner came out:)

Something

painty to pass the time on a cold afternoon!

 Oops slighty wonky photo....oh well!!!

 Background is some sort of advertising leaflet I picked up in the street:)

Home is where the heart is

A local gallery has some interesting fliers for their upcoming exhibitions....I particularly liked this one.....should have taken a picture of it before I started but wanted to incorporate it into my journal and forgot!

 My tablets photo editing thingy lets me add this cool border to pics:)

 The house and the little girl on the flier suggested the theme for this page......
home is where the heart is

 Extra little houses added using receipts from the supermarket

 am getting more used to using my own handwriting on pages

I love books!

 Last week I went to this gallery to see an exhibition of pictures by local Kazakh artist Assol Sas.........

 this is one of those pictures! It is Alice with Humpty Dumpty. I also discovered that she had illustrated a book of Kazkh legends........now I am a sucker for illustrated books, I buy books just for the illustrations so I was determined I was going to find a copy of this book. Not that easy here!!! Things are not always what they seem...........

 this is a book shop.....I have walked past it several times without realising what it is!! Anyway yesterday I went inside for the first time and tried to explain what I was looking for..........long story short they did not have it but there was another branch of the shop that did............so, finally I got my hands on the book

 here it is...........and it is full if the most beautiful illustrations well, I think they are:) See for youselves below...........

 At the same time Ispotted this book.....Kazakh Myths.....same published but different illustartor......not that that matters these were just as lovely, if different than the other book.....................

 Then today I decided to go back to the book shop......I armed myself with a bit of paper with Alice in Wonderland written on it Russian (copied from Google translate) and off I went! I now have a copy of Through the Looking Glass in Russian with great illustrations.....see below

 and a copy of Alice in Wonderland in Russian! I think the woman in the bookshop thought I was a bit nuts but never mind!!!!