Merry Christmas!

I haven't spent much time in my studio lately, and I can't wait for the Christmas break to start. I plan to spend a lot of it in my studio, and with making plans for the new year. But first, a couple of relaxing days with family and good food.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas, and a relaxing, inspiring and creative holiday!

Silent Night White Christmas cards and bulb growing

For years and years, I've been wanting to make my own Christmas cards to send to friends and family, but apart from the odd card, I've usually ended up sending bought ones in the last moment. But this year, I was determined to make them myself, from start to finish. As the easiest way to get the same motif on a number of cards is by stamping it, I had to make a stamp first. I haven't really carved a whole stamp before, so I decided to go with a simple design. A bit rustic, reminding of an old wood carving.

And here's the pile of finished cards, all coloured in. Now comes the hardest bit. Writing them. I'm not good at all at writing cards. It always makes me happy to get beautifully written Birthday and Christmas cards, and I always marvel at the eloquence of the writers, wishing I could do it too. But I can't. I'm just rubbish at it. I never know what to write. So I hope that this year, the cards will make up for the writing. And then I just hope that the recipients will enjoy the receiving the cards as much as I enjoyed making them.

I've also caught the bulb bug. A few weeks ago I read about the different bulbs you can use to grow lovely flowers for you home in winter in a magazine, and decided to try it out myself. Now of course, amaryllis bulbs aren't anything new at all. But I think I had one once, years and decades ago, and I can't even remember if anything ever came out of it. So I thought I'd give it a try this year. I bought one called Aphrodite, a white one with pale pink around the edges, that came ready planted in a pot. I'm totally enjoying watching it grow from one little green tip just visible, and I've been drawing the stages in my sketchbook every week. And they grow so quickly! And there's definitely a flower pod beginning to appear. Can't wait until it starts blooming! I bought another, smaller, white one, too, and I'm thinking about getting a couple of crocus bulbs too.

*** Merry Christmas! *** (and a little tutorial)

And if you find yourself with some free hours on Christmas Eve, below's a little tutorial for this last minute, easy to make handmade Christmas decoration.

Take a piece of cardboard and prime it with gesso.

Use some letter stencils to trace the letters on the cardboard.

You could also use the stencils to fill in the paint directly. But as mine are broken, I decided to just trace the lines and paint them afterwards. This also allowed me to make them a bit bigger and bolder.

Add some more layers, details, textures, colours, emebellishments, patterns. The possibilities are endless. I kept mine quite simple.

Then cut out the letters with a pair of scissors.

Use a cutting knive to cut out the bits in between, and to do any tidying up, if necessary.

Punch two holes into the top of each letter.

Use a piece of string to string them all togher.

And it's ready to hang on a door, or wall, or your Christmas tree.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

DIY Postcard Swap, and a very special Christmas card

It's over a month now since the DIY Postcard Swap organised by iHanna, and after having posted my 10 postcards to different corners of the globe, postcards started to arrive in my mailbox in return. For a period of eight days, I received a card every day. Then nothing for a good three weeks or so, and last week, quite unexpectedly, another one arrived. So I've now got nine cards altogether. I don't know if the tenth card will arrive too, eventually, or not. I guess the latter is now more likely. But I really like the nine I got, all the different styles, techniques and mediums.

Thank you Beverly from England, Carrie from California/USA, Gail from Canada, Ellen from USA, Belinda from Alaska/USA, Lynn from Florida/USA, HS from St Louis/USA, Carolyn from Ohio/USA, and Sue from Australia.

What made more than up for the missing tenth card was the beautiful Christmas card I received from my dear friend Sandra from England. She paints the most beautiful oil paintings, among them a series of the most charming vintage teddy bears. I'm so happy to have one of her beautiful bears in my home now! Thank you so much Sandra!

Sandra's oil paintings always make me want to finally try out oils myself. I've never really quite dared so far. It all seems so complicated, dangerous, and much different form my old trusted acrylics. But I've been getting some new supplies in the past two weeks or so, and among them, some stuff for oil painting. So in the new year, oil painting is definitely something that's going to happen.

No sitting in the dark, but instead a very bright Christmas ahead

Last week, I was afraid I might have to sit in the dark at Christmas, because of a broken bulb, for which a replacement seemed just impossible to find. Well, I solved the problem.

It included getting another Christmas light, though. But at least both of them are working.

But then, last Saturday, I went to the julbasar, the Christmas market organised by the Swedish church here in town, and look what I found! It was actually the very same light that I had seen in several online shops, but which was just impossible to mail order to where I live.

And then, on the way out, I saw that other, smaller, red and green one, and I just couldn't resist.

So, instead of one, I have now a grand total of four. And all of them in perfect working order. Although the two new ones are much brighter than the two supermarket ones (which are a bit pathetic, really). They don't have those strange very low volt/watt bulbs that you can't get anywhere, but proper ones, for which I can actually get replacements here.

But the main thing is, I finally got my Swedish Christmas light (and some), and I'll definitely be having a very bright Christmas.

Sitting in the dark

I've been wanting one of those Swedish advent lights that you put in your window for ages, but there were hard to find here. Last year, finally, I spotted them in one of the supermarkets, but I was too late, they were already sold out. So this year, I made sure to go there early, and finally got one last Friday.  They're very simple, available only in red or plain wood, and with these horrible plastic thingies around each lamp. But I was going to paint it anyway, so it didn't really matter.

When I got home, before I even had unpacked it, I could hear a rattling sound inside the box. Not a good sign. One of the bulbs was broken. I considered taking it back the next day, but then I didn't really liked the bulbs either, and thought I would just go and get some new, plain ones anyway. So I spent the weekend happily painting. Several layers of white went on.

I even tried spraying the plastic thingies with a snow spray I found somewhere at the back of one of my supply boxes. But it wasn't really an improvement, so at the end I just threw them away.

I decided to keep it simple, and just added a green line around the top edges. That looks so much better, don't you think? Well, it definitely fits much better into my living room than the unpainted version.

Now all that was needed were some new bulbs. No problem, I thought, especially now, with all the Christmas lights everywhere. Well, I was wrong. It seems that getting spare bulbs is just impossible. I went to several shops, and even googled them on the internet, but with no luck. Not even in the shop where I bought the light did they have spare ones. They suggested that if I still had the receipt, I should just bring the whole thing back, and they'd change it for a new one. Yes, well, I do have the receipt, but I doubt they'll take my painted one back. Even if it does look prettier....

If you know of a place where one can buy/mailorder small 3,2V 0,064W spare bulbs, please let me know. Otherwise I might just end up having to buy another one of these lights, just for the bulbs - or sitting in the dark this Christmas...

Merry Christmas

After all the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas December, the decoration putting up and Christmas present shopping, it's Christmas Eve at last. For many of us, this means the beginning of a (long or short) Christmas break, of calming down, leaning back, sipping mulled wine, nibbling Christmas biscuits, lighting candles, and simply enjoying the season. I'm one of those lucky ones who doesn't have to go back to work until the new year, and I'm looking forward to more than a week of spending time with my family, going for long walks in the snow rain, reading on the sofa for hours, taking pictures of the winter wonderland outside (if I can find it...), and of course, lots of painting, drawing, sketching...

Wether you're having a long break ahead of you, or have to be back at work after Christmas, whether you're spending Christmas in the snow or under the hot sun, at home with your loved ones, or away ~

have a wonderful, peaceful, inspiring merry Christmas!

This time last year, we had masses of snow, but this year, alas, the birds are singing outside as if spring was just around the corner, it's so warm outside that you don't even need gloves, and on top of it all, it's raining. It's a white Christmas only in my dreams indeed, but I still hope that we'll have some more snow again in the next few days.

In need of a little break...

Somehow the days just don't seem to have enough hours at the moment, and I feel like I'm not getting anything done at all. I'm so in need of a holiday, of a change of scene, a few days to lean back and relax. Luckily, that's just what I have ahead of me, and I'm so looking forward to visiting Christmas markets, drinking mulled wine and hot chocolate, eating cakes, and taking lots of pictures in lovely Salzburg. And spending the whole day painting, without having to constantly run away to do a thousand other things while the paint dries. Hopefully, I'll learn some new watercolour techniques, get at least one decent painting done, find lots of inspiration, and meet some nice people. It's really just what I need right now :)

And hopefully, there'll be a few snowflakes too. It's been snowing a lot up in the mountains these last few days, but unfortunately, down here, we've only had lots of rain and wind, and the temperatures, well, it feels more like early spring than winter... It's only the Christmas lights and decorations, and all the Christmas markets that remind me of the season. But I keep hoping for that white Christmas :)

I'll be back in a week, with my batteries recharged, and looking forward to keeping up and in touch again with everyone. Have a wonderful week!

2. Advent ~ Getting into Christmas mood

It's the 2. Advent today already, and therefore...

... high time for the Christmas decoration to go up. I've never been one for Christmas decorations, until last year. And now, I can't think how I did without :). (I'm far too afraid of burning down the house to actually ever light those candles, though...).

A friend of mine intoduced me to the Steiff teddybear Christmas limited editions collection a few years ago. And of course, once you start, you just have to have one every year. I'm still waiting for this year's teddy to be ready to be picked up at the shop. It's a snowflake!

It's definitely beginning to feel a lot more like Christmas time, even though there's still no snow, at least not down here.

It's all definitely helping to get into Christmas mood. Have a wonderful 2. Advent!

Art Every Day Month: Day 29

Only one more day to go with Art Every Day Month, and till Decemeber. Today, I thought I'd do some baubles to help me get into Christmas mood.

I also went to the city after work, to enjoy the Christmas lights everywhere (and to have a constant battle with White Balance, I really never know which option to chose at night, and with all the lights. None of the options really seem to work...). But I just loved the reflections in the river!

I also bought some wool to knit a scarf or two. I'm really bad at knitting, and I can only do simple and straight, so it really has to be just scarves. It'll be my challenge for December. At least I'll be ready for when the snow comes :)

Art Every Day Month: Day 28

Day 28 of Art Every Day Month, and only two more days to go! Even if it's not quite yet December, the Christmas season is already in full swing. Yesterday was the first advent, and there were numerous Saint Nicholas processions everywhere ringing (quite literally in some cases, see below) in the season. It's less than four weeks till Christmas, the Christmas lights and decorations are on everywhere. But somehow, I'm just so not in the mood yet. Don't know why, as I quite like this season, really. So I thought it would help if I sketched a Saint Nicholas, or "Samichlaus", as we call here (he's not quite the same as Santa, even though they look similar).

Hmmm, didn't really help much yet. Maybe if I added some colour? Some bright christmassy red, surely that would help?!

But alas!, my "Samichlaus" looks about as unenthusiastic about the whole business as me. And he also looks a bit undernourished. Maybe that's why he's so grumpy?  Hmmm, maybe I should get out my Dean Martin Christmas CD, or the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain one, maybe that will help to put some Christmas feelings into the air? 

Here some pictures of our local "Chlausumzug" (Saint Nicholas procession), complete with the bell ringers (I'm sure they never feel the cold, those bells must weigh a ton!), a whole truck load of Saint Nicholas', and even a bunch of junior ones too :)

According to the weather forecast, there should be some snow coming in the middle of the month. I hope we'll have some down here as well. That would most definitely put me in the mood for Christmas!

{Day 17} ~ Stark Raving Magnificent

Prompt for Day 17 for Picture Winter: "Stark Raving Magnificent"

Today's assignment was to "capture some kind of starkness today", to "think minimal beauty", to "think simple".

Firstly: I didn't take this shot today but on Boxing Day, which was a perfect winter wonderland day spent with the family.

Secondly: I just can't think minimal and simple enough to do without using textures at the moment.

Thirdly: but I think I captured at least some minimal simple beauty with this winter road shot and as to starkness, well I must admit I had to look it up in hte dictionary to figure out what exactly that meant (and I'm afraid I've already forgotten it again...).

And finally. I just like how this shot turned out :-)

{Day 1} ~ Looking Out / A Breath of Fresh Air

Prompt for Picture Winter, Day 2: Looking Out / A Breath of Fresh Air

It was perfect weather for a walk in the snowy winter wonderland on Boxing Day and I walked for ages, long after the others had gone back home to coffee and cake, taking pictures. I so enjoyed walking in this area, close to where my cousin lives, on the this little dam along the river, the flat landscape, the huge sky, how far you can see. You don't really get such views anywhere in Switzerland. The place is close to the French border and if I had followed that path, I would have reached Strasbourg, which is only a few kilometers away :-). The sky was turning from bright blue sunny sky to a wonderful mid-afternoon sunset with long shadows, when I was walking back. No idea how long I had been out, but there was still enough cake left when I finally returned :-)

I absolutely love adding grungy frames to basically every image at the moment and I really had to restrain myself not to do it here well. But I think the beautiful landscape there doesn't really need anything :-).

{Day 28} ~ Through The Looking Glass

We got into a hell of a snowstorm right on a busy motorway when driving on to stay with our relatives after the family Christmas gathering. It was scary but we all finally arrived safe and sound :-)

{Day 27} ~ A Breath Of Fresh Air

We were promised a white Christmas - and we got it! :-)

Frau Holle got out all her pillows and duvets and started shaking them out by midday on Christmas Eve and she didn't stop until the next day, turning everything into a beautiful winter wonderland for Christmas. I went for a long 2 1/2 hours Christmas morning walk into the snowy forest with my Mum, and it was magical :-)

Textures by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations and Kim Klassen

{Day 26} ~ The Day After

 

All packed and ready for traveling to the family Christmas get-together on Boxing Day and for spending some days with the relatives.

{Day 25} ~ This Magic Moment

After the long walk in the wintry and snowy forest with my Mum, a long hot soak in the bath, with a good book and a special Christmas bath bomb from Lush was just the perfect thing to do on a lazy Christmas day :-). So relaxing!

Texture by Pareeerica

Merry Christmas

{Day 23} ~ Life Is Sweet

Prompt for Day 23 for Picture the Holidays: "Life Is Sweet"

These are the English Christmas pralines I bought the other day for our "A Touch of British" Christmas. It wasn't easy to resist the tempation to eat them before I had the shot taken. I didn't dare touch them until I had downloaded them all, but now, that the shot is posted, there's no holidng back :-)

Not quite sure about the processing, especially how the background turned out. But I like the lacy traditional old style café feeling :-)

Texture by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations and Kim Klassen

{Day 22} ~ You Are Getting Sleepy

Prompt for Day 22 for Picture the Holidays was "You are Getting Sleepy" and it was certainly most fitting. Yesterday was the last day before my 10 day Christmas break and I was counting the days and hours because I really need that holiday now. My photography classes and projects are giving me the greatest pleasure and I learn so much but they also take up all my time and keep me awake far too long at night. I was too tired last night to the day's shot.

This is a picture of my beloved late cat and I think that cats really are the greatest sleepers in the world. We got her when she was only 3 months old and two years ago, just a few days before Christmas, we had to make the hard decision to let her go. She was so poorly at the end that keeping her alive for just another day, let alone until after Christmas, for our sakes would have been pure cruelty. It was a sad Christmas and it broke my heart. Even though she stayed with my parents when I moved out, she was always *my* cat. When I went home to visit my parents, she would place herself on a strategic point from where she could keep an eye on me and the sofa and as soon as I was approaching the sofa, she came running to claim her favourite sleeping spot - on my belly. We spent hours like this lying on the sofa together and her joy of seeing me and being with me was always such a great comfort when I was feeling low. But she had a good life, and she lived to be 18 years and died of old age. But I had had her half my life and it was so hard to let her go. I still miss her. Especially at this time of the year. Sleep tight, my Darling, you're always in my heart

I really regret that I didn't have my DSLR when she was still alive to take some good shots of her.

Textures by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations and Kim Klassen