Poppies and Butterflies

Vintage children - Theme Thursday

2011-01-10T01:31:00.002Z

Vintage children is this week's theme at Theme Thursday. I actually enjoyed my MMM skinny so much that I decided to make some more... :)

Thanks for looking!

Skinny - Mixed Media Monday

2011-01-10T00:12:00.003Z

At MMM this month we're supposed to create a piece of artwork in a size that is outside our comfort zone. I decided to give skinnies a try. Because they're larger than ATCs, 3x5s rectangles have always seemed to difficult to be totally "filled in" with art in a harmonic way. Well, maybe it wasn't a question of size, but a question of lack of creativity and some laziness on my part. Anyway, I used a large stamp, which had been waiting for "employment" for ages due to its size and all in all I was quite happy with the way the skinny turned out.

Clocks and vintage children

2011-01-09T23:43:00.000Z

Clocks is this week's theme at One Powerful Hour. I'm entering this skinny at Theme Thursday too, because it's also about vintage children, which is the theme there.Unfortnunately I didn't manage to take a decent picture of the skinny - one is too dark, the other one is too light. Sorry! And thanks for looking!

Have a wonderfu l2011!

2011-01-01T02:27:00.003Z

Have a blessed Christmas!

2010-12-26T03:16:00.002Z

And don't forget: Jesus is the reason for the season!

Image Source: Morgan Weistling

Nestlé lid shrine

2010-10-21T22:10:00.013+01:00

"Shrines" is this month's theme at Mixed Media Monday. Here's my very first shrine:

Is this what a shrine is supposed to be? Tell me what you think...

This shrine turned out quite different from what I had in mind at least as far as the colours are concerned. Due to the excessive amount of pink (at least to my taste) it is a tad childish and therefore only suitable for a child's room. I should have attached to it something to hang it from, but I got too lazy after realizing I'll never hang it in my own bedroom... after all, I'm 36.

Back of the shrine(The text on the back of the lid is from a Portuguese tale with animals, perhaps it's a fable.)

How it all began...

Thanks for looking!

Three things

2010-09-20T00:42:00.006+01:00

Three things is the theme at Theme Thursday. I used a bird, a pearl and seashells: 3 seashells. Thanks for looking!

I've got the blues

2010-09-20T00:05:00.003+01:00

At One Powerful Hour they have the blues this week... ;-) and so does this sad pierrot. Thanks for looking!

Bead-dazzle

2010-09-20T00:00:00.006+01:00

"Bead-dazzle is this week's theme at Dragonsdream. Thanks for looking!

Feathers

2010-09-19T23:20:00.004+01:00

Here's my "feathers" twinchy for this week's challenge at Rainbow Lady. Thanks for looking!

Something round

2010-07-18T23:17:00.004+01:00

The challenge at Theme Thursday is "something round". I made a twinchy. Thanks for looking!

Crafting duo :-)

2010-05-11T16:14:00.017+01:00

My dear eight-year-old cousin Anita visited me last weekend and I told her about the weekly challenges of some sites I visit. She obviously wanted to play along, which I thought was a great idea. :-) And what do you know, the girl is a fast worker! :-)While I made only a couple of ATCs, she made 5 - yes, 5! - according to the following challenges:

A minha querida prima Anita, de 8 anos, visitou-me no último fim-de-semana e eu contei-lhe acerca dos desafios semanais de alguns sites que visito. É claro que ela quis logo participar também, o que eu achei óptimo! E sabem que mais? A miúda é rápida no gatilho! :-) Enquanto eu fiz 2 ATCs, ela fez 5 - sim, 5! - de acordo com os seguintes temas:

Think Monday Think ATC: the colour green (a cor verde)

(This is my favourite - Este é o meu favorito.)

Art pieces: water (água)

Clockwise there's a bath, a drinking fountain, a fountain and a bottle, so that no one gets thirsty. ;-) Unfortunately, I didn't notice that this challenge had been running the previous week. Sorry Anita!

No sentido dos ponteiros do relógio temos uma banheira, um bebedouro, um repuxo e uma garrafa para que ninguém tenha sede. ;-) Infelizmente, não reparei que este desafio era relativo à semana passada. - Desculpa Anita!

Wednesday stamper: flowers (flores)

Theme Thursday: vintage (antigo)

What you see below the lady is an envelope, that is to say, a letter, which is a thing of days gone by, at least according to a modern little girl like Anita. ;-)

Por baixo da senhora está um envelope, ou seja, uma carta, que é uma coisa do passado para uma menina moderna como a Anita. ;-)

Lots to do: Friendship

(This is Anita's favourite. - Este é o favorito da Anita.)

Unfortunately, I've had so many things to do these days that only today did I have time to post all her work... and mine. Sorry again, Anita! - Infelizmente, tenho tido tanto que fazer que só hoje tive tempo para colocar aqui todo o seu trabalho e o meu também. Mais uma vez, desculpa Anita!

And now for my own work: - E agora os meus trabalhos:

Wednesday stamper: flowers (flores)

Lots to do: Friendship

(I made this 2x4 weeks ago with left overs from other projects, so I decided to enter it in the Friendship challenge too.)

Miniature art - Theme Thursday

2010-04-09T19:37:00.000+01:00

Miniature art is the theme at Theme Thursday. Here are two moos and an inchy. I must confess I actually made them a while ago for other challenges -the themes were fruit, metal and hats - but somehow I let time slip by and I didn't post them on time. So I'm finally posting them. :-) Thanks for looking!

Nature's awakening

2010-04-09T19:15:00.007+01:00

Portraying nature's awakening is the challenge at TMTA and at Wednesday Stamper the theme is trees. I'm combining the challenges. Thanks for looking!

OWOH - new winner

2010-02-21T00:56:00.003Z

As you know if you read my previous posts, Mitz was one of the two lucky winners of my OWOH giveaway. I e-mailed her to give her the good news, but she didn't answer back, so I had to pick another winner with www.random.org. Congratulations TWINKIETINYDOG! - You're the lucky winner of the pink necklace.

OWOH giveaway winners

2010-02-15T23:30:00.006Z

Before I reveal the names of my OWOH giveaway, I'd like to say thank you to all the kind people who visited my blog and left a comment during the OWOH event - 465 comments! Wow! I feel flattered that so many people want to have one of my necklaces. So now for the winners... I used http://www.random.org/ to determine the winners. Here are the prize winners:

The winner of the first prize (pink necklace) is the person who left comment 207 - MITZ

and the winner of the second prize (red necklace) is the person who left comment no. 343 - that's CREEKHIKER. Congratulations to both of you! I'll contact both

Wings ATC

2010-02-13T15:18:00.004Z

At Something Completely Different the challenge is to make an ATC with wings.

Thanks for looking!

More giveaways

2010-02-13T03:11:00.003Z

Both Diane and Rosette are offering fabulous giveaways! You can see what they're offering if you look to the sidebar on the right, or even better, if you visit their blogs. The deadlines to leave a comment are respectively Feb 14th and Feb 16th. Come on ladies, hurry so that you can still be entered in their draws!

Thank you and happy Valentine's day!

2010-02-12T23:15:00.003Z

Just a note to say thank you very much to all the people who have visited my blog since One World, One Heart started! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your warm and nice comments! I'm really very pleased to know that so many people like the necklaces I made - 426 comments so far. Wow! That's certainly beyond my highest and most ambitious expectations! I'd also like to thank all those who've become followers of my humble blog. :-)
I'm having a lot of fun visiting other people's blogs too! I've found so many wonderful crafters around blogland! And the magic ride isn't over yet... It is indeed magic. Kudos to Lisa for taking the time to organise OWOH.
Hope you come back on Monday when the 2 lucky winners of my domino necklaces will be announced.

Have a very happy Valentine's day!

One World One heart 2010

2010-01-25T00:01:00.013Z

One World One Heart starts today and for the first time I'm taking part in it. :-) I'm really thrilled! (Click on the picture above to find more about this international event.)

My blog giveaway is open to all bloggers worldwide! I'm giving away two domino necklaces I made. (For both necklaces I used bamboo tiles which I decoupaged and coated with varnish. The one with the little girl has a pink satin ribbon, a golden metal alloy bead and acrylic beads. The red one has a black cotton thread, acrylic beads, a metal alloy spacer and an oval polymer clay bead.) - Scroll down for more pictures.

You only need to have a blog and leave a comment - PLEASE COMMENT ONLY ONCE - to be entered in this giveaway. However, don't forget to leave your email address or your blog address so that you can be contacted if you should win. The deadline to participate is February 14th until 23:59:59 Greenwich Time (This is Lisbon Time and I think it's the same as C.E.T.). On February 15th the winners will be randomly picked (with a random number generator) and announced on the blog. I will email the winners and they will have 48 hours to respond with their postal address information. After 48 hours alternate winners will be chosen.

Good luck!

Don't forget to spread the word and visit the other participating bloggers too!

UPDATE!!!

OWOH is sadly coming to an end. :-( I'm very thankful for all the nice comments you left but the COMMENTS section is now CLOSED. Sorry, but I won't accept any more comments for this giveaway. The 2 lucky winners will be announced later today.

1st PRIZE

2nd PRIZE

Letter B - Inchy by inch

2010-01-24T22:41:00.006Z

At Inchy by Inch the current challenge is all about creating inchies with the letters of the alphabet. This week's letter is B. Thanks for looking!

Buttons - TMTA

2010-01-24T22:23:00.002Z

This week's theme at TMTA is buttons.

Thanks for looking!

Inspirational words of 2010 - Innocence

2010-01-13T10:00:00.002Z

At One Powerful Hour we're supposed to choose inspirational words for the current year. (This 4x4 didn't exactly go as planned. I realize now I'd rather have left the angels and clouds in sober black and white tones, but anyway...) I've chosen "innocence", not only as an inspirational word, but as a value I'll try to live by throughtout the year because it seems to be an endangered value in the world today. Even children seem to have lost their innocence... :-(((

Best buddies!

2010-01-03T23:36:00.000Z

Snowman is the theme at Crazy Amigo. Thanks for looking!

Have fun!

2010-01-03T21:48:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all the visitors to my blog and thank you for all your nice comments! May this be a very joyous and creative year to all and may God give you lots of time for your crafts projects! :-)

This week at Art Creations Friday they have an open theme, so I'm participating in the challenge with the ATC above.Thanks for looking!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-25T00:18:00.000Z

Happy Hallowe'en!

2009-10-31T14:48:00.000Z

Don't drink too much on Hallowe'en... ;-)

Sparetime witch - 4x4

2009-10-31T00:30:00.005Z

At Created by Hand the theme is Hallowe'en and at OnePowerful Hour we were asked to do something orange. I've combined both challenges. Thanks for looking!

Time ATC

2009-09-20T23:28:00.000+01:00

Time is the challenge at Saturday Challenge aka Saturday Surprise. Here's my ATC. Thanks for looking!

Punches - Crazy Amigo

2009-09-06T01:42:00.003+01:00

Punches is the theme at Crazy Amigo Challenge.

(I made a skinny, an ATC and a bookmark, which I later laminated for protection.) The hen and turkey images were googled. The little girl image on the skinny is a freebie by Inka. The flower girl is a freebie by Graphicsfairy. As for the other little girl on the bookmark, I don't remeber whose freebie it is. (Sorry!)

Thanks for looking!

Marylin Monroe -TMTA

2009-09-06T01:35:00.000+01:00

Marylin Monroe is the subject of this week's challenge at TMTA.

Thanks for looking!

Look into a face - Montgomery Clift

2009-07-02T09:01:00.003+01:00

The theme at TMTA is Look into a face. I had to have another go at this one.

Here's a face I've looked at quite often... ;-) Before there was Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Haydn Christensen, Gerard Butler or any other hottie, there was Montgomery Clift, my all-time favourite actor. :-) I guess you can easily imagine one of the reasons why he's my favourite actor. ;-) I've read somewhere that he was nicknamed "the Prince" - a very handsome Prince, indeed!

Thanks for looking!

Me and my pet - Small World of Inchies

2009-07-02T08:56:00.002+01:00

At Small World of Inchies the theme is me and my pet. Here's my twinchy. I think thefreebie is by Nancy Dooren, but I'm not sure. Thanks for looking!

And now for the winner of my first blog candy...

2009-07-01T20:19:00.005+01:00

I had to use random.org three times to find the winner of my giveaway because the person who left comment number 1 (the first number that came out on random.org) and the person who left comment number 18 (my second attempt to find a winner) didn't put a link back to my blog. Sorry guys, that was one of the rules. So the WINNER is...

comment number 11

and that's KSENIA!

Congratulations Ksenia!!!

Please get back to me and let me know your mailing address so that I can send you the giveaway.

It's a giveaway!

2009-06-30T12:58:00.002+01:00

Blog candy: Please click here or scroll down...

Look into a face - TMTA

2009-06-29T22:26:00.004+01:00

Faces is the theme at TMTA. The Mona Lisa stamp is by Tim Holtz. Thanks for looking!

Time to relax

2009-06-29T22:20:00.000+01:00

Bathing beauties is the theme at Crazy Amigo and at Theme Thursday the theme is time. I've combined both challenges. Thanks for looking!

Postage stamps inchies

2009-06-14T02:57:00.005+01:00

Postage stamps is the chosen theme at Inchy by Inch.

It was great fun making these! The last inchy is a bit Christmasy, but I've decided to add it to the set anyway. By the way, the background is the rest of the stamp I used for the "Climb the highest mountain" inchy (I love making art with scraps), but the carol singers are actually from a British stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Wild animals ATC

2009-05-28T19:53:00.004+01:00

Wild animals is the theme at TMTA and at Crazy Amigo the challenge is stripes. Therefore I'm combining both challenges.

Happy - Make a Moo

2009-05-25T01:52:00.003+01:00

"Happy" is the theme at Make a Moo or Two.

I made two moos. The girl in pink is a freebie by Nancy Dooren. I'm sorry I don't remember where I downloaded the girl in the oval frame from.

Thanks for looking!

Birds - Inchy by Inch

2009-05-25T01:43:00.001+01:00

Birds is the theme at Inchy by Inch. I made two sets of inchies. The set on top is supposed to represent the four seasons (The stamp used was one from Inkadinkado). Thanks for looking.

Spoons - Wednesday Stamper

2009-05-11T00:16:00.009+01:00

"Spoons" is the challenge at Wednesday Stamper. I made the spoon with the wrapping of a Kinder Chocolate bar. I also used two freebies from Inka and a napkin by Ihr (another German brand); the dragonfly stamp is by PSX; the swirling tree is by Inkadinkado, the diamond background stamp is by Local King and then there's also a checked border on top by Daneele Johnson for Limited Edition and and a vintage flower stamp that belongs to my father's collection. (As a primary school teacher, he bought lots of stamps to use in school with his pupils, but actually he hasn't given them much use. Lucky me, because after more than 30 years all his stamps are still in great shape!) :-)

Peacock - TMTA

2009-05-06T22:34:00.012+01:00

Peacock is the theme at TMTA.

This was the only peacock image I had among my scraps...

It wasn't easy photographing this ATC because none of the pictures I took managed to show both the Egyptian stamp, the stamped feathers and the blue glitter on the body of the peacock.

Collage - Saturday workout.

2009-05-06T21:00:00.006+01:00

"Collage" is the theme at Saturday's Workout. Before there was blogland in my life there was "collage land". :-) . It wasn't easy to choose a collage to display here, though, because I really enjoy most of the collages I've made through the years... Making collages is so much fun! This is just one of the many I made when I was a university student and it was the cover of the diary I kept back in 1994, so like most of my collages it's A4-sized - about 8"x12".

Just in case you're wondering, the photocopied handsome guy was the late actor Montgomery Clift, my favourite actor ever since I watched Alfred Hitchcock's "I confess" - Absolutely dazzling! (Monty Clift, not Hitchcock, of course.) :-) At the time all I had from Monty was a magazine clipping, which I considered too valuable to "spoil" in a collage... go figure... LOL

Thanks for looking!

B is for bird and for beautiful (girl)

2009-05-04T12:09:00.000+01:00

Although the theme at Rainbow Lady's Challenge is four-legged friends I'm including a two-legged friend as well in my ATC. :-) The little girl is by Inka.

Dare to be different - 4x4

2009-05-04T01:08:00.002+01:00

Hats or crowns is the challenge at Theme Thursday. At Lots to do we're asked to include a face in our project, so I'm combining both challenges. The images are by Inka.

My first blog candy - finally!

2009-04-28T00:00:00.012+01:00

I 'm terrribly sorry for taking so long to post the blog candy I had announced in the previous post. I owe all of you who visit my blog an apology. In fact I had hoped to post it before Easter Sunday, but things got a bit out of control because I've been having quite a busy time lately and time really flies... Anyway, here it is, finally. Here's what I'm offering you:

- an altered notebook

- 2 ATCs

- an altered notebook

- letter paper + matching envelopes and pen

- cross-stitch fabric, blue thread and pink grosgrain ribbon

- an altered box

- metallic beads

- green flowers (in the picture they look blue but they aren't) and a couple of colourful animals (they're stickers and I think they're made of EVA)

-two polymer clay pendants/charms and some beads (made by me)

- découpage paper and napkin papers for découpage

For a chance to win, all you need to do is post a comment here and a link to this post on your blog (to spread the word).

I'll keep this running until I have at least ten comments. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator.

Good luck and thanks for being a visitor to my blog!

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY IS ON JUNE 30th AT 11:59 p.m.

THIS CANDY IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

Thank you very much to all who participated in it and to all the people who decided to become a follower too.

Unfortunately, there is only one winner and you can find it here.

Blog candy coming soon...

2009-04-09T20:28:00.010+01:00

I've wanted to have a giveaway for a long time. Actually, I've been thinking about it since last year, so it's about time I do it. My birthday was a week ago (April 2nd) and so I can't find a better way to celebrate being alive than creating some art and give it away to someone else as a way of thanking God for being so generous to me.

The ATC in the picture is just "an appetizer" and will be part of the giveaway, as well as the spring ATC I've just posted.

I'm still finishing a couple of projects (a little box and an altered notebook). So when I'm done, which will hopefully happen before Easter Sunday, I'll post the full picture of what you might win if you post a comment. By the way, all you have to do to enter the draw is share a cherished memory of one of your birthdays and post a link to this post on your blog to spread the word. The more the merrier... The draw will run for about two weeks (I'll tell you the exact date later)and I will use a random number generator to choose the winning post.

You make my heart sing

2009-04-09T20:07:00.005+01:00

Spring is the theme at Created by Hand. Here is my ATC.

Thanks for looking!

Secret garden

2009-04-09T19:46:00.004+01:00

Secret garden is the them at TGiF. Here's my ATC. (It was the first time I used the bandana technique.)

Thanks for looking!

The key to happiness

2009-04-09T18:48:00.005+01:00

Key is the theme at Inspire me Thursday. At Mixed Media Monday the theme is polka dots and or stripes, so I've combined both challenges.

Bookmarks - Big Art Adventure

2009-03-10T01:05:00.006Z

I made these bookmarks about a year ago for a swap partner (who was a woman of faith) at swap-bot. (The crocheted book thong was for her Bible). I didn't get to post the pictures then, so I'm using them now for Rosie and Linda's Art Adventure whose challenge is, of course, bookmarks.

(Just in case you're wondering, the beautiful Virgin Mary painting is by Bouguereau, one of my favourite painters. As for the little girl freebie, I've forgotten where I found it. Sorry!)

Thanks for looking!

Birds ATC - Theme Thursday

2009-03-09T23:46:00.004Z

Here's my contribution for Theme Thursday whose theme is birds, nests and eggs. I made this ATC using mostly scraps of paper. The girl image is a freebie by Graphicsfairy and the bird stamp is Hero Arts.

Thank you for looking!

What I've won at One World One Heart

2009-03-09T23:05:00.008Z

Remember the great One World, One Heart giveaway? Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to participate in it. (Hopefully I will next year). Nevertheless, I browsed through other crafters' art and left comments here and there in the hope I'd win something nice... And so I was the lucky winner of Terri's giveaway. :-) Hooray! The stunning tote bag with a surrealistic tree that's in the picture above is now mine. :-) Thank you so much Terri!!! I love the bag!!!

You can see more of Terri's amazing work here.

Portugal

2009-02-01T23:49:00.007Z

At Mixed Media Monday the challenge this week was to make art representative of one's country. I didn't mean to take part in this challenge because I've been having a busy time lately, but then I realized it was my opportunity to show a little bit of my country to all the people who visit my blog.
To make this collage I used magazine clippings, pastel pencils and some glitter. I had a few set backs with this work, though. First I should have started it earlier, then I should have looked for images on the Internet and printed them instead of looking for suitable images in magazines, which took a while and didn't lead to very satisfactory results. Last but not least, I took several pictures of the collage but I didn't manage to get a decent shot of it.
The collage measures 21cm x 30cm (A4),that is to say its size is about 8"x 12".
Thanks for looking!

Ice blue ATC

2009-01-28T01:03:00.003Z

At Arty Girlz the challenge is to create an ATC and the theme at TMTA is ice blue, so I'm combining both challenges.

Orient - Theme Thursday

2009-01-26T23:46:00.001Z

Happy Chinese New Year! I didn't do it on purpose, but, coincidence or not, I'm posting my first 2"x 4" on the day they celebrate New Year in China. You can see all the other 2"x4" projects at Theme Thursday. Thanks for looking!

Bliss!

2009-01-25T23:58:00.007Z

A few weeks ago the theme at Dans ma Maison... was "white". (It's impossible to think of white and not to think of brides.) I started this project, but I unfortunately I didn't finish it on time to enter the challenge. I put it away but now "lace" is the theme at Wednesday Stamper and "hearts" is the theme at Created by hand. So I've combined both challenges. Thanks for looking!

Queen for a day - TMTA

2009-01-20T00:30:00.003Z

I made this ATC a long time ago hoping it would be a theme somewhere someday... :-) Now that a few months have gone by I realize I'm not particularly fond of it, but anyway, it suits TMTA's theme, which is "Queen for a day".

Thanks for looking!

Angels - Make a Moo or Two

2009-01-07T22:53:00.006Z

The theme at MMT this week is angels, so I couldn't miss it. I have several angel stamps but this is definitely my favourite, which you can see in full here.

Thanks for looking!

Best wishes!

2009-01-01T00:01:00.005Z

May God fill your life with Health, Love, Peace, Wisdom, Hope and Joy and give you the strength to fully accomplish the mission He has for you.
May He also give you lots of creativity, time and energy to praise Him through your art projects throughout the year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas ATCs

2008-12-31T09:48:00.000Z

Metal art is the theme at Saturday's workout.
I had a hard time photographing this one. The stained glass nativity scene was stamped in gold but it doesn't show properly in the picture neither do the transparent beads I added to the stars. As for the metal foil, I've used a wrap from a Kinder chocolate bar again. I'm recycling as much as I can these days. (The background of the ATCs below had been previously wrapping a Christmas present.)

Altered domino - keychain

2008-12-31T09:18:00.000Z

At One Powerful Hour the theme is 2008 revisited, which gave me the chance to finally end my domino keychain, although it obviously took me more than an hour to have it done. I started by gluing with "Alkyl" varnish a scrap of Christmas gift wrap to a bamboo domino I had bought on ebay months ago and had wanted to use for ages. After two coats of "Alkyl" (which were actually not necessary, as I realized later), I coated the domino with Antique Medium I, let it dry and then applied Antique Medium II for a crackling effect. Next I added dissolved "Goldfinger" to it and quickly wiped off the excess.(You can get a similar result with acrylic paint.) Finally I added the cotton thread and the beads. I had a lot of trouble trying to make the thread go through the flower beads holes; it was simply too thick for those holes. That's why one of the threads has some knots instead of a bead. I'm not totally satisfied with the way this project turned out, but was it is my first altered domino, I won't be too hard on myself.

Dans ma maison il y a... Noel

2008-12-31T08:52:00.000Z

Noël, that is to say Christmas, is the theme at Dans ma Maison il y a... Thanks for looking! I'm entering this to Saturday's Workout too, because the challenge this week is metal art.

T'was The Night Before Jesus Came

2008-12-24T22:17:00.000Z

T'was The Night Before Jesus Came
'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.
The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.
When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be The Day!
The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.
In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.
The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.
I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and this sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

~~~~~Author Unknown~~~~~

Merry Christmas and thank you!

2008-12-24T21:58:00.000Z

I'd like to say thank you very much to all the visitors to my blog throughout the year. A big warm thank you to all those who take the time to leave such uplifting comments to my simple creations. You really make my day! God bless you! Have a Merry Christmas time and a New Year full of the Lord's blessings!

Red ATC

2008-12-08T21:12:00.002Z

Red is the theme at TMTA. This is a simple ATC I made a while ago using those dragonfly beads which I love, as well as one of my father's vintage stamps (the rose leaf) and a clear stamp (the flowers), which I think is a
Hero Arts stamp.
Thanks for looking!

Presents - Make a moo or two

2008-12-08T17:13:00.001Z

"Presents" is the theme at MMT. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Christmas tree

2008-12-08T00:44:00.005Z

I'm combining challenges once again: Created by Hand, whose theme is "red and green", Tag You're It , whose theme is "triangular", and Crazy Amigo, which has the theme "gift tags".

Stone angel ATC

2008-12-08T00:28:00.008Z

I'm a bit late, but here's my contribution to Think Monday, Think ATC whose theme is stone angels. I'm also entering this ATC for Created by Hand, which asks us to do something with red and green this week.

Dans ma maison il ya un jardin

2008-11-26T18:03:00.013Z

The theme at Dans ma Maison... is gardens. After embossing the garden with a stencil, I placed the leaf roof, but I wasn't quite happy with it, so I added a stamped bird; but somehow the design of the bird didn't combine with the embossed roses and leaves, so I ended up replacing the roof with a scrap of wrapping paper.

Thanks for looking!

Blue girl house

2008-11-20T00:17:00.001Z

I had a great time making this crooked little house and now that I've made it I really wonder what has been keeping me from participating in the "Dans ma maison il y a..." challenges all this time. After all, I love houses. I guess every time I looked at the gorgeous houses of the other contestants I just found the challenge too difficult and time-consuming for me. Well, it's simply great fun!
This week's theme is blue. The girl is a freebie from graphicsfairy and once again I've used "Kinder" chocolate foil.

Sorry for the bad photo and thanks for stopping by.

Christmas ornament

2008-11-17T21:55:00.016Z

I loved creating this Christmas ornament. I bought a few styrofoam hearts last year before Christmas and I planned to do some découpage with them so that I could hang them on the Christmas tree, but I guess I was too busy with other things last year or maybe I didn't have enough motivation... (I found blogland in January 2008, right after Christmas...)

I used two images from graphicsfairy and a serviette from "Ihr" (It's a German brand although I bought the serviette in Portugal). Then it was all about sticking everything in place with Alkyl, a glue that is also a varnish. I've also used my flake punch and some gold thread around the heart and I've tied the ribbon in such a way that I can turn it the way I want. The "front" image was supposed to be the girl, but then I realised I liked the bird image better although I damaged it a bit when I was gluing it in place. Finally I added two little bells, so that even if the ribbon is facing the other side it still looks interesting enough on the backside.

Just a remark: by the time I took the pictures (with my lousy camera, well, it's actually quite good for a mobile camera), I hadn't stuck the flakes properly yet. I had glued them with UHU glue, but they obviously couldn't go without Alkyl for a glossy finish.

Check out all the other Christmas ornaments at Mixed Media Monday.

"Birds" is also the challenge at Theme Thursday, so I'm combining the challenges.

Hats ATC

2008-11-17T21:11:00.005Z

This was a snap and I made it for Thank God it's Friday whose theme is hats. Thanks for looking and sorry for the bad photo.

Winter wonderland

2008-11-17T00:29:00.008Z

At Make a Moo or Two this week we're supposed to use a technique, stamp, material etc for the first time. This is the first time I use my flake punch to create art and it's also the first time I use metal foil... Well, this is actually the wrapping of a "Kinder" chocolate bar, but anyway, you can doodle on the back of it and it makes an interesting textured effect. I'm also entering the moo for This Thursday It's All About, because the chosen theme is metallics. The little girl image can be found at http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/.
Thanks for stopping by.

Bookmarks with wings

2008-11-14T14:48:00.006Z

I'm entering these for One Powerful Hour (whose theme is bookmarks) and for Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog (the theme there is things with wings). I made these bookmarks a while ago for a bookmark swap. (One of my swap partners liked the colour lavender and the other was very fond of fairies.) I made several attempts to design a template that looked like fairy wings, but I ended up designing something that looks more like butterfliy wings. Still I'm happy with the final result.

Hallowe'en - Small World of Inchies

2008-11-07T23:21:00.004Z

The theme this week at Small World of Inchies and Twinchies is Hallowe'en. I made a bunch of inchies using the stamps I've recently bought in a toyshop called Imaginarium.
Thanks for looking!

Angel(s) ATCs

2008-11-05T22:02:00.007Z

"Angel(s)" is the theme both at Think monday, Think ATC and Wednesday Stamper. I love angels, so I guess I got a bit carried away... I think I might include some of these ATCs in Christmas cards. My favourite ATC is the one which has the brown-stamped angel caressing the dove and the scalloped little blue flowers on the right side. (It's the one at the bottom of the post.) However, I also like the one with Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus - I love that Bouguereau image! - and the other one with the golden angel playing (with the music notes in the background). The two ATCs in the middle were kind of experiments... that didn't turn out so well... Tell me, what's your favourite?
(Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures. I'm still using my Sony Eriksson mobile to snap them.)
Thanks for looking!

Boo!

2008-10-31T21:52:00.007Z

And thanks a lot for visiting my blog!

Hallowe'en - Think monday, think ATC

2008-10-26T18:01:00.009Z

I'm entering these for TMTA, whose theme is Hallowe'en. I'm sorry the photo is a bit dark, but it was taken with my Sony Eriksson k800i because my brother has taken the Canon camera with him to the Azores where he's teaching now.

Thanks for looking!

Wings - Make a moo

2008-09-29T19:01:00.006+01:00

The theme at Make a Moo or Two is wings. Here's my contribution. I'm sorry the pictures aren't very clear but I didn't have my camera nearby. I had to used my Sony K800i mobile.

(The angel picture is a decoupage picture by Stamperia.)

Peace by priority airmail - Wednesday Stamper

2008-09-21T23:00:00.005+01:00

Today is the International day of Peace.

This week at Wednesady stamper the challenge is to make art on Peace.

The white cross with the heart-shaped red seal on the card is meant to have two meanings: I first thought of it as Jesus' cross, so that heart would be Jesus' heart because on the cross He gave us His Peace. Then I just thought I might use this card at Christmas time and in that case the cross with the heart would also represent the ribbon and bowknot that wrap up the present within, which in this case would be Peace, of course. Does that make any sense to you?

I had a few problems with the sealing wax, though. It turned out too dark. I then watercoloured it in red, but it lost its shine and became too matt, so I cleaned it off and applied some red glitter.

As for the ATC, it was a quickie and I made it mostly with scraps.

Tag using scraps - Step outside your box/Saturday's workout

2008-09-17T20:36:00.007+01:00

The theme at Step outside your box Saturdays is scraps and the theme at Saturday's workout is an open one. So I'm entering this tag I made using only left overs (except for the beads and the brad). It was great fun doing something creative with the scraps that keep piling up on my desk instead of throwing them away! I used my favourite technique, which is collage.

100% Joker - Theme Thursday

2008-09-13T23:59:00.013+01:00

Some time ago I found this Joker card in very bad shape inside the drawer of my mom's sewing machine. After a lifetime spent inside the pack with no use, a coarse heart had been drawn on it and the word "dama", which means "queen" in card games, had been added because the Queen of Hearts was nowhere to be found. And so by means of a simple pen surgery Mr Joker had become the Queen of Hearts and the 40 cards deck was complete again. When I found blogland, I realized that playing cards could be successfully used in crafts projects, so I kept this card for future use. I honestly find the Joker figure on this card completely hideous, but I guess that on the whole I managed to give this card enough beauty to enter the altered playing cards challenge at Theme Thursday.

Rust - Mixed Media Monday

2008-07-23T15:44:00.009+01:00

This week's Mixed Media Monday challenge is to make something with rust.

I altered this chocolate box a while ago and I've been using it to keep cards and letters ever since. It's a hard plastic box and the top was transparent, so I started by coating it with Rembrandt's pearl green acrylic paint. Next I découpaged the napkin flowers and the Stamperia ducks on it. Then I applied Decoart/Rayher's Antique Medium I and II to obtain a crackling effect. For the rust effect I then used Ceramichrome Mineral Spirit Translucent Stain (MS1 Walnut). It was very dark and had a very heavy look, so I had to wipe off the excess rust and apply some white acylic paint to make it softer.

Mona Lisa and friends - Make a Moo or Two

2008-07-23T15:22:00.007+01:00

I had great fun making these for Make a Moo or Two. I have only one Mona Lisa stamp and it's actually quite large: it's 4''x3 1/2'' and it's part of the Jim Holtz collection for Stampers Anonymous. So instead of "Mona lisa and friends", I focused on the several faces and ages of Mona Lisa. From left to right I present you GreatgrandM(on)a, GrandM(on)a, Hippy Mona, Goth Mona and Sleeping Mona. :-)

Fairies - Small world of inchies

2008-07-23T15:03:00.005+01:00

Fairies is the theme at Small World of Inchies. I'm not sure, but I think the picture I used to make the inchies is from http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ (I downloaded it some time ago.)

(I uploaded two photos because neither the glitter in the inchie of the baby fairy nor the embossing effect of the white background paper were visible enough.)

Colourful - Think Monday, think ATC

2008-07-13T02:56:00.005+01:00

They're asking for colourful ATCs at TMTA. I'll entitle this one "Come to the circus!" Only the clown stamp is a new stamp. The other three stamps are vintage stamps that belong to my Dad. He's got a box with 15 circus stamps and it was really difficult to make a decision on which to use for this ATC because they're all great! When I was a little girl (back at primary school) I used to have lots of fun stamping (and of course colouring) my notebooks with these and other stamps which my Dad had bought to use with his primary school students.

Birds - Make a moo or two

2008-07-11T03:21:00.006+01:00

Black and white was the theme at MMT last week but guess what... When I was going to post these moos I realized that the challenge for this week is birds. Yippee! :-) So here they are... I guess I'm going to colour Woodstock after all. I hate seeing him so "pale".

Brillante Weblog Premio 2008

2008-07-04T01:17:00.004+01:00

I´ve just received this award from Herma. I'm so proud of it! - Thank you for choosing me Herma!

I'm supposed to forward it to seven people. So after giving it some thought - because there are so many fantastic blogs out there - I've chosen Jackie M (from Ireland), Jo (New Zealand) Nancy Dooren (Netherlands), Rein (Germany), Sanny (Netherlands), Sarah (Australia) and Viola (Germany), whose blogs I visit quite often and whose outstanding work is a constant source of inspiration for me! However, I'm sure there are seven more I could add,

so don't be sad if your name wasn't mentioned. If you are in my sidebar links, then it's because I love your blog too.

Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself and then nominate at least seven blogs and inform the nominees about it.

Asian - Make a moo

2008-07-02T18:49:00.010+01:00

This week at Make a Moo or Two the theme is Asian. The picture of the girl, which I downloaded from http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ seemed suitable, but I had a really hard time with the background. I wanted it to look Asian and I think the best way would be by stamping something Asian on the moo. However, I have no Asian stamps, so I had to look for my Chinese notebook for help. Yes, I took Chinese (Mandarin) for one semester – one of the most interesting languages I’ve ever tried to learn and no doubt the most difficult. I plan to catch up with it after retiring, when I’m old and grey… ;-)
The characters I wrote on the green moo mean “star very /brilliant shining” (from top to bottom). As far as I can remember, in Chinese the nouns come before the adjectives, just like in Portuguese.
As for the orange moo, I actually did it in a snap. The picture of the lady was given to me by Célia Nunes and it was a part of a flyer announcing the coming of Puccini’s opera “Madame Butterfly” to my hometown. (I’m sorry I don’t know who drew the picture on the flyer.)
The character drawn twice on the tracing paper that I stuck over the beige paper means “I” in Mandarin. (When I was learning Chinese I used to copy the characters with the help of tracing paper to memorize them and be able to draw them flawlessly. For some reason I kept tracing paper sheets.) Yeah, I know I should have drawn something new and more meaningful than ”I” but it would take ages to draw the characters because right now I don’t know any of them by heart. I’ve forgotten the few I knew. They call it selective memory… ;-)

A gift from Patty

2008-07-02T18:04:00.006+01:00

I've just received this stunning gift from Patty! The metal ATC is gorgeous! - I love the woman's face and the colours - and the extra moo where patty wrote a note is just adorable too! It is so sweet! I was expecting the ATC but I didn't expect it to come wrapped in such a beautiful package. Unfortunately I was so eager to see the ATC that I forgot to take a photo of the package. So I tried to wrap it up in the same way Patty had to show you how beautiful it was. I'm also very happy about the stamps on the envelope. They're beautiful too and none of them is double, which is great. (For those of you who don't know, I collect postage stamps.)

On a day when I found out that I'll have to take the Strategic Management exam again and I almost lost my car key at the cinema (it fell off my pocket and I had to come back to the room and look for it after the film - "Made of Honor" - was over), receiving this gift really made my day! Many thanks Patty!

Hands -Think Monday think ATC

2008-06-22T18:18:00.004+01:00

This is for this week's challenge at TMTA. The theme is hands. I had an old leaftlet from the Ministry of Education with lots of hands (sorry, I don't know who designed it), so I cut out one of the hands and left only the red background. The text I used is from an old test I made for my students years ago. The little red things stamped on the hand that look like flowers are actually closed hands with turned up thumbs (I've used that stamp on the "Men" moo I made some days ago.) The little girl was downloaded from http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ As for the red leather background, well it is one of my handbags turned upside down. :-)

Good news!

2008-06-22T18:04:00.005+01:00

Guess what... I've just visited Patty's blog - check it out; she makes stunning artwork - and found out I was the winner of her 300th blog post giveaway. :-) I won a gorgeous ATC! :-) That's really a blogcandy! Thank you Patty!

Hearts - Small World of Inchies

2008-06-19T19:48:00.010+01:00

This week's theme at Small World of Inchies is "hearts". I had some scrap paper with golden hearts I had stamped to use in another project and colourful advertising leaflets from Lidl supermarket on my desk begging to be used, so I ended up with hearts wrapped in shopping bags and ready to be taken home. ;-)

Men - Make a moo

2008-06-17T21:24:00.006+01:00

Yes, it's the actor Karl Malden. I don't know the name of the other actor, but this is a photocopy from a scene in Hitchcock's "I confess". This moo I made for Make a Moo or Two was supposed to be about Monty Clift (my favourite actor), who was also in the photocopy (he played the role of Father Michael Logan in the film). However, as I started making the moo I realized I didn't need to make it with the five men originally featured in the picture. The title of this moo could be "Always play to win". I was too lazy to stamp the word "always", though. In order to do that I'd need to place every single tiny letter close to another and form the word before stamping it.

Cats - Make a moo

2008-06-10T22:38:00.007+01:00

I guess I got a bit carried away... :-) For this week's challenge at Make a Moo or Two I ended up making five cat moos.

Spring - TMTA

2008-04-06T01:25:00.007+01:00

Here are my Spring ATCs for this week's challenge at TMTA.

When I think of Spring I always think of yellow and green... I wanted to make a few more ATCs, because Spring is such a wonderful vast theme and besides it is my favourite season, but there wasn't enough time. :-(

The bunny ATC wouldn't be possible without the generosity of Fátima, a lady who also takes drawing classes with me and who gave lots of beautiful little sheets taken from little notebooks that she used to collect. In the 80s and early 90s every girl I knew collected them (I did too.)

Don't tell anyone... - another text moo

2008-04-04T01:38:00.005+01:00

I had so much fun making the text moo for this week's challenge at MMT that I decided to make another one. Thanks to Célia Nunes for the university background and for the sweet whispering kitten which made this moo happen.

Dancing shoes ATC

2008-03-31T20:53:00.003+01:00

I sent this ATC to Joanne Wardle.

I stamped the background with the border of a flower stamp and used tule and glitter glue for a shining effect.

I realise now that I probably made a mistake when I wrote "dancing shoes". I meant to say "dance shoes", but I guess it's kind of funny to imagine magical shoes that dance on their own instead of normal shoes you wear when you dance.