Hi Friends,
Happy Tuesday! Hope you all have a great week! With all the rain we’ve been having, finally a rainbow! A big one too, spread right across the supermarket car park!
Today’s Art . . .
Today’s art is another page using my Day 25 prompt: Frog Prince
The dangers of working ahead is that sometimes you forget to change the date on the calendar. I noticed this when I uploaded the photo last night and then had to retake the photo this morning with the correct date on it. My page is based around the story of the frog prince, a prince who was cursed and turned into a frog. As usual with these things,the only thing that can save him and turn him back into a human, is for some woman to kiss him – but strangely he’s not getting any luck, until he meets that special someone who is willing to kiss a frog. (BTW it’s not recommended that anyone tries kissing a frog in real life, as it can end up in coma or even death). Some versions of this fairytale have a different ending, where the princess turns into a frog when she kisses him and they both hop off into the sunset together. A different kind of happy ending I suppose.
At least in the story the princess only had to kiss one frog, some of us are not quite so lucky! LOL
I found some fogs on lily pads paper in my stash, so I used that on the background, then added some green and gold acrylic ink, and then added a collage cluster with various leftover bits and pieces from my desk, with the giant fussy cut frog and lily pad on the top. The brown leaves were old leftovers that were green and orange so I just coloured them with Pitt pens to a more suitable colour. I added the Frog Prince title down the side using some geriatric stickers from my stash. Oh and his crown was cut from a snowflake that used to be blue card till I painted it gold!
Hope you feel inspired to join in the challenge this month and have fun with it!
Currently Reading . . .
I have just started my 16th book for October which is for our book group, and is my 53rd book for this year so far. I have been completely immersed in a police procedural series set in the Scottish highlands, but had to stop so I could start our book group read. I’ve read 14 books in the Highland police series so it’s a little jarring to switch to reading about women’s suffrage in New Salem in the 1890s and it’s taken me longer to get into this one. This book is especially interesting for me this month, as there are a lot of fairytales included in it so far, and references to books by the Grimm sisters instead of the Brothers Grimm, and fairytales written by Charlotte Perrault instead of Charles Perrault so on.
‘A gorgeous and thrilling paean to the ferocious power of women’ Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes.
If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote – and perhaps not even to live – the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.
October Books
1. Richard Osman – The Bullet That Missed (yes I listened to it again because it was so good)
2. JD Kirk – A Litter of Bones: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 1 of 15
3. JD Kirk – Thicker Than Water: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 2 of 15
4. JD Kirk – The Killing Code: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 3 of 15
October Books continued
5. JD Kirk – Blood and Treachery: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 4 of 15
6. JD Kirk – The Last Bloody Straw: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 5 of 15
7. JD Kirk – A Whisper of Sorrows: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 6 of 15
8. JD Kirk – The Big Man Upstairs: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 7 of 15
9. JD Kirk – A Death Most Monumental: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 8 of 15
10. JD Kirk – A Snowball’s Chance in Hell: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 9 of 15
11. JD Kirk – Ahead of the Game: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 10 of 15
12. JD Kirk – An Isolated Incident: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 11 of 15
13. JD Kirk – Colder than the grave: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 12 of 15
14. JD Kirk – Come Hell or High Water: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 13 of 15
15. JD Kirk – City of Scars: A DCI Logan Crime Thriller Book 14 of 15
T Stands For . . . Autumn Leaves and Catch Up
I thought I would show you what I have been working on since last week – my Fairytale pages for AJJ. The links to all six blog posts are below if you are interested, or just click the link at the top of the page to see them all so far.
I took some photos in my garden on Monday, in between rain showers. My beloved maple has just changed from purple to bright scarlet just in time for the wind to blow all the leaves to the ground, so it doesn’t get to be like this for long sadly.
Maple tree turning scarlet
Blueberry bushes changing colour
Strange mushrooms have appeared
Meanwhile my hydrangea is still in full flower
The maple again
The rock rose has turned yellow and is covered in hips
Hydrangea close up
Another weird and very large mushroom
I’ve been having porridge for breakfast most days now that it is getting cold, though I don’t really need an excuse. This is my ticket to tea this week – the almond milk in my porridge.
Also been having some baked oats, which is kind of the same thing only baked in the oven. This is a vegan version, non-vegan versions tend to have egg in them.
Baked oats like this kind of remind me of stories my dad used to tell me about how they used to make up porridge really thick and then pour it into a kitchen drawer and leave it to set for a week and then when it was all dried out, slice it up and you had a portable food! Never tried it myself but maybe this is close enough!
And finally, Miss Lily has discovered a new game, spinning around on the office chair. She claimed it this morning and meowed at me to spin it again, then she would roll around on her back – maybe she liked the feel of the breeze? Who knows, but she was having a good time. Her brother just looked scared lol.
Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading!
Ingredients
my handmade journal, watercolour paper, acrylic ink, scrapbook paper, black stickers, collage fodder,
Challenges
Altered Book Lover – T Stands for
Art Journal Journey – Fairytales, Folklore & Fables
Daily Prompts
Here are the prompts I will be using and you can probably tell that a lot of them are related to fairytales, but you don’t have to use them that way or you don’t have to use them at all. I will be attempting all 31 days but I may not make it and that’s OK too. The prompts are there if you feel stuck or in need of extra inspiration. I just respond well to a daily prompt and I will also be sharing my pages on Instagram. If you share your work on Instagram there is a hashtag. Please note, that to enter the Art Journal Journey challenge using the Mr Linky tool, you will have to link from a blog since it is a blog challenge.
Or you can ignore the daily prompts completely and focus on the overarching theme for the month. The daily prompts are there if you want to make more pages but need some extra prompting.
I loved the frog sentiment. We love baked oatmeal, but it does take eggs. Yours looks good. I always have blueberries but have never added them to my baked oatmeal. Think that is what we will have tomorrow. 🙂 Happy T Day.
Am I finally catching up? I hope so. I loved the sentiment you used with the Frog Prince. This was a very clever take on your theme. I love how you showcased the frog and how you used great background papers, too. Thanks for sharing another beauty with us at Art Journal Journey, dear Elle.
I am envious of your gorgeous yard. It is stunning. And Miss Lily is a doll. Funny she likes to be swung in the chair. My cats jump down when I even start to turn mine.
I don’t think I’ve ever had porridge, but it reminds me of oatmeal. I keep threatening to buy some almond milk, but so far haven’t done so. Thanks for sharing your art, your garden, Miss Lily, and your almond milk with us for T this Tuesday, dear Elle. Now if I can just stay caught up!
Fun take on the Frog Prince story. According to the Brothers Grimm tale The Princess didn’t want anything to do with the frog except for him to retrieve a ball she had lost down a well. He did it and demanded a kiss in return. She picked the frog up and threw him against the wall knocking sense into him and he turned into a human. Your garden photos are wonderful and I like your baked oats too. So funny about Miss Lily enjoying a spin in the office chair. Happy T Day. PS: I just saw Iris’ response
Here in our red state we’re having trouble finding power at the ballot box 🙁 Your Autumn plants are gorgeous! Happy T Tuesday
Wow, your garden looks amazing, so many beautiful autumn colours to enjoy ?. Miss Lily sounds like she’s having fun on your chair, she sounds quite the adventurer. It’s always fun to see a rainbow and your Frog Prince page looks amazing, the frog paper and die cut look right at home on the page you created – stunning! Wishing you a very happy T Day! Hugs Jo x
I don’t need a prince, so I’ll stay away from frogs! Your garden is looking good, my plants on the balcony are all dead! My Kitty used to love my desk chair, too, turning on it was her treat. Animals sometimes have strange habits, but a suppose people do, too! Happy T Day, enjoy your porridge, hugs, Valerie
LOL, it still looks, … hm, I think you need to grow up with porridge. Other… if there is a hearty version?
No Marmite, though! 😉
your fairy tale art is so beautiful. 53 books?! Wow! Love the color changes of fall. Yes, I eat oatmeal most mornings myself. OMG, thick porridge in a drawer for a week. Hmmmm Yeah not for me. LOL Have a really nice day today
Loving your frog prince page, Elle. The photos of your garden are lovely. The fall colors are so vibrant and you still have some color on your hydrangea – so pretty.
You have such a long list of books. I would love to read that many books in a month.
Your porridge looks tasty especially the one with the blueberries.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
I am loving the Prince Prince page Elle. I like that foggy background paper and how you layered and dripped over it. And wow, that’s a lot of books. I’m very impressed. I’ve got to read the third book with Ron, Joyce and the rest of the gang. I just picked it up, so now that I have it…Isn’t it funny how animals discover things they like. They really are so clever. And I need to start having my porridge for lunch…it is that time of year when something warm tastes good. I hope you’re having a nice T day and maybe even some sun-but that rainbow is great. hugs-Erika