Penniwig's Earbobs

Have you already visited Mrs. B.'s 31 Days of Halloween? I was lucky to win one of the giveaways -- beautiful earrings from Penniwig's! Be sure to visit Olde Dame Penniwig's blog and Etsy store -- maybe you even find something for the upcoming holidays. I just love the elegant earrings as well as how lovingly they were packed and shipped. Thanks once again, Holly -- you rock!

Haribo Vampires

Here in Germany we don't have Halloween candy, but then again we have Vampire by Haribo. Those vampires have a licorice body and gummi candy wings -- and they taste delicious!

Fall

All of a sudden, fall is here.

Johannes Gutenberg

Gothic Arches asked to present an inventor. The first one which came to my mind was Thomas Edison, but then I decided to settle on a famous German inventor -- Johannes Gutenberg. He invented the printing press, thus making books available to the masses. Gotta love this guy!

Nightly Dance

This week Art Creations Friday has offered a vintage photo of a dancer at Moulin Rouge. I am sure Mademoiselle Jacqueline enjoys a nightly dance under the full moon once in a while:

Bumblebee hat

The new challenge picture at Mind Wide Open proved to be quite challenging. I used it as background as well as the detail with the flower and bumblebee as unique hat for Violet:

Violet wasn't just a Steampunk Babe --
she also had a weakness for fancy hats.

Autumn

Foggy mornings. Crisp air. Fresh apples. Colorful leaves. All those pumpkins. Isn't autumn just wonderful? Perfect for a romance,too:

Gotta love the weekly topics at Gothic Arches!

Germs

Illustration Friday's topic of the week is "Germs." Leave it to me to find beauty in germs...

Wonderful first day of October

What a great start into October -- I won gorgeous Halloween blog candy generously offered by Kris Dickinson from A Nostalgic Halloween, an outstanding art blog dedicated to Halloween. Such a surprise -- I am very excited! At first I only dreamt of those goodies...

... and soon I can hold them in my hot little hands:

Sunflowers

I think that sunflowers are "funflowers" -- they put me in a good mood. Back in 2005, I had some really big ones in the garden. For a challenge at We Love Digital Art, I digitally altered three of my photos from that summer:

Girls with dolls

Girls with dolls is the new theme at Think Monday Think ATC. It inspired me to create this rather wistful digital ATC:

I wish I had a doll like hers.

Upcoming digital ATC swaps

I decided to take part in the next three digital ATC swaps organized by Elinor who is also a member of the Artist Trading Cards group. The three ATCs I chose for the swaps are Poe, Surreal, and Mermaid's Song:

The latter was featured on We Love Digital Art's homepage in August.

As international player I sent Elinor nine extra cards: Frankie's Eyes, Energy Wheel, Mad Smile, Little Mermaid, Think Positive, Alfred's Beard, Indian Hands, Egypt, and Circles:

I am already excited about receiving ATCs from fellow digital artists -- what fun!

Little critters

Isn't it amazing how many critters live in the garden if you only look close enough?

Dig it out

A while ago I bought an excavation kit for the archeologist in me. Working on a plaster block with a little excavation tool soon revealed two big heads from the Easter Islands (most likely made in China). After some final brushing and cleaning, Ernie and Bert looked like new.

Gothic arch tag

Gothic Arches celebrates its second anniversary -- congrats! The newest challenge is to create a gothic arch tag -- what a great idea. As Halloween is not too far away, I settled for a spooky theme. Below you see the plain tag as well as the tag with a background.

August impressions

The dog days of summer are upon us. I especially like the magical quality of the early evening when it cools down a bit and the light is perfect for taking photos. Lately I had great fun blowing soap bubbles -- it's the little things which can easily make you happy.

One World One Heart follow up # 2

One of the highlights in the blogging world in the beginning of 2009 was surely the One World One Heart event organized by Lisa Swifka. It was so much fun to visit all those wonderful blogs and such a surprise to win a couple of goodies along the way. I would like to thank once again the following five generous ladies whose lovely gifts brought so much joy to me.

Sharon created a truly beautiful rosary which I have worn a couple of times on special occasions. She made the rosary herself -- it's absolutely stunning! Be sure to check out Sharon's Etsy store.

Deryn is also a talented jewelry designer. I am the lucky owner of a cool necklace and bracelet set in ethnic style showing an elephant and leaf. I just love the earthy colors. Be sure to visit Deryn's Etsy store, too -- you won't regret that!

Deci doesn't have an active blog at the moment. She made a fantastic copper necklace with blue crystals and a dolphin charm which I am proud to wear.

Letha treated me to the cutest stickers one can imagine! I am a big Old West fan, so these stickers are just perfect for me. I already have a project in mind -- most likely I will use a couple of these stickers for a shadow box in western style.

Vanessa is the queen of making fancy flower hair clips. I won her orchid hair clip which is just perfect for my hair color and also looks marvelous as decoration item. I am sure you don't want to miss visiting Vanessa's Etsy store.

A heartfelt thanks to Sharon, Deryn, Deci, Letha and Vanessa -- you ladies rock!!!

Flower Power

Think Monday Think ATC's latest theme is "Flower Power." I used a photo of lovely yellow flowers in my garden for my digital ATC.

A previous life

Art On The Darkside challenged its readers to create something new with the painting Paris Catacombs by Viktor Hartmann. The image definitely has a gothic feeling about it, so I settled for a previous life theme. I wonder if I am going to dream of 19th century Paris during my next nap?

Nap

What feels better than a nap -- that famous siesta -- when it's really hot outside?

The last days have been somewhat hectic, so I missed the official entry deadline of the Mind Wide Open August challenge. Nonetheless, I had much fun creating a collage, using my siesta photo again: