The Entries

And here are the magical entries!


Enchanted Forest - Long Blue Cloak/Jacket with XL Pixie Hood and Sleeves by Vaisto.

Untitled Bracelet by Gr8jewellery.

Enchanted Forest - Necklace made of Filigree and Glass Beads on Brass Chain by Vadjutka.

Enchanted Forest, Brown Monochrome - A4 Print 1/10 by Serpentaires.

Wooden Acorn Necklace by DeerLola.

Enchanted Palm Frond Pouch by Kraplap.


Enchanted Forest Felted Triangle Wrap by Ingermaaike.

Turquoise and Jasper Necklace - OOAK - Natural Beauty Series by Alatvian.

The Enchanted Forest Necklace by Star of the East.

The Enchanted Forest 2 in1 Necklace - The Princess and the Frog by Amoronia.

In the Middle of the Forest - Canvas Wristlet by Happybee.

Frame Handbag in Chocolate Brown by Karuski.

Enchanted Forest - Fancy Fiber Necklace by Antigoni.

This is the Enchanted Forest Leather Journal in Suede by Kreativlink.

Sweet Leaves Earrings by Fleurfatale.


The Key to the Forest earrings by Allabala.


Enchanted Forest Leaf Necklace by Sumikoshop.

This is the Enchanted Butterfly Necklace by Happyment.

This Enchanted Forest Bracelet is by LeelaBijou.

OOAK Drop Cut Raw Amethyst Pendant with a Flower and a Pearl by Toosis.

Green Flower Bouquet Headband by Queenece.



Felted Magical Romantic Magnolia OOAK brooch or hair clip by ayawedding.

This is Le Hibou - The Owl Acrylic Painting by Chichiboulie.

This lovely creation by Binkaminka is the Storyteller necklace. Look at the lovely linen pendant!

The European Street Team Challenge

Wow! I won the European Street Team weekly challenge! The theme was Fall is coming and I was chosen by Sumikoshop. You can see all the entries on her blog here. I'm so honored to have won! What a great way to begin September.

This means that I am hosting the challenge this week with the theme "The Enchanted Forest". This theme evokes fairy tale settings, elves, fairies, unicorns, in fact all manner of magical creatures, objects and events. It's a place where anything can happen and often does!

I'm expecting wonderfully enchanting entries from the amazingly talented members of the European Street Team, who have, as the French would say, "des doigts de fée" which means they quite literally work magic with their fingers!

I'll be posting the entries here, so keep looking!

Egyptian inspired

Visits to museums can be so inspiring. I get so many ideas, see so many possibilities; I feel somehow (no matter how remotely) connected to artists who lived long ago. I feel encouraged to make something really beautiful!

However, more and more, museum visits are photo opportunites and you spend your time trying to stay out of other people's photos, making an effort not to block their view. I guess most people take photos to look at later or show their friends, so they see a lot of the art through the lens.

At the Met I noticed most photos being taken of the huge impressive sculptures and paintings, often with friends and family standing next to them. This was true in my favorite collection: Egyptian art. Everyone loves the huge stone carvings of animal-headed gods, the temples and of course the colorfully painted sarcophagi, and so do I. But I prefer the small objects, in the rooms off to the sides; those are the things that inspire me. So I too was guilty of photo-taking, so that I would be able to see these lovely things again and again.

And when I got back, I wanted to make something really beautiful from my little bag of fabric remnants. Okay, it's a rather big bag. Anyway, these are Egyptian inspired.

Back from the US

We got back a couple of days ago from our five week trip to the US. We spent a few days in New York, and this was the first time I'd been there with my kids. They were amazed by the tall buildings, of course...by all the taxis, the distances they had to walk and the resulting sore feet and legs! So, although these are really typical photos of New York, they remind me of the dazzle in my children's eyes when they saw these places for the first time.

We went past the Dakota, mainly for my sister, who didn't come with us to New York, because she absolutey wanted photos of the place where Rosemary's Baby was filmed.

I couldn't resist taking this photo of the work of one of my long-time favorite sculptors, Claes Oldenberg at the Museum of Modern Art.

The place I love most in New York is the Met, where I could stay for hours roaming around the Egyptian exhibits. I was very happy to find that my children liked the Egyptian art as well, taking lots of photos of their favorite pieces, and genuinely enjoying our time there.

Summer Vacation

It's official! It's summer vacation, the weather is hot, the pools are open, people are heading to the ocean, school is out. For me it means being able to fly...to visit my family on the other side of the Atlantic. The bags are packed, hopefully weighing in at an eco-friendly less-than-twenty-three kilos each. A few gifts for the family, beachwear, a camera and we're all set!

Here's my latest mosaic, a gift for a wonderful aunt who requested a cross. I had never made one, but I wanted to make it for her since she's a fantastic aunt to have! I had a few doubts about tesserae, colors, images to use; I thought it wouldn't come out right.

But I decided to keep to my own style, broken plates, some Roman tile bits, a lace printed bird, some pewter word charms and I think it came out okay. She likes the photos; I only hope she likes the real thing!

flea market finds

There was a big flea market or 'brocante' in my neighborhood on Saturday. It stretched for about ten blocks on both sides of the street. There were some professional antique dealers

but mostly people selling their old stuff...which became new stuff for the buyers! I found some great teal saucers (without cups, but since I'm going to break them anyway, so what?), and plates with a pink and white print. But my favorite finds are pictured here: a wooden box for treasures, lots of lace and...a toast holder.

The lace is hand-made and vintage. The woman who sold it to me assured me that she got it from a woman who worked for Dior...maybe, maybe not, but I fell in love with so many pieces that I had to get a few. I will use the short pieces to print on clay, and I can use the longer ones in textile creations. I'm thinking of lovely lacy moths.

Apparently, this is a toast holder. I had never seen one before. I suppose it might come in handy if you are making large quantities of toast, but at our house, the toast is eaten as soon as it pops up from the toaster! I'm using this apparatus to store my linocuts, to keep them from getting dusty and sticking together once they've been inked. I'm sure there is an apparatus especially for this, but I didn't find one at the flea market, so I'm improvising.

Graffiti

I often walk by this stately apartment building on rue Chavent, a quiet street in Lyon. The building dates from 1937. It is quite big, with two entrances, balconies on every floor and unlike many buildings, it's set back from the sidewalk and has lots of trees in front of it.

I was coming back from the post office on Saturday morning when I looked across the street and saw the faces. I had taken the same street to the post office but didn't notice anything. But I had to stop and smile...faces had been painted on the tops of the posts. They looked like over-sized playskool people standing there, smiling, frowning, some even crying.

Graffiti is usually cleaned up really quickly in Lyon, at least on the "nice" streets. I thought these faces would be gone the same day, but when I returned to take some photos in the afternoon, there they were. They were there on Sunday too, and Monday.

Perhaps it was the holiday weekend that caused the clean-up delay.

I didn't take that street today. Since the post office is closed for six months, I had to go to another post office, in the opposite direction. I'll have to check tomorrow. I hope they stay.

What do you think about graffiti? Is it art or is it vandalism?