Feliz Natal * Merry Christmas * Feliz Navidad * Joyeux Noël * Buon Natale * Frohe Weihnachten

This is my contribution to Take a Word which theme this week is  GREEN AND RED.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas.

Background by Crowabout Studio; girl: vintage photo colored and dressed by me; texture: Kim Klassen.

Winter with Audrey

Digital art for Digitalmania (Loui Jouver) and Take a Word (Winter).

Some papers: Zeldona at Mellowmint and The Sum of All Crafters; snow: psdgraphics.

Little chocolate lover

This week Take a Word challenge is to bring out our best china - tea cups and saucers, coffee cups or mugs, plates, bowls, etc. Jamie, for example came inside her 2nd favorite cup, 'cause mummy think her favorite one, the chocolate cupcake, is not OK in her age.

Baby: Jamie Miller.

Life begins at the end of my coffee cup

This  week the challenge at The Three Muses is QUIRKY ME. Here it is my attempt. 

I'm not really a good company early in the morning, don't ask me to take decisions, laugh at silly jokes or sing. Not before 10 AM. After that and a good cup of coffee I can start thinking... and smiling!

Background and texture: Studio Manu; Doll's body: Crowabout Studio.

Angel of the castle

This week at Take a Word the theme is WINGS. I went for a classic approach: angels.

Background is a photo of mine edited; wings by Sylwia77; texture by Kim Klassen; 

Happy day

This week at Take a Word the challenge theme is BALLOONS. I've chosen an old photo of my brother and me to begin with. I cut out the photo and sent the two of us to a beautiful beach, got some huge balloons and the smile was guaranteed.

Background is a photo of mine; texture: Elné.

Nothing suits you like a suit

From right to left, suits of 1910, 1921, 1934, 1942, 1958 (click to enlarge)

The theme for this week at The Three Muses is HAUTE COUTURE. I've decided for women in suits in the first half of the 20th century. Always elegant.

Background is a photo of mine edited; girls by Tom Tierney (Dover).

Waiting for the hummingbird

This week at Take a Word the challenge is to celebrate the world of nature.  I don't know this flower's name. What I do know is that the hummingbirds love it. Maybe fairies love it too...

Background: my photo; fairy (cutout and colored): Graphics Fairy; texture: Elné.

incarcerated

This week The Three Muses challenge is to take inspiration from a favourite ARTIST or ARTISTIC STYLE. My artist of choice was Grete Stern, German photographer, nationalized Argentine, especially her photomontage series on dreams for a women's magazine column titled “Psychoanalysis will help you”, from 1948 to 1951.

Background (altered): Pareerica; cage: Mr. Whiskers; girl: Doctor Macro.

Ginger and Inky

Take a Word asked for Orange & Black and I went for Halloween as I wanted to do something with the witch's photo I had in my stash for years.

Witch: Etchika Choureau, french actress, in Doctor Macro - cut and colored by me; textures: Beth Rimmer; pumpkins: daftopia.

Ariel's new castle

The Three Muses asked for castles and I decided to play a little bit with Disney's World. Why not a Glass Castle to Ariel?

Main Photo by Annie Leibowitz with Julianne Moore and Michael Phelps; castle: Cinderella's castle in Disney World; fish in the foreground: AbsurdWorldPreferred; there are also a background and a texture from my stash.

I put a spell on you and now you're mine

This week the theme is BE-WITCHED in Take a Word.

Texture: PinkBlossom; pumpkins: daftopia; the crazy lady is me posing as a wicked witch in a Halloween party several years ago.

Missing you

Take a Word asked for Windows and my muse asked for a lonely cat missing his old friend...

Background: my photo; texture: Kim Klassen.

Paprika

Take a Word asked for HOT COLORS. I found the photo below in my aunt's album. I have no idea who she is or when it was taken. It doesn't matter, she looked so sweet! In her new outfit she also looks hot, that's why I called her Paprika.

Les filles de Bouguereau

The theme in Take a World is BEAUTY and what could be more beautiful than the girls painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau? At some point I thought that these were all the same girl at different moments of her life. Now, it seems that there are two girls maybe sisters... What do you think?

Texture: Kim Klassen

Tio Zé

The Three Muses asked for MALE OF THE SPECIES and I decided to give a better life to an old photo of my uncle José Marques. You can see the original photo below.

Chaplin's pieces of time

To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it!

Charlie Chaplin

This week the theme in Take a Word is TIMEPIECES and this was the excuse I needed to bring back Charlie Chaplin again!

Background and other elements by Createwing Designs.

Lilian and Vera

Take a Word asked for MOTHER AND CHILD and I decided to pay a tribute to these beautiful mother and child: Lilian and Vera Trotter. They died on the night of March 3, 1943, in the Bethnal Green Tube tragedy. I've read about it a few years ago and this photograph made it even more poignant.

Background: Astrid Maclean; texture: Elné; butterflies: Dover.

snail mailing to stamp people

I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp. 
There's something about that person's breath and hands on the letter.

Diane Lane

The Three Muses theme for this week is STAMP PEOPLE. Here it is my attempt.

Thanks to Studio Manu, Kim Klassen, Ella Fitzgerald, Hattie McDaniel, Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth, Nicole Kidman and Lucille Ball. 

Family album

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.

Emily Dickinson

Take a Word asked for Family Album. I don't have really old photos then I created a imaginary family from daguerreotypes, taken circa 1850, beginning with Emily Dickinson, then Pastor Rollin Heber Neal (both colored by me). 

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.

Logan Pearsall Smith

The Three Muses asked for a Book Cover or for using a book in our art. 

Photo by Morningbird Photography on Flickr; the envelope is a previous collage I did; other elements by Studio Manu.

Gloomy times

This week Take a Word theme is BLACK AND WHITE and this theme reminded me of the old B&W horror movies which I used to love as a teenager (still do).

Upper left: Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage (1934); other images: Max Schreck in Nosferatu ;(1922); splats brushes: Redheadstock.

Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad

The Three Muses asked us to take inspiration from SONG LYRICS or a favorite POEM and create something special.  I don't know how I ended up with Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad, a song by Bono and The Edge written as a tribute for Frank Sinatra. It was also recorded by Nancy Sinatra, his daughter. I tried not be that obvious, and replace the Jack Daniels by two sweet cats. ^=^

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad

You think I'm no good, well I know I've been bad.

Took you to a place, now you can't get back.

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

Walked together down a dead-end street

We were mixing the bitter with the sweet.

Don't try to figure out what we might have had.

Just two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

I'm just a singer, some say a sinner

Rolling the dice, not always a winner.

You say I've been lucky, well hell, I made my own

Not part of the crowd not feeling alone.

Under pressure but not bent out of shape

Surrounded, we always found an escape.

Drove me to drink but hey, that's not all bad.

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

Guess I've been greedy all of my life

Greedy with my children, my lovers and my wife.

Greedy for the good things as well as the bad.

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

Maybe it's just talk, saloon singing

The chairs are all stacked, the swingers stopped swinging.

You say I hurt you, you put the finger on yourself

Then, after you did it, you came crying for my help.

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

I'm not complaining baby, I'm glad.

You call it compromise, well what's that?

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

Two shots of happy, one shot of sad.

Frank Sinatra: Dr. Macro (colored by me); background: Mr. Whiskers; owl: Studio Manu; some elements and overlay: Pareeerica.

Dancing in the sky

This week Take a Word theme is BLUE AND WHITE and I imagined a young Colleen Moore still dancing the Charleston but now in the sky... In her photos she looks a glad and vivacious girl, different from some silent movie stars with a very gloomy gaze.

The main star

Better to live one year as a tiger, than a hundred as a sheep.

 Madonna 

The task in Three Muses is  to feature stripes in any way, shape or form.

Elements by Holliewood Studio and Altered Emporium; texture by Kim Klassen.

Books, wine and a cat

This week Take a Word theme is GREEN.

Background was made by combining a green cloth photo with images by Buzzillo Stock and Enchanted Stock; girl: Beth Rimmer; type machine and book stack: Studio Manu; texture: Kim Klassen.

Spring Delight

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Take a Word theme for this week is SPRING. I'm offering this to my friends up there who are longing for Spring.

The doll is built from bits and pieces by Rebecca Mcmeen, as well as the background. Drew Barrymore lent me her gorgeous face. Font is Edwardian Script.

Longing

Art is longing. You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will.

Anselm Kiefer

This is my VINTAGE entry for this week's Three Muses challenge.

Background: Cemerony; girl (colored by me): Angie Young; texture: Kim Klassen.

Sewing Love

The theme in Take a Word is SEWING and here it is my try.

All elements by Angie Young; font is Ahoy in Stiches.

Are they aliens too?

The Three Muses challenged us to show that there is PLENTY MORE IN THE SEA! 

According to these crazy devotes of Ancient Aliens everything that is clever, ingenious or complex from our pre-history to nowadays was made/created/commanded by aliens or at least  by some hybrids half-alien half-human. In this sense, probably mermaids, mermen and other magical creatures are also aliens, why not?

Background and overlay are free wallpapers; UFO is a hybrid of images I've already had; merman came from a screenshot of the movie Empires of The Deep (which failed even before its release).

Powerful Steampunk Girls

This is my contribution toTake a Word which theme this week is STEAMPUNK.

Background (altered) and texture: Finecrafted Designs; flies: Mr. Wiskers.

Lunatics to the Moon!

Most people in this society who aren't actively mad are, at best, reformed or potential lunatics.

Susan Sontag

The Three Muses asked for BALLOONS and I decided to have some fun and send some dearest lunatics to their home, Luna.

“Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.” ― Derek Landy, Death Bringer

"All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher." - Ambrose Bierce

"You are going to be fine, you come from a strong line of lunatics." - ?

Background: my own photo; moon: Studio Manu; texture: Kim Klassen.

Art on the Wall

Please, click to enlarge

The Three Muses asked for FRAMES and I decided to frame some street art just for fun, as despite their quality they are not made to be framed and almost always don't last very much.

I photographed the graffiti in São Paulo; Doll body: Crowabout Studio.

Broken Hearts

“When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. 

But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. 

The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful.” 

Henri Nouwen

Take a Word asked for HEARTS and I got myself wondering about this universal pain, after all who has never had a broken heart? 

Angel on the top left corner: Pierre Cortes; sculpture on the bottom left corner: Steve Frog; sculpture on the bottom right corner: Angelo Bis; texture: Kim Klassen.

I am woman

Take a Word asked for I AM WOMAN. There was some kind of serendipity as I’ve just finished Unless, by Carol Shields, a study in awakening and the belated loss of innocence. Mainly the author reflects over the role that is reserved to women: "The world is split in two between those who are handed power at birth, at gestation, encoded with a seemingly random chromosome determinate that says yes for ever and ever, and those like Norah, like Danielle Westerman, like my mother, like my mother-in-law, like me, like all of us who fall into the uncoded female otherness in which the power to assert ourselves and claim our lives has been displaced by a compulsion to shut down our bodies and seal our mouths and be as nothing against the fireworks and streaking stars and blinding light of the Big Bang."

Background is mine; doll on the right uses elements by Rebecca Mcmeen; texture by Kim Klassen; words: lyrics of I Am Woman, by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton.

Louise Butterfly

“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.” 

― LeeAnn Taylor

This week the theme is BUTTERFLY in The Three Muses. I went for a dramatic butterfly impersonated by Louise  Brooks.

Background is my own, made of two of my photos and a lot of editing; floor: Tumblefish Studio; Louise Brooks photos: Dr. Macro (the one on forground was colored by me); texture: Kim Klassen.

Note: the "G" on her costume is for Griselle or Grisette, her characters in the movie Now We're in the Air (1927).