Dante Alighieri

On another of our wanderings around the wonderful maze of narrow streets in Florence we had a Dante enriched afternoon.

His likeness in stone outside the Uffizi...

...as we walked to the Casa de Dante (museum)...

...there were a number of small piazza to explore...
...so atmospheric...

...gorgeous iron work still hangs on the walls where street lights would have been lit......one can  really imagine being back in 1290 at times in Florence....if you ignore all the people, scooters and cars around you!!

The very small church Santa Margherita de' Cerchi where Beatrice worshipped and is buried (in 1290 no less)

and lovely cafe just round the corner

Speaking of Dante.....I am at the minute reading another fab book, Gabriel's Inferno, that has allusions regarding the relationship between Dante and Beatrice ....if you follow the link I've stood where Dante is standing in the painting....sigh! 

And this is the Ponte Vecchio from that very spot.

(the book sounds a bit high brow I know but believe me it is an easy read)....

...I thought that it was going to be another "Shades of Grey" type book.....which it still might be for all I know....but I am only half way through (it's quite a long book) up to chapter 18 and so far the characters of Gabriel (Dante) and Julia (Beatrice) have shared nothing more than a couple of admittedly very passionate kisses and a couple of chaste nights sharing the same bed......how they have managed that one I really don't know!!!

'Cos I'm pretty much willing them to get on with it!!! But seeing as there is a sequel I might have a long wait!! ROFL

I'm just hoping the writer is going to ignore the fact that in reality Dante and Beatrice never got it on...well, not that anyone can really prove that one!!! ;)

Still......it is much more than a sex romp book and I'm loving it.

This is the link to the paperback edition....although it's only just after I returned from Florence that I bought this on my Kindle I cannot find a link any more! Sorry.

Thanks for looking..........

One more picture :)....we ended the day like every day with a bottle of Prossecco ;)

xoxo Sioux

Dancer Card

I'm sharing a card today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog where we are celebrating the two year anniversary of the creative team blog with a giveaway :)

You can see more details on my piece over on The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog.

Now I usually ask you not to comment on my blog as well as the creative team....but just for this month it might be worth it to do both....trust me ;)


We were asked to choose a set of stamps to use in our posts this month that Jennie will give away to a lucky comment pooled from both this blog and on the creative team blog....so generous Jennie, aren't you a lucky lot :)


Well I chose the "Tick Tock" plate....

...and additionally.....because I had this scene idea going round in my head for some time and I've been on the team almost two years myself...
...I am giving away my "Dance" plate to a second lucky person who comments :)

Told you it would be worth it!


The giveaway lasts throughout August and at the end of the month I will choose two winners from comments left on my Artistic Stamper posts here and on The AS Creative Team blog. 

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

Dream Lover Additions

Soooo......I liked the Dream Lover sketch of a face I did so much...

...that I decided to have a bash at carving a stamp based on it.

I'm rather pleased with it ;)

Looks proper lino sketchy doncha fink? LOL

I purposely omitted the pupils so that in future I can have her looking any which way LOL

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

P.S. Come back tomorrow for my second piece for The Artistic Stamper this month and yet another chance to win some rubber ;)

Dream Lover

Do you remember this? 

It was experimenting a while back in February with some new inks I got. Well it's been stuck in my A5 journal doing nothing ever since until yesterday when I added the hand drawn face.

And then neo colours etc.

Thanks for looking.
xoxo Sioux

Only You!

Mmmm.......Don't feel like stamping much at the moment.....quick get the smelling salts!!! ROFL.........Too busy reading that's my problem ;)

So I was trying out the bleach effect that Dyan showed us here. Thanks Dyan!

And one thing led to another.....at one point these pages were so dark I did not know what to do with them but with the aid of the bleach effect (although by now you can't really see where I used it!) a little touch of gesso, a zingy little spritz of Dylusion sprays and just the right journal words it came together and once again helped me get out into the open the absolute rubbish that floats around my brain!!! LOL

Only you can make the darkness bright!
In other words there is no one but me who can change things round here.

Thanks for looking.......out of a mojo less doldrum I managed to make this over a period of about 5 days...thinking about it....not liking something then having to gesso over it etc etc!!!
But in the end I like it...it's the little things that make me happy ;)

xoxo Sioux

P.S. Dancer, Carpe Diem
(I so love that term, seize the day or however you interpret it yourself......pity there is no one to seize around here! Which is partly what this page is about! ROFLIA)
and clock face stamps available from The Artistic Stamper... the border stamp is my own hand carved creation.

Knock, Knock!

There are so many beautiful doors and knockers in Florence...why do I like hardware so much? LOL

Here are a couple of my favourites.

One from Pisa...

...and one from Siena too ;)

A close up on the fountain outside our hotel.

On our travels through the maze of streets in Florence we stumbled across this wonderful shop called Il Papiro.

Where this man demonstrated how to lay inks onto the surface of the water and how to manipulate them into patterns.

To make beautiful papers.

The shop was full of lovely paper stuff made with the papers and calligraphy, inks, pens and the like...
...I thought I had died and gone to heaven!! LOL

Thanks for looking

xoxo Sioux

Time after Time for The Artistic Stamper

I'm sharing something a bit different from my norm today over on the The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog where we are celebrating the two year anniversary of the creative team blog with a giveaway :)
You can see more details on my piece over on The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog.

Now I usually ask you not to comment on my blog as well as the creative team....but just for this month it might be worth it to do both....trust me ;)


We were asked to choose a set of stamps to use in our posts this month that Jennie will give away to a lucky comment pooled from both this blog and on the creative team blog....so generous Jennie, aren't you a lucky lot :)


Well I chose the "Tick Tock" plate....

...and additionally.....because I had this scene idea going round in my head for some time and I've been on the team almost two years myself...
...I am giving away my "Dance" plate to a second lucky person who comments :)

Told you it would be worth it!


The giveaway lasts throughout August and at the end of the month I will choose two winners from comments left on my Artistic Stamper posts here and on The AS Creative Team blog. 

Curious? Then just hop on over to The Creative Team Blog for all the details.

Thanks for looking and happy stamping
xoxo Sioux

Florence 1st installment

One could spend a lifetime in Florence and still be in awe of the architecture and art.

I'll tell you now that I would not say no to returning one day :) :)


The journey there was a breeze and we caught the Terravision bus from Pisa airport to Florence which was an hours journey with fields of sunflowers smiling at us in the Tuscan sunshine :)

A brief and easy couple of minutes walk from the station got us to our hotel Corona D'Italia and would you believe it but if you click the link that is the exact room we stayed in!!! The bonus was that our room was ready even though we were quite early ;)
(I am still trying to find our what that plant is at the entrance...I desperately want one!! LOL)

Just across the street (you see it as you come out of the hotel door) was this fabulous fountain it was so old it does not bear thinking about.....and it still works!!!

We quickly unpacked and found a pizzeria close by for the first cooling beer of the holiday and lunch

(my friend expressed the happiness we all felt about that as it was hot..hot..hot!)
...then on for a walk around the surrounding area taking in the daily market stalls that were on the side street of our hotel.

Leather bags everywhere...

...fabulous hand made books in leather and Florentine papers...I bought both my journal books from this stall ;)

Within 10 minutes (even with the market crowds) we were in...

...where the Duomo is of course spectacular but also so large that you cannot possibly get a photo of it in all it's glory :(

Guess what? I found some manhole covers too...surprise, surprise!!

And just one of the many door knockers that abound all over the city....sigh...sigh..sigh!! LOL ;)

There will be more of those in future posts ;)
Hey...even the lollies are designer!

I can't help but think that in the U.K. we would be made to have a paper wrapper on them and what a crying shame that would be!


Thanks for looking.
xoxo Sioux


P.S. It's my first project of the month for the Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog 2nd anniversary celebration tomorrow.....you might not want to miss it...there is candy give away involved ;~)
xoxo Sioux

Holidays for The Artistic Stamper

Thanks for sharing all your "Circles" creations for last months challenge :)
So....this month we are sharing

"Holidays" :)

That's the theme for the challenge for August over at The Artistic Stamper Creative Team ;)


I love holidays....I love seeing new places...I'd love to take off on a bicycle and pedal down quiet country lanes staying overnight in atmospheric pubs along the way...discovering new things around every bend in the road.......there is only one problem...
...I've never learnt to ride a bike!!! LOL


I made this little card using stamps mainly from the Ephemera 1 plate and the Open Road plate.

The front has the addition of the sentiment from Travelling Words and the cute little heart from Journaling Words II stamped in Distress Ink aged mahogany.


Inside I stamped the bicycle, the map front and the cycling knickers in Archival coffee adding the words using Distress Markers to colour in fired brick and chipped sapphire.

The card was then aged with Distress Inks in tea dye, wild honey, weathered wood and vintage photo.


You really must take a look at the "Holidays" creations the rest of the team have made as inspiration for you.

So don't forget.............the monthly challenge is "Holidays"

The rules are simple... all you need to do is make a piece of art, be it a card, ATC, wall art, altered art, scrapling ;)... just remember that it must include some rubber stamping and the theme... and... if you use Artistic Stamper stamps on your entry you will be entered into the draw twice! The prize is £15 worth of stamps from the Artistic Stamper shop... along with the KlingOn to mount them onto.

I hope you get chance to play at the challenge... it is open until August 31st and the winner will be chosen by Random.org shortly after :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping

xoxo Sioux