Happy 16th Anniversary

... to my husband and me!

Year after year it´s a challenge to create a masculine card for my husband... I´m too girly and "vintagy" for masculine cards!

This year a stroke of good fortune came to the rescue of me:

by pure chance I found the center-piece of my card on that pebbly beach in Croatia this summer - what a "gem" ! I knew instantly what I would use it for :-)

... I opted for this dry embossing folder (Cuttlebug) to mimic the motion of the sea/waves...

What a rare fluke to find such a perfectly shaped pebble!

Hubby wants a new road bike next year - so my gift will be related to his wish...

I´d like to participate here:

http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/week-98-anniversary.html

Have a nice, cozy weekend!

Summer Break

... I´m having a summer break...

Have a nice summer everyone!

Basking in the glow of yellow

Thank you everybody for your nice comments on my last blog post! I promise to travel with you again!


Today, I´d like to participate in some really nice challenges with this easel card:

I used an "A day for daisies"-image ( "Holding Fire Flies"), so I´d like to mention this challenge first ("anything goes").
Then there´s a "fany folds card" challenge at Bunny Zoe´s Crafts.
Do you know the new "Runway inspired challenge" blog? Here´s their inspirational photo:

Then "Anything EXCEPT Christmas" at the Corrosive Challenge Blog and "Anything but Christmas" at Totally Papercrafts.
And last but not least "All creatures great and small" at Secret Crafter.

PS: Oh, I feel so "yellow" today :-)  ...so I´d also like to show you a cake I made for my parent´s wedding anniversary... a Mangocream-Chocolate-Cake ... I know, the embellishments (out of white chocolate) are not formed perfectly, but I like that - so you know that it is "homemade with love" :-)
For the centerpiece I edited a wedding picture of my parents with Photoshop ( I added some digital gems) and sent the file to a company, that printed it out on sugary "paper"...

(I think it was such a unique idea of my Mum to leave out the flower bouquet and take a Bible instead!)

Thanks for visiting me today!

Let´s relax a little!!

Do you know that: when there´s so much daily routine, there´s sometimes only a pale face looking from the mirror back to you - but after summer vacation or a relaxing afternoon at the pool - you´re a shining star again!

My swimming pool is only small and tiny - only 3,5m in diameter - but I can´t look away from this view on hot summer days ... cooling down in it is such a delight!

So, come on and let´s relax a little!!

 

 

Apricots everywhere!

Hi there!


For those of you who wondered why I was so quiet in the last few weeks: I was busy doing LOTS of things - one of them was processing apricots.

Our tree (earlier this year) ...

... had "tons" of apricots this year:

I had to give away lots of them - too much for 2 people!

I stewed most of them to "Marillenröster" (more liquid than jam, with bigger pieces of fruit and less sugar than jam)

I also gave away some jars to my family in Styria - they do have lots of apple and cherry trees there, but no apricots - it´s not the right climate and soil there.

As you all know we crafters do NOT give away anything without prinking it up!

So even time was tight, I made small tags for some jars...

PHEW! Harvest is over now and I´m sooo happy about that!

Thanks for remembering me :-) and visiting me today!

Have a great day!

A quick vernal greeting

Hi everybody!

I´ve been very busy lately - so no posts for you...

Today I´ve just a quick vernal greeting for you:

If you want to know how my blooming apricot tree inspired me..... stay tuned!!!

Have a great Sunday everybody!

Venezia/Venice/Venedig

My familiy and I usually go to Italy once a year (at least) - we love that country!

One day is always reserved for Venice (established in 5th century) - I´m impressed by the beauty of this city every year anew!

Please come with me on a short trip to Venice! You won´t regret it!

Isn´t the architecture just great?! Have you ever seen such gorgeous chimneys?!

We had lunch in this picturesque Trattoria...

The gondolas are so pompous!

This is the famous "Rialto" bridge over the "Canal Grande"...

We love to sit at the edge of the Canal Grande at the bottom of the bridge and enjoy the sun... people who know me will spot me on the picture...

 

Now, inspired by the opulence and pompous beauty of this city, I want to share with you a wedding card - a very "blingy" one... to do this city justice!

If the famous Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) would have ever decided to marry, I would have sent him this one ;-)

Thanks for travelling with me!!

http://onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/03/week-123-diamonds-are.html
http://simplycreatechallenges.blogspot.com/2011/03/39-just-little-monochromatic.html

http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/2011/03/something-sweet-challenge.html
http://cupcakecraftchallenges.blogspot.com/2011/03/cupcake-134-monochromatic-and-dt-call.html
http://houseofgilli.blogspot.com/
http://michelle-pinkpaperparadise.blogspot.com/
http://pollycraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/challenge-85-swirls-and-pearls-lynsey.html

Back home again

I´ve a terrible head-ache today, so I just want to let you know that I´m back home again from my beautiful weekend in…. can you guess it?


Here´s a hint for you:

 

 
… yes, you´re right… I´ve been to Italy the last few days to enjoy sweet life (“La dolce vita”).


I love to see pictures from other countries, so I assume that some of you might be interested in pictures from the cities I visited: Venice, Padua, Caorle. These are very picturesque cities!

I´ll show you some in the next few days….

Until then!

THANK YOU!!!

Isn´t it such a heart warming thing to say “Thank You” and to get a “Thank you” back sometimes!?

These are my 2 “Thank Yous” for this week so far:

1)

My sweet hubby surprised me and brightened my day with these colourful pretties – THANK YOU!!! *mwah*

 
 

 
 

2)

My mother in law made us happy with a very good dish: salty pancakes filled with ham and cheese – rolled up – breaded and fried in hot oil --> DELICIOUS!! THANK YOU!!!

I had only a few minutes till she delivered this fantastic dish to pretty up her favourite chocolate bar … much better than giving it “naked” to her, isn´t it?

For this reason I love my new Big Shot – embossing and cutting is so easy and quick now!

Sorry for the uninspired picture … just made a quick shot and then the door bell rang…

Have a great day and THANK YOU SO MUCH for visiting my blog today! :-)

http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/03/die-cuts-challenge.html   22.3.

http://scrap-creations1.blogspot.com/2011/03/going-grey-with-scrap-creations_15.html   21.3.

http://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com/2011/03/chocolate-therapy.html   22.3.

New Episode…

....… of our Viennese Café Tour.


This time we visited Café Prückel in the Inner City, but it´s not our favourite. They do not separate the smokers from the non-smokers properly… nevertheless we enjoyed the afternoon…

 They have a nice ceiling there ;-)
 

Have a nice Wednesday!