Mézeskalács Card

when i saw the 'christmas in the old country' challenge at moxie fab world, i knew i just had to do something from here. there are lots of lovely folksy things to choose from, but i choose the tradition of making mézeskalács (honey cookies). these are somewhat similar to gingerbread cookies, but not quite.i made the cookie from cardboard, used a glaze pen to make the design and darkened the edges to look like a baked cookie. i also used my (just got) upper crest border punch.

here's a traditional recipe for mézeskalács:

500 grams flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 whole eggs
1 tablespoon lard
150 grams sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
cinnamon
honey

Mix the flour, baking powder, eggs, lard and sugar. Add the lemon zest, a bit of cinnamon and hot honey. Knead it into a dough that is about as hard as strudel dough. Roll it out to half an inch thickness and cut into whichever forms you want. Place in a floured pan and decorate the top with whole or sliced almonds, or decorate with icing after baking.

Inspirational Card Sketches #44

wow, the weeks sure seem to fly by, don't they? here it is, tuesday again, and another new sketch at ics. here's my card for this week: oh, sure, the little christmas bulb might look sweet and innocent, but it sure gave me some trouble putting it together. no matter what i tried it just kept looking like a circle floating there. but then i pulled out some lace and pearls, and finally it looks a bit like what i had in my head.

you can find the sketch here, and i hope to see your card or project at ics this week!

Blue Season's Greetings

another christmas card to show you today! i think i am almost done with them now. i was so worried about getting them done in time to mail them so that they would arrive before the holidays, and now i am wondering if sending them a month ahead is too early....? i have to tell you that this one is more of a 'functional' card as some of my cards have been lately. i use my glue gun to make sure everything stays together during shipping (i hope).

and here is the sentiment i created for you to use if you'd like. just right-click on the image. i made it for a 2" punch. enjoy!

M's Sketch #4

i was finally able to participate in M's sketch challenge over at Savitri's blog. i simply adore her blog; she is so honest and just puts everything out there. i am a very private person and have always had a difficult time telling people my personal details, so she is kinda inspirational to me! that and how she seems to get an amazing amount done in a day. and she's so cool!! i mean, c'mon, who makes a layout of her ex's engagement photo? and i think that it's awesome how she supports and encourages her child this way... that's gonna be one well-adjusted kid if you ask me.

anyhoo... here's my card. thanks M for the great sketch!!

Can I Get a Wahoo!!

i'm so happy and excited that my wall hanging won the 'plum crazy' challenge at moxie fab world. so awesome, being in the company of such talent!! i'm still in a state of shock and disbelief, actually. this is what the lovely Cath had to say:

"This wall hanging has so many trendy elements that work so well together that I'm just not sure I can contain myself! The stapled ruffles, the notebook background paper, the corrugated cardboard, and the scrunched up layered flowers with the buttons in the center just scream moxie fab! Pair all that with the balance in the design (the corner elements off-set to "frame" the focal point and the sentiment) and the poetic sentiment (Normal day let me be aware of the treasure you are) and I am in moxie fab heaven!"

isn't that just so nice!? totally made my day, if not my week!! thanks so much Cath, and everyone for your sweet comments!

i have a simple card to show you today. it was a gorgeous day today, the sun was shining all day. i managed to clean my craft area (i can't say room, cuz it's just a table, but it works :)) so i have a bit more desk space to work on now!i'm off to make dessert now, thanks for stopping by!

Inspirational Card Sketches #43

it's tuesday, so that means time for a new sketch over at ics! this is my take for this week: i made the felt heart last year but never got around to using it until now. i think this card has kind of a 'rustic/country' feel to it.

the ladies on the dt have come up with some beautiful inspiration to look at, so do check it out and leave us a link to your card!

Christmas Bulb

i wanted to make a christmas bulb card this year, even before i found the current challenge at caardvarks, which is to make a 'round card with pizazz'.i'm not sure if this one has much pizazz, but i did make the snowflakes and top bit from tin foil, which is no easy task, my friends! it didn't want to cooperate at all. (speaking about not cooperating, i'm having huge internet problems atm, so pages take forever to load. i'm hoping the prob gets fixed soon.)

all the papers were bought last year, and i really like the brown and blue combo. if you'd like to use the template i created, let me know and i'll gladly email you the pdf. thanks for dropping by!

Plum Season's Greetings

i made a second item for the 'plum crazy' challenge at moxie fab world. this is actually the idea i had in mind when i first read about the challenge, but the wall hanging i made yesterday went in the plum direction also, so i decided to enter both, though i have no idea if it is allowed to enter more than once. :)
anyhow.... i am quite happy with how this turned out, and i think it's one of my favourites so far. but really, it is just me or are christmas cards just easier to make? i think it's the availability of embellishments. i used some trim from some potpourri, so this card not only jingles, but smells nice too!!

Plum Crazy for a Normal Day :)

is that possibly the worst title you've ever read? anyway...

i made this wall hanging for my oldest friend (not that she's the oldest, but rather that she has been my friend since we were both 5) for her birthday. i am late with it as usual, but i think she is used to it by now!! we agreed years ago that we would send each other something handmade for our birthdays.i started out with some scraps for the grunge flowers, and decided that i really liked the purple with the green, so i pulled out this gorgeous plum ribbon, which i absolutely love, so have kinda been saving it. my bad, i know, but i tend to do that.

so then i decided that i could enter this in the moxiefabworld 'plum crazy' challenge. this is my first time entering anything on the site. there is just simply a whole lot of talent there, but i thought i'd give it a go! i'm off to continue making stuff. it sure feels good to get a few things off the list :) thanks for dropping by!

Inspirational Card Sketches #42

here's my card for this week's sketch over at inspirational card sketches. i flipped the sketch and used a digistamp from this week's super sponsor: the greeting farm. the image is 'timmy in stocking' and i altered it a bit, and added some fluff to the top of the stocking.

i also added glitter to the border and snowflakes, but i think it's more visible on the ribbon :( !! i wanted to use non-traditional colours, and thought the dots looked like snow, but maybe that's just me :)))

Check out the lovely inspiration the rest of the dt came up with at ics, and hope to see you there this week!!

All Saints Day

last sunday, nov. 1, was 'all saints day' or 'all souls day' here. it's a day of remembrance of those who have passed away and families visit cemeteries to light candles and place flowers on the grave sites. here are a couple of pictures of where my grandparents were laid to rest.
i felt a bit disrespectful about taking pictures, but my aunt assured me it was okay, and i wanted to show you how much care and attention is given to these cemetaries. we also went to where my other grandma was buried. she was my mom's brother's wife's mom, and we were great friends for about a year (when i lived here before). i could talk to her about anything, and she was never judgemental, only offering her kind advice and support.

i spent many weekends at her apartment. she would make me lunch, and in the afternoon i would sit in the kitchen watching her bake something or we'd go across the street to my aunt and uncle's. and then in the evenings she'd doze off while i'd watch tv.

i never knew my grandparents, so i am so very grateful that i had nagyi for a year. i miss her tremendously.

Inspirational Card Sketches #41

a card without ribbon!! it wasn't easy, but after much trying, i decided that ribbon would just be too much on this card. :) we have another great sponsor this week at ics! check out the beautiful digistamps from digistamp boutique. i used the bird from the "everyday collection 1", and modified it a bit by adding the wing and legs. here's a close up: thanks for looking, and i hope you join us this week at ics!