Hearts and Buttons

we're snowed in today! it's mid-afternoon and there's about a foot of snow so far and it's still snowing heavily. not common for this part of the world, but it's sure nice to watch from inside :) this card is for the latest caardvarks challenge which is to use red hearts. i love hearts so i just *had* to make a card for this! i made the paper by copying and pasting and lightening the text. the heart is cut from felt, i did the stitching by hand, though i'm sure that's obvious :) and put some white twine through the buttons.

hope you're having a great weekend!

Day Trip to Visegrad

one of my best friends is getting married next year, so i joined her and her fiance on a trip to Visegrad last weekend to check out a possible wedding venue. it was a lovely sunny day, there were lots of people skiing and sledding on the hill. i've been by this town many, many times on my way to my aunt and uncles, and could see the castle in the distance but never actually went there.this is the restaurant and banquet room they went to see. unfortunately our meal wasn't great and the whole place is decorated in a "hunting" theme - great for tourists, not so much for weddings :) you can see the castle in the distance in this one:

Inspirational Card Sketches #51

hello! this is my last card as part of the ics dt. i based my decision on school and a couple of other projects i have going on.

i had a lovely time; the great sketches continuously challenged me each week. and the ladies on the dt were awesome and always provided wonderful inspiration. i wish them and dawn all the best in their creative adventures.

and i loved going around checking out your creations each week, and leaving comments. which i tried to do regularly (except during exam time, sorry!) .
this week's sponsor is fresh brewed designs and i used the 'so happy together' image. i coloured it with watercolour pencils and this is my second attempt. the first one was more orange than pink, so i'm glad i did it twice. the sentiment 'a whole latte love' font is pea anna banana from fonts for peas.

i hope you join in at ics this week. the dt have come up with some wonderful creations again! and be sure to check out the dt call to be a part of this fab team!

thanks for stopping by!

New Look and Gift Idea to Share

i finally changed my blog header and pics! the name is my handwriting which i scanned. i wanted the look to be simple and clean and i'm happy with how it turned out, it's a nice (and bright!) change.

just after the holidays, a huge box arrived from my mom. she wrapped everything individually so it was just like christmas all over again! she sent a perfect of mix of things i wanted, needed and just for fun such as maple syrup, candles, chocolates, kraft sundried tomato salad dressing, pot scrubbers, note pads, ornaments, and lots of card-making supplies like ribbon, brads, etc.

these were also included:i used to make these dishcloths (crochet) and just bought some yarn to make some here. i thought it was a cute way to package them. and the second is a beautiful way to wrap some bath goodies, don't you think? so pretty. have a nice weekend!

Inspirational Card Sketches #50

warning!! seriously bright card ahead. time to get out the sunglasses, unless like me, you are ready for a bit of brightness (ie: spring)!! i'm also working on a new blog header which i hope to have ready soon, cuz i'm so tired of looking at the drab black and white one i have now! we woke up to a few inches of snow yesterday, so it feels like winter again... yeah, i know, it's still only january...

so here is my card for the awesome ics sketch this week .... it took me some time to come up with an idea for this sketch (that's why they're called 'challenges', right? :)) but once i thought of using ribbon, it came together pretty quickly. i liked using up the different bits which i am not sure how i would have used otherwise.

i hope you decide to give this week's sketch a try. head over to the ics blog and check out the lovely things the dt have come up with!!

thanks for dropping by!

Inspirational Card Sketches #49

happy tuesday! it's bright and sunny here, but cold. so far we haven't had the snow that most of europe is experiencing, luckily, but a bit of snow would be nice, i think.

a few nights ago there was a gas explosion on our street, in an apartment building in the next block. i heard it when it happened in the early morning. i was thinking about how i live in one of the "safest" areas in the city, but these kind of things you never think about happening.

i wrote my finance exam last week and it went well, phew. i have two more to go this week - management control and marketing communications.

there's a lovely new sketch at ics for this week, with a great prize so do check it out. i hope you join us. thanks for stopping by and here's my card for this week:

Inspirational Card Sketches #48

ics is back again after a holiday break with a great new sketch and an awesome sponsor this week! here's my card: this one started out well, i liked the colour combination, but now that it's done, i am not really happy with it. i am not sure what it is, but something bugs me about it. maybe the ribbon...? dunno. i was going to add a sentiment, but i thought it could have many uses, so i'll add it later.

do check out the lovely dt inspiration at ics and i hope you join us this week!

i'm off to study for my finance exam. i took finance during my undergrad studies, so the terms and concepts aren't new, but it's still formulas and math... ugh.

Happy New Year

hello! i trust all of you had a fab holiday season! mine was quiet, spent christmas with my relatives and enjoyed a wonderful meal. new year's eve was spent having lunch with some friends and their kids. after a good snowfall, we had record high temps of 18 c on christmas day. i made some goodies for presents this year. this is cranberry pistachio bark and sugared almonds.i apologize for the pics, i didn't realize they were so bad and now of course i can't retake them. i also made a peanut butter bark but i don't have a usable pic for that one. and i would have posted the recipes, but honestly i didn't really like how they turned out. it's not easy making north american recipes using european ingredients because everything is so different. i find the ingredients here stronger/more flavourful. for example, i use half the amount of baking soda and baking powder. you can do a search for the recipes though cuz they are yummy!

these are chocolate bars i wrapped, added ribbon and made a personalized monogram for. they were for my cousins' kids.
thanks for visiting and i wish you all the very best for 2010!