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!

Inspirational Card Sketches #47

it snowed for the first time this season on sunday. it was the kind of snowfall you see in movies, usually at the happy ending part where the snow isn't so much falling as it is floating and going in different directions, upwards and sideways. i took my coffee back to bed and watched it for a while;it was lovely.

so it finally feels like the holidays to me and i've started playing christmas carols now, starting with elvis' blue christmas :)

here's my card for ics this week:
dawn has created a lovely sketch again, and there's a great prize up for grabs this week, so i hope you find some time during the busyness to join in!

thanks for stopping by!

Inspirational Card Sketches #46

hello! it's tuesday again, so time for another awesome sketch at ics, and another awesome sponsor - the stamping boutique.i used the couch digi for my card. i printed it out on pink polka dot paper and coloured it a bit to add dimension. the sentiment is 'sit long, talk much'. i added lace and ribbon and did the stiching by hand. you can click on the pic to enlarge it.

thanks for dropping by, and i hope you join us at ics this week!

A Fresh Start

i finally found a store that i could order some kraft paper from, so i'm sure i'll be using it for a while. i like the clean look of cards this way. i photocopied a page from a book and painted over the text with white paint. i added some lace, bling and the letters are doodlebug. the inspiration is the lovely sketch at 2 sketches 4 you this week.

here's the calendar spot i made. if you'd like to use it, just right click and save.i used a 2" punch to cut it out.thanks for dropping by and have a great weekend!

Advent Wreath

i was quite busy with school last week. we presented our group marketing project which was to develop a communications plan for a non-profit organization. i created the print ads for the assignment, which i really enjoyed doing. i did that for years when i worked at a newspaper. it got me thinking that maybe i could do that again somehow, from here, maybe like on a freelance basis.

i made an advent wreath last week as well. i went to 2 craft stores and a florist to get the supplies i needed. when i want to make something, and i know exactly what i want to make it with, are the times when i sure miss wal-mart, micheal's, etc.

i wanted to buy garland, and although the 3 stores had them as decorations, they didn't sell them. the stores were packed, it wasn't easy to find what i needed, and with my limited language skills, it was quite an undertaking. though i finally bought some fresh pine at the florist in a metro station on my way home.

here are the supplies:and here's the finished product: 4 weeks before christmas eve, on every sunday evening 1 more candle is lit on the wreath (1 on the first sunday, 2 on the next, until 4 are lit on the last sunday).

when i was getting info on this tradition here, i found this (which a friend told me once, but i had forgotten about):

"the second sunday of advent is commonly referred to as bronze sunday, the third one as silver sunday and the fourth one as gold sunday. These are the high-shopping days of the retail industry there - almost like black friday in the us."

Inspirational Card Sketches #45

the mail carrier came to the door just as i was making this card, bringing with him the punch i used to make the label, and the border punch. talk about great timing! this card is for this week's sketch at ics. be sure to check out the lovely cards by the dt, and the awesome goodies up for grabs!