Enjoy the Journey

the winner of this week's challenge at 2 sketches 4 you will be given a spot on the design team starting in august! very exciting!!i made this card for a friend in miami. we met years ago while both traveling in croatia and have stayed in touch since. she loves traveling and has been all over the world. the paper, which has names of cities printed on it, and which i've been saving for ever, is packaging from a clothing store bag. everything else is from various kits. i printed the sentiment on light yellow.

thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your day!

Good Marriage Wall Hanging

i made another wall hanging for the bride and groom whose wedding i attended this weekend in romania. it was very similar to a canadian wedding in most ways. dinner was served over many hours (from appetizers to the cake at the end) and the main difference was that, due to the groom's families' religion, there was no dancing or drinking. but they had some entertaining games.

the church:the reception: i was a bit nervous as i didn't want to deliver in romania :), but everything was fine. we only stayed one night, and drove around the area a bit before coming back.

the heat wave continues here, we are into week 2 of temps in the upper 30's.

Wedding Cake Card

i made a card for my cousin's daughter's wedding, which is this weekend in romania. the card stock is the same purple i used for their invitations. the cake i cut out free hand, added some lace and pearls, and made the wire stand. i based it on the sketch this week from 2 sketches 4 you.

i went to lake balaton (affectionately known as hungary's "sea") this weekend. it's about a 3 hour drive, and there are many beaches all along it's shores. then we took the (10 min) ferry across to tihany, had a lovely dinner and came home. it's always nice to get out of the city for a bit. it was slightly cooler, but not much :) the other night we watched the game at one of the parks here, where they have set up a large screen to watch the world cup. there was a thunderstorm, and the rain had just stopped at this point.

You're the Coolest

card patterns has an awesome card sketch again this week, this is what i came up with:i made the felt sun and cone while watching the world cup. don't tell the canadians, but i think i like soccer better than hockey. less violence and slightly less spitting :) i outlined the velum circle in white pen, the stickers are pink paisley, the paper some left over digital freebies i printed out.

the weather has cooled down a bit, it's been sunny, and i've been out and about enjoying it! i went to the pool the other evening. it was supposed to rain but it never did, so there were hardly any people there. budapest has many baths and waterparks in the city; they are very accessible and fun to hang out at, even if i didn't go in the water.

another reason i love this city... i'm continually amazed at the kindness shown to my belly. people are practically falling over themselves to give me their seat on the tram and bus; twice now people who were standing made people who were sitting give me their seat! and opening doors, and not having to wait in line at the grocery store or post office! maybe this happens in other countries, but i've never been pregnant in another country! so it's totally not presumed, but very much appreciated :)

thanks for dropping by and enjoy your day!

ETA: oh wow!!! i just found out i made the card patterns super 6 for this card!! such an honour, considering how much entries they got this week (and every week). they have another lovely sketch up now, and i'm hoping i can find some time this week to come up with something for it. i'm also really looking forward to seeing who their new design team is :) thanks card patterns!!

Happy Day

after 2 weeks of rainy days (great for studying) we are now in the midst of a heatwave. all i've been able to do at home is sit in front of the swamp cooler with my feet up, drinking iced herbal tea and eating copious amounts of watermelon. (... doesn't sound that bad, actually ;)) but really, today is the first time i have some energy because the temps went down to 30 something and the breeze feels a bit cool.

the grades i got so far have been good; i'm very happy about that as my brain is not working 100% these days. i'm just more interested in getting a good baby wrap than the economic situation in central eastern europe :)

i've been doing some bike riding with my big belly. i read the only concern is falling off*, so i am really careful and go very slow :) but i really enjoy it so plan to do it for as long as i can. we've been to a few festivals as well.

here's the card i made today:the inspiration is from this week's tuesday trigger at moxie fab world. i used a bunch of scraps, the rub-ons and bubble letters are rayher, the brad is kaiser. i was going to do some sewing on it, but thought it was enough as is.

thanks for looking, and hope you're staying cool in your part of the world!

*funny thing is that the boy ran into a pole last time we were out. hahaha...

I've Been ...

reading ... i found a used English book store a few weeks ago and bought about 7 books. i finished these two and highly recommend them both.

i'm currently reading this one, and it's pretty good. i've liked all the oprah book club books so far, so i think i'll order them if i can't find them here. i see there's lots on the list since the last time i checked.

baking ... oatmeal cookies, apple muffins and these awesome chocolate chip cookies. i finally had to give them to the boy to take to eat at work, because i had no will power at all, could not just have one or two at a time. :)

making ... my cousin's daughters wedding invitations... 250 of them!! i didn't realize they needed so many when i offered to make them, but i got them done finally! they will be getting married in romania, and we are planning to go. it's about a 3 hour drive, so we will just go and come back the same day. i love romania (on the top of my list of fondest vacation memories) but i don't really want to deliver there!! :))) i blurred the details in the invite, but you get the idea. the original sample i made had the ribbon woven through the paper at the top; it was the bride's idea to have the bow at the corner. attending ... prenatal class, and so glad i did. there were 4 sessions: "giving birth in hungary", "labour", "newborn care". and "breastfeeding." i learned a lot (so much to know!!). i've also been going to a mommy-baby group every week. it's been great meeting other expat moms (from all over; swedish, german, american, asian, english) and again, hearing their experiences and getting lots of great info.

shopping for ... baby stuff! there's so much, and so much to choose from. not easy to narrow it down, especially stroller/car seat. there are so many brands, so many choices, quite overwhelming. we almost had one picked out, but now it depends on whether or not it'll fit in the elevator... but hey, we're lucky we even have an elevator, as many apartment buildings here don't have one. i am also looking for a baby wrap/sling (moby, ellaroo?), and ordered a book on attachment parenting.

enjoying ... lemonade. this is my current phase/crave. i make it myself (after the boy squeezes the juice) because they don't have it here in the stores, only in restaurants, as shown in this pic from dinner out a couple of weekends ago. what have you been up to?

Sweet Girl

it's afternoon, dark, the rain has started to fall and i've just ran around closing all the windows and the balcony doors. we get major thunderstorms here that last about 20 minutes, just enough to clear the air and the streets. and they usually happen at night. so if you suddenly see everyone crowded under building overhangs, find a place for yourself too and don't make the mistake i did when i first got here; i got absolutely soaked the first time i got caught in one, even with an umbrella.

i made a card for the little sister of the person i mentioned in yesterday's post. i made the cupcake by cutting it out freehand, did some stitching and added some seed beads. i gathered the yellow ribbon, added some lace and sparkly flowers. the rub-on is doodlebug. i used the sketch from 2 sketches 4 you this week, which was just the perfect inspiration!

the girls' birthdays are about a month apart, so i'm going to send their presents together with a note to open them as soon as they get them.

i'm going to order a couple of things from this etsy shop, as soon as i decide which ones i like best :) and print them out on card stock.isn't that just the cutest!? i love paper dolls, colouring, etc... and soon i'll be able to play with all of that kind of stuff :)). thanks for stopping by!