Little Red Wagon Challenge #96 - Border Punch

Hello!

Time for another Little Red Wagon challenge! I especially enjoyed Dee's
challenge to use a border punch because I finally used a punch I love bought quite awhile ago.

So without further ado here's my border punch card:




You may have to click on the picture to see it better but I used the butterfly border punch by EK Success.

I lifted an idea I saw in a scrapbook store years ago to use the punched out butterflies as well as the border. Of course I used some favourite scrunched up ribbon and twine I purchased here.

I also used a kraft paper card base with patterned kraft paper by Memory Box.

I really should have titled this post an 'Ode to Dee' since I used a lot of her favourites(and mine too)!

National Cathedral Layouts

I am just now starting to scrapbook photos from last summer's trip to Washington, D.C.

I was able to complete several at Memories Manor last weekend and will share them over the next while.

Here's a couple of the National Cathedral:



I was able to use some older papers and rub-ons which felt good.



I still need to add journalling but tend to that once all layouts from a particular trip are done.


Thanks for looking!

Rundetarn

While trying to find our way from Rosenborg to Amalienborg, we happened upon Rundetarn or the Round Tower.

This actually the church-side view.



Rundetarn is a 17th-century tower and is another of Christian IV's many architectural projects and was originally built as an astronomical observatory.



I'm not sure what these niches are for.



It is most noted for its 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the top, and for the expansive views it affords over Copenhagen.



Another view.



In 1726, The Czar Peter the Great ascended the corridor on horseback!



In 2011, Steve and I as well as Kathryn and Dave ascended and descended the corridor on foot!

It's The Simple Things Saturday

Hydrangeas fresh from the garden.

Ruins Beneath Christiansborg

Comments on my last Copenhagan post expressed interest in the ruins beneath the current Christiansborg.

Beneath the present Christiansborg Palace lie the ruins of Bishop Absalon's Castle(from 1167) and Copenhagen Castle(1369).



Experts were called in from the National Museum of Denmark and the ruins, which lay beneath the inner palace yard, were unearthed. Public interest in these ruins was tremendous.



It was decided that the ruins should not be covered over but preserved for posterity. The reinforced concrete structure erected to cover the ruins was the biggest of its kind in Denmark when it was built in 1908.



The ruins beneath the palace square were excavated in 1917 and a cover was also built over them. The ruins have been open to the public since 1924. The Ruins Exhibition was renovated during the period 1974-77 and has remained more or less untouched since then.



More trip posts to come soon!

Little Red Wagon #95 - Newsprint

Hello there!

The weeks have just been flying by lately. Add to that computer problems and consequently no posts :(

I had a few saved in draft before our computer issue so will publish them soon.

In the meantime it is my turn to set this week's Little Red Wagon challenge. I decided to choose a challenge that would help me break into stamps that had yet to see ink. So this week, I picked newsprint and created this card:



Of course I'm still loving banners, twine, and border punches as well as Papertrey.

If you can link up your newsprint creation over at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back on a more regular posting schedule soon!

Little Red Wagon - Back To School

Yes, its almost that time, back to school!

This week Regan is challenging us to create a back to school project.

I made this card:



So dig into your wagon and link up your back to school creation at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create.

Some Danish Castles and Palaces

Happy Monday!(I think)

After a bit of a delay I'm back with another post on our recent Baltic vacation. We have so many photos and visited so many places, it's really hard to decide how to present them in blog post format. I could write pages about all the places we visited.

For today I've decided to cover a few of the Danish castles or 'slots' and palaces we had the pleasure of seeing.

First is Christiansborg located on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen.It is the seat of the Folketing (the Danish parliament), the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court. Also, several parts of the palace are used by the monarchy, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the palace chapel and the royal stables.



This palace is the house of Denmark's three supreme powers; the executive power, the legislative power, and the judicial power. It is the only building in the world that houses all three of a country's branches of government.

It was used until 1794 as the principal residence of the Danish king and after 1849 used as the seat of parliament.



A highlight of this visit was seeing the ruins under the current Christianborg(the 5th structure in this location)revealing some of the limits and stone of the original structure built here dating back to 1167.


About 1 hour train ride north of Copenhagen is Kronborg Slot.

Kronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalized as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet.) Kronborg acquired its current name in 1585 when it was rebuilt by Frederick II into a magnificent Renaissance castle, unique in its appearance and size throughout Europe.



The castle was for centuries one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list in 2000.



In 1629 much of the castle burned with only the Chapel spared due to the strength of its arches.



Christian IV put great efforts into restoring the castle and by 1639 the exterior was once again magnificent but the interior never fully regained its former glory.




Rosenborg is a renaissance castle now located in the centre of Copenhagen. It is said to have been Christian IV's favourite castle.



It was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is another example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style and was expanded several times, finally evolving into its present structure by 1624.



This castle was used by Danish regents as a royal residence until around 1710. After the reign of Frederik IV, Rosenborg was used as a royal residence only twice, and both these times were during emergencies.

It contains an amazing exhibition of the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia.



A highlight of this castle were the interior elaborate ceilings very similar to those seen at Frederiksborg. Frederiksborg will be covered in a separate post and I'll share details on the ceilings then.

The Royal Guard march daily from Rosenborg Castle to the present Royal residence Amalienborg Palace when the Guards exercise the ceremonial changing of the guards at 12:00.

Not sure what this guard thought of me having my photo taken with him.



Amalienborg Palace is the winter home of the Danish royal family.It consists of four identical palaces around an octagonal courtyard (Amalienborg Slotsplads).In the center of the square is an equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V but it was being restored while we were there and was mostly covered by scaffolding.



Amalienborg was originally built for four noble families however when Christiansborg Palace burnt down in 1794 the royal family bought the palaces and moved in. Over the years various kings and their families have resided in the four different palaces. We were able to take advantage of an interior tour of the current guest palace extensively restored by the current Queen however we were not able to take interior photos.



I hope you've enjoyed this synopsis of some of the castles/palaces we visisted. If like me, you're interested in keeping the many King Christian's and Frederik's straight, click here for the family tree.

Little Red Wagon #93 - Put a Bird On It!

This week Avril is challenging us to put a bird on it!

I dug into my wagon, found a felt bird I've had awhile then with some Basic Grey papers created this card:



So dig into your wagons, find those birds and link up your creation over at Little Red Wagon. We love to see what you create.

Various Sights in Copenhagen

A popular area for residents and tourists is Stroget. It is one of the longest pedestrian shopping areas in Europe. And as you can see by the photos below, very busy!



Strøget was created in November 1962 when cars were beginning to dominate Copenhagen's old central streets. Building on its success, the network expanded in 1968, 1973, 1980, and 1992. From the initial 15,800 square metres of the Strøget, Copenhagen’s pedestrian network has expanded to about 100,000 square metres.



Many of the city's most famous and expensive stores, such as Illums Bolighus, Magasin du Nord, the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory, and chain stores, are located along the strip.



Royal Copenhagen is the reddish-brown brick building with gables in the photo above.



One of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen is the Old Stock Exchange built by King Christian IV (1577-1648 – ruled Denmark and Norway 1588-1648) in 1619-1640. The King was called the great builder and architect of Copenhagen, and had the ambitions to turn Copenhagen into a financial and trade centre by creating this magnificent building that housed the Danish stock-market until 1974.



We learned quite a bit about King Christian IV during our trip and I will be posting about many of the other buildings he had constructed. The Stock Exchange was designed in the Dutch Renaissance style with a prominent spire of four dragons with their tails twisting towards the top and ending in a spear with three crowns representing the union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. This was to symbolize the close relationship among the three Nordic countries.



Copenhagan, like many other European cities was built with canals.



A canal tour was a great way to see the older sections of the city.





During a walk we happened by the Canadian Embassy.





Here we are in Central Station, a rail hub dating back to 1847.



Copenhagan is a city of bicycles and we soon learned not to stand in the bike lanes!



Nyboder(meaning New[small]houses) is an area of historic row houses that were former Naval barracks that were planned and first built by Christian IV. These barracks are now homes for Copenhagan residents



This elaborate building is a store, Magasin Du Nord.



And finally, here I am beside my new car, I wish,lol!



Hope you enjoyed this little tour around Copenhagan, more to come soon.