Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Little Red Wagon Challenge #100 - Postage

Yes, it's our 100th challenge over a Little Red Wagon and this week I'm challenging you to use a postage theme on your creation.

I used a cute little PTI postage themed stamp set to create this card:



So if you can, why don't you play along with us over at Little Red Wagon, we love to see what you create.


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Helsinki

Today I'm taking you to Helsinki, another of our Baltic cruise ports.

I have to admit that the laid back pace of Helsinki was a nice change after the whirlwind two days in St.Petersburg. While waiting for our ferry, we browsed this market.


Then the ferry took us to Suomenlinna Sveaborg, a UNESCO World Heritage site.


Construction of this fortress began in 1748 by the Swedes as  defense against the Russians.


A view from Suomenlinna of our ship docked at Helsinki.


This entrance is known as the King's Gate.


On our return to Helsinki we walked to a unique domed church, Temppeliaukio Kirkko(Rock Church). It was built inside a massive block of granite and is unique in the world.


And I do have to share a shot of one of the many ferries we saw on our trip.  This ferry goes to Tallinn, Estonia, 82 kilometres away.
 

Next up is Stockholm!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Papertrey September Blog Hop Challenge


Happy Sunday Everyone!

Today I'm participating in Papertrey's monthly blog hop and created a card based on this inspiration photo:


My card uses the colour of the strips and mimics the vertical alignment on a white background:



I used Papertrey Ink colours lemon tart, melon berry, hawaiian shores and raspberry fizz. I also used PTI coordinating stamp and die sets, ribbon bits and banner builder.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

It's The Simple Things Saturday

Recent thrift store finds:
cookbooks,

vintagey glasses,


 and these salad plates for 5o cents each that match some bowls I already have!


Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Schwerin and Rostock, Germany

Time for another Baltic cruise post, this time covering our stop in Germany.

We docked in Warnemunde in Germany (formerly part of East Germany). While many on the cruise took the 3 hour train ride into Berlin, we decided to stay in the northern area closer to Warnemunde.

We took a bus through the countryside to Lake Schwerin(Schweriner See). This photo is of a rundown summer home on the lake, maybe someday it will be restored.


And the next photo is a first look from the lake at Schloss Schwerin.



And a closer view.



Construction of this castle began in the 1500's but it was extensively rebuilt in the 1800's. This is the view from the bridge across the lake/moat.

For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It currently serves as the seat of the state parliament. 


This is a closer view of the cupola over the entrance which has a statue of pagan prince Niklot who was an ancestor of the House of Mecklenburg.




After our tour of the castle, we toured the town of Schwerin and this is one example of its streets.


I love this mileage marker sign(not sure what to call it since the distance is in kilometres). Really only about 3 hours drive from Aarhus, Denmark and 6 hours from Antwerp(presuming you can drive 100km/hour the whole way,lol).


And our final stop was back in Rostock, where we toured St.Mary's church, a large gothic church built in  the 13th and 14th centuries.  Although much of Rostock was bombed in the second world war, the church was saved from fire and left intact.

Here is a photo of one of the most interesting pipe organs I have ever seen! It has over 5000 pipes.


Also unique to this church is an astronomical clock built in 1472. It contains 3 sections, the bottom section is shown below and contains a calendar valid until  2017.



This medieval clock is the only one of its kind still in working condition with its original clockworks. Very remarkable.


And that is a quick look at our time in Germany, more cruise posts come soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Little Red Wagon #99 - Repeated Stamped Image


It's time for another Little Red Wagon challenge!

This week Regan challenged us to use a stamped image three times.

I used the same stamp three times on my card below but changed up the ink colour:


And I used a cute Stamping Bella stamp too!

So dig into those wagons for those stamps and join us over at Little Red Wagon with your stamped creation.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Happy 20th Birthday Brianne!




Tallinn

Hi all, I'm back with another cruise post, this time about Tallinn, Estonia.

Estonia was previously part of the former Soviet Union and is now part of the EU. In the lower photo the cruiseship is visible in the distance.


The old city is a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Tallinn was first put on a map in 1154 and in 1219 became known by its German name Reval.

It became known as Tallinn in 1918-1920 when Estonia became independent.

The old town dates back to the 1200's and is a wonderful example of Medieval walled city.

The old town is easily seen on foot.

It is an awesome spot to purchase woolens and linens.

And see amazing old  architecture.

Even if some is partially in ruins.


Love the arches still visible here.


And a view that takes you back in time.


Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you've enjoyed your tour of Tallinn.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

OLW #64 Colour It


Hi all, I'm back with a card for this week's one layer challenge to colour it.

I simply stamped, then coloured the flowers with copics and added a bit of glitter.






Saturday, September 17, 2011

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Earrings by Brittany

Brittany has been crafting more earrings!

I think they are terrific.


Click on the picture for a closer look.

Thanks for popping by!