Winter Palace/Hermitage

Today I'm back with photos of the Winter Palace, now part of the Hermitage.

From 1732 to 1917 it was the official residence of the Russian Tsars.

Signs of opulence are everywhere and were meant to convey the might and power of  Imperial Russia.

Gold leaf adorns doors, walls and ceilings.

Ceilings contain intricate detail.

As do inlaid wood floors.

Huge malachite urns.

Marble inlaid floors with amazing details.

Gorgeous Venetian glass chandeliers.

Beautiful and stunning columns creating fabulous arches.

A gold leaf chandelier.

Such detailed ceilings.

Truly phenomenal.

Another elaborate door.

A lapis urn.

And more beautiful ceiling details leading to  a skylight.

And a detailed,gold leafed urn.

Part of the exterior of the palace, note the statues running along the roofline.

And although we were allowed entry earlier than the general public, by the time we left it was packed.

Here's a couple of photos showing the number of people there.

It was truly an amazing place and words just do not do it justice. For history on the palace click here.

Christmas Banner Swap Peek

I'm participating in a Christmas banner swap later this week and thought I'd share a peek of my piece:

Enjoy your Monday and thanks for stopping by!

Paperwhites - A Tradition

Forcing paperwhite bulbs has become a pre-Christmas tradition for me.

Last year I tried them in vases with glass marbles which worked well so I have used this technique again this year.

More photos to come when they are in bloom!

Holiday Inspiration

Need a little holiday inspiration?

Check out BHG.com and these online magazines:

Bird's Party Magazine

Party Dress Magazine

Sweet Paul

Little Red Wagon #107 - Paper Piecing

This week Joanne is challenging us to create a project with a stamped paper piecing.

I used one of my favourites Papertrey Banner Builder stamp and die set to create this card:

If you can why don't you join us over at Little Red Wagon with your stamped and paper pieced creation, we love to see what you create.


And although I did make this card a little while back in prep for this challenge, I noticed it also fits sketch 140 over Card Patterns too!

Have a great Wednesday!

Lest We Forget

Church of Spilled Blood/Church of the Savior on Blood

Well, I really need to finish up my St.Petersburg posts don't I?

I thought I'd start my more detailed look of St.Petersburg with this church featuring traditional Russian architecture and onion domes.

This church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory.

Alexander III started construction in 1883 and it was finished during the reign of Nicolas II  in 1907.

After the revolution the church was ransacked with the interior being badly damaged and it was closed in the 1930's. There was even some talk about tearing it down.

In the 1970's church management was changed and 27 years worth of restoration was put into the church which was reopened in 1997.

The result is the amazing interior contructed entirely of mosaics.

These photos do not do these mosaics justice, they are simply phenomenal.

The walls and ceilings are covered in over 7500 metres of mosiacs.

An elaborate shrine was constructed on the exact place of Alexander's death, garnished with topaz, lazurite and other semi-precious stones. Amid such rich decoration, the simple cobblestones on which the tsar's blood was spilled and which are exposed in the floor of the shrine provide a striking contrast.

Interestingly this church has never been used as an actual church.

As I look back at these photos it is hard to believe that I was actually there!

More to come soon.

Little Red Wagon Challenge # 106

Today I'm sharing my card for this week's Little Red Wagon challenge.

This week Deanna wants a congratulations project.

So I used my Cricut to create this card:

It's different for me and I'm not really sure I like it, I think it needs something but what? Suggestions would be appreciated!

If you can, join us over at Little Red Wagon with your project, we love to see what you create.

Little Red Wagon Challenge #105 - Purple People Eater

It's Wednesday and you know what means time for another Little Red Wagon challenge!

And in case you have any monsters still hanging around from Halloween, my challenge this week is to create something with monsters or the colour purple or both!

I created a card with monsters complete with googly eyes!

So if you can why don't you play along with Little Red Wagon this week? We love to see what you create!

Fall Cloche Party

Today I'm joining Marty's Fall Cloche Party with these autumn themed cloches and apothecary jars.

Simple fillings....

...but effective I think.

Thanks for stopping by!