Ballett LO and quick tip for pearls

My DD has been taking ballet lessons since September. Just before Christmas, all parents were allowed to come and watch a lesson. It was soooo sweet. I really like what they learn and DD seems to thoroughly enjoy it.


I based this LO on a Sketch by Debbie over at Frosted Designs. They have got a super sweet price - go check it out!

What could go better with a sweet ballet LO than the Prima Annabelle line. So girly and sweet.

Now here comes my tip. My pearls are never enough. Honestly. I had these great pearls
but they would not be enough to go around. So I cut them up, placed a ribbon in between to keep the distance even and voilà, it was enough. Simple tip, you have probably done it before but I am always a bit slow on these things!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment!
All the best,
Elisabeth

Winter Wonderland

It is cold here in Vienna! DD loves to go ice skating and skiing. So off we went. Right down town is an ice ring.

Since I have heard of a child falling on the ice and being in a coma since Dec 8th, I insist that she wears a helmet at all times. She is pretty good about it.



Very close to my home is a wonderful little sewing shop. They carry the sweetest ribbons and laces. I love layering the chipboard elements.




Some prima flower to go with it and done.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment.
All the best,
Elisabeth

Red and green but not a Christmas Layout

My oldest sister went on a cycling tour in Spain. When she sent me the pictures, all I saw was red and green. The only red and green papers I have are Christmas paper. Then I remembered a blog entry from Bo Bunny how to use papers in an atypical way and decided to try it out. I am actually very happy with it!

I went nuts with stitching on this LO. DD was watching a Disney DVD and I sat there with her (otherwise she gets scared) and worked on the LO. It was really nice!

Thanks for looking and leaving me a comment!
All the best,
Elisabeth

First Christmas

This Christmas, my "little" sister brought her boyfriend for the Christmas celebration. We all love him and they make a great couple. She never reads this blog, so I can say what I want LOL!

I really liked working with just black, beige and white. A good break from all the red and green!
Thanks for stopping by.
All the best,
Elisabeth

Trimming the tree - Christbaum

I cannot believe it, but I did find time to scrap!!! My DH took care of most of the cooking and DD was very well behaved. So I managed to sneak in my little paradise (aka a platform above our bed) and created this very simple LO based on a sketch by Julie Bronner.


I love the Noel line from Bo Bunny. It is fun and I love the traditional colors. Here, I mixed it with Yellow Little Bicycle.

One of my Christmas presents was the Big Bite Crop-A-Dile. I have wanted it for a long time and now I got it! It is so versatile and quiet. Perfect for setting eyelets when DD is asleep.
The Prima vines were perfect for this LO.

Journaling reads: Christmas Tree. Every year on the 23rd, we trim the tree. We listen to the Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach and Sarah is allowed to finish the piece of art by placing the star on the tree. This year, the tree is perfect - so full that it barely fit into our bay window.

Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of the festive days!
All the best,
Elisabeth

Oma and Opa SWIRLYDOOS

About a year ago, my grandmother passed away. To remember her, her scrapped my favorite picture of her with my grandfather.

Almost all items are from the Swirlydoos November Kit. I love all the specialty paper in this kit. The key was from a previous kit. Can't remember which one! The hat on my grandmother's head is a Goldhaube, a traditional Austrian thing. It is made out of cloth on a wire frame, covered over and over with golden ornaments. My mother made this while she was pregnant with me. The way it looks depends on the region of Austria.

Did I mention, I absolutely adore Prima flowers? I loved playing around with the Dusty Attic floral border. I painted it, added crackle paint and finally added a few pearls for extra fun.



Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment!
All the best,
Elisabeth

Fighting November Gray

November can be pretty awful here in Vienna - rain, gray, cold and it gets dark at 3pm. I decided to make a really colorful, bright layout to remedy the situation!

A few weeks ago we went to Wachau and had a GREAT lunch in a rather fancy restaurant. It took quite a while until the dessert was served and DD decided to have some fun.



Here are some details: Did I mention I love braids and eyelets?



DD requested some butterflies - here they are. I also like the felt letters. Different texture which gives a nice touch.

I also did some heat embossing on the frame since it looked a bit boring.


Thanks for looking and leaving me a comment!
All the best,
Elisabeth

Ever so sweet - SWIRLYDOOS

I can't get enough of the September kit of Swirlydoos. Just my colors and the embellishments are so cute.
We went to a restaurant on Thursday night and DD was so tired that she fell asleep right there in the restaurant. Usually, she stays up to 8pm, but this night, the only night we go out, she decided she was too tired... No worries, we had fun, she got her sleep and no harm done. (Friday she did not have kindergarten classes)

The LO is based on a sketch by Liz Qualman. Can't get enough of her great work! So inspiring, so easy to follow!

Here is a close up of the embellies. I made the black and white flower, otherwise simple and straight forward.

Thanks for looking (and leaving me a comment)
Elisabeth

"cool" birthday card - way out of my comfort zone

My niece turns 9 this week and she specifically requested a "cool" birthday card. "No pink, purple, glitter or flowers. This is baby stuff."
Quite a challenge for me as these are usually the things I like to use!
So I came up with this card. I hope she will be happy with it!

House of Nature - Sketchy Thursday

During our vacation, we also visited Salzburg. The kids loved the House of Nature. Based on the Sketchy Thursday sketch, I had fun playing around with the title. I replaced the T of Nature with a tree. I liked getting four pictures on this page. The papers are prima.

Thanks for looking!
All the best,
Elisabeth

Sleeping Beauty

The sketch by Liz Qualman is the basis for this LO. Dornröschen is German for Sleeping Beauty. My DD loves to wear make up - mainly as a princess.

I used a whole mixture of products. Bo Bunny, Prima, Adornit, Kaisers etc. Just whatever was pink enough for my little princess! (Waiting for all the goodies from CHA being available soon!)

All the best,
Elisabeth

Can I have one, too?

Back from your vacation! Amongst others, we met up with my cousin and her kids (3years and 1 month). Sarah was enchanted! She wanted to hug and kiss him. On our way home she asked: "Mommy, can I have one, too???" Almost everything is from the Swirlydoos August kit.

Here are some close-ups.

I started playing around with the diamond dust, which came in the embellishment add-on. I love it !
Thanks for stopping by!

All the best,
Elisabeth

Waves

is the title of my latest LO. DD, my mother and I took a great boat trip on the lake. What a fun day it was!

When I created the LO, I had a bit of trouble to find a matching paper for the journaling. So I just printed it out and got to work with the chalks. This way it matches perfectly but still was not too busy with the writing. I used the same technique with the foam letters. They were white but it just did not work. A bit of chalk and a black pen solved this dilemma.

Here is a close up of the title.

And here of the journaling.

I have not used my chalks for a long time but this was the perfect situation to use them.
The papers and embellies are all from imaginisce splash dance collection.

Thanks so much for looking!
All the best,
Elisabeth

Sassafras flowers!

With CHA taking place in Chicago, lots and lots of previews are around.
Check out this one from Sassafrass.
I just adore the glittered alphas and vintage rose flowers. Just perfect for the LO of my little precious DD.
Check out their link http://sassafras.typepad.com/sassafras/2010/07/introducing-the-new-sassafras-embellishments.html

All the best,
Elisabeth

Stamping Basics

I have only recently started to use stamps. Since I had a very hard time, I would like to share some very basic things about it. You probably know about it already, but if it helps one person to be a bit less frustrated, then I am happy!

• Store your ink pads up side down. This way all the ink is where it should be.
  
• Before you use a clear stamp, rub it slightly with a soft eraser. This way the ink is applied more evenly.
  
• The smoother the paper, the crispier the image.
  
• Before you color your stamp, wait until it is really dry. (This is a no brainer, but guess how many stamps I messed up until I followed this one LOL!)
• Using color pencils, which can be then worked with water give the best of both worlds: the precision of the color pencil and the great, smooth texture from water colors. ( I love using my Jumbo Grip Faber Castell)
  
• Stamps are great for 3 D! Just stamp several and cut out section and layer them.
  

Photos to follow soon!
What are YOUR best stamping tips? I would love to learn from you! Thank you for leaving me a comment !
All the best,
Elisabeth

Butterfly Garden - Sketchy Thursday

You just have to love Sketchy Thursday! Every week a new inspiration! And last week, I even won! If you are ever in need of inspiration, check out their wonderful sketch archive.

This week's sketch was quite interesting:

And here is what I did. Per request of my DD with LOTS of butterflies!

Almost everything is from the July Kit from Swirlydoos. Just the flowers are from my stash. First, I stamped the cardstock with a gorgeous Prima stamp (which was in the kit as well!), traced the burgundy cardstock with a Dusty Attic swirl (from a previous kit). Braided the little roses into a bouquet and made the little pearl swigs.

With the help of my DD, we punched over 60 butterflies for the "butterfly trail"in the middle of the page. Since I ran out of burgundy cardstock, I used the Bo Bunny Serenade paper to finish it off. It is almost the same color and the added glitter worked out just fine.

This picture was taken in Attersee, in front of the most wonderful old house. The garden itself was filled with butterflies and it felt just like an enchanted place.

Thanks for looking!!!
Elisabeth

Queen of the playground - core'dination

A few weeks ago, I was the luckiest girl in town. I won a fabulous price at the core'dination blog. Over 80 sheets of finest cardstock. I was so thrilled! I have used it ever since and love the fact that they have a smooth and a textured side. So versatile!

My most recent layout features the different techniques which are perfect for this paper. Embossing, cutting, distressing!

Here are some close-ups of the great cardstock.

How cute is that little crown for the queen?

I used my beloved slice machine (vintage cartridge) and cut the crown in yellow and pink and then combined the two. I inked the pearls with Tim Holtz alcohol ink to match the brown of the cardstock.

The photo features my lovely daughter who would prefer to live on the playground! We are so lucky to live in Vienna, we have THREE parks in walking distance - and we live downtown Vienna.

The most talented Julie Bronner provided the sketch for this LO. Thanks, Julie! You rock!!!

Thanks for looking and leaving a comment!
All the best
Elisabeth

Vienna, Vienna

Since I got so many fabulous photos from our ride in the carriage, I decided to make another layout. Again, based on a sketch by Liz Qualman.

The title is based on a Viennese song: Wien, Wien nur du allein. (Vienna, Vienna, only you)

The little black ornaments are really easy to apply. They come on one sheet like this and you can arrange them in whatever order you want. Highly recommendable.

This afternoon, I had the pleasure to scrap with my niece. She is eight years old and very interested in scrapping. So we had a "kiddy swap". My sister took my little girl to a river and I got to play with my niece. She did a GREAT job and is very proud of her layout. I used the live loud line .

All the best,
Elisabeth

A perfect day!

Pizza with Daddy, ice cream with her godfather and a ride through Vienna in a carriage. Does it get better than that? Sarah had a dream day yesterday and I enjoyed it, too! It is fun to be a tourist in your own city. It changes the perspective considerably.

I used the great July kit from Swirlydoos! Got to love the dusty attic items! I used acrylic colors on the chipboard, added some sparkly glue around the title. To get the edges stand up a bit, I used a paint brush and soaked the edges about 1 cm. Then got them into shape and dried it with an embossing heat tool. The flowers are from Prima, everything else was in the kit.
Again, this LO was based on a sketch by Liz Qualman.

All the best,
Elisabeth