Ljubljana - Monte Carlo journey

Hello again my dear friends!

As promised here are some photos from my trip.....

Our first stop was in Abano Terme - a lovely Spa area - hotels with swimming pools - lovely warm water - I had a great swim after quite a lot of driving....you want to get as far as possible the first day....

Here is a photo from our hotel room - you can see the pool down at the bottom.....

then we travelled a long way to the other side of Italy - to the sea area south from Genova - we had a sea view room but there wasn't much of a view....

Once you get to the Mediterranian area the flowers are just breathtaking....

Next day we drove to San Remo and stopped at the beach ....

And had a lovely lunch......octopus salad and a bit of cold meat....njam....

Towards the evening we came to Monte Carlo - well we actually stayed in France - a vllage called Beausoleil - to get to Monte Carlo all we had to do is go down a few lifts and steps and we were in Monte Carlo.....

A tipical front door in Monte Carlo...

A bit of art......

The flower market.....

a balcony......

The real problem of Monaco is that the buildings are one on top of the other - honestly even if I had a lot of money I don't think I would want to live there - here are some examples of steps and lifts and just how crowded the place is.....

Of course no city in the world can beat the luxury you see in Monte Carlo.....look at these cars...

Bently....

The fastest car in the world - Bugatti......

and many others....

Still if you go down the road a little bit you find this cute little cafe.....upstairs it is a boutique - downstairs a cafe!

Here is the only "big view" of  Monte Carlo I managed to get......because of the grand prix they wouldn't let you take pictures from certain angles so I was forced to take it where I could......

A few more flowers and that will be it for today.....

Of course a photo or two of the Grand Prix Historique.....

Someone hit the wall.....

The end.....more from my journey back through the lovely towns of Cremona, Verona....later....

Hugs to all,

Cardarian

WOYWW 155

Good morning my dear friends!

I have been so busy this week! It was a mad house - my DBF is staying here, my daughter and her boyfriend have been coming round and doing odd jobs for me - of course I provide a meal and then lets not forget I still work full time! So huh a bit worn out here! My crafty mojo is on holiday at the moment so not much has been done! I have been dabbling with the ATCs as I would like to send out a few to friends and people who don't give up on me and come and comment on my blog even though I don't have time to comment on their blog! Anyway I will show you a photo of my desk and there will be a post after this one where you will find a few photos from my trip which I promised last week and never got round to it! I am going on another trip this week - ha, ha this time to England as my DBF belongs to an MG club and we are off for our annual MG tour! We will be going to East Anglia - Corton to be more specific! I know some of you think I sound like a jetsetter whizzing from one end to another but the truth is my DBF lives in England so that kind of relationship envolves a lot of travelling! But  then comes months where I am stuck indoors and nothing happens at all! That will happen after I have my knee operation!

Anyway to get to the point here is a photo of my desk.....

It was very dull this morning so I took a picture with the light on - as you can see I have an ATC in the making and my new TH distress inks on my desk! I love the new colors especially the Peacock feathers! I stamped the bird on my ATC with Shaded lilac, I am still thinking how to finish the it off! After studying the ATCs I have decided to go 3 ways with them - vintage, quirky and modern! What that means you will see next week! 

Have a lovely week I will be reporting from England when I can!

Lots of hugs to all of you

Cardarian

PS. Look out for the next post about my Monte Carlo trip!It is here !

WOYWW, Not much on my desk but lots of news!

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

It has been quiet on this site for a while because I have been away and have just returned from a 1800 km long journey to Monte Carlo and back! I left last Wednesday - that is why there was no post last week - and as I just came back I thought I should at least let you all know that I am still around! I have lots and lots of photos and things to share - I will do that in the next days, I see some of you have already done your ATCs I haven't started yet but I will participate so it will all be done on time! I have celebrated my birthday when I was away and got 2 very lovely pressies from my DBF - a brand new KINDLE and a very fancy BRACCIALINI bag! Bought on the way back in Italy so I am very happy! 

Here is my desk.....just a few new embossing folders on view - haven't done any crafting yet......

And here is a picture of my new Kindle.....

It is very dark here - horrible weather rain and cold ( what a shock coming back from sunny Monte Carlo and Italy!) so I will take a photo of my bag some other day when there will be better light!

Here are some pictures from the Monte Carlo Grand prix historique I have attended with my DBF.... this a picture from the grand stand looking at the famous Casino....huh all these heads in the picture...but I can't help it...

Here are a few of the old cars on the track......

I have lots more to show but I will wrap this up for today as I have driven about 400 km today and I have to go to work tomorrow so I better have a rest - I will be around your desks in the next few days and also I will show you lots of my photos!

Have a lovely evening !

Lots of hugs to all my bloggy friends

Cardarian

I am back with a shabby chic card!

Hello my dear friends!

I have been away for a few days as we had some holidays ( bank holidays as the English say) and I went to visit my mom! We had a fun gathering - my brother also came with his family and as we had beautiful warm weather ( temperatures up to 30 deg C) we had a BBQ in my moms garden sitting under the cherry tree! Lovely! I came back on Wednesday but my daughter came to visit and her boyfriend , my niece and another friend and I made lunch for all of them so it was such a busy day I just couldn't get up to doing WOYWW - so I missed out on that! Still yesterday I had a bit of time after I came back from work and I got up to making this thank you card for my aunt - she went to Medjugorje ( a place of worship in Croatia- also known for the appearing of Mother Mary to some little children) and brought back a rosary for me! I thought I would make a thank you card as it was really nice she thought of me there! Prayers can only be a good thing!

Anyway here is my card 

 I looked at it this morning and thought maybe I over did it but I guess shabby chic is all about that! I started out with the main stamp ( La Blanche), colored it with copics and put some stickles on it ( Cotton Candy and I think the green one is called Dragon Fly) and that sat on my desk for a few days. Once I decided I was going to use it on a card I started hunting for a suitable background paper!Can you imagine with all the DP you have you can't find the right color??? Huh! Anyway I  decided to make it in the end! 

I smooshed Tea dye ink and Worn lipstick on my craft sheet and dipped the cardstock also added a bit of  Tuscun Sun Glimmer mist , dried it all and then stamped over it with a Stampendous stamp Le London script, which is my go to background script stamp! I inked it up but then took a little bit of the ink off with a baby wipe! After stamping I distressed the edges with Iced spruce ink just so I caught a little bit of the grey that is on the frame of the flowers! Then I started putting bits and pieces together ! Initially I wanted to go with an all "pinky" card but I made up my mind and added blue lace and blue ribbon then I also stamped a butterfly to match them! I went to my "antique magazines cupbord" and found some old text with gothic letters and to my kitchen to get some waxed baking paper ( don't have the fancy TH one)  and then I was almost done.....well yesterday  I got a package of German scrap - it is really hard to get that thing! I had to order it from the States and it is called GERMAN scrap! Hello??!? Anyway I added a bit of that too!

 If you have managed to stay with me till now I imagine you are fast asleep at your desk, ha, ha what was I thinking talking so much about a card - honestly sometimes I just need to talk about crafting! I only have you bloggers to talk to about this! So bare with me!

Have a lovely weekend I will be back with you soon!

Lots of hugs to all

Cardarian

WOYWW, My name is Cardarian and I am a stampacholic!

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

Another busy week has passed but luckily a really nice and peaceful one is coming up! We have a few holidays or as the English say bank holidays coming up so I hope to do a lot of crafting! I just have to tough out this week! 

Anyways lets get on to the usual Wednesday business! First of all have you noticed the blogger has changed and I don't like it! You just get used to one lay out and here comes another one ! Pooooooooooo!!!!

Why did I say I was a stampacholic??? Well last week I was putting cling film on some of the stamps I bought at Ally Pally and as I was putting them away I realised how much stamps I actually have! I haven't been stamping more then about 3 years and I have accumulated an amazing amount of stamps! I will show you just some of the companies I have been buying from and honestly it worries me! I am not actually sure if it isn't more the thrill of buying then actually using them ! Initially I was all into digi stamps but once I have been aquainted with rubber that was it .....so let me show you a few of my "collections"....

Starting with La Blanche stamps - some of you might know them .....vintage stamps on white silicon - very nice to stamp with........

Hero arts stamps - these are just the ones on Cling foam and clear stamps.....

Next a box of Crafty Individuals, Paperartsy, Stampers anonymous, Viva and Dylusions.....

Next up Papermania, Indigo blu, Lost coast designs and Prima

And here is a mixture of Artemio, Inkadinkado, Penny Black, Cuddly Buddly, LOTV, Magnolia  and Lawn Fawn....

And as last some Creative Expressions, Stamp attack, Artistic Outpost......

I will stop now although I haven't shown you all my wooden stamps and some others - I will save that for next time...so am I an addict??? Yes I am and I must do something about it - for now just try NOT to buy any new stamps!

And as last ( although our queen Julia would probably say I should have shown this first) is what is on my workdesk now.....it is a little project I have made - inspired by Mrs. Lin from LB Crafts - now Paperartsy - she did a demo at Ally Pally using, Pan Pastels, Fresco Finish cracle paint, masking tape and other interesting techniques with a lot of stamping ! Here is my take on ( I did do all the techniques) and at the bottom is Lins work - there is of course no comparison ( I didn't have all the material she had and of course maybe just 1% of her knowledge) but I did my best - it was my first ever stamping on material - I have chosen a bit of cotton to stamp the man on and well I am quite happy with my make !

Ok now I am finished.....have a lovely day....enjoy the snoop and I will see you around....I will have more free time in the next days so I will be calling in!

Lots and lots of hugs to all of you

Cardarian

WOYWW 150!!! Ally Pally!

Good morning my dear WOYWWers!

So today it is the 150th WOYWW! Another milestone! Congrats to all! We have made it this far - thanks to Julia our Queen! The worlds biggest blog hop is still going strong, more and more taking part! I hope you all enjoy it very much! I have learned so much since I am a part of this and I am sure all of you did too - it is not just about snooping it is about spreading information, techniques and whatever you want to know about crafting! Also friendship - some virtual some in real life! So WOYWWers lets now run the marathon towards 200!!!

Ok then lets get on with the regular Wednesday business! 

As you all know I have been on a short break in England and was very lucky to be able to go to Ally Pally! The show is really amazing - I think although I did make a few rounds around I still probably didn't see half of the stuff ! My DBF financed most of my shopping and I did get lots - things I really wanted for a while - some of the things were half price of what I would pay for them here! So let me show off my Ally Pally haul, then a few photos from the show and as last my last making!

Here is an overlook of all the stuff I bought layed out on the bed....It is a lot less then what other people have bought but I am happy with what I got

Here is some detail .....I bought a lot of stuff at Paperartsy - Stamps and Fresco Finish paints, I also bought stamps from Indigo Blu, The Artistic Stamper, LOTV and others....

I also got some got some TH Alterations, stickers, stickles....

You can also see some twin, sticky tape, bling, tags and other bits and bobs....

So that was my Ally Pally haul.....now come a few photos from the show....

People queuing to get in......

Paperartsy stand - oh the lovely stuff these ladies make.....I met a fellow WOYWWer there Helen here bellow right in the front of the photo.....it was so nice to meet you again  Helen.....

The Paperartsy ladies Lyn and Leandra have shown lovely new techniques - I really learned a lot and have come back home with a lot more mojo then I had when I left home! Really inspiring!

Here is one of the makes Lyn made for us.....

Next stop was the Artistic Stamper - they have a new range of stamps with houses - I bought them of course - here is Jennie showing off her new stamps and also the WOYWW badge!

WOYWWers who visited her stand also got a little present - a free stamp! Thank you Jennie!

Here is the LOTV stand - I bought some cute Christmas stamps there - what an amazing collection of stamps you can see there....ha, ha how can anybody think of so many different cutsy little girls I have no idea....

I could go on and on with these photos but I think this is enough for you snoopy girls.....well not quite finished - here is one of me in front of the Alexandra Palace - carrying  my heavy rucksack full of lovely stuff! And Julia I proudly wore my WOYWW badge!

Also unfortunately when I came back from England I heard that one of my best friends mom died and I made a sympathy card for her....and that actually rounds up my post for today!

Have a lovely snoop and a lovely week !

Lots of hugs to all of you!

Cardarian

WOYWW, I am back!

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

I am sorry I have been away for a while but life and work took over so I couldn't do blogging or crafting - well I did  some stuff which you will see as you scroll down the page! But before I start with my showing off I would like to ask all you ladies who intend to go to ALLY PALLY on SATURDAY the 14th to let me know ( just leave a comment) and I will try to find you there as I would love to meet some of you! Thank you!

Now we can start with the show off! Ha, ha...

First is first here is my desk of this week - very boring - just made a card for one of our professors - he went from student to professor of forest engineering - specialised in forest roads and he has a special day today so I made a card for him - we have been working together since day one ! The card is on my desk....

The card symbolises his road to success!

And then I have a few photos from my Easter day with my family at my moms.... our Easter table.... I decorated :-)

Close ups...... the plate....

the famous Easter flower, Easter eggs and of course we couldn't be without an Easter bunny.....

Here is a photo of all of us at the table.....

And to finish off I have another couple of spring photos I have taken lately......

Now I am finished!
Have a lovely day, enjoy life and let me know if you will be at Ally Pally!
Lots of hugs to all of you
CARDARIAN