Friday Smiles

Hello Friends

Now it is traditional that I share a joke with you and Annie on a Friday, but today I wanted to share some real smiles that I have had recently, last week in fact.  I hope you don't mind!!

My Hubby, my Bestie and her Hubby, and myself (oh and who can forget Fergus!) went on a little trip to Prague last week.  What a wonderful time we all had.  So sorry if this bores you but here goes...

 Just look at the colour of that sky!!!

My Bestie and Her Hubster!!  As you can see he was in the Christmas spirit!!

My new Friend!!

A view from down river.

Yours truly and Hubbie people watching.  Note the alcoholic amongst us!!

 How about this for a Christmas Tree?  This is just the base of it!  I would love those Gingerbread houses around mine!!

And what about Fergus??  We found him unashamedly drunk after the first night!!!

Off to join Annie and the crew for Friday Smiles. I hope this made you smile too!!

See you later and have a great weekend.

Hettie

Pivo O'Clock - Scrapbooking Tuesday

Hello Friends

Well would you believe, I was having a tidy up in my room, when I came across a photograph of Hubby on our first Christmas trip to Prague?  Should I put it back in a box, (not with all the other photos of the same trip as it would take too long), but in a box with mixed photos?  Or should I scrapbook it?  Well I think you can guess which option I chose, or you wouldn't be seeing a layout below!!

So I started with a sheet of plain cardstock and I took some acrylic paints and various paintbrushes and even a toothbrush and flicked some black and gold paint over the card.  Leaving this to dry I carried on with the rest of the elements.  The swirly piece is half of a shaped page being used as a template, cut out of Kaisercraft and then mounted on a piece of green co-ordinations cardstock and trimmed to about 1/4-1/8th inch. I then took some Technique Tuesday stamps and stamped with Black Soot DI.

The large rectangular piece was made one evening when I had a video clip of Donna Arkle playing with spray inks and a glass of wine on the go!  I created several sheets of sprayed paper and this is one of them.  I did not have any plain white/cream 12x12 at the time so I followed Donna and used the backs of some papers I did not particularly like! I have mounted this on to more of the green cardstock.   The clock is one of my new stamps which I won on the FB CC101 challenge.  Love those TPC Studios stamps!  The rosette was left over from my Christmas Tree projects.

The layered piece was made using a mixture of EK Success punchouts and Tim Holtz Lace die cuts.  The text was cut using my Cricut (not sure what font but if you want to know I can tell you - though there was chocolate involved!).  

The clock is a Tim Holtz of course!  Die cut using a scrap of chipboard, painted and then waxed with Treasure Gold.  A little TH embellishment and the Remember is another TPC Stamp.  The Ironwork stamps are all Technique Tuesday stamps and the large corners were double stamped with Black Soot DI and bronze Distress Stain . 

The top part of the layered square was stamped with Wendy Vecchi stamp with a mixture of TT and TH stamps.  

Look at those glasses - they look huge now but were all the rage back in 2000!!  Tee Hee! 

Hope you like and thanks for popping over.  If there is anything else you want to know please do not hesitate to ask.

Hettie

PS  Why Pivo O'clock?  In Prague it is always time for a beer!  It is one of our little sayings! As well as "It is 5 o'clock somewhere!" or my favourite "Is it Baileys time?"

Funkie Junkie 12 Tags - No 7

Hello Friends

I am still beavering away working on my 12 Tags of Christmas with The Funkie Junkie, which is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique, and here I am going to show you No 7 (my eighth tag).  I have until midnight on Monday to finish the last four!!  Yikes!!

As usual I will show you Linda's tag first....

When I looked at this tag, and after I had said "Wow", I looked carefully at the elements Linda had used.  The cottage reminded me of my own home (except mine is not wooden and at the moment is not, sadly, covered in snow) and the word "Holidays" reminded me of somewhere that Hubby and I have spent holidays at Christmas where it does snow from now until the end of February.  Any regulars to my blog will know that this is Prague.

So here is my take on Linda's tag.....

I have used the kraft glassine with Ranger Ink Refresher technique, then swooshed with Bundled Sage DS and some Bronze DS and then inked with Vintage Photo DI.  I left it all to dry whilst I ate my tea and came back and finished drying it with my heat tool.  

The Charles Bridge scene is a Darkroom Door stamp as is Praha and the clock.  I stamped the scene and the Praha onto Snippets of SU Vanilla CS using Coffee Archival ink, heated them with the heat tool and on the Bridge scene, using an embossing pen I went over in places and added some schparkly embossing powder to give the feeling of crisp snow.  (I notice the lamppost on the Image looks squiffed but I assure you it isn't.  It may be the angle of the card underneath as it is only on the top edge??)  Then I edged both images with VP DI. 

Then I moved onto the background of the tag and stamped the clock image from DD, using firstly Bronze DS then secondly Black Archival ink.  I found another coffee cup protector and swooshed some Bronze DS over it, tore it to fit the image and then edged with VP DI and mounted the Bridge image on it.  

I then cut a TH Lamppost twice out of glitter cardstock, once with gold (to get the effect of light) and again in black for the post itself.  I cut the Holly out of K&Co cardstock, adhered the holly onto the lamppost and adhered some red beads onto the holly.  

The Christmas Memories embellishment is a K&Co one and the final touches were the TH Snow Tissue Tape and the ribbon, which incidentally I bought in Prague when we were there in February.

So that ends Tag 7.  Only 4 more to go, one of which I will post later (hopefully).  I am off out to a Christmas Party tonight with Scottish Dancing friends, so need to go and get showered and dressed up to go. 

Thanks for calling by. 

Hettie

Prague - Daily Journal Suitcase

Hello Peeps

Do you remember back in February myself and my Hubby went to Prague and I made a Journal to take with me and I took my little mini printer (photos are 2"x3") to add in photos of the day?  Well, I took some photos of the finished article and when I was having a sort out of photos (I transfer to an external drive once in a while in case my computer does a wobbly - again!) and realised I still had not put my photos to show you here on my blog.  So apologies for my omission and I will share them with you now if you don't mind!

The cover which some of you may recognise is from the Tim Holtz die and a Tim Holtz stamp.  No we did not go to St Moritz, this is just one of the stamps in the collection!  I must tell Mr Holtz that he ought to do some Czech stamps for me..... I wonder!  Maybe I could meet him there and show him around.  Lots of wierd and wonderful places for him to see!!!   Anyhoos, I digress!

The picture on the left is the hotel we stayed in.  The card is actually a business card.  Our bedroom windows were the three immediately above the front door!  Fabulous bedroom - four poster bed, hand painted ceilings.  If you want to know more about it, let me know and I will e-mail you.

Some scenes of Prague and Fergus enjoying a pint of the Dark Beer, which I grew very fond of (and so did Fergus if truth be told!)!!

Some photos from the Technica Museum.  Those photos on the right are very old printing machines which were absolutely beautiful, and if they were turned on they would certainly work, as that is how the Czechs are about museums.  Mr Holtz could certainly get some fantastic ideas for stamps in there, especially with some of the plates that were on show!

And some photos of Prague Zoo.  Not somewhere I frequent often zoos, but I wanted to see how this zoo had picked it up after the devastating floods which occurred in 2002.  Most of the zoo was 10' under water in a very short space of time and only 4 animals were lost.  Amazing! Prague Zoo is also in the top 10 of the world for animal welfare and we could see that there was a complete new section being built for the Hippos and Elephants.  That bird you can see is a baby Red Kite.  We are occasionally lucky enough to see one at home, but never this close.  We could probably have touched it, but for the fact we may have lost a few fingers.  Mother was watching from a distance but she did not seem too bothered by us.  Beautiful he was too.  One viewing of a Red Kite I will not forget for a very long time.

Well, I hope you like my little Journal.  I certainly had fun creating it and will definately be making more for future trips.  

Don't forget to leave me a note in the Visitor's Book so I know you have been.  Thanks for popping in.

TTFN

Hettie

CC2C #2 - Time - ATC

Hello there

This week our Lovely Leader Linda Ledbetter (sorry, was on an L roll!) asked us to turn to page 58 of Tim Holtz's new Compendium of Curiosities and play with our alcohol inks - Yippee!  Do go over to see Linda's blog as she has a visitor Angie Lentz who has a beautiful piece. I have to say that my photos are a little more bluey than they are in real life.  Hmmn!  

I am not allowed to tell you what I have done to create this piece but I can tell you what the theme is.  Time and how we are slaves to it.  We get up with the alarm, we clock into work, we take elevenses, we have lunchtime, then it is teatime, then hometime, and bedtime.  Can you see a theme?  Hence why when Hubby and I go on holiday the only important times are the flights otherwise we ignore the watches!!

No matter what angle I took the photo I had difficulty capturing the perfect pearl mist.

I have learnt something tonight, if you create a patch of Picket Fence to stamp on then stamp with coffee archival ink, then spray with perfect pearls mist then it disappears!  Therefore, stamp after the perfect pearls mist has been applied.  

Here's hoping you have a good week!  Please do not forget to leave me a comment.

Hugs

Hettie

Ingredients:-  Stamps - Darkroom Door, Crafty Individuals; Inks - Alcohol, Disress stains, Distress inks, Archival ink - all Ranger; Perfect pearl mist - Gold - Ranger; Ideology - Ranger; Background book from antique shop in Prague (ahh!), canvas board - The Works.

Scrappy Tuesday - Czech Tock!

Hello Peeps

Time for Scrappy Tuesday again.  Another layout which I completed at the Retreat I went on with the lovely ladies of PENALLY. 

I took a pile of photos to scrapbook going by the guide which Penny and Ally gave us and yet again I used a photo which was not intended to be used.  This was because I just loved the vivid colours of the papers and thought they went so well with the clock.

The clock by the way is the Anatomical Clock which is situated at the Old Town Hall in Prague taken in December 2008. 

Hope you like it!

Hugs

Hettie

Xx

P.S. Incidentally, I went with the title “Scarlet Ribbons” for last week’s layout.  It was quite appropriate as some time ago I did another layout about Ribbons.  I will try and remember to show you that one next week!  Thanks Lisa!

WOYWW 145 - Hey Peeps I am back and with a tidy desk to boot!

Hey Guys and Gals

I know, I know.  I have been kinda missing in action recently from the WOYWW scene.  I could say that I have been poorly (which is true), I have been on holiday (again true), no time (hmmmn!) but I am not going to.  Just going to say Honey I am back!!

And if it is not a shock that I am back, I am back with a tidy desk.  Be warned! Sit down! And be prepared for some tidiness!!  

See! Told ya!  Just a lickle WIP - a "manly" book in readiness for my next craft fair!  In the event you are wondering why on earth I am showing you a photo of my desk on Wednesday it is all part of the biggest blog hop of the world....probably.  Click HERE or on the WOYWW button on my sidebar to be whizzed over to the desk of Julia the wonderful host of this event.

And here is Fergus and yours truly taking a pew at the Zoo in Prague in one of the hot houses. This is the first time Hubby and I have ever been to a Zoo and the first time for me since about....a long time ago!  It was kinda eerie to think that during 2002 a lot of it was severely flooded and they managed to get all but 4 animals to safety with only the minimum of notice!  (Can you believe my hair was all spikey in the morning before I left the hotel?  Then I put the hat on!! Lethal hats are, lethal!!  But at -18 I needed that hat so c'est la vie ey!)

And again, in Prague.  This time at the Technika Museum. I did not quite expect to see a Spitfire here but boy did this make me happy to be soooo close to one.  Next stop - I want to be in one!  One day.....hopefully!!

Right then.  Happy Hump Day to y'all and see ya later!  

TTFN 

Hettie (and Fergus)

Snippets Challenge - Busy Birthday Month February

Hello Peeps

Time to sign in to the Playground with the lovely Di again! 

I have decided to follow Sandra's example of doing one posting for the Snippets each week so that poor Di does not have to link quite so many cards to her posting.  Poor thing must have typists' cramp by the end of Saturday evening so I have a selection of cards for you to see......

First up was my friends' Emma and Gryff's Anniversary card....

Then another card along the same theme for Joan.  Joan was 90 last Friday!  What is even more amazing is that she still regularly attends the Scottish Dancing Group and still dances!!!  Amazing woman!  I will be one happy bunny if I can still be dancing when I hit 90!! 

Next up is Annie's card.  Annie's birthday was Wednesday and she loved her card.....

I made the little Friends tag removable and printed on both sides of it.  I then handwrote a message on there for her eyes only.  Annie is one of the solicitors who is at my place of work.  Such a lovely lady who will be retiring next month so look out for a retirement card. 

Incidentally, she is Farmer and has chooks so I couldn't resist making her a chicken themed card.  When she opened it she almost immediately asked me to make her one for her friend!!

Next up is Patti's card, whose birthday is today.  Happy Birthday Patti.  A cat lover but I don't think I have any cat stamps and so mice with chocolates will be a good substitute I am sure.  The stamped image is one from my buddy Sandra.

Next up is Gloria's card.  I could not resist butterflies and lots of stamps.  Gloria will be retiring from the firm at the end of next month too - so another retirement card is imminent!!  :-(  Perhaps I should invest in a retirement stamp - any ideas where/which one?

Right then.  That is enough from me for one posting.  I need to pack my stuff for quilting tomorrow and also a dancing lesson and a visit to my folks on the way home.  I think I will need a holiday after all this running around!!  LOL!!

One more picture for you...... we stopped at a coffee shop just before we headed back to the hotel to pick our bags up and wait for the taxi and I could not resist taking a photo of the noticeboard outside.  Enjoy!!

Chow for now!!

Hettie



Karlov Most Scrapbook Layout

Dobrey Den Peeps!!

Hey I am back in the land of the Blogging at last!  Sorry I have been off the radar for the last week and a bit, but as most of you know I have been away to the land of the freezing temperatures and cool beer that is Prague!!  I had planned to post this layout last week from Prague but unfortunately the wifi at the Hotel was slower than at home so it didn't get done.  So here is a layout of the lovely Karlov Most bridge that I would not like to mention how many times we walked across last week....

This photograph was taken from the top of the tower on the "new" side of Vlatva River and was taken on our first Winter break to Prague back in 2000.  This actually is one of my favourite pictures of Prague that I have taken, and I am surprised that it has taken until now to scrapbook it, but I have now!  At the top right of the photo you can just see a little peek of St Vitus Cathedral.

The papers were Piggy Tales - Three Bears I believe, which I bought from Banana Frog in their closing down sale recently.  Wish I had bought more as they are lovely double sided papers and great to work with.  The stamps are Technique Tuesday which I bought a long, long time ago, lost them, found them, lost them and now found them again.  This is actually the first time I have used them!!  I must ensure I do not lose them again as they are rather "Praguest" don't you think?

The Passport card is 7 Gypsies, the plain cardstock is Bazzill, font is Bloom from Sizzix and of course the lamp post is Tim Holtz - the whole reason I bought the lamp post die is because it reminded me of Prague!

You may possibly pick up that I stamped a flourish stamp on the lamp and then embossed with copper/bronze embossing powder.  (It really is copper/bronze powder as I only had a little of the bronze left so I mixed in the copper and I love the colour!)

(sorry about the wonkyness of this picture!)

Embossing folder, Post Card stamp, distresser, flourish stamp on the lamp post and accordian dies are all Tim Holtz, and I used Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain distress inks throughout. 

We were planning to climb the tower again to get another up-to-date photo of the bridge but we never seemed to get around to it as it was either too crowded, or getting dark or some other reason when we went past.  Never mind, it isn't going anywhere!  If you go to the right of the bridge there is an exhibition of the former bridge that this bridge replaced (Judith Bridge) and a coffee shop where they sell an elixir made there which former Templar Knights used to drink!  Just right for warming you up and giving you rosey cheeks!

Somebody (Vikki I think) left me a comment last week saying that she loved Prague more than most of the other cities in Europe (Paris, Vienna)!!  Whilst I cannot vouch for Vienna, I can certainly tell you that in our humble opinion Prague is nicer than either Paris or Rome.  If you are fancying a trip over, please feel free to e-mail me and I can point you in some interesting directions with ideas of hotels, restaurants and things to do!!

TTFN for now.  I will try to be better at blogging and will show you some more photos from Prague as soon as I upload and edit them onto my computer.  I don't know why but life is definately getting in the way at the moment.  I have even had to change my morning routines due to the mornings becoming light again!!  How did that happen in a week?

Hugs

Hettie

WOYWW - Greeetings from a different workdesk!!

Ahoy Peeps

Happy Whats on your Workdesk Wednesday Day

Happy Hump Day

And a belated Happy Valentines Day

I do have a workdesk this week but not quite the messy one which you are used to, but  I have been working on my Journal,  my Holiday Journal as we are on holiday in Beautiful Prague at the monent.  Just 'cos we are away that doesn't mean I was going to miss out with linking with the world's largest blog hop which takes place every Wednesday and is organised by the Lovely Julia! So here is my desk......

And here are some photos of Beautiful Prague to help you to wish you were here!

Off to have some breakfast and then wander around this beautiful city some more!  Yesterday we found some beautiful streets which were only just off the beaten track so it is worth turning a left when you normally go right once in a while!! Be back to check some desks out later!!

Dobrey  Den!!

Chow!

Hettie

P.S. Please link to Julia's blog using the button on my sidebaras this wifi is far tooooo slow!!

Happy Valentine's Day - Snippets

Good Evening Peeps from, a very snowy Praha

Hubby and I have taken a short breaks to wonderful Praha to spend Valentine's Day.  So I thought I would show you the Valentine Day card which I made for my lovely man......

As you can see it has the theme of Praha, the medieval manuscript and illuminations were from a book which I bought some time ago, second hand for £1, as I knew it would come in handy for some Praha scrapbooking in the future, the cogs were to represent the clock tower in Old Town Hall (plus it also justified me spending money on the die!!), the hearts are kinda obvious and the heart punch border I actually borrowed from my friend Penny, and the image stamped on the bottom is Karlov most aka Charles Bridge, one of the most significant monuments of Praha after the castle of course.

All the pieces were from scraps which entitles me to entry into the Snippets Playground of the lovely Di.

And, just because I cannot get enough of Praha at the moment, here is a picture I took earlier today - please bear in mind that I have not yet edited this photo and we are on our way UP this hill with further to go til we get to the Monastery! 

 And as for Fergus - he has been a bit of a naughty boy not that he needed much encouragement from Simon!!!

TTFN

Hettie