Just Add Ink Challenge # 467

In April, I contacted, met and then crafted with Lotte Noordzij-Walther of A-Lotte-Stamping-Fun.   The card I made for this weeks Just Add Ink Challenge was one that I made when I was Stamping with Lotte.

The Just Add Ink Challenge this week is a Sketch Challenge.

Here is my card……I used the Butterfly Gala stamp set (which is one I had not used before).  It has lots of lovely Butterflies that can be coloured so many different ways.  I also used some vellum to make some delicate leaves.

How do you like the grass in the background??  It’s actually our back lawn which is so lush and long and green at the moment.   Being Winter here in WA everything is green rather than the usual sunburnt brown.

Lucky for me, Lotte also had the matching Butterfly punch for these images which saved me from fussy cutting.

Join this Just Add Ink Challenge here and also check out other cards and projects made by the Design Team for this Challenge.

Let me show you the lovely Birthday card that Lotte gave me.  The pic does not show it well, because you can’t see the glitter on the #50.  As you can see this card not only celebrated my Birthday but also my time in Rotterdam and the Netherlands.  I frequently went Windmill hunting and adored Tulip Hunting too.   It also reminds me of the wonder time I spent crafting with Lotte and makes me wish we lived closer to each other so we could craft together again.

Meanwhile in the Craft Room…..(and other things)….

While I was away I celebrated a Big Birthday.   We had arranged it so that Neil and Sarah arrived a couple of days earlier so we were all in Rotterdam together.

In the morning we visited the Cube houses that are in the heart of Rotterdam.  They were built in 1982-1984, there are 38 in all and most of them are lived in.  They are also known as pole-houses or tree-houses.

We then walked across the road to (my fav place) the Markethal – where we had some Dragons Breath.  It’s kinda like sweet cereal balls that are bathed in liquid nitrogen – so when you eat them they make it look like you are breathing fire……a bit of fun.

After lunch we got on the Water bus and went to Kinderdijk.  I really loved it here – it was my 2nd visit.

We were very lucky with the Waterbus – being a week day, it was not very busy.  The Waterbus man (Conductor) took Neil up to the front of the boat and showed him around while Sarah and I enjoyed the view and wind in our hair.   The Waterbus man then went round and offered to take photos of all the tourist (us) on the boat.   It was fun……even more of a bonus was that he only charged us for a one-way trip.

In the Evening we went to Vessel 11 for Dinner.  It’s a big old tug boat that was situated on the canal between Work and my Apartment (so about a 2 minute walk).  

I received lots of lovely Birthday cards (thank you to everyone for them) and I will share them over the next wee while.   But today I want to show you one that Kelly posted to my apartment in Rotterdam.   I was wrapped to receive it.

I thought this was a great fancy fold – so decided to have a go at it myself.  I put together a little thank you card and gift for the young lady who  did a marvelous job at looking after our house and pets. 

Just Add Ink Challenge # 465 – Add the Season

When I arrived in Rotterdam in March, it was the end of Winter and there were no leaves on the trees.   During the following months, the trees and flowers bloomed.  It was so lovely to see all the bright leaves.

One of my adventures was going to see the Tulip fields.  I hired a bike and spent the day discovering the Haarlem area.  It was a fabulous day – despite my sore bottom after about 5-6 hours on the bike.

Now I am back in Australia, and most of the leaves have gone from the trees.  But I noticed there are a few leaves that are clinging to their trees and they are many different colour’s.   So my card this week is based on Autumn leaves.

Also – can you see the leaves in the background of my photo?  I actually took this pic at the Train Station (where I park my car on week days).  There are piles and piles of leaves around – so I decided they would make a good background for this card.

For this card I used stamps from two Stamp sets:  Floral Essence and Rooted in Nature.  The DSP is Mosaic Mood Specialty DSP

It would be great if you could join us for this Season Challenge.  Here is the link to Just Add Ink where you can join the Challenge and also see many other Just Add the Season projects from the Design Team.

Just Add Ink Challenge # 464 – Colour Combo

My holiday is now over and I made it back to Australia ok.   We had a fabulous time exploring Europe.  So many wonderful days full of exciting adventures.  Lots of great memories made.

We loved Venice the most – it was magical.   At Disneyland (Paris) we had “The Best Day Ever!”  And the food in Munich and the UK was fabulous.

We realised how lucky we are in Australia and New Zealand in terms of space and cleanliness as we found many of the cities we went to very crowded and dirty (particularly Rome)!

I have been back now for 6 days but find I am still feeling the effects of the Jet lag. We all came home with the flu which probably has not helped with adjusting to the time zone.

Back to work!
I chucked a sickie on Monday to recover from the Jetlag and cold/flu that I came home with.  Then returned to the office on Tuesday.

With my Rotterdam water bottle on my desk, I am getting back into the swing of things.  The office is pretty quiet at the moment, which is good but I do find myself yawning through the afternoons.

I have spent a little bit of time in my craft room and created a card for the Just Add Ink Challenge this week.
This week we have a very pretty Colour Combo to play with that was suggested by Jackie.  Here is the card I made:

I masked a circle and the stamped some dots around it in the Soft Sea Foam.  That created a lovely frame for my sentiment.    I used a selection of Stamp sets on this card.  Rooted in Nature for the Sentiment, Perennial Birthday for the Flowers and Leaves and Daisy Delight for the Dotty frame.

Join us for this Challenge and to look at the other cards made by the Just Add Ink Design Team follow this link.

Travel Update…..the past Month or so.

Well June was a very busy month of Travel throughout Europe.   Here are a few of the highlights…..there were so many!

I finished up work at the end of May and my husband Neil and daughter Sarah joined me in Europe for a holiday.   I showed them around Rotterdam and Holland (Amsterdam, the Hague, Kinderdijk etc) which they loved.

We then headed to Paris for a couple of nights.   Climbed the Eiffel Tower, visited the Louvre and had the Best Day ever at Disneyland.

Munich was the next stop – where Neil got his Lederhosen on!  Neil loved the Beer and Sarah loved the Pretzels!

We went onto Venice – which we all loved.

Rome came next.   The crowds were a bit overwhelming and it was very dirty and hot.

We finished up in London and the UK!    We had another big day at Harry Potter World.  We spent a glamourous night at Rochford Hall and discovered Hornsea – where we found a boat covered in Knitting!   Very cute!

We spent our last day in London visiting Tower Bridge.  I was very surprised by how much the London skyline has changed. So many new and modern buildings.

So we are now back Home, very tired and a little fluey…….but having had a wonderful holiday!