A big "Tack" and a moose.

We're back, refreshed and raring to go after two and a half weeks in Sweden. Boy, I thought Luxembourg was covered in forest but it turns out there's a place covered in more forest than here!! We spent two weeks in the countryside which was totally and utterly peaceful, just perfect for some "r and r". The last few days were spent in Stockholm which was in total contrast as you'd expect from a busy city.

For those who doubted the weather (me included) it was quite hot on most days so much so that a dip in the lake was called for!

The first day though was dedicated to scrapbooking and Lena had arranged for us to join in with a Mini-Mara (crop) in the nearby village of Frodinge. My thanks or that should be "tack" goes to Eva http://angsboa.se/ for hosting it in her home along with Camilla who made the most delicious cake and Petra who created a beautiful box in a vintage style. I'm sure she won't mind if I point you in her direction it's worth a look. http://paradises.blogg.se/

They explained to me that a Mini-Mara usually lasts for a few hours to a whole day as we did, and a Mara can last for anything up to a couple of days! Heaven!!

This is Lena hard at work on her Summer 2009 album.
Petra working on her box.

As you can see here the countryside in Sweden was gorgeous and the lakes, which were all over were suprisingly warm. I swam out to this pontoon and it usually takes me about 20minutes to get into the sea in the south of France!

This too is a familiar Swedish sight and although I saw this moose up close and personal in a park, I did see one in the wild.

"Tack" to Lena and her family for a memorable holiday we enjoyed it so very much.

Now we're back there's plenty to do, a Swedish book to finish, challanges to throw myself into and a woolly garden to tackle!

Off on holls!!

Woohoo, I'm off on holiday tomorrow for two and a half weeks - can't wait, but I'm not looking forward to the 4am wake up in the morning in order to catch a flight - aaahhhh!!

I've packed, edited and re-edited the case in order to stuff in a few more craft items, (a pair of shoes had to go!) needed for a workshop I'll be attending while I'm away.

I've spent most of this week picking, blanching and freezing vegetables from the garden, today included. Even though two of the girls will be staying home I don't suppose for one minute they'll be interested in picking and eating veggies so I may as well gather as much as possible to save for later!

Hope you all have a good few weeks, I'm sure I will, so see you soon.

Take a ride on a carousel.

This 8 x 11 layout was inspired by the theme for Wednesday Stampers which is "Take a ride".
On a recent trip into town I saw the first traces of the big fair which hits Luxembourg in september. It's just huge and could be one of the biggest in Europe. It comes just once a year and lasts for three whole weeks and every year there's something new. It marks the end of the summer so to see the beginnings of it so early on is really sad and makes me realise how fast time goes by.

The layout background was made by resist stamping and rubbing with a candle in places, painting with watercolour paint and lightly sanding those areas with embossing and candle wax to give a distressed feel.

This'll be my last challenge for a while as I'm off on holiday at the end of the week. Plenty of craft materials going with me - don't worry on that score!

http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/

A tree covered inchy for Luxembourg.

Oh for goodness sake!, how frustrating! I'd finished my inchy for the Inchy by Inch challenge this week, I was about to photograph it when....I dropped it!!!!! It took me 20 minutes to look for it and even then I had to give up as I had better things to do than grovel about on the floor! It took me only 5 minutes to put together another one!! It was as bad as loosing a contact lens and I swear the first one was the better of the two - of course!

The theme is trees and I've called mine 'Luxembourg' because our country is covered in forest and whichever way I look out from the house I see trees! So I just covered my inchy in them.


http://inchybyinch.blogspot.com/

A teddy arch.

Toys is the subject this week for Gothic Arches and if it has to be my favourite toy then duhh!!.....it has to be Teddy! Actually named Georgie I still have him sitting on a chair in the bedroom. He looks a little skinny these days and has had numerous operations to contain stuffing leaks, but he's still as cute as ever.

My arch was done digitally for a change which is alot of fun. I hope you like it.

http://gothicarches.ning.com/