Baltic Cruise

I don't normally put anything except craft on my blog, but thought I would share a few photos with you!

We recently went on a Baltic Cruise as it was our 30th Wedding Anniversary earlier in the year (and I'll be 50 later in the year). 


First stop was Kalundborg in Denmark. We took the ships excursion to Copenhagen - very expensive place, but kicking myself for not buying a necklace from Pilgrim! 
(Background photo The Oresund Bridge which links the capitol to the mainland, other photos Nyhavn and The Little Mermaid)

Next stop Tallinn in Estonia. Very pretty medieval, walled town. Easy to walk to from ship.
(Background photo - view from ship, other photos are parts of the wall surrounding town, view over the rooftops and  The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral)

Then it was onto St Petersburg, Russia for 2 days. Wow! What a city. We did ships excursions as very expensive to buy own visa, but we had great tour guides. Too many photos to show.
(Background is The Hermitage, other photos Cupolas of Church on Spilled Blood - stunning interior, Gateway to St Catherine's Palace which houses the Amber Room and The Grand Cascade, one of the many fountains at Peterhof Palace and Gardens) 

Next stop Helsinki,Finland. Lovely shops and busy harbourside market.
(Background is one of the lovely sunsets and other photos are the German Church and Helsinki Cathedral

 
Then it was onto Stockholm, Sweden through the wonderful archipelago. Fantastic  shopping in Gamla Stan and we saw the Changing of the Guards at the Palace. 
(Background photo The Archipelago, other photos - one of the streets in Gamla Stan, Changing of the Guard and National Museum).

Our last port of call was Kiel in Germany. Opportunity for more shopping, but this was the day we had some rain so didn't explore the town as much as we would have liked. Did find Woolworths though! After a few hours here we set sail along the Kiel Canal.  The canal was beautiful and so serene. Can you imagine a cruise ship on a canal?It was a shame we didn't leave Kiel earlier to enjoy the canal as it soon became dark. Then it was out to the North Sea (lovely and calm on the way out, but a bit rough coming home).
(Background photo view of Kiel, other photos - ship coming into canal lock and view over the side)

 Oh well, still loads of washing to catch up on and it's back to work on Monday.

Back to crafting soon!
Sandra


( Messing about with Serif Craft Artist!)

Alpha Tags Q and R

Next set of tags for the Chocolate Baroque swap.

This is Q for Queen (original huh?)

 For this tag I used the Art Girl stamp from CB and shaded it with DI's China Blue, Scattered Straw and Spun Sugar.
I had an acetate scrap with a crown and some script left over from another project (Hot Off The Press I think) and cut this to cover, sentiment from same set.

For the background I used DI's China Blue, Scattered Straw and Aged Mahogany. I then embossed with the Big Shot, misted with my own sprays - water, mica and reinkers. When it was dry I used a hard brayer and VersaMark and clear embossed.

Tammy Tutterow has a tutorial here

R is for Ruby Resist

This was a really quick tag!
Background is a piece of Heidi Swapp Invisible which I had in one of Glenda's Stash -e-Lopes (lots of goodies in an envelope!). Covered with DI Aged Mahogany to make the image really pop. Added some gems and a flower from Bold Blooms (stamped in VersaMark and clear embossed).



Thanks for looking
Sandra

Less is More Week 79

Less is More week 79 - Colour

It's ages since I've done a card for Less is More, but with so many birthdays in August I had to make a start and this challenge was perfect for my new stamps!

As it is the first of the month and colour we have chosen

Blue & Green

There is an old saying

Blue & Green should not be seen, Unless there's a colour inbetween!

In this day and age no colour combo is taboo, in some cases the wilder the better.

You may wish to go natural, with summer blue skies and green foliage or quirky, snazzy,

navy and lime. It's completely up to you, we cannot wait to see what you come up with.

 

 

 

 

For my card I used my new stamps from Chocolate Baroque - Pretty Poppies.
I stamped with VersaMark and black EP, coloured with China Blue and Shabby Shutters DI and water brush. Sentiment is from CB Birthday Words.
I distressed around the edges with China Blue, couldn't find any suitable green to layer with so coloured white card with Shabby Shutters. Added a little shrink plastic butterfly.

Thanks for looking
Sandra