Going Yellow

Whoops!! How did that get in here ?? *LOL*

 

Elephant of the Day #50

Title: Green Light in the Black Forrest
Artist: Anne Marie Ploug
Location: Gammel Torv

Elephant Parade's official website

Challenge Time

Have been pondering with an idea the past week, and today I took the plunge into deep water, as I have challenged myself.

This card created a request for a how-to - and spurred the idea to make a weaved card a day for the next year and post about it.

If you want to see the how-to I made or follow my crazy pursuit to make 366 different hearts, then go to my new blog Weaved Heart A Day that I will run simultaneously to this blog.

Elephant of the Day #49

Title: Hide and Seek
Artist: Marut Thammaboonrueng
Location: Gammel Torv

Elephant Parade's official website

Elephant of the Day #48

Title: Mosha
Artist: Thiti Suwan
Location: Vangsgaard Boghandel (bookstore)


Why did I not take this photo from the other side? Maybe you can spot it, but the lower part of the right leg is actually white, symbolising and elephant with a prosthesis.

The location as you might have guessed is one of the official elephant parade gallery stores - and you better bring the big purse if you go inside - just saying ;o)

Elephant Parade's official website

Not Just Another Day

9 years ago today, I found out why my body was not acting normal but had put me into a wheel chair: Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Afterwards a gazillion of questions in my head, about the future....well about everything really.... in a way relieved that my condition finally had a name.... and then also freaked out abuot the words Multiple Sclerosis.

Lots have happened since, but I am still me.... Albeit a changed me, as I had to make some compromises, forget about some dreams and then pursuing new and different dreams instead.... I have grown stronger in some ways and lost in other aspects of my life.

Am I bitter??.. Well, yes at little bit and then absolutely not, as I have learned to follow my own path. Sometimes I forget, that I am a MS'er, other times my body reminds me about it.

WHEEL AND WALK - I participated in the 5K event in Manchester in 2008 where I met a lot of British MS'ers. We shared our experiences during the walk which took us along a scenic tour of the city.... During those 5K I realised, that I had gone from wheeling to walking since the diagnosis.

3 Hearts Challenge

Speedy the Cat's Friends' Challenge #65 requested that we use 3 hearts on the card.... Hearts - another excuse to reconnect with the old tradition of weaving hearts, and I remembered having a template to help creating a 3-in-1 heart. Still have a lot of X-mas cards to create before December so need to focus a little bit on creating them. Tuesday Morning Sketches provided the idea for the background.

Some of you might be wondering Why did she post yet another version of a weaved heart this week? Well I have decided to make a theme for this year's X-mas cards with different interpretations of the old Danish tradition of weaving hearts. No cards should have the same heart pattern, so I am challenging myself create some hearts that I have never tried weaving before and will reguarly post pictures of them.

The technique of weaving hearts is taught to kids from an early age, and the more elaborate patterns are usually made by teenagers or adults as it takes a little patience to get it right. One of the coming days I will post a how-to so you can see for yourself how it is made.

Elephant of the Day #47

Title: Sperãnza

Artist: Adi Holzer

Location: Rådhuspladsen

Elephant Parade's official website

Elephant of the Day #46

Title: Power of Life
Artist: Christina Julsgaard
Location: Rådhuspladsen

This elephant is the source to how I learned, that the Elephant Parade was going to be held in Copenhagen. I read an article about Christina in the free magazine SKØN in the beginning of March and I spotted the elephant in one of the pictures with a caption about the parade coming - the idea of posting an elephant per day was born :o)

Elephant Parade's official website

Elephant of the Day #45

Title: Bon Bon
Artist: Rasamee Kongchan
Location: Rådhuspladsen

Craving for sugar??

Elephant Parade's official website

Traditional Danish

I have already submitted two cards to the Christmas in July Challenge at Anything Goes (PaperCraftPlanet), but uploaded one more today very last minute.

This heart is very Danish in a lot of ways: Red and white signals Christmas - you will find them in a lot of the public decorations around the city during the month of December - white=snow, red=color of the heart + Santa. Making this type of paper heart is an old Danish tradition. Red and white are our national colors.

History of this type of heart tells us, that the inspiration for this type of heart is a mix of a Dutch tradition using hearts and the Fröbel star and first created in our little country. Nowadays these hearts are all over the world made of any color combination imaginable, some cool hearts I have seen in the last couple of years are made of the glittery papers from magazines

Elephant of the Day #44

Title: Danish Flag
Artist: Panu Kritaramruang
Location: Central Station

Elehant Parade's official website

What's Brewin'?

Subconsciously my mind was bewing something, I just could not determine the flavour until while I was creating the card. Had the idea to make a neutral card, that could be sent to both a woman and a man, but realised that I need to send a card next week for one of my best friend's birthday. To assist me, I had the latest Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 143.

Tried to use coffee-like colours in the card - the paper underneath the coffee bean bag is actually from an Ikea paper place mat  - the glittered light brown paper is handmade paper from Frontline Papers - and love any excuse to use stamps from Taylored Expressions' "Let's Do Coffee" stamp set.

The receiver is not a bow-kind of person, so attached a crocheted flower (from Panduro's Scrapbooking Moments collection) with his initial: S.

What's brewin? At his house there are plenty of types of coffee as he is really enthusiastic about it. If he should ever get tired of his business and sell it - I could easily imagine that he would be the kind of entrepreneur that would start his own coffee shop chain.

What's brewin? I always need to hear the latest news from his house, as he is married to my best friend and they have two wonderful kids, who regard me as their "aunt".

Elephant of the Day #43

Title: Elefantacy
Artist: Frederikke Friderichsen
Location: Israels Plads

Elephant Parade's official website

Hugging

A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away

Bill Keane "Family Circus"

CCEE stampers challenged us to get a hug on a card. First thing I did was to email a friend of mine persuading her to participate with a card like one she sent me a few months ago - it had the greates hug on it, that cheered me up at a moment when the MS was showing its ugly head.

Actually she gave me the stamp that I have used on my card - Can't you just feel the softness of this hug?

Reflections.....

Everybody, who have seen the news the past 24 hours would know, what has saddened my mind. Not only is Norway a neighbour, but also a nation we share a lot with.

Recieved an email this morning from A Day For Daisies about new digistamp releases, a reminder about the latest challenge and a freebie digistamp. I stared at the stamp, 'cause a card idea immediately occured in my head. I know there is an impromptu memorial being held at the Norwegian Embassy in a couple of hours, but have chosen not to go (even if it is close to where I live) and make this card as a tribute instead.

Elephant of the Day #42

Title: Delirium Tremens
Artist: Jes Wind Andersen
Location: Ørstedparken

This location must be one of the most unfortunate ones - this one is under a tree and thus vandalised by birds (read: bird droppings)

Elephant Parade's official website

My Heart Is Bleeding

....for those who got affected by the incident in Oslo a couple of hours ago.

I originally wanted to post a card, that I have created, but it seems so pointless after having heard the news about the capital city of Norway - a city I have visited a couple of times and have fond memories from.

So today the flag of Norway will be waving on my blog.

Elephant of the Day #41

Title: Go Baby Glow
Artist: Eva Louise Buus
Location: Ørstedsparken

Elephant Parade's official website

Beat the Heat...

What heat? It's been raining on and off for almost 3 weeks now, so would not mind just a little sunshine right now.... oh well.

Banners, banners, everywhere banners - a while ago, I showed you some crocheted banners, and Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 142 includes banners, so yet another excuse to use banners again :o)

Then there is this challenge, that I dismissed at first, since the weather here is anything but warm so did not have the the best inspirational flow: describing how I am beating the heat. When looking for a digital stamp on my computer, I found the bee and ice cone digis from Beccy's place and suddenly an idea emerged for a card and for the 109th challenge from Opus Gluei. 

For me beating the heat involves icecream or cold drinks like ginger ale or apple cider with icecubes - in other words bee'ing cool :o)

Elephant of the Day #40

Title: Sansernes Floder (The Tide of the Senses)
Artist: Troels Trier
Location: The Library on Danasvej, Frederiksberg

Wow, halfway to reaching my goal to capture 40 elephants with my camera. The next half will be challenged by some of the elephants being temperary away from their spots due to needed renovation (vandalism :o( )

Elephant Parade's offical website

Elephant of the Day #39

Title: Narai
Artist: Nat Thamrongpitayanan
Location: Scandic Copenhagen (hotel)

Elephant Parade's official website

Going Blue

A Bit of Geography

If you were asked: In which contries do we find the following cities?

• San Francisco
• Manila
• Pamplona
• San José
• Santiago
• Santa Cruz

What would you answer??

Just a map - NOT a hint

I would pretty much have replied the same list of contries as you would - except that I just discovered an answer yesterday, that was quite intriguing. I had to look up a city on a map when I discovered a new answer to all of the above cities. "A" as in one (1) answer !! :o) And I have asked my colleagues the same question as the one starting this blogpost, and all of them looked at me in disbelief, when I told them my answer.

"You are quite right about the list of contries. But my answer is: the Philippines" :o)

Look it up, if you don't believe me *LOL* But you will also find Venezuela as one of their cities.

Hope I just created a wide grin on your face.

Elephant of the Day #38

Title: Zooey
Artist: Emma Kemp
Location: Scandic Copenhagen (hotel)

Elephant Parade's official website

When the Stamp Itself Inspires.....

I was looking for a stamp to include in a challenge with a summer theme, when I discovered that I had downloaded a freebie digital stamp from A Passion For Stamps.... WHAM!!  Memories from the Houston 2009 RodeoShow came rushing back into my mind and resulted in this little card:

Colouring was inspired from the stalls a the rodeo - and there just had to be a lone star on that card (think Texas' flag if you don't know what I am babbling about) - the "alternative" flower is from a bag that one of my friend's mom was about to throw out (worn out) when my friend salvaged some of the flowers thinking that I just might be able to use them on a card some day



Elephant of the Day #37

Title: Jumbo
Artist: Jane Balsgaard
Location: Scandic Copenhagen (hotel)

Elephant Parade's official website

Red white and....

Well "just" red and white - Opus Gluei challenged us to do something in our national colours, and I actually did plan to finish an ongoing project of mine, that includes yarn. But alas still not satisfied with the finishing touch/detail on that project and I deemed it not fit to enter the challenge. Hmmmm... had already left a comment, that I would give it a go, so really felt like doing something, but what?!

Backed up all my files on my computer today, and while doing it, I eyed a freebie from Monibleaux Designs on Dude Time Doodles blog that was perfect: soccer, or football as we call it here, is our national sport, and one could always use a male card to go to the stash of cards for later use :o)

Where to place that football on the card? Ahhh... The sketch from this week's Mojo Monday Challenge was on the desktop of my computer - the place where I usually save something that I just might look into - and soon glue, COPICS, digistamps, paper, scissor and ribbon found it's way to my crafting area.

Entering my card to the following challenges:

Opus Gluei Challenge #108 - Red white and...?
Dude Time Doodles Freebie Challenge
Mojo Monday 199