Hello - Mushi-mushi - Pronto

During this roller coaster week of events and news, I received a book in the mail from one of my friends. She shares my passion for good books and she therefore sent me one that had made her laugh really loud. Today I finally had some me-time where I could make her a thank-you card.

A while ago I bookmarked a page showing how to make the above pictured style: scales chip cart as this went on my must-try list, so I found some paper scraps, that was saved for purposes like this; where you just need small pieces. Wanted to use it as a background as I stumbled across this cool retro phone freebie earlier this month..

Ended up with this card after the colored retro phone was mounted along with some HELLOs that sometimes comes out of my mouth when picking up the phone at work - the calling number is usually displayed in the office phone when the world is calling, and it makes a huge difference if you can say "Hello" in the caller's local language. Actually I do speak some Spanish and Japanese....

Now I just hope that my friend will smile when she receives her retro card.

Entering it into Birdie Brown's June Freebie Challenge

A Warm Thought From A Fellow Blogger

Sometimes it is a bit scary how something arrives just at a moment, when it is needed - as if somebody had a vision of me needing just that :o)

Have encountered a lot of crafty women via the blogworld, and today I got this card from Rosemary, who had made me laugh and smile countless times reading her blog. When I walked to the postoffice to pick up my mail, I was actually thinking about the need of getting a thicker/warmer knitted hat, as temperatures are freezing at the moment during daytime and even worse during nights. Imagine my huge surprise when I found this next to the wonderful card (is that a doily or a doily die cut?):

A super-soft knitted hat, that is absolutely perfect for this cold weather - and it even breaks the spell of me usually having black knitted hats (guess it is a kind of comfort zone)... together with a lip balm, that is also very much needed in this type of weather.

Rosemary, guess you are smiling seeing this last photo........and the blue one is almost empty, and that is the only kind we can get here, so did not know there are types/flavours as well. Thank you soo much for this wonderful surprise, truly speachless here!! :o)

Something Blue - January Tea Swap 2012 - Part Two

Maybe you saw the tea swap, that I sent to Gill, on my blog this Monday but you should see what she sent me - and I received it Monday in my mail.

If you are thinking: "Did I miss her birthday?!", the answer is "No" - but this month's theme is celebrations. There are a lot of colors that I like, but blue is by far my favourite, so huge smile on my face when realising that the envelope contained more than a card and tea:

Creations made by Gill :o) The creativity in the group that Fran summons every month is incredible, and I am gratefull that a fellow crafter tipped me about these monthly swaps. Those earings are so delicate - and love how the pattern on the little picture matches the sachet - Thank you again Gill!! :o)

Giving Thanks

To those of you living in or from the US:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We all have different things to give thanks for, and the way we do our thank yous often variate :o) The welcome home card I usually leave for the owners when house/appartment sitting is my part of saying thank you: I got a sort of mini-break from home and I was temporarily an animal "owner" again.

Most of the times the owners give me a little something from their travels, that they figure I would like (they are usualy never wrong), just look at this one - Is it not cute??

Looking forward to cat-sit again in a few weeks from now :o)

Agnes Cupcakes

Yes, I know. Agnes Cupcakes is a dangerous place, as the mere sight of the scrumptious cupcakes persuades you to buy a cupcake. When I purchased one to-go the other day, the cupcake box was sealed with this sticker, that immediately triggered my imagination:

The Lily of the Valley stamp "Never Too Old for Cupcake" was perfect for a card.

The brown background paper is from an Agnes Cupcake paper bag, and the sentiment was to be just words that fuelled the idea for the card - and orange is a color you will see inside the cupcake boxes and paper bags. Color of the cupcake frosting could be no other colors than a light brown, symbolising my favourite flavour: liquirice :o)

There are two outlets of Agnes Cupcakes in Copenhagen, and today my favourite one will receive this card with my thanks for their scrumptious cakes. Why? How often to we forget to show appreciation for something we like? Often "just" taking it for granted, that you can always buy a good cupcake - well someone decided to bring cupcakes to parts of our city.... guessing that someone has a strong passion for her business, which as brought smiles on my face when eating the cupcakes.

I Would Never Have Guessed......

There is a great perk attached to remembering colleagues birthdays, to pay attention about their interests, so you can customize the card to them... maybe even bring home a little inexpensive something, that you know that they will value no matter what the price was.

One of my colleagues just came home from vacation and she was bringing something to my workdesk and said "Look what I found in yoghurt cans!"

She got me something from yoghurt cans??!! But something caught me eye and I could not wait to open those two wrappings.

You get these from eating yoghurt??!! Might persuade me to start eating yoghurt even though I doubt that my local brands will have some of these inside.

Big smile on my face when I saw the turtle - did you know that I have a thing for turtles?? Well I do. And the giver: she was so happy that I can use these to do something creative.

Rosemary, if you are reading this: I do know that Opus Gluei have a challenge "Oh I do love to be by the seaside...." ... but here is the thing: I do have an idea for the challenge using these stamps, but need some of the crafty stash at home to do it, and I am not staying at home at the moment *sigh*

Well this proves my theory about the fact that one can find creative ideas and supply the most unsual places from time to time - one have to keep the eyes open :o)

Because I Can

The email newsletter from PaperCreations Magazine had a request regarding a ten-year-old american, that seeks to send every military personel a ThankYou card next year. I chose to contribute to his quest.

Now you are thinking: Why does somebody with a citizenship different from a US chose to contribute to this? Well just go back to WWII - the US fought for the indenpendence of a lot of countries, including mine, where people like my parents (yes, they were born back then) got their rightfull freedom back. But the following is the real reason, why I did it.

On a flight some 7 years ago between Chicago and Amsterdam, I sat next to an engineer in military uniform, who was going to the MiddleEast for his 3rd military deployment in the area. For the first ½ hour he could not sit still in his seat holding some kind of book really tight, making me wonder if he was actually scared of flying, and it seem to become worse when we hit turbulence. "Do you mind talking with me for a litlle bit? My nerves seem to be outside my uniform right now".

He was nervous because he had just left his wife and his 2-year-old son to go to there - high unemployment in his area had made him think outside the box, and this seemed to be the only way to support his family financially. He and his family had to move into the basement of his sister's house, when the wife got fired from his job. His main concern was, if the deployment in the MiddleEast would change his personality too much as his family meant everything to him - and what I thought might have been his Bible turned out to be a photoalbum. We talked for about 5 hours: about family values, traditions in our countries, people's perceptions on our countries, school systems and the list goes on.

Now, when flying long haul flights, I can't help imagining, what might be rumbling in some of the other passengers' minds: Why are they flying to...? Did they leave loved ones at home? Do they fly out to start a new life? Sometimes you gain a little insight because you have light conversations with them - other times you are absorbed into your book, an inflight magazine/movie or simply just sleeping.

So why did I do this? Simply: Because I can :o)