Computer issues and a Hero

Happy Wednesday! I don't have a card to share, because our I-Mac died this week and I am trying my best with our old Computer. I can't upload photos at the moment, but I hope our Baby will be back in some days! I am glad that I am able to access the internet at all! 

Now to my Hero. On Sunday, my little brother Mario finished the long distance Triathlon!!! Way to go, I am so so proud! Can you imagine to first swim 3,8 km, then jump onto a bike and ride 180 km and after that run a Marathon??? I was born in a Town where that Triathlon took place from the very beginnings of this sport and our family always watched this event. My Dad took photos (he is now doing this for the local newspaper) and we spent the whole day cheering for the athletes, sometimes we were still there at 10pm to welcome the very last ones to finish (once there was a 70-year old man taking part in this and he arrived at this time!!). But we never imagined that one of our family would ever take part in this! We were the Track and Field kind of family. Last year my brother finished a local short distance Triathlon and when he told us in January that he would try the long distance Triathlon in July I thought he was crazy! So last Sunday was the day. It all went well until he had muscle cramps at the end of the bike part. When he started running he had problems with his legs and problems breathing. His girlfriend did a lot of motivating and we tried our best to help him, too. And he did it! I am so proud, this is such an amazing accomplishment! Here is my Hero on his last kilometers with his girlfriend (the photo was taken with my husband's mobile phone, so it is not the best):

YAY!

Thanks for visiting and I hope I'll be able to be back with a crafty post soon! Have a beautiful day!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Happy Birthday Alyssa! (picture-heavy post)

Happy Thursday! I can't believe it, but my sweet little Babygirl turned 2 today!!! Happy happy Birthday Alyssa! I love you so much, I can't express it in words! For all those who prefer crafty posts, first the card I made for her:

I used all Hero Arts stamps again, the papers are Papertrey Ink, October Afternoon and Jenni Bowlin. She loves balloons and monsters (from that stamp set). Now some photos of my Birthday girl. Waiting anxiously for the guests (because she knows that we will eat cake then):

Being happy about the arrival of the guests (because she knows we will eat cake now):

Sitting in her new chair:

Making...

...her doll sit in her new chair:

And the proud Mama with her sweet girl (both looking a bit tired because we didn't get much sleep because of her fear of thunder):

You are such a cute and clever little girl! You made me one of those Mums showing off with how wonderful and clever her child is. You know so many words and can say them very clearly, you love to sing, you love to "read" books, you are always considerate towards other children. I am so proud of you and love you so very very much!

Old World Map

Happy Wednesday! I made another card for the Hero Arts "Food and Travel" Challenge. I was in mood for some vintage/shabby:

This is a hybrid card using the Hero Arts digi kits "Old World Map" and "Whimsy". I made the images transparently and layered them over some Kraft paper that came as an Extra with another Hero Arts kit. All edges are distressed with Tea Dye distress ink. On the background I stamped "Old Letter Writing" and pierced the edges with my sewing machine. That sweet patterned paper is Pink Paislee.

Really love that style, it's so much fun to put all the ink everywhere and sew a bit and layer a bit :)

I hope you are all well and able to stay cool! Thanks so much for visiting and have a beautiful day!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Melting on Monday

Happy Monday! And yes, we are melting here! It is over 35°C all the time and here in our rooms it is almost 38°C - I can't stay on the computer for long, so as long as it is this hot I won't be able to do a lot of blog-hopping. Can't wait to catch up when it is a bit cooler! And it seems that our computer isn't very happy about the heat either...

So I'll better be quick with my post! Here is a card I made for a little boy turning 2:

I really love how this card turned out! This month's challenge theme on the Hero Arts blog is "Food and Travel" - I hope a monkey travelling by balloons counts! The stamps are all Hero Arts, I used this and this and this set. That cute cloud paper is from Vinnie Pearce's digi kit "Toybox" that can be found here. The papers for the balloons are all October Afternoon.

Ha, and thanks to Kelly I just found out it will fit the Moxie Fab World "Fun and Cute" Challenge! I am glad that this Paper Crafts Special Issue is out now - it was difficult to keep the secret, but I have 3 cards published in the Card Style mag! And one is featuring one of my favorite Hero Arts stamp, the Starburst Lace!

Ok, I am busy preparing Alyssa's Birthday, so I'll better hurry!

Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful day!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Happy Birthday sweet Tiffany!!

Happy Wednesday! It's time for a new Tiffany Doodles challenge!! But today is another special day, it is sweet Tiffany's Birthday! Happy happy Birthday Tiff, may your day be fabulous!!! And full of happy surprises. And cake :)

Now to the challenge. This month's theme is "Birds & Windows". Fun, isn't it? Here is my sample:

I used Tiffany's adorable Warbler, colored it with distress inks and cut it out. I used the same distress inks to stamp my background with this Tim Holtz stamp set. The sentiment and the script stamp are Hero Arts.

You have time to enter this challenge until July 31, 2010 for the chance to win up to 7 digis from Tiffany Doodles! Go, check it out here and have fun. Btw, did you know Tiffany is offering many digis for free? Don't miss her Freebie Thursday for new digis!

Have a beautiful day and thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Elderflower Recipes

Happy Tuesday! It took me some time, but I am back with the Elderflower recipes finally! Maybe you like to try them next year. Here is a photo of an Elderflower bush for all those who don't know what they look like:

They smell wonderful when they are in bloom! Ok, first the recipe for the Elderflower Sirup. Here is what you'll need (to make about 3,5 l Sirup):

About 13 large umbels, 2 l Water, 2 kg Sugar, 20 g Citric Acid, about 10 thin Lemonslices. And some large jars that provide an airtight seal. First cook the water with the sugar until the sugar is melted completely, stir in the Citric Acid. Fill the umbels and lemonslices into your jars:

Fill in the water and close your jars:

Now let this rest for five days. Then strain everything through a cloth and cook your sirup:

Fill into bottles quickly and voilà! Here is my finished sirup:

It is delicious when mixed with sparkling water or champagne!

Next is a recipe for Orange-Elderflower-Jelly. Easy! You'll need:

2 l Orangejuice, 2 kg Canning Sugar, about 12 large umbels, 5 g Citric Acid. It will make about 10-15 jam jars (depending on the size). First you have to put the umbels into the orangejuice. Cover it and leave it for about 24 hours:

Then strain everything through a cloth like for the sirup. Add the canning sugar and cook like indicated on the package of the sugar. Be sure to choose a large pot, it will bubble a lot and you really don't want any of this on your stove top. Believe me :)

Add the Citric Acid.There will be some foam on top when you are finished, try to remove that with a skimmer before filling your jelly into the jars immediately. To make sure the jars are all closed air-tightly, turn them around and leave them standing on the lid for a while. Here is a finished jelly:

Ha, I was sooo creative taking these photos! lol

Ok, that was this post. No cards today, but maybe there are some Elderflower lovers like me out there! Be sure to come back tomorrow, there will be a new challenge starting at Tiffany Doodles! A fun one!

Have a beautiful day and thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Vanessa