Friday, July 29, 2011

The changing skies

Pelican flying high


The ever changing skies fascinate me, there is so much movement above me and
dance like the clouds change positions...



I love the sky here in the morning, the light wakes slowly over the east facing sea. From darkest night-bluish gray still fringed with stars to beginning streaks of lighter tones, slightly graying above the horizon, first deep orange red beams, slowly slowly filling the sky until a red hazy sun emerges on the horizon.


Not every morning rises like that. Some days a gray light emerges and the clouds hide the sun completely. Changes come fast!
Two days ago stormy winds brought rain and more rain, drenching the small island until
small rivers of water run down the streets. Once in between the sun broke through and magically lit the storm.




Later in the evening the heavy clouds were swept away, leaving nothing but a blue firmament, laced with feathery white wisps high above me.


I wish I could show you the glorious night sky! Imagine it dark, blackest blue, but oh-so star filled. I hear nothing but the brandishing sound of the never-ending waves, far out I can see a few lights of fishing vessels and behind me the stretching strip of land, with it's houses, which become smaller with every step I take. My feet feel the warm waters...
But above me stretches the universe, the awe-inspiring summer night sky of the northern hemisphere. I see the Milky Way, the Great Wagon  and his small brother, countless constellations and the moving dots of airplanes and satellites. I open my arms wide and let the wind fill me with happiness.
Looking up I see more then one shooting star flickering through the sky and I send my wishes out there, for us to be kept safe by the great embracing spirit of all!




Victoria




All pictures by V. Zlotkowski. All rights reserved.

Angel DT Card

The challenge for this week at Winter Wonderland was set by Sally she has chosen use a fairy or an angel as the main image.   So create your Christmas card or project using an angel or a fairy.


Our sponsor this week is Delicious Doodles.

The prize is 3 Digi Images.

Here is my card.
Card Recipe
White Hammered Card - Die Cut.
Judikins Stamp - Angel
Dovecraft Design Papers - Winter Wonderland.
Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies - Petite Scalloped Circles Large, Standard Circles Large.
Martha Stewart Punch - Snowflake.
Hints and Tips
The circle shaped card was made using the Petite Scalloped Circles Large Die.  I die cut two circles then glued them together just at the very top of the circle.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge: Challenge #42 Christmas In July.

Love Linda xxx

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

By The River

Card Recipe
Card Blank - 14.5cm x14.5cm.
Lili Of The Valley Stamp - By The River.
Echo Park Paper Co - A Walk In The Park.
Spellbinders Nestabilities Die - Petite Scalloped Circles Large, Standard Circles Large.
Martha Stewart Border Punch - Vine Trim.
Embellishments from own stash.
This image was coloured in using Copic markers.
Hints and Tips
If you don't have buttons to match your project you can always make your own.  Cut a circle of shrink plastic, punch two holes in the middle of the circle and colour it in, then shrink.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
Fab 'n' Funky Challenge: Challenge #83 Clash of the Colours.
Truly Scrumptious Challenge: Challenge #62 Buttons and Bows.
One Stop Craft Challenge: Challenge #141 A Recipe Challenge.
Lili Of The Valley Challenge: Challenge #106 Fun and Games.

Love Linda xxx


Monday, July 25, 2011

Sunrise



Pink golden sunrise, the early rays glide
liquid like over the gentle morning waves.
Facing the light the moon pales 
and sparkling sand melts into the edge of the water.
My soul reaches the clouds.


  











Images and poem by V.Zlotkowski. All rights reserved 2011.

Lighting Up

Card Recipe
Card Blank - 14.5cm x 14.5cm.
Penny Black Stamp - Lighting Up.
Doodlebug Designs Inc Papers - Christmas Assortment.
Marianne Designs Creatables - LR0134 Star Border.
Sizzix Sizzlit Die - Star.
Embellishments from own stash.
This image was coloured in using Copic markers.
Hints and Tips
I cut the star border out of white card then coloured it in using a Copic marker so it would match the colours in my card design.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
Allsorts Challenge Blog: Week 113 Free and Easy.
Christmas Stampin' All Year: All About You (my favourite Christmas colours red and green).
Penny Black Challenge Blog: Christmas in July.

Love Linda xxx

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Impressions from the South

The gate to our house on Hilton Head 2011


When I was a child the closest to the ocean I could get was the Baltic Sea at the East German coast line, with one large island - Ruegen - and several small ones, almost entirely reserved for the communist elite. Our quarters at the sea "resorts" were usually cramped and rather primitive.
The waters were cold, but the beaches pristine and often undisturbed.



Many people living up there made an extra income by renting out their garage, converted for summer rental for whole families.

Usedom 1965

If you were lucky the company you worked for would send you and your family at little cost to an organized vacation spot, a large place with dorm like living and central eating places, were you would get food stamps for your daily allowance. There were hardly any shops, smallest island traders with nothing but the bare necessities like soap, dry goods, milk, butter and bread. A bakery sold fresh rolls, that was all. People had hardly any kitchens and I remember my mother at times cooking on a two flame propane gas stove on top of a sideboard for a family of five...There was of course no air condition and summer nights were often unbearably hot.
Don't get me wrong, we children loved it and the circumstances were such, that we did not wonder about it. We did not know any better. My parents must have surely felt different about it.
My grandmother told me of wonderful beach vacations, when they rented a villa for the season, lovely beach restaurants providing fresh seafood...
It all ended with the beginning of WWII.

Zempin, ca 1925

Fast forward more then forty years at Hilton Head Island: I am sitting under the slow moving fan at a wonderfully screened in second story porch, an Carolina peach ice tea in front of me, the soft breeze caressing me. I am looking through palms towards the sea, a minute away from the beach, pelicans overhead and nothing disturbing the summer peace but the cries of the sea gulls or the occasional sounds of children nearby splashing in the pool next door.





The house we've rented for the summer is large, my in-laws spending the summer with us, our teenage children having ample space for themselves and apart from a fully functionally home away from home - actually better - since I enjoy a lovely walk - in closet (!) we miss nothing. 




Thinking back to these days many years ago, when all we had as children was a shovel and sand bucket and perhaps a beach ball it still amazes me and I am so in awe of these summer perfect days we can enjoy now. I guess these memories and impressions are strong. Every time we find ourselves in these lovely circumstances I have to think about the summers of my youth. Of course it's me and my husband, since we both experienced similar upbringings, our children basically seeing it as perfectly normal....




Hilton Head is charming, we rented bikes for the weeks we are here and getting my morning coffee at a small cafe some minutes away by bike is a lovely ritual I have established by now. There is a different rhythm at the island. 




Lively activities very early in the mornings, when the heat is still bearable and joggers, bikers and dog owners share the beach or the perfectly laid out paths through lush vegetation. There are countless spots to eat small meals, breakfasts or dinners, markets sell the freshest produce: sweet juicy peaches, cool watermelons, ripe tomatoes, plums and apricots. I hardly ever get these kind of tasty fruits in New York.
The slow days are wonderful, no extensive planing is required, we sail through them casually and lazy, from beach to pool to riding our bikes along the backwaters through the Lowcountry...








I watch the birds. I am fascinated by the prehistoric feeling of the flying pelicans. They glide effortless, hardly ever flapping their wings, but instead getting carried by the warm currents and only occasionally diving into the sea to hunt for fish.
They look like bands of hooligans, a little rough, but I love them.
I see gulls, egrets, herons, South Carolina cardinals everywhere. It is simply a paradise.
The area around Hilton Head is also one of the largest breeding grounds for dolphins. They can be seen often. 




The island has a rich history reaching back to the days of slavery, plantations, cotton picking, rice planting and the Gullah culture is still witness to those long gone days.
Savannah is nearby, the wonderfully preserved city of the old South, were I have been walking for hours already under the live oak shaded streets and dreaming my way into living in one of these beautiful houses, the old French living culture alive all around me.








People are so welcoming and the Southern drawl is incredibly charming, the slowness of living so enticing.


Perhaps my yearning for beauty and colors, great homes and design stems from those years of missing it, longing for things I only could imagine or heard from stories my grandmother told me so many years ago.


I am deeply grateful.


Greetings from the Southern coast!
Victoria






Pictures by V.Zlotkowski and via google image.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Fireside DT Card

The challenge for this week at Winter Wonderland was set by Marianne she has chosen The Holly and the Ivy.   So create your Christmas card or project using Holly or Ivy or both.


Our sponsor this week is  Simon Says Stamp.


The prize is a $15 Gift Certficate to spend in their online store.

Here is my card.
Card Recipe
Card Blank - 14.5cm x 14.5cm.
Trim Craft Stamps - Pepper's Christmas Party, Fireside.
Trim Craft Design Papers - Pepper's Christmas Party.
Martha Stewart Border Punch - Scallop Dot.
Martha Stewart Punch - Holly.
X-Cut Emboss Punch - Ivy.
Embellishments from own stash.
This image was coloured in using Copic markers.
Hints and Tips
I trimmed the image in the shape of a pot to mirror the pot in the image.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
Creative Inspiration Challenge: Challenge #64 Xmas in July.
The Crafty Pad: Challenge #130 Christmas in July.

Love Linda xxx

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Ladies Devine

Card Recipe
Card Blank - 14.5cm x14.5cm.
Penny Black Stamp - Ladies Devine.
Magnolia Stamp - Banner of Flags.
Doodlebug Designs Inc Design Paper - Summer Assortment.
Martha Stewart Border Punch - Grass.
Woodware Punch - Flower.
Embellishments from own stash.
This image was coloured in using Copic markers.
Hints and Tips
Choose your design papers first, then colour you image in to co-ordinate with them.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
Allsorts Challenge Blog: Week 112 Free and Easy July.
Love Linda xxx

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Design Conscience: Boatshed Chic





My blog posts are usually inspired by thoughts that occur to me as I am doing everyday things. This week, with all the talk about carbon taxes and people tightening their fiscal belts, my conscience is turning to getting real about design.

People I meet often ask me what it is like to see all the gorgeous houses I do stories on for the magazines. Most of the time the houses really are a labour of love or the culmination of a dream for the owners. Most of the stories are about very real families, some quite well off, some with more dash than cash.

Funnily enough, it is often the latter that excite me the most. Where the owners have had to be really inventive and creative to achieve a great looking house without a limitless budget. And it always amazes me how they pull it all together when they have young children!

Today I have recalled some of my favourites - there are many more of them which I'll save for another post.

Beth's Boatshed: These are photos I took ages ago of Beth from Boatshedchic's home near Jervis Bay, a short drive from where I live. It is a gorgeous little place, decorated with much love and ingenuity. It has changed a bit since these shots were taken but it still inspires.
Beth has great style and an eye for a vintage treasures. She has collected, restored and re-upholstered many of the old pieces in her boatshed.


Beach Day

Card Recipe
Card Blank - Side Step Card 5.5" x 8.5".
Penny Black Stamps - Beach Day, Cheers, Bikini.
Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folder - Summer Fun.
Embellishments from own stash.
This image was coloured in using Copic markers.

Hints and Tips
I attached the sun to the card using a thin strip of acetate so it appears that the sun is just floating.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
Die Cut Dreams Challenge: Challenge #94 Animal Antics.
The Penny Black Blog - Penny Black Summer.

Love Linda xxx