Long lost friend

Like 12 years ago i met someone in Bulgaria. Till recently i thought (or better say forgot) its just part of a past period. What was my surprise when some weeks ago i got a mail from the same person and it appeared he is also living in Holland. We met, had coffee and nice hours of memories .... This card was inspired by my long lost friend:

Happy Birthday Alex !!!

On 6 july my little big boy had a birthday, he became 4. In Holland at the age of 4 children finish with kindergarten and go to school. Also there is a tradition the birthday person to give small presents to his/her classmates.
So for the celebration in the kindergarten I decided to make a paper cake and the small presents to be in the cake piece boxes:

Scrappers Delight Swap

One of the scrappers groups, that i am a member of, had a swap announced that was appealing to me. I am always happy to make something which reminds me of Bulgaria and our nice traditions.
So for this card i used the colors from the Bulgarian flag - white, red,green and i represented the coat of arms, the borders, our alphabet and one of the most popular traditions in Bulgaria - Baba Marta:

Gift box for Oma

For the birthday of Alex's grandmother, he made for her a small present. And he instructed me to make a nice gift wrap.

Cupcake toppers for Queensday

Queen's Day is the annual Dutch national holiday in honour of the late Queen Juliana's birthday.
On Queen’s Day there are celebrations throughout the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix, who succeeded her mother in 1980, decided to keep the holiday on April 30 as the weather on her own birthday, January 31, tends to prohibit outdoor festivities.

This year for Queens Day , me and Alex, visited family friends in Krommenie. Mila made marvelous cupcakes with chocolate cream and we decorated them with those toppers:

One rather different cake

My friend Milena makes gorgeous cakes, as a hobby, and often she brings them on Sundays at my place to eat them with the coffee. I wanted to please her with something similar, but honestly i am a kitchen disaster. Really, if you hate someone, just let me in his/her kitchen.
So while surfing on the net i came across this idea - a paper cake. And here is is:

Vrolijke Paasdagen Mila

Some time ago i saw on Create&Craft channel a lady making a waterfall card. I liked it a lot, so it just came to my mind when i started making card for my friend for Easter. Well it didn't turn to be very "easter-ish" but i am happy i tried it.

Yet another Birthday Card

A classmate of mine, from the language school,
had his ... birthday. Before the les i managed to make
this one for him:

Happy Birthday andere Alex

The best friend of my son is called also Alex and he turned 5 on March 1. He likes trains, but he is also crazy about all forms of sea life. Here i got in a tight spot - what kind of card would he like the most... Well i could not make a decision and i made those two:

St.Valentine or Trifon Zarezan

St.Valentine's day (14feb) is known around the world as the day on which lovers express their feelings for each other, or secret admirers profess their love through anonymous cards. The origins of St Valentine' Day are steeped in myth.

FEBRUARY is the month when we, the Bulgarians celebrate wine and its patron saint Trifon, also known as Trifon Zarezan.
The festivities on the day of Trifon Zarezan mark the dividing line between the ending of winter and the nearing of spring. The first pruning of the vines for the season is the main ritual performed on February 14, when people gather in the vineyards outside the villages.

Every man, when stepping into his vineyard looks at the rising sun and makes the sign of the cross three times. Then he cuts three twigs from three different vines and washes the cut places with red wine, holy water and ashes from wood burnt on Christmas Eve. While pruning, everyone whispers blessings, wishing for an abundant harvest later in the year.
Having done the pruning, men gather in the vines to eat, drink, sing and dance. In the evening they are guests in the `King's' house. The King is the man who harvested the most grapes and made the best wine the previous year. It is a tradition that the King and his `subjects' must get drunk that evening to secure an abundant harvest in the coming year.

The fact that February 14 is also the day of St Valentine has made the date very popular because Bulgarians can choose weather to celebrate wine or love, or even both, on the same date.

Hoppy Easter

My mother-in-law asked for a small photo of Alex and i thought it would be nice to put in a small card. It was close to Easter, so i wanted to draw a small bunny on it. Well now it looks to me like a mixture between a bunny and a squirrel but she liked it:

Baby boy

The lady next door is pregnant. I have no idea what the sex of the baby will be, but after the Delft Blue card I was still in the blue wave:

Delft blue card

The story of the Delft Blue, or Delft Blauw, began in China hundreds of years ago. In the 1600’s the beautiful white and blue porcelain came to Europe, and the Netherlands, with the Dutch East India Company. It soon gained major popularity and Dutch potters started to imitate the technique.

In the first half of the 17th century there were several factories in the Netherlands, especially in Delft (30).

Why the factories were so concentrated to this area is unknown, but the reason could have been the ailing brewery industry, which left many vacant buildings.
With the changes of fashion, the Delft Blue has become
a sought-after item with the returning interest of handicraft.

So my next 3D card was inspired by this beautiful color:

Simple quilling flowers

While i was making the 'circles' for the flowers, Alex discovered that mama is playing without him :) So i had to make 2 times more circles and help him create his own art card.

Japanese Lady

3DJust like the previous 2 cards, this one is with 3D effect. For a beginner in this craft i thought that this technique is the easiest.

Friends

Just before the summer holidays my son's "girlfriend" at the kindergarten had her birthday (he is 4 and she is 3 :) ). And to congratulate her i made for him this card with the 2 sweet teddy bears.

Pigeons in love

My best friend Jana likes very much blue and green colors. So I thought that she might like this card and i sent it to her for no particular occasion. What was my surprise to see it in a nice frame on her dressing table while having coffee at her place!