AUSTRIA 2011

Well, we have been here a week already and it has taken me that long to remember my password and get signed on!

My lovely big Sister Dot is looking after the house and Willow for us this time and it was lovely spending a couple of days with her before we went on holiday.  She was a great help with the packing, and the ironing and once that was all done on the Friday night we went out for something to eat.  At about 10pm John noticed the message light was flashing on the telephone, and it was from the Airline telling us that our flights for the next morning had been cancelled!  They gave us a couple of alternatives and said to ring them before 8.30pm when they closed for the night!!  We then had to find an alternative number, which ended up being in Germany and had to wait for 30 minutes before someone answered.  By this time there was only one option left so come Saturday we headed off to Ringway to get out first flight to Frankfurt, we then had to get a flight to Vienna and from there to Klagenfurt.  Now it's funny that going through security at Manchester and also Vienna was no problem at all and we both got through without any beeps.  Not so Frankfurt, where we had the least time to catch our next flight.  I got through okay, but when John went through it beeped so he was then taken into a cubicle where they used the hand wand, it beeped again so he removed his belt, then it was beeping on his jeans, then his hiking boots which he had to take off so they could x-ray them, he was still beeping when they passed the wand over his chest and they then asked him if he had a pace maker, but it turned out to be his glasses in his chest pocket!  He was literally one beep away from a full cavity search.  Anyway by the time we got to Klagenfurt it was about 6pm and we had set off at 8am.

This time we have come to the Carinthia region which is in Southern Austria and there is a definate difference to the Salzgammergut, where we have been several times in the past.  In fact it took us at least two days to settle in, part of the reason being the house we are staying at.  Looked great in the photos but in fact is in a 60's timewarp.  It is set in a clearing in the woods really, so no gorgeous views, just trees.

The temperature has been pretty steady all last week, in the 90's, so by the afternoon I am like a limp lettuce.  The good thing is that everything is new and we have been to some really lovely places and up in two different cable cars, the first one was so high it was really chilly at the top and I did feel a bit silly with a think blouse on when lots of other people had coats on, needless to say we didn't hang about too long, although the views were amazing.

I will post photos when I get a chance to download them.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA

Sorry, no cards, cats or cakes I am afraid.  I have been much too busy reading the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer.  For the last two weeks they have completely taken over every waking moment of my life and, trust me, I am not exaggerating.  I haven't set foot in my craft room or even watched any TV.   When I got to work I would read my book until 9.a.m. then on my break and my lunch.  Then home and dinner then book then bed.  I have now read all 4 and they are absolutely amazing but, having finished them all I now feel bereft.  So much so that I have started again on book one.  So, I may go awol again.

If you haven't read them and you like vampires and a good love story then at least get the first book and see what you think. 

ANOTHER TILDA CARD

Oh I do love this stamp, this one was coloured using the Aqua Pro-Markers, and I have actually used one of the flowers I made!

TOBY

I have actually had complaints that there aren't enough cats! so, here are a few picture of my gorgeous Birman boy, Toby.

He has the most gorgeous face I think you will agree.

On this photo you can see his beautiful tail which is quite magnificent.

He is such a softy and when you say his name he just has to rub his head up anything and everything on his way to you!  All the cats love this scratching post and it is absolutely ancient.  John made it many years ago when he had to take out a floor joist in our old house when he moved the loft hatch.  It is ready to be recovered as you can tell.

He loves his little cubes and will play in them for hours.  Because the material is only thin he can see through and likes to lie in wait for Willow or Oscar to walk past then he jumps out at them.  He has a mad hour or so every evening charging in and out.  Because they are so light and his tail so big when he does run out he quite often takes the cube with him!

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

I have been messing about with Stampbord now for ages but not actually done anything with it.  The stamp I used for the middle tile and the four little ones was from QVC and was a set of 4 of the large foam stamps that they sell.  I wasn't sure about them when I bought them because they are a cheap alternative to wood mounted stamps but the stamped image is really good.  However, I wasn't keen on the full image stamped on card and just tried it on a Stampbord square to see what it looked like and I much prefered it.  I have done some other pieces as well, so watch this space.

Thanks for looking.

Well, it is either a feast or a famine with me isn't it, nothing for ages and then twice in almost as many days! Okay I have to admit that I haven't just made these, BUT, I did get round to doing the necessary with them in order to upload them on here.

This was a thank you card made using a Stampin up stamp set for the bouquet.  It is actually a set of individual stamps, an outline stamp and a block stamp, I stamped it several times and then again on separate paper and cut the flowers out and stuck them over the top.  I was quite pleased with the result.  The swirly background is a gorgeous background stamp I got from an American company when I went to the stamp show last year at Port Sunlight.  If you can get there the next one is in October and it is really fab.  It is more card making and stamping but although the venue isn't huge there is a great selection of stalls and lots of them are doing demos.  The sandwiches are rather nice as well as is Port Sunlight itself if it is a nice day.  You do have to buy your tickets beforehand though as it is quite small so you can't just turn up on the day.

I made this card for a colleague at work who was moving into her first home with her boyfriend, it was one of those cards, that in my end started off quite small and simple and then seemed to take on a life of it's own, the colours are much nicer in real life - honest.  lol. 

Although this is quite a simple card, I think it is quite stylish, the recipient certainly liked it.  I love the parcel it is one of my favourite Sizzix dies, the Happy Birthday is actually a square stamp and the background is a clear stamp that you just build up the background with.

Obviously a Magnolia Tilda stamp, I like this stamp I think she is really cute.  The flowers were stamped onto acetate then white embossed and coloured in behind.  However, I did have a bit of a catastrophe with the ribbon, I was using double sided tape and it wasn't holding it down properly so didn't I go and use wet adhesive and, yes, you've guessed it, it came through the ribbon - DOH! what was I thinking.  Won't make that mistake again - or will I!

Hopefully you won't be disappointed this visit as there are quite a few new things to see.

This is a card I made for a colleague at work. I bought the Tilda stamp and now I am not sure I like it. I have quite a few and there are about 3 that I don't really like. I came up with the idea of her holding the banner and think it worked quite well and you could have the banner saying anything, as long as it fits. Please excuse the writing though.

Now, I can't be the only person that finds it hard to sit in front of the tv and not actually do something. I have always had a 'thing' for flowers and just can't stop drawing them and colouring them in, it is almost a compulsion! my long suffering other half asked me why I kept making them and I simply said 'because I can't stop' I only stop when my eyes are so tired that they can't focus any more. Having said that I haven't made any for about a week now, but I do sit colouring stamped images in. Now, any suggestions as to what I should do with all these flowers? In fact, this just a small selection of them, I have boxes of them, but I think these are the nicest.

There are quite a few stamps used on this card, there is the swirly stamp used on the stampbord piece, the butterfly stamped on shrink plastic, the backbround stamp used on the left hand side and the Just for You stamp. I want to do a few more stampbord pieces so watch this space.

And this is the card.

This is a stamp from Pink Gem Designs, I recently came across them through UK Scrappers and bought 3 to start my collection off. I have used the new Pro-Markers I also bought recently, they take a bit of getting used to and although it isn't the best colouring in in the world, I am really pleased with how it turned out. The first few I did the colours were very soft, but I much prefer the more vibrant colours. I have another one in different colours it just needs the card to go on.

I made this card a while ago. I bought a die cut decoupage kit from Create & Craft, well, my eyes aren't what they used to be! once I got the kit I couldn't stop making them and was really pleased how they turned out. The papers I used are from the Stampin up range and really lovely.

Oh I do love Spring

Spring is my most favourite season, and May one of my most favourite months. I also have a week off work - yippee. I did make a start on tidying my craft room but I could spend the rest of the week doing it and still don't think it would be finished. At least I have cleared most of the floor and managed to actually get the hoover in there! All I need to do now is clear some space on my desk.

When I did have a bit of space I actually made some cards using the Tilda stamps I bought.

The top card is actually an 8 x 8 black card, my friend Tracey sent me some stamped image of the horse absolutely ages ago and I had coloured this one in and then put it to one side. I made the card for a colleague at work who has been taking horse riding lessons so it gave me the ideal opportunity to use it. I hope she likes it.

For another colleague I made this card using a Whipper Snapper stamp I bought at Harrogate last month

I also actually made an 8 x 8 lo!, mind you I also did a double page 12 x 12 but need to take a photo of that one.

EEK - WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!

I couldn't believe it when I signed in to my Blog this morning only to find I haven't posted since last July!.

I have been crafting, honest! but I think I am just too lazy to upload the photos. I really must make an effort.

Mind you, because it is that long since I have posted I am probably talking to myself anyway as people will have stopped popping in. MUST TRY HARDER!

Where has the month gone! I can't believe that there is only one day left in July. Well aren't I the boring one, since coming back from holiday life has been very quiet and boring. I am looking forward to the weekend though I will of course be going to the Topaz Crafts open day on Saturday, I love the demonstrations. Then in just over a week I have three days off so hopefully time to craft which is something I haven't really done for a while.

I have also joined the Graphicus Guild, I love Glenda Waterworth's stamps and CD's, so am looking forward to my starter pack coming and a monthly newsletter. I will let you know if it is any good, but I am sure it will be.

It's funny isn't it that after you have been home for just a few days your holiday seems ages ago. At least now I have my blog to look back on and a lot of camcorder footage to remind us of our wonderful holiday. Really though 2 weeks isn't enough!

I was a bit worried that the new cases we had to buy on holiday wouldn't fit everything in but we managed and they arrived back in one piece. Mind you, as usual we took far more than we actually wore! It was great having a washing machine and a proper iron and ironing board because it meant that we didn't really need to take two weeks worth of clothing, so we should have taken a lot less than we did. The neighbour who looks after the house for the owner kindly disposed of our old cases for us and on arriving back at the house after being out all day on the last day there was a plate of home made pastries waiting for us which I thought was lovely of her. I think we will end up going back to the same place again next year, it did have so much going for it.

Today is the last day of my holiday and I will be back at work tomorrow, at least it is only 3 days, I hope it goes quickly. I will be looking to see when my next day off is when I get in!

I have spent ages over the last couple of days uploading all my photographs and am having a Photobook made which takes about 5 days, I am really looking forward to receiving it. Once I have it I will then decide which photos I want to have printed and make up some layouts. I need to get some crafting done otherwise my Blog is going to be very boring after the last two weeks.

LAST DAY

Well, after the storm last night it has been a very cloudy day today and a lot cooler. After a slow start, a leisurely breakfast and a bit of packing we were going to go into Bad Ischl to spend the last day and to have one last visit to Zauners Konditori, then if the weather lifted go into Fuschl. When we got to Bad Ischl though it was the busiest we have ever seen it and couldn't find a parking space so ended up in Strobl. We had a stroll round then took the boat across the Wolfgangsee to St. Wolfgang. We had lunch at a cafe we always go to when we visit St. Wolfgang, they didn't have much choice as far as cake was concerned, but dear readers, I couldn't let you down on the last day so had to have something.

Photograph taken from the boat looking towards St. Wolfgang and showing the White Horse Inn. I am assuming this is a hotel, caught sight of it from the boat and thought it was beautiful.

Some more horses for Tracey. After taking this one, I took another couple of the pair at the front, then moving down the line I was going to take a photo of the brown pair and said to John they they don't photograph as well as the lighter coloured horses and as I said it it turned and look at me as if to say "how dare you" so thought I had better take one.

We had gone into the Tourist Info in Strobl and was asking them if they had any information on holiday homes and we found another one so went to have a look at it, we did find it eventually but I didn't like the look of it but we did come across this lot. Looks like they are both chewing on a straw.

These are actually soaps, I look at them every time I visit St. Wolfgang, but I doubt I would be able to get one home in one piece.

Last photograph of the house, I am sure we will stay here again though.

This photo was taken from the door in the dining room, wish this was my view at home.

I think I caught quite a poignant moment here, it just says last day holiday blues and wishing we weren't going home.

I hope you have enjoyed the last two weeks, obviously not as much as John and I! and I hope that it has inspired you to visit Austria in the future and if you do I hope you fall in love with it as much as we have.

Aufweidershen!

PRIZE

There will be a little prize for Tracey and Jac for commenting on so many of my posts. I don't know what it will be yet, you will just have to wait for the postman once I get home and get something sorted out. Thanks for being such avid readers and posters.

Val xxxxx

TAUPLITZ

Todays trip was up to the Tauplitzalm which is a high altitude alpine meadow at a height of 5,200ft.

You drive up a very steep road full of hairpin bends to the car park and then you are on foot. There were still pockets of snow which is incredible when you think how hot it was (94F) and they weren't even in the shade! We started off going up quite a steady incline, the next bit though was downhill and very steep and mainly shale and only about a foot wide with a drop on one side! John had to keep holding my hand whilst I negotiated the worse bits, boy was I relieved when we got to the bottom, only to find we then had to cross a little bridge which didn't have a handrail and was just one plank wide. We started going up hill again and eventually came to a little hut where we stopped for a drink. It was about a 6 mile walk and I didn't realise John had taken that photo of me looking knackered after negotiating another steep incline; but I managed it and felt better for it. It was a beautiful place to walk though and everywhere was full of wild flowers, there were actually 4 lakes of varying sizes but we only walked as far as 3 of them, the 4th is the one shown in picture 5. I had made a packed lunch to take with us and as it was about 2pm when we ate it we didn't feel like a cake - sorry. The house was boiling hot when we got home and promptly unravelled the awning. I had started with a really bad headache so after having a couple of tables went for a lie down, John came as well after the walk, the heat and the packed lunch he was shattered. Anway we were woken by thunder and lightening and as it sounded like the wind was getting up John got up to wind the awning in, the storm had caused a power cut so none of the lights were working then there was an almighty gust of wind and by the time John got downstairs the awning was hanging down at a very funny angle, we managed to get it wound up but one of the arms is obviously damaged.

Alpine Gentians, aren't they the most gorgeous blue.


I don't know what these little flowers are but they were in clumps everywhere and were the most gorgeous lilac blue colour, unfortunately the sun has bleached the colour out,

This is the little family of cats from next door. The Mother cat was the first to pay us a visit and started coming every time she was us in the garden, of course, I had to feed her didn't I. Anyway, a couple of days later I saw two kittens chasing each other and one of them is in the photograph with it's mum, the other kitten looks just like his dad, but is very shy. Anyway after that the Dad turned up wanting to be fed as well, they made such a lovely family and I will really miss them when we have to leave. It isn't as if they aren't being fed he is a really heavy boy but like most animals they don't turn their nose up at free food. The kitten is such a live wire and his mum and dad are so lovely and gentle with him, even when he is jumping on them and generally being a nuisance.

ALTAUSEE & BAD GOISERN

Today we went to Altuasee, another little village situated on a lake. There are so many of them in this part of Austria which is why we love it so much, I find them so relaxing. The lake itself is about 4 miles round so we walked round first then had a little boat trip. The village itself was quite small but there were some lovely houses. It was another lovely hot day until we got home when it went really dark and the heavens opened again and we had thunder and lightening and huge hailstones. It has stopped now thank goodness and it supposed to be another nice day tomorrow, I hope so anyway we are supposed to be going up into an area called the Tauplitz which is a mountain pasture full of wild flowers.

I mentioned Bad Goisern before and told you about a lovely park that we went round, but I don't think I put any photos on, anyway here are a couple.

For the Cake of the Day, we went back to the Konditori we went to last time we were in Bad Goisern. John had the Sacher Torte again which was 100% better than the one he had the other day, very moist. I had the Haus Torte which was also delicious. Oh dear, only another two cake eating days to go.

I can't believe we have been here almost two weeks, it has gone so fast. I am so glad I have blogged every day as I now have something to look back on and remind me of a wonderful holiday. I was only saying to John today that it is quite easy to become blase about the scenery, after all we have been 7 times now, I said that I was almost envious of someone coming for the first time. Funnily enough I can remember the first time we came, we actually drove over in our own car and as we neared Austria I felt very nervous in case it didn't live up to my expectations, but it literally took my breath away. I can't recommend it highly enough, although we have been to other parts of Austria the Salzgammergut has to be our favourite and especially where the house is, it is really central to lots of lovely places to visit. Anyway Wiederschon!