Think Norway, and the first thing that comes to mind are fjords, blonde people and Vikings - not fairy tale architecture.
Below, you’ll find photographs of architecture in the Norwegian countryside that looks like it’s been taken straight from a fairy tale.
The architectural styles range from Stave churches, which were built during the Middle Ages, to ghostly natural waterfalls and traditional wooden houses constructed in the Norwegian vernacular style (byggeskikk) during the 19th century.
Using the ever-faithful random number generator, the number it chose was 32
and that is
DEBORAH of MIDLIFE POET
Deborah, you won the White Rabbit charm/pendant. Please email me ( tristan@tristanrobinblakeman.com) with your snail mail address, and I'll get your prize right out to you.
Congratulations!
Today is the day! Every year Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist and A Fanciful Twist Blog hosts a magical mystical enchanted blog hop, The Mad Tea Party! I look forward to it every year.
Usually, I do a tutorial of some sort of an Alice in Wonderland project, but this year, the project is just a little too complicated for my limited abilities in writing instructions. So, instead, I'm posting this video of it.
Please enjoy a carpet ride through my Mad Tea Party photo and memory album that I created.
To see it really well, I suggest clicking the enlargement icon on the
lower right of the video (next to the YouTube logo) and it will go full
screen. It makes it much easier to see the tiny parts of the piece.
Hope you enjoyed my album!
My Mad Tea Party giveaway contest prize is this adorable White Rabbit charm ... he is layered on a lacquered heart and has a teensy teeny tiny chain dangling with a teensy teeny tiny wee pearl and deck of cards spade symbol. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below ... and if you would like to become a new follower of my blog, let me know in your message and I'll put your name in the cyber Mat Hatter's hat twice!
I'll announce the winner of the charm/pendant on Wednesday, July 15. AND, if by that time we've reached the magical number of 800 followers of my blog, I'll announce the contest to celebrate with a terrific prize you'll either enjoy for yourself or be able to give as a gift with pride!
Be sure to head back to the Mad Tea Party blog list and go to the next person participating! Thanks so much for joining me at my little tea party ...
... and after you've done the blog hop, go make something beautiful!
Is it ever too early to think about Hallowe'en and goblins and witches and magic potions and spells? Not in my world!
And this is the perfect week to get in the mood and start working on your holiday decorations and gifts and treasures! Alpha Stamps has just released two new kits with a magic potion theme ... oh, the goodies and unusual items they have found to make your magic potion decorations a sure-fire hit with all!
First, there is the amazing tiny Altoids tins (only 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"!) - perfect for a magic potion cupboard, or, as I have done, a chest for a miniature Book of Shadows and Spells.
I used the terrific new Graphic 45 line of paper, "Rare Oddities." Because the tin is so tiny, I used the 6"x6" pad of papers - but there are various sizes available, as well as a large collection of ephemera, chipboard embellishments and decorations. The potion bottle is one of the terrific miniature bottles available here at Alpha Stamps, and the liquid is alcohol ink.
Inside the chest, I put a tiny (1 1/2" x 1 1/2") six page album. Each page is actually a pocket which holds another page, so there are really 12 pages in this tiny album! I used a combination of the "Rare Oddities" papers and various new Alpha Stamps collage sheets made up especially for the Magic Potion kits! The whole thing was topped off with a miniature silk tassel and teensy stone from my stash. Some glittered wooden balls as feet completed the little magic spell chest.
The second kit is really a knock-out...and lots of fun to put together. It's a faux book - with a special hidden drawer to hide your most mysterious and wondrous spells and potions! The Secret Box Book can be found at Alpha Stamps here.
I decided that since there was so much time before Hallowe'en, I'd have plenty of opportunity for spiders and things that are creepy crawly and go "boo" in the night. So, I decided to make a white Magic Potions book and concentrate on doing white magic - like finding my neighbor's dog - or helping Cinderella get that shoe back on. I covered the book with ivory/white paper and trim and added the Pentagram Charm and a face from the Relics and Artifacts line at Alpha Stamps along with a few metal embellishments from my own stash.
I used parchment paper to cut 1/4" strips of paper to glue onto the tops and sides of the book, to enhance the appearance of it being a book - then spray stained and inked it so that it looked good and used!
The spine is where the secret drawer is hidden. The kit comes with enough shelves to make the entire drawer a magic potion and herbal storage cupboard. But I decided to use just one shelf (to help with stability) and make a different style Book of Shadows and Spells for the bottom half of the drawer.
The amazingly tiny bottles and the marble which was made into a crystal ball are all from Alpha Stamps, as are the miniature gargoyle statue, the tiny raven figureine, and way back in the corner where the photo doesn't show, a little skull. The labels all come from the new Alpha Stamps collage sheets created for the Magic Potions line of goodies!
This book of spells is a bound album, covered with stained burlap and decorated with images from the Alpha Stamps collage sheets. I distressed the heck out of it and it really does look old and used and hidden behind bricks in a fireplace!
Inside the album, all the decorations, the pages, the inserts and the inserts that go in the pockets (each of the pages is a pocket in this album, too) are from the new collage sheets. They've been inked and distressed, but can still be read with the tiny magnifying glass that hangs from a ribbon down the back of the book (didn't take a photo, darn it!).
So head over to Alpha Stamps and load up on magical potion goodies and get a good head start on Hallowe'en. Don't be the last one on your block to get on the magic spell bandwagon!
... from the lush realistic romanticism and celebration of the freedom and birth of our nation - straight to the fantastic and magical world of Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and, of course, Hollywood!
Yes! Life does sparkle and shimmer and glimmer and gleam! And I love it! Whether I'm making art, working with fabric, paper, ink and vintage findings - or working on a theatre piece - or sewing like an ecstatic dervish on a new art quilt - I'm always attracted to what shimmers just out of sight...the ghosts of sparkle and the rich dignity of decayed splendor.
Sparkle!
Shimmer!
Glimmer!
Gleam!
Yes! Life does sparkle and shimmer and glimmer and gleam! And I love it! Whether I'm making art, working with fabric, paper, ink and vintage findings - or working on a theatre piece - or sewing like an ecstatic dervish on a new art quilt - I'm always attracted to what shimmers just out of sight...the ghosts of sparkle and the rich dignity of decayed splendor.
Join me on my journey!
