Mosterd na de Maaltijd!

I’m guilty! I’ve been away for a long time! Please accept my apology! I’ve actually planned to do a post to inform you about my plans, but right at the end everything was such a rush and it was actually only after I’ve arrived in South Africa that I realised that this picture was still to be published! But, since I’ve prepared the image, I thought I might just as well show it to you anyway. “Het is wel mosterd na de maaltijd!”*, for those of you who knows a little (or a lot) of Dutch, but since I love hippos I thought you might enjoy this lazy bunch with me. I will try to make up for my absence by posting a bit more often in the coming weeks!

Kaart: Wit vierkant (145 x 145 mm) met geronde hoeke

Drukwerk: Laserprinter

Decoratie: Kant (zwart, ongeveer 110 mm breed)

Envelop: Wit vellum

Why "Almost Amsterdam"?

A few days ago a friend of mine asked me why I call this blog "Almost Amsterdam", so I thought more of you might wonder why!

Ever since I've learned to speak German in school I wanted to travel through Europe. I was dreaming about visiting cities like Zurich, Munich, Copenhagen, Amsterdam ... I never thought I would be able to visit all these cities! (Travelling through Europe on the South African Rand is a luxury that very few South Africans can afford!)

A little more than two years ago my hubby and I have decided that, if we really wanted to experience Europe, we had to come and live and work in Europe! We thought it was going to take a while for one of us to find a job here, but Marc found a job within two weeks after making his first call to a personnel agent!  We were actually still getting used to the idea of moving to another continent and the job opportunity came completely unexpected! We weren't really prepared, but at the same time we didn't want to turn down a good opportunity and a month later Marc came to The Netherlands. Having Dutch parents, Marc was in possession of a Dutch passport, and it was relatively easy for him to come over to work in Holland.

I was less lucky. I stayed behind in South Africa to sell our house, to get my paperwork sorted out, and to prepare our animal "children" for life in The Netherlands. Because of problems with my birth certificate (which was apparently lost), I had to wait for almost a year before I could join Marc! It was an incredibly difficult time for both of us, having to live on different continents! (Thank goodness for Skype!) But after a year my paperwork was finally sorted out and the animals and I were able to join Marc here in Vleuten, in the Provence of Utrecht, in The Netherlands.

Now, after almost a year on European soil, I sometimes still find it hard to believe that I am actually here and that I already had the privilege of experiencing quite a bit of Europe! It's almost unreal, like a dream from which I might wake up any time! So, on those days when I can still hardly believe that I actually live in Europe, I deliberately walk past the sign at the end of our street that points the way to Amsterdam, just to remind myself that this is not a dream - that Amsterdam is in fact only 31 kilometres away!

Since Vleuten is a very small town in The Netherlands, that very few people know of, I thought Amsterdam might also serve as a nice reference point for the rest of the world to figure out where we live! So, I've decided to call my blog Almost Amsterdam!

Lace - A Major Trend for 2010 and 2011!

This card is a new design. I love a bit of whimsy, so I’ve combined a vintage rose pattern with bird shapes and crowns on the top layer of a simple rectangular card. A delicate lace pattern runs down both sides of the top layer of the invite, which is fastened to a second simple white card, printed in the same colour pink with the details of the wedding and a single pink feather. The card may be fastened with a brad or an eyelet, or it may be dressed up some more by attaching a tassel, a piece of lace or a ribbon. I still need to decide whether to use a pink shimmer envelope or a transparent white envelope for mailing the card. (I think both options work well, so I can’t make up my mind!)

I think this will be the perfect invitation for a bride that loves the idea of lace, but who doesn’t want to overwhelm her groom with too much feminity! My husband loves the playful nature of this card.

Munten in een Zakje

Verlede jaar heb ik een noodgeval met een zeer pijnlijke tand gehad, maar ik was op pad na Nederland geweest en ik kon gewoon niet wachten op een afspraak bij de tandarts! De ontvangstdame heeft heel veel moeite gedaan om mij heel snel bij de tandarts in te passen en ik wou haar graag bedanken. Ik heb toen deze kleine zakjes gemaakt voor de ontvangstdame en de tandarts. Ik heb gewoon een kleine stukje fudge in plastic in elke zakje gedaan, maar vandag heb ik geen fudge! Muntendrop van de Albert Heijn (een favoriete snack van mijn man) werkt ook goed! Men kan natuurlijk enige iets in de zakje doen!

Ik ben een fan van organza zakjes en ik heb vaak een paar zakjes in huis om snel voor kleine cadeautjes te gebruiken.

En de ontvangstdame en de tandarts? Zij zijn heel blij geweest! De ontvangstdame heeft haar zakje lang bewaard "because it was too beautiful to open" en de tandarts heeft mij haar mobiel nummer gegeven!

Voor deze verpakking heb ik gebruik gemaakt van de volgende:
1 organza zakje (10 x 15 cm)
1 lasergesneden  plexiglas madelief bedel met Zwarovski plaksteen (hand afgewerkt door mij)
45 cm lint van 10mm breed
15 drop munten

Acrylaat & DIY

Acrylaat (ook bekend als “perspex” of “Plexiglas”) is een leuk alternatief voor papier. Voor de uitnodiging in deze voorbeeld heb ik een kroonluchter met bewoording en de namen van de bruidspaar gegraveerd. Wat ik prettig vind met transparante acrylaat is dat het goed combineert met enige kleur. Mijn voorbeeld is verzierd met een een zwart-wit lintje, maar ook een heldere kleur kan natuurlijk!

Maar het hoeft niet alleen transparant te zijn. Acrylaat komt in een hele boel kleuren! Acrylaat kan ook worden gesneden in verschillende interessante vormen, zoals vlinders, vogels, harten, bloemen ... Zeg het maar en dat kan hoogstwaarschijnlijk!

Acrylaat combineert ook goed met papier! Ik heb deze “love birds” gesneden, maar de kaart is gewoon een A4, gehalveerd ( 2 keer 148,5 mm x 210 mm) en weer door de middel gevouwen. De tekst op de binnenkant van de kaart is met een inkjet printer geprint. Deze uitnodiging is zeer eenvoudig om thuis te maken, maar de formaat (64 x 210 mm) en de vogels zijn heel apart.

Trendy laser cutting!

One of the latest trends is laser cut invitations, and I love them! They are sometimes a bit of a challenge to design and I must admit it took me several hours to get the design of the butterfly in this card just right. But after a few trial runs I am very pleased with the results.

I've used the design on a bright pink shimmer cardstock that I've cut and folded into a 145 mm square card. For the sample I've used a matching pale pink shimmer paper for a slightly smaller, folded insert, but a more neutral gold or silver behind the bright colour would also look lovely. For my diy photoshoot I've placed a light behind the card to try and capture the beautiful shadows that the lasercut butterfly casts.

I will admit that lasercutting doesn't come cheap, but the detailed precision of the cutting process is absolutely beautiful and the great thing is that you don't need anything else to achieve that WOW factor! A simple folded insert will do, so I often recommend that bridal couples with access to a computer and a printer buy the lasercut cardstock and do the hand finishing and inserts themselves to keep the costs down.

I've received a lasercut wedding invitation quite recently and the card is so beautiful that it felt like a little gift that I've received in the mail. In fact: I think I should spoil myself and frame that card and my own butterfly card for the wall in my little studio!