Sweet On You {complete kit} by Laurie Ann & Facebook Gift

This new kit of Laurie Ann is out, and it's beautiful. Soft, muted colours, fun elements, sweet alpha. Sweet on You {complete kit} is a celebration of love in all its forms at spring time. The love in one's heart for a child, a sweetheart, a mom or even a puppy! It's filled with an eclectic mix of old and new to help tell your stories from days gone bye and today. With over 40 elements, 20 papers and 14 word art, there's plenty here for dozens of layouts!
But wait ... as part of our April celebrations there is something alittle extra for you ... Purchase Sweet on You {complete kit} before Sunday, April 17th and get the coordinating Sweet On You Stamped Alphabet FREE with kit purchase! This FWKP promo is only from Friday, April 15th to Sunday, April 17th. NO need to add the alphabet to your cart; the download is included with the kit!

PLUS ... for all of our Facebook friends .. there is available for a short time only a free gift - Sweet on You {Add-On}. All you need to do is 'Like' HGD By Laurie Ann and visit our Exclusive Download page to recieve your free gift.

Now for some previews: Here is what the kit looks like



And now for some Pages I made using this kit


made with the kit itself
And the following two with the add-on plus alpha.


Thanks for looking! Have a nice day wherever you are!

Desperate for spring

It has been a mild winter, I'll give you that, but I feel like spring now would be welcome anytime. So sitting here listening to the pitter-patter and genereal monotone of the rain drumming on the window sills, and window panes when the wind changes I dream of sunshine and will for the spring to already be here. This is how I want to feel. Happy sunlit, with a smile on my face. I long for that spring-time light-headed feeling.

I have made this page into a Quick page, that you can download from 4shared by clicking here.

It's a 12 x 12 inches png file, made by me from assorted photos. I hope you like it.

Happy Birthday Uncle Michael, happy Birthday to you!

Let me start by telling you that today is a special day, because it's Uncle Mike's Birthday, and to wish him a very Happy Birthday!!! Many many happy returns, and we hope you have a most wonderful

Today we also went to the Build-a-Bear, (we had some generous coupons from Uncle Michael, and his family in New Zealand to use) and chose some special animals; so today is also a Birthday of two lovely new creatures.

The oldest went first, she knew exactly which animal she wanted, she had a particular black cat in mind, she stuffed it just enough to make him soft and cuddly... Then she took a heart, made a wish, rubbed it on her forehead to make it clever, rubbed it on her cheek to make it cheeky, then kissed it to give it all her love, and put it inside a kitty-cat. Gigi was born first, but only minutes before Hedwig, for our little one loves Owls, big ones, small ones, Barn owls, Great Grey ones, Elf owls, Screeching ones... So owl it was, a young Snowy owl.




















She also chose a heart, made a wish, filled it up, and decided that her owl is going to be a rock star, so she went for a guitar and an mp3 player, after informing me that there was no point in spending money on dressing it up, since I could sew the clothes for her... Ok, I like the trust in her Mother's abilities. Nice.


























The certificate of birth were printed, the babies packed nice and snug and off we went to our new adventures.
It turned out that mp3 player of the owl is playing music... and it's a girl. It's basically a rock chick owl... Taylor Swift Owl. What a hoot!
Now for the challenge of sewing a ball gown fit for Taylor...Owl.



The first animal is ready for the ball in her polka dot, or as our kids call it Olga-dot dress... The second dress is all ready, and waiting for the dd to pose with it tomorrow. And for today it's goodnight from us, and it's good night from cat and owl. Good night, and thank you to our Aunt and Uncle from New Zealand, and the cousins! Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Snow in 2006

I remember this winter so well, it started rather warmer than usual, so much so that our anniversary, end of January we were sitting outside a cafe in Ascona on the lake front eating ice-creams. Temperature was somewhere in the low twenties +22 - 24 C. And four days later it started to snow and didn't stop for 2 days...



































One of the January bright and fresh days we took Papa for a walk, he still had to have crutches, so he had to have a lot of rests, we kept it a short walk to keep him from freezing... It was beautiful though. I love Origlio, it's always beautiful no matter which season or weather. And yes, I was there too, trust me... It's just that the camera stayed with me at all times.








When you are snowed in, sometimes it's important to have a good team, who will help you to dig out the car, catch some snowflakes with a butterfly net (?) or make a snow mouse? Or even two? Well, their use will increase with time I am sure, for now the kids make sure life is fun and never boring... They keep you company and rattle on whilst you work hard clearing that snow, or take pictures of the others working ;)


















Carona is always quite stunning, but there is something extra special, elegant and wonderful about Carona under fresh layer of sparkling white snow! Love the way everything looks so new, and the kids, well, they just adore the stuff, they eat it, they swim in it, they bore the holes and live in them, they are just being kids, and who can blame them. It's hard for us grown ups not to feel a bit of the kids, when it's all around you.




February even brought a little bit of snow to Lugano, not for long though, almost immediately it became too wet to be cold snow, and turned into slush.











When snow is hard to come by, head to the mountains, sledging is something we have learnt to do well in Switzerland.




































































































































































This was sure a warm one, since we had seen snow last in February, just before we went to visit Granny and Peter in UK. The kids in Asilo used to get dressed in costumes, and make a racket in our quiet village. That year they were wolves. And sometimes our kids just dressed up for the fun of it.