Making simple greeting cards

I had these flower and butterfly embellishments 

in my cardmaking stash since forever. 

Thanks to inspiration found on youtube and facebook, 

I can now say I finally used them! 

What do you think? 

Already making Christmas cards?!

I love making Christmas cards, 

I love Christmas, period. 

I bought a magazine which came with

the cutest cardmaking kit. 

So I couldn't resist and started crafting already!

What do you think? 

Collecting Christmas stamps

Another Christmas season over, 

time to show (some of) the additions to my collection

First, Germany

2019

Spain

Top left: 2018, set of two

The classic or religious Christmas stamp issue this year depicts the Three Kings, in the Ateneo de Sevilla’s Epiphany Parade, alongside famous Seville landmarks such as the Torre del Oro,

 marking its centenary in 2018.

A century has passed since the Parade first made its way through the streets of Seville on 5 January 1918. A group of Ateneo members first had the idea to spread good cheer among the children and adults of Seville. Over the years, the Parade became more elaborate and more significant to the city than they could ever have imagined.

Top right: 2013, set of two

Happy New Year! is the message featuring in the Christmas stamp which is illustrated with the clock from the Puerta del Sol in Madrid and the traditional twelve grapes.

A custom in Madrid in the late 19th century imposed the intake of twelve grapes at the chimes of the clock in the Puerta del Sol. The practice soon spread throughout Spain and seems to have its origins in a surplus of grapes in the area of Alicante and Murcia. A grape is eaten at each chime with the wish for a prosperous and happy new year. This Spanish tradition became popular in Latin American countries where in some places fresh grapes are replaced by raisins like in Argentina. 

Bottom: 

2016 (bell), 2017 (star)

The 2016 stamp features a typical Christmas decorative bell.

The bell forms part of a set of three stamps that will be issued between 2016 and 2018, and that will be able to be stuck on a Collectable Christmas Card. The card is shaped like a Christmas tree for decorating with images featured in the three stamps:

-  Bell: 2016

-  Star: 2017

-  Present: 2018

This issue is especially dedicated to children, as their innocence and eagerness for Christmas to arrive mean they are the focal point of this holiday.

The 2017 stamp represents a typical Christmas star, which can also be added to the Christmas tree-shaped Christmas Collectible Card campaign. 

The “star” represented on the stamp is a golden star that includes the Correos logo alongside the words “Christmas” and “Spain”, as well as Tariff A, which is the stamp’s postal value.

The stamps have an internal die-cut form that allows the silhouette of the decorative figure to be removed in order to decorate the Christmas tree on the card or, they can be left intact for use as a standard stamp.

2019, set of two

You can read "Merry Christmas" in 

all the different official languages in Spain

The Netherlands

2019, set of ten

Designed by Lieke van der Vorst

U.K.

2019, set of eight

"shepherd and Christmas star"

Ireland

2019, set of six

Kitties! and a dog...

I've had these sitting in my "put on blog" folder

for a while now... I can't tell much about them, 

they are cute, they are cuddly, they deserve some attention.

Stamps, what else?

Australia

Left: Australian Antarctice Territory

set of 4, 2018

Right: Love to celebrate

set of 10, 2016

France

Theières

set of 12, 2018

Japan

Left and Below: International Letter-Writing Week 

set of 6, 2018

Falcon by Hiroshige

Right: Spring greetings

2 sets of 5, 2018

Lithuania

Left: 500 years of Reformation

2017

Right: National Education Day 

2015

Turkey

Left: Our local dishes

set of 4, 2018

Right: Legumes

set of 6, 2018

Stamps, what else?

Lithuania

25 years of the 

Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania

2015

Vietnam

Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush

2018

The chestnut-eared laughingthrush (Ianthocincla konkakinhensis) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Vietnam and possibly Laos.

Endemic to Kon Tum Province, Vietnam, the only known site for this species is a small area in Kon Ka Kinh National Park (which is also the origin of the species' scientific name). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

USA

from left to right:

Seashells: The Alphabet cone

set of four, 2017

World War I: Turning the tide

2018 

Scooby-Doo

2018

The Art of Magic

set of five, 2018

Let's go to Great Britain

Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II 

Machin stamp, 2019

Some famous views of London

Peace Bridge across the River Foyle, Derry, 

Northern Ireland

Gibraltar, British Overseas Territory

Antique postcard from Ireland

"The Pier, Kingstown"

The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dublin. It was known as Dunleary until it was renamed Kingstown in honour of King George IV's 1821 visit, and in 1920 was given its present name, the original Irish form of Dunleary. Over time, the town became a residential location, a seaside resort and the terminus of Ireland's first railway.

Walking the East Pier of Dún Laoghaire Harbour is the most popular tourism activity in Dún Laoghaire.

Stamp featuring King George V, 

used from 1912