A Notebook and Amsterdam

Happy Friday everyone! I am looking forward to some much-needed rest over the weekend. How about you? Any big plans?

Today I want to share a project I made for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. I found this little notebook and pen set at Michaels. I liked that it had the little spot for the pen incorporated right into the notebook. (It was in the $1 bin!)

I covered the front with patterned paper and then stamped the Flourished Bird Cage image. I stamped it again onto coordinating patterned paper and just cut out the bird cage. I added lots of Stickles, a big rhinestone, and some paper piercing. The Just a Note stamp was stamped across the bottom. Fun, huh? Prickley Pear will be releasing new stamps for graduation, Mother's Day, and other upcoming special occasions on April 15. More info is on the Prickley Pear blog!

And now a little more about my trip!

We took a ferry from England to the Netherlands and traveled by train to Amsterdam. Our only snafu along the whole trip was a little bit of confusion with the trains heading to Amsterdam, but we quickly figured it out and were on our way. Amsterdam was a bit of a whirlwind. We were there for three days, with travel incorporated into the first and last days. So we really only had one full day there. And boy, was it full.

We visited the Anne Frank House, the Amsterdam Tulip Museum (the only tulips we saw on the trip!), the Van Gogh Museum, and the Rijksmuseum. It was in Amsterdam that we began our love affair with waffles, making them a daily part of our trip (when in Rome, right?).

One of my favorite parts of Amsterdam was meandering through a market on Saturday morning. There were fresh fruits and vegetables, bread and cheese, meats and fish.. and flowers. Lots of flowers.

This gentleman was selling hyacinths,

and daffodils,

and tulips (ok, I lied - we saw tulips here, too).

From there we wandered past a canal or two...

And my spidey senses led me to - where else? - a stamp store!

This is de Posthumus winkel and I was so excited to wander inside and see that they carry Serendipity Stamps! It was certainly a photo-worthy moment. :) I did pick up a clear stamp set - it is a Sampler Alphabet. I don't remember the manufacturer, though, and don't see it on their website. I'll have to break it out and share with you!

Some final thoughts about Amsterdam: the steps inside the houses are steep - ridiculously steep. Like climbing a ladder steep. Each house has a hook attached to the dormer outside so the furniture can be taken in through the windows. I'm not quite sure how I feel about savory pancakes. I think Julie and I were the only two people wearing tennis shoes in the whole city. And thank goodness we were - we racked up the miles here. Bruges is next! Yesterday was England if you care to re-cap!

I hope your weekend is wonderful!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Flourished Bird Cage, Just a Note – PPRS
Patterned Paper: Spice, Bunches from the Delight Collection – Fancy Pants Designs
Ink: Dark Chocolate – Papertrey Ink; Dusty Durango – Stampin’ Up!
Other: Fruit Punch, Orange Peel, Diamond Stickles – Ranger; Adhesive rhinestone – K&Company; Mini notebook and pen – Michaels