TCR #96 Life's Simple Treasures and sponsorship by Swedish Maja Design

Happy Friday to all of you wherever you are!

Stockholm is freezing with temperatures around -12C (that's 10F)and snow coming down in thick sheets. Had to go and buy myself knitted leggings to pull over my thin nylons or else I think the nylons would have been frozen solid onto my chubby legs.

Cold weather gives a perfectly good reason for eating comfort food and high energy desserts, just think what seals would do without their padding! ;)) Come to think of it, I am rather spool formed at the moment but as most people look like Russian babushkas wrapped in woollen layers, nobody sees any difference anyway ha ha!

Today is release day over The Color Room and we have a new fabulously generous sponsor for the month of February; Swedish Maja Design! CLICK HERE and you'll come straight to their Store Finder and with another click, also to their brand new blog in English.

Scandinavians are already very familiar with their gorgeous double-side papers of an unprecedented lusciously thick and supreme quality and now they are expanding their business over the puddles to the US and Australia. Marie, the owner, told me she is currently in negotiations with several interested Australian and American retailers so you ladies will soon be able to buy them on your home turf! A little bird also told me there might be a scrapbook store in Adelaide soon to offer them too ...

This week's palette is with pretty pretty Lolly Pink, Cool Cream, Powder Blue and Celery Green. Talk about promises of spring!

Here's also the inspo photo and Lydell's gorgeous sketch:

Maja Design has sponsored the DT with a MOST generous pack of the loveliest of papers for all 4 February palettes. I promise you ladies, you will be absolutely stunned seeing them and the versatily of the DTs projects created!

Not only that - we will be having WEEKLY RAKs donated by Maja Design! each week one lucky randomly drawn winner will win the featured collection of that special week! you only have to play along and use the colours as close as possible on your project!

All February palettes have been specially designed by Lydell using 4 different collections from Maja Design. The collection that inspired this week's palette is called Crea Diem.

This is what I came up with:



The photos are not my own, I found them on internet. That's a major problem now, I simply don't have enough photos of my own as we don't photograph much in winter. Can't you just smell those raspberries still warm from the summer sun and deliciously juicy. Pour some ice cold double cream on them and sprinkle some muscovador caster sugar on top - aaaahh! that's life's simple pleasures for you captured in a bowl!



Resin flowers and roses from KaiserCraft.



The square, heart and wings were plain raw chippies from Australian online store Maxines Melange before I dressed them in papers from the Crea Diem collection. I have also lightly tapped on some TH Black Soot around all edges.

To my great sorrow Maxine has had to close down her online business as it was impossible for her to work fulltime and then pack all orders at night. Totally understandable but what a loss to us! I so hope Maxine will continue to show us her stunning work in other places, that girl really is on a planet of her own where her star shines the brightest of them all!



The cherry blooms and branches just called out to be fussy-cut and who am I to resist!



All the Maja papers have beautiful beautiful patterns, some very delicate and subtle. I really couldn't cover up all of this beauty - just look at those swirls and flourishes! I stamped the itty bitty dusty pink bloom and the brown mini doily print here and there on my page.



More raw chippies from Maxine's that have been dressed in Crea Diem papers. The strips at the bottom are actually the back of the manufacturer's strips from the bottom of the papers. All Maja papers have the most wonderful prints at the back of those strips. Here I've combined strips from 3 different papers.









I am leaving soon for a combined pleasure and business trip to London where I will meet sweet Doreen Spencer, also known in blogland as Tinkerbell. As I haven't figured out yet how to make Blogger release time scheduled posts, I will alas have to leave blogging for a week.

Hubby and cats will reclaim the sofa, the remote and rely on take-away dinners from Mama Thai while I'm away. Well, I'll enjoy every minute I have in London. Have pre-booked tickets for a fabulous exhibition with Cecil Beaton's photos at the V&A as well as to the Museum of London where they have a splendid exhibition celebrating Dickens' 200th birthday anniversary.

I know for sure there will be cause for drinking champagne at at least one occasion too! So by all means hubby, you go and have your tin foil containers of Massaman Curry at Mama's, I'll think of you fondly when I nibble my little hoeurs d'ouvres.

So time's up, thanks for popping by! wish me bon voyage and chat again after 13 February. Till then, take care, be good and have fun!

Cheers! xoxoxo Eila