01 February, 2015

Swan Lake

Did I mention I love swans? I'm not sure what it is, but they do have a very special elegance, something truly majestic about their movements and looks. I like them when they're grey and fluffy, and I love them when they're grown up and glide on the water like some fairytale creatures. 
I like their long take-offs and spectacular landings. It sure isn't easy to get airborne with such a massive body and balance this weight!
Especially, I like to watch them when they take time to clean their feathers, i.e. give me opportunity for an extended photo-shooting.
Did I mention my most listened-to song as a child was "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns? My sister used to play it on her violin countless times over a long period of time, and it still gives me goosebumps. Probably one of the sweetest melodies I know.
And did I mention I love Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilych Tschaikovsky? What a great piece on love, promises, magic and betrayal! I lately found myself watching it over and over. No wonder I got all excited when I saw the ballet is on the schedule of the Ljubljana Opera/Ballet in April. Yay! Above all, it's also a great background-music for crafting ;)
Personally, I prefer the happy-end version (of course) and while browsing through youtube I found two interpretations that are especially wonderful to me:

Swan Lake starring Yulia Makhalina & Igor Zelensky
Swan Lake starring Svetlana Zakharova & Roberto Bolle

With swans on my mind, I decided to make a white-in-white Valentine card. I stitched a heart with silver yarn and combined it with pearls. 
Chosing the background paper took me almost as long as the stitching, but in the end I picked the one with swirls. In the lower part of the card I placed a lace and flowers, combined with my newest punch and some more pearls. 
All these embellishments however made the upper part of the card look a little boring, so I decided to punch the edges and add some gemstones. I still didn't like the outcome though. In the end, it was the tiny silver sticker that satisfied me. 
Overall, the silver-white combination with glitter and pearls actually does remind me of the enchanted Swan Queen.
As the card turned out well and I have no more thoughts on it, my dilemma is now focused on Swan Lake itself: I simply can't decide which version of the above I like better. One has to say Svetlana's technique is superb, but Yulia is doing her job very well, too. And since I like certain scenes and music of both performances, I guess I'll just have to watch them both alternately.

challenges:
- deep ocean challengeblog: lace & pearls
- inspiration destination: ATG
- pennys papercraft: ATG
- allsortschallengeblog: flower power
- glitternsparkle: ATG
- tuesday throwdown: facets of crafting
- crafting from the heart: ATG
- 4 crafty chicks: ATG
- creative fingers: ATG
- fairytale challengeblog: something with a heart
- crafty catz: stitching
- the ribbon girls: romance
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- that craft place: ATG
- allways something creative: glitter
- robynsfetishchallengeblog: ATG
- come and get it challenge: texture
- jellypark challenges: love is in the air
- C.R.A.F.T challenge: Valentine's Day
- ooh- la-la creations: once upon a time (Swan Lake)
- just inspirational challenges: love
- wedodoobadoo: romance
- bunny zoe crafts: hearts
- scrapping4fun: all about love

27 comments:

  1. This is such a beautifully elegant card, I can see the influence of both the swans themselves and the ballet in the shaping of the heart. Lovely interpretation of our theme. Thank you for entering our Once Upon A Time Challenge at Ooh La La Creations.
    Alli x

    ReplyDelete
  2. what a beautiful card and thanks for sharing your inspirational photos! We are very pleased that you joined in with the Ribbon Girl Card Challenge 'romance' good luck! Mary

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh what a stunning elegant card, the hearts like the swans necks is gorgeous and the stitching is beautiful. Fabulous touch with the embellishments. Thanks for joining our challenge at Penny's Paper Crafty and hope you join in again soon. Jennifer DT member xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, such an elegant design. Thank you for sharing with us at the CRAFT Challenge. Shona xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing and joining us at Inspiration Destination. Hope to see you again and good luck!
    Ema
    IDCB Owner

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a gorgeous card!! Very elegant and rich! Love it! Thanks for joining us at Tuesday Throwdown!
    hugs!
    Pam
    TT DT
    www.pammiesinkypinkies.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your creation is absolutely delightful such pretty flowers and thank you for sharing the lovely photos. We too have swans close by, such graceful birds.

    It's lovely to see you at Allsorts Challenge, many thanks for joining in.

    B x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely elegant card, well thought out. Love your flowers. Thanks for sharing at Glitter n Sparkle Chris DT x

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow your stitching is gorgeous! And the white on white with silver makes for a stunning creation :) Thanks for playing in our neighborhood at 613 Avenue Create!

    Kathi
    Co-owner

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kako nežno si nas popeljala k prekrasni voščilnici. Lp

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice homage to swans! Beautifully done! Thanks for playing along with us this week at 613 Avenue Create.
    Hugz,
    Chana, Owner

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great card - thanks for joining us at Penny's.

    Helen x

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is beautiful! I love all the accents...thanks for joining us at 4 Crafty Chicks this week xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cute card and thanks for sharing at craft this week

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fantastic romantic card and enjoyed looking at all those beautiful swan photos. Many thanks for joining in with the "Romance" theme over at We Do Doobadoo Challenges . Lou (DT)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Stunning card! Love it! And the pics of the swans are amazing! Thanks for sharing with us at Crafty Catz this week. Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  17. brilliant card and thanks for playing at Crafty catz this week

    ReplyDelete
  18. Eine sehr schöne Karte zeigst Du uns. Auch Deine Bilder sind wunderschön.
    Vielen Dank für Deine Teilnahme an unserer aktuellen ASC-Challenge.
    Liebe Grüße, Manuela

    ReplyDelete
  19. Stunning card, and love the swan photos too!

    Glad that you could join us for the challenge at Come And Get It…..hope to see you back soon!

    ¸..• ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.•´ .•´¨¨))*((¸¸.•´ ..•´
    Shell in Alaska ~ CAGI DT ~
    http://akstamping.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is stunning! So elegant and soft. Thanks so much for dropping this by 613 Avenue Create! We look forward to another visit from you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Meine Güte cheiro urgia,

    sind das schööööööööööööööööne Fotos. Ich liebe Schwäne, sie sind so elegant.
    Auch das Video ist wunderschön geworden.
    Deine Fadengrafik passt perfekt zum Schwanensee, sie ist genauso zart und elegant geworden.

    Gruß BAstelfeti

    ReplyDelete
  22. Beautiful. I love swans. Thanks for entering your lovely card at That Craft Place...Stacey S xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful and very elegant card, Lovely pictures.
    Thank you for your lovely entry at Scrapping4funChallenges.
    Rachelle DT
    http://scrapping4funchallenges.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Eine tolle Karte hast du da gemacht! Danke für Deine Teilnahme an der ASC-Challenge

    LG Steffi

    ReplyDelete
  25. Fab make. Thanks for joining in our Romance challenge at We Do Doobadoo
    Anjie (DT)

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a gorgeous and elegant card! Just like the beautiful swans. Love the stitching & flowers. Thanks for joining us at Scrapping 4 Fun Challenges. :D

    ReplyDelete
  27. Absolutely gorgeous your creations always are, thanks for sharing over at Jellypark Friends :o).

    ReplyDelete