Love letter

Hi there! I'd like to chime in to our newest challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog: it's "Love letter" for the letter L. I'm your host this time, which means it will be my task to pick the top 3 as well as the spotlight winner. I'd like to see two things on your creations: hearts and handwriting. Please, include both of them to qualify for a top pick spot. If you need some inspiration, have a look at what the DT has prepared for you.

For my inspirational work, I had about a dozen different ideas - from cards to napkin decoupage. As my moving project is not yet finished and lots of my crafting stash is still in boxes, I had to improvise a bit. When I started preparing my DT project, I started narrowing down my supplies as well. Going through my things, I finally settled for a card. However, even there, I still had so many visions in my head: colouring, paper embroidery, patterned papers...

At some point, I got stuck on this paper with an old handwriting. It's actually an illustration from an old cookbook, and I believe the handwriting that's featured on it describes some dumpling recipe. I planned to use it in combination with a digi to create a baby card. However, I could't seem to combine those two things as the digi would be hiding so much of the handwriting. I therefore decided to bring the old handwriting into the foreground. I cut a couple of circles using my circular cutter, and just played with them for a while. I still tried with the baby digi, but I couldn't make it work. So, I put the digi aside. As my card would need a "hearts" element, I thought I'd use my edge-punch with hearts, and I used it right on the card base. The front part of the card ends up narrower than the inside, but I think it gives a bit of an interesting effect. From there, I again played with the pieces in front of me. 

Once I had an outline, I placed the circles onto the white card base. I planned to glue them just like that, adding a sentiment of condolences for a CAS sympathy card. Or something along the lines of "Happy holidays" for either Christmas or Easter. However, I realized that the hearts aligned on the edge might not be suitable for any of the above ocassions.

I then started to explore other options, and in the end, I settled with an additional layer of patterned paper in the background. I already knew what I was looking for: one of those pretty papers I harvested from a book on Japanese cuisine, in which every recipe was acompalied by a beautiful and unique background. I took this green sheet with waves, because I liked both the colours and the pattern, and I think it fits quite nicely to the handwritten "bubbles". Once I glued the circles, I complemented them with a simple "Happy birthday".

Btw, did you know that a stack of Ikea packages can serve as a makeshift crafting station when your crafting table is not installed yet? 

challenges: 

- krafty chicks: masculine

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "lots of layers"

- a place to start: ATG with optional twist "leaves and circles"

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- cardz4guyz: autumn/fall

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty calendar: lots of layers

- crafty gals corner: fall ... (fall colours, fall birthday)

- everybody art: CAS

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers

- love to craft: ATG

- morgans artworld: ATG

- nachteulen: for the boys/men

- path of positivity: take a walk and draw inspiration from something along the way (the combination of green and brown shades in early fall - when there's still lots of greens around, but you'll also see more and more brown leafs, chestnuts etc. This is especially lovely after rainfall, when the earth gets to soak up the very much needed water, and there is this wonderful smell of wet grass.)

- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- try it on tuesday: pretty papers

- unicorn challengeblog: circles

- vesela hiska: 30 minute card

- wortartwednesday: ATG

Keep it simple

I'm back again... Too late again, and no excuse really... Except for I'm busy with medical appointments and moving (as if one wouldn't be enough to overwhelm you. Oh, well...).

And while I'm trying to make my new place work (the big furniture pieces came today, so there's hope!), my stuff is piled in boxes and bags. I do have some crafting supplies at hand, but most of them are waiting to be found. Plus I don't really have a suitable surface (yet). So, for the remaining week of this fortnight's challengr over at the Alphabet challenge blog, I'd like to show you the page of an album I re-discovered during packing. 

I've created it quite a while ago, when I was still navigating my premature menopause. The quote resonated with me on many different levels, and I decided to feature it on a very simple background. The chocolate brown is such a comforting colour to me, and those thin lines seem like paths of life (especially since one features something that looks like tiny footprints). 

Once I settled for the background, I framed the quote by placing it onto a piece of light brown paper. This way, it connects not only to the pattern in the background, but also to the page of my album which is made of kraft paper.

To ease the square scenery, I then added a couple of wooden insects: one huge dragonfly, and two little butterflies. Of course, they had to be embellished with tiny white pearls. 

I like how everything turned out in the end. I'm not sure whether I'll continue my album as so many things piled up since I started, and I'm not sure whether and how I'd like to incorporate them. For now, it's sitting half full/ half empty in my drawer, waiting to be continued. Just like my life right now.

Also, I've just seen that I'm hosting the next Alphabet challenge, so I guess I better use the upcoming weekend to be creative. You may join me by linking something CAS to the current "Keep it simple" challenge for the letter K, while I'll be figuring out what to show you for the letter L. 

challenges: 

- 613 avenue create: ATG

- a place to start: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- as you like it: layered or flat (I'll try to solve this tricky one by clarifying that "flat" to me means a card that can be shipped easily, while the opposite would be a card full of pearls and paper flowers. That being said, I'm creating flat cards mostly, but I'll try to add texture and interest by using different patterned papers. However, as long as the card fits in a regular envelope, I'll refer to it as a "flat card". Since this is an album page, a similar logic prevailed: as the page will be stuck between other pages, I didn't want to overdo it with embellishments. I tried to keep my design flat in terms of papers, the only thing that stands out a bit are the wooden creatures. That being said, it's definitely more flat projects for me at this moment due to practical reasons as shipping and stacking.)

- C.R.A.F.T.: ATG

- CAS on Friday: fall

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty catz: ATG
- crafty gals corner: fall ... (colours)

- creative crafty uncles: ATG (masculine)

- critter crazy: ATG animals

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers

- love to craft: ATG

- morgans artworld: ATG
- moving along with the times: butterflies and/or dragonflies

- path of positivity: take a walk and draw inspiration from something along the way (earthy autumn tones that are popping up in the nature, mostly brown autumn leaves and brown soil that remains when the harvest is finkished in the fields and gardens)

- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- wortartwednesday: ATG

New home

A bit later than planned, I'll chime in to introduce the latest challenge of the Alphabet challenge blog, in which we'd like to see "Home" featured in your projects. The DT has already presented a various choice of creations to inspire you, make sure to have a look at them! 

As for myself, I had my own little home project going on, namely, I'm trying to move at the moment. That is, the apartment is ready but I just can't handle moving all my stuff at the moment. I'm also still dealing with health and insurance issues, so I'm basically sleeping on the floor while half my things are still at mom's place. 

Moving also means that my crafting stuff is now scattered across two households, and I've lost the overview on what is where. Still, amidst the chaos, I managed to prepare a little something for my DT inspiration. I picked this wonderful design paper with houses, and matched it with a white polka-dot embossed sheet. 

I also took one of my slimline card bases, and my coloured pencils as I figured that my card will need some sort of centerpiece. This part of crafting was done in my original crafting corner (including packing double sided tape, a ruler and scissors). Then, I tried to work sitting next to a sideboard in my new place as my desk is still missing: cutting the papers with a stanley knife, I glued them onto the card base. 

I then tried to come up with an idea for the main motif: I was thinking about some paper embroidery, but that would take time, and require my yarns. As an alternative, I browsed the internet for some "new home" related printables. I wanted to come up with something other than the "Home sweet home", and finally, I settled for the image of a wooden road sign. I printed it and used different brown colour pencils in an attempt to create a decent result on the aforementioned sideboard. Then, I used the empty road sign to fill in the directions. It's a very simple handwritten message saying "All the best in the new home". 

There is not much more I can say about the card. The central motif lies flat on the background to ensure it will be easy to post (and also because I didn't have my 3D pads). For the same reason(s) I didn't use pearls or paper flowers. I hope that you still feel inspired to join this letter of the alphabet, and show us your interpretation of "Home". 

challenges:

- krafty chicks: masculine

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "for the guys"

- a place to start: ATG

- gem of a challenge: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty catz: ATG

- creative crafty uncles: layer it up (masculine)

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers

- love to craft: ATG 

- make my monday: embossing (embossed polka-dot pattern)

- morgans artworld: ATG

- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- wortartwednesday: ATG

Icy refreshment

Hello again after quite some time - I've been spending the past weeks getting better... and worse... and better... dealing with insurances and other services. I'm exhausted and I find it hard to spend my energy on dealing with bureaucracy, when I'd need it literally everywhere else, but I guess there's no way around it. I certainly hope that I have calmer weeks ahead of me, and with the summer temperatures outside who knows, maybe I'll have tthe chance to peek out of my apartment for something other than doctor's appointments.

Matching the first major heatwave of the year, I prepared an icy refreshment for you: a lavender-flavoured popsicle. I'm not exactly sure why lavender, but it just seems fitting due to the purple blooms in the patterned paper. Matching our "Embossing" theme over at the Alphabet challenge blog, I used a white paper with swirls in the background. To add a bit more colour, I then added a layer of purple paper onto the kraft card base. For a bit of bling, I added a couple of shiny rhinestones. 

And since there's not much more to say about the card itself, I'll just finish with my observation of how well it matches my wild blueberry ice cream with vanilla cream. Which is of course to be eaten with the big spoon :) 

challenges: 

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "for the guys"

- a place to start: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG with optional twist "what makes you happy" (ice cream in summer)

- as you like it: add a sentiment or not (I'll usually go without a sentiment mainly because the majority of my projects is crafted for the purpose of crafting - meaning they will have no known recipient at the  time they're done. When it fits the layout of my card, I'll sometimes add a generic greeting that can be used for different people, but in general I believe that a real, personal sentiment will be the one inside the card. It doesn't need to jump at you the first moment you see the card - that's the task for the main motif, which without a sentiment gets more space to shine.)

- C.R.A.F.T.: cute/ATG

- CAS on Friday: summer

- crafty catz: ATG

- kreativtanten: favourite colour (purple)

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers

- love to craft: ATG

- morgans artworld: ATG
- moving along with the times: birthday

- nachteulen: die cuts & punches (popsicle die cut)

- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- wortartwednesday: ATG

Butterflies

Hello and welcome to the newest challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog. I'm your challenge host this fortnight, which means that I have chosen the task, and I'll be picking the winners, too. 

With the warm temperatures outside, nature has been generous with blooms everywhere, and this means a feast for all the insects that are crawling / flying around. Without a doubt, butterflies are amongst the most recognisable - and most beloved - ones. So, withiut further ado, I'd like to see them featured on your creations! As always, you can create whatever project you like, just make sure to follow the challenge theme. That being said, keep in mind that my task for you says "Butterflies", which means I'd like to see the plural of them = more than two of those creatures. Apart from that, there's no limit to your creative freedom.

The give wings to your inspiration (no pun intended), I present you this little arrangement of butterflies: a wooden butterfly-embellished button.

I think "little" is the right expression here, because given that the button measures 6 cm in diameter, those butterflies are really small (and they were quite difficult to deal with for this very reason). 

Anyway, I got myself a couple of wooden buttons ages ago. I thought I'd decorate them with some napkin decoupage, but I never got to work until I forgot about the whole thing. Recently, I re-discovered them in my stash, and I also found a bunch of tiny pre-cut napkin motifs I prepared once when I had nothing to do, so I would just randomly cut napkins in advance. 

With the deadline of my "B" challenge approaching, I decided to combine the two discoveries. My idea was to create a butterfly button that could be used as a good luck charm, or a decoration on a gift. I covered the button in white acryllic paint, and once that was dry, I added one tiny butterfly after another. When everything was sealed with varnish, I tried to finish my project with a little bow in the middle because I thought it would fit nicely to the button itself. However, it turned out that my idea didn't really work in practise: Since the middle part of the button is a bit lower that the outside circle, it was almost impossible to create a tight knot for the bow. Also, unless I made a really tiny bow (which looked weird), the ribbon would almost entirely cover the butterflies. 

I tried to come up with another solution, and took a rather robust piece of twine from my stash. I placed the knot on the back side of the ribbon where I could tie it properly, and I left one side of the twine longer on purpose: I thought a button like this could be placed onto a gift box, or onto a spring bouquet, and the longer part of the twine would come around the item to meet the smaller part, which would make sure that that knot would be hidden behind the button, too. I hope this part of my imagination will work as planned once I put the button into use. 

challenges: 

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "splash of colour"
- a place to start: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- card free zone: ATG but a card

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- critter crazy: ATG animals

- do-all kreatives: ATG

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- little red wagon: use that stash (button, napkins)

- love to craft: ATG 

- morgans artworld: ATG

- path of positivity: embracing the unexpected through decluttering (unexpected non-card project I created by using long forgotten things from my stash)

- wortartwednesday: ATG

ATG - Easter bunny

Hello again, and I truly hope you'll get to spend the holidays doing whatever you enjoy most. 

We have an ATG challenge this fortnight over at the Alphabet challenge blog, but beware: Don't just post whatever you want, make sure to tell us which letter of the alphabet inspired your creation.

Matching the spring/Easter season, I'd like to show you a cute little Easter bunny. As you see, it's a girl bunny, and I fell in love with her when I first saw her. 

I found this wonderful napkin motif sometime between Christmas and New year as I was on rehabilitation. Of course, the creative therapy there is a bit different than my crafting at home because the supplies are limited (and so is the time), but I tried to make use of it as much as I could, even if that meant sneaking into the crafting room at random hours of my free time to ask if there are any seats left. 

During one of those bonus hours, I took a piece of wood and covered the front surface in white acrylic paint. It took a couple of layers to make it thoroughly wite, but it was worth in. Once that was done, I glued the napkin motif in it's place. 

While everything was drying, I strated to roam different boxes for embellishments that could go with my lilttle bunny. This was easier said than done since most of the stuff that was laying aound was obviously connected to the winter season and Christmas holidays. Nevertheless, I managed to find a wooden Easter egg, a faux feather and a wooden ladybug. I placed the egg atop of a piece of the feather, and if I remember correctly I had to use mosaic glue to adhere the items as there was no regular glue available. Then, I added the little ladybug, which was indeed orange, so no worries - your eyes aren't playing tricks on you with this one.

Once everything was done, I noticed that the big dent in the lower part of the wooden surface is bothering me. I had another look in those boxes full of random bling, and I found a random egg-shaped bead that I thought would blend into the scenery by resembling a 3D Easter egg. 

I'm not sure if my mission succeeded, but I like to believe that I created the first Easter bunny of the year - right after New year. I then signed date and place on the back side of the ornament, and left it on the shelf of random goodies where you could exchange yourr creations with others or just leave yours if you couldn't take them home for whatever reason... I got myself a little candle, and I really wonder where my Easter bunny is hopping around at the moment. 

challenges:  

- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a place to start: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- as you like it: CAS or fussy & fancy (I prefer to create items with a bit of fuss to create a fancy scenery. I have nothing against a CAS project, especially as they're way more handy when it comes to shipping, but I feel like they oftentimes seem a bit blank and missing something. I need those patterned papers to frame my images, enhance my motifs with gemstones and  pearls, add a sentiment, paper flowers, a wooden embellishment or something else. When I'm creating the fussy & fancy way, I feel like I can really get lost in my stash and use my things however I please, without thinking if something will fit inside a regular envelope.)

- card free zone: ATG but a card

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty calendar: feminine

- crafty catz: ATG
- crafty gals corner: adorable ... (bunny)

- creative inspirations: Happy Easter

- critter crazy: ATG animals

- fabnfunky: think spring
- inkspirational: mood board

- kreativtanten: spring

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade 

- morgans artworld: ATG

- nachteulen: Frühling lässt sein blaues Band...

- wortartwednesday: ATG
- pinspirational Happy Easter

Yummy

After a long and quite unexpected break from everything, I'm back here in blogland to post my long overdue project for the "Yummi" challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog. No need to feel inspired as said challenge is closed already - feel free to add your "Zoom" (fast) projects though!

I certainly thought that I'll be able to have an uneventful spring, but at some point in March everything just went downhill. I'm still not able to function on my own, at least not properly and on the long run. And the more things come my way, the worse it gets. My pain issues intensified in the past weeks, and there are days on which I can't make it out of bed due to exhaustion. 

Anyway, I've been thinking about something to activate your taste buds for the "Yummy" challenge, but I simply couldn't decide whether I should bo for a tasty food or a beverage. In the end, I decided to combine both. The reason being that I had this piece of cross stitch in my stash forever. I stitched it years ago to make one of those explosion boxes for a man, but I never used it for the occasion. I now decided to give it another chance with another project: a masculine card that features the motif of grapes. 

I created a rather simple card, using a purple card base with an oval window. Fortunately, the opening was big enough to feature the stitched motif, and small enough to allow me to adhere the fabric on the inner side of the card (it was a tight match, but it worked). As the stitched image is quite delicate, I opted to leave the card just like that - no additional embellishments whatsoever.

To cover up the inside of the card, I used a piece of patterned paper with purple blooms - if you look closely, you may see how some of them shine through if you look at the front side of the card.

A little contribution to the collection of hand-stitching at made with Blümchen.

challenges:

- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a place to start: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- C.R.A.F.T.: ATG

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty catz: ATG

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- love to craft: ATG

- morgans artworld: ATG
- my time to craft: rectangle shaped card

- path of positivity: Embracing the unexpected through decluttering (decluttered my stash to use this cross-stitched motif of grapes)

- pearlysparkles: monochrome
- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- male room: geometric (oval = geometric figure)

- wortartwednesday: ATG