07 October, 2022

Nature

After a short break, I'm back with another card for you. I skipped the "Magic" challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog, and now jump right into our next task which is "Nature". I couldn't decide which part of nature I should focus on, so I featured a bit of everything here.
For the main motif, I picked a cute badger drawing by Nina Štajner. I cut it from the cover of a paper set that was too beautiful to be thrown away, and decided to place it on a green-ish background paper which I purchased recently. I like how it looks like a green and brown watercolour painting without any specific pattern, and I think this alone makes it suitable for many different occasions. I added another little piece of green paper, and placed the badger onto a layer of black cardboard. An odd choice maybe, but I think the black goes well with the animal itself, and makes sure that the picture stands out from the background. Additionally, I placed the badger on 3D adhesive pads.
Once the outline was done, I added a couple of paper flowers, as well as pearls in different colours and sizes. I think they complement the watercolour-like drops in the background, and give a nice 3D effect as well.

challenges: 
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a place to start: ATG with optional twist "circles and squares"
- basteltraum: autumn
- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "autumn colours"
- crafty gals corner: signs of fall
- creative inspirations: autumn
- creative moments: ATG with optional twist "autumn colours"
- critter crazy: ATG animals
- double D challenges: everything October
- everybody art: autumn magic
- love to craft: ATG 
- make my monday: autumn flora and fauna
- path of positivity: celebrate something about your favourite season (I don't really have a favourite season as such, but I try to find good things in every part of the year. In autumn, it's warm sunny days and colourful leafs which make up for the fact that the temperatures are sinking and I have to keep adding layers to my clothing in order to keep warm as soon as the sun is gone.)
Posted by at 1 comment:

09 September, 2022

Leaves

Another Friday, another task over at the Alphabet challenge blog. We have reached the letter "L", and fitting for the upcoming fall season we'd like to see "Leaves" on your projects. 
I've created a simple card reusing the cover of a Nina Štajner scrapbook paper set, since it would be a shame to throw it away. Instead, I decided to cut out a piece of paper that features branches and falling leaves. 
With a simple and serene motif like this, I created a simpathy card. I placed the paper piece onto a kraft card base, complementing it with a simple sentiment of condolence which I enhanced with a strip of dark brown paper. I like to believe that despite of the warm colours being used, the card is still acceptable for a sad occasion. But then again, I might be a weirdo :)
Other than that, I decided to leave the illustration as it is. I even restrained myself from adding tiny pearls, because I think those branches don't need any additional bling. 

challenges: 
Posted by at 19 comments:

26 August, 2022

Kraft card

Just a quick card from me today, featuring a kraft card base as is required for our newest challenge over at the Alphabet challenge. I've dismantled the cover of a scrapbook paper album recently since I didn't want to just throw it away. I decided to prepare scraps for a couple of cards, but since it featured different motifs on the inside and outside, I had to sacrifice one side to use the other and vice versa. However, I managed to prepare pieces from both sides to be used. This particular scene is from the inside of the cover, and I like those abstract, watercolour-looking flowers. While the foliage is rather blurry, it has a beautiful accent in form of golden blooms. 
I cut a piece wide enough to be featurred on a card base, but since the floral motif interfered with other stuff, it wasn't quite tall enough for me. To make it appear bigger, I added a punched strip of golden paper which goes with the golden dots of the image. I wasn't sure whether the finished card would be suitable for a masculine occasion or a short "just because" note, but in the end I decided to use it for a sympathy card - the main reason being that the motif looks so serene to me. I then added a small sentiment on dark turquoise paper, and couldn't resist adding a couple of rhinestons in the end.  
I'm not entirely sure whether the outcome is appropriate for a sympathy card, but I like to believe that somebody will like to have one that is not entirely black & white. I try to tell myself that the golden accents are quite discrete, and the gemstones are almost invisible as if they would resemble fireflies above a meadow on a warm summer evening...
... but I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this one. Would you think of making a sympathy card like this? Would you buy it if you saw it in the store? How would you feel about receiving a bit of gold and glitter on a sad occasion?

Posted by at 11 comments:

12 August, 2022

Juvenile

Can you believe two weeks have passed already since our last challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog? Time to announce a new challenge, I guess. We'd like to see your "Juvenile" themed projects this fortnight, meaning you should create something for a young person.
For my DT inspiration, I've worked on something very simple: a birthday card for a young vehicle enthusiast. You certainly know the patterned paper as I've used it in a couple of masculine projects already, and this one is actually a leftover piece. I've cut out the motif of cars in the middle to use them for one of my bookmarks. I figured I'd fill the emptiness with a greeting or sentiment to create an extra card (I didn't want to create any more bookmarks), which is why I placed the patterned paper onto a bright yellow card base. However, I always thought about placing a sentiment over the yellow gap in the middle. This way, whatever I'd place atop that base would have to be rather big, possibly interfering with all the vehicles in the background and making them look inaproppriately small. Since I couldn't come up with anything better, I put my half-finished project aside. I came across it every now and then, and each time it ended up annoying me because I just couldn't come up with a solution. Until I decided to completely change my thought process.
Only a couple of days ago it struck me that I don't necessarily need to cover up the awkward gap - I could make it the centerpiece of my creation! I rearranged the sentiment from my recent summer card and cut it to the right size to match the card base. I then removed the piece of yellow card base that was acting as a gap-holder the entire time, creating an opening instead.
See, instead of putting the greeting atop my card, I decided to place it inside, and I think it gives such an unexpected twist to the original outline. I actually like how everything turned out, and how it all was possible because I changed my way of thinking by looking for the exact opposite of what I had in mind before. A concept that might as well be useful in everyday life.

challenges:
Posted by at 12 comments:

31 July, 2022

Children of war

I visited my sister mid March and the train journey offered a glimpse of the ongoing refuge stream from Ukraine. People on the way to safety, each carrying the weight of the world while their actual world is falling apart. 
A woman with kids and an elderly grandma in tow, navigating Europe with a piece of paper with a single word written on it: the name of foreign city. Is it a stopover or a permanent home with friends/relatives who already live here? Who knows.
Babies crying from hunger and exhaustion on a train station as their mothers are trying to find an info point after being on the road for who knows how long. 
A family with several kids, all well behaved and quiet for hours as the train takes them further and further away from everything they've ever known. 
A woman with kids, each carrying their life in a small backpack, looking for a way to continue their journey despite the language barrier. Where are they going to and what have they left behind? Who knows.

Months have passed and the headlines have changed, but I can't help feeling more and more appalled by the evil that is being unleashed on Ukrainian soil. We might go on with our lives, but innocent people are still being terrorized on a daily basis. While we know of hundreds of children who have been killed and injured, we seem to forget that every Ukrainian child has been affected by this war in one way or another: by losing friends and/or family members, having teir schools and playgrounds bombed, spending nights in bomb shelters, feeling the insecurity of the adults without understanding what is going on, leaving their homes behind, ending up in a strange place surrounded by strange people. It doesn't take a physical injury to be injured, and I'm afraid the wounds of Ukrainian children will take decades to heal.

To make at least one child feel welcome and safe, I wrapped up a care package. Next to everyday items I included a "Welcome" card and a few girly things since the box would be sent to a girl. Not knowing any details of the child (age, interests), I tried to make a card as fitting as possible for anyone. First, I picked this wonderful polka dot background paper. It might be very blue for a girl, but I think it's a fun one nevertheless, and besides that there's no reason why blue should be attributed exclusively to boys. 
Once I finished the background, I started wotking on the main motif. I thought about using a digi, a picture, or a "Welcome" sentiment, but I went with butterfly stickers in the end. I like how they're made in 3D which gives the card a bit of a depth. They do add more blue to the card, but there's also a bit of shimmer, and I figured a bunch of butterflies would be a nice gift to a child who ends up in a strange country far away from home. I placed the stickers onto a plain white cardboard and that was about it.
As I tried to reflect Ukrainian colours on my creation, I decided to add more yellow in form of a light yellow card board which enhances the butterflies. Once I placed the motif on 3D pads, the card was done. There's no sentiment because I thought I'd let the butterflies shine without any additional embellishments.

challenges:
- krafty chicks: all occasions
- 613 avenue create: ATG  
- allsorts challengeblog: butterflies/bugs
- craft-alnica: for a young lady
- creative moments: ATG with optional twist "cute"
- cutie pie challengeblog: little cuties
- fabnfunky: ATG
- intaas: happiness
- love to craft: ATG 
Posted by at 18 comments:

29 July, 2022

Interests

May I interest you in another task over at the Alphabet challenge blog? 
I'm sorry I couldn't help, but this pun was absolutely intended. Jokes aside, we'd like to see "Interests" in your creations this fortnight, and by that we mean everything related to interests and hobbies. It could be your personal hobbies or hobbies in general, everything is fine as long as you make that the main topic of your project.
For my DT inspiration, I prepated a card which features two of my interests actually. The first one is paper embroidery which is displayed in form of a stitched border. I created it using one of my favourite stitching patterns and silver yarn. I've worked on it two days in a row, and once it was done, I decorated the swirls with a couple of rhinestones. I placed the embroidered piece of paper onto a light blue background paper, and that was that. 
My second interest is cycling, which is represented by the image of two bicycles on a beach. The original photo was featured in one of those desk calendars with serene images and wisdoms, and I saved the photo of two bicycles on a beach to use it in one of my future projects. I cut out a detail of the whole piece and adjusted the size in order to make it fit inside the embroidery once the border was done. 
Now, I'm no cyclist by all means. I used to ride my bike as a child, but it would mostly be short trips with family. However, me and my sister used to be a huge cycling nut years ago, following every move of Lance Armstrong and the team USPS/Discovery/Astana/RadioShack up to the point that I could recognize the riders based on their socks and sunglasses. Going to races became as obligatory as painting the streets with encouraging messages and getting to know the team-members we'd meet regularly. I'm not sure what they must have been thinking about those crazy girls who'd patiently wait next to the team vehicles for hours only to get a glimpse at the athletes, but friendly chit-chats, merch giveaways and even rides in the team car suggest that we must have done a really good job as fans. I'm not a hardcore fan like that anymore - mostly due to the fact that the riders I originally supported are more or less retired and I haven't found myself proper replacements in form of other riders/teams. However, even though my interest for cycling has faded over the years it never really went away. I'm still following cycling news and race results (even though not as frequently), and I'm still over the moon when my favourite riders do well (and since favourite now equals Slovenian, it means I've been over the moon many times in the past couple of years). 
Since the card as such sends off holiday vibes, I originally wanted to present it for my "Holidays" challenge theme, but I had run out of time to create the stitched border. I'm happy to be able to show you the card in this challenge instead, and hope you'll be able to get inspired by the works of the DT.
A little contribution to the collection of hand-stitching at made with Blümchen.

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: all occasions
- basteltraum: ATG
- cardz4guyz: recycle something (picture from an old calendar)
- fabnfunky: ATG
- friendship challenge: summer, sun, beach
- intaas: masculine
- little red wagon: stitching
- love to craft: ATG 
- make my monday: outdoor sports
- my time to craft: ocean/sea (beside/on/under water)
Posted by at 24 comments:

15 July, 2022

Holidays

Hello and welcome to the newest challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog!
I'm your challenge host this fortnight, and I'd like to see your "Holidays" themed creations. What kind of holidays, you may ask? That's entirely up to you. If you have a look at the DT creations, you'll see plenty of inspirations to get you started: it could be the classical Christmas holidays (or any festive holidays), or holidays in terms of vacations (again, any season is welcome). I can't wait to see what you'll come up with. Before we start, however, let's have a look at my creation.
I've postponed making my DT inspiration for ages thinking I'd still have plenty of time - which I had before I ran out if it. A crafter's classic, I know. Right before heading home for a couple of days, I realized that I better get my DT task done as long as I have access to my crafting corner. And so I went to work - only that I couldn't decide what to do. I figured I'd make a summer-inspired card and even prepared two layouts, but since they both would feature paper embroidery they'd be very time consuming. Given that I had literally no time left, I had to come up with something else.
I put the embroidery patterns aside and started looking for alternatives. In the end, I thought a summer tag could do the trick. I took this wavy patterned paper from my stash and cut it to the right size for a kraft tag base. I then searched for things to complement the waves. I found it in form of a napkin with small seaside motifs. Among umbrellas, lighthouses and seagulls it also featured a couple of boats and starfish. I cut them out and placed them onto a white piece of cardboard using decoupage glue. Once the pieces were dry, I carefully cut them out again to place them onto the tag. The boat was an easy one, but I managed to tear one of the starfish while doing decoupage, which is why I had to arrange them in a way that would hide the issue. I decided to go with 3D pads and cover my mistake by placing one starfish above the other. Once that was done, I glued a white piece of paper on the back side of my tag. I wrote a dedication by using silver stickers, and after adding a rather thick twine, the tag was done. 
I've been thinking about placing it onto a card base and adding a couple of blue rhinestones around it in order to create a CAS maritime card, but I'm not entirely sure about it. I think it wouldn't look bad, and it would not hurt to sacrifice the back as it's almost empty anyway, but maybe it's good to have some non-card projects at hand just in case. What would you suggest?

challenges:
- craft-alnica: summer
- crafty catz: ATG
- creative crafty uncles: ATG but a card
- creative inspirations: summer sun
- creative moments: ATG
- critter crazy: ATG animals (starfish)
- double D challenges: creatures in/under the sea (starfish)
- everybody art: sunny greetings
- fabnfunky: whatever the weather
- friendship challenge: summer, sun, beach
Posted by at 29 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)