Ladybugs

While waiting for a load of snow that they promised, a quick and easy colourful creation. I coloured the bugaboo digi with coloured pencils and combined it with a polka-dot background paper. 

To follow the sketch of tuesday morning sketches, I combined the image with a white ribbon and a couple of white flowers, which I cut off from a lace that I've been saving since my high school days. I guess I'll forever be a little hamster when it comes to crafting supplies I *might* need one day :)

For a little bling, I glued a couple of pearls on where the original image has dots and stars.

In the end, I added a simple sentiment saying "Happy birthday" to match the bingo of 613 avenue create.

challenges:

- deep ocean challengeblog: lace & pearls

- inspiration destination: ATG

- pennys challenges: ATG

- modsquad: all about animals

- kraftin kimmie: ATG

- allsorts challengeblog: lace & pearls

- fussy and fancy: things with wings

- robynsfetishchallengeblog: animals

- 613 avenue create: create your own challenge

- tuesday morning sketches

- tuesday throwdown: facets of crafting

- crafting from the heart: ATG

- cute card thursday: stamping mad

- 4craftychicks: ATG
- craftinghazelnutspatternedpaper

Pink romance

The bad thing about re-scheduling my exams: I guess I'll fall behind schedule for about a month. The good thing: crafting time!
Today's card contains some of my favourite things: stitching, flowers and soft shades.
While making this card, I followed two bingo challenges: the one from creaine challenges and the one from 613 avenue create, which was particularly tricky as you have to pick at least 5 themes yourself. These are the picks I've made:

I decided to make a little Valentine's Day card with a silver stitched heart and combined the silver yarn with a light-pink background paper. In the end, I added a couple of punched flowers and pearls. 

I'm quite satisfied with the result even if I would have done things differently now. 
Prior to stitching, I punched the corners of the white paper, which would meet the "die cut" part of the bingo challenge. Obviously, I forgot that I'd add punched flowers later on. As the stitching was done already, I decided to use the paper anyway and decorated the corners with pearls. However, I think I'd rather have not-punched corners as I'm not sure the punched ones fit the card. 

Or is it just this complicating-tendency of mine again?

challenges:

- 613 avenue create: create your own challenge
- crafting from the heart: ATG
- creaine challenges: bingo (pink, flowers, pearls)
- cutecardthursday: colourful
- dreamvalley challenges: ATG
- glitternsparkle: swirls & pearls
- in the pink challenge: pink & pearlie
- jellypark challenges: bling it up
- pennys challenges: ATG
- thatcraftplace: love/Valentine
- the pink elephant: ATG
- tuesday throwdown: a facet of crafting
- crafty sentiments: love, Valentine's Day
- scrapping4fun: all about love
- fadengrafik-challenge: ATG
- wedodoobadoo: romance
- bunny zoe crafts: hearts

Green

An easy card to distract myself from learning...
Partly, because I absolutely had to try these wonderful polka-dot papers, and mainly because I can't go without crafting for even a week ;)
It's a simple card in green shades that I made using the sketch from cheerfulsketches. In the beginning, I planned to take a digi stamp, paper roses and buttons, and make a Valentine card, but to save time I have chosen to work with a picture from an old calendar. 

As the central motif turned out to be a white flower, I thought that paper roses wouldn't fit for the corner embellishment. I punched some matching white flowers instead and cut a dark green swirl. The other embellishments I used are pearls and a lace.

In the end, the card looks like a (male) birthday card to me, or maybe a simple spring/Easter card as green is the colour of hope and new life. And I just can't wait for the first spring flowers ;) After all, nature can't stay grey forever.

challenges:
- cheerfulsketches: sketch

- basteltraum: ATG
- craft-alnica: new beginning (birthday, spring, flowers)
- craftycardmakers: something old, something new (old calendar, new papers)
- craftycalendar: what's new (new papers)
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpapers
- cutecardthursday: what's new (new papers)
- fabnfunkychallenges: something new (new papers)
- fussy and fancy challenge: swirls & pearls
- ladybugcrafts: say it with flowers
- justinspirational: bling & a bow
- papertakeweekly: it's all new (new papers)
- pennyspapercraft: ATG
- inspiration destination: ATG
- scrapping4fun: happy birthday
- cardz4guyz: happy birthday
- allsortschallenge: spring flowers

Happy birthday

Todays' card lies somewhere between lumbar punction and the thalamus.
I stitched the ornament in silver and red shimmering yarn, and added some 3D roses to complete it. Also, I used some pearls and rhinestones.

Thanks God I stitched the main motif a while ago, so I only needed to put the card together now. To make the card a bit different, I decided to make an easel card with matching pearls on the base of the card.

Combining papers and cutting takes time, too, but it's certainly better than making the whole card when I actually should be learning for my exam :) So, I managed to finish the card without major learning delays (well,almost) and can send it off to a very special lady this week.

You may notice that I've sent flowers about the same time last year already and the simple reason is: some people deserve to be covered with flowers every day.

Mrs. B sure is one of those special people. I got to know her as a wonderful, modest, hardworking mother and grandmother who welcomed me to the family with open arms from the very first day. In return, I decided to "adopt" her as my second mom.

I could easily go with her as mother in law, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. However, after so many second chances and broken promises I think I can say it was neither her nor my fault - and no reason to reconsider the adoption ;)
Birthday wishes will be written on a seperate tag, once I figure out how to put all the birthday wishes into words.

challenges:

- allwayssomethingcreative: something new (3D roses)
- craft-alnica: new beginning (birthday - new year of life)
- crafty calendar: what's new (3D roses)
- cutecardthursday: what's new (3D roses)
- fussy and fancy: swirls & pearls
- jellyparkchallenges: bling it up
- ladybug crafts: say it with flowers
- papertakeweekly: ATG
- pennyspapercraft: ATG
- thatcraftplace: monochromatic
- ABC challenge: A for ATG
- tuesday throwdown: favourite embellishment (stitching, pearls)
- craftsandmeinspiration: Valentine
- path of positivity: uniqueness (unique recipient)
- inspiration destination: ATG
- scrapping4fun: happy birthday

You may wonder why I don't link-up to the fadengrafik-challenge. Not that I forgot, but the challenge ladies have invited me to join their DT :) YAY! Meaning, my contribution to the challenges will be from now on found a few lines above from where it was until now ;)
Let me tell you that the themes of 2015 are fantastic, so if you do pickpoint, or ever wanted to try, there's still time to enter the January challenge: ATG ;)

Winter wonderland

Is it possible that I haven't posted any snow-pics yet?
For one part, the snow we got after Christmas is mainly gone, and for the other part I'm behind my books again.
However, it was a wonderful surprise to wake up to a winter wonderland a couple of days before New Year. I can't remember the last time I got out of bed so quickly, and went into a cold winter morning on a voluntary basis!
The surroundings of Viktring abbey look great in frost, too...

... but fact is: only snow turns winter into "real winter".
Nature looks like an enchanted forest, and everything is so peaceful.

Somebody even prepared a table near the water, and the childrens' playground turns into a fairy landscape.

And as everything is white on white, it's rather shapes that matter, not colours.

Blue bird

Just a quick post to start the 2015 crafting season.
I've taken some time off during the holidays, partly because I went home where I don't have any crafting stuff, and partly because I started what I should be doing anyway - learning.
Well, I sorted my unterlagen and prepared (almost) everything I need to know for my exam. And with 6 weeks to go, I almost feel like time is running out!
What a wonderful students' life...

Anyway, as I'm not a morning person when it comes to learning (i.e. afternoon, evening & night is my most productive learning time), I managed to do this little blue bird somewhere between waking up and cooking lunch.

Mainly, I used the sketch from sweet sketch wednesday for the arrangement, and the colour combo from C.R.A.F.T. challenge.
I took some patterned paper for the background, and thought to use a white ribbon for the horizontal stripe. But, I glued the background paper to the card too soon, so I took a blue leftover paper instead. To make it sparkle, I used a silver sticker and two wooden snowflakes with glitter.

I can imagine the little bird is cold with the low temperatures outside, but at least I hope somebody wrapped some candy on the tree :) It's pretty funny to watch the birds swing on those apples, and a wonderful idea I saw in the city center lately.

challenges:
- sweet sketch wednesday: sketch
- C.R.A.F.T.: colour combo
- ABC christmas challenge: Z for zebra (stripes)
- alphabetchallengeblog: W for whiskers
- basteltanten: winter time
- catchthebugblog: ATG
- come and get it challenge: snow much fun
- craftalnica: ATG
- craftycalendar: what's new (background paper)
- craftycatz: ATG
- craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge: anything goes as long as it's Christmas
- craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2: ATG
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper: background paper
- creativecardcrew: for a child
- cutecardthursday: ATG
- dreamvalley: Christmas
- fairytale-challengeblog: snow
- fan-tastic tuesday: ATG with a twist - add some orange
- glitternsparkle: ATG
- jellyparkchallenges: bling it up
- pennyspapercraft: ATG
- ABC challenge: A for ATG
- clear it out challenge: ATG
- papertake weekly: ATG