Trees

Today, I'll make it short and present a rather simple card for our newest challenge over at the Alphabet blog. We're having a "Trees" theme this fortnight, and my DT work is a last-minute creation I created Wednesday evening to replace another project of mine. It did feature trees, but I wanted to make the challenge theme more obvious, so here we go.

First things first, I absolutely love the patterned paper. I can't believe I didn't buy a whole bunch of those sheets when I saw them, as they're beyond beautiful to me: full of dotted hillsides with trees of different sizes, and I think the dots are what makes the scenery so special. Next to the obvious brown and green ones, there are golden accents as well, which gives the paper a fun, elegant glow. Due to bad lighting the card doesn't look exactly like it does in reality where it's a bit brighter and warmer, but there's nothing I can do about the lack of sunshine.

Knowing I would like to show as much of the paper as possible, I decided to use the pattern as my centerpiece. I took one of these tiny card bases, and placed the scenery on an additional piece of brown card board. Since I didn't want the card to look all too empty, I then cut a tiny strip of brown and white paper, which I placed onto the card by using 3D adhesive pads. My idea was to create a little something that would enrich the card without taking away from the those beautiful trees, and I hope it worked out as planned. 

Since I didn't want to run the printer for a sentiment, I decided to create it by using the smallest font of golden stickers I had in my stash. I created a simple "Thank you" (no idea why the "L" is made to stand out like this), and lined it with two tiny brown pearls. 

I'm not sure where the card will end up, but I can imagine adding it to chocolate bar, or a box of pralines, or even a potted plant to give to someone in gratitude. 

challenges:  

- krafty chicks: ATG

- 613 avenue create: ATG 
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- a place to start: ATG

- crafters castle: ATG

- crafty sentiments: ATG
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper

- creative moments: ATG

- love to craft: ATG

- pennys papertake: ATG

- through the craftroom door: ATG

- vesela hiska: gold & silver as sparkle
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Silver

I'm late with my DT project for the Alphabet challenge, so I'll come straight to the point. Our theme this fortnight is "Silver", meaning we'd like to see shimmer and bling on your entries. 

Since I was having time issues, I decided to recycle an old Halloween card. There was nothing wrong with it as such, but I don't really make spooky cards nor do I have use for them. I created this one to feature this super cute image, and that was that. Since I didn't want the card to go to waste, I removed the Halloween scene a while ago. The centerless card landed on my pile of to-be-finished products, but I never had a break-through idea on what to do with it. 

As seen in the pictures, the card is build around a swirly circle which I stitched with silver yarn. Once the sewing was done, I decorated it with tiny white pearls. To match the silver swirls, I used a background paper from one of my Christmas collections. Since the card was originally made as a Halloween project, I added a black cardboard to enhance the stitched pattern, and I think that was the part that bothered me most every time I tried to re-use the card base. With the addition of black, I contemplated creating a sympathy card, but I couldn't come up with anything that would fit in the rather small circle. 

In the end, I fussy cut a Christmas scene. In a fun coincidence, the image fits almost perfectly into the stitched border. I palced it directly on the card and enhanced it with a strip of white pearls, making it look like a Christmas ornament. 

Matching the swirls on my card: swirly decorations around Ljubljana. 

challenges: 

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "any holiday" 
- a bit more time to craft: ATG

- C.R.A.F.T.: Christmas

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- craft-alnica: ATG festive

- crafters castle: ATG
- crafty calendar: Christmas
- crafty gals corner: merry & bright
- crafty sentiments: ATG
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper

- creative crafty uncles: Christmas/Happy new year
- creative inspirations: Christmas time
- creative moments: ATG

- everybody art: Christmas

- friendship challenge: Christmas

- little red wagon: Christmas

- love to craft: ATG 

- morgans artworld: ATG
- pennys papertake: ATG
- scrapping4fun: Christmas/winter

- sparklesmonthlychallenges: vintage Christmas
- 12 months of Christmas: optional theme "ATG Christmas"

- through the craftroom door: ATG

- vesela hiska: gold & silver as sparkle

- winter wonderland: ATG Christmas
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- pinspirational
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Moody Christmas

It's a rather unplanned post from me today, but I've created a rather unplanned card that I'd like to show you. Its main motif is a traditional St. Nicholas song, which I found in an old book of Christmas customs. 

The little musical sheet seemed perfect to be featured in one of my crafting projects, so I cut it out and glued it onto dark blue card board. Then, I began to look for matching papers in my stash. I soon found a dark blue paper with snowflakes and stars, but the piece was a bit too small to place onto a white card base. I began searching for a brown paper that would match the huge snowflake in the lower corner, with no avail - all the browns I could find were either too ocher or too chocolaty.

I extended my search beyond monochrome papers, even though I doubted that I could combine the prominent Christmas pattern with any other pattern. However, I got lucky in the end. Now, I could give half of my crafting supplies away to the one that makes the perfect guess, but I doubt that I'd have to part with anything. Truth is, the sandy crumbs that I placed onto the card base as well as behind the Christmas carol are just that: sandy crumbs! I found a beach-themed patterned paper that goes perfectly with snowflakes in a  winter night. Who'd have thought!

Once that was done, I added a bit of extra bling by placing a metal star right next to the Nicholas song. I fixated it with a tiny thread which I turned into a ribbon. I cut the ends to random lengths that would hide bits of the text, but I think anything shorter wouldn't give the effect I wanted. 

Overall, I think the recycling project turned out quite nice. I really like the dark, moody theme that emerged - not the typical Christmas atmosphere maybe, but given that it's pitch black before 5 pm, the dark starry sky isn't even that far from the truth.

In the end, I'll show you some hats the snow created on leftover dandelions. They look like little gnomes to me and were such a fun sight on my walk through the winter wonderland.

challenges: 

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "any holiday" 
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- a place to start: ATG with optional twist "blue Christmas"

- cardz4guyz: shades of brown

- cards4galz: snow time

- crafty calendar: Christmas
- crafty catz: ATG
- craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge: ATG as long as it's Christmas
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper

- creative inspirations: Christmas time

- everybody art: blue & white

- fabnfunky: ATG Christmas
- friendship challenge: Christmas

- kreativtanten: atypical Christmas colours

- little red wagon: let it snow

- love to craft: ATG 

- pennys papertake: ATG

- 12 months of Christmas: optional theme "ATG Christmas"

- through the craftroom door: ATG

- winter wonderland: ATG Christmas

- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Red

Just a quick post and I'll come straight to the point: as the title says, we'd like to see "Red" in your projects over at the Alphabet challenge.

I have created a pretty simple Christmas card this time. 

For the background, I used a rather childish holiday pattern with Santa, snowmen and a reindeer in a winter wonderland. I placed it on a kraft card base and stitched a red swirl to complement the scenery. Once the sewing was done, I placed a couple of pearls and gemstones to make it a bit more interesting. 

I haven't really done any Christmas decorating yet as I believe they shouldn't be put up until mid December, but my little white deer had a short appearance during the photo shoot. 

challenges:  

- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG

- as you like it: favourite Christmas embellishment (my favourite Christmas embellishment is no different than my favourite everyday embellishment, which is pearls & gemstones. I like how you can add them literally anywhere because they're so subtle, and yet once I place them on my creations it looks like something was missing without them - a bit of bling, a 3D effect, a tiny eye catcher that gives depth to my crafting and brings everything to life)

- C.R.A.F.T.: Christmas present

- Christmas crafts all year round: something with X/Y/Z (Y for yarn)

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty catz: ATG 
- craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge: ATG as long as it's Christmas (optional twist "R" - red swirl)
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper

- creative inspirations: Christmas time
- creative moments: ATG

- fabnfunky: ATG Christmas
- friendship challenge: Christmas

- intaas: winter

- little red wagon: let it snow

- love to craft: ATG 

- make my monday: cute Christmas

- morgans artworld: ATG
- my time to craft: stitching real or faux
- pennys papertake: ATG

- 12 months of Christmas: optional theme "ATG Christmas"

- through the craftroom door: ATG

- winter wonderland: ATG Christmas

- wortartwednesday: ATG
- pinspirational
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG