XOXOXO

Welcome to another Friday, meaning we're kicking off towards the weekend with a fresh challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog. And since I'm unusually early to the party, I won't hide the challenge theme from you any longer: X comes with "XOXOXO", so we'd like to see your lovey-dovey creations with loads of hugs & kisses.   

For my DT inspiration, I delovered the following card for you. I had a bit of a challenge with the "Xoxoxo", because it doesn't really come up in the German and/or Slovenian language, and I didn't feel like creating an English card if you understand what I mean. I solved the issue by using one of my scrapbook papers. It comes with a bunch of card-shaped love messages and coupons, and I picked one that prominently displays the desired phrase. Conveniently, it also features a bit of a "form" that can be filled out once the card will have a sender and a recipient.

Additionally, I cut out some rather "neutral" Valentine's greetings: the X on the hearts card mirrors an O on the lower part which is not visible, and the one in the background features a simple "love" message with loads of hearts. I then took one of my window cards from my stash, namely one with an oval opening. I figured that I could incorporate the opening of the card base into the motif of playing cards. And I decided to connect those two elements with this wonderful red background paper with swirls - I think it couldn't be more perfect for the motif of playing cards that are coming out of a window card.

Once I glued the red background paper to the card base, I cut out an oval opening that would matcxh the original card window. I then placed the corner of one Valentine's card inside the card window, hiding the other cards behind it. I had to play around for a bit to ensure all their motifs are seen the way I imagined them, and once that was done, I glued everything together. 

In the end, I placed a strip of tiny white pearls around the original card window, and since the cards are overlapping with this "border", it gives a bit of a 3D effect to my motif. As the whole project still looked rather "meh", I embellished the background with a couple of punched cards in two shades of pink, which go nicely with the colours of my main motiv. I like to think that they give a little "extra" to my card, making it complete by breaking up all this red in the background. What do you think? Is that an acceptable "XOXOXO" card? 

challenges: 

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

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG

- as you like it: monochrome or colourful (I will go with "monochrome", and what may sound boring at first, gives me a wide range of possibilities: I'll usually pick one colour and go with it. As I have a good overview of the things I have in my stash, I will go through my things picking different shades of said colour to create layers and depth. I will also play with textures and different materials to embellish my project. I think sticking to one colour is a great way to challenge myself in terms of sticking to my options, exploring ways to bring my card to life, and combine the materials I have into an acceptable creation - all within the frame of the one-colour-rule.)

- C.R.A.F.T.: spring/weather/ATG

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty catz: ATG
- crafty gals corner: "pink something" (hearts)

- creative inspirations: ATG

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers

- love to craft: ATG

- morgans artworld: ATG

- nachteulen: ATG

- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- try it on tuesday: for a lady

- wortartwednesday: ATG

Wings

With the days getting longer and warmer, and the first blooms of spring showing, it won't take long until butterflies will be fluttering around again. 

Matching the "Wings" theme over at the Alphabet challenge blog, I decided to present you with a whole bunch of those lovely creatures. If you are a regular visitor of my blog, the stitched pattern might be familiar to you as I've used it before. However, it was the first time I used shimmering yarn to stitch the butterfly circle. I also used silver yarn for the bodies of the butterflies, as I thought it would match the vibe. The floral background paper has a light shimmer, too. Unfortunately, neither of those shimmering structures is pictured the way they look in real life due to the bad light conditions during the photo shoot.

And I must say, I'm quite happy with the result: I like how those purple shades are almost identical. Also, by not using my usual piece of cardboard underneath the stitched motif, I managed to connect the motif of flowers and butterflies rather than frame the butterflies to create a separate motif on the floral background. The center of the circle remains empty for the time being. The card could be finished like this, or the space will be used for a short sentiment once the card has a recipient.

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

challenges:

- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "any occasion"

- allsorts challengeblog: ATG with optional twist "CAS"

- as you like it: favourite feminine or masculine (I will go with "feminine" on this one, as I find it easier to create projects for ladies in general: it feels like there's much more varienty when it comes to motifs and colours, which means I can really set my fantasy free and create without thinking too much. It might also have to do with the fact that I know way more women than men, which means that whenever I'm making something, there's a chance that my creation will end up going to a woman rather than a man.)

- classicdesignchallenge: ATG DT 

- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "for the girls"

- critter crazy: ATG animals

- lil patch of crafty friends: ATG handmade

- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers

- love to craft: ATG 

- make my monday: stitching

- morgans artworld: ATG

- nachteulen: ATG

- pennys papertake: ATG paper

- wortartwednesday: ATG