07 March, 2025

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: 
- 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
- crafty catz: ATG
- crafty gals corner: "pink something" (hearts)
- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers
- nachteulen: ATG
- pennys papertake: ATG paper
- try it on tuesday: for a lady
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02 March, 2025

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.)
- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "for the girls"
- critter crazy: ATG animals
- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers
- love to craft: ATG 
- make my monday: stitching
- nachteulen: ATG
- pennys papertake: ATG paper
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08 February, 2025

Vintage

Trying not to be too late again, I'll be short today with introducing the current challenge at the Alphabet challenge blog: "Vintage". Show us your creations full of old charm, and play along for the top titles.
For my DT project, I wanted to create a card at first, but I opted for its counterpart instead - an envelope. I took an envelope from my stash, and embellished it with a sheet of patterned paper. I like the combination of pink and beige shades, and the random patterns that can be partially seen on the paper itself. In a fun twist, the sheet of paper even had an inscription from which I cut the words "Vintage Love" - simply perfect for the vintage theme of our challenge. I placed it on the front side of the envelope, and moved towards the back.
Here, the embellishing with paper was a bit more tricky due to the flap, but I still managed to create a continuous pattern. For that, I focused on the base, which means the lid was short of paper on its lid - to cover up the white envelope base here, I cut out a lovely motif of a rose and a bee from an old stationery set. Mom found it in one of those book exchange boxes one day, and by the looks of it, it might as well qualify for the "vintage" theme. 
Before I glued that circle onto the envelope, I made sure to embellish the border of the lid. I wanted to hide the white envelope here, and I think the strip of beige paper matches nicely with the overal colour scheme. I didn't even need to cut it out, as this awkwardly narrow piece of beige paper was lying in my stash forever. I just ran it through the border punch, and it turned out to be the perfect width - who would have believed it? 
Once that was done, I turned my focus back towards the front of the envelope. I figured it wouldn't be sent by mail, so I decided to place silver butterfly stickers over the part that would usually feature the adress. I thren added a few more butterflies, and it ended up looking like this. I'm not sure whether I went too far or not, but it seems somewhat acceptable - after all, butterflies are a recurrent motif on various vintage creations.
What do you think? Did I manage to inspire you for some vintage-themed crafting?

challenges:
- krafty chicks: birthday 
- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "lots of love"
- a place to start: ATG with optional twist "things in the sky" (bee)
- allsorts challengeblog: ATG with optional twist "romance and/or music"
- C.R.A.F.T.: love/ATG
- card free zone: ATG but a card
- crafty catz: ATG
- creative inspirations: love is in the air
- critter crazy: ATG animals (bee)
- do-all kreatives: ATG with optional twist "things with wings" (bee)
- everybody art: punches (punched border on the flap)
- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers
- morgans artworld: ATG
- moving along with the times: things with wings (bee)
- path of positivity: ATG positive
- pearlysparkles: love is in the air
- pennys papertake: ATG paper
- try it on tuesday: romance
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03 February, 2025

Underwater

I'm not sure whether you are already dreaming about a summer vacation by the beach like I do, but while you're at it, you may as well materialize your fantasy by creating something inspired by our "Underwater" challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog.
I think our task gives you plenty of room to get creative, and of course you don't need to stick to ocean-related projects only - after all, there is lots to discover under the surface of rivers and lakes, too! Anyway, the DT have been busy preparing all kinds of underwater inspirations, and now it's up to you. Show us your interpretation of the underwater world, and play along for the top spots this fortnight.
As I was quite busy upon the start of the challenge, I opted for a quick card. 
First, I picked a couple of patterned papers that could go with the challenge theme. I thought about combining them with some embroidery, and I even matched different papers to different patterns to pick my to-do project, but I realized I wouldn't be able to finish the stitching on time. Instead, I picked a paper that could stand by itself - a wonderful display of underwater life in different shades of blue, grey and turquoise. I combined it with a dark blue paper that would frame this ocean scenery of shells and algae. 
I then fished a wooden anchor from my stash - I think it goes nicely not only with the theme, but also with the colous scheme I've chosen. To make my card complete, I took a sentiment from one of my ocean-inspired scrapbook papers. I cut it into pieces which I glued onto my card. In the very end, I added a couple of shimmering details by placing some silver fish stickers onto the patterned paper. And once I finished on time, I even jumped under the shower to take photos... only to forget to post them on my blog! I swear I had everything prepared to go online on the day of the challenge (or Saturday at the latest), and then it just slipped out of my mind to actually post my contribution. 

I like how the card turned out, even though the fish stickers aren't that visible on the photo. 
The project certainly has some masculine vibes, but I think it's fitting for anyone who loves the Big Blue. The wooden anchor does add a bit of weight and thickness to my creation, but I think it could still be shipped without any major issues. 

challenges:
- krafty chicks: ATG
- creative inspirations: something old/something new (old wooden anchor, new patterned papers)
- kreativtanten: bingo (plants, quote, blue)
- little red wagon: anything goes
- lovethoseprettypapers: ATG patterned papers
- morgans artworld: ATG
- my time to craft: masculine
- pennys papertake: ATG paper 
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18 January, 2025

Thank you

Hello and welcome to... everything. New year, new month, new challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog. With my traditional delay, I'm trying to keep up with life, especially since many things came crashing down in 2024. For the majority of the year, I felt like being overwhelmed with every single aspect of everyday's life, and I think that pretty much sums it up. I had a wonderful rehabilitation stay recently to help me reset and re-focus, and figure out where to go from here. 
The "Thank you" challenge is quite fitting for the season, and I'm trying to be thankful for things that come my way, but I also feel a deep sense of being fed up with running into walls over and over again. I certainly hope that the new year will allow me to focus on my health more thoroughly, and spend more time in my crafting corner.

I did enjoy some crafting hours during the rehabilitation, and while doing so, I created a little DT inspiration for our challenge. As I didn't have many materials available, I had to improvise quite a bit. In my mind, I had the vision of a pendant, so I used one of the macrame circles as a base (for imagination: the circle is about 10 cm in diameter). Instead of the intricate weaving and brading, I just covered the metal with the rope to create a thick(er) white circle. I then used a thin white yarn to create the hanging loop. Once that was done, I planned to use vellum with snowflakes for the background, but I changed my mind to go for napkin decoupage. As the napkin itself would be way too fragile to work with, I glued it onto a piece of cardboard first. I then cut out the circular shape that would cover the back of my circle to create a pendant. I like how the stars in the napkin line up to fill the space. 
Since the pendant now had a bit of a warm tendency due to the soft yellow/beige center, I added more warmth by adding a red bow to the top. To incorporate the "Thank you" message, I again used some improvisation, namely: a hand-cut piece of paper, a red felt-tip pen, and coloured pencils. To add a bit more red, I placed a wooden heart next to the sentiment. 
On the back side, I added a small inscription of date and place, leaving the majority of the panel empty for well-wishes and/or words of thanks.
I like how the pendant looks festive, but it doesn't lean too much towards Christmas even despite the stars on the napkin. That way, I figure it would be possible to have it on display all through the New year holidays - especially since those napkin stars could be interpreted as fireworks. 

challenges:
- krafty chicks: CAS
- C.R.A.F.T.: ATG
- card free zone: ATG but a card
- crafty catz: ATG
- creative inspirations: something old or something new (old: napkin, red bow, wooden heart, cardboard, coloured pencils)
- love to craft: ATG 
- moving along with the times: thank you
- my time to craft: use a sentiment
- vesela hiska: ATG
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