Summer treasures

Knocking on wood, I think I can see summer peeking from around the corner after all those weeks of rain and cold. I can't believe we've been heating our fireplace to the maximum just 4 days ago!

However, when summer won't come as it should, it's more than legit to bring a piece of sea-feeling by creating a maritime treasure box.

How fitting that "Travel" is this month's theme over at Kreativtanten, who have invited me to be their GD for June. Despite the fact that I've fallen madly in love with the Czech Republic over the past years, I opted for creating a travel-inspired project with what is probably the most cliche idea of a summer holiday: a maritime-themed decoration.

The project itself began ages ago when my sister decided to get rid of this wooden box. I've no clue about what she had used it for or where she got it in the first place, but being a hamster, I immediately volunteered to have it, even though I had no idea about how to use it. 
At some point, however, I decided to give it a new look using acrylic paint and napkin decoupage. 

Going through my stash of napkins, I picked a motif of a ship on stormy sea that had a tiny strip of a ship-pattern on the side. I decided to use the arrangement on the box as well, meaning I'd cover the lid of the box with plain white paint, add the blue strip on one side of the box, and place the ship onto the center of the remaining space. 
(Looking back now I probably should have added another layer of paint as this yellow-ish colour is shining through, even though I'm not sure where it comes from - the wood wasn't especially dark at all and there were no remains of glue that could have caused this beauty mistake.)

For the lower part, I thought I'd stick to the blue and white colour scheme, but I spiced things up a little bit by using crackle varnish, making sure the result resembles the waves or the sky.

I'm not sure how I'll use the box in the end. Due to its size (cca 19x11x9 cm) my collection of larger shells fits in perfectly, but so do my stitching yarns, meaning it will most likely be used for some kind of storage in my crafting corner. On the other hand, it might be handy for a giveaway as well - even to a guy, considering the masculine motif.

A little contribution to the June collection of Create in Austria - artwork created by Austrians and/or in Austria.

challenges: 

- krafty chicks: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- as you like it: his or hers (as I mostly create for the sake of creating rather than for a specific recipient, I'm quite unbiased when it comes to my projects - I'll create both male and female ones and often change my oiginal idea based on whatever I dig out of my stash. On a closer look, I certainly create more of the girly things, meaning I'll pick "his" as my favourite this time since a guy-ish project always bring some challenge-feeling which I usually don't get while creating feminine stuff)
- crafty calendar: masculine
- crafty sentiments: summer
- creative moments: ATG
- fabnfunky: recycling
- friendship challenge: ATG
- little red wagon: upcycle/recycle
- love to craft: ATG 
- moving along with the times: monochrome
- scrapping4fun: masculine
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Birthday box

As I'm still waiting for the weather to become summer-ish finally, I'll dig out a summer project from my stash again. 

However, first things first - a short backstory:
When my sister's Kiwi in-laws toured Europe last year, she prepared a hiking holiday for them in one of the most beautiful parts of Slovenia, the Triglav National Park. After they'd be done exploring the country on foot, they'd spend a couple of days in Ljubljana and head towards Austria to meet our mom before going home. 
As the mother-in-law would celebrate her birthday in our place, one cannot go without giving presents - if only it would be something she could actually bring back home to New Zealand!
Due to the entry requirements of the country, we could forget about your usual Slovene treats: potica, honey, jam... Another option would be some traditional handcraft, but all that came to mind was either too bulky to travel with or something that she'd already have. 
We were slowly running out of ideas until we had lunch with my sister's friend and her husband the other day, and she suggested Idrija lace. Of course! How come we didn't come up with this delicate piece of art that certainly doesn't violate any laws and is easy to carry in one's luggage? 
Needless to say, we went straight to the lace shop right after lunch. It is conveniently located in the city center of Ljubljana, and the lady at the counter gave her best guiding us through the products they offer: from napkins to tablecloths, towels and decorative ornaments - obviously, their huge selection didn't make it easy for us to find the one piece that would do the trick. 
We finally purchased a traditional ornament and decided it would look great on a piece of coloured cardboard placed behind one of those glass plates without a frame.

Once my sister made her choice (because why would a son pick his mom's birthday gift if he can transfer responsibility to his girlfriend?), she asked me if I could take care of the glass and else.  Being a good sister, though, I thought I might as well improvise and focus on that "else" thing.

The glass frame thing was an easy one thanks to a local photographer/photo supply shop, meaning I could get lost in my crafting corner to create a matching gift box. Not knowing the recipient, and having the travel/packing thing in mind, I decided to go with a rather neutral outline without any major embellishments that might get damaged or ripped off in a suitcase. In the end, I stitched her initial letter with a floral embellishment, which I glued on dark red cardboard. 

The colour scheme would fit the present that was hidden inside, and I decided to match it with light brown shades that would go with the parchment-imitation paper of the box itself. To make up for the absent decorations, I placed a piece of handwriting-paper onto the box lid, right behind the stitched motif.

On the strip of lace in the bottom, I placed another brown-ish ribbon, which I then decorated with a pair of wooden butterflies. For a little bling, I decided to add a couple of tiny white pearls on each of the butterflies. 

And while I left the inside of the lid blank...

... I tried to incorporate the little information leaflet that came with the lace in my paper project.

To make the bottom of the box more stable, I covered it in corrugated cardboard. Onto it, I placed a flap fold pocket made of red and parchment coloured cardboard. For the closing mechanism, I carefully peeled off the sticker from the original packaging. 

Inside, I placed the booklet with information on Idrija lace

And how did the present look like in the end? Once you'd open the box lid, a beautifully done carnation would come to light. Placed on bright red background for the contrast, it can be hung on a wall, placed on a commode, or even used without the frame as a small napkin-like decoration on a table.

Turns out my sister was more than pleased with the result - and even managed to get her SO to write a little birthday dedication to his mom right next to the pretty flower.

A little contribution to the May collection of Create in Austria - artwork created by Austrians and/or in Austria.
A little contribution to the collection of hand-stitching at made with Blümchen.

challenges: 
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a place to start: ATG with optional twist "favourite technique" (paper embroidery)
- as you like it: not a card (I'll go with any other paper creation, especially one that can be decorated with some stitching, pearls and flowers)
- butterfly challenge: F (flowers, flap fold - does that one count if it's technically not a card?)
- crafty cardmakers: birthday
- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "buttons/flowers"
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper
- creative moments: ATG with a twist "animals"
- cute card thursday: stitching
- everybody art: lace/pearls
- friendship challenge: ATG with optional twist "animals"
- love to craft: ATG 
- pennys papertake: ATG
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Baby bee

As everything seems to be floating by at the moment, with speeds I find hard to follow, I somehow actually managed to miss the first birthday of my colleague's little princess. Since we're both somehow busy, I haven't met the cutie in person yet, but an adorable little bee took off this week to deliver belated birthday greetings.
Unmistakable, it comes from the bugaboo family, and as always, I tried to keep it simple with the colouring. I do know that there are countless of pens and devices that give amazing results, however, I still can't part from the good old fashioned coloured pencils.

For the colour scheme, I decided to stick with mother nature, and once I was done working inside the lines, I added a little touch of soft colour to the background as well. In the end, however, I discovered a couple of tiny stains that I just couldn't erase. To solve the issue, I painted them over with a darker blue colour, creating some kind  of bubbles and stars. Eventually, I added several blades of grass to keep the balance between celestial and terrestrial ornaments :)

Once the colouring was done, I placed the image on a piece of yellow cardboard, which I glued onto a pre-prepared cardbase. In a fun twist, the daisy background paper is just a leftover piece from another prject I'm working on, and as this triangle turned out to fit on a cardbase, I decided to use it as such. For the other half of the background, I added a white embossed piece of paper, after which I placed everything on an additional layer of yellow cardboard. 
I had no idea about how and when I'll complete the card, but the baby bee was almost asking me to be put on top of those flowers. 

To add a little something to the card, I tried to use some lace flowers that went well with another bugaboo project ages ago, but they somehow didn't fit this time. Instead, I used a tiny wooden ladybug that matches the bug in the digi. 

Happy birthday, little baby bee, I can't wait to meet you at last.

A little contribution to the May collection of Create in Austria - artwork created by Austrians and/or in Austria.

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: ATG
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- gem of a challenge: ATG
- brown sugar: flowers
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "buttons/flowers"
- crafty gals corner: May flowers
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper
- creative inspirations: flowers & showers
- creative moments: ATG with a twist "animals"
- double D challenges: frames
- friendship challenge: ATG with optional twist "animals"
- love to craft: ATG 
- morgans artworld: ATG
- pennys papertake: ATG
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Roses are red

With the extensive period of cold, rainy days, I naturally don't have any temptations about spending time outside. As much as try to I tell myself the cliche "There's no bad weather" thing, it just doesn't seem to work, and while my pedometer reminds me of my non-existent activity, being inside is just so much more comfortable. Oh well...
Anyway, the non-existent activity isn't quite true as I was dusting off my shelves the other day, and upon doing so, I found a wooden bracelet I made a while ago. I have cut out several napkin motives during different times of boredom, in order to have them ready for my decoupage projects. And one day, when I felt particularly inspired by blooming roses, I took the pre-cut rose pattern to create a simple floral bracelet. 

After sanding the wooden base, I covered it in several layers of white acrylic paint on the outside, while I decided to paint the inner circle red to match it with the roses which I'd place outside. 

Once the paint was dry, I proceeded to arrange the napkin cut-outs in a way that would create a rich floral pattern without creating a feeling of overload. As the roses were cut out along the lines, I could now glue them onto the base without any overlapping and wrinkles. 

And after putting everything aside to dry, I decided to go for another layer of transparent varnish to seal the whole thing off. Unfortunately, the cloudy weather isn't good for a photoshooting either: in reality, white would be white and red would be red, but well...

A little contribution to the May collection of Create in Austria - artwork created by Austrians and/or in Austria.

challenges: 
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- as you like it: not a card (for my non-card projects, I'll usually take a napkin and a piece of wood which I'd upcycle using napkin decoupage - because there's nothing like to personalize an item with a pattern/colour scheme you like, or one that suits in a specific corner of your room)
- brown sugar: flowers
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- crafty gals corner: May flowers
- creative inspirations: flowers & showers
- creative moments: ATG
- everybody art: wood
- fabnfunky: ATG
- love to craft: ATG 
- scrapping4fun: ladies
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

And where's the floral inspiration, you wonder? Buried somewhere among my memories in form of a late summer walk through park Tivoli with mom. The raindrops are proof of a recent shower, but the sun was already coming out from behind the clouds as we strolled around with our umbrellas.