Tropical

May already! With a new month just a weekend away, it's time for a new task over at Fadengrafik Challenge, and it's going to be an easy "ATG" this time. As summer is almost around the corner, I thought I'd create some sort of tropical feeling for my DT card. 
Again, it 's a recycling project: this time, I used the box of a home fragrance I purchased lately. It was a "just in case" purchase as my current scent hasn't run out yet, and it certainly doesn't belong to the category of necessary buys. It wasn't one of those "I'm going to recycle this" buys either, on the contrary: To be perfectly honest, it wasn't until I unwrapped it at home that I realized this beautiful tropical print on the side of the box. But then, I just had to cut it out carefully and do something with it. 

Since the cut-out is rather elongated, I had a bookmark in mind at first. However, I remembered I had some pre-stitched patterns in my stash. Eventually, a light yellow swirl matched the Tiare flower print and I could start to wonder about how to use them both on a card. 
In an attempt to fill the empty squares in the middle of the stitched motif (I didn't like the idea of using huge pearls or gems) I tried a couple of paper roses, and since I liked the result, I decided to stick by it.
One of the major problems turned out to be a product-related sentiment that was placed in the middle of the cut-out. If I wanted to cover it, I'd have to place the stitched swirl atop the Tiare print in a way that would almost completely cover the floral image. I could have turned the stitching a bit, but it seemed to look even weirder, so I let it be. 

Instead, I started going through my stash for some suitable background papers. The light blue polka dot cardboard is one I planned to use in another project of mine, but as it lay there on my table, it caught my attention, and I decided to try it for the card as well. 
I probably wouldn't pick it from my paper pile as I started to build my card around yellow shades, but on the other hand, the blue gives a nice (even though a bit unusual) contrast, while matching with the tiny bit of blue in the box cover. 
Next, I struggled with the background cardboards that would enhance the stitched piece as well as the cut-out, and since I didn't want to mix too many colours, I returned to the yellow tones I had planned to use initially. 

After some more thinking, I placed the two pieces onto each other in a way that makes it possible to see the Tiare, while I tried to make use of a white paper lace I've once gotten over at Scrapping4Fun to cover up the product print. 
The tiny piece of white paper was buried in my stash for ages as I just didn't seem to know what to do with it, but eventually, I managed to place it in a way that made sure the printed sentiment wouldn't be visible anymore. Considering it's my first use of paper lace, I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out in the end.  Only after gluing it onto the background, however, I realized the lace comes in multiple layers, meaning I could carefully separate them and keep one layer on the card, while others might become useful in some of my future projects - what a wonderful recycling surprise!

And even though the card was now technically done, I just had to add a couple of white pearls to bling up the stitching. Morning dew or a splash of seawater - you decide ;)

A little contribution to the April 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.


Some more lace creations that place themselves onto blue background just as they please...

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: ATG
- 613 avenue create: ATG with optional twist "wedding/anniversary"
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- a place to start: ATG
- as you like it: flowers or ribbon (flowers for me - they're so easy to use on various projects and seem to give this special extra to basically anything)
- basteltraum: flowers
- brown sugar: spring
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- crafty catz: ATG
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper
- creative moments: ATG
- cute card thursday: brads, sequins or gems
- kreativtanten: ATG
- little red wagon: everything's coming up
- love to craft: ATG 
- moving along with the times: floral
- my time to craft: spring flowers
- pennys papertake: ATG
- pile it on: lots of layers/use scraps
- scrapping4fun: ladies
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- unicorn challengeblog: spots & stripes
- use your stuff: yarn/string/twine
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Zen

Another quick recycling project today, one that transformed a napkin box into a very simple card. 
I do try to be conscious while shopping and while I don't always overthink each and every single one of my buys (working on it, though), I'll opt for the product that comes cheaper per kilo (i.e. buying a bigger packaging instead of a small one), or one that I'll be able to use somehow once the purchased product is used up. 

And since I'm working on bringing home as little plastic as possible, it was a logical thing to buy napkins in one of those paper boxes. Bonus: already in the store, I picked a design that I thought might come handy in one of my crafting projects. And once the napkins were gone, I carefully opened the box to cut out the floral motifs on its side. 

Finally, I ended up with two pieces of a pink hydrangea print which I thought would create a CAS Zen-inspired card. I didn't know exactly how it should look like, so I put everything aside for a while until I decided to pair up the cut-outs with a simple quote which would eventually be lined by the floral motif.

To add a little colour, I placed the bloomy pictures on grey cardboard, while I glued the printed quite on a pink background to make it match the colour scheme. 

In the end, the card might be used as a regular get-well card, or maybe a hiding place for a wellness/beauty voucher. And with a new paper napkin box in my drawer, I'm already thinking about what could be done using a green bamboo print :) 

More Zen feeling from one of my favourite places in Erlangen...

challenges: 
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- allsorts challengeblog: blossoms, butterflies, bugs
- as you like it: flowers or ribbon (I'll pick flowers for most of my crafting as I think they can be incorporated easier in so many projects, and they come in so many different shapes and materials: whether the're printed, painted, stitched, or in form of paper flowers that you add as embellishments - they always find their way into my creations whereas with ribbon, it's usually quite a task for me to find the right spot for it)
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper
- creative moments: ATG
- little red wagon: everything's coming up
- love to craft: ATG 
- moving along with the times: floral
- my time to craft: spring flowers
- pennys papertake: ATG
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG

Easter chicks

Another quick recycling project, this time using an old lid from what I planned would be a paper box filled with chocolate I could give away for Easter. Once it was done, I didn't quite like the outcome, so I proceeded to demolish everything. However, I did my best with saving the cover as I thought I could use it for something else. 

After many considerations, I decided to place the finished lid on a plain white card base to create a rather simple Easter/spring card. Apart from that, there isn't much to say about the project itself: the cute Sarah Kay image is coloured with coloured pencils in brown-ish shades that I thought would match the chocolate treasure inside the box. 

Once the colouring was done, I placed the motif on a brown background paper which I upcycled with a border punch. Then, I glued everything on a shimmering white background paper with a floral pattern, and placed a couple of rhinestones on the blooms. 

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

And as the post is a rather short one, plus to complete the Easter theme for this year, I'll finish off by adding a snap of beautifully scratched eggs from the Easter egg exhibition at Ljubljana castle. 

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: ATG
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- gem of a challenge: ATG
- brown sugar: spring/fall
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "all creatures great and small"
- crafty gals corner: Easter
- creative inspirations: Easter/animals
- friendship challenge: happy Easter
- kreativtanten: ATG
- love to craft: ATG 
- morgans artworld: ATG
- moving along with the times: spring feeling
- pennys papertake: ATG
- scrapping4fun: Easter
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- use your stuff: Easter/spring
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

On the short note...

... I can't help being the person to walk past a motionless bee on the sidewalk without noticing it. 
And as it was still there when I was returning from my errands, I thought I might as well try to save it. Not knowing whether it was hungry or just cold, I decided to take it home and see what I can do. 
It became a little more vivid when I brought it into my apartment, so I put it in a jar while I prepared the sugar/water mix that I once read would be helpful to revive bumblebees. And as the sugar/water mix is just a substitution for the bee's actual food, I thought I might as well place a few drops of honey and see what it prefers.
Once the food was on display, I let the bee out of its jar, and needless to say the little guy promptly indulged in honey. And after some slurfing and tail wagging, the little creature was as fit as one can imagine, and ready to take off from the balcony.

And who knew how cute a bee looks like when it patiently slurfs honey with its tiny trunk? And is that an actual little tongue? 

From old, make new

As my roses were slowly fading, and the placeholder greenery was still intact, I decided to place in one of my smaller vases and make it the sole attraction. 
Because nothing resembles a feeling of fresh energy like a little white cloud on my table.
And because I truly believe "baby's breath" is one of the cutest flower names one can come up with. 

And while a soft white cloud is lingering above the little vase...

... some guys decided to hide right under it.

I don't know when I decided to start making this card, and I don't remember what I placed above those four green squares, but I obviously didn't like the outcome as I recently found the square-ish background with a couple of tears on the surface. Whatever was glued on there, must have been removed and placed elsewhere, while the card base remained forgotten in my stash. 

However, during one of my latest visits to Erlangen, I found some super cute leaflets on display in the city's botanical garden. The green paradise is dear to me for obvious reasons, and I like to flip through their publications, but I usually don't take them home as I know exactly I'd sooner or later just throw them away.

This time, though, I knew exactly I'd like to have this hedgehog couple on one of my creations. They had to wait quite a while before being used, but have provided a nice simple spring/Easter card in the end. 

The only thing I added to the half-finished card was an additional layer of brown cardboard to support the main image, and a punched branch with a little flower to cover up the torn edge of the image itself. 

A contribution to the Friday Flowerday at Holunderbluetchen.
A little contribution to the April 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
- a place to start: ATG
- alphabet challengeblog: A for animals
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- crafty catz: ATG
- crafty gals corner: spring
- crafty sentiments: ATG
- creative inspirations: Easter/animals
- creative moments: ATG
- friendship challenge: ATG with optional twist "Easter"
- love to craft: ATG 
- my time to craft: Easter/hedgehogs
- pennys papertake: ATG
- scrapping4fun: ATG
- male room: ATG with optional twist "spring"
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG

A wonderful surprise

Just a quick post to tick off another item on my to-do list: this time, a rather simple necklace that took me quite some time to get it done, and even longer to get it out there. 

I knew I just had to have those mother-of-pearl pieces when I saw them in the bead shop during one of my stays in Erlangen, and I didn't even need to put the colour combo together - in fact, the ones I took were the only ones left in what (I guess) was once a colourful mix sold on the base of weight. I knew right away they'd look pretty in a necklace, but realized I'd need to combine them with other pearls for the proper effect.

Needless to say, they waited for ages until I took the time to search my jewelry stash, looking for the perfect match. I tried a couple of materials and colours, but nothing seemed to fit the way I imagined. In the end, I came up with a rather simple solution: beige glass wax beads that would go with all the colours of the mother-of-pearl, and take away nothing from the funny shapes that I thought would deserve to be the highlight of it all. 

And even though I thought I'd keep it for myself, I realized the colours aren't mine at all. I do like everything about the necklace, including how it turned out in the end, but I figured out it would be a nicer addition to my sister's wardrobe than to mine.

 challenges: 
- krafty chicks: ATG
- 613 avenue create: ATG
- crafting with an attitude: ATG
- crafty cardmakers: special someone
- crafty catz: ATG
- crafty sentiments: ATG
- creative moments: ATG
- love to craft: ATG
- modsquad: pastel fun
- my time to craft: female
- scrapping4fun: ATG
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG

Resembling colourful beads and tiny pearls in between, my current bouquet is made of beautiful orange-cream roses and a touch of baby's breath (what a beautiful, beautiful name for this fragile bloom!). 

In a fun twist, they match nicely with a really old bookmark I found during my spring cleaning, and the bookmark itself matches perfectly with everything that is going on right now: a new season, a successful decluttering, and finally, slowly getting back to my old self. 
After ages of going from one day to another without getting anything done really, I'm getting to say that things are going in the right direction again. And one day, all the pieces of myself will fall into place again. 

And while I enjoy the bunch of flowers on my desk, I have to set the record straight by admitting that not only did I come from the flower market with something I didn't look for - I even got a whole load of it, bigger than I never imagined! 

Thinking I'd buy a bunch of spring greenery or maybe some hyacinths, my flower lady as usually asked who'll get the flowers this time. As I planned to just place them somewhere in my apartment for myself to enjoy, she offered me lilies or roses. I thought a branch of white lilies would be nice, when she grabbed the whole bucket, and a moment later, the bucket of roses, too. 
Because she felt like she's had enough for the week and wanted to get rid of her stash before she'd get a couple of days off. 
And to make sure "they'd all be jealous" of my baggage, as she put it with a wink (and if jealousy can be counted in the looks I got carrying the huge bouquet through the city, her plan absolutely worked). 

Back home, I somehow managed to place that roses in all the vases I could find, but I ended up having no idea what to do with the lilies. One branch could go in a vase on its own, but for a bouquet like this, I'd only have a bucket which wouldn't do them justice. 

It was enough to get them through the night, but once they started to open up, I felt like there must be a better place for them. And since I planned for ages to catch up with my ex-roommate, I thought she, being a nun now, will certainly find the vase and the place for what was about to become a beautiful white cloud of flowers. Because what can possibly be better than sharing a wonderful surprise?

 A little contribution to the Friday Flowerday at Holunderbluetchen.