27 May, 2022

Welcome

Are we used to the war yet? After weeks of frontpage news, the fighting reports seem to have become a routine, and the world seems to have become indifferent to the agony of people who are suffering on a daily basis. I like to think that Ukrainians get all the help they need to defend their country, but I feel like we prefer the personal comfort of "not getting involved" over actively making decisions that require balls, a backbone, a brain, and a heart. 
I hope that help is coming at least to the refugees who have lost everything, whether they are internally displaced or living abroad. For one of the care packages I packed, I prepared a little "Welcome" card inspired by Ukrainian colours. 
For the main motif, I used a background paper with blue butterflies. Originally, I planned to complement it with a "Welcome" sentiment in Ukrainian which I had already placed on yellow cardboard. However, it turned out that the amount of yellow on the card was rather small, meaning it didn't shine like I imagined. To resolve the issue, I'd have to look for ways to make it more prominent.
In an attempt, I tried using a strip of yellow paper which is embossed with a butterfly/floral motif. It seemed like a good match to the blue butterflies in the background, so I decided to place it in the lower part of my card. Atop of it, I then placed the sentiment. I think the blue and yellow combination is now more like what I had in mind originally, with yellow being concentrated on the bottom of the card, just like it is in the Ukrainian flag.
To create a transition between both papers, I used a couple of stickers from my stash: the tiny flowers resemble blooms in the fields of wheat, while the shimmering butterflies float into the sky to join the blue insects in the background. I hope the fluttering creatures resemble the desire for sorrows to disappear, as well as the endless freedom I associate with butterflies and the sky - a freedom that shall soon come to the people of Ukraine. 
The card itself is pretty much gender-neutral as I couldn't decide whether I'll place it into a male or a female package until the last moment. I sent it to a female in the end, and hope it can bring a sense of being welcome in a land far from home. 

challenges:
- krafty chicks: all occasions
- crafty calendar: ATG 
- crafty catz: ATG with optional twist "all about the girls"
- creative moments: ATG with optional twist "summer's here"
- intaas: say it with flowers
- sparklesmonthlychallenges: floral frenzy
- traumfabrik: Epic - a hidden kingdom (tiny forest creatures - butterflies)
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- unicorn challengeblog: include pearls/bling (shimmering butterflies)
- use your stuff: a touch of gold (gold shimmer on the butterfly stickers)
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20 May, 2022

Ice Ice Baby

Matching the warm temperatures outside, I'll show you a summer-inspired card set today for my DT inspiration over at the Alphabet challenge blog. Our theme this fortnight is "die cuts", which should be an easy one if you have die cuts and a cuttlebug in your stash. None of which I have. Meaning, I'd have to either get as close as possible to the challenge theme by using punches, or improvise.
I picked the latter and searched the internet for die cut inspirations I could copy without actually using die cuts. The idea was to find one that would be easy enough to copy/imitate and still give a decent result. In the ends, I found this absolutely adorable popsicle over at Mavelu and gave it a try. 
I copied the outline on a patterned paper featuring a pink/orange arrangement of hippie flowers. The idea was to create a fun popsicle which I'd then place on a white background. I picked an embossed background to make it more interesting, and used a layer of orange cardboard in the background. The motif was then placed onto a kraft card base, and decorated with a couple of shimmering pearls. 
Since I liked the outcome so much, I immediately created another card using green hippie flowers this time.
I also had a look at my paper stash to find more papers that would look great as popsicles, and might start a little ice cream production soon :)
I decided to go against a sentiment in order to make the card suitable for different occasions. I'm not sure where it will end up, but it looks perfect for a child's birthday, a picknick, a pool party, or just a summer-ish "Hello" for a friend. 

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: CAS
- allsorts challengeblog: add some sparkle
- as you like it: favourite food (given the warm temperatures outside, I'll go for ice cream on this one. We would only get it for special occasions as children, so it remains to be a treat even now that I can get it myself anytime I want. I like the cold refreshment ice brings during hot summer months, and will explore unfamiliar flavours to discover new favourite combinations. I'll get myself a popsicle from the supermarket when it gets really hot outside and I'm not home, but I have my absolute favourite in form of a little Italian ice cream parlor in my hometown and I will rather go without ice cream than "betray" them by buying it somewhere else. Because nothing is better than handmade, homemade Italian ice cream without any artificial additives. Among all the classics, they'll make sure to offer unique flavours on a daily basis, meaning one day it will be pear or persimmon, next day peach with basil or maybe raspberry with rosemary. I like how every trip becomes a surprise, literally, because you never know what will be on display.)
- basteltraum: summer
- can you handle the pressure: embossing with a twist "flowers"
- crafty calendar: ATG 
- crafty catz: ATG
- creative moments: ATG with optional twist "summer's here"
- double D challenges: monochromatic
- intaas: 3 of something (3 shimmering pearls)
- little red wagon: friends
- love to craft: ATG 
- morgans artworld: ATG
- moving along with the times: birthday
- path of positivity: celebrate something special about your friends (I'm not a spontaneous person in general and will prefer quality over quantity when it comes to friends, meaning I could maybe come up with a handful of friends if I try hard. On the positive side, I know that these friendships are true no matter what, and the best thing about them is that we can be ourselves, help each other, be serious and lift each other up, as well as have fun and just enjoy the moment.)
- pennys papertake: ATG
- scrapping4fun: ATG
- sparklesmonthlychallenges: floral frenzy
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17 May, 2022

Coffee

I felt like creating a challenge card last night, namely trying to catch the deadline of the "coffee" challenge over at craft-alnica. I've had a coffe themed paper in my stash for too long, and finally managed to make use of it. 
I've put on some music in the background, and went to work.
Cutting four squares from the patterned cardboard, I placed them onto a kraft card base. Instead of embellishments, I decided to take four brown papers from my stash, and matched the different shades of brown with the coffee motives. 
The card has a rather simple layout, but I think it might come handy for a simple occasion, even for a masculine card.
On the inside, I placed a piece of white paper, which I glued onto a brown patterned paper. The pattern isn't visible well, but it shines through enough to see subtile hexagons which in my opinion resemble coffee beans. 

challenges: 
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06 May, 2022

Cars

Another Friday means we're having a new challenge prepared for you over at the Alphabet challenge blog. Our theme this fortnight is "Cars" which should be an easy one. 
I've been quite busy in the  past week, preparing packages for Ukrainian refugees. I can't help thinking that while we're still being updated on every missile fired, the great outrage has calmed down. Words cannot describe how wrong it feels to debate whether sanctions will hurt a bit while people are suffering immensly on a daily basis. I don't have any illusions that a box of diapers, shower gel and a couple of towels will make a difference, but I certainly hope that it will make somebody's stay far away from home a bit easier, even if just for a moment. And to my surprise, I realized that I can still find comfort in crafting if it consists of creating little gifts to add to the packages. Again, if I manage to bring a little feeling of being welcome in a strange country, I'll count it as a success. 
However, being busy otherwise means that I didn't have any extra time left for my DT task, which is why I opted for a very simple bookmark. 
On one side, it features a strip of a car-themed paper, which you've seen in some of my previous projects. I placed it onto a dark blue cardboard, which goes nicely with the blue F1 car. 
On the back, I decided to place another piece of patterned paper. I think it was supposed to resemble the sky, but I like how the pattern of clouds isn't that prominent, which enables me to use it on many different non-sky projects. It might seem a bit empty at first glance, but I intentionally left it that way at the moment. Once the bookmark will have a recipient, I plan to write their name with alphabet stickers to create a personalized bookmark. 

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22 April, 2022

Sunflower fields

We have started a new challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog. It's B for "blooms", so make sure to show us a floral theme on your creations in order to qualify for the link-up.
As for myself, I managed to get a bit of my household chores done the other day to distract myself from my thoughts, but the news just keeps coming: new war crimes, new pleas for help, new red lines crossed, new threaths and aggressions as if this horrible spiral of violence has no end. I like to hope for an outcome that will end the suffering of the Ukrainian people asap, especially since the alternative would mean that the atrocities continue day by day, for who knows how long. 
And since the people who fled the war with whatever fits in a backpack can't live on hopes & prayers alone, I started to prepare a couple of care packages. I still have to get some things on the recommended list of hygiene products, but since the list says you may add "a personal welcome gift, maybe even a note", I decided to work on that one, too. 

I started off with a leftover strip of blue paper from another crafting project, trying to figure out how to use it. It was a bit narrow, but long enough to fit on a slimline card so I thought I'd just work around that with whatever comes to mind. What came to mind eventually was that the subtle gradient of the paper looks like the sky, and being inspired by the Ukrainian flag I remembered those sunflower stickers in my stash. I've had them for ages but never really embeded them in my crafting except for another sunflower-themed project ages ago, so I was excited to use them again. 
To prevent an awkward white gap between the blue background and the white card base, I searched my stash for an additional layer of background paper. I found it in form of a dark brown sheet that has a bit of a pattern in it. It's visible enough to make the brown layer interesting without taking too much attention away from the main motif.
Once that was placed on the card, I started adding sunflowers. I thought I'd use half of what I had, but I actually managed to squeeze them all on my card in what looks like a field full of sunflowers.
Above the blooms, I placed a sentiment saying "Welcome" in Ukrainian. I copied and printed it from the translate page and framed it with a piece of dark brown paper that goes with the background. I added one last blooming sunflower next to the sentiment. 
I then added a strip of green paper at the bottom which covered up the stems that came out of nowhere and brought the lower part of the card together perfectly. But I couldn't help feeling like the card was still missing something. 
Looking for a solution, I grabbed my sticker stash to add a couple of golden stars on the top part of the blue background paper. That way, the scenery looks like sky above a sunflower field, not missing anything anymore. Also, I think those stars have such a calming effect - as if the night was slowly setting on a war-torn land to gently cover those who barely made it through the day. 

And in the end, there's hoping, wishing, and praying. For wisdom, strength, and a better tomorrow. For peace. For Ukraine.

challenges: 
- as you like it: floral or cute (I really like both, but looking at my projects I'll mostly incorporate florals into my creations - be it in form of the main motif, a floral paper, or floral embellishments. I think the reason is that while people have different opinions on what "cute" is, flowers are perceived in a positive way by everyone, everywhere. Making cards for a certain recipient, I might be able to include their sense of cute and work along with it, but making cards for fun, I'll most likely pick florals as it gives me more artistic freedom.)
- crafty catz: ATG
- intaas: landscapes
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08 April, 2022

Animal antics

I don't feel like saying anything today - the war keeps leaving me speechless, and the atrocities that are being revealed day by day can't be put into words either. While the news reveal war crimes day after day, who dares to imagine the situation in places that are cut off from the outside world and can't be featured in the headlines? Why do people slaughter their own kind, not knowing right from wrong, or - even worse - knowing exactly what they're doing? How can a nation be brainwashed enough to go along with it, producing lie after lie to justify barbarisms that can never be justified, let alone forgiven? I don't understand any of what's happening, I'm going from a little hope to absolute horror as the headlines come and go, and it makes me physically sick.

My card for the current challenge over at the Alphabet challenge blog goes as follows: a pile of funny chicks, coloured with colouring pencils. I picked a CAS design and expanded the motif by creating a bit of a blurry background. It looks a bit weird on the photo, as if it wasn't blended well. I like to believe it's better in reality but I'm not entirely happy with it and might try to work on it some more. Placed motif on a paper with a subtile yellow text pattern, placed everything onto a while cardbase. Added a "Happy birthday" sticker since I had it at hands, and thats that. 
"Animal antics" is the theme this fortnight, and I hope I managed to create a fun animal scenery.

challenges:
- gem of a challenge: ATG
- allsorts challengeblog: any real animal
- basteltraum: spring
- crafty catz: ATG
- creative inspirations: hoppy Easter/animals
- creative moments: ATG with optional twist "for a special lady" (the card will probably be the birthday card for one of my sisters. The chickens are an inside joke since we refer to each other as "chicken" rather than by name. I'm not sure how it started but we really got used to it through the years, so much that we will even specify "big chicken", "small chicken" and "middle chicken" when we're together to make sure who is who.)
- everybody art: chicken/duck/rabbit
- fabnfunky: masculine
- kreativtanten: animals and Easter
- modsquad: ATG
- morgans artworld: ATG
- moving along with the times: baby animals
- path of positivity: celebrate something special about pets/animals (I can't really come up with anything deep or creative at the moment, other than the fact that I'll always celebrate animals for behaving better than humans, not causing harm without reason, and being able to show a variety of emotions including empathy)
- traumfabrik: big, bad fox and other tales
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25 March, 2022

Zig Zags

I'm a bit late for today's theme reveal as I've had quite a busy day, so I'll keep it short: as the title suggests, we'd like to see "Zig Zags" over at the Alphabet challenge blog - an easy peasy task to finish the alphabet. For my DT project, I decided to show you a little bookmark I've made recently. 
The patterned paper is a leftover from the "Vehicle" challenge in January, and since I enhoyed working on the masculine vehicle card, I thought I might as well use the remaining scraps to create another masculine project. 
On the other side of the bookmark, I've placed a strip of white paper on which I've stitched a simple geometrical pattern. It's not exactly the classic zig zag, but I hope it qualifies with the challenge theme. 
As you see, the zig zag itself is made of a yarn that changes colour, while the orange dots are constantly the same. I've picked a colour scheme that would match the car paper on the other side, and connected both sides with a strip of orange cardboard. 
I decided against any embellishments because I wanted both motifs to shine on their own. And even though the bookmark has no recepient yet, I vcertainly hope it will encourage a young boy on his journey of reading lots and lots of books.

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: all occasions
- C.R.A.F.T.: ATG
- craft-alnica: male job (policeman)
- crafty catz: ATG
- creative crafty uncles: jobs (policeman)
- love to craft: ATG 
- modsquad: ATG but a card
- pennys papertake: ATG
- sparklesmonthlychallenges: for men only
- through the craftroom door: ATG
- unicorn challengeblog: dots and/or stripes (orange dots in the stitched pattern, stripes on the background paper)
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