Soaring by to say (bird)

 Heya everybody,

so glad to see you on the blog! Today I would like to share my card with you that I have made as an inspiration for the newest PINspirational challenge. This is the current inspiration picture:

I decided to have a look through my stamps and find a bird-stamp I would like to use and I have always liked this rather large image by Your Next Stamp, so I went with that cute parrot. I die cut the frame and used a stencil by My Favorite Things to add some light pink clouds to the inside piece to give it a bit more interest and also added some fine sprinkles. 

I stamped the sentiment twice, once on the white paper and a second time on the pink, because I wanted to layer them. Unfortunately it is not as noticable as I had hope - but it is still always worth it trying something new, don't you think? Is there a technique or anything you have tried in card making lately that has surprised you? I would love to see one of your projects in our gallery as well, so why not snoop through your stamps as I have done? It really was fun ;o))) Have a lovely day and happy crafting everyone, yours Maike

Supplies:
Stamps: "Soaring by" by Your Next Stamp

Die: "Wonky Squares Elle-Ments" Avery Elle
Stencil: "Clouds" by MY Favorite Things (retired)
Paper: Lawn Fawn

Ganz liebe Grüße (Bunny)

Hello everyone ;o)

January has gone so fast hasn't it? I am always amazed about how one day or even one appointment can feel like a whole week, but looking back it all went by so quickly... Just shows that we ought to make the most out of the time we have, right? So I did what I like most: I made a card to make someone smile:

I created this card as an inspiration for our newest challenge at the Crafty Cardmakers. The theme is "Love is all you need" and just perfect for all the Valentine's or just "Hello"-cards you want to make. I decided to go with this super cute bunny by Purple Onion Designs and instead of the flower that she is usually holding, I wanted to give her a heart balloon. For it I went ahead and cut out a heart shape from a piece of paper, so that I could use the negative part as a guide which I could then fill with loads and loads of heart die cut pieces. After the "balloon" was complete I just had to glue the image to the matted piece of background paper and add the sentiment and my card was done. I hope you like the idea of altering a stamp to fit your needs and also that you are going to play along with us (again?) this time! Have a lovely week and happy crafting! Yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamp: "Bella - bunny holding long flower" by Purple Onion Designs

            "immer schön lächeln" by Klartext

Dies: "Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables" by Lawn Fawn

           and loads of different heart dies (almost all I own in fact ;o)

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "With Love"
The House that stamps built "Hearts"
Dare 2 Be Artzy "Love is in the air"
Crafty Calendar Challenge "Use die cuts / punches"
Die Cut Divas "Hearts and Flowers"
Creative Craft Cottage "Add a heart"
Dies R Us Challenge "XOXO"
Sweet Stampers "Hearts and / or Flowers"

Have an ice day! (Bunny and Bear)

Hello everyone!

Januar hasn't been half bad here in Germany... How was the weather where you live? I am asking because for this month we would like to challenge you to create a "Winter Scene" crafty project and share it with us at Challenge Up Your Life!

For my card I used the sweet images from the "Skating Party" stamp set by Hello Bluebird. I used the masking technique to create an almost one layer card because I knew I wanted to add the puffy snow later and didn't want the card to become too thick and have too much dimension if that makes sense. After I had stamped the images I masked them and used Oxide Inks for the ice and the sky and die cut the panel from it. The images then were coloured in using Copic markers and I stamped the sentiment using Memento Tuxido Black ink.

Unfortunately I didn't wait long enough before I added the puffy snow and so it turned pink in some places. In the end I don't mind it very much, because it could be a reflection or something, but if you would like your snow to stay crisp white make sure to give the ink eneough time to dry completely.  After adding some white dots for a bit more added fun to their winter outfits my card was done. I really hope you are going to join us for our "Winter Scene" challenge at Challenge Up Your Life and that you all are going to have a wonderful weekend! Happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Skating Party" by Hello Bluebird

Die: "All Prettied Up" by Mama Elephant

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner "Winter Fun"
Sweet Stampers Challenge "Winter"
Aud Sentiments Challenge "Anything Goes"
QKR Stampede "Anything Goes"
Creative Fingers Challenge "Anything Goes"

Have your cake and eat it too ;o) (Bird)

Heya everyone!

I am back with a card for our newest PINspirational challenge. This is the inspiration picture we have chosen for you this time:

I just love the colours and at first thought I'd create a card using the colour palette, but I also liked the cake and just like too many other times in my life the cake won... Though luckily this sweetness doesn't go straight to the hips ;o) 

I created the front by stamping and masking the bird popping out of the box and next stamping the cake behind that and covered that image with a mask as well to be able to add some colour to the background. Using the same ink (Merman Ink by Lawn Fawn) I also added the bubbles to give the background more interest. Now it was time to remove the masks and to colour in the images with my beloved Copics! The confetti was added last and even though I couldn't have the pieces light yellow, I think it still works this way and saved me a lot of work! 

The images are from a rather new to me stamp set by Lawn Fawn which was created with a magic picture changer in mind. I like that the set has two images, that go together: like the cake with the candles lit and then

someone has blown them out and tried a piece of that cake. So I decided to use the second image on the inside as a little unexpected surprise. I hope you like my card and that you are going to join us at PINspirational for this super sweet challenge ;o) Have a lovely day and happy crafting, everyone! Yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Birthday Before'n Afters" by Lawn Fawn

Stencil: "Layering Stencil: Bubble THS 002" by Tim Holzt

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes"
Dream Valley Challenges "Spots and or Dots"
Corrosive Challenge "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create "Anything Goes"

Black and White Christmas

Hello everyone,

today I am sharing a rather unusual card with you I'd say ;o) The Crafty Cardmakers dare you to create a card in black and white only and I thought I would try to create a Christmas card with this specification:

When I created this card I was thinking of how a teacher would maybe decorate the blackboard with chalk for their class right before Christmas and believe I nailed the look ;o) What do you think? To create the card I first stamped the cats and the huge sentiment, poured the embossing powder over it and heat set it. Next I added the snowflakes in the same way.

Next I used Picket Fence Distress Paint to paint in the snowy hill and also to add the flicks of paint to the background. To finish the card I covered the cats in Wink of Stella Clear Glitter pen and also added a tiny bit of Nuvo Clear Drops to the right side of the cats. I really hope you are going to join us in our "Black and White" challenge at the Crafty Cardmakers. See you there and happy crafting, Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Snow Friends" by Mama Elephant

              "Warm Holiday Wishes" by My Favorite Things

Challenges:
Basteltraum "Monochrome / Glitter"
The Crafting Challenge Blog "A Touch of White"

Dare 2b Artzy "Winter"

Gem of a Challenge "Anything Goes"
Crafty Friends Challenge "Anything Goes"
Di's Digi Challenge "Winter / Snow"
Simply Create Too "Monochromatic"
Christmas 24 Challenge "Anything Goes"

Frohe Weihnachten (Bunny in the Snow)

Hello everyone

and welcome to our first Papercraft Challenge of the year. We have decided to run the challenge monthly now to give you even more time to create a project and share your talent with us. The new theme is "Use at Least 2 Designer Papers", which is always a real challenge for me, but also perfect, because (after tidying up my craft room over the Christmas break and realizing just how much paper I really own - way too much let me tell you-) I vowed to start using more patterned paper on my cards and this was my first attempt of that:

Yes, okay, they are very subtle patterns, but a girl has to start somewhere, doesn't she??? ;o) I love this little bunny by Hello Bluebird having fun in the snow. I used the white frame to put a focus on the little scene and also to have enough space between the scene and the pattern if that makes sense... The lovely red die cut which means Christmas in German is by Create a Smile and was just perfect for this card.

I hope you are going to join us for our "Use at Least 2 Designer Papers" challenge and maybe I find new ways to combine papers to be able to use more of the lovely papers I have neatly stashed away in my craft room ;o) Have a lovely week everyone and happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Skating Party" by Hello Bluebird

              "Yeti for Christmas" by Mama Elephant

Dies: "Weihnachten x3" by Create A Smile (also available in English: "Christmas x3")

          "Wonky Stitches Elle-Ments" & "Wonky Scalloped Frame Elle-Ments" by Avery Elle

Papers: "Sparkle Cardstock Pixie Dust" & "" by Lawn Fawn

Challenges
Sweet Stampers Challenge "Winter / Snow"
Use Your Stuff "Anything Goes"
Try it on Tuesdays "What a Cutie"

Through the Craftroom Door "Anything Goes"

Stamps and Fun = Creativity "Anything Goes"

Happy New Year 2020

Heya everyone!

Today I would like to share a "Happy New Year" card with you as my contribution and inspiration to the newest PINspirational challenge. This is our inspiration picture for you:

Please remember, you can go with anything from the picture that inspires you to create a card ;o) For mine I went with the obvious inspiration here and used the cute snowmen by Mama Elephant to send out some New Year's greetings. I love the look of so many of them to cramp into the circle frame to be able to wish the recipient all the best for 2020.

For my card I created a blue background with Distress Oxide Inks and splattered it with Opaque White droplets. Next I stamped a whole bunch of snowflakes in Simon Says Stamp "Fog" ink on to a white cardstock and die cut my panel from it. I wanted a very subtle and non distracting background, but plain white just was too white ;o) The snowman are all shaded with a BG10 and a BG000 marker which doesn't show very much in the picture, but really gives just enough shading in real life to give them a rounded appearance.  Before assembling everything I stamped the greeting on the circle frame and heat embossed it in white to make it stand out and to help the eye by guiding it from the upper left to the lower right of the card. I hope you like the card and that you will take another look at our inspiration picture and see what grabs hold of your attention ;o) Have a wonderful week and happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "So Many Snowmen" by Mama Elephant

               "Snowflake Splendor" by My Favorite Things

Dies: "Wonky Stitches Elle-Ments" by Avery Elle

Challenges:
Crafty Friends Challenge "A Very Happy New Year"
Crazy for Challenges "Winter or Summer"

Through the Purple Haze "Anything Goes"
Daisy Chain Challenge "Wintertime"
A Perfect Time To Craft "Anything Goes"