Sunny Smiles - CAS card

Hello everyone,

I love clean and simple cards - when others create them. Whenever I want to make one I keep thinking to myself "Maybe I'll just add some dots / splatters / embellishments / other images / a piece of coloured or designer cardstock /...". The list goes on and on and on. But this time the theme over at Challenge Up Your Life is "Clean and Simple" so I had to withstand my thoughts and this is what came out of it: 

So what do you think? And is it the same for you when you create a CAS-project? For this card I started with a white card base and added some light blue colour to the background using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. Once I was happy with how it looked I grabbed a piece of paper and Salvaged Patina Distress Ink to get a straight horizon  line while darkening up the colour towards the bottom to create the illusion of water. 

When that was dry I stamped the sentiment and added the image which I had coloured with Copic markers. For some reason the darkest marker I had used (E47) was kind of - I don't know - sticky (?!!) after I had cleaned the marker and it created the bubbly look in the dark places of the bear. So the poor thing now has a bit of a sunburn... because I wasn't able to smooth out the colour anymore. A real shame and I am not sure what is wrong with my beloved E47. I made sure the cleaning liquid (isopropanol I think it was) never even got near the tip, but nevermind.

I would love to see our CAS-project in our gallery over at Challenge Up Your Life and I hope you'll have a wonderful time creating it! Have a fabulous day and happy crafting everyone ;o)))

Stamps: "Come On In" by Hello Bluebird

Herzlichen Glückwunsch - Wedding card

Heya everyone ;o)

I hope you are all doing well and that maybe life has returned to a somewhat-normal for you. I am so happy you found your way to my blog and would like to share this simple wedding card with you. It was made for the newest challenge over at Papercraft Challenges, so if you have any weddings coming up we would love it if you could share your creation with us in our gallery:

I chose to go with a square card base, because for some reason that is my preferred format for a wedding card. No idea why, but let's roll with it for now ;o) I die the heart frame and the heart from some pearl cardstock which gives just a tiny bit of shine when you tilt it in the light. I glued both to a die cut banner cut from vellum and added the sentiment with stickers and another die cut. By the way for all the intricate die cut pieces like the frame and the word I always use "Stick it" on the back to make life easier for myself and also so that it is completely adhered and won't lift in odd places. I adhered the banner on the decorated card front and my card was almost done.

Because it was rather plain on the outside, I decorated the inside a little bit as well. It is all stamped, but makes it a proper wedding card as the outside could be a birthday card as well. I would love it if you would join us in this month challenge and am looking forward to seeing you again soon - somewhere in Blogland ;o) Have a fantastic day and happy crafting! Yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Hochzeit Glückwunsch" by Klartext Stempel
Dies: "Heart Frame" by Avery Elle
         "Traditional Tag STAX" by My Favorite Things

         "Cool Cuts - Kleine Worte" by Create a Smile Stamps

Challenges:
Alphabet Challenge "E is for easy simple card"
Lil Red Wagon "Make it CAS"
Happy Little Stampers: Anything Goes with Dies

Sending Holiday Cheer Mouse

Hello my lovely crafty friends!

My life has been really, really busy these last few weeks and I am just now starting to get back to my normal routines. Which is why you haven't really seen any new cards here on the blog. However for the latest PINspirational challenge I managed to create the card you can see above. This was my inspiration:

I didn't want to go with a black and white card, but I thought I'd take the snow, the hat and the scarf as inspiration.

I love the super cheery looking mouse jumping for joy! I also love the fact that the sky paired with the sentiment ended up looking a bit like a snow globe, don't you think? Well, I hope you are having a lot of (fun) time playing with your stamps and that maybe you are going to link your card or project to our gallery at PINspirational Challenges. Have a wonderful weekend and also - if you celebrate Christmas - the most wonderful time with your family and friends!

Happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Maggie - winter mouse" by Purple Onion Designs

Dies: "Snow Scene Elle-Ments" by Avery Elle

Challenges:
Sweet Stampers Challenge "Anything Goes"
CAS on Sundays "Christmas"
Paper Funday Challenge "Anything Goes, Twist: Christmas"
Aud Sentiments Challenge "Christmas / Winter and a sentiment"
Through the Purple Haze "Snow, Snow, Snow"
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge "Anything Christmas"

Hedgehog Hugs

Heya everyone!

Today I have an Autumn inspired card for you and though I am sad to see summer leaving, I am already looking forward to the forest changing colour, because I really love the look of it! This is the inspiration picture we have for you over at PINspirational challenges and you have two weeks to join us with any kind of project inspired by this photo:

For my card I created a whole bunch of Autumn leaves using the ink blending technique and Distress Inks in red, brown, yellow and green which I die cut the leaves from once the paper was dry. Then I coloured one of the cute MFT hedgehogs and placed a leaf in its paw, before gluing it to the card.

As a sentiment I used the negative part of the "HUGS" die which looks really cool and bold I think. I hope you are going to join us at PINspirational Challenges! Have a creative and fantastic week. Happy crafting, Maike ;o)

Supplies:

Stamps: "Happy Hedgehogs" by My Favorite Things

Dies: "Small Stitched Leaves" by Lawn Fawn

         "Big Hugs Die-namic" by My Favorite Things

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Stamp it"

Simon Says Monday Challenge "Stamp It"
Penny Black and More Challege "Animals"
Dream Valley Challenges "Autumn Colours"
Crafty Friends Challenge "Autumn Colours"
Send a Smile 4 Kids "Cute Fall 4 Kids"

Whaley Huge Birthday Wishes

Hello y'all ;o)

Yesterday we published a new task at the Crafty Cardmakers Challenge blog. We would like to see "Masculine" cards and projects. This is my inspiration card:

 

When you know some of my cards you'll see that this is a particularly "empty" one for my stile, but I really like it. The background was made quickly with two different shades of blue Oxide Inks (Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch) and spritzed with a few drops of water which i removed with a cloth almost immediately.

While the card base dried I coloured the whale with Copic markers in light blue shades, so it would be clearly visible against the background. Lastly I added the sentiment with Archival Jet Black Ink and the card was done. What do you think? Do you like a very CAS card once in a while?

I hope you are going to play along with our challenge and link your project to our gallery ;o) I also hope to see you soon and wish you a wonderful and crafty week! Yours Maike ;o)

Supplies:

Stamps: "Totally Narly" Your Next Stamp

              "Wild Birthday" von Avery elle
                     (sentiment - unfortunately discontinued so linked to Ellen Hutson)

Challenges

AAA Cards CAS Challenge "Birthday" (Happy 5th birthday!!!)
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes"
Sweet Stampers "Animals"
Sweet Stampin "Oceans of Fun"
Addicted to Stamps "For a man / boy"
Crafty Friends Challenge "Men/Boys"
Dragonfly Dreams "For a man / boy"

Have A Hoot

Hello everyone!

We have a new PINspirational challenge for you:

First I wanted to go with a black and white card, but then I found the cute owl stamp by Cats on Appletrees and thought it would be the perfect image for this task. I "sat" the two birds on one of the stamped watercolour stripes and also gave them a balloon to hold to make it more of a birthday card image. 

Next I stamped the background and added the sentiment "have a HOOT" to go with the owls. That was it - a really nice and simple card, but I like that it would work with different colours and that it would be easy to reproduce if necessary. 

Aren't they cute? I hope you are going to join us in our challenge. Create whatever you like, just let us know how we have inspired you, if that isn't visible at first sight (as with my card) ;o) Have a lovely week and happy crafting, everyone ;o) Yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Lotta & Mathilda" Cats on Appletrees

              "Big Brush Stroke" Gummiapan

Die: "discontinued?" Your Next Stamp

Challenge:
Crazy For CAS "Birds"

1,2,3 Challenge with a Fox

Hello everyone ;o)

I hope you all had a great weekend! The theme for our new challenge at the Crafty Cardmakers is "1,2,3" and almost as easy as that ;o) We would like to see your creations using 3 of one thing, 2 of another and 1 of a third. For example, 3 patterned papers, 2 diecuts, 1 image. It would be helpful if you could mention in your post what your 3,2,1s are! (I totally stole this explanation from our blog boss Lin - I hope she won't mind!) Here is the card I made:

I am really happy about how it turned out - mostly because I love this cute fox so much I think, but also because the challenge theme really helped me get out of my comfort zone a bit ;o) As for my 1,2,3s: I used 1 large image, 2 patterned papers and 3 sentiment strips.

I hope you are going to join us for this fortnight's challenge and share your work in our gallery! Have a great week and happy crafting my creative friends ;o) Yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps "Be Her" by Waffle Flowers

Dies: "Stitched Dome Frames" by My Favorite Things

Challenges:

Simon Wednesday Challenge "Happy Birthday"

Sweet Stampers "Birthday / Celebrate"

Allsorts Challenge "Pretty in Pink"

A Gem Of A Challenge "Anything Goes"

Krafty Chicks Challenge "Celebration"

Big Panda Hugs

Hello everyone!

How are you today? I hope you had a good start to the week and are looking for new crafty challenges. I have one for you if you like the colour "Green" which - incidentally - is the theme of the newest task at the Crafty Cardmakers ;o) This is my inspiration card:

Even though I chose to go with pink letters, my card is mostly green and think that the two colours work really well together. I have tried it with green, black and white letters, but the card ended up looking kind of blahhh, so it had to be pink ;o) 

I hope you are going to join us with a (mostly) "Green" project over at the Crafty Cardmakers gallery ;o) Have a fantastic week and happy crafting! Yours Maike

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Happy Panda" (discontinued) & "Watercolor Stripes" von My Favorite Things 

Stanzen / dies: "Big Hugs Die-namics" von My Favorite Things
                         "Wonky Squares Frames"von Avery Elle

Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More "Anything Goes"

A Gem of A Challenge "Anything Goes"

Just Us Girls "Use a Background Stamp"

Send a Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes 4 Kids"

Dragonfly Journeys "Green Goodness"

Cute Card Thursday "Anything Goes"

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht with CAS

Hallo ihr Lieben!

Für die neue Papercraft-Challenge geht es um Karten, zu denen euch ein bestimmtes Lied inspiriert hat. Bei mir war es das Lied "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" ;o)

Heya my dear crafty friends!

The newest Papercraft Challenge asks for cards that are inspired by a song this time. For me it was "Silent Night, Holy Night" ;o)

Ich wollte eine schlichte Karte haben, die den Aspekt der ruhigen Nacht gut darstellt und die sich eventuell auch als Massenproduktionskarte eignen würde - falls eine/r von euch schon loslegen möchte ;o) Momentan fällt es mir wirklich noch sehr schwer an Weihnachten zu denken. Letzte Woche noch bin ich bei knapp 27°C durch London gelaufen und das ist ja nun nicht unbedingt eine Stadt, die für ihr ausgesprochen mildes Klima bekannt ist... Wenn ich dann gerade auf den Kalender sehe und nun leider auch auf das Grau hinter den Fensterscheiben, kann ich das kaum noch glauben. 

I went for a simple design for two reasons. One was that I wanted to create the feeling of the "Silent Night" and the other one was that I wanted to share a design that could rather easily be mass produced, in case anyone of you is actually thinking of starting with their Christmas cards soon. Christmas seems to be far away still when I think about last week when I have been walking around London with friends and it was 27°C, but when I peek at my calender and take a look out of my window right now... it's a whole different matter. 

Für die Karte habe ich Stempel aus 2 verschiedenen Sets von Create A Smile benutzt, von denen ihr übrigens einen 20 Euro Gutschein gewinnen könnt, wenn ihr bei uns mit spielt ;o) Also Radio an und an den Basteltisch würde ich sagen ;o) Habt eine tolle Woche und happy crafting, wünscht euch Maike

For this card I have used two sets by Create A Smile, from whom you could win a 20 Euro certificate if you play along with our challenge. So I'd say switch on the radio and be creative ;o) Have a wonderful week and happy crafting, wishes yours Maike

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Friede, Freude, Lebkuchen" & "Fröhliche Schreiertage" von Create A Smile

Stanzen / dies: "All Prettied Up" von Mama Elephant

                        "Mini Stars" von Simon Says Stamp

Smart Kitty With Glasses (GSD)

Hallo ihr lieben Kreativen ;o)

Ich freu mich, dass ihr vorbeischaut und hoffe, ihr hattet ein schönes Wochenende. Damit die Woche auch so richtig kreativ startet, habe ich heute eine neu Challenge der Crafty Cardmakers für euch. Das Thema lautet "Für einen Jungen / Für einen Mann" und das hier ist meine Karte zum Thema:

Heya my dear crafty friends ;o)

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have had a lovely and creative weekend and that maybe the new challenge by the Crafty Cardmakers will inspire you to keep on creating. The new theme is "For a Boy / For a Man" and this is the card I have made:

Diese süße Katze sollte mein Fokus werden, weil ich die einfach total niedlich finde. Diese riesengroße Brille ist ein wahrer Hingucker und dann noch dieser Blick dazu ;o) Nachdem ich alle Elemente, die ich brauchen würde (und noch ein paar mehr... hihi) vorbereitet hatte konnte es los gehen. Ich habe den Sternenrahmen einmal aus dickem Cardstock und einmal aus Kopierpapier ausgestanzt. Das Letztere habe ich als Maske für den Hintergrund benutzt, so dass das Muster wirklich nur innerhalb des "Kreises" zu sehen sein würde.

I wanted to use this cat as my focal point, because I think it is sooooo cute and fun. Those big glasses look just adorable on him, don't you think? After I had prepared all the images I would need (and some more... hehe) I die cut the star frame once from white cardstock and once from some thin paper I had sitting on my desk. The last was used to create a mask for the stencilling part, because I wanted to keep the colour completely inside the frame, but also fill it completely if you know what I mean.

Mit der Farbe "Tide Pool" von Hero Arts und meinem Stencil habe ich das Muster direkt auf die Kartenbasis gewischt und anschließend des Rahmen direkt darauf geklebt. Da der Rahmen fast rund ist, aber halt doch nicht ganz musste ich ihn ein wenig drehen und wenden bis ich ihn an der richtigen Stelle hatte, aber am Ende hat es geklappt und kein bisschen Darbe lugt irgendwo durch ;o)  Zuletzt habe ich dann noch die Katze nebst Maus, Vase und Bücherstapel aufgeklebt und den Spruch mittig unter den Rahmen gestempelt. Damit war meine Karte fertig und ich hoffe, sie gefällt euch genauso gut wie mir ;o) Habt eine wunderbare Woche und spielt doch  bei uns mit, wenn bei euch im Kartenvorrat auch immer ein Männerkartenmangel herrscht wie bei mir! Happy crafting wünscht euch, eure Maike

I used "Tide Pool" ink by Hero Arts to create the pattern in the background and glued the frame directle to the card base making sure I had it placed correctly so that no colour would peek out ;o) Next I placed the coloured elements to the frame and stamped the greeting and my card was done. I hope you like it and that you'll consider playing along with us! Have a great week and happy crafting, yours Maike

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Smart Kitty" by Gerda Steiner Designs

Stanzen / dies: "Star Frame Elle-Ments" von Avery Elle

Stencil: "Concentric Grid" von My Favorite Things (discontinued)

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes"

Send A Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes"

Creative With Stamps "Cute Animals"

Gute Besserung - Kranz und Katze

Halli Hallo ihr Lieben!

Für die Papercraft Challenge habe ich zum Thema "Blumen" diese Karte gebastelt:

Hello everyone!

For the newest "Flower" -themed Papercraft Challenge I created this card:

Ich habe diesen hübschen Blumenkranz von "Sparkle N Sprinkle" mit Copics coloriert und dann mit einem pink gestempelten Hintergrund und der süßen Katze von Mama Elephant kombiniert. Der Spruch ist aus einem Klartext-Set.

I used the pretty wreath image from our kind sponsor "Sparkle N Sprinkle" and paired it with a background I stamped in a light pink ink and this cute cat by Mama Elephant. The sentiment says "Get Better Soon" in German.

Falls ihr auch gerne Blumen mögt, wie wär's, wenn ihr euch an euren Basteltisch setzt, eine Karte oder ein anderes Werk mit Blumen bastelt und es dann bei uns verlinkt? Der glückliche Gewinner bekommt einen $15 Gutschein für den "Sparkle N Sprinkle" Online Store! Habt eine tolle Woche und happy crafting, eure Maike ;o)

 

If you like flowers why don't you craft a card or some other fabulous project and link it to our gallery? The lucky winner will get a $15 gift certificate for the "Sparkle N Sprinkle" online store! Have a great week and happy crafting, yours Maike ;o)

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Leafy Flower Spring Wreath #2" von Sparkle N Sprinkle

                             "Purrfect Pair" von Mama Elephant

                             "Watercolor Stripes Background" von My Favorite Things

                             "Gute Besserung" von Klartext 

Stanzen / dies: "Wonky Stitches Elle-Ments" von Avery Elle

Hope You're Feline Better Soon

 

Halli Hallo ihr Lieben!

Bei Herzchen und Rosa denkt man ja gerade im Moment häufig an den Valentinstag - ich habe das Inspirationsbild der neusten PINspirational Challenge allerdings als Anlass genommen, um eine Gute-Besserungs-Karte zu basteln. Die fehlen oft bei mir im Vorrat und wenn ich dann mal eine brauche, habe ich meist keine Zeit schnell eine zu machen. Hier seht ihr das Inspirationsbild:

Heya my dear crafty friends!

When one sees hearts and the colours pink and red usually - especially at this time of year - people think of a Valentine - however, I wanted to show, that the theme of our newest challenge at PINspirational Challenges fits well with get well cards also. And seeing that I seem to lack them in my stash whenever I really need one I decided to create one of these. This is our inspiration picture:

 

Ich habe momentan ja wirklich viel Freude mit allen möglichen Schablonen, aber die von Create A Smile benutze ich besonders gerne. Einerseits sind sie toll designed und man kann sie eigentlich fast immer nutzen und was mir außerdem so gefällt ist, dass sie aus einer so schön dicken Folie gestanzt sind.  Mit "Spun Sugar" Distress Ink habe ich sowohl Innen als auch Außen einen Farbverlauf von unten rechts nach oben links gewischt und anschließend die Herzen aufgetragen. Da ich die Farbe außen intensiver haben wollte, habe ich dort "Picked Raspberry" benutzt - innen bin ich bei "Spun Sugar" geblieben.

I used one of Create a Smile's wonderfully sturdy stencils to create the background, using "Spun Sugar" and "Picked Raspberry" Distress Ink for the outside of the card and just the "Spun Sugar" for the inside. For both I created a gradiant from the bottom right to the top left with the light pink and afterwards added the hearts using the stencils.

Aus der Front habe ich mit einem Skalpellmesser ein Quadrat ausgeschnitten und von beiden Seiten einen quadratischen Rahmen aufgeklebt, um ein Fenster zu erhalten, aus dem die Katze herausschauen kann. Geöffnet sieht die Karte dann so aus:

I cut a square from the card front using a craft knife and added a square frame to both sides, so that I would have a window for the cat to look through. This is what the card looks like when you open it:

Alles, was nun noch zu tun war, war die Katze und alle weiteren Elemente aufzukleben und den Spruch außen unter das Fenster zu stempeln. Falls es euch nun auch in den Fingern juckt eine Karte passend zu unserem Inspirationsbild zu basteln, würde ich mich sehr freuen, wenn ihr es in der PINspirational Gallerie verlinken würdet. Zu Gewinnen gibt es dieses Mal 2 Digis von unserem freundlichen Sponsor "Pattie's Creations". Habt einen schönen, kreativen Tag und happy crafting, eure Maike

All that was left to do now was to glue down the cat and all the other elements and also to stamp the sentiment. In case your fingers are now itching from wanting to create something I would love to see your creation in our gallery. You also get the chance to win 2 digi stamps from our kind sponsor "Pattie's Creations" ;o) Have a wonderful and creative week everyone and happy crafting, yours Maike

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Smitten Kitten" von My Favorite Things

Stanzen / dies: "Single Stitch Line Rounded Square Frame" von My Favorite Things

Schablone / stencil: "Big Hearts Polka" von Create A Smile

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Love it Up"

Use Your Stuff Challenge "Love is all around"

Happy Little Stamper Febuary CAS Challenge "Hearts"

Die Cut Divas Challenge "Love is in the Air"

Crafty Animals "Anything Goes"
Creative Card Cottage "Love is all Around"

Create With Stamps "Hearts"

Warmest Wishes from Flurry and Chilly (POD)

Halli Hallo ihr Lieben!

Ich bin ein bisschen spät dran mit meiner Inspirationskarte für die "Schneemann" Challenge bei Challenge Up Your Life, aber hier ist sie nun:

Heya my dear crafty friends!
I am a bit late to the party for the new challenge at Challenge Up Your Life, but at least I made it now. The theme is "Snowman" and this is my inspiration card:

 Zuerst habe ich das Quadrat ausgestanzt und den unteren Rand mit einem Post-It maskiert. Anschließend habe ich den Schneemann mit dem Geschenk in den Händen gestempelt, ebenfalls maskiert und noch den zweiten kleineren Kerl hinzugestempelt. Coloriert habe ich sowohl die beiden, als auch den Hintergund mit Copics.

First I die cut the square, masked the bottom part below the stitched line and then stamped the bigger one of the snowmen. After I masked him as well I stamped the second, smaller snowman as well. The whole scene was coloured with Copic markers.

Die Kartenbasis habe ich mit Schneeflocken im Hintergrund embossed. Als nächstes habe ich das Quadrat mit den eisigen Gesellen mit Abstandsklebern aufgeklebt und in eine Lücke zwischen all den  Schneeflocken habe ich einen passenden Spruch gestempelt. (Wie üblich habe ich an den Spruch mal wieder als Letztes gedacht... *typisch_ich *grins) So, wie sie zu dem Zeitpunkt war, fand ich die Karte aber zu langweilig, also habe ich mit meinen Nuvo Drops noch passende Akzente um das Panel und den Spruch herum verteilt. Ganz zum Schluss habe ich noch Wink of Stella auf sämtliche Schneeflächen verteilt, damit die Schneemänner das typisch eisige Glänzen bekommen. Falls ihr eure Schneemänner noch nicht wieder ganz nach hinten ins Regal geräumt habt (und falls doch, holt sie einfach wieder hervor...), würde ich mich freuen, wenn ihr bei unserer Challenge mitmachen würdet. Habt noch ein schönes, kreatives Wochenende! Happy crafting wünscht euch, Maike :o)

My next step was to emboss some snowflakes on the card base and to glue the square on using foam tape. As usual I had forgotten to plan ahead as dar as the placing of the sentiment goes ;o) Typical for me... Ah well, luckily I found a spot between some embossed snowflakes that was big enough for my chosen sentiment. Because I felt that the card was too plain I got out some colours of Nuvo Drops and added some drops around the panel and the sentiment to give it more interest. Lastly I added Wink of Stella to all of the snow areas to give the snowmen that frosty shimmer. I case you haven't put all of your snowmen stamps away (and even if you did...) we would love to see your creations in our gallery at Challenge Up Your Life. Have a wonderful and creative weekend! Happy crafting from your Maike

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Flurry" & "Chilly" von Purple Onion Designs

                            "Warm Wishes Too" von Clearly Besotted (Sentiment)

Embossing Folder: "Snowfall" von Taylored Expressions

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Add a Sentiment"
Sweet Stampers "Winter / Snow"
Winter Wonderland "Embossing Heat or Dry"
Simply Create, Too "Use Embossing"
Craft Rocket Challenges "Winter"

Christmas Series Card #10 / Weihnachtsserie Karte #10 (POD with alcohol background)

Halli Hallo zusammen!

Schön, dass ihr hier vorbeischneit und ich euch die zehnte Karte meiner Weihnachtsserie zeigen kann ;o) Sie ist für die aktuelle Cards und More Challenge "Things with Wings" entstanden und auch, wenn der gefiederte Kerl ziemlich klein ist, spielt er eine wichtige Rolle auf meiner Karte ;o) 

Hello everyone!

Thank you for coming by so that I can share the tenth card of my Christmas series with you ;o) It is my creation for the newest Cards und More "Things with Wings" challenge and even though this winged guy is rather tiny it plays an important rule on my card ;o)

 

Dieses süße Reh hat schon Ewigkeiten auf meinem Schreibtisch gelegen, coloriert und ready to go, aber irgendwie hat es nie auf eine Karte gepasst. Als ich dann aber ein paar Vögel für die Cards und More Challenge coloriert und damit dann herumkombiniert habe, ist mir diese Kombination sofort ins Auge gestochen und ich war sofort hin und weg. Was meint ihr? Ich finde, die beiden sehen zufrieden zusammen aus und entweder sind sie schon Freunde oder werden es noch... Nur das Reh sah bisher immer total verloren und irgendwie einsam aus auf einer Karte und das passte nicht mit meiner Vorstellung von Weihnachten zusammen.

I have had the deer ornament sitting on my desk for the longest time and it never made it on a card. For some reason it never worked. When I coloured a few birds for this challenge and played around with them and a few other images I found this combination and loved it instantly. What so you think? It looks like they are both happy to see each other and are or become friends... The deer alone always looked kind of forlorn to me which didn't fit with my idea of Christmas.

Den Hintergrund habe ich mit der momentan überall so präsenten Alkohol-Inks auf Vellum Technik. Dazu habe ich Copic Nachfüllerflüssigkeit in 4 Farben ganz wild durcheinander auf Vellum tropfen lassen und die Farben dann noch mit etwas Blender verteilt. Zuerst wollte ich es wegwerfen, aber wie das manchmal so ist, nach 2 Tagen gefiel es mir dann plötzlich total gut. Den Spruch habe ich in weiß embossed, alle Elemente aufgeklebt (das Vellum allerdings nur da, wo etwas die Klebestellen verdeckt) und meine Karte war fertig. Ich würde mich freuen, wenn ihr eure Werke mit Federvieh jeglicher Art mit uns bei Cards und More teilen würdet! Habt einen tollen Tag und happy crafting, eure Maike ;o)

The background was created using the rather popular alcohol ink on vellum technique. I gave a few drops in four different colours of copic refills on the vellum and spreaded them out using a few more drops of the blender solution. At first I thought it was a desaster, but then it grew on me and now I really love it and I will definately make more of these ;o) I added the sentiment to the bottom and white heat embossed it to make it stand out more. After glueing the vellum piece to the card base I added the ornament with foam tape and sat the bird halfway on it, too. I would be thrilled to see your winged things in our gallery at Cards and More! Have a wonderful and crafty day, yours Maike ;o)

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Meadow (deer)" & "Silver (bird)" von Purple Onion Designs

                              "13 x Frohe Weihnachten" von Klartext Stempel

Stanzen / dies: "Small Stitched Rectangle" von Lawn Fawn

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Furry Friends"

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge "Use some blue"

Addicted to Stamps "Use more than one stamp"
Dragon Fly Dreams Challenge "Winter"

Send a Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes 4 Kids"
Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge "Anything Christmas goes / Optional Tags"
Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge "Christmas"

Christmas Series Card #9 / Weihnachtsserie Karte #9 (Coffee Treat Bear)

Halli Hallo ihr Lieben!
Momentan bin ich total auf der Schiene, Weihnachtskarten in eher untypischen Farben zu gestalten. Diese Kaffee-Bär Karte ist jedenfalls definitiv nicht traditionell ;o) Ich habe sie mit einer lieben Freundin im Hinterkopf gemacht, die absoluter Kaffeefan ist und zur Weihnachtszeit auch gern schon mal eine Zuckerstange zum Umrühren nimmt *grins. Diese Karte ist gleichzeitig auch meine Inspirationskarte zur neuen Challenge bei PINspirational:

Heya my dear crafty friends!

At the momenta lot of the Christmas cards I am making turn out rather untypical or untraditional let's say and this coffee bear is no exception ;o) I created this one with a dear friend of mine in mind who is known for loving her coffee and has been seen stirring it with a candy cane around Christmas *grin. This card is also my inspiration card for the newest PINspirational challenge:

Zuerst habe ich den süßen Bärem mit Zigs coloriert, weil ich Wasserfarben für Fell immer ganz besonders klasse finde und zusätzlich noch die beiden Zuckerstangen, dieses Mal aber mit Copics. Nachdem alles trocken war, habe ich alle drei Elemente ausgestanzt und noch ein paar Details wie die Punkte auf dem Schal und der Tasse hinzugefügt. 

First I coloured the cute bear with Zig markers, because I really love the watercolour structure you get for fur and also coloured the two candy canes, but with Copics this time. After everything had dried I added a few details like the dots on the lovely scarf or the cup just to give the card a bit more interest.

Danach habe ich mich an den Hintergrund gemacht. Dank der Stanze war das schnell und einfach erledigt. Das Fenster habe ich mit einem weiß gepunkteten Transparentpapier hinterlegt, um den Eindruck von Schnee zu geben. Mit dem Spruch habe ich mich anfangs etwas schwer getan, aber mit der Zuckerstange am Rand (ich hatte sie erst unten neben dem Bären) gefiel es mir am Ende richtig gut. Ich hoffe, euch hat meine Karte gefallen und ihr habt nun auch Lust bekommen etwas für einen Kaffeeliebhaber in eurem Leben zu gestalten ;o)

Falls ihr es noch nicht getan habt, vergesst nicht euch als Follower für meinen Blog einzutragen, um keine Weihnachtskarteninspiration zu verpassen und schaut auch noch einmal bei meinem Giveaway vorbei: klick. Habt ein wunderbares Wochenende und happy crafting, eure Maike ;o)

After that I started on the background. Thanks to that great die it went quick and easy. I put a piece of white dottet vellum behind the window to give the impression of snow and added the purple paper behind that to reflect the colour of the scarf. At first I had problems placing the sentiment strip (as usual I forgot to reserve a place for it while planning the card.), but I like it with the candy cane at the side. (My initial plan was to glue the candy cane to the bottom left corner of the window next to the bear, but that didn't look as good as I had thought...) I hope I could inspire you to make a little something for a coffee lover in your life and join our PINspirational Challenge ;o)
If you haven't done so already, why not follow by blog to not miss a single Christmas card inspiration and also have a look at my giveaway: click. Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting, yours Maike ;o)

Material / supplies:

Stempel / stamps: "Let it snow" von The Greeting Farm

                              "Beary Merry" von Neat and Tangled (big Candy cane)

                               "Winter Otter" von Lawn Fawn (tiny candy cane)

Stanzen / dies: "Diagonal Stripes Die" von Avery Elle

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Furry Friends"

Cutie Pie Challenge "Bear Hugs"

Make my Monday Challenge "Snow Fun"

Addicted to Stamps "Use more than one stamp"

Christmas Card Challenges "Anything Christmas Goes"

[Very last challenge - very sad to see it closing... Thank you for loads of inspiration throughout the years!]

One Crazy Stamper "Christmas / Winter Fun"
Cards in Envy "Its only Paper Challenge"

Christmas Series Card #8 / Weihnachtsserie Karte #8 (Reindeer Gift)

Halli Hallo ihr Lieben!

Ich hoffe, ihr habt ein schönes Wochenende und vielleicht kommt ja auch der ein oder andere von euch zum Basteln. Falls ihr noch Inspiration für Weihnachtskarten braucht, seit ihr hier gerade richtig ;o) Dies ist der achte Tag meiner diesjährigen Weihnachtsserie und außerdem das dritte Jahr in Folge in dem ich ab circa Oktober 24+1 Karte auf meinem Blog mit euch teile bevor Santa seine Runde macht ;o)

Hello my dear crafty friends!

I hope you are having a great weekend and that you can even find some time to craft. In case you are looking for some Christmas card inspiration I'd say you've come to the right place ;o) This is part 8 of my Christmas series and it is also the third year in a row I am sharing 24+1 cards before Santa comes round for a visit ;o)

Meine heutige Karte ist bewusst schlicht gehalten und mit einem überschaubaren Colorationsaufwand gestaltet worden, damit sie auch etwas für Massenproduktion wäre... Mir hat die Kombination aus den großen und kleinen Rentieren von Mama Elephant total gut gefallen. Besonders herzig find ich den Kleinen mit dem Stern, weshalb er auch unbedingt auf die Karte musste ;o)

Todays card is kept rather plain and without too much coloring going on, so that it would be possible to mass produce the design... I really liked the combination of the tiny and the normal sized reindeer by Mama Elephant and this little guy holding the star is my absolute favourite, so it had to become part of this card ;o)

Für den Hintergrund habe ich das Schneepapier von Lawn Fawn benutzt und mit der Sternbordüre von YNS oben und unten umrahmt. Die Sternenkette hebt noch mal so schön das Thema Sterne hervor und bietet außerdem einen Platz für den Spruch. Ich hoffe, euch hat diese schlichte, aber irgendwie, wie ich finde, sehr goldige Karte gefallen. Habt noch ein schönes Restwochenende und happy crafting, eure Maike ;o)

For the background I have used some lovely snow paper in red by Lawn Fawn which I framed at the top and bottom with the star border from YNS. The star banner at the top left corner enhances the theme of the card nicely and gives the sentiment a place to "sit" so to speak. I hope you liked this simple, but , as I think, quite darling card. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and happy crafting, yours Maike ;o)

 

Stempel / stamps: "Reindeer Games" & "Little Reindeer Agenda" & "Sentiments from a Yeti"
                             von Mama Elephant

Stanzen / dies: "Scallop Star Edge Die" von Your Next Stamp

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Furry Friends"

Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge "Christmas"

Crafty Animals "Anything Goes"

Just Add Ink Challenge "Just Add R..." (for reindeer)

Send a Smile 4 Kids "Anything Goes 4 Kids"

Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Challenge "Anything Christmas goes"

Sweet Stampers Challenge "Weihnachten / Christmas"

Stempelsonne Challenge "Anything Goes"