Be merry - in July

Heya my dear crafty friends,

how are you doing? I hope you are having a fine summer so far. Now that I have mentioned summer you might wonder why, oh why is she showing us a Christmas card today?! Well, let`s just say I will always panic when December comes, because I don't have enough Christmas cards to send out, so I vowed to create some in the summer. Though to be completey honest, I usually just colour images over the summer, so that the creating part goes quicker once I get in the mood for Christmas cards. However this time the Challenge Up Your Life blog helped my by having a "Patterned Paper" challenge this month, so I thought, why not use this gorgeous wintery paper and get started:

I love this huge snow flake die cut and decided to have it be the focal point of my card. I die cut the patterned paper twice: once to give it the scallopped edge and another time to create the window. I put some pearlescent vellum by Lawn Fawn behind the snowflake, because I wanted be able to see the pattern behind it still. 

I used some really cute critters from Hello Bluebird to add some "life" to the card so to speak. I love how the bear looks at the recipient of the card. It is almost like it is wishing them to be merry. I also added the tiny blue bird to the top right to balance out the scene a bit more and also to have another pop of blue incorporated. 
Do you have any patterned paper sitting in your drawers that you have always wanted to use? Now is the time. Join us at Challenge Up Your life this month and share your talent in our gallery! Have a wonderful day and happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:
Stamps: "Christmas Tree" by Hello Bluebird
              "Winter Big Scripty Words" by Lawn Fawn

Dies: "Alicia Snowflake Wafer Die" by Simon Says Stamps

          "Winter Big Scripty Words Lawn Cuts" by Lawn Fawn

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

Its your day - go wild!

Heya my lovely crafty friends,

I hope you are all doing well! Today I'd like to share my newest make for the "Sweet Animals" challenge for Challenge Up Your Life with you:

First I die cut this wonderful background die and gave the little segments some colour using Distress Inks. I love this fun, bright backdrop.

Next I added the sweet animals. I chose the cute "Word Buddies" by Hello Bluebird and added some extra butterflies from another set called "Next Door Gnomes".

I hope you like the card and that you will take out some of your sweet animal stamps to play with and later share it in our gallery. Have a fabulous day and happy crafting:-)

Yours Maike

Supplies:

mentioned in the text, will add the links asap

Gruß vom Osterhasen

Hello everyone ;o)

I am back today with the card for this month Papercraft Challenges. We would love to see some "Easter" cards or projects this time. This is what I have created as an inspiration:

I tried a slim line card this time, because I wanted to use all three of these adorable bunnies and that way they all get their own space and it doesn't look crowded I think. The background die is from Hello Bluebird and I really enjoyed creating that scene. I have tried different colour combinations, so you might see this die a few times over the next months.

I hope you are going to join us for our "Easter" challenge. Remember you could be the lucky winner of a lovely surprise ;o) Have a great day and happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:
Stamps: "Häschen Mini Clear Stamps" by Kulricke 

             "Ostergruß" Klartext Stempel

Dies: "Summer Woods Scene Die" by Hello Bluebird

Happy Birthday, Gnomie!

Hello everyone ;o)

I'd quickly like to share my card for this month' theme over at Challenge Up Your Life with you. The theme is "Under a hat":

I love the "Next Door Gnomes" by Hello Bluebird, so this was a perfect opportunity to break it out. I used polaroid fames to make it look like you were looking through openings to this magical world of little gnowmes when holding the card. Also I liked the white space underneath the opening as the place for my sentiment. For the background I used a card base in purple and a wonderful design paper by Lawn fawn to match the colour and mood. I hope you like the card and I also hope that you will join us in May at Challenge Up Your Life! Have a wonderful day and happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Next Door Gnomes" & "Party on The Farm" by Hello Bluebird Stamps

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

         "Precious Polaroids" by My Favourite Things

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes"

Seize the Birthday "Anything Birthday Goes"

Aud Sentiments Challenge "Use a Birthday Sentiment"

Happy Ho Ho Ho-lidays (Foxes)

Happy New Year everyone ;o)

I hope you had a wonderful start in a new year full of hugs, crafting, joy, all the things you love and health! Let's start with a new card! This is one I created for the new "Snowflakes" theme at Challenge Up Your Life. 

I used these cute foxes from Hello Bluebird and created a lovely wintery scene for them using Distress Inks. I just fell in love with the combination of Shaded Lilac,Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire. You should definately give it a try. Depending on how much you use of each hue you get a more blue or purple result. I think it is the perfect combination and you will be seeing loads of it... So I do hope you like it, too ;o) I added a few splashes of water and dried them off as and also added a few Opaque White splashes to add this "Snow is falling"-feeling. 

I knew I was going to use the snowflake background paper by Stampin Up which is kept in blue and also turquoise hues, so I added a sentiment stamped in Mint Julep and also used Copics grom the BG family for the scarf of the fox on the left and the present. To set the scene I used the trees on the left which I had blinged up a little and added snowflake die cuts around the foxes, so that one of them cut put its tongue out to catch a snowflake with it. ;o) I hope you like my first card of 2021 and that you are not too tired of holiday cards yet... There will be a few more I should think... ;o)
It would be awesome if you would start this crafty year with us and join us with a "Snowflake" project! Hope to see you again soon! Happy crafting my friends and again a very happy new year,
yours Maike

Supplies:
Stamps: "First Snow" by Hello Bluebird
              "Puffy Holiday Greetings" by Mama Elephant

Dies: "Mini Snowflake dies" by Lawn Fawn
          "Manga Fluffiga Granar" by Gummiapan (Tree Dies)

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Sparkle and Shine" (Sparkle on trees and gift)
Christmas Craft Creations "Winter Blues"
Sweet Stampers "Anything Goes"
2 Crafty Critter Crazies "January Challenge"
Creative Crafting Uncles "Christmas"
Love To Craft "Anything Goes"
Crafty Galz Creations "Tis the Season"

Joy - 1 layout, 4 different looks

Heya my dear crafty friends!
Only two days left until Christmas :o) I am not in a christmassy mood yet, but I hope that will come once I have sorted out what to cook and what else needs decorating and that kind of thing. Are you always prepared in advance or more like me? Well if you are a little bit like me in that matter maybe you still need some quick Christmas cards? Then this might just be the post for you then.
Creating these three cards...

...went very quickly, because I had made this card first:



and really liked the whole layout with the big sentiment saying "Joy" and also the two stripes at the sides of the patterned paper. As you can see (in the picture above and the following ones) depending on which patterned paper was used the card gets a very different feel.

The patterned paper in combination with the sentiment and the snowy hills are elements of all of these 4 cards. I also added two critters to each card, making sure they at least kind of faced each other and coloured their accessories in a matching or complimenting colour for "their" background colour. When you choose animals like penguins, rabbits or polar foxes they can be coloured quite quickly I think. 

Also I found that by using different elements such as trees or mountains it changes the feel of a  scene a tiny bit, too ;o) Which one is your favourite? I hope that, if you are still in need of some Christmas cards, you will try this layout, because I really liked it. If you do so, I would be thrilled if you could comment here on my blog or tag me on instagram (@maikreations)

Until next time I wish you and your loved ones a happy time, please stay safe and happy crafting,
yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "First Snow" & "Skating Party" by Hello Bluebird

             "Me and my Yeti" by Mama Elephant (perfect for the little elements)

Dies: "Mini Snowflakes Dies" & "Finley's ABCs" by Lawn Fawn

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Christmas Critters"
Animal Friends Challenge "Fox and / or Rabbit"
Send a Smile 4 Kids "Winter Cards 4 Kids"
Sweet Stampin "Last Minute Christmas"
Inkspirational Challenge "Snow"
Stamping Sensations "Anything With Wings" (Penguins)
Sparkles Christmas Challenge "Non-traditional Christmas Colours"
Fezziwigs Festive Frolics "Santa Says Last Minute Makes"
Alphabet Challenge Blog "S is for Snow Scene"
Always Fun Challenges "Christmas"

Boo to You ;o)

Heya everyone ;o)
Good to see you today for another challenge over at the PINspirational Challenge blog. This is our inspiration picture for you:

I love this picture as inspiration because there is so much to choose from. The theme for once and also all the different elements. I chose the ghosts and also the theme as my inspiration. The ghosts are from a set by Hello Bluebird. Tey were stamped on a piece of vellum and then heat embossed, because I  wanted to have the outline show in white. Next I backed the entire piece of vellum with Stick It! adhesive before I fussy cut them all out. 

Only the things they were holding or wearing were stamped on Copic friendly paper and I coloured them in. I placed the die cut stars from a cover up die by Your Next Stamp on an orange card base, coloured in the stitched lines with a white gel pen and then placed the little ghosts, making sure you could see their eyes. Next I freehanded two little spiders into my design and added the sentiment. I hope you like my card and that you will join us for this challenge. It will be the last on the PINspirational Chalenge blog for a few month, so it would be really nice to have a gallery brimming with fabulous ideas this time. Have a wonderful week and happy crafting my dear friends! Sending you all a virtual hug, yours Maike

Supplies:
Stamps: "Frightful Little Bits" by Hello Bluebird
Dies: "Star Panel Die" by Your Next Stamp

Challenges:
Try It On Tuesdays "Halloween"
Animal Friends Challenge "Spiders"
Make My Monday "Orange as Main Colour"
Dragonfly Dreams "Spooky and or Cute"
Cutie Pie Challenge "Too Cute Too Spook"
Unicorn Challenge "Spooky or Cute"
Crafty Calendar Challenge "Halloween"
My Time To Craft "Halloween or Cats"

A shabby and chic birthday card

 Hello my dear crafty friends,

today I am sharing a very unusual card for me. I needed to create a "Shabby Chic" card as an inspiration for the Crafty Cardmakers blog and it took me several attempts and a few hours to come up with this design:

And to be completely hinest with you, I am still not 100% sure it matches the theme, but I wouldn't have known what to do differently :o) Is there a style of card that doesn't seem to find its way onto your craft table try as you might? In the end I really like what I came up with. It is very different from the cards I ordinarily create, but there are also some stages I went through that might find a way onto my craft table in the future. Like the matted elements for example. 

The two cute critters made the difference for me in the end. They gave the card a more up-beat feeling I thought and the eye something to focus on. As sentiment I used the bingo-card I had adhered and both the chick and the goat stand around it to make sure it gets noticed ;o) I would truly love to see all your glorious takes on the theme "Shabby Chic" and am going to check out our gallery at the Crafty Cardmakers frequently ;o) Until next time, please stay safe and happy crafting, yours Maike

Supplies:
Stamps: "Party On The Farm" by Hello Bluebird 

Challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Animal Antics" (Vintage Look)
Dragonfly Dreams "Happy Birthday"
Crafty Gals Corner "Autumn Colours"
Crafty Catz "Anything Goes"
Crafty Friends "Autumn Colours"
Send a Smile 4 Kids "Fall Card 4 Kids"

Lifesaver

Heya everyone,
this is my card for the latest PINspirational Challenge! I am a bit late - well very late really, but life is getting in the way all the time recently... So I hope you'll forgive me. This is our challenge inspiration picture, though it is an "Anything Goes" theme at the moment to give everyone the "room" to create whatever is good for them or needed at the moment ;o)

I created the card using a background die by HEllo Bluebird and an older stamp set by Simon Says Stamp. 

I hope you are all well and that maybe if you feel like crafting you will share your project with us at PINspirational Challenge! Take care and happy crafting, everyone ;o)))

Supplies:
Stamps:
Die: "Ocean Scene Die" by Hello Bluebird

Be Jolly penguin

Heya everyone!

Today I would like to share my inspiration card for the newest challenge at the Papercraft Challenge. The theme is "Winterfun" and I sure hope the little penguin on my card likes ice-skating:

I die cut the frame twice for this card from differently coloured cardstocks and coloured the outside edges of the inside pieces to introduce a third colour as well and added some white sprinkles to them as well. 

I adhered those pieces to a white cardbase and added a lot of glittery white snowflakes and the white embossed sentiment on red cardstock. The combination of red, blue and white always works well, don't you think so too? My little penguin was adhered last, because I wasn't sure if I wanted it raised or not, but in the end I decided to glue it directly to the paper for mailing purposes ;o) I hope you are going to join us with some "Winterfun" as well and will share your talent with us in our gallery! Have a great week everyone and happy crafting! Yours Maike

Supplies:

Stamps: "Skating Party Stamp" by Hello Bluebird

              "Winter Big Scripty Words" by Lawn Fawn plus coordinating dies

Dies: "Winter Big Scripty Lawn Cuts" & "Mini Snowflakes" by Lawn Fawn

         "Photo Booth Panel Die Set" by Your Next Stamp

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"

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"