Stempelküche - die Challenge: I am guest designer for November

Hi Crafters,

The news is out, I am happy and proud to announce, that I am one of the guest designers for the month of November over at

I am so looking forward to it and I couldn’t wait to tell you all for ages now. Thanks so much again to the Team, for having picked me. I am also especially glad that Julia from The Cat in the Box will be guest designer also this month.

Unfortunately I don’t have any new cards today, I didn’t get around to crafting last week-end. But I went to a pre-Christmas craft fair with my girls, which was quite nice.

Hope you had a good start into the new week

Ela

Birthday lights

Hi Crafters,

just a very quick post from me today. I had a bit of play time, but felt totally uninspired, so I just did some more lights. I really wanted to try out the stacked die cut technique again with something bolder, so I created a Birthday card with die cut stars. 

The stacked stars are cut from white card stock, but I colored the pieces in the same teal I used for the light bulbs, so the colors match. 

Have a great week-end
Ela

Merry Christmas with still more Christmas lights

Hello Everyone,

Friday, finally! I am so glad this dreadful week is over. After only a few days back with my old mobile I was so unnerved, I decided to buy a new one. The old one just doesn’t work properly anymore…

My new phone arrived today, and I now have to try to set it all back up as it was. Which is already proving hard to do, because it’s a new software version, which just doesn’t do what I want. ;)

Anyhow, I am feeling much better now, that I am back in connection with the world. How stupid, to make yourself so dependent on such a toy. Makes me feel kind of guilty.

As far as cards are concerned, I don’t have much new to show. My cat tore apart two of the Fairy lights envelopes I had created, which annoyed me quite a bit. I think I even managed 2 minutes of being cross with her (longer is impossible, when she looks at you, with those huge eyes). So I had to re-do these, but I won’t post pictures as it’s nothing new.

I also have finally decided to use light bulbs for my Christmas cards, so you might see quite a few more of them. So far, no two designs are entirely alike, but I decided to use all of them. Who says that all Christmas cards need to be created in batch.

So, here are two more.

For the first card, I stamped and colored a panel as before and then die cut the Merry Christmas sentiment from the panel. I also cut it 4 more times from red cardstock and stacked the die cuts all on top of each other. That was rather tricky, because the sentiment is so intricate and fragile.

Detail

I first used my matte medium, but it didn’t allow enough time to wriggle the pieces in place, so I ended up using a normal clear crafting glue, that’s more liquid and just gave me a moment longer.

When all pieces were stacked I used a paper towel to remove the access glue as good as possible. Then I covered the card base heavily with snail adhesive, adhered the panel to it and carefully pieced in the insides of the letters. Then I added the stacked sentiments.

I like the technique a lot – in theory – but it didn’t turn out as cool as I had imagined. I probably should have used a bolder sentiment die, this one is too intricate – only I don’t have a  bolder one.

For the second card today, I used the same sketch as for the Halloween card, stamped the lights in rainbow colors (more or less) and adhered it to a bright green card base and added a red sentiment banner. Nothing really new there.

Have a relaxing week-end

Ela

More fairy lights

Hello Everyone,

I hope you’re all fine.

I personally am having a rather bad week. Apart from being back to work, I also lost my cell phone on Sunday. That really troubles me, because it was right in front of our house, which is across the street from the police station. And it took 5 minutes at the most until I noticed it.

And still someone picked it up and kept it. Really makes me feel rather bad. At least in direct view from the police people could be honest.

Well, it’s gone, I can’t help it. But it did spoil my mood quite a bit this week.

Craft wise I am still coloring light bulbs like mad. My first thought when I did the first tags was, that it’s a pity I can’t use these for Christmas cards, because that’s just too much work. Well, I am re-thinking now, I really am madly in love with these light tangles, they are so bright and cheery. So I might use them for my Christmas cards after all. Here’s another version of them.

This time I stamped the light bulbs in grey ink and colored most of them in grey. Only within the circle I colored them in green and red. The sentiment is stamped on a strip of white cardstock I colored green with alcohol markers and folded to a banner. 

I also created some more tags for our Christmas gifts, on request of my daughters, who want to use  them for their Christmas presents, same as I am planning myself. As you can see I tried different color combinations, just for the fun of it. I think these lights look great in all kinds of colors.

Have a better week than me

Ela

Trick or treat

Hi Crafters,

as I wrote in my previous post I, spent all evening stamping and coloring fairy lights. I wanted to try out different colors, so I went for another Halloween card, even though Halloween is over.

I love how that turned out. 

I also created another traditional Christmas card using the same sketch.

Lots of love
Ela



Challenges:
Simon says stamp: Anything goes
Fusion Card Challenge: Halloween  

Fairy lights tangles

Hi Crafters,

it's a pity, the holidays are almost over. I wish they were longer. Now the girls will have to go to bed in time again which is a pity, because I really like the relaxed evenings together, when I don't have to be the stern boring old Mum.  

Anyway, the girls and I enjoyed another long craft night yesterday, with my new alcohol markers. They love them just as much as I do. Probably because they're not allowed to use them alone.

I love all those fairy lights tangles that are all the rage right now. I've always wanted to create one myself, even though I had no stamp. It's an easy enough shape to draw, but I just hadn't done it yet. And yesterday I suddenly realized, that I do have a light bulb stamp after all. It's in the trim the tree set of Lawn Fawn. Consequently I spend all evening stamping and coloring tiny light bulbs.

I started out with a tag, just to try it out. Then I had to stamp more tags for my girls to color (the 2nd is on of theirs). After that I tried out a red and green color combo and an all yellow one. I love how they all look. I think I'll do these for all my gift tags this year.

Then I went from tag to card and remembered the current color challenge over at Stempelküche.  So I decided to go with this color combo, just using red, yellow and a bluish green. I also used a Stempelküche sentiment. I think this one is my favorite Christmas sentiment this year. It's playful, not too small and not too large. And it's German.

To create the tangles I just drew a tangled line with a pencil, stamped the light bulbs and then traced the pencil line with a copic liner. Then I started coloring in the individual lights with two shades of each color, creating a shadow on one side. In the end I added a little white highlight with a gel pen.

I also created a matching envelope. You can see the colors on the inside, but I think that's okay. When I color on an envelope with alcohol markers, I usually put in a piece of paper, so the color doesn't bleed through to the other side.


Have a great Sunday
Ela




Challenges:
Simon says stamp: Anything goes

Addicted to CAS: #51 Tag

Stempelküche: #6 Farbvorgabe / Colors 

Challange up your life: Challenge #1 Alles ist erlaubt / Anything goes

Hi Crafters,

Finally the day has come, Challenge up your life is back, and I am part of the design team!

I've been dying for weeks now, to  get started and now our first challenge is on. We thought an Anything goes challenge would be a great start. 

I went for an encouragement card.

I used a new, very graphic stencil and water colored over the stencil with distress inks. For that, I glued down the stencil with removable spray adhesive. The water still crept under the stencil in some places, but I'm fine with that. 

Then I cut out the circle from the panel and adhered it to my card base. I curved the sentiment around the circle and added faux stitching to emphasize the circle a bit more. 

To create the humming bird I looked up a photo on the internet and tried to draw the outlines as best I could with my pencil, before I fixed it with a 0,5 Copic multiliner. I added a few details, like the feathers on the wing with a 0,3 multiliner. Then I water colored the bird with distress inks, trying to make the plumage look nice and vibrant. I also added a little Wink of Stella on the blue and green area and added a feathery texture with Tombow markers.

For the envelope I used the same stencil and sponged on some grey ink over the whole front, masking off only the area for the address.


I do hope you'll all join us and let yourselves be challenged!
Hugs
Ela