Astero's Crafty World

Beary in love

2012-02-27T09:59:00.000+02:00

For today, I have a card to share with you! These last few days (or weeks???) I had lost my card mojo completely.

So yesterday I thought "ok, that's it, today you are going to make a card". I looked at my favourite challenge blogs, I got so much amazing inspiration... still nothing. I would get up. Sit down. Get up again. I had a number of ideas, but I just couldn't put them together.

And suddenly that was it! As if something unlocked my mind, everything started coming together, and finally I had a complete idea. Here's what came up with:

My inspiration have been the following challenges:

- For the colour combo: Lily Pad Cards - Virginia's View #2 with the following inspirational photo:

Aren't those colours gorgeous? I definitely wanted to make something with them!

- For the technique I used: Lawnscaping Challenge #8 - Distress Mania:

Distress Inks are my favourite inks because, as I have said before, they are so versatile and you can use them for so many different techniques. For this card, I used them to watercolour the image and the letters - my favourite technique that substitutes markers... :S

- And finally, for the pun "Very -> Beary": CAS-ual Fridays #41:

I hope you like it! (And that my card mojo is still here when I come back from my business trip this week...)

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

All dressed up

2012-02-26T13:56:00.000+02:00

Good morning!

Finally, I got some inspiration! With the help of Melenia's sketch that I liked very much, Studio Calico's latest kit, and (mainly) my nephew's new photo... and here is the result:

I started experimenting with what I consider "Scrapbooking techniques", aka misting, masking and layering. What I would really, really like to have is a sewing machine... but since I'm not into sewing itself, I resist buying a sewing machine just for scrapbooking... for now!

For the triangle ribbon you see in green, yellow and orange I did the following: I coloured them with mists made with Distress Ink Refills. But the yellow and orange were much more bright than what I wanted, so I misted them again with White Mister Huey's mist and got the more subtle result that I wanted.

For the journaling I made an envelop with Silhouette. Here's the journaling:

THe sketch that was the first source of journaling is the following:

For a chance to win a Creative Scrappers Ebook copy that also includes a sketch by our favourite Melenia, come visit her blog!

Hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

Cherry Nest - Love card

2012-02-25T15:23:00.000+02:00

Hello!

Today I wanted to share with you a card I made for Cherry Nest! Oh yes, I am still part of the design team, along with the super-talented:

- Katerina Laiopoulou
- Roula Fournaraki
- Elina Koutsouradi
- Eleni Tsampazi

You can visit Cherry Nest blog here to see the beautiful creations of the design team with Cherry Nest papers!

So, back to the card... February is, of course, the month of love, so this is the theme of my card ("ΑΓΑΠΗ" means "LOVE" in Greek):

If you like hearts (who doesn't???), there are so many papers with hearts you can choose from! For this card, I used the following papers:

So Valentine's day is a good opportunity to celebrate love... as long as we don't forget about it the rest of the year!

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Why I {heart} fondue...

2012-02-19T11:51:00.001+02:00

... or the story of an inspiration...

But before that, I wanted to take the opportunity and say a big thank you to Puccarina for the amazing gifts she sent me last week! Take a look and you can get jealous (hehehe). Here are her own photos because I really love the ways she has presented the felt cats she made!

She is doing amazing things with the felt, and imagine that she did everything from scratch, even the design! For more photos and information you can visit her blog here.

She also sent me one of my favourite of her cards, which you can find here. And here is the card:

Puccarina, thank you so very much, they are really gorgeous and they are decorating my living room already!! :D

So...

After a week away from my craft room due to a business trip, yesterday I wanted to make a layout. I saw the latest Greek Scrapbookers #26 challenge with the following colour combo and I liked it so much, I wanted to make something.

And then I read the theme... It is about food, and we are asked to scrap either about a recipe, or a photo of ourselves or someone else cooking... oops! problem! My relationship with my kitchen is minimal and I didn't have any photo to scrap!

I was looking at the colours a bit disappointed, thinking that I liked them very much and they were reminding me of something. And then I realised - my living room! (It took me a while, but hey, I was tired from the trip!). It was a pity I couldn't use a picture from my living room, it would be great for the colour combo.

And then I remembered something else. New Year's Eve, at my place, all the cousins around the coffee table eating fondue! (Yes, we do like informal New Year's Eves....). I looked for the photos and indeed, they were really good for the colour combo. So here is what I prepared:

Looking for a title to explain why I love fondue, I remembered something else - the latest Bird is the word challenge is about the word "Heart". And I do {heart} fondue, because as I explain in the journalling:

1. it's a slow process (or procedure? I always get confused!) and I enjoy both the food and the conversation with friends

2. you can choose from a variety of sauces and each one can cook their meat as much as they want, from rare to almost burnt

3. (and I have to confess the most important of all...) since I don't like cooking, it was a great solution for our New Year's Eve dinner! So the photo is from all of us cooking together ;ο)

I reached to the two Studio Calico kits I got a few weeks ago and mixed them. I have also subscribed to their "Stretch Your Kit" class and this week they have asked us to let our stamps be a tool for helping us place or add journaling on our page. And this is what I did - I used one of the kit stamps to make the three journaling spots.

I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

Once Upon A Sketch & Get Creative Part 2

2012-02-14T15:52:00.000+02:00

Hello from cold London!

Well, now that I'm writing this post I am in my sweet, warm home, but by the time this post will be published and you will be reading it, I will be in London, which I'm sure is going to be cold! ;o)

Soo... today I want to share with you the card that I made for the second February challenge from Once Upon A Sketch.

If you remember, for the month of February Get Creative and Once Upon A Sketch become sister blogs.... Which means that the creative teams of the two blogs exchange their positions in a matter of saying.

So for February 15, Nadia asks us the following:

Journalling criteria/theme: HOLIDAYS

Have you printed out all those photos from your last holiday or most favourite holiday? We would LOVE to see them and hear all about it. With the theme of holidays for this challenge, we would love to hear about:your favourite holiday of all time or a favourite place you would LOVE to holiday in . Or how about the last holiday you went to? Maybe you have not traveled yet? Then tell us about your DREAM HOLIDAY.

Remember that you are allowed to also create a card or altered project based on this sketch and instead of the journalling criteria you need to use a quote.

You must combine our journalling criteria/theme with this sketch.

From the start I knew I wanted to make a card for summer holidays, as I love them. As I was surfing the internet to find a quote, I found one which thought would be a good idea. First, because this is just the way I was feeling last summer, and second because it comes from Australia, just like Once Upon A Sketch ;o) So here's my card:

I had so much fun making a summer holiday in plain winter. I got to use my summer stamps and papers and do my favourite paper piecing technique. I followed the paper design to cut it and I put it together in a way to show with a dimension, with the waves and the summer holiday items coming out of it. I also used Black stickles on the flip-flops, which was a nice detail. Unfortunately, this time I don't have close-up photos to share with you, sorry about that!

I hope you like it!

Don't forget to visit both Get Creative and Once Upon A Sketch for amazing inspiration from the DT teams... and equally amazing prizes for the challenge winners.

Hugs,
Anastasia

My three furry kids

2012-02-11T19:47:00.004+02:00

Hello!

Finally, I got some inspiration today... slowly, be steadily, finally it came. These last few days I had completely lost my mojo. The last couple of days I had too much work as well, and that was it. But this week I'll be away on a business trip (if the weather allows!), so I thought I should definitely do something this weekend. And here is what I came up with:

So I thought I should make a layout with my cats. The sketch is the following, which I found in Pinterest and caught my eye because it is quite different from what you usually find. Oh yes, I couldn't really get into Pinterest, but this week I got hooked as well!

Because I didn't have much inspiration, I kept changing this and that, adding and taking away photos, cutting and tearing papers... at the end I thought "ok, that is, you've got to have something done and finished today!"

Below a close up photo of the wooden heart that I painted with mist made with Distress Ink Reinker. I also stapled a small piece of ribbon on it:

And because I'm in love with the new My Mind's Eye papers, I thought I should use up the Stella & Rose ones that I have, and which are still my favourite ones...

For the journalling I used a tag that I cut on our last crop with Elvira's die cut. Isn't it cute?

I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

Get Creative January "Clean and Simple" card winner

2012-02-06T09:50:00.000+02:00

Good morning!

Today we have the winners of all the Get Creative January challenges!

First of all I would like to thank EVERYONE who participated in the challenges, it was really like a big party, what a great way to start the new year!

And then the difficult stuff came... we had to choose the winners! Of the 30 participation in the Clean and Simple card challenge, with so many really amazing participations, it was really difficult to choose only one winner!

But... a decision had to be made, so... for this challenge, the winner is Sophia_Chry with the following card which is simple, with clean lines, clever and very-very happy with an uplifting message (I always fall for uplifting messages!):

And to be sincere, I didn't know which of her cards to choose first! So here are her other two participations that I really liked as well:

Thank you for your participations Sofia, and I wish you enjoy your Guest Designer month at Get Creative in March (I'm sure you will!)

I also wanted to share with you some additional entries that made the choice quite difficult...

Erina

For her simple and clean, yet creative card that bring smiles on the face.

Despoina155

For her elegant card, painted in hand.

Maria Bokari

For her seriously cute card, with nice colours

Katerina

For making this sweet-sweet card from paper scraps!

Thanks everyone for your participations, even if you made my life difficult for a couple of days, hehehe

Hugs,

Anastasia

There's no place like home

2012-02-05T15:19:00.001+02:00

Hello!

Today I want to share with you a card I made couple of days ago. It was too difficult to take a decent photo what with the awful weather lately! Well, yesterday was a good opportunity to take photos, but I was away on a crafty day at Aegina island, advancing with the crochet baby blanket no. 2. Thank you girls for the amazing company and our hostess for being so amazingly welcoming... Is it wrong envying her for living in Aegina???

Anyways... back to the card. I managed to make a few photos that are edible today, so here is the card:

I enjoyed so much making this card... and I'm happy with that, I was a bit concerned what with the layouts I was making lately ;o) But I had to use one of my favourite stamps I got lately from Purple Onion and Stephanie Ackerman. Aren't they lovely?

So, the inspiration came from Lily Pad Cards challenge that asks us to use pattern paper. You can get more inspiration by their amazing design team here.

So I used new and old paper pads (one paper pad was so "old" that I cannot find it anymore in the usual online stores... what is their lifecycle really???) and I enjoyed so much doing a lot of paper piecing, one of my favourite techniques. This time I had to cut too many details, but I wanted to try my new EK Success - Cutter Bee Scissors which is supposed to do great job when cutting details.

I'll tell you one thing: It is highly recommended... but keep it out of reach of children! I cut everything I wanted, with details, without destroying or crashing the paper, very quickly... but I also cut a bit my finger without even noticing, this is how well it cuts! Luckily it has a protective cover for when it is not used, so even if you do have children, you can have it with your craft tools ;ο)

The sketch is from Young Crafters Unite #6 latest challenge, asking us this time to use the following sketch:

And some close-ups:

For the cloud I used white flock which, luckily, wasn't as messy as I was afraid. As usual, I used Glossy Accent for the sun.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Bird is the word - Remember

2012-02-02T13:20:00.000+02:00

Just as I was saying "it's time to make a card", the first order from Studio Calico arrived... Gone was my card mojo, so I sat down and made another layout!

This is the second photo of my nephew. They called us into the small room to see the mother, how she was doing, and then surprise! they brought the little one as well. The expressions on the mother's face were amazing, emotional when she saw all of us around her, afraid when they put the baby on her lap (it's her first baby!), wonder as she was looking at him. How could I not scrap the photo?

I have been ogling Studio Calico products for a while now, but since I wasn't making any layouts, I hadn't ordered anything. As the date of my nephew's birthday was approaching, I thought I might get my scrapbooking mojo and I did my first order. As soon as I saw the papers and the supplies live... and with all the photos that I have... well, I couldn't resist.

The paper with the lines suffered quite a lot. I teared it, threw it water, crinkled it... and then I misted it with white mist because the colour was a bit more intense than what I liked. It was hard to start treating it like this, but once I started, I really enjoyed it, it was almost... therapeutic I could say!

And some close-ups:

Also, the dots after the "Remember" word are from the chipboard letters as well, the leftovers from "o", and the small corners on the photo are the leftovers from the "e"'s.

The layout is for the Bird is the word challenge to use the word "Remember". They also provide the following sketch, which is not required for the challenge, but it has helped me since I'm new to this.

That's all... I hope you like it!

Now that I am a bit more relaxed and have a bit more time, I will start again with the list of the supplies used. Supplies not included in the list are either included in Studio Calico kits, or are from my stash, and it is difficult for me to find links for these:

Get Creative and Once Upon a Sketch

2012-02-01T11:09:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone!

The month starts with a great surprise from Get Creative and Once Upon A Sketch challenge blogs... Here is what Irini and Nadia organise for us this month

We have a suprise for you this month!!

Nadia Cannizzo and Irini brainstormed one day

and came up with the idea of

partnering up their challenge blogs

i.e Once Upon A.... Sketch team up with Get Creative

We will be sister blogs for the month of February the twist is

the

Once Upon A ...Sketch Design team

will be featuring their gorgeous creations on Get Creative

using sketches from our very own

Elina katechi

and

the Get Creative Design team

will be featuring their fabulous creations

over at

Once Upon A...Sketch......

How it will work:

Get Creative we will have

2 challenges this month

on the 1st and the 15th of February

you can interpert the sketch into a card or layout

The February 1st sketch challenge will run

until midnight February 14th

so upload your layout or card then.

The winner will be chosen by the

Once Upon A...Sketch design team

To find out more about what prizes are being offered

Head on over to

Once Upon A....Sketch

and

Get Creative

Isn't that a great idea? So here's the Once Upon A Sketch challenge for February 1:

February 1st Challenge

Journalling Criteria/theme: LOVE

February 14th is Valentines Day here in Australia and in many parts of the world. For this challenge we would like you to create a project about the one MALE you love. And we do not mean just your partner or spouse. We mean any male in your life.

Ideas for journalling: You could journal about the love you have for your son, father, grandfather or a special person in your life or any pet.

Remember that you are allowed to also create a card or altered project based on this sketch and instead of the journalling criteria you need to use a quote.

You must combine our journalling criteria/theme with this sketch

And here is what I came up with:

Yes! I made a card for my cat Sakis. And if you are wondering about the mustache, here's a picture of him and his adorable mustache:

Now, don't miss out the opportunity to create a card based on a layout sketch... It was a really interesting challenge for me and I hope you like the card!

Why don't you pop over at Once Upon A Sketch and Get Creative and get some inspiration from the design teams... their projects are really astonishing!

Hugs,

Anastasia

30 minutes old...

2012-01-29T14:41:00.001+02:00

Every once in a while my friend Eleni was asking me to do some more scrapbooking. Once I found out I was going to be an aunt, I told her "as soon as my nephews are born, I'm sure I'll get into scrapbooking as well".

Two days ago my first nephew was born, and I missed a meeting with our crafty group because I couldn't get away from him and his mother. And Eleni told me "been there done that twice (...) give up card making and devote yourself to scrapbooking (...) ".

Well, I think she's right. I LOVE cardmaking and I don't want to give it up... But since I got the first photos of my nephew, all I want to do is scrapbook. And here are the results of my attempt this morning:

It is the very first photo of my nephew Andreas. In the room there were twelve crazy of us, father, grandmother, aunts, uncles, looking at him, most of us crying (me included of course!). And when he opened his eyes and looked at us... omg, I just wanted to stop crying because the tears were so many I couldn't see him well!

You see, we are the typical Greek family, very close to each other. And he is the first of his generation! Luckily, we are waiting for his cousin in two months, so he won't be too spoiled by all of us, hehehe

So... for the layout I used the sketch from Once Upon A Sketch:

Nadia asks us to combine the sketch with the journalling theme of "Hello 2012 or Goodbye 2011"? What a better way to say hello to a new year than a new baby... and a new generation?

I hope you like it!

Hugs,

Anastasia

Crochet time...

2012-01-24T17:28:00.002+02:00

On Friday the latest my cousin will give birth! I'm going crazy, can't wait! (And of course I'm taking Friday off work!)

So, I had to finish asap the baby blanket that I started back in summer. The last three days I have been crocheting like crazy to bring together all the pieces and to do the edging. I finished it last night, and now it's washed, ironed and received by the future mother.

I quickly took some photos, not the best quality and apologies for that, but it's better than nothing! Here you go:

Freshly ironed...

My cat Sakis seems to really like to blanket (ok, I'll admit it, he walked over it while I was taking the photos, I should have seen it coming!

And a close-up of the heart design:

So that's all from me for today... Now I have two more months to finish the white blanket for my other cousin who gives birth early April. I'm halfway through it, there's still much work left!!!

Lily Pad Cards - Virginia's View 1

2012-01-22T12:48:00.002+02:00

Good morning!

Those of you that follow Lily Pad Cards, you will have read about some changes regarding hte design team. Karin Akesdotter, the new member of the design team is a great card designer whose blog I have been following for some time now. I was really happy to see that her cards will be inspiring us through Lily Pad cards as well!

There is also a new series of challenges, "Virginia's View", with inspirational photos chosen by the amazing Virginia Lu.

How could I not prepare a card for the first challenge? Here's the fantastic photo Virginia has chosen:

And here's the card I have prepared:

For the hearts, I used several distress inks (you can see the supplies at the end of the post) and then I used pearlised water and a small brush to make to pearly spots, as you can(?) see in the next photo:

To make the silver window I used the masking technique with post-it notes and silver embossing powder.

I hope you like it!!

Supplies:

Layout - The wonder of life

2012-01-17T16:59:00.003+02:00

Hello!

Oh yes, the title is right... today I won't share with you a card, but a layout that I prepared these last few days. I was thinking that the inspiration for scrapbooking would come once I become and aunt and I was right. ok, maybe I'm not an aunt yet (will be in a few days!), but even my pregnant cousins of mine have given me inspiration to scrapbook ;o) Here's what I made:

I think I've found the style that I like (I don't even know how it is called!). With the other layouts that I prepared (three in total!) I wasn't very satisfied. I was trying to do things that I saw in other layouts and I liked, but they weren't really my style.

Lately I've started looking around again, and the inspiration started coming to me. This layout has many elements scraplifted by layouts from Elena, combined scraplift I would call it, so I won't submit it to any challenges.

I also thought that I didn't really have to ignore my favourite techniques I use for my cards. So I did some paper piecing with a few of my favourite Lawn Fawn stamps, and I repeated the technique learned from Jennifer McGuire, layering many papers of the same motif to make the stars dimensional (close-up photo below).

I did the same layout twice, to give to each of my cousins. So I did everything twice... the truth is that at the end I was ready to shout to myself "no more paper-piecing!". It's one thing to do paper piecing on one or two stamps for a card, and another to do 3 stamps twice each... ouf!

I hope you like it! I'm looking forward to your comments and feedback!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Clean & Simple Card Making Day 3

2012-01-13T14:31:00.001+02:00

Hello!

This is a quick post to share with you another card I made inspired by the Clean & Simple classes.

Jennifer McGuire showed us tone-on-tone dimensional cards. So this is what I made:

I cut the flowers from white cardstock with my Silhouette and glued together 4 layers to make them dimensional, like a chipboard. Isn't that technique cool?

Yeap! No inks this time and only a sentiment stamp!

I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Clean and Simple Cardmaking

2012-01-11T17:17:00.000+02:00

Hello!!!

I am sooo happy that the Clean and Simple Cardmaking classes have started, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, because I have enjoyed SO much ALL the classes by Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner, in each and every class I have learned tons of things, techniques and whatnot, and they provide great, great inspiration!

Secondly, because lately I'm into CAS cards and the timing of the class couldn't be better!

And thirdly, this time we have another super-talented, CAS expert teacher, Julie Ebersole.

What more would a girl want... ;o)

Unfortunately, these last few days I've been trying to get back to my routine, what with starting work after two weeks of vacations, so I didn't have much time to play along. Yesterday I managed to make a card though, that I wanted to share IT with you:

Apologies for the photo, it's really the best I can do with the weather being really awful these last couple of days in Athens...

So, for the background I used the resist technique with my very favourite red Distress Ink, Festive Berries and one of my favourite background stamps, Vine Background by Hero Arts and Basic Grey. The letters are from Maya Road's Olivia alphabet.

I will also submit this to three challenges:

- CAS-ual Fridays #34 - Use chipboard:

- Lily Pad Cards - Use chipboard

- Young Crafts Unite 5 - CAS

LAST but not least, don't forget that you can also play with your CAS cards over at Get Creative challenge blog as well this month! There will be a number of challenges this month, one of which is to make a CAS card. The winners will take our places as creative designers for the month of March and there will also be a random winner for some goodies from Sfragidomania!

That's all folks... Hope you like the card.

Supplies:

A mini card...

2012-01-08T21:04:00.002+02:00

Hello!!!

First day back at work tomorrow after two weeks... :o(

So I thought I would make another card today...:

The card is the result of the inspiration from two challenges:

- Paper Smooches Sparks: with the following inspiration picture:

- Wee Memories: Mini cards - up to 4x4 (which is exactly the size of my card):

There are a couple of things that I learned while making this card:

First, the white marker gets lost below the Glossy Accent. But on top of it it looks great!

Second, I was trying to find a way to use the white marker to add the gloss on the letters. I tried a couple of things but wasn't satisfied with the result. And by then the Glossy Accent had dried and I noticed the glow from my desktop lamp. So I draw the glow that I was seeing ;o)

Finally, I've ran out of red ribbon and didn't have red twine, so I coloured a twine in natural colour with Poppy Red ProMarker.

So that's all for now... I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

Lucy Abrams' sketches based cards

2012-01-07T15:52:00.000+02:00

Hello!!!!

On Monday I'm back at work after two really great, relaxing and creative weeks.... So I thought I should break my records and yesterday I prepared five cards. I decided it would be better to have one long post with all five cards than one post for each card, so the post will be quite long!

First, I will start off with a picture of all five cards so that you can see if it is interesting for you to read more details:

All cards are based on sketches from Lucy Abrams that I really, really love. Although a new mom (congratulations!!!), she decided to have a week of sketch challenges, so if you want to get some seriously great inspiration, you can visit her blog, it is highly recommended!

So, let's start (you can see the main supplies I have used at the end of this post):

Sketch and card no. 1:

A CAS card. To give some dimension, I have inserted the paper towel into the box and used foam stickers to make it pop. A closer picture:

-----------------------------------------------------

Sketch and card nο. 2:

I made the large butterfly again for the Inspiration Showcase canvas from Jennifer McGuire. This time I added the antennae... Closer picture:

Sketch and card no. 3:

The two chipboard birds are from a Greek company, Sfragidomania and I coloured them with Distress Embossing Powder. I have used distress stickles on the heart. Closer photo:

Sketch and card no. 4:

The things I did to the poor heart... white paint, distress inks, distress stains, I tried many, many things! At the end I thought I should stop and here is the result. For a contrast, I have used Glossy Accents on the small heart. Closer photo:

Last but not least, sketch and card no. 5:

The sketch is quite similar to the second one, but I thought I would do something different, so I went for two felt rolled roses. Closer look:

So that's all folks! I hope you like them!

Which one do you like best?

Now I'm going to focus more on my crochet, as my cousin is going to give birth until Feb 4, so I have to have the blanket I've been preparing ready asap!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

It's a girl!

2012-01-06T10:21:00.000+02:00

Yesterday a friend of mine gave birth to a healthy girl. As I am waiting to become two times aunt in the next three months, lately I've become even more "misty" with newborns and new mothers :S

Anyways, I had the time to prepare the following card before going to see her:

The bear is a stamp from Lawn Fawn's Christmas set Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum (isn't that a great name? hehehe). To make it "look" on the other side, I stamped it first on a stamp block and then I used this second stamp on my paper. Because the design wasn't as well stamped of course, I used the Memento Tuxedo Black marker on top of that and I was pleased with the result.

The other trick that I read somewhere (unfortunately, I don't remember where!) is for when we do paper piecing - you know how you can see the white of the paper on the cut edge? Well, if you use a black marker on that, the result is perfect. (I'm not sure it's clear what I'm trying to say?). You might be able to see that on the close-up photo below, as well as the 3-D part of the card and the three little windows:

With this card I will also participate in the following challenges:

- Simon Says Stamp - New Something (what better than a baby, a new life???)

- Freshly Made Sketches #16: I discovered this blog a while ago and I like very much the clear sketches they provide. The current challenge sketch is the following:

- Wee Memories #81: New. Unfortunately, Jenny has announced that this will be the last month of challenges. This has been one of my very favourite challenge blogs so I'm really sorry to hear that, but it has been really great to be able to play along these last few months. I want to thank Jenny and the team for all the inspiration provided and wish Jenny all the best to her new endeavors (I will keep on reading the blog though, I will be looking closely at the stamps she designs, they are soooo cute!!!)

I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

Life is like a rainbow - Part 2

2012-01-05T12:30:00.002+02:00

Hello!

Today I have something somewhat different to share with you...

Maybe some of you remember the twine rainbow card I made a few months ago... My (otherwise lovely) cats did one of their few mischiefs and they destroyed the rainbow.

For some time now I wanted to repair it, so yesterday that I wanted to do something but didn't have much inspiration, I decided to do so. However, there was something that I didn't like. I was wondering whether it worths the while to correct it, but on the other hand I liked the idea, it was the execution that I didn't like much. So I thought I would do it again. But a card again? So I decided to use the same idea, but make a 30x30 canvas instead:

I enjoyed so much making this, that now I don't mind at all what my cats did to the card ;o)

I painted the border with a simple black marker. For some time now I've been flirting with the idea of doodling and this was a simple first trial. I almost entered a state of meditation which I really loved, so for sure I'm going to give it a go to doodling!

For the rainbow I just printed the outline of a rainbow, cut it, covered one side with adhesive (I used my ATG gun), and then my favourite twines from The Twinery.

The sun, the cloud and the coloured alphabet are from Maya Road. First I coloured the chipboards with Distress Inks and then I added Glossy Accents. The rain are stamps from the Lawn Fawn Plus One stamp set.

Finally, the black letetrs are Daydreams Black Foam Thickers from American Crafts. Luckily the adhesive behind them was exactly what I needed, because I had to change their placement again and again!

I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

Get Creative a month full of challenges - CAS card challenge!

2012-01-04T11:39:00.003+02:00

Good morning!!!

Have you heard???

At Get Creative we were so ecstatic with the participation in our October card challenges that we are going to start off the year with another month of challenges!!!So here is how it is going to go... Every couple of days a new challenge will be set by one of the design team. The challenges will be for cards and layouts - it will be specified in the challenge. All challenge entries have to be uploaded by January 31st. You can enter as many times as you like in as many challenges as you like. The winner of each challenge will be chosen by the design team and the winner's prize will be...

Guest designer on Get Creative for the entire month of March!!

It doesn't end there... all the participants of the challenges will be then placed in the random generator and one lucky winner will win a fabulous prize from Sfragidomania!

So today it's my turn to start the card challenges with a really "simple" challenge. So the challenge is to make a CAS card, ie "Clean and Simple" card!

I'm sure most of you know what this is, but in case you wonder...

Clean and Simple cards are the ones who have clean sketches, clean lines, minimal and smart embellishments, "white spaces" (spaces that do not have any images, embellishments, layers)... The cards however can have colour, pattern papers, embellishments... they just have to be used in a smart way!

I have prepared three cards so that you get an idea and (hopefully!) a bit of inspiration.

The first card has quite enough white space, almost one layer (the sentiment is an additional layer), on stamp that was coloured with distress inks, water and pencil.

The second card has clearly one focal point, without any embellishments other than the frame that was drawn by hand.

And the third card has again enough open spaces (they don't have to be white, they can be whatever in colour you like), discreet embellishments with just a bit of sewing and black marker.

I hope you like them and they can inspire you to make your own cards! Just come over to Get Creative to share them with us!

Hugs,Anastasia-Natasa

Supplies:

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-02T14:17:00.001+02:00

I wish you all a very happy, healthy 2012, full of love, creativity and courage (especially for my Greek friends!)!!! As long as we are healthy and surrounded by our family and friends, we can deal with everything...

These days I thought I would take a few days off from the blog... We celebrated the New Year's Eve with friends in my house and I had the New Year family lunch at my place as well. It was a bit crazy, but I managed to cope since I didn't really cook anything, hehehe. That might sound crazy, but it is known to everyone that my kitchen is my least favourite room in my house (as shocking as it may sound to most of you!). Plus, there are 5 ladies in my family more than willing to cook - mother, aunts and cousins. I still have food for the next week!

I also had to prepare my handmade presents - not many (only three), but quite time-consuming. But I made them for people I love very, very much and I really enjoyed it. I finished them the very last minute, but was able to take some quick photos.

For my two aunts I prepared a "book/album" for their favourite recipes. They liked it very, very much and I was really pleased. As it is supposed to be used in the kitchen, I avoided the embellishments (after all, we don't want glitter in our food, right?) and went for practical:

Each page has three pockets for tags-recipes, front, back and on the top:

Also each page has two more pockets (front and back) to use temporarily for recipes found in magazines or that have hastily written in papers (as they usually do):

Now, for my mother, just like last year (and every year it seems like!) I made a wall calendar. She uses them to take notes of payments, doctor appointments and the like.

This year I decided to have a theme - and the theme chosen was happiness. I chose some of my favourite quotes and this is the calendar I made:

So that's all for today...

Happy 2012!!!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Cherry Nest - Ho Ho Ho

2011-12-26T12:58:00.000+02:00

Hello!

I hope you had a great time yesterday! We had a great family Christmas lunch, with amazing dishes prepared by two sisters (my mother and my aunt) and amazing deserts prepared by two other sisters (my two cousins). I ate so much that I skipped dinner - I was still full! You may have noticed I didn't mention me cooking anything... that's because my kitchen and I are not the best of friends ;o)

There is a habit of mine that I have to change. I give my presents the first of January rather than Christmas. There are two reasons for this: first, a practical one. I always get the week between Christmas and New Years Eve off work, so it is easier for me to do the final presents shopping then, when things are more relaxed. On the other hand, when I was a child the "Greek Santa Claus" called "Ai Vassilis" was visiting our house the first of January (which is the name day for Saint Vassilis). But the last few years I find myself in a position of receiving presents on Christmas and giving my presents the first of January, so I have to change my habit. Starting from next year ;o)

Which means that I still have time for some Christmas cards! I made the following one for Cherry Nest a few days ago:

The Cherry Nest papers I used are:

This time I didn't actually do any particular technique. The one thing that was a bit complicated was to glue the ribbon on the craft cardstock. At the end it seems that Glue Dots did the job, but I'm not sure how long they will last. Do you have any ideas what to use? What do you usually use to glue ribbon?

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Merry Christmas everyone!

2011-12-23T20:07:00.003+02:00

So, my last post before Christmas... with what else? A Christmas card, this time based on acetate:

The base of the card is made of acetate... Very easy to make, difficult to photograph! I don't like very much the background I have used, but nothing else I tried would work.

I heat embossed both the tree and the ornaments with Silver Pearl Embossing and then I used Perfect Pearls on the tree. The star is made of wood and I coloured it with Pearl Dauber. Full of pearl!

I hope you like it!

I wish to all of us Merry Christmas and to have a great time with our families and friends...

Love and health to all of us!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

ScrapbookLifeJournal 2012 with Stephanie Ackerman

2011-12-21T21:31:00.000+02:00

Hello - Hello!

Today I wanted to share with you something different. Yes, not a card for a change!

Lately I wanted to start a kind of journal... Mainly to record my thoughts, ideas and sayings that I hear/read and I like, souvenirs... you know what I mean. The issue was that I didn't want to do it alone. I thought it would be much better if I could do it with others, to encourage them and be encouraged, to share what we make...

In the meantime, about a month ago I ordered some stamps that I've been wanted for some time now, from Stephanie Ackerman. After I made the order, I looked for her blog to see what else she makes. This lady is making some amazing doodles that I just adore! I keep thinking "I wish I could do this!"

So reading her blog I found out that in January she starts an online class called Scrapbook*Life*Journal. It is a 12 month basic, easy, no stress "follow along" class... exactly what I was looking for! It includes a weekly journal prompt posted to a closed facebook page, a monthly pdf printable calendar, a monthly pdf printable doodle to color and embellish based on that month's theme, a pdf of journal prompts, quotes and verses based on the monthly subjects, techniques.

Well, didn't think much about it and I signed up.

My first NO-STRESS assignment was to prepare our folder for the year. For this we had to use about 56 papers, one for each month and week of the year. The only condition was to do it without stress, something she keeps reminding us. And we shouldn't think too much what kind of papers we would use, whatever we have will do, no matter how much we like them.

Let me tell you, it was therapeutic to finally use all those papers that in one way or another have been accumulating in a pile and I knew that I wasn't going to use! Satisfaction, even happiness and freedom each time I was cutting a paper to use for the folder, especially when it had colours and motifs that I new I would probably never use.

That's what I wanted to share with you today, and some photos of the folder that I made. If you want more details on the course, you can visit here.

Apologies for the quality of the photos but it was the best I could do. Weather is really crappy and there is no natural light...

Hugs,
Anastasia

Cherry Nest - Christmas CAS cards

2011-12-21T07:30:00.000+02:00

Hello!

Today I want to share with you a few Christmas cards I made for Cherry Nest:

I liked the Cherry Nest Christmas papers so much that I wanted to make them pop in a way. So I decided to prepare a few CAS cards.

The papers I used are the following:

For the card I did reverse die cutting: I used the Spellbinders 2010 Christmas Tree dies on the white card and put the Christmas papers below. I stamped the sentiment, added the green-white twine and the cards were ready.

I hope you like them!

Supplies:

Very, very happy "Get Creative" news...

2011-12-20T08:40:00.000+02:00

Hello!

2011 might have been a difficult year for my family and myself, but the end of the year is bringing me some very happy news...

Irini asked me to become a member of Get Creative Creative Team!!! :D :D :D I can't begin to explain how happy I am! I've been following the blog for more than a year now, and I participate in the card challenges because the inspiration provided by the creative team has always given me ideas to make cards! I am really very happy!

My first card as the creative team member is for the sketch challenge for December 20th - you can see the challenge here:

The card that I made is the following:

If you want to get super-duper inspiration, you can visit the Get Creative blog here to see the Creative Team's creations...

And remember, the sponsor for this month is Unity Stamps with their wonderful stamps! Seriously now, just a few days ago I found in a store in Madrid Unity Stamps and I just couldn't resist, I bought (another) one. I will make something soon.

For a chance to win, you can make a card until December 28th!

And a few words for the card...

There are only 5 days left till Christmas, but what I wanted to make was a thank you card dedicated to Irini and the Get Creative creative team for their very warm welcome!

I wanted to make something different than a rectangle, so I used the Nestabilities Wonky Rectangles to make the card base. To make the background for the front of the card and give it some dimension, I used the Dots Embossing Folder by Sizzix.

The background of the green part of the card is made with stamp and pearlised water. This is what I did: First I coloured the white cardstock with Distress Ink. Then I sprayed the Vine Background stamp by Hero Arts and Basic Grey with pearlised water that I prepared with water and Perfect Pearl. I stamped my green cardstock with the stamp and since distress inks reacts to water, I got the result you can see on the photo. What you cannot see is that there is a pearlised effect on the vines...

If you have any queries regarding the technique I tried to describe, just ask me and I will reply to you.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Cherry Nest - Happiness is being owned by a cat (or two... or three...)

2011-12-18T05:41:00.000+02:00

Hello!

In case you didn't know... I'm crazy about cats! Have been since I remember myself and I can't quite know why, since we didn't have any pets when I was growing up. Well, not until I was 14 years old when my mother was tired of me asking for a cat all those years and allowed me to get one :D

Anyway... given my love for cats, I was sooo happy when I saw the "Niaou" bingo cards by Cherry Nest - "Niaou" being the Greek cats' "Meow", lol!

And of course I didn't miss the opportunity to make a card:

I enjoyed it so much! Finally I got to use my stamp with the phrase "happiness is being owned by a cat" (so I have three sources of happiness in my home now!), paws everywhere, this sweet cat I cut with Silhouette... And of course the sweetest paper for the cat, Hot Pink Polka Dots.

The Cherry Nest papers I used this time are the following:

The card has quite a lot of dimension as I used a number of foam adhesive layers, but unfortunately you cannot see it on the photo.

I hope you like it!

And remember to visit the Cherry Nest blog for lots and lots of inspiration by the super-talented design team!

Supplies: (apologies, but the stamps that I have used where the very first I ever bought and since I haven't kept the package, I don't know the stamp company to share it with you :S)

Lawn Fawn Christmas tags

2011-12-08T14:40:00.001+02:00

Hello!

I had some fun yesterday playing with my new Ornate Ornaments stamp set by Lawn Fawn and prepared (many of) the tags for my Christmas presents:

I prepared a different colour for each one, so it will be even easier for me to recognise the present... and more fun to create, lol!

I used a number of paper scraps and distress inks, so I won't be listing them in the supplies, as the list would become way too long. If you want any information, please let me know and I'll tell you!

Another idea that I had and I really loved was to use Silver Embossing Powder not only on the ornaments, but also around the tags. I experimented with the first one and I liked it so much that I did the same to all the tags. Here is a close-up:

I will submit the tags for the following challenges:

- Lawnscaping challenge #23: Tags or Treat Bags

- Wee Memories #78 - Free for all

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Cherry Nest - Hourglass

2011-12-07T17:11:00.000+02:00

A kind of different card today for Cherry Nest. The main idea was to use the tags as an hourglass. So, I made a shaker card:

The Cherry Nest papers I used are the following:

This time I printed the tags in a scale bigger than the normal, so that the tag would become big enough to be used as an hourglass. On the other hand, I printed the flowery number tags in a smaller scale so that they could fit in the card.

I have the sentiment inside... but forgot to take it a photo!

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Lawn Fawn Christmas tag

2011-12-05T17:31:00.000+02:00

Hello!

Here is a tag for Christmas presents that I prepared yesterday:

Actually, I thought I could use it as a tag, but I have it on my wall right now, as part of the Christmas decorations ;o)

For some reason this weekend I couldn't get any inspiration... I was looking at sketch challenges, colour challenges, and although there were many interesting ones, I still couldn't make them work for me. "Inspiration blockage". I started a couple of projects and I didn't like them, so I didn't finish them. Then I decided to organise the "I might need them later on" box...

... and I found these cuties (ie the tree, the fox and the mushrooms) that I had prepared for another card which I didn't finish a few weeks ago (yes, another inspiration blockage). And that was it. I selected papers from the 12 days of Christmas paper pad, put everything together, added some finishing touches with Diamond Stickles, and Antique Linen Distress Stickles for the star, and there it was! The end of inspiration blockage ;o)

While looking for inspiration, I saw that two of my favourite challenge blogs have an open theme challenge this week. So the tag will be submitted to the following challenges:

- Wee Memories #78: Free for all

- Lawnscaping #23: Tags or Treat Bags (ooops, I had forgotten to add it to this challenge, thank you Vera for reminding me!!!)

- Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes

I hope you like it! You can see the list of supplies below.

Supplies:

Owl Miss You

2011-12-01T16:09:00.002+02:00

Hello!

Today I have to share with you a cute owl:

Lately I'm falling in love (again!) with my Silhouette SD. Inspired by Wee Memories challenge that asks to have woodland animals on our cards and Lily Pad Cards that asks to have buttons, the idea of an owl with buttons as eyes came to me. I looked at the Silhouette online shop and found this cute owl.

I didn't have button in the size and the colour that I wanted. So I used the Buttons die cut from My Favorite Things to cut two buttons, I coloured them with Antique Linen Distress Ink and then heat embossed it with Versamark and clear embossing powder three times to give them dimension.

So, the card is for the following challenges:

- Lily Pad Cards: Simon Says Stamp Button Challenge

- Wee Memories #77 - Woodland Animals

- Young Crafters Unite #4: Use dies (my second entry)

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Cherry Nest - The sky is the limit

2011-11-29T13:55:00.001+02:00

Hello!

Today I would like to share with you a card I made for Cherry Nest:

As soon as I saw the paper Πρωινό Φτερούγισμα - Morning Flutter the first thing that came to my mind was the sun. Also I had received the Clouds stamp from Hero Arts and the Sunny Side Up by Paper Smooches that I wanted to use for a while and the idea came to me...

I printed the polka dots papers in a quite a small scale so that the design would be small enough to be seen with the relatively small stamp that I used for the paper piecing.

Since I didn't have enough space on the front for the sentiment, I decided to use the inside part for that. In the following picture you can also see how this round card looks like on the inside:

I hope you like it!

Complete list of supplies:

Give it a whirl!

2011-11-28T08:27:00.000+02:00

Good morning and good week!

Today I wanted to share with you a card I made last night:

For the background I used the Hero Arts - Clouds stamp and Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass. Before stamping it on my card, I sprayed water with Mini Mister to make the image softer. The paper is from the My Mind's Eye - Everyday Flair paper pad which I really like!

The inspiration for the card...

A few weeks ago I bought the Perfect Pinwheel die cut from My Favorite Things and I was looking for a chance to use it. So yesterday I was looking at the card challenges and I found one that asks us to use dies! It is a relatively new blog by two very talented young ladies Britta Swiderski and Marie/Legojenta. You can find the challenge here.

Looking for a sketch, I saw the CAS-ual Fridays CFC29 challenge with the following sketch:

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Lily Pad Cards The Craft's Meow Sketch Challenge

2011-11-24T10:34:00.002+02:00

Good morning!

Since I want to finish the My Mind's Eye - 12 days of Christmas paper pad I have bought this year, so I made another Christmas card ;o)

For the faux stitching I have used my favourite White Uni Ball Signo Gel Pen. It writes perfectly whatever the background colour is and really helps with keeping the lines straight!

The card is for the Lily Pad Cards' "The Craft's Meow Sketch Challenge" with the following sketch:

I hope you like it! Now I have to run and prepare my things because I'm supposed to leave for two days in half an hour and I still haven't prepared anything!

Supplies:

Cherry Nest - Hangman

2011-11-23T00:30:00.000+02:00

I was "cleaning up" my blog today (I also changed the template, will see if I keep the new one) and I noticed a post that hadn't been published. I took a better look and realised that this post should have been published a while ago, but it was when the various problems started and it went amiss.

So a while ago I prepared another playful card for Cherry Nest. The school theme reminded me of one of my favoutite games when I was a child, the Hangman:

The papers that I used for this card are the following:

This time, I printed the papers in size smaller than the normal, from 70% to 50%. So you can make the Cherry Nest digital papers even more versatile by adjusting the size you want and make to polka dots for example smaller or even bigger.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Get Creative sketch challenge with HCBC tree

2011-11-22T10:35:00.001+02:00

Good morning!

I prepared the following card yesterday. I'm really into Christmas cards these days, I think for the first time I will use up all the paper pad I had bought!

The card is for the Get Creative November sketch challenge with the following sketch:

We learned how to make the trees at Holiday Card Boot Camp, I liked them so much when I saw them!

I made the background with Versamark ink and Personal Impressions stamps - Oh Christmas Tree.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Get Creative challenge with Holiday Cards Boot Camp inspiration

2011-11-20T13:02:00.001+02:00

Good morning!

Another card for today... This time it is for Get Creative November challenge that asks us to use two image stamps (the tree and the star on my card). The card is inspired by a card that Jennifer McGuire showed us in Holiday Card Boot Camp 2011.

Once again, heat embossing and lots of distress ink... For the background I used Picket Fence Distress Stain with pearlised water (with Perfect Pearls). I mixed them all together and with I sprayed the card with a brush. Unfortunately, you cannot see the pearlised effect on the card.

For the snow and the snowed ground I have used Snow Marker, a market whose ink puffs when heated with a heat gut. A closer image so that you can have a better look:

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Get Creative with Paper Smooches Sparks

2011-11-19T13:02:00.001+02:00

Good morning!

Yet another card that I made last night...

My hands were itching to reach out to my Paper Smooches stamps so I checked their Sparks challenge blog to find some inspiration. Ohh... I could use one of my flower stamps! So here is what I came up with:

The card is for the following challenges:

- Paper Smooches Sparks Nov 17 - 30 with the following inspiration photo (I chose to use the theme of flowers)

- Simon Says Stamp - Thanksgiving/Thank you

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Birthday wishes card

2011-11-18T19:50:00.000+02:00

Today I felt like doing something completely different from what I usually do. So I went for brown colours, lots of distressing, handmade fabric flower, glimmer mists, doilies, lace... certainly not the supplies and techniques I usually use for my cards!

So here is what I have prepared:

The card is for the following challenges:

- Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #73 with the following sketch:

- Wee Memories Challenge #76 - Birthdays and parties

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Christmas Cards! Holiday Card Boot Camp 2011

2011-11-17T23:28:00.001+02:00

Yes, I'm back!!!

It's been so long I haven't posted anything. So many things have happened these last two months (unfortunately, nothing good) that I didn't have the time or the mood to make anything, much less to post. Sorry for going awol!

But... now things are getting into a routine again, so yes, I'm back! I've been craving to start preparing things, but the inspiration was limited. I wanted to start making some Christmas cards, and since I have subscribed to Holiday Card Boot Camp 2001 by the super-duper talented Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner, where a better place to find inspiration?

And indeed, as soon as I saw the three sketches by Kristina, the inspiration finally came to me! I decided to make all three sketches with similar supplies, colours and style, to see the result. And here it goes:

----------

I hope you like them!

The supplies I have used are the following:

Cherry Nest - School Memories

2011-09-10T15:03:00.000+03:00

Hello from Athens (holidays are over... boohoohooo...)

Back from holidays for me... and back to school for the children these days!

What with schools starting these days, I couldn't but prepare a school related card for Cherry Nest!

Cherry nest has a new school-theme line. As soon as I saw it I fell in love with it! Once I saw the apple, I remembered an "old-time classic" phrase used at Greek schools a few (?!?) years ago, when children were learning to read. (Just in case you are wondering, it just means "Lola, here is an apple"). And the alphabet is sooo cool, I love the old typewriter feeling and the colours as well...

The Cherry Nest papers I used are:

The wise owl stamp I used is from the Paper Smooches Chubby Chums stamp set.

For the complete list of the supplies I have used, you can check the list below.

I hope you like it!

Anastasia
Supplies

LSNE Sep 7: People you don´t get along with might still surprise you in a positive way

2011-09-08T19:53:00.000+03:00

Yeap, this is what I learned yesterday... And I really have to keep it in mind...

Tomorrow I will be travelling back home, so I won't be able to post anything...

So, until Saturday!!!

Hugs,
Anastasia

LSNE Sep 6: The sunset is beautiful even when it's cloudy

2011-09-07T12:18:00.000+03:00

Yesterday we finally went to see the "best sunset in Skiathos", at Agia Eleni beach.

At first I was disappointed because when we arrived it was a bit cloudy and we wouldn't see all the amazing orange and red colours of the sunset.

However, this blue-grey, and sometimes pale pink colours were amazingly serene... It was simply wonderfully relaxing in a bitter-sweet nostalgic way... Definitely different from what we were expecting to see, but such a nice surprise.

Until tomorrow,
Anastasia

LSNE Sep 5: With exercise, every little helps

2011-09-06T12:09:00.000+03:00

The last few months I have been trying to find a way to do some exercise I can keep - ideally being funny, not too hard, possible to do even when I'm travelling. (Haven´t found it yet...)

Until now, I "knew" that, with exercise, every little helps. There are serveral advices on that respect, such as "Use the steps instead of the elevator", "Walk 30 minutes everyday" etc... Sometimes I follow the advices, others I don´t.

I've been on holidays for 8 days now. And last night I realised that the last couple of days I had started feeling long-forgotten muscles on my arms, legs, even the abdomen. It was quite surprising and I was wondering why was that so. Then I realised - it has to be the result of my daily swimming! So, just by having fun and getting refreshed from the hot sun, my body actually started exercising without me even noticing (or getting tired, or getting bored...)

That goes to show that, with exercise, every little does help. This is something I have to remind myself everytime I go for the elevator's button...

It's one thing to "know" from what others say, and another to know from your own experience (come to think of that, this could be another learning for the day, right?)

Until tomorrow,
Anastasia

LSNE Sep4: My favourite time of the day

2011-09-05T13:53:00.000+03:00

During the first days of my holidays, I would wake up at 9am. Then, I would wake up earlier each day. Finally, yesterday I woke up at 7am!

A few years ago I would be really frustrated. After all, holidays were about sleeping until late, right?

This time, I had my first coffee and cigarette of the day in the balcony while enjoying the first light and the silence and serenity of the early morning. And I admitted to myself that this is my new favourite time of the day: really, really early in the morning, when everything is still quiet... and if that means that I'm getting older... well, who cares, right? ;o)

Till tomorrow,
Anastasia

LSNE Sep 3: Remember to laugh!

2011-09-04T13:09:00.002+03:00

This lesson came from three people from Spain that stay at our hotel. They look like 20-someting years old and they stay just below our room. One of them has a really loud voice, which means that, whether we like it or not, we hear everything she says (both my brother and I speak Spanish). And all you can hear from her is either a criticism or a complaint about something. It´s really tiring, let me tell you (well, I can't avoid some criticism myself sometimes!).

These last three days they have been here, there are several lessons that have come to my mind. The main topics are respect and life satisfaction - or the lack of them to be precise.

However, all lessons were on the negative side and a kind of criticism themselves and I didn't feel like going there. What is more, I didn't want to remember any of the details in the future!

Then last night my brother made a comment that surprised me. While she was again critisizing a friend of theirs, George told me "have you realised that we have never heard them laughing?". I hadn´t realised that to be frank. And it made me think - people so young at age, having their summer holidays in a foreign country and such a beautiful place, you would expect them to have some serious fun, wouldn't you? Yet, in three days we hadn´t heard them laugh, not once!

So I said to myself that every once in a while I should try to remember when was the last time I had a good laugh. And if it was a while ago... then I should do something about it! Watch a funny movie, talk with a friend of mine, or even play with my cats. Something that will make me laugh!

Laugh is healthy, laugh is natural, laugh is... fun!

So please, my friends... I know some days are more difficult than others... but still... don´t forget to laugh!

Ah, I forgot to mention that inside the pocket I will add photo(s) of my favourite comedians...

Till tomorrow,
Anastasia

PS: I would also like to thank Natasa Tsouf for her tutorial on how to make blog buttons. That way I learnt about Picnik and I can retouch a bit my photos while I am on holidays (and as long as the strong sunlight in the balcony allows me!).

Exciting news!!!

2011-09-03T19:25:00.003+03:00

This is my second post for today, with some exciting news!!!

First, I just found out that I won the August challenge in Get Creative! I am sooo happy!

And then... a new tool is launching today by Inlinkz!

Now, you may ask what this tool is about...

Have you seen the way I am linking the supplies under each of my cards? Yes, those thumbnails... You can also see an example below, where I list my favourite tools and products.

Did you ever wonder how I do it? Well, I had a little secret, but it's finally time to spill the beans.

The Link Manager by Inlinkz is a new service, a tool where you can make a pool of all your supplies and then create lists of products just by dragging and dropping. So easy and convenient to use, such a time saver!

Here is a short video by Kristina Werner that will walk you through the tool:

I also have a coupon for you if you want to try it for free:

22532560

This coupon will let you in for free until December! So go ahead, join and play around. I am sure you will love it as much as I do!

Here is an example of what you can do with Link manager: I have a list of my favourite tools and products:

Give it a try using the coupon above to see how it works...Cheers!Anastasia

LSNE Sep 2: Summer holidays...

2011-09-03T12:47:00.000+03:00

Good morning!!!

Yesterday I learned/realised something that I am going to try to follow from now on... To have at least two consecutive weeks of summer holidays, away from home every year!

I don´t even remember when was the last time I was on summer holidays for more than a week. Probably when I was still a teenager. Be it work, financial issues, other issues - mine or my friends' -, I could never leave for more than a week. Of course, I do take two weeks off work every summer, but I would only leave Athens for a week or so.

This year I had an interesting conversation with someone who knows about these things and she told me that we need at least two, ideally three weeks of holidays to really get some rest. I was thinking of my holidays earlier this summer to Corfu - for five days. I had a really great time, but the truth is that I got back home and to work as tired as I was when I left. I had the feeling that it only lasted a weekend. On top of that, last year I didn´t manage to go on *proper* summer holidays (for me that means to a Greek island!) and I promised myself never, ever to do that again. So at the end I decided that on September I should go to a Greek island for two weeks (well, almost, actually it´s 12 days lol).

Yesterday was the fifth day of my holidays. 5. While we were having our dinner, I kept thinking that in previous holidays, by now I would be getting ready for my return, but now I still have one whole week of holidays! Really unbelievable!

And the truth is that since yesterday I feel a different kind of relaxation. I am not worried about anything, I am not thinking constantly of the day's programme as I did during the first days - "where are we going? which beach? what time? where are we going to eat? what time? when will I write today's blog post? one more day passed by and I didn´t do any crochet, when will I finish the baby blanket for my niece? etc etc etc". You get the feeling. Now... I'm just relaxing and do whatever I want to do!

Oh, and for the first time yesterday I forgot to "quickly check" my business emails... :D

So I have decided... from now on, each year I will leave for at least two consecutive weeks on summer holidays... even three if possible!

To the half-finished tag of today's learning, I will add the following picture, which is the view we have from our hotel balcony...

Thanks!

See you tomorrow,

Anastasia

LSNE Sep 1: Don't be fooled by happy faces and smiles

2011-09-02T12:38:00.002+03:00

Here's my first lesson for September 1st: "Don´t be fooled by people's happy faces and smiles. They might still feel terribly scared inside".

This thought came up talking with my pregnant friends in that last two days. Three friends of mine wanted a baby. All tree of them are pregnant now. And they have all felt, or still feel, a strong fear. What have I done? Was it the right decision? How will my life become now with a baby? And many other that you mummies will know much better than me.

Not having a child myself, but thinking of the possibility of becoming pregnant, I can understand them - in theory. Other people (including myself) are so happy for them, and they assume that they should be flying to the moon themselves... But let's never forget that behind the happy smiles there might be other strong feelings as well.

And this does not go only for pregnancies. Have you ever seen one of your dreams come true, only to feel really scared about the future and how your life might change? I sure did a few times. When I moved to Spain - a dream come true, but oh so scared about whether it was the right decision and how my life would turn out after this change. With every new job - even finding my "dream" job - but then the fears started, would I be up to their expectations? Was it going to help my career, would it be too stressful for me? I don´t say this can be compared with a change as big as having a child, but I hope you know what I mean...

It always helps to think that whenever you feel overwhelmed by fear, a few months or years later you will be thinking of that period and smile... At least this helps me.

Well, I hope I didn´t overdo it with my very first lesson! lol

Now, on to the creative part...

I prepared the basics of the day, but haven´t finished it yet. This will have to wait until I go back home in a week's time. This is what I prepared so far:

The space I had to write the day's lesson was too small. So what I thought I would do from now on is to prepare a kind of envelope for each day. On the envelope I will be writing a short phrase, the "essence" of the lesson, while inside the envelope I will explain it a bit further - not only for a better explanation, but also for me to remember where the lesson came from...

What I need to do to finish the page when I get home is:
- Prepare the date that will go to the left of the page. For this I need my Big Shot and Tim Holtz's alphabet die cut.
- Prepare the explanation part as a small tag, and a hole and a ribbon

That's it for today... I hope you like it!

Anastasia

September - Learn something new everyday month

2011-09-01T12:29:00.001+03:00

Hello my friends!

Happy, happy September!

This year I signed up for Shimelle's online class "Learn something new everyday". In case you haven´t heard about it before, this is an online scrapbook class that encourages you to observe the world around you and learn from your daily experiences and findings.

I find the idea of journalling everyday for a month something new that we have learnt fascinating. A good exercise to focus our attention to everyday life and all the small and big things we can learn. Kind of appreciating life, if you know what I mean?

Given that I am currently on holidays, I want to commit into blogging my daily learnings everyday. However, although I have brought some basic supplies with me, I´m not sure if I can "scrap" my learnings everyday... and for sure I won´t finish the pages while on holidays, since I would need my Big Shot for the journalling days - and no, I haven´t brought that with me! lol Also, in case I do include pictures of what I have done, the quality won´t be the best possible, as I have limited capabilities of retouching the photos with the laptop I have with me, so I do apologise for the photo quality during the next few days ;o)

Now... today the class officially starts, but of course, I don´t have today´s learning yet as the day is just starting. So everyday for the next 30 days I will be posting the learning of the previous day. What I can share with you today are the preparations and the front cover I prepared one day before my holidays.

Because I want to take this "seriously" in terms of completing the whole month, I decided to keep it as simple as possible and do some preparations (which is not something I usually do I have to confess!). So I decided to work with a small tag-shaped album. I prepared the album base by cutting a 1.5mm thick cardboard with the Tags and Bookplates die cut from Tim Holtz. You can see the result in the following photos:

Then I primed the tags, as I will probably also use light-coloured papers and didn´t want them to look darker than they are...

And finally, I prepared the front page:

And that's all for now... Good month and good learnings!

See you tomorrow!

Anastasia

Tic-Tac-Toe card for Cherry Nest

2011-08-31T09:13:00.000+03:00

Hello-hello!

Now that I am writing this post I am still in hot hot hot Athens... But by the time it will be actually published, I will be in Skiathos island on holidays!

So, my second card for Cherry Nest, being playful again:

Lately I have "discovered" the window cards and I really like them. So as I was looking for inspiration for my next Cherry Nest project, and since I like the polka dot papers so much, the idea of tic-tac-toe came to me... Oh, and I just realised that it is one of the few cards that I haven't used any stamps! Just for a change ;o)

The Cherry Nest supplies I have used are the following:

Quite flowery and playful card, wouldn't you say? For the tic-tac-toe flowers I used a flower punch I had, using the polka dots as the centre of the flowers. Unfortunately, the shop where I got the punch from doesn't have them anymore, so I cannot provide it to you in the supplies. You can find the rest of the supplies at the bottom of the post.

As always, I hope you like it!

Probably when this post is published, I will be enjoying the Greek sun and sea!!!

Hugs and kisses,
Anastasia

Supplies: Flower punch, plus:

Friends are kisses from Angels

2011-08-26T19:58:00.007+03:00

Oh my, I don't believe what I did today...

Let's take it from the beginning... Here's the card I prepared today:

And here's the story:

As soon as my working day finished, meaning that I am officially on holidays bynow (yeah!), I started looking at my favourite challenges blogs for some inspiration.

First, I found a wonderful colour combination at Play Date Cafe PDCC96:

(ok, the colours might not be as subtle as suggested by the colour combo, but I still like the combination ;o))

Then, I wanted to look at sketches. I went over to Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge as it has been a while I have played over there and I have missed using my Waltzingmouse stamps... The sketch was inspiring... but I saw that there was less than an hour and a half to submit my entry! Not enough time for me usually, especially when I start from scratch, without an idea where to start from!

Here's the sketch by the way:

So I set myself the additional challenge to make it on time... Well, by the time I had the picture, I only had four minutes to submit it. And that's how I ended up preparing a really, really short post, which I am now amending... Apologies for that!

I promise I'll never do that again... Although the adrenaline made me forget my light headache:
a. now the headache is back (and of course stronger)
b. I didn't feel good doing the really short temporary post
c. I always have doubts when I am in a hurry...

Anyways... the thing is that I like the result, I might keep it for some time on my living room's wall... ;o)

I hope you like it!

Anastasia

Supplies:

Ice creams in love ;o)

2011-08-26T14:39:00.000+03:00

Hello!

Since I came back home, I am reaching out to my crafty area whenever I can... I missed making things these last couple of weeks! For now, I can share with you the following card:

I just realised that the end of August was approaching and I still hadn't made anything for the Get Creative challenges! So I took a look at the latest Get Creative challenge - August 15th, which is a sketch challenge (both for layouts and cards), with the following sketch from Chrysa:

For the colours I looked at the Paper Smooches August Sparks, as I wanted to use some of the new stamp sets I received a few days ago. The challenge is to get inspired by the following photo - whether it would be the colours, textures, materials that would inspire us. I went for the colours...

I prepared the backing paper with Paper Smooches heart stamps και Distress Inks (Worn Lipstick, Tumbled Glass and Vintage Photo. I love the fact that when you don't have the papers you would like to use, you can make your own with distress inks. Something similar I did for the blue ice cream - I didn't have a paper in the colour I wanted so I used Basics White της Basic Grey and coloured it with Tumbled Glass. I will definitely bring distress inks with me on my vacations, lol!

As always, you can see the full list of the supplies I used at the end of the post.

I hope you like it!

Anastasia

Supplies:

Cherry Nest Design Team project

2011-08-16T07:00:00.025+03:00

Hello

This is my first card as part of the Cherry Nest design team... so I really hope you like it!

It's still August and, although most of you have been or currently are on holidays, I am leaving in a few days for two weeks (going to Skiathos island), so I am totally into holidays mood! So I thought I'd better wish to myself and the rest of you that are taking holidays late in sumeer... Happy Vacations (translation from the sentiment you see in Greek ;o))

The card is a long one, basically I folded an A4 cardstock in half. For the card I did some paper piecing, using the following downloadable papers from Cherry Nest:

The polka dots are so playful, I want to use them again and again! And the pie de poule paper reminds me of chic handbags and skirts ;o)

For the complete list of the products used, you can check the list below.

I hope you like it!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Supplies:

My first tag

2011-08-05T00:06:00.001+03:00

I felt like experimenting today, so inspired by Simon Says Stamp and Show a Tag challenge, I thought I should give it a try and prepare a tag. And it was the perfect opportunity as well to reach out to the Tim Holtz supplies I got a few months ago and which I had hardly used. This is what I made:

I don't know what you think about the result, but the truth is that I had so much fun while making it and using so many new products - Glimmer mists, Crackle accents, buttons... Really great fun!

And here are a couple of close ups. In the first photo you can get an idea of the dimension I tried to give with the wings and the clip and the button.

In the second photo you can see a bit better the crackle effect and maybe a bit of the shimmering on the heart?

I hope you like it!

Colourful CAS card

2011-08-03T18:52:00.003+03:00

Hello!

So, back from my short holidays in Corfu, where I had a GREAT time, thanks to the amazing island and Alex! If only I could stay there for a bit longer... But better a few days than not going at all!

This time it took me only three days after my trip to find my mojo... not bad ;o)

Here is the card I made today:

As you can see from the following close-up, I have actually punched the butterflies on the white cardstock, and then added patterned paper below that:

Also, I have made the card a bit more dimensional, by adding foam tape below the two levels:

The inspirations for these cards have been the following challenges:

- Lily Pad Card Lucy's Lovely Lines challenge with the following sketch:

- CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC13 - the Long and Short of it, ie. create a 4x9 card and keep it Clean And Simple

- Wee Memories # 63 - Dare to color, ie. use no less than four colours

Hope you like it!

Supplies: Dark green cardstock, red marker, plus:

Paper Smooches July Sparks and No Stress Distress

2011-07-25T13:01:00.000+03:00

Hello,

My last card to share before leaving for (the first part of) my holidays...

The card is my second entry to Paper Smooches July Sparks challenge. I am simply in love with the Paper Smooches stamps, and since I got my new sets last week, I've been looking for opportunities to use them ;o)

I have made this card based on the second sketch of the last column:

Sooo I did a couple of things for the first time:

- Use of chipboard: The sun and the clouds are from the Maya Road - How's the weather set. I coloured them with heat embossing, to make them even more dimensional (and because I wasn't pleased with the result when I tried to gesso and ink the chipboard ;o)). So, I used white embossing powder for the cloud and yellow pigment ink and clear embossing powder for the sun.

- A technique with Distress Inks and water: first I created my background with Distress Inks, then I sprayed a background stamp with water (Friends Definition by Hero Arts) and I layed my paper on the wet stamp. I was a bit worried about the result, as I wasn't sure whether I had sprayed the stamp enough or too much, but I was very satisfied with the result

I highlighted the bee's wings with Icicle Stickles and the little heart on the flower with Glossy Accents.

And a couple of close-ups:

The cute bee with the sparkling wings:

And the grass, for which I made three layers:

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Congratulations on your wedding, cousin!

2011-07-22T11:15:00.000+03:00

So, the time has come that my beloved cousin got married! I am really so, so happy for her! She's only three months younger than me, so we literally grew up together, I feel her more than cousin, more than friend...

Anyway, the wedding is on Saturday. The couple wants to keep it everything simple, without making a big deal of the event. So they are having a civil wedding with only their parents and siblings, and then at night they are going to throw a party in a club for friends and "younger" family... I LOVE their plan!

So I thought that for this occasion, a funny CAS card was more appropriate, and here is what I came up with:

I cut the bride and groom figures with my Silhouette SD on vinyl. It took me longer than what it might look like, lol! And I avoided putting anything in straight lines, as the couple doesn't usually go with the norm ;o)

This card is for the following challenges:

- Wee Memories Challenge #62: CAS - Clean and Simple

- The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC91: Color Splash

I hope you like it! Well, I hope *they* like it as well ;o)

Supplies: From my stash: heart brads (I don't remember the company!), black and red cardstock.

Let's Go Fishing!

2011-07-21T18:53:00.003+03:00

Hellooo!!!

Here's my latest card:

The inspiration for this card have been a number of things:

- Colours: it is for the fourth - and last! :( - week of Summer Card Camp:

I found the colours a bit difficult because, although they are lovely, they are not the ones I usually choose to work with... and that was an additional reason why I actually wanted to make a card with these colours!

- Background: a technique taught by Jennifer McGuire and is the result of using Sizzix embossing folders and ink... amazing!

- Acetate window: the idea came to me from another tutorial by Jennifer during the Summer Card Camp

- Frame around the window: well, you should have guessed by now... yet another tutorial by Jennifer!

- Positioning of letters: actually, this is from a tutorial by Kristina Werner this time!

- Τhe theme: inspired by both the colour combo and Lily Pad Cards' latest challenge: a patriotic theme but with a twist to not be restricted to our national colours and flag. It can be symbols, colours, song lyrics...

So, it is summer (35C+ in Athens right now), I am Greek, I am going on holidays to Corfu, a Greek island next week... and I have friends that just loooove fishing. As soon as I saw the challenge, a fishing theme stuck in my mind. The only thing is that I couldn't get myself to use a fishing hook with such cute fishes, so instead I used a heart ;o)

- The "scene": inspired by Lawnscaping Challenge #14: Stamp a scene

A couple of more photos:

This is how it looks like from the side:

I highlighted the heart with Glossy Accents:

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Some great news...

2011-07-19T22:56:00.001+03:00

Hello!

Today I don't have a card to share (although I am preparing one ;o) ), but I do have some great news to share...

First of all, I am thrilled to announce that I am part of the new Cherry Nest design team!!! I am so excited to be part of such a creative team!

Cherry Nest is Elina's online store, where you can find digital files, from labels to papers, that you can simply download, print and use for your creations. And if everything seems "Greek" to you... well, isn't it always interesting to use something different on your creations? ;o) I know I like it! What is more, since Cherry Nest is sponsoring this month Get Creative, you can pay a visit here and see creations using Cherry Nest products...

Take a look at the blogs of the design team... unique creations and plenty of amazing inspiration!

The second good news is that I won the Gilded Lily for Lucy's Lovely Lines over at Lily Pad Cards with my Let's Play card!!! I couldn't believe it!!! Especially since it was the second time that I win a Lily Pad Cards challenge (I was too shy to share my first win, silly me, lol!)

So, that's all for now... I have to stop jumping up and down now and finish this card I've started already!

Hugs,
Anastasia

Waltzing Mouse and Summer Card Camp

2011-07-16T21:11:00.000+03:00

Hello!

These last couple of weeks have been really crazy at work... but only one week left before my short holidays, and let me tell you, I need them desperately!

So yesterday a friend of mine got married. Since I was on a business trip last week and working the long hours, I couldn't make a card on time :S Today I found some time to play with my stamps, and here is the result:

The colour combo, which I love and I am sure I'll keep it in mind for my future cards, is from Summer Card Camp Week 3:

And the sketch is from WaltzingMouse Sketch Challenge #56, with the following sketch:

I think it goes to show how tired I'm feeling today by the fact that I have followed the sketch almost 100%! lol

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

(Note: I used an Artemio border punch that I cannot find online! I bought it in Brussels a few months ago...)

Experience is what you do with what happens to you...

2011-07-10T13:15:00.002+03:00

Another card for today, this time for the Get Creative - July 5th card challenge. This time we have to use a very happy and playful colour combo!

...that I found a bit hard at the beginning, but gave me the opportunity to try the watercolour background technique. The result is the following:

I couldn't agree more with what our friend Tim Holtz says... If only I had realised that earlier in my life! But it's better late than never ;o)

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Green organza ribbon and yellow diamond stickers from my stash, plus:

Summer Card Camp - Week 2

2011-07-09T22:19:00.000+03:00

Hello, Hello...

After a loooooooong week with looooooong hours working non-stop in front of my laptop, finally I managed to make a card! My objective is to make at least one card for the Summer Card Camp no matter what - well, except maybe for the one-week holiday in two weeks ;o)

The colour combo for this week was the following:

I will also submit it to Paper Smooches' July SPARKS Challenge.

They have 12 colour combinations and 10 sketches to choose from. I used the sketch in the bottom left:

For the challenge you have to use at least one Paper Smooches stamp... but if you don't have one, don't worry, there are some free digits you can download from their blog here.

So... maybe it's just because I am really looking forward to my holidays (you know, a Greek island, sun, sea and the like... hehehe) that everything makes me think of summer holidays... For sure this colour combo reminds me of all those wonderful, refreshing summer fruite juices! ...But then I decided to use flowers (go figure... I am in need of holidays! Am I obsessed or what?)

I used the Perky Plants stamps set by Paper Smooches with paper piecing, and the Fanciful Frames from Lawn Fawn... my stamp stash from both companies keeps growing, lol!

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Waltzing Mouse sketch #54

2011-07-03T19:23:00.001+03:00

Today I prepared a different kind of card than the ones I was making last week... More towards shabby chic I think/hope?

For the card I made two windows, and the hearts can turn around (I have the same hearts on the other side)... Here's a photo of the card open, so that you may understand a bit better what I mean...

I've been meaning to try this window for quite some time now, and as soon as I saw the latest sketch on Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge blog it was the first thing that came to my mind ;o)

So... this card is for the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #54 with the following sketch:

Waltzing Mouse has some incredible stamps that I use quite often. Although shabby chic is not a style I have used often, these stamps make me want to try shabby chic! I don't have many papers I could use for a shabby chic look, so instead I used Distress Inks to colour white and off-white cardstock that I had.

Lately I'm falling in love with Distress Inks, they are so versatile! You can use them for stamping, watercolouring... or to kind of prepare your own background papers as I did in this case. Monochrome or multicolour, with or without motifs... with Distress Inks, blending tool and daubers you can make so many things.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Summer Card Camp - Week 1

2011-06-30T08:54:00.005+03:00

Summer Card Camp started three days ago... Amazingly talented Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner are going to share with us combo colours, techniques, sketches... In the first four days we've had a colour combo, two instructional videos and amazing inspiration by guest designers and the students. We are only on the fourth day and already I feel that I have learned quite a lot! And the inspiration is really amazing...

So... week 1 and the first colour combo is the following:

Great combination or what?

And here is what I came up with:

And since this is a birthday party card, I will submit the card also for the Wee Memories challenge with the party theme!

Unfortunately I can't add any more comments, as I just realised the time and I have to dash off to work... lol!

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Ice Cream Party

2011-06-26T15:24:00.000+03:00

And another card from me today...

The colour combo I used a couple of days ago (from The Play Date Cafe Hollycock, Sky Blue and Orange) inspired me so much, so I thought I would use it again. After all, it is summer! And I wanted to give it another try to Lily Pad Cards Lucy's Lovely Lines challenge...

For this card I used Distress Inks in three different ways: resist technique for the background, watercolouring technique for the ice creams and colouring with daubers for the sentiment and the "paper lace".

I also used Glossy Accents and Diamond Icicles to highlight some details.

So the card is for the following challenges:

- Lily Pad Cards - Lucy's Lovely Lines with the following sketch:

- Wee Memories Challenge #60 - Party time!

- Hero Arts June 2011 challenge - I chose the watercolour techniques option.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Happy Birthday in Rainbow Colours

2011-06-25T18:13:00.001+03:00

Hello!

Today for my card I used all my favourite colours... lol! The colours of the rainbow ;o)

Here is a close-up of the flowers:

This card was inspired by the following two challenges:

- Get Creative June 5th Card challenge: Make a card with six of the same element... I used the same chevron stamp six times, and I also made six felt flowers ;o)

- Embellish Magazine Rainbow Color Trends Challenge

I used the stamp sooo many times (more than the final six you see here!) and with so many different inks... My conclusions are:

- When the stamp has solid parts or bold lines, it is good to use a soft surface beneath your paper, such as a mouse pad. I used a mouse pad I got from IKEA for 0,50c... but I think that any "foamy" type of surface should do
- At the end, the inks that gave me the best result in terms of fully and solidly stamped images were pigment inks... I tried chalk, Versafine etc... Versafine is fantastic for detailed stamping, but not all colours worked very well with the stamp (which was kinda strange...)
- Last but not least, you don't have to spend a lot of money on stamp cleaning products. I was just using baby wipes... of course at the end I had the messiest stamp ever, because baby wipes would clean most of the ink, but not the ink that would get between the lines. I have found out that no matter how a stamp looks like, Ultra Clean Stamp Cleaner by Hero Arts makes miracles. I have tried other cleaning products as well, but for clear stamps I got the best results with this one...

For more detailed materials you can see the pictures below.

I hope you like it!

Materials: Various felt sheets, plus:

You knock my socks off!

2011-06-21T11:36:00.000+03:00

And here's another card I made yesterday...

This was inspired by two challenges:

- Get Creative - June 20th card sketch challenge with the following sketch:

- The Play Date Cafe PDCC86 with the following colour combo:

Although I was a bit afraid of the bright colours, the truth is that I really enjoyed making this card!

It seems like I have many favourite stamps lately, lol! So, this time I used the cute Lawn Fawn - Silly Valentine stamp set. Didn't miss the opportunity to use some Twinery as well, the colour is Pink Sorbet. I attached the clothespins with Glossy Accents. Finally, although you might not really need a boarding score as there are other alternatives to score your card, the truth is that my crafting life has become much easier since I got mine!

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

Let's Play

2011-06-20T01:16:00.009+03:00

The following card was inspired by Lily Pad Cards' latest challenge - Lucy's Lovely Lines.

The challenge is to make a card based on the following sketch:

I always find Lucy's sketches very inspiring! Plus, I got the chance to use one of the Paper Smooches stamp sets that I got recently, Chubby Chums. Aren't they THE cutest? And of course, once again my favourite My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose collection... Nestabilities Circle outlines helped draw the lines that (I hope!) give the sense of movement...

I hope you like it!

Supplies used:

Smile!

2011-06-13T19:42:00.001+03:00

Usually, when I start a card, I finish it in one go. This card I present today... it took me about ten days to finish!

The first interruption was some GREAT news I received. I mean, really great. A couple who is really close to me and that I love very, very much and deeply is waiting their first baby!!! I was so thrilled, I couldn't do any crafting for a few days, seriously! lol!

...And then I had a business trip. It took me three days to find my mojo after the trip and finish the card. As a result (I think!), the card turned out differently from what I had in mind. But here it goes:

The card will be submitted to the following challenges:

- Lily Pad Cards - Digital Die Cut Challenge: Hero Arts Presents… A Digital Challenge with Shari Carroll

The card was inspired by Vicky's die cut file "film set" you can see above, which is available for free download here, at Lily Pad Cards. Thank you Vicky for yet another amazing set!

- Wee Memories #59 - Anything goes

So, back to the card....

I chose to use the photo frame and the camera, and used some vellum paper as the flash light. From the day I saw the "film set", I knew I wanted to use the toothy-smiling flower stamp from Paper Smooches Stamps... isn't it adorable? When the idea came to me, I had already place my order to Paper Smooches, so as soon as I received the stamps, I started the card - you know the rest of the story ;o)

For the stitched frame I used the Sew Easy tool from We R Memory Keepers. In more details, the supplies are:

White cardstock, vellum paper, white embroidery floss from my stash, plus:

My first CAS card

2011-05-28T15:33:00.002+03:00

For a while I wanted to try a CAS card, but boy, can it be difficult or what? Finally, today I got inspiration from Less is More Challenge #17 Recipe - Pick a square. That is, one of the five squares you can see below:

Obviously, I went for the bottom right.

Apart from this being my first CAS card, it is the first time that I tried a new technique for the first time: watercolour! I had seen a few videos and tutorials, but I always thought it would be too difficult for me. This morning, I've been trying several white cardstocks, experimenting with the colour density, trying different inks to stamp the image... And it was soooo much fun!

At the end I went for Memento cocoa to stamp the image, as I wanted a brown colour and the choices from my stash were a bit limited. But if you let the ink dry really well, it does not get smudged with the water.

I didn't have a watercolour paper (as I didn't intent to use the watercolour technique!), and I found out that I was getting better results with a heavy weight sketch paper I had...

At the end, I came up with the card that you see, which I hope you like ;o)

Supplies:

Popping to say hello

2011-05-25T23:27:00.000+03:00

Aaaand another Lawn Fawn card! It is based on the sketch provided by Get Creative.

The card is for the following challenges:

- Get Creative - May 20th card sketch challenge with the following sketch:

- Wee Memories #57 - "Stamp it!"

- Lawnscaping #10 - Polka Dot Frenzy (this is actually my second entry ;o))

I hope you like it!

Main materials:

Wavin' hello

2011-05-22T18:20:00.000+03:00

My first card with Lawn Fawn stamps... they are adorable!

Summer is close, so I wanted to make a summer theme.

The card is for the following challenges:

- Lily Pad Cards - Lawn Fawn presents Lucy's Lovely Lines with the following sketch:

- Lawnscaping Challenge #10 - Polka Dots

- Two Peas In A Bucket - Lawn Fawn Project Challenge

I hope you like it!

WMS 2nd birthday tea party

2011-05-21T11:58:00.002+03:00

Very last minute, but I made it!

Waltzingmouse Stamps is turning two today and Claire is celebrating with a tea party! To participate all we have to do is bring with us our own tea bag or piece of cake using Waltzingmouse's templates (the tea bag is a free template!). And there is an amazing prize for a random winner - £200 of Waltzingmouse goodies!!!!! To see the wonderful creations that are contributing to the party and to participate as well, click here.

So I prepared the following piece of cake:

It's the first time that I use a template and the quilling technique... but definitely not the last one!

The template is the Piece of Cake one I got a few days ago (but you can use the free tea bag template instead).

For the topping, I wanted to make something looking chocolate-y, as I will give this to my cousin for her name-day and she just loves chocolate (yes, I will fill up the box with chocolates ;o)). I remembered some chocolates made with the quilling technique that I saw a few months ago in one of the cards magazines (I don't remember which one!), so I thought I would give it a try. So the topping is made with the quilling technique - curled the stripes of paper into spirals and then cut them in small pieces, so that they would resemble chocolate flakes (caution: it does require some patience to make them!). I decided to keep the rest of the cake simple, as I wanted the chocolate flakes to be the main focus.

I wanted the sentiment to look like a chocolate button. The sentiment stamp is from the brand new Dainty Doilies large set and for the bottom liner I used the Big Bloom Chrysanthemums stamps - I received both sets a couple of days ago and was looking forward to using them.

I hope you like it!

Supplies:

White and brown cardstock, heat gut, white and brown quilling stripes, quilling tool

Astero's Crafty World

Beary in love

All dressed up

Cherry Nest - Love card

Why I {heart} fondue...

Once Upon A Sketch & Get Creative Part 2

My three furry kids

Get Creative January "Clean and Simple" card winner

There's no place like home

Bird is the word - Remember

Get Creative and Once Upon a Sketch

30 minutes old...

Crochet time...

Lily Pad Cards - Virginia's View 1

Layout - The wonder of life

Clean & Simple Card Making Day 3

Clean and Simple Cardmaking

A mini card...

Lucy Abrams' sketches based cards

It's a girl!

Life is like a rainbow - Part 2

Get Creative a month full of challenges - CAS card challenge!

Happy New Year!!!

Cherry Nest - Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas everyone!

Scrapbook*Life*Journal 2012 with Stephanie Ackerman

Cherry Nest - Christmas CAS cards

Very, very happy "Get Creative" news...

Cherry Nest - Happiness is being owned by a cat (or two... or three...)

Lawn Fawn Christmas tags

Cherry Nest - Hourglass

Lawn Fawn Christmas tag

Owl Miss You

Cherry Nest - The sky is the limit

Give it a whirl!

Lily Pad Cards The Craft's Meow Sketch Challenge

Cherry Nest - Hangman

Get Creative sketch challenge with HCBC tree

Get Creative challenge with Holiday Cards Boot Camp inspiration

Get Creative with Paper Smooches Sparks

Birthday wishes card

Christmas Cards! Holiday Card Boot Camp 2011

Cherry Nest - School Memories

LSNE Sep 7: People you don´t get along with might still surprise you in a positive way

LSNE Sep 6: The sunset is beautiful even when it's cloudy

LSNE Sep 5: With exercise, every little helps

LSNE Sep4: My favourite time of the day

LSNE Sep 3: Remember to laugh!

Exciting news!!!

LSNE Sep 2: Summer holidays...

LSNE Sep 1: Don't be fooled by happy faces and smiles

September - Learn something new everyday month

Tic-Tac-Toe card for Cherry Nest

Friends are kisses from Angels

Ice creams in love ;o)

Cherry Nest Design Team project

My first tag

Colourful CAS card

Paper Smooches July Sparks and No Stress Distress

Congratulations on your wedding, cousin!

Let's Go Fishing!

Some great news...

Waltzing Mouse and Summer Card Camp

Experience is what you do with what happens to you...

Summer Card Camp - Week 2

Waltzing Mouse sketch #54

Summer Card Camp - Week 1

Ice Cream Party

Happy Birthday in Rainbow Colours

You knock my socks off!

Let's Play

Smile!

My first CAS card

Popping to say hello

Wavin' hello

WMS 2nd birthday tea party

ScrapbookLifeJournal 2012 with Stephanie Ackerman