Wednesday, June 1, 2016

blogging-break >> find me @ INSTAGRAM!


Dear crafty friends,

I know I am veeeerryyy behind, but I have just recently discovered the beauty of INSTAGRAM!!

And frankly, it is so much quicker posting & sharing my crafty projects with the community and getting inspiration from others over there than via a blog!!

So, I've decided to make a little blogging-break, but instead you will find many more of my creations over @ Instagram under CraftedBySteph 

I would love it if you checked out my channel over there, send me some love, comments, or ask any question you may have on my projects. It won't be only paper crafting projects, but also sewing projects, felt project, jewelry projects and general beading projects (all my passions basically) :-)


Hope to see you over in Instagram!

Yours, Steph x

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Felt Phone Cover

Hello everyone,
 Most of you know I don't only like crafting with paper, but also with fabric & beads. So today I would like to share a non-paper project with you: A new cover for my smart phone!

Not sure how you girls do it, but my phone tends to get scratched from the house keys in my purse and I don't like that…. So I needed something fluffy to protect my –seriously too expensive– mobile devise!

 

It's really simple, all you need is a small piece of felt & matching thread!

You don't even need a sewing machine because it's only 2 lines which need to be sewn and you could do it by hand. But I'm lazy and it's much faster with the machine…

And if you like the design a little more elaborate then see what you find in your fabric or ribbon stash! In my case I found some blue lace which I have once bought on a trip to Peru.

 

This is how you do it:
  1. Wrap a piece of felt length wise around your phone for measurements.
  2. Keep a little gap on all sides (approx. 3-4mm) as extra room for your phone to easily slide in and out + 1cm of hem line & then cut the piece out
  3. Embellish the fabric as intended (e.g. I sewed on that lacy piece to 1 side on the fabric)
  4. Fold the felt right sides & lengthwise together & sew together (leaving the 3-4mm on all sides for the phone to slide in and out easily)
  5. Cut the extra fabric along the stitching lines, leaving only 2-3mm (you can finish it off with your machine but my felt actually doesn't fray much so I never do it)
  6. Turn the felt inside out to reveal your beautiful new phone bag :-)

 Give it a try, it's done in a jiffy!!

Yours,
Steph



P.S.: This is my new project for the Home Decor Challenge by Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge.
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog

Monday, May 2, 2016

Interactive Card: the 'wiggle' effect ON YOUTUBE (Altenew Challenge #6)


Hello dear crafters!
Today's entry clearly is a SPECIAL EDITION:
I have created my VERY FIRST Youtube video!!


And yes, I was struggling massively…! haha :-) 

So let me explain where this all is coming from and what actually made me do this:


Many of you may know that Altenew started having Video Challenges since a few months now and while I always admired those crafters actually doing a video of their creations in their spare time, I always thought this is something not for me (lack of time, technical skills, etc.). But some 2 weeks ago I saw the weather forecast predicting an Arctic cold over Europe and so my gardening plans all died out. After all my business travelling I planned on having a calm weekend, and so I thought: why not make a new card and film myself while doing so!? And let's not worry about the editing… I might never do it and that's absolutely fine! 

Well, what can I say, I'm competitive, and especially when it's against myself, and so I couldn't have this SUPER-LONG & really boring video on my phone, I HAD TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT!Those of you who have tried to create a video , may know what came next…. A big struggle of OMG HOW do I edit a video? HOW can I cut it down? Fast forward? Apps/Softwares? Voice over? – No! pheewww this is all really overwhelming!

Well, it's a hobby, right? So it should be fun and exciting! So I started slowly, bit by bit… And frankly, that's exactly what it was – fun and exciting to learn something new! I enjoyed looking for a free editing app, learning how to use it, playing with all sorts of settings (on my phone as well as my crafting table), etc. No time pressure! 

I know the outcome is not great, but for a first try, I am actually quite proud of myself :-)

Yes, next time I will try to  craft on a sunny day, have more training with the editing, might try annoying you with my accent, and so on and so forth… but give me some time, I actually enjoy the (slow) process! 

So enough about the video struggles, let's talk about my creation:

Altenew is known for their amazing & classy looking style, but I was certain that one can do more than elegant cards with their amazing stamps; so I was going for a modern & interactive look!

This is what came out: A ROCKING SYDNEY OPERA card!! Yes, you can wiggle the Opera House with your fingers, and the "mechanism" is all hand-made (no fancy gadgets involved other than a simple gum ring you will find in your kitchen)!!
Check out the video if you would like to see how I do it (yes, a video comes in very handy when making out-of-the-ordinary-cards, to explain in pictures what I have actually been doing to create the 'wiggle' effect). 

Hope you enjoy this raw little diamond of mine & hope to see you soon!

Ah, and a BIG GIGANTIC THANK YOU TO ALTENEW FOR GETTING ME OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE & MAKING ME DISCOVER THIS NEW WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY – AWESOME! I would have never done it without your challenge blog but I am so glad I did! 

Until next time! With a video?? Who knows :-) 

Yours,
Steph
 
PS: I'm also participating with this card in the latest Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge 'show your metal' (what's better than a ton of Liquid Platinum 😉), as well as the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge 'anything goes'.
And this card also fits perfectly to Altenew's latest Inspirational Challenge which is about: AUSTRALIA!
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge BlogSimon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge BlogAltenew_Inspiration Challenge_May


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Happy Birthday


Hello dear crafters, 

I'm back from all the work travels & jumped right into my little crafty corner!
There are many birthdays during this time of the year and so I had plenty of chances to make birthday cards (my favourite type of card EVER)!!

Here is one of them:

 Supplies used:
- Art Impressions girlfriends
- SSS stencil
- SSS ultrafine clear embossing powder
- Distress inks (used for the background and for watercoloring the image) 

I hope you got inspired & that you will stop by again soon.
Until then, enjoy your crafty zone :-) 

Yours, Steph 


P.S.: Simon Says Stamp also celebrate their 7th birthday, so I dedicated this card to their Wednesday Happy Birthday Challenge.
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog

Monday, January 18, 2016

Long time, no see..

Hello dear crafty friends!
I've been off posting for a while due to tons of business travelling... and I will be continuing to travel until April, but after that I should be fully back & able to post more of my projects (photos are piling up in my digital storage).
In the meantime, I thought I'll share a very special creation of mine with you guys (created with the most adorable Stacey Yacula stamps - Purple Onion Designs):

And here a few more details:

A little note to the design:
Have you ever had the feeling that -after watching one of those amazing cardmaking youtube videos- you NEED TO SIT DOWN AND RECREATE THIS CARD RIGHT AWAY??? ... I actually haven't... I mean, I would keep e.g. a new technique in mind and try it whenever I get the chance to, but usually I would combine several ideas in my head to create my own eventually...

Well, this time I tell you it was different:
I saw Sandy Allnock's video (see her blogpost here) and was completely fascinated! So fascinated in fact, I had to dig out my stamps immediately and recreate her idea with whatever stamps I had on hand (and a little imagination)! And isn't the result (almost) as stunning as Sandy's? :-)

I love it & hope you do too!!

Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope to be able to post some projects here and there for you again soon!

Yours,
Steph



P.S.: I thought this card is perfect for the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "Create with Critters"!  



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