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

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.

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!

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"!  

Cool - Hip - Retro

Hello all,

Breaking News: I found a new CHALLENGE! Taylored Expressions (TE) started their own crafty challenge & although I still don't have many or their products (yet), I love their stamps & so I had to create something especially for this challenge!

My friend Marta celebrated her birthday last Saturday and so I needed a cool/hip/retro card (all things she likes) for the party! This is what came out (inspired by the TE sketch):

Materials used:
- Scrap of craft cardstock (partially with foil embellishments)
- Black and white card stock
- All the "Happy Birthday" sentiments of all sorts of stamp sets I found in my stash
- Black & white baker's twine

The little twist here is in the detail: I don't have a die cutting machine, so I measured & cut the M by hand with a craft knife (I think that turned out quite ok, though it took a little while...). The other smaller letters are from a crafting brochure (yes, these brochures are not only great to look at, but also serve as great embellishments =) ).

This is a very different style to what I usually do, but I think it's perfect for my friend and she was very happy when she opened the envelope!!

Alright, see you soon & happy crafting!

Yours,

Steph

P.S.: I will also participate in the following challenges with this card:
>> Sweet Stamps Blog: September Anything Goes Challenge
>> Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Make It Colorful
 

Some bunnies in a pot!

Hi again,

Don't ask me why, but I was having an *Easterly moment*, creating this card with the adorable Penny Black stamp!!

Well, admittedly I absolutely love cats & rabbits, so no real surprise here =)

But also, I was browsing through a couple of challenges lately & definitely got inspired!

So check out my new creation:

 

Supplies used:
- Penny Black 'Peek a Bunny'

- Caran D'Ache Watercolor Pencils

- Wrapping paper

- Pearl enamel dots

- Craft card stock

See you again soon!
Yours, 
Steph

P.S.: This card is for the following challenges:

>> Time OutChallenge – CASE Alice

>> PennyBlack Saturday Challenge – Hot Summer Colours

>> PennyBlack & More Challenge – Summer Flowers (ok admittedly I only have flower pots here & a few leaves on the side but I think it sill counts)

>> CAS(E)This Sketch #134 (with my image & the sentiment moved to the other side) 
>> SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes 
 

 

I love stencils!

Welcome back,

Today I would like to share another favorite technique of mine:  
working with stencils!

I loved stencils ever since I was a child, because they give you the precise outlines without being a particularly gifted painter - yet it always looks perfectly hand-drawn or hand made.
What an awesome product!! = )

What I particularly like when using stencils for backgrounds is the fact that you can really go wild and essentially create your own patterned paper - only custom made!

This is exactly what I've been doing for this card here: The intention was to create a very powerful background, yet combined with a little bit of green to "ground" my little fury friend without any extra fuzz. 

I'm a great fan of Simon Says' stencils and that's why I would like to dedicate this card to the latest "Simon Exclusives Challenge". 

Material's used:
- SSS stencil
- Stacey Yacula stamps (Purple Onion Designs)
- Ranger Distress Inks (barn door, wild honey, shabby shutters) 
- Watercolor pencils (for the bunny, check out how I drew the fur, I'm so proud of the result)
- Wink of stellar (inside of the ears)
- Glossy accents (on the flower)

Happy crafting & see you again soon!
Yours, Steph

Monochrom

Hallo ihr Lieben!

Heute habe ich wieder die Ehre einen Beitrag als Gastdesignerin bei der Stempelküche zu leisten und ich freue mich riesig!

Thema dieses Mal ist: m o n o c h r o m!

Ganz nach dem Motto 'less is more' zu arbeiten ist nicht immer ganz einfach für mich, weil ich oft das Gefühl habe, die Karte wirkt mit wenigen Elementen/Farben langweilig. Daher ist meiner Meinung nach bei so einem Motto die Liebe zum Detail besonders wichtig.

Hier ist meine Kreation:

Verwendete Materialien:
>> normales Kraftpapier (nennt man das so auf Deutsch? haha)
>> Kraftpapier mit Muster (weisse Blumen)
>> 'Woodgrain Paper' - sorry, ihr wisst was ich meine (hab keine Ahnung wie man dazu auf Deutsch sagt)
>> SSS Schablone & durchsichtige Embossing-Paste & darüber viel viel Glitter (der Schimmer ist einfach super finde ich)!
>> grau/weisser Faden 
>> Lawn Fawn: Snow Day Stempelset
>> SSS: Happy Sentiments

Hoffe es gefällt euch & ihr macht mit bei der neuen Stempelküche Challenge!!

Eure Steph
P.S.: Mit dieser Karte mache ich bei der SSS Monday Challenge ('in the middle') & der SSS Wednesday Challenge ('make your own background') mit. 

* * * * *

Hello dear crafty friends,

Today I have the honor once again to contribute to the Stempelküche Challenge as a guest designer and I am super happy about that!

Topic this time is:  m o n o c h r o m e!

To me it's not always so easy to work with such a 'less is more' theme, because I often have the feeling that my card will end up extremely boring with only little elements/colors. For such cards it's essential to pay very close attention to the details in my view.


You'll see my creation above & I hope you like it.

This is what I've used for it:
>> normal craft paper
>> patterned craft paper (white flowers)
>> 'woodgrain paper'
>> SSS stencil & translucent embossing paste & loads of glitter (I love the sparkle)!
>> grey/white baker's twine
>> Lawn Fawn: Snow Day stampset
>> SSS: Happy Sentiments

I hope you'll join in at the new Stempelküche Challenge!!

Until next time.
Yours, Steph

P.S.: With this card I participate in the SSS Monday Challenge ('in the middle') as well as the SSS Wednesday Challenge ('make your own background')

I rocked the Friday Mashup!!

Woohoo - Celebrations are on:
I rocked the Friday Mashup Challenge with my cute little bunnies!!

Thanks a ton to the Design Team & to all the lovely comments on my blog- you made me so happy = )

This is the card (I need to show it off once again haha):

See you soon!
Yours, Steph
* * * * *

P.S.: This is also for the Happy Little Stampers - CAS Challenge
 as well as the Stempelküche - DIY Background

Doppelter Geburtstag (buchstäblich) - double birthday (literally)!

Hallo liebe Papier-Freunde,

Ich hatte letztens eine neue Herausforderung: Eine Karte für neugeborene Zwillinge!
Und da Zwillinge bekanntlich im Doppelpack kommen, hab ich gedacht ich probiere das Spiegel-Stempeln aus (damit sich die 2 Häschen anschauen können). Nicht ganz einfach muss ich sagen... aber nach etwa 5 Probedurchläufen ists es mir endgültig *schön* gelungen :o)

Hier die Karte auf die ich besonders wegen dem 3D-Hintergrund (durchsichtige Embossing-Paste gemischt mit Distress Inks) stolz bin: 

verwendete Materialien:

- SSS Schablone

- Durchsichtige Embossing-Paste

- Distress inks (wild honey, spiced marmelade)

- Stempel von Stacey Yacula (Purple Onion)

- Klebeperlen

- "Baker's twine" grau

- Wassermalstifte

Mit dieser Karte mache ich bei den folgenden Challenges mit:
- SSS Wednesday Challenge - Birthday (buchstäblich Geburtstag)
- SSS Monday Challenge - *A* is for... (*adorable bunnies*)
- Virginia's View Challenge - Layers & Dimensions (viel 3-D hier mit der Paste & den Häschen auf dicken "foam pads")
- Friday Mashup Challenge - 203 (Häschen & Farb-Kombi)
- Always Playing with Paper - Challenge #29 (Sketch)

Bis bald,
Eure Steph

* * * * *

Hello dear paper-friends,

Lately I faced a new challenge: Making a card for newborn Twins! And because twins always come in a pack of 2, I thought I'll try to do some 'mirror-stamping' (to make these cute bunnies face each other). Not quite so easy I must admit... but I managed to get a *proper* result after 5 attempts :o)

I'm particularly proud of this card because of the 3-D background (translucent embossing paste mixed with distress inks).

Supplies used:

- SSS Stencil

- Translucent Embossing-Paste

- Distress inks (wild honey, spiced marmelade)

- Stamp from Stacey Yacula (Purple Onion)

- Sticky pearls

- "Baker's twine" grey

- Watercolor pencils

With this card I participate in the following challenges:
- SSS Wednesday Challenge - Birthday (literally birthday)
- SSS Monday Challenge - *A* is for... (*adorable bunnies*) 
- Virginia's View Challenge - Layers & Dimensions (lot's of 3-D here with the embossing paste & the bunnies on thick foam pads)
- Friday Mashup Challenge - 203 (bunnies & color combo)
- Always Playing with Paper - Challenge #29 (Sketch)  

Until next time,
Yours Steph