Christmas matchbox with mini album for Memories Trend DT

Hello everyone! Today I want to share with you a project that I created recently for Memories Trend Design Team. My first DT package contained some yummy products from Kaisercraft's Christmas collections, Bazzill cardstock and buttons and other lovely products. So I decided that I wanted to create a Christmas matchbox-ornament (which I love!) and into it I added a mini mini album for some Christmas photos and a little Christmas message with wishes for the recipient. I hope you will be inspired by my project. So without futher ado...

Ta daa!!!!

I made the matchbox by myself. Let's see the steps I followed.

You decorate the matchbox with your favorite papers, die-cuts, trims and embellishments. You can create the mini album very easily by cutting pieces of cardstock and embellish them with papers, stickers, trims, etc. I used a piece of kraft cardstock which I distressed to stamp my Christmas wishes using a stamp from Kaisercraft's St. Nicholas stamp set.

I think that this project can be a lovely gift for your beloved ones. Have a nice day and keep creating!

Pincushion cup and little box

Hello fellow crafters! I spent last Saturday with dear friends while having a lesson by my very talented friend Zeffy. Every time I spent with Zeffy is a treasured memory and a great day of inspiration. You can add three more extremely talented crafters and cropping together! A pure bliss!

So Zeffy showed us how to create a little gift box out of two TP rolls. Then we altered a cup to a pincushion decorating it with embellishments from Zeffy's yummy "buffet".

So what do you think of my creations?

Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope you got a little inspired! Have a nice evening!

Crafty Steals challenge

Hello crafters! Here I am with a new post today to share a quick Christmas card which I created in 15 minutes for the Crafty Steals challenge. What do you think? I'm quite happy with the result for so short time of creation.

I'll be back soon with new posts for some Christmas ornaments I have created! Have a joyous and peaceful Sunday evening and a lovely new week!

CC November 15th Sketch challenge

Hello everyone, hope you are having a great weekend so far! For our 2nd challenge for November, we would like you to use the following color palette along with the sketch. 

Here is my layout for the challenge. I was inspired by the colour pallete and the floral pattern of the moodboard.

Please visit the blog to be inspired by the amazing layouts of the design team! I hope you'll join us for this challenge. Have a nice weekend!

Christmas caroling!

Hi everyone! Today I have a new Christmas card to share with you. I used one of my very first awesome Lili of the Valley stamps which came super fast and are absolutely lovely! I used patterned papers from the Stocking Fillers paper pad (First Edition). I coloured them with my distress inks (not bad for my first attempt I think!) and I enjoyed it very much!

With this card I take part at Lili of the valley challenge (Anything goes), ABC Christmas challenge (V- Very Merry Christmas) (I used an October Afternoon stamp with this sentiment), Simon Says Stamp (Anything Goes) and Sketch Saturday Week #333 using the very inspiring sketch.

So I hope you like my cards and got inspired. You have still time to create a card for these challenges if you wish. Have a nice weekend and keep crafting!

Serenity at the waterfalls of Edessa

Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing a new layout with you. I was very inspired by the CSI challenge this week and the Sketchabilities sketch and I wanted to create a new layout with a photo of mine. It was taken during me and my husband's honeymoon when we had a trip at Macedonia (Greece). The waterfalls of Edessa was one of the places we visited.

I used my favorite Webster's pages papers (Western Romance collection), felt flowers that I made, lots of die-cuts for the leaves, the tag (journalling spot behind the photo) and the frames, gesso, Distress and Prima inks for the distressing, pearls, ribbon.

I used the CSI colour combo, flowers-ribbon (at the bow down the flower cluster)-paint (distress inks) (for the Evidence) and a tag behind the photo as a journaling spot (for the Testimony).

I also followed the Sketchabilities #125 sketch

I hope you like my layout and I would like it very much to know your opinion. Thank you so much for your visit! Have a nice cozy weekend everyone!

Colorful Creations "Favorite Things" Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Colorful Creations My Favorite Things blog hop!  If you have arrived here from Sandrine's blog welcome to the hop!! If you have stumbled across this by chance and want to play along then you can head back to the Colorful Creations site to start at the beginning.
Make sure to comment & follow my blog in order to be eligible to win the prize!

My name is Christina  and here is my project showcasing my favorite things. So, some of the things I really love to include in my creations are die-cuts, stamping aaaand... glitter! Of course it's common knowledge to the people who know me that Christmas is another one of my favorite things. I can create Christmas cards anytime of the year while listening to Christmas music. I'm a winter's child after all!

So I created not one but two Christmas cards for our blog hop including also all the favorite things of mine. What do you think?

The dies that I used come from Magnolia's Doohickey Club, vol. 2 which is full of Christmas yumminess. I also used glittered cardstock and stickles.

Thanks so much for joining us on the blog, make sure you hop on over to Christina's P. blog for more inspiration!

Make sure you make Colorful Creations your last stop on the hop to see how to win the wonderful prize up for grabs!

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Crafty Steals Challenge

Hello bloggers! Back today with a Christmas card for the Card challenge at Crafty Steals. I followed the much inspiring sketch and I used an October Afternoon stamp, Spellbinders dies and First Edition paper. What do you think?

I watercoloured the image and used some glitter pens, stickles and blings for extra sparkle!

This is the Crafty Steals' sketch which I followed:

So, go check the challenge and take part with a new card! Have a nice day!

OUAS October Challenge

Hello bloggers! Today I'm going to share with you a layout I created for OUAS October challenge which is about the women/girls in our lives. Although it's very difficult for me to do some serious scrapbooking the last month (I have a broken leg...) Nadia's sketch is amazing and I couldn't resist.

So here is a layout with one photo my first daughter which I had to scrap (love the way she looks here).

The photo is very poor as today the sky is totally cloudy and the natural light was terrible.

And here is Nadia's lovely sketch:

I used My Mind's eye paper from a kit I have bought quite some time ago from Lena. It's the Follow your Heart collection. I did a lot of fussy cutting (something that you know I love), Tattered Angels masks, gesso, die-cuts (I used Memory box dies), paper doilies and pearls.

I hope you like my layout. I'm waiting for your comments. Thank you for stopping by! Have a nice weekend!

Crafty Steals Challenge!

Hello everyone! Today I would like to share with you a layout that I created for the challenge of Crafty Steals blog. I liked the sketch very much and I think it was a good opportunity for me to use more than one photos in a layout. I used Pink Paislee "Hometown Summer" papers and I kept the layout really simple.

And here is the sketch I followed:

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Have a nice week everyone!

A Blog Hop with a Difference!

Hello fellow craft-bloggers! Today is my turn to play at A Blog Hop with a difference! I was invited to this amazingly interesting "game" by my dear friend Eleni Gratsia who is one of the most talented and productive Greek scrapbookers I know. We use to call Eleni our Guru because she's always there to inspire you or help you solve a little or bigger "problem" during the creative process whether we are at a crop or we chat on a creative group. She's always very helpful and inspirational as well as very modest. I admired her from the very first time we spent together creating because she's always very well organized and she manages to create amazing layouts in a certain time. She always creates more layouts that anyone else during a crop. Moreover she's well in something that I'm not: she can hear every single conversation when we work together at a crop without raising his head off her project!!! I will never understand how she achieves that!

Today I have to answer some questions regarding my creative process. So let's start!

1. What am I working on right now ?

Well, at this time I'm working on 2 mini albums. The one will have many photos of my family from last summer's vacation and the other one is meant to be a present for my beloved aunt (Potitsa), my mother's sister whom I love very much. I plan to reproduce some old family photos and create a family keepsake.

2. How long does it take to create a project?

Unfortunately I'm not very good on creative decisions and use to spent a lot of time thinking on how to embellish something or on which challenge do I like to take part. However working with friends at crops has learned me many things on this field and I keep getting better all the time.

3. What are my favourite things I love to create with at the moment?

I like all things vintage (laces, pearls, flowers, etc.) I love using masks and stamps on my projects and I always use die-cuts and punches.

4. How does my creative process work?

When I create a layout I always start with my photo and most of the times with a sketch. Creating for a challenge is very inspiring for me. When I create a card (I so love my Magnolia stamps!) I start with a stamp and a challenge (most of the times) and think of it as a small layout. When I create a mini album (one of my big loves!) I usually decide on a paper collection I will use and then move on designing each one of my pages. Many times I interrupt the creative process to take decisions.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

Other scrapbookers' creations are always the biggest inspiration for me. I like so much starring at some creations and trying to imagine the step-by-step process. Greek scrapbookers are a large and always growing community and there are some really talented ladies to inspire you there. Youtube and pinterest are also places where I get inspiration along with the scrapbookers' and challenge blogs. Of course the stories of my family and the need to save them are my first and basic reason for creation.

6. What is my signature style?

Well, I believe my signature style is romantic, vintage, shabby-chic but not very "loaded". I don't tend to create using a certain style but because of the fact that I'm very romantic and vintage-feeling as a person that's what comes out in my creations. I certainly not CAS but I get inspired from CAS scrapbookers and put that element in my way on my creations.

And now I would like to introduce you only 3 scrapbookers from the many ones that I admire and get inspiration from.

The first one is Kiki, a friend from Thessaloniki whom I have not met physically (I have just talked to her on the phone and contact with her via our blogs) but I admire her sweet vintage creations and understand that she is a very sweet and compassionate person who loves creation and helping other people. Her family and her pupils (she's a teacher) are very lucky to live with her. Visiting her blog is always an inspiration for me.

The second one is Elina. We have only met twice but I love her work and her optimistic point of view. She comes from my beloved Corfu and lives with her beautiful family at Ioannina. She's always very happy and beautiful and that's what comes out in her creations. She creates stunning layouts and very beautiful altered items. She's also an inspiration for me.

Last but not least I would like to mention a French scrapbooker and one of the reasons for that - apart from truly admire her creations - is to pass this wonderful blog hop abroad. I have found Maline's blog while "surfing" on the internet and was amazed by her style and the fact that she gives attention to the slightest detail. She creates amazing altered items, mini albums and many more and she also likes Magnolia stamps as I do.

Finally, I would like to mention two very dear friends whom I could not choose for different reasons for this blog hop. The one is Zeffy, a real friend, mentor, an amazing personality whom I deeply admire. I am always very inspired by her and she's always there when I need her. I really love you Zeffy very much! The other one is Efi Stamatelli who is one of the first scrapbookers that I met via their blogs, a very talented lady, a true friend, a caring mother to her two beautiful kids who does not create very much lately because her family needs her most of the time but I hope that soon she will make a great come back because we really miss her amazing style. She creates beautiful vintage layouts, amazing mini albums and reaches perfection.

So, I hope you liked our blog hop and you get inspired by my amazing friends and me. I'm looking forward to Kiki's, Elina's & Maline's blog hop! Have a nice day!

Christmas in July card!

Hello fellow scrap-bloggers! This is my second post for today as I want to show you my first Christmas card for this year! You know I love Christmas and Magnolia stamps very much. So here is Tilda with violin playing Christmas carols.

I watercoloured my stamp and also used some stickles for extra sparkle!

With this card I take part to the following challenges:

Magnolia-licious Christmas in July challenge

Totally Tilda 100th challenge-Anything goes

I hope you like it and I would love to hear from you! Have a wonderful evening from hot & sunny Greece!

Colorful Creations-July 15th-Team B

Hello everyone! Today I'd like to present to you (with a big delay I must admit...) my layout for Benshevia's July 15th sketch at Colorful Creations. I enjoyed so much working with this great sketch and I hope you'll love it too. So here is the sketch you have to use to take part in our challenge:

And here is my layout:

Please visit Colorful Creations' blog to be inspired by the wonderful layouts the Design Team has created. I'm looking forward to seeing your creations!

May 1st Colorful Creations challenge

Welcome to May! 

Here is our first sketch of the month for you!

Meet our Guest Designer

Sharon Fritchman

A bit about Sharon: 

Hi! My name is Sharon Fritchman. I am a cardiology nurse by day and an enthusiastic scrapbooker by night! I started scrapbooking about 11 years ago when my husband and I adopted our second daughter from China. I got interested in scrapbooking when I learned about "Lifebooks" and adoption, and haven't stopped since. I have enjoyed being on some wonderful design teams, most recently the Color Me Scrappy and the Challenge YOUrself team! I feel blessed to have been a part of these teams and have gotten a lot of inspiration from them! My oldest, "bio" daughter is 20 and is attending college right now.   . . . and I have been married to my husband for almost 25 years. 

Check out Sharon's wonderful take on the sketch!

Now for some fabulous samples from Team A.

Marci

Xara

Christina P.

Toccara Feliciano

Sandrine

Yasmina

and now it's your turn.  Take the sketch and make it yours.  Come back here and add it to the Linky for an entry into the May prize drawing. You have until May 14th to enter.