Yummy candy

Some candy to win for followers of a new challenge blog- Let's Ink It Up:

and some more from AnnaBelle Stamps:

Go ahead... check it out!

Smita

2S4Y: Laura's sketch 57

It has been a gorgeous day here today! And I am so glad it didn't pour :D... I am getting quite annoyed with the rains now... yeah, I know many of you look forward to it... but everything around here gets so messy that a day of sunshine is quite welcome :-)

Anyway, moving on to the card. This is my take on the gorgeous Laura's sketch at 2S4Y:

I made this card on request from a cousin's wife. This is a card for a guy.... ok, don't panic.... I think this works fine in our culture. Guys don't really mind a bit of bling sometimes... though I am not too sure DH would agree. 

I am finally liking my MS double scallop punch (luckily!) because I have found many ways to use it ;-)... also my Labels 3 dies (which weren't quite my favorite even after I bought them)!! Gosh, why am I cribbing?! ;-)

Isn't that bow pretty? I loved this gingham ribbon, which was an RAK from Juhi. The bow turned out fine at my first attempt... pat on my back! ;-)

The stamp, I think I inked it for the first time, is from Hobby Ideas. I think this stamp looks lovely as a monochrome silhouette. The chocolate embossed paper behind it is from The Paper Company (I've had it for almost 2 years now!! My sister's husband, Chirag, got it when he came down for his own wedding LOL). The roses are from Bombay Store.

Thats from me for now... 

PS: I did the inside of the card too... forgot to click pictures :-(

Ciao,

Smita

Two for Card Patterns Sketch 74

Sorry I have been irregular at your blogs once again. Hardly been able to come online of late... Aaryan was attending a camp and I was busy ferrying him to and fro ;-) PLUS because of the disaster with my punches, my MOJO was not working LOL!

Today's cards are based on the Card Patterns sketch this week. I hadn't been able to take part in the last couple of weeks though the sketches were awesome!! :-(

The first card is made to order for my sister-in-law's friend. She wanted a bright and glittery card for a relative's 50th birthday.

By the way, the tile punch effect that you see on the rust panel is the one I broke! :-( This was the last work using the punch... {sigh....}. Apart from that, there is some embossing, loads of bling and some lace. And yeah, butterflies {so unusual of me to use them but the punch is sort of good, so I didn't mind using it}.

The next card is another one made for my sister-in-law. She had asked me to make a few general ones... Again based on the Card Patterns sketch.

The flower is layered (around 6 layers in all) and is from a pack of floral collage sheets I got from Vineet's friend a few days back. I think it looks cute. :-) Aah yes... butterflies again. This time stamped ;-)... The verse stamp is one of my own... I used an old school prayer for the text. :-)

The first ever Indian Challenge

Hello people!!

Namaste.... Vanakkam... Kem che... Namaskaram... Sat sri akal....

The first ever Indian Challenge blog - CraftyJC Challenge is finally here! All of us, Indian crafters, have been eagerly waiting for this day :-) I think Jaya deserves a big applause for this wonderful challenge blog, which is a platform for many many crafters with limited resources to bring out their creativity!! Everyone is welcome....

And hold your breath for the supah surprise:

The prize is 5 digi downloads from the amazing  collection at Di's Digi Downloads.

I am more than honored to be among the first Guest Designers of this new challenge. The first challenge Jaya has is a sketch challenge. Keep it simple or make it heavy, the choice is yours.

My take on the sketch:

My card has an acetate base. The first and last squares are patterned paper. The red square is stamped with my own stamp in white. Buttons and ribbon are from my stash. 

The image is a digital download from Di's Digi Downloads - iPod Max. I think this image is just perfect for a little boy's card.

Go on... show your creative side without bothering about the supplies!! :-) Use what you have in hand in your creative best way!!!

Keep the faith!

Smita

A new service

Heya,

I am glad I didn't post yesterday. You'd have never come back to my blog if I had... why?... because I was in the crappiest moods! I am good now though. But I need to get to business right away...

I am sure you all have craft tools that you love a lot... things you can't stay without. Right? I do too. Now, here is a new service offering from me....

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If you want to break any tool, I can do it for you... and that too without wasting much time and money!! Yeah, you got me right. Can you believe this? I broke 2 punches in just as many days?!?! With the right punches so hard to find here, I must be too good with this breaking business to actually break 2 of my dear punches! Out of that, one I had just bought last morning!!! I didn't use it on even one card (and it was a beautiful border punch) :-(

I am really upset with myself. My mom-in-law (God bless her) tried to sympathize with me yesterday and said may be the quality wasn't good... my mom wondered what I could have done to break a punch and then said I should buy the same things again to make me feel better. And I... I was in tears and I was angry not knowing what to do!!

Sorrowfully,

Smita

Mirror Image

Hey all,

I am here with my take on this week's 2S4Y sketch... but I am sorry it turned out to be the mirror image instead :-( Almost everyone in my family (me included) is down with viral fever... and what worried me most was that I couldn't craft for 2 days in spite of all my pending work :-( I was feeling a little better today and I had to share this:

My parents-in-law are celebrating their anniversary today. They live with us now and my MIL is the most supportive mother-in-law I have come across ;-) She loves my cards and I had to stay up yesterday to create something for her.

Did you notice the doily in the background (yes, my fascination with embellished doilies continues!!) ?!? Well, I got it in a super duper package as RAK from Juhi yesterday. Thank you so much Juhi!! Appreciate your gesture.

The felt flowers are from Yvonne's tutorial here.

Well, I was lucky twice yesterday. Just before hitting the bed, Vineet (my DH) told me that he had something for me. I was surprised to see a pack of decoupage/collage sheets (I am not sure if I have named it right) kit. He doesn't usually go picking up craft material for me so it came as a pleasant surprise... but then I was in for a bigger surprise. One of V's colleagues had bought the kit on a trip abroad... they had had it for a while... and he thought he didn't know of anyone who could use the kit better than me! I was thrilled and literally jumping in joy that someone whom I didn't know could send me something like this! :-)

I hope I am back on my feet really soon. There is soooooooooooo much to do!! I don't want to miss out on anything crafty now ;-)

Hugs,

Smita

Booked!

Hello everyone...

Finally a nice and bright afternoon with no rain ;-)... it is a good break to have a dry day in the midst of the monsoons. I'd been out shopping... yeah, lucky me!! since I am a SAHM I do get to shop in the afternoons LOL!

A couple of projects I worked on yesterday...

The first one is a card for the Color Throwndown # 100 (do check out the blog! they have loads of prizes up for grabs!). Well, the colors were a little bit of a challenge for me. But my son (for whom I made this card) loved it so I'm glad ;-).. I've been wanting to make a kids card for a while now... can you believe it - in spite of having a 3 year old son, I have not really made many kids cards!! Anyway, hoping that this is the start I need.

The 'Sweet' sticker was a RAK from Tanjaa. All other stickers are local buys. The flowers on the left corners are pink (they don't look pink in the pic, I know).

My other creation is inspired by Juhi . I love love love her albums, maze books, tags... in short all her work! She shared a link for this creation with me... Thank you soooooooooo much Juhi!! And I love how it has turned out:

A handwritten message and a placeholder for a photo.

I loved the green paper pleated flower though disaster did strike it once ;-)

A lovely sticker with a pullout tag... perfect for a friend's secret :-p

I loved all the distressing and how it has turned out overall. I'll be giving this to my sister-in-law who has a loooong list of friends (and she is still in college) and I guess she'll use it well :-)) 

Ciao,

Smita

Rakhi

Here is a card I made yesterday:

"BHAIYA" is Hindi for Brother. And as the card obviously says, this is a card for a brother... 'No way! so much bling on a masculine card..' - is this on your mind now? Well then, welcome to India. :-) Rakshabandhan (read more here) is an Indian festival of sisters and brothers. On this day, the sister ties a Rakhi (picture below) on the brother's wrist and the brother in turn vows to take care of her and protect her forever... of course, he also gives gifts in return ( ;-) ). They feed each other sweets.

Rakhi

This picture is only for representational purpose only 

Rakshabandhan is a sweet and sacred festival and celebrated almost all across the country. Rakhis can be simple or very ornate but they almost always have a touch of bling. In our communtiy, the sister also ties a rakhi to her brother's wife (it dangles from our bangles/bracelets and looks really really pretty).

A Rakhi pair for the sister-in-law and brother

This picture is only for representational purpose only 

My husbands sisters have already sent us our Rakhis for this year, though there is still some time to go before the festival, since they stay in another city. I guess the postal department is usually flooded  with envelopes marked 'Rakhi' around that time. 

I don't know what else to write about this lovely day... you got to see the beautifully decked up sisters and their doting brothers to know what I mean :-)

Anyway, you will probably see more Rakhi cards from me this month since I have to make quite a few. :-)

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Hugs,
Smita

2S4Y: Kazan's sketch 56

It is me again! :-) I decided to do 2 posts at the same time. LOL...

My take on the 2S4Y sketch:

I kept this one simple too.. no lace, no ribbon, no buttons and no bling :) !! The PP and rub-on are again from Hobby Ideas [I love this little boy!] and the rubber stamps are my own creations. The border punch is from Jef and I found it at a local store (my 'happiest ' purchase in recent times!!)..

Ciao,

Smita

Card Patterns 71

Heya,

Thank you all for your support yesterday. I am thankful to God  not only for my family and old friends but also for new friends I have made in blogland. Your messages touched my heart yesterday... and all that when I just mentioned I had heard terrible news. Thank you all once again.

My take on Card Patterns sketch # 71:

My mom-in-law loved this card for its cheery colors :-). [I did too LOL!]. Not a very complicated card though.. The image is a rub-on from Hobby Ideas that I rubbed on to vellum. The PP is also from a Hobby Ideas pack of 6*6 double-sided papers (I am still wondering why I never bought these!!). The flower is a handmade ribbon flower... the pearl on top is a pearl button. Some faux stitching.. and yeah, the Happy Birthday and Little Princess (rubber) stamps are my own creations ;-)

Ciao,
Smita

Karuna's Mystery Candy

Indian blog-o-sphere sure is a happening space these days!!

Karuna, the Crafting Queen, is having a very special mystery candy to celebrate her fiance's birthday (how sweet is that?). This is open to Indian crafters only though. So if you are a crafter from India (Paper crafts, Needlework or any other), hop over to her blog and take up the survey. 

All the best!!

Hugs,

Smita

Patterned paper

Heya people,

A simple yet adorable card I made for Amy's challenge on Yvonne's blog (uh oh... did I just complicate it??! Sorry, unfortunate and sad news in the family is not letting me think clear)...

It has been pouring all day so this is the brightest pic I could get.. The challenge requirement was to use 3 different PP... I guess I have used more than that. And I have just followed my heart and done what I like best... loads of layers, handmade flowers and for the first time a handmade tree ;-)

The punch used at the bottom of the chocolate card stock is a local find! [I couldn't believe my eyes that it could actually punch very well!!]

Ciao,
Smita

PS: I can't believe there is not a touch of glitter on my card!! 

Sorry friends!!

Hey all,

I have been a bad bad blogger of late... I have neither been blogging nor visiting your blogs! I am sorry... life's been keeping me a tad busy (and making me lazy too) yet again. Many a time, I'm only checking mails on my mobile phone, so I don't bother straining my eyes too much.... strict instructions from hubby not to wear my eyes out coz I've been complaining of a slight discomfort in my eyes.... I thought I'd just take it easy for a while. Hoping to be back to crafting this week!

Just a little something I wanted to share with you all:

Yes, my first layout. And this is what I gave to hubby dearest instead of a card on our anniversary ;-) He had never seen anything like a scrap layout so he was very impressed :-) and I was in heaven!!

PS: I had submitted this secretly for Yvonne's challenge since I didn't want to risk DH seeing it on the blog before I gave it to him!

Till later...

Smita