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Hello people,

I am back :) and with craft to share!! I've been working on an anniversary album for a week now (this was for a friend's friend's friend... lol!!)

This is a picture heavy post, and I hope you like it...

Let me start with the cover page. This as well as all the titles in the album are my client's own (quite close to her heart and defining each memory she has wanted me to capture through this album):

The next page has a 'little' accordion book on the left (with pull out tags) for her to write reasons why she loves her husband:

The next page has a little card cum photo frame for slipping in a photo and for personal notes inside:

(I did an overlay of a song on a transparent acetate sheet for this page... didn't click a picture of it though)

This is a tag pull out from the same page.. the silhouette image is a free clipart that I printed and hand cut (the moment here was another personal memory that I needed to capture):

The next page is simpler than the rest with less detailing:

The next page is dedicated to her son. The 'door' opens and a personal message appears inside with place for a photo:

This is a page dedicated to their new house:

and its related tag:

The next is one of my favoritest bits... it is a page capturing some romance:

and finally the last page and a tag. The guitar is hand drawn and cut...

Yes, not a very big album but the customization and thinking took me a bit longer than I'd usually take for an album. But I am quite glad of the outcome... fingers crossed that the intended recipients like it too!

Ciao,

Smita

Creativity and me...

Hello everyone!

I know my posts have been a bit too sporadic in the past few months. This time I have no reasons... I don't know what's been keeping me from crafting. Busy, yes, but not sooo busy that I can't craft. Anyway, here is what I have to share with you today:

First, a 'card' by Aaryan for his favorite 'chachu' (my husband's younger brother):

Not the best picture I guess, and not the best work by Aaryan but yes, it is from his heart :D My boy has used only scrappy bits that Mamma 'doesn't need'. He just came and asked me if I could spare some things - anything - that I may not want; then sat with his glue stick and created this by sticking it all in a random pattern. He also upcycled some things (like the plastic sheet in the middle, a stone that came off from a sandal  - insisting that it is a black colored diamond for his uncle- and that foam letter 'E' which is not a letter but just a 'pattern'!) I asked if he wanted my help folding a card but he said he didn't want to make a 'normal' card and he just wanted to do his own thing!! :D The flowers are ready made but everything else is scrap that was lying in my scrap pile! And it is a big card!!! He has signed off with his name too :-p

I am, of course, submitting this for the ICR kids card challenge.

Second, a card my sister-in-law asked me to make for her hubby (yes, Aaryan's favorite uncle, that is):

The inside:

and the coordinating envelope:

Well, the story behind it is related to those headphones! I have finally realized something... though we keep saying that it is difficult to craft for men, there is one thing that isn't so difficult. Every man has a weakness (apart from the woman in their life ;-) ) - sports, gadgets, cars or such like! And my brother-in-law is a gadget freak :-p with these speakers and headphones being on his wishlist forever! :D So, though nobody is yet gifting him these, I thought it would go well in her card! The quote is of course partly Shakespeare and partly me ;-)

All that glitters on this card and envelope is Pie Lane! :)

I love the heart chain! ;-) It took me a while to get the trick right though... courtesy a utube video.

I am submitting this card for:

Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog - Challenge 180 - Cards for men

Ciao,

Smita

Nothing crafty but something yummy!

Hey there everyone!!

How have you been? I know it has been a while since I posted... but luckily the mood is now better than it was a month ago... Thanks for your prayers... my mom in law is doing better now.

Happy Children's Day to all kiddos in India. :) Here is what I made for my boy:

Angry Birds is Aaryan's current obsession!! :D Of course, there is more than enough inspiration online! I used stuff that I had at home to make our very own Angry Bird Pizza :)

Hoping to get back to crafting soon!

Ciao,

Smita

Happy Diwali

Hi all,

We are going to our hometown tomorrow. Happy Diwali to all my Indian friends from me and my family. I have no card of my own to share; but here's  a Diwali card that Aaryan made (with some help from his drawing teacher and a teeny bit of help from me):

He has glued on Pie Lane glitter balls on the tips of the firework display. {Aaryan: "Mamma, I saw you had a box of glitter that you used in the sports card sometime back... Can you please share it with me?" Me: " Ah well, now that you know I have it, you may use it"}

The inside of the card. He has drawn his favorite toffees inside. He has used Pie Lane glitter balls and jumbo glitter for decorating the diya (lamp). 

Thanks for the tip on how to take out glitter balls in a bowl and use, E.T. We didn't do it this time, but I have conveyed the idea to him :)

Do leave my little one some love ;-)

Happy Diwali to all of you once again!



Smita and Aaryan

Anniversary Album

Hi all,

My mother in law hasn't been keeping well for the last couple of days and was in a critical condition yesterday. Please do remember her in your prayers. She is recovering now but not yet fully well! :(

I wanted to share an anniversary album (envelope album measuring approximately 9" * 6") that I made on order for a friend's friend. She had seen some of my work and asked if I could make one for her to give her hubby on their anniversary. I am not really very good with albums but I've given this my very best shot. 

This is going to be a image heavy post!

PS: The page and album title are her own and she'll be adding the pictures later.

For the cover page, I used some gorgeous Hobby Ideas paper and a boat cut out from old denim (yeah, I am finally learning to recycle and reuse!). The album is intended for a person who sailed a great deal! :)

The themes for the pages denote moments in the couple's life so I won't elaborate on them here. This page is one of the most interesting ones, and here is a little video (my first ever!) showing how the pull tag works:

I got the video for this sliding mechanism on uTube - and I think this was it.

Here, I made a little easel card on one side and I've left space for journaling and a picture. I loved the tiny easel! :) I've used Pie Lane glitter strips here.

This acetate pull out tag with Eric Segal's Love Story cover on one side and journaling space on the other was an idea I got when she briefed me about them.

This page is for their kids (as is obvious)! and the little pocket on the left is for some memorabilia that she has saved for a long time. The pages flap open on both sides like this:

This page is for their sailing days together. I am so glad I have appropriate TH masks!! :) The sailor's cap/boat (not too sure what it looks like now :-p) is made from one of the pages of Love Story :D. The blue paper on the right is again recycled - it is from the bit of leftover wallpaper from my parents' home. Can you see the Pie Lane glitter balls on the right border? :)

The flappy folded part on the right was an idea I picked right out of a magazine. It landed in my lap yesterday and the moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to recreate. :) The gap in between is measured for a photograph.

This is one of my favorite bits of recycling. I recycled tape from an old audio cassette tape... not my idea of course... i tweaked a tutorial from here.

More journaling space apart from the pull out tags.

Another simple but favorite page.

The back cover... love this paper and I am really sad it is over :(

I was inspired by Laura of Following the Paper Trail and from Flickr galleries. But most of it came by on its own because my customer had some specific ideas in mind.

Hope you liked my attempts at making a full fledged album!

Ciao...

Smita

A quick project

Hi there people,

Oh yes, I am still around. I have been crafting a bit though I haven't had the time to blog... :D While I am working on a slightly big project (should be done by next week), here's what I just created...

We are going on a short break with Vineet's childhood friends tomorrow. I wanted to gift something to the wives (who are good friends of mine)... I started out thinking I would create favor bags and put in a little something for them but then decided against it and this is what I came up with:

These are altered notepads. Aren't they cute?! Since I want to give these off as a surprise, I couldn't ask them for pics and had to make do with what I could find on their Facebook pages ;-) I used my old favorite ribbon technique here :) The flower buttons were a gift from my sister-in-law. And the stinkin' cute paper is the amongst the last bits from my Heidi Grace pack (Donna sent these a couple of years ago :) ).

I also created a few tags for the kids' gifts.... they are just plain and simple labels layered with PP. :)

Ciao soon...

Hugs,
Smita

Shadow box card

A few days back a close friend asked me to make her a card (that will go from her son to her husband). She asked me to use a 4"*6" photograph and its bright background for the card. I haven't ever worked on a photo card I guess, except the layout that I made for DH last year. I wanted to make something special and different for her... and I had a window card in mind... 

But then I saw this card by Kavitha and did some tutorial searches... I finally came across what I really wanted on the Rubber Cafe Design Team blog. It was just what I needed.

The card's front view:

The inside:

Their favorite toys handcut and glittered with Pie Lane glitter and glitter balls :) :

PS: What's glitter doing on a masculine card, did you just ask?! Well, in India a little bit of glitter 'zaroori hota hai' (is essential...) ;-)

(oh and there are Pie Lane glitter strips peeping through too :) )
A view from the side:

It does look much neater IRL!! 

Thanks for the inspiration - Kavitha, Ujjwal (no recycling though :( ) and the Rubber Cafe.

Hugs,
Smita

Easy-peasy!

Hey there people!


I did some simple projects over the last few days... Here's a glimpse:

1) For my cards and crossword loving grandpa, I created a mini book with some French words that he keeps  calling me for :) {No, I am no expert but I can manage a good bit of French ;) , c'est tout!}

This project was inspired by the Moxie Fab World Card Play challenge and I used the tutorial from here. Mine is nowhere close but grandpa liked it :)

2) For my forgetful Mother-in-law, who keeps losing her mini telephone diary all the time, I created this:

This is quite a scrappy project and wholly inspired by Ujjwal. I used her tutorial of a recycled notebook and used an empty Cross pen box... It was very sturdy and matched my papers beautifully. The flower is a local buy (it is too cute IRL). And the alpha stickers are from Hobby Ideas. I added some ribbon on the binder rings and also a little note on the side for my MIL ;-) .

Submitting this for Lynn's recycle challenge at Yvonne's blog.

3) And for my crafty and adorable little boy, I made this:

A paper bag puppet, Pinnochio. He was to carry a story book character to school... I am not too keen on buying or giving him soft toys; and we decided we'd make our own character. He gave me some ideas for the nose and tips on the colors to use and then ran away! Poor Mamma was left behind crafting away and using all techniques she knew to make a decent puppet... he loved it :) and so did his teacher and friends ;-) 

I am loving crafting for my dear ones... have some more to stuff to make and give away to friends ;-)

Blog Award

I crafted today....hurray! :) Not a card but a paper bag Pinocchio (Aaryan needed it for school)... I'll share the picture later. not too great but I am happy.. I did have to cheat a bit and give him excuses for messing some things up though ;-) {psst. don't tell him I said this}

Thank you Juhi for this lovely award:

Q1) Name your favorite color?  Bright colors - current favorites are orange and yellow

Q2) Name your favorite song? Words by Boyzone and Yesterday by The Beatles

Q3) Name your favorite dessert? Hmmm... Macaroons, mousses, tiramisu (almost everything)

Q4) What worries you off at the moment? I have been worrying my head off about getting my home in order again. Loads of people around at the moment and I don't know how to start redoing...

Q5) Your favorite pet? Sorry but I am not an animal lover!

Q6) Black or White? White

Q7) Your biggest fear? What if DH stops loving me... :( {no, he assures me he won't}

Q8) Best feature? Don't know, but I like my eyes

Q9) Everyday attitude? Wish today is the best day of my life! :)

Q10) What is perfection?  Being a dependable daughter, a loved wife, a 4am friend-sister, an always-there-for-him Mom AND still being myself!

Q11) Guilty pleasure? Love to shop for clothes and accessories (craft shopping is zilch at the moment) and keep wanting more watches and bags!

Q12) When you're upset you? loads of things like - Cry, scream (at anyone in sight), cook, craft, read, blurf


I would like to pass this award on to:


Shalini
Donna
Ujjwal
Savitri
Juhi 
Tejal

Away from crafting for so long means...

.... that you will take hours to make one simple card! :D

But hey, I am back again with a little beauty:

Don't know if it qualifies for either, but I am submitting this card to:

1. Moxie Fab World - Tuesday Trigger (Garden Glory)

2. Card Patterns Sketch # 131

A very simple card using some amazing things I bought a long time back. The metal embellishment in the middle is a local buy and so are the golden flower brads. I loved them and thought I'd use them on this card that I'll be sending to my sister-in-law, who is soon getting engaged. The beautiful green patterned paper was a 'Rakhi' gift from her this year ;-). The glitter paper is also a local buy from the Anupam store near my place.

The twine has a story to it though. My grandma was an excellent crafter... she embroidered gorgeous gorgeous sarees. She was passed on this lovely silken crochet thread from one of her family members. When she saw my developing interest in craft (before she passed away in Jan '09), she, in turn, passed it on to me, and asked me to use it well because it was a very very old spool. :) Today is only the second time I've used this shaded string... 

...dedicating this post to my granny!

Love,

Smita

Absence makes the heart fonder...

.... or so I am choosing to believe! :) I am hoping against hope that I have been missed in blogland.... haven't I, me dear blog buddies? :) Lol! I know this year has been terrible for my blogging (starting from April/May). Well, I couldn't help it most times - schoolwork for example!! I didn't even have access to a computer on most days. :( A new member in the family (OMG! No! I haven't had another baby :-p) has meant a lot of adjustment and extra work at home on my end. Finally, hubby decided I needed my own laptop to help preserve my sanity :) and here I am! Yes, I know you are happy for me {winks}.... thank you! ;-)

I haven't crafted since my last post though... :( I am hoping to try something this week. Please please please pray that I am here for good now!

Hugs,

Smita

To do or not to do....

Heya people,

Yep, it is me! After another long absence. :) I have a post-it note holder to share today. My younger brother has been asking me to make one for him since last year (yeah, that long!!) and I finally made one just before the start of his 5th semester in college and just before his 20th birthday ;-) {I've asked him to take it instead of a card... mean me but I have had no time to craft :( }...

I loved how it turned out :) and he did too! I have not really used jute on any project so far but now I'm in love with it :). The boat and anchor are hand-drawn and cut. A few days of absence from blogland has taken my creativity back to where it should be I guess ;-) And I made it without feeling bad about not having a male-themed stamp set or die-cut set! I loved the effect of the script embossed on red... The button is an RAK from Tejal and the ribbon from Shalini.

Do you like it? I'd love to read your comments :)

Ciao,

Smita

A quick post...

Here is my submission for the Play Date Cafe Challenge #89 and Card Patterns sketch #122:

Pardon the terrible pictures.... very gloomy weather out here :( The papers are all Pink Paisley (won at Michelle's challenge on Yvonne's blog). The envelope idea is from the uber -talented Juhi.

That's for now... I'll update this post later with more info on the card ;-)

Ciao,

Smita

And finally...!

After attempting to get back to at least one card for the past few days, finally, I managed! I seriously have mojo issues though :(

{Psst: I think I've forgotten how to click pictures as well... This looks tilted LOL}
Stamps: PTI Beautiful Blooms II, PTI Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Versamagic Red and Turquoise; Hobby Ideas Green
Others: PTI MatStack 1 die (for masking), PTI Eyelet lace border die

I tried the technique at PTI's Make-It-Monday (Polaroid 2-step masking). It is interesting and lot of fun. The first one I made ended up getting soiled and I had to redo it but I'm quite satisfied with the result. Didn't have great white ink, so I used VersaMagic Turquoise for sponging around. It sure looks brighter in reality. I followed the sketch at Card Patterns (#121). Gorgeous sketch....

I am surprised I am managing to make something without patterned paper. This is definitely not my type of a card but hey, a girl can try out other things too :-p

Ciao,

Smita

Thank You!!

Heya people,

This post is dedicated to my friends in blogland :). I'm touched by all the love I have got from great friends out here. I thought it would take me the longest time ever to get back to crafting and into your minds... but you all proved me wrong. Thanks to everyone who sent warm anniversary wishes our way on the 27th. A lot of my family members forgot but you all didn't and I am overwhelmed by the love!

We even received a few anniversary cards (and guess what? SMITA has still not made that special card for her DH!!). Vineet was surprised that people I hadn't met were wishing us on our big day! :)

 Thanks Tejal for this 'Beautiful' card!

Thanks Ujjwal for the 'large' wishes (this is a big card :))

Thank you Ash for 'thinking of us'!!

Thank you all once again for keeping us in your thoughts!!

Hugs,

Smita

Lily Pad Cards

Have you visited Lily Pad cards? I've been seeing links to it on many blogs ever since I got back from vacation...

I became a Member of Lily Pad Cards today! Go become a member for a chance to win a collection of Hero Arts stamps. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15!

 

Smita