A Girly Album

If you've been wondering why I am not posting, well,,, I am still around. I haven't had the time to breathe most of this last one week. But yes, over the past 2 weeks (yeah, that is a loooong long time) I did manage to complete a  little album that someone had asked me to make. The pics are dull and not nice, let me warn you... We've had a particularly gloomy day today.

This is a 9-page album that the lady wants to gift to her 9 year old niece. And the little girl loves butterflies, I was told. (Tejal, I hope that explains all the butterflies you'll see fluttering by in this post ;-) ).

I have provided secret and non-secret panels for messages ;-). And I have used tons of ribbon (I can't live without using ribbons) and my latest favorites - colored stapling pins - have found their way everywhere.

This looks like a particularly busy section though these were the easiest pages. I had a spring fold card ready and I just attached it here (on the left panel).

Juhi's gorgeous doily found its way here... And all that glaze (not at all clear in the pic) was a glue and glossed section. The wowie patterned paper here is from Itsy Bitsy. And that cute cute cute ice-cream cone paper clip is from a local stationery store. ;-)

Please do tell me that the silver doodling around the glitter heart is nice. The lady I made this for is my son's drawing teacher and I don't want her to laugh at my flowers and swirls ;-) She loved the ribbon weaving on my previous album, so I included it here as well.

Do tell me what you think, and please pardon the pics.

Ciao,

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

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

2Sketches4You # 55 : Celebrate!

My take on this week's 2S4Y sketch:

How do you like it? It turned out almost just as I wanted it so I'm glad... This is again inspired by the embellished paper doilies that I mentioned here. I think there will be many more from me because I am totally smitten!!! It lets me use different textures and loads of my favorite embellishments without having to rely on patterned papers alone!

About this card... it is a kind of imperfect table setting. I didn't have place to keep one more spoon ;-) so I let it be only so much. The plate, cutlery, glass and napkin are from a pack of local stickers. The embroidered lace (black and red) are both from mom; the crochet lace is a recent purchase from a local store. I hoard on lace and ribbons and I love each bit that I have - my mom's totally vintage collection as well as the newer ones bought by me!

The background stamp is a polka dot, bee hive like stamp that I designed on Word (using the most basic drawing tools).. it has an almost distressed kind of feel and I love it.

Hope you enjoyed my post!

Till later...

Smita

Card Patterns 69: You are my charming sunshine!

My take on this week's Card Patterns sketch:

I am in love with this card (yes, I am throwing modesty out of the window today!!). I loved the colors and every little detail... the stamped polka dots, the embossing, the teeny weeny pink squares that I cut and layered on the last circle, the embossed and cut vellum, the acetate, the hand cut swirls, the dimension... i love it all. And it took me a good 2+ hours to make it ;-)

The colors are inspired from an online site where I got this interesting color palette. And the whole card is inspired by the simply stunning 'embellished paper doilies' here. My only regret was that I didn't have a paper doily and I am not sure where I'll get them here... they are used in restaurants so I guess they should be there somewhere!

The Sunshine sticker was a gift from Tanja, the rhinestones from Radha, and the epoxy sticker & chipboard embellishment from Donna.

I love the fact that I have not used  single bit of patterned paper in this card ;-)

Till later...

Smita