Sticker frenzy...

I have been MIA a bit too often for too long now. This time it is my health and time constraints that have been keeping me away from crafting... I'm good now and hoping some of my crafty friends and their better halves are too ( I really have had you in my mind and prayers all the time, girls)! 

My card today is a kiddie card for Vineet's colleague's twin kids (a boy and a girl) who are turning 1 this week. I went overboard with stickers , but with a small logic (that might not sound too logical to you LOL!) - little toddlers can't read but they can identify pictures ;-).

I realized today that my kiddie sticker collection only had 'boy'-themed stickers... hardly any 'pink-ish' flower/butterfly ones (forget dolls :D). The letters and number are all Printasticks.The paper is from Itsy Bitsy.

Ah! well.... did  I mention that this is the same card flipped over :-). Well, I loved my concept...Don't know how to capture it in pictures but this definitely is the other side of the card :-)... Clever, huh? ;-) The paper is from Hobby Ideas!! Guess you all have seen it at Tejal's blog... she tempted me and forced me to go out and  buy {evil laughter}even though I was planning to craft very less now on :-D

And that is a pop-up inside... I've done some stamping on the corners (cake, cupcakes, party hats and so on) and the top of the pop ups (seen from above) says 'Let's have a party'.

Hope you like it!

Ciao,

Smita

Bright and cheery

Hello all,

My posts are going to be a bit random for the next few week or so. Vacation's getting over now and there is a lot happening before school reopens. I hardly have the time to craft.

I loved this week's Card Patterns Sketch# 66. It really did have lot of scope for layers and embellishments. Though I couldn't do complete justice to the sketch, here is my take on it:

It did take a little effort but I kind of like it. I think I'm using these colors for the first time and I like the bright n cheery feel.

My recipe:

CS: Base black CS is Fabriano, the golden yellow is a sheet of handmade n textured paper, the DP is an RAK from Tanja.

Stamps and others: Tim Holtz mini masks sponged with orange and yellow inks [Hobby Ideas], the stamp is also Hobby Ideas

Embellishments: The 'believe' and printed dome stickers are Heidi Grace (from Donna), all lace from my stash [thanks Mamma], flowers are also from my stash [I hate the quality though :-(]

PLUS a lot of faux stitching and a little embroidery floss for finishing the card. :-)

Ciao later...

Hugs,
Smita

I'm going crazy....!!

"Ok, I think I won't post a thing for another 2 days now... I'm going crazy!!" ... My mind almost went blank while crafting; my head was spinning and I thought I'd die!!! Relax, I told myself... nobody dies while making a card... and so I am here fit and fine.

** This is going to be a long post... so if you are sleepy, don't bother ;-) **

A old school friend of mine asked me to make Mother's day cards for her mom and granny yesterday. Since she stays far away, I was almost in a fit. I panicked not knowing how I'd be able to live up to her expectations! I didn't do a thing yesterday. Finally sat down to the cards in the afternoon, itching to use the CPS sketch but not knowing how...

Finally, these are what I came up with:

Here is the story behind this card. I had wanted to make a flower pot card... I've made quite a few already so I thought it would be quick and easy. But I saw Kathy's card here and thought I'd attach my card to an easel card; I did't know how to make it like her, so I decided to have a little garden for granny  ;-) Well, right from the beginning everything went wrong. I made an inverted easel [if you need to know how to mess up an easel card, you know whom to contact!!]. Then I started all over again and came up with this one. Propped the butterfly on a piece of acetate inspired by Chhavi's ideas. (Thank you Kathy and Chhavi.) The pretty orangish lace is from mom; everything else is either punched or handcut...

I am submitting this for the Daring Cardmakers challenge - Easel does it. The closed card: (5" square)

Where the frame rests:

The second card follows the CPS sketch #62. Nowhere close to the gorgeous DT work, but here's my take:

I'm also submitting this one for:
> The Cuttlebug Spot - favorite flowers
>The Pink Elephant challenge - Mommy, I love you

I've again die-cut, embossed, and inked vellum here. The faux blanket stitch (ok, I'm not an embroidery expert, so whatever that v-shaped stitch is called) was done with a Signo gel pen. 'mom' are alpha stickers from Itsy Bitsy. And the reason why I chose this sketch.... the flowers... I loved them.. they are inspired by Betsy. I just had to try something from her tutorials!! They are sup fab. Mine is nowhere close.... wish I had some colored felt in hand!!! The pom-pom lace is from my stash... the gorgeous patterned paper is Heidi Grace (from Donna of course!).

Hope you enjoyed my little post ;-)

PS: My hubby hates pompoms! :-( And he didn't like them on this card either.

Signing off...

Smita

A simple fancy fold card

My card fo the Incy Wincy challenge this week (fancy folds). I have tried the spring fold here... and I am so  in love with this easy and cute fold that I made 2 of the same card ;-).  I am a tad late for this one because I have been really caught up with something else!! Would have loved to do more detailing... and some bling too :-(

Before adding the sentiment:

After adding the sentiment (sorry about the dim light in this one):

Hope you like it too...

Cheers,
Smita

It is a BOY!! and I am an Aunt :-)

My cousin sister (we're almost the same age) had a baby boy yesterday and I am a first-time 'Masi' (maternal aunt)!!! I am delighted beyond words and so is everyone else in the family! We have been all waiting for her delivery for the past couple of weeks.... The little one is an adorable sweetheart and this is the card I made for the new addition to our family:

I loved the card and so did my mom-in-law. The image is a cute hologram sticker.. the ribbons are from my stash... I stitched the button on to the bow for some stability... The pictures are terrible I am sorry!!

I made a last second change and added a little sentiment!

Cheers,

Smita

Cutely pink... and Naughtily blue

Here is a baby girl card. Still to stamp the sentiment though.

Messed up a little at the last moment. Anyway, I kind of liked the colors and I'm in love with the hologram sticker, which I was quite reluctant to buy at first!

And a boy card using a free digi stamp from Cuddly Buddly. They have the cutest collection of digi stamps I think. I've had them for a while now... my printer just started working today and I wasted no time LOL!

Some handmade paper, cardstock, ric rac, and a button are all else that went into this card.

Cheers,
Smita

One of my favorites so far

Here's a card I just made... started with random ideas... but this one has turned out to be one of my most favorite ones so far. But the best of my cards (according to me, of course) should be posted later this week (after Dh's birthday).

This is for my maternal uncle and aunt's 25th wedding anniversary. I hope they like it.

The flower is inspired by Enfys. I loved her flower so much that it immediately started off an idea flow in my mind for this card that I'd been trying to make since yesterday. Thanks a ton, Enfys, for being such an inspiration!!

A closeup of the flower (pat pat... proud of meself.. ;-) )

I've used both handmade and regular cardstocks here. The flourishes are another current favorite with me... from a Faber Castell stencil. Hope you like this card too (if you see the disastrous card that I'd come up with yesterday, you'll surely like this one...LOL!)

Cheers,

Smita

An eventful weekend and some fun cards

Hello girls!

Been waiting to write this long post but couldn't. A lot has been going on in my life. My son, Aaryan, had a big fall on Saturday (think he was trying to be Spiderman or something) and got a few stitches on his chin. So, Saturday just flew past in related events.

On Sunday, my brave prince told me he was feeling a little better. So I decided to visit my city's (Mumbai) most prestigious  art & literature events called the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. They had loads of stalls selling handmade  stuff; live bands performing; movie screenings (in many languages); theater; kids workshops; art masterpieces; photography and art exhibitions... and a zillion other things for art & craft and literature lovers. I met up with a cousin there and had one of the most memorable times of my life there! It was just t eh sort of place I could get lost in... and since DH's not too keen on these things, I liked the fact that I had gone alone.

On my return journey, I took a train ride back in Mumbai's 'famed' local trains. I had traveled by train before but what I experienced on Sunday had never happened to me before. I was sandwiched between God knows how many women; my left hand was holding on to a bar above my head, the right hand was holding on to shopping bags (paper bags of course! since I was at a handmade items fair!!!!); the bags tore open; hands crushed...phew! it was a nightmare. And I was claustrophobic amidst that mad mad crowd!! But I finally managed to get off at a station. Reunited with my son and husband :D...

Monday morning: I wake up to find that my hands are nearly dysfunctional. Couldn't move them much. Managed to pack DH's tiffin for work, pack Aaryan to school, buy some necessities and ready to collapse in the afternoon. But my DS had asked me to make a card for his classmate's birthday party in the evening. Can't refuse your little man when he so lovingly shows off his mom's work ;-) This is the card and tag set I came up with for the little girl:

My back still hurts and we are leaving for our hometown - Kolkata, the city of joy!!- tomorrow.

But the good things are - I got a good back massage yesterday ;-) and sat down for some serious crafting last night. And what did I make? Some cards that DH's aunt wanted me to make for her to gift away during the year:

1) Hubby's favorite (he liked it inspite of being fed up of my pink obsession...yay!):

2) I love the blue here. Aaryan liked it too :-)

3) Hubby's 2nd favorite ;-)

4) My favorite. Still waiting to write a beautiful sentiment that I have in my mind :-p

5) Well, didn't like it half as much as my previous flower pot, but it is ok.

Cheers,
Smita!!!

I am back!!!

I am back finally!! No... not without any card yet again... but with my first 2 cards (that are being posted here) of the year!! That took long, huh? ;-) Personal issues as I mentioned in a previous post.

Here are my cards based loosely on the 2S4U sketch for this week by the wonderful Laura! How I have missed being part of these challenges. But when the mojo doesn't work, it just doesn't... ! I have been blog hopping for a while though; checking out what my blog friends and idols are doing.

Anyway, here's my take on the sketch:

This is for someone's 50th birthday (can't mention who yet!). Someone special to us and our family. I was crafting after so very long that I did make quite a few mistakes here, but I loved the card  whatsoever! The glitter brackets (what else can I call those gold things!?) were handcut. I traced them using gold acrylic paint from a Faber Castell stencil and then cut them out. Love the stencil!! Sentiment is using dry letter transfers. And the pearls are Itsy Bitsy. Background patterned paper from Hobby Ideas.

The second card was another 'just-like-that' card, which I converted into a best wishes card.

Nothing much to write about. A stamp used in the background from Hobby Ideas. Patterned paper and 3D Epoxy sentiment from Heidi Grace (thank you Donna!), 3D sticker from Hobby Ideas. Lots of  layers and I love it!!

Hugs,
Smita