It's A Boy

Hi All,

Last Friday our Teamie Deepti ave birth to a healthy baby boy, Siddharth Malik. Over at STAMPlorations we are celebrating the occasion with an impromptu Linky Party to congratulate the happy parents and, of course, send many blessings and well wishes their way.

Here is my little contribution towards the fun ....

... which will be making its way across the Atlantic. If you want to join the party, you can link up your creation over on the STAMPlorations Blog. The linky will stay open for two weeks.

Many congratulations, Deepti and Vikas. Sending many blessings for baby Siddharth, may lots of happiness be sprinkled along your path!

hugs
Monika xxx

February CASEplorations

It's February already and over at STAMPlorations we are kicking the new month off with an invitation to join us in the CASEplorations Playground. The Playground will be open for a whole month, the winner of the best CASE as voted for by the team gets a $15 gift certificate and two Top Picks will each receive a $5 gift certificate, full rules can be found here on the STAMPlorations Blog.

What is the CASE inspiration for this month, you might be asking. Well, it is a card by the fabulous Anita in France of My Papercraft World ...

Anita posted about her card here on her blog. There is lots of inspiration to take from her card, such as circles, hearts, rainbow colours, layers, bold sentiment, love theme ...

Here is what I picked:

• shaded colours down one side
• bold sentiment in two tones
• gem, which I turned into gems instead of hearts
• layers

Finally, here it is, my take on Anita's card ...

I used one of the Grunge Floral Strips and started stamping in Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie ... that's when I realized that I was using my stamp upside down ... I made the decision to have the shading the other way 'round and continued stamping in Melon Mambo and Pacific Point. I added the 'happy' sentiment, SB Happy, in black and embossed the 'birthday' in orange, layered on my mambo base card and added tiny gems to finish.

Pop over to the Playground to join the fun and to see what my teamies and Anita herself made as heir CASEs ... and of course to join our CASE challenge too.

That's it from me for today, back again tomorrow with more inspiration.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here are the sets I used in today's card, links are in the above text
 

Every Morning

Hi All,

January is coming to an end, and over at STAMPlorations they are rounding up the month with a last batch of inspiration ... of course there'll be more to come in February ...

What better way to give the New Beginning set another outing with this simple CAS design ...

I sponged my background on a pierced rectangle die-cut, stamped the sunrise image and added some subtle detail using my trusted Clear Star Sakura Gelly Roll pen. You can see it better in the photo graph below. To finish, I embossed my sentiment in Early Espresso and layered on a linen effect base card.

Pop over to the STAMPloration Blog for more amazing pieces of card-art, leaving a comment and having a good nose around.

That's it from me for today, back again tomorrow for the CASEplorations Challenge.

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

here is the set I used in today's card, link is in the above text

More Butterfly Arcs

Hi All,

back again with another piece of inspiration for you following on from my last two posts using the Winged Things set from STAMPlorations. I did tell you I really liked the arc hence another card using it ....

I blended my background using Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight inks. stamped the butterflies first in DD and then again in MM before adding my sentiment from the Big Greetings set in black. Once layered on my base card, I finished off by doodling a white border and adding some gems to the butterflies.

I am entering my card at:
Craft Stamper - Anything Goes with a stamp

I had initially intended to make another project to add to my post, but life had different ideas. It thought that it would be best for me to catch yet another bad cold, which I normally don't get. It is the second since Christmas. Wondering why someone thought I was in need of all this rest ... Hoping to add a few pieces to the Round Up post on Sunday. In the meantime pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog for their Inspiration Post to see and admire the brilliant creativity of my Teamies there. Also don't forget to leave a comment and have a thorough look around whilst you're there ... lots to be seen, enjoyed and learnt.

Have a lovely week!
hugs
Monika xxx

here are the sets I used in today's project, links are in the above text
 

Tidying And Finishing Unfinished Projects

Hi All,

Last week I had a go at tidying up my work space. It had gone quite messy under heaps of crafting stash, papers and projects in progress. It is astonishing what one can find ... hence today's post is dedicated to finishing some of the projects I started a while ago.

I shall also give you a little tour of my room at the end. This will be a very picture heavy post ...

First up is another make using my Jofy Mini 33  by PaperArtsy ...

... this time I stamped it twice, coloured, doodled a border, layered on my base card, added a sentiment (Graphic Pentagons by STAMPlorations) and finished off with a sequin. My other card using this Jofy stamp can be found here.

I am entering the above card at:
Addicted to Stamps and More - Make your Mark, I used Promarkers and a fine liner pen

Next up is a card I started off in a workshop last year ...

... where I got my base card a little messy. I rescued it by stamping the splashes (Mixed Media Elements by STAMPlorations), added my sentiment (Chevron and Arrows by STAMPlorations) and a few sequins to finish. Sadly I can't remember the make of the original stamped image.

Next up is another project started at the same workshop with Lindsay Mason ...

... where we made a background using alcohol inks, for the stamping I used my own stamps. The horse is from the Revolution set by Visible Image, not sure about the flourish and flower stamps.

Next us is a box with notelets I made ...

The flower was cut with my Sizzix Eclips before it broke about a year ago. It is still not fixed, but I'm living in hope. To create the box I used anew toy of mine, my 1-2-3 Punch Board by We R Memory Keepers to which I upgraded from my envelope punch board before Christmas.

Here is another box I made for notelets ....

... using a circle with heart border die cut (Sue Wilson) and some butterflies (Sizzix/Stampin'Up!).

Now last, but not least ... my crafting space where I make my projects, record my videos and write my blog posts ....

As you can see, it is quite a small desk which has to take my laptop too and the webcam, conveniently fitted to the shelf above.

Most of my stash lives in this shelving unit and cupboard, some papers and thin cutting dies in the little unit below...

... whilst some of my stamps, punches, inks, embossing powders live in this corner here ...

... the massage table conveniently converts into additional work space for my guillotine, gelli plate etc when not in use for its intended purpose. Envelopes and finished cards can easily be stored underneath in boxes too.

... and as this is a multi functional room, this is what it looks like when I'm not allowed to craft ... when guests have taken over my inner sanctum ...

That's it from me for now. Have a lovely weekend!

hugs
Monika xxx


Here is what I used from STAMPlorations, links are in the above text
  

Just A Note

Hi All,

after I spent the best part of last week tidying, re-arranging, sorting out and organizing my work space, more about this in my post here, I thought it might be an idea to enter one of the cards into the Craft Stamper Take It Make It Challenge - Anything Goes with a Stamp.

I made the topper a while ago using my Jofy Mini 33 stamp by PaperArtsy and decided to add a stamped background using the Mixed Media Elements set by STAMPlorations. Add a little sentiment (Graphic Pentagons by STAMPlorations), a touch of glitter to the blooms and you're done.

Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!
hugs
Monika xxx

Butterfly Arc Revisited

Hi All,

Here is another card for your Inspiration over at STAMPlorations using the butterflies from the Winged Things set which I arranged in an arc. As soon as I saw the set I wanted to make something using vellum with glitter ...

Let's start with the background ... I used the left over silver metallic acrylic paint from my card here and roughly painted it down the center on a piece of white card. Once dry I blended Milled Lavender all over it rubbing the excess from over the paint off with a piece of kitchen roll. I then stamped my butterflies using matching archival ink and stamped them again on vellum and fuzzy cut. I stamped my sentiment from the Bold Sentiments Discover set in black archival, distressed the edges and layered it to my base card before attaching my vellum butterflies with a little glue and finishing off with liberally applying glitter glue all over them. I love this technique, it makes the vellum crinkle and adds some lovely dimension. Here is a little close-up ...

You can also see the random brushstrokes of the metallic paint adding some subtle interest. The acrylic paint acts as a form of resist when used with dye inks and the two complement each other well.

I am entering my card at:
Craft Stamper - Anything Goes with a stamp

Pop over to the STAMPlorations Blog to see the fabulous projects my Teamies created. There is always such a variety for you to take inspiration from.

That's it from me for today. Off to finish clearing the craft room, having guest staying overnight ...

Have a lovely day!
hugs
Monika xxx

Here is what I used, links are in the above text: