Subway art style cards...

Hi! Here are couple of best of luck cards that I made for my niece and a friend's daughter. Both appeared for their CA exams this year. And I wanted to make something with words of encouragement.

I found this cool download at Luckeyfrog's Lilypad. I just resized it and printed it out on my laser printer. The gold edge is made with Gold EP & heat embossing.

I was very happy with the card and decided to make a similar one, in a different colour scheme.

I thought the red was looking a bit too bright. So I used the Tim Holtz Wood Grain stencil and a dark red ink to tone it down a bit.

Would love to know what you think of these cards!

Love, 
Nan

Water colour card with Botanical Swirls die...

Hi! I am really enjoying playing with my new "toys" and just experimenting with different techniques. Here is another cards I made with the Spellbinder's Botanical Swirls die.

I used white handmade paper. The background was made using water colours. The sentiment is from 'A Tree For All Seasons' stamp set by Winnie & Walter. I stamped it with Versamark and heat embossed with some sparkly Magenta Twinkle EP by Wow that I picked up from Itsy Bitsy. The label is cut using dies from Ity Bitsy as well.

Absolutely loved this card. And even better, my hubby loved it too! 

Love,
Nan

Floral card...

Hi! I recently visited the new Itsy Bitsy store at Kurla, Mumbai. It was a fab experience and I picked up many things. Definitely going back soon! One of my favourite finds was the Sizzix Wildflower die. Here is the card I made using that die.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches #161

Shopping Our Stash - SOS #176: Leaf Me Alone!

Hope you liked this card. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Love,
Nandini

Shades of red...

Hi! I treated myself to a Diwali gift this year and picked up some stuff from Crafters Corner and The Craft Shop, since both were offering very good deals!

One of my favourite picks was the Spellbinder's Botanical Swirls die. Absolutely love this die! Here is one of the cards I made.

The DP is from Chimanlal. The sentiment is from Micia and I embossed it with Glitter Red embossing powder which I picked up from Itsy Bitsy.

Entering it in the following challenges:

CMCC #45 - Colour Me ... Monochromatic

I used two shades of red. Actually three, if you count the EP.

Addicted to Stamps Challenge Blog #120 - Photo Inspiration

I was very inspired by the red and gold palette.

Hope you liked this card. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Love,
Nandini

A quick card...

Hi! I am back after a very long break, with a quick card.

Entering this in the Shopping Our Stash Weekly Challenge SOS #175: Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'. The challenge is to use something round. I have used the Lea'bilities Round Lace Frame die and Sizzlits Phrase die. I covered both with red glitter embossing powder from Wow & also added a little gold powder to the round frame. The technique is from Jennifer Mcguire's video tutorial on making faux metal embellishments. 

Here is a closer look at the card.

Also entering this in the Virginia's View Challenge #9.

I have used gold embossing powder. Also the cream handmade paper has gold misting which is not very visible in the photo.

Hope you liked this little card.

Love,
Nan

Another Card for Stretch Your Stamps 2...

Hi! Another card that I made as part of the Stretch Your Stamps 2.

The base is white hand made paper. Stamp is from We R Memory Keepers. The sentiment is from Bo Bunny and the inks are from Itsy Bitsy.

Very simple card which came together very fast.

Love,
Nan

Graphic stamps...

Hi! A quick post to showcase the card I made as a part of day 8 of Stretch Your Stamps 2: Create borders.

The base is white hand made paper. The stamp set is from CAS-ual Fridays. I used 3 shades of green to create the border.

The sentiment die is from Sizzix. And the stamped sentiment is from Bo Bunny. I stamped only part of it.

Entering this card in the Sentimental Sundays Challenge #220: Monochromatic Colors.

Love,
Nan

A Blog Hop and Inspiration Card...

Hi! The CASE Study Challenge Blog, one of my favorite challenges, is celebrating its 4th anniversary. There is a blog hop and also a challenge. After going through the hop, we can make a card inspired by one of the pieces of art work. I really enjoyed the hop and all the great inspiration present. But the card that I really fell in love with was by one of my all time favorites, Jennifer McGuire. You can check out her awesome creation here.

And my take on her card is this:

The base is white hand made paper. I used some water color paints from my daughter's supplies. The strip on the left is paper pieced using strips that I painted with the same colours used for the flowers. The stamp set is from Itsy Bitsy. The sentiment is from CAS-ual Fridays and stamped on some translucent white paper with gold embossing powder.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

CASE Study Challenge Blog:
CASE Study 4th Anniversary Week #2

I cased Jennifer McGuire's gorgeous water color card.

CAS(E) This Sketch #88:
I used this lovely sketch

Crazy For CAS:
Challenge #51 - Watercolouring

Beyond Grey Challenges:
BGC #57 - Watercolours

Hope you liked this card. I sure did! 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Love,
Nan

A decorated notebook...

Hi! The last swap at Swap Central India was notebooks.

Here was my entry.

I found a ready notebook with a lovely green handmade paper cover. I just embellished it with some papers from my stash and my favourite Chloe stem die.

The title is embossed in gold.

I also decorated the inside page of the note book and added two bookmarks.

Here is a pic with the book marks in.

A simple project which I hope my swap partner liked.

Love,
Nan

Stretch Your Stamps: Day 2 - Metallic On Black - Reverse Background Stamps

Hi! I tried the technique demonstrated so well by my all time favourite crafter, Jennifer McGuire on Day 2 of Stretch Your Stamps 2. Here is the result.

I used my own, DIY background stamp and embossed using silver, gold and copper colours.

The embossing powders are also made by me, since I have only gold powder in my stash. I just mixed the Fevicryl metallic powders with a little clear embossing powder.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Fusion Card Challenge - The Beach House
I used the sketch.

STAMPlorations August 2014 Challenge - Stamps & Die cuts
The butterflies are stamped and heat embossed and I used my favourite Chloe stem die

Lessology Challenge #39: Fluttering butterflies

Hope you liked this card.

Love,
Nan

Stretch Your Stamps: Day 1 - Faux Watercolor Stamping

Hi! I am participating in the Stretch Your Stamps 2 online class. It is absolutely fantastic! So a quick post on the card I made using the Faux Watercolor Stamping technique demonstrated so beautifully by Shari Carroll.

Here is a close up.

I was in two minds before registering for this class, as I do not have too many stamps. But the introductory video by Jennifer Mcguire really convinced me as she made it clear that it was perfectly OK to use the stamps that we already have. That is a big reason why I appreciate her so much. She always gives alternatives to what ever she is using.

As I do not have ANY background or reverse background stamps at all, I just ended up making my own! Here is a pic:

And it worked out so well, that I am planning to make more!

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Fusion Card Challenge - The Beach House
I used both the sketch and the inspiration photo.

AAA Cards: Game #14 - Play

Time Out Challenge #11 - Celebration with optional twist of butterflies

Shopping Our Stash: SOS #163 - Splish Splash
I used my mister to spray water on the stamp before stamping.

STAMPlorations August 2014 Challenge - Stamps & Die cuts
The butterflies are stamped and heat embossed and then cut with the co-ordinating die

Thats all for now. Will be back soon with another card I made.

Love,
Nan

Congrats card...

Hi! I am back today with a card that I made for a friend's daughter who is going away for higher studies.

This card gave me a chance to play around with some new techniques and also stretch my creative energies in finding alternatives to expensive craft products.

The base is white handmade paper. I created the coloured panel by using a stencil from Itsy Bitsy and some texture paste. Only I made the texture paste from scratch by mixing together some talcum powder, Fevicol, white acrylic paint and water. Very easy and much cheaper than anything available in the market! I coloured it using pigment inks.

The sentiment is a Sizzix die, which I cut four times and layered. I used the Faux Metal technique demonstrated by the very, very talented Jennifer Mcguire. You can check it out here. I loved the way she combined gold and silver embossing powders in the video. Since I have only gold powder in my stash, I decided to experiment with the stuff I already have. Some time back Jennifer had done a video in which she created her own glitter embossing powder by mixing some fine glitter and clear embossing powder. So I tried it with some copper and silver powders that I had on hand. And it worked beautifully!

I also decorated the inside of the card.

Entering this in the following challenges:

CAS(E) this Sketch #86

I used the sketch. Only I turned it around a bit.

The Card Concept Challenge #15 - Colour Challenge

I used the colour palette and was also inspired by the lacy votives. I guess my style would be Clean and Layered.

So that is all for now. I made two more cards using my 'texture paste' which I will post later.

Looking forward to hearing what you think of my DIY efforts!

Love,

Nan

P.S. Also posting in the following challenges:
Less is More Week 182 - Anything Goes
The card is definitely CAS - my usual style!

Addicted to CAS Challenge #43 - Celebrate

Card swap...

Hi! I made a bunch of cards for Swap Central India last month. I was really thrilled when Swap Central restarted, after a break, as I have enjoyed each and every swap I have participated in!

I had to wait till the cards were officially 'revealed' on their blog. So here I am, finally, with my set of cards.

The first card is a square 'Thank You' card.

The base is pink handmade paper. The DP is actually a tissue paper that is attached to some thick card stock using cling film. I had seen the tutorial for this a long time ago. Unfortunately I don't remember where. I tried it and it works beautifully! The sentiment is computer generated and printed. Some green twine and pearls finished the card.

For the second card, I went with a CAS but layered look.

The base is gold handmade paper. The DP is created by gluing diagonal strips of assorted papers onto a piece of scrap paper. I love this technique as it gives a lovely, rich look and also uses up all the scraps of paper that I hate to throw away. This particular strip is left over from two previous cards. You can check them out here and here. 

I used gold embossing powder for the sentiment. The floral gems are from my stash.

The third card uses a new technique that I tried for the first time. The original tutorial is by the amazingly talented Jennifer Mcguire. You can check it out here.

Supplies used are green and pink hand made paper. The embossing folder is from Itsy Bitsy. I used green and pink pigment inks for the embossed panel. I did struggle a lot to finish this card as nothing seemed to work after I had assembled the layers. Finally I decided to keep things simple and heat embossed the sentiment in white.

I used some tiny pearls to add a little bit of glamour to the card.

The final two are my favourites.

The card base is water colour paper. The panel is coloured using acrylic paints in blue and red. The butterflies are punched and then covered with glitter. I also covered the flourish die cut with glitter to make it pop.

I stamped the sentiment using my favourite Micia stamp set and dark blue sketch pen.

The fifth card turned out so much better than I imagined that I almost didn't send it!

The background is handmade paper, coloured using acrylic colours in pink, orange and yellow. I used my favourite Chloe Stem die by Memory Box. 

The sentiment is computer generated and printed on translucent paper. I added some pearls to finish the card.

Here is a consolidated image of all the 5 cards.

I really enjoyed this swap and am looking forward to the next. You can check it out here.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Love,
Nan

Stamping and misting 2...

Hi! The current challenge at Beyond Grey Challenges is Stamping on Fabric and Misting. I have already posted my entry in the layout category.

My second entry is in the cards only category.

I started with a piece of plain cotton fabric which I painted with acrylic colours in red, orange and yellow. Then I used a circle mask in a corner and sprayed the inside with metallic gold paint using an old tooth brush. Once the paint was dry I stamped using black Versamark ink and my favourite Micia stamp set. The birds are made using Faber Castell all surface marker.

Here is a closer look at the card.

The sentiment is from Bo Bunny.

I mounted it on cream card stock and added detailing with gold glitter pens.

I deliberately kept it simple since I wanted the focus on stamping and misting. 

Entering this in the BGC #53 - Stampin & Misting.

Love,

Nan

Stamping and misting...

Hi! The current challenge at Beyond Grey Challenges is Stamping on Fabric and Misting. I was very excited because this was an opportunity to try my hand at something new. Since this was a month long challenge, I thought I would have plenty of time to get my entries ready. Alas, life intruded in the form of kids' illness, schools etc. And finally here I am, at the last moment, posting my entries!

My first entry is in the layouts category.

I was very inspired by a layout created by Corrie J, thanks dear. You can check out her great tutorial here. 

I made the mist myself by mixing some water and acrylic shimmer paint by Hobby Ideas. It is not visible in the pics, but there is a lovely shimmer to the misting. Using masks and mini mister, I created a radiating pattern.

I created the butterflies by stamping on various fabrics with Versamark ink and then embossing with gold embossing powder. I cut the butterflies out using the co-ordinating die.

Here is another look at the butterfly.

All the fabrics are backed by fusible paper canvas to give it some stiffness.



The pic is a selfie clicked by my husband that I absolutely love! The paper doily was dipped in coffee to give it a slightly aged look. The sentiment is computer generated. Two Cheery Lynn Flourishes and some pearls completed the layout.

Entering this in BGC #53 - Stamping and Misting.

I have been trying hard to get into scrap booking for sometime. I find layering very difficult since my style is very definitely CAS. I am quite pleased with the finished project. Though it still looks very CAS to me! Would really love to hear what you think about my effort from you.

Love, 
Nan