Addicted To Stamps & More #320...

Hi! The new challenge is up at the Addicted To Stamps & More challenge blog. This week it is a beautiful collage.

I was very inspired by the bottom pic. I decided to go for a more sketchy look. Here is the card I created.

I took a top folding kraft card base and stamped the Gingham background stamp by Kaisercraft with Antique Linen distress oxide ink. I took a strip of watercolour paper and stamped one of the borders from the Lovely Borders 2 stamp set by Pinkfresh Studio. I coloured the images quickly with my Zigs. I trimmed the paper and adhered it to the card base with some foam tape. I stamped the sentiment on a dark brown paper with Versamark ink and heat embossed with vanilla EP. I trimmed the sentiment strip and mounted it with foam tape. To finish, I punched out two tiny flowers and adhered them to the sentiment strip after adding a small dot with a pink marker at the centre.

Here is a closer look.

Love how quickly this card came together and how charming it looks. I hope it inspires you to create something beautiful. You can check out the Addicted To Stamps & More blog for more inspiration and also link up your entries there.

Love,
Nandini

Make My Monday Challenge #85...

Hi! Today the new challenge is up at the Make My Monday challenge blog. The theme this time is to use non-traditional Christmas colors in your creations. An easy and fun theme that everyone can participate in. Here is the card I made.

I started with a piece of watercolour paper and smooshed some yellow, orange and pink distress inks with an acrylic block. I added some ink splatters with the same inks and let the panel dry completely. I die cut the panel and stamped the sentiment from the Christmas Trimmings stamp set by Hero Arts. I popped up the panel on some foam tape and adhered it to a bright yellow card base. I die cut some snowflakes from white paper and adhered them to the card. To finish, I added some white half pearls.

Here is a closer look at the card.

This card came together very quickly and I love the end result. It is a bit like Holi meets Christmas actually!

Entering this card in the following challenge.

Aud Sentiments #217 - Christmas/Winter Sentiment

Love,
Nandini

Altenew Academy Project #20...

Hi! I am finally at the end of the classes for the Altenew Educator Certification Program - Level 2. Beautiful Details by Marika Rahtu is the final class I need to complete. I went through the lessons a while ago. But it took me some time to actually complete my assignment. Part of the reason is that I am totally intimidated by Marika's amazing work. She is so talented and I am a huge fan of her work. She teaches many techniques for adding extra details to your cards that will really make them shine. I concentrated on the very first lesson that focuses on using your stamps to create artistic cards. Here is my card.

I started with a piece of watercolour paper. I used the second layer of the leaf stamp and inked it with yellow, dark pink and two shades of orange markers. These are the brush pens by Camlin which have very intense colours. I overlapped the leaf to create a flower. I drew the stem by hand with my Zigs. Once the stamping was done, I lightly distressed the panel with blue, yellow and green inks and added some water splatters. Here is a closer look at the stamping.

The sentiment is from the Painted Greetings set, stamped with black ink. I  trimmed the panel and added a mat of green paper. The mat is adhered directly to the orange card base. The panel is popped up on some foam tape. I added some jute cord towards to top as a finishing touch.

I hope you like my card. I look forward to hearing from you.

I am very excited that my classes for Level 2 are done. I am looking forward now to receiving my final assignment. I have really enjoyed the journey till now and look forward to the future.

Love,
Nandini

Altenew Academy Project #19...

Hi! I am almost at the end of the classes for the Altenew Educator Certification Program - Level 2. Today I am posting the cards I made as my assignment for Polychromatic, taught by Nina-Marie Trapani. She has an amazing eye for combining colours and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. I used the faux watercolour technique to create my stamped panel. I converted it into two cards.

I started with a piece of watercolour paper. I used the Daisy stamp set and my Zigs to stamp the blooms. The leaves are from the Mini Blossoms set. Here is a closer look at the panel.

I cut the panel in half to create two cards.

The sentiment is from the Fresh Freesia stamp set. 

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Stinkin' Inkers Challenge - Just Because:

Color Throwdown #520:

The sentiment is from the Birthday Greetings stamp set.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Confetti Challenge:

Sparkle Challenge #110 - Things of Fall:

Love,

Nandini

Altenew Academy Project #18...

Hi! Today's card is my homework for the In The Mood For Color class by Stephanie Klauck, which is a part of the Altenew Educator Certification Program. This is a great class where we learn the different moods associated with different colours.

I wanted to challenge myself and made a card dominated by yellow, which is not a colour I use very often. Yellow denotes energy, cheer and optimism. So I decided to create a birthday card.

I started with a piece of yellow card base. I die cut two smaller panels, one out of the same yellow paper and the other out of watercolour plaid paper that I had created for another card. I inked the yellow panel with some Fossilized Amber distress ink. I stamped the sentiment from the Birthday Greetings stamp set with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also created a background with the same stamp and Memento ink. This panel was popped up on foam tape and adhered to the card base. I stamped the large flower from the Free Freesia stamp set with Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed with gold EP. I die cut it with the coordinating die and adhered it to the card.

To finish I added some tiny sequins from my stash.

Here is a closer look at the card.

I hope you liked my card. This style is quite different from my usual card making. I am very happy that doing the AECP has helped me expand my horizons.

Love,
Nandini

Altenew Academy Project #17...

Hi! I am almost at the end of the Altenew Educator Certification Program Level Two. I have really enjoyed my classes. Today's card combines lots of stuff that I picked up during this process.

Jennifer Rzasa, Debby Hughes, and Laura Bassen are three of my favourite crafters. So I was really looking forward to the Creative Watercolor Media class. And this class definitely didn't disappoint! I especially loved the idea of using reinkers as paints. I don't have any Altenew reinkers. So I used photo inks which are similar. Here is the card I created.



I started with a piece of watercolour paper. I used liquid masking fluid to draw a grid and then painted with yellow dye ink. Once the paper was dry, I added more masking fluid and used shades of blue and green to get a beautiful plaid pattern. I added some details with a very fine brush and dark blue and green dye ink.

While my plaid paper was drying, I took a scrap of yellow cardstock and stamped the outline and one layering image of the large bloom from the Peony Bouquet stamp set. I die cut it with the coordinating die. I stamped the leaves on watercolour paper and added drops of blue and green. I die cut the leaves with the coordinating dies as well.

I scored lines on a green card base. The sentiment is from the Birthday Greetings stamp set. I stamped and heat embossed it with white EP. I die cut the plaid paper and arranged all the die cuts on the card base.

Here is a closer look at the card.

I hope you liked my take on pop art. Looking forward to hearing from you. Entering my card in the following challenges.

Creatalicious Challenge #151 - Anything Goes + Layer It Up:

Watercooler Wednesday WWC196 - All About Occasions:

Shopping Our Stash SOS380 - Tic-Tac-Toe:

I used the middle line. The Camlin dye inks are used are several years old, definitely more than 6 years.

The Flower Challenge #26:

Love,

Nandini

Addicted To Stamps & More #318...

Hi! The new challenge is up at the Addicted To Stamps & More blog. This week the theme is

I made a Christmas card as inspiration.

I used the Kaleidoscope technique again. The original technique is by Jennifer Mcguire and you can find the post here. Since I don't have the wreath builder template by Gina K, I made my own out of some sturdy file board. Then I dug out the Christmas Decors set by Mudra Craft Stamps and Warm Wishes Tia by Some Odd Girl. I used Altenew and Memento inks to stamp the snowflakes and created my own kaleidoscope background.

I trimmed the panel and die cut a window towards the top right corner. The sentiment is from the Christmas set my Mudra Craft Stamps. I stamped it with Memento ink and then heat embossed with Ranger's Holographic EP. The blue sequins are from my stash. I created the shaker and then mounted the whole thing on a bright blue card base.

Here is a closer look at the card.

I hope you are inspired by my card. I look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. Please do visit the Addicted To Stamps & More blog for more inspiration and to link your entries.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Rainbow Card Challenge - Design Team Call:
I am keeping my fingers crossed for this DT call! My style is very Clean & Simple. I love bright colours and messy backgrounds. I am a complete technique junkie and enjoy finding new ways to use my supplies. I love the idea of a colour challenge as it will make me stretch my boundaries. And I love the challenge graphic!

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #207 - Winter Blues:

That's Crafty Challenge - Winter Wonderland:

Incy Wincy Designs - Christmas:

Love,
Nandini

Make My Monday #84...

Hi! The new challenge is up at the Make My Monday challenge blog. The theme this time is Winter Foliage. I decided to use the Kaleidoscope technique that Jennifer Mcguire shared some time back. You can find the original post here. She used the wreath builder stencil by Gina K to create her cards. Since I don't have it, I created my own template. Here is the card I made.

I used the Autumn Splendor stamp set by Sunny Studio and the Christmas Trimmings stamp & cut set by Hero Arts along with a bunch of inks from Altenew, Memento and Wendy Vecchi for the stamping. The process takes a bit of time and I had to figure out the placement etc. But once I got it, the stamping went pretty fast. And I love the results! I made another card today using the same technique which I will share later this week.

Here is a close up of the card.

The sentiment is from the Christmas Decors set by Mudra Craft Stamps. I first heat embossed with white EP and then added another layer with Ranger's Enchanted Gold to give it some shine.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. Please do visit the Make My Monday challenge blog for more inspiration from my talented teammates and to link your creations.

Entering my card in the following challenges.

Incy Wincy Designs - Christmas:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Make Your Own Background:

Love,
Nandini

Shake It Up!

Hi! I am here today with a birthday card that I made for a very close friend. Her daughter is turning 21 and she wanted a special card for her.

I decided to make a shaker card for her. I was very inspired by a card I found on Pinterest by Nicole Gavaldon for Lawn Fawn. You can find the original card here. And here is the card I made.

The starting point of my card was some pretty gift wrapping paper that I bought some time ago. It has some water coloured polka dots that I love. I adhered it to a piece of cream cardstock and then trimmed it to fit on a 4.25" x 5.5" card base. I die cut a panel from the same cream cardstock and also die cut a heart-shaped window towards the top. I used the Sweet Cakes stamp set by Simon Says Stamp. I stamped the little table and the candles at the top of the cake with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Ranger's Gold embossing powder. I inked the cake image with my Zigs as I wanted to get the same watercoloured look as the polka dots. I stamped it a couple of times to get some shading. I die cut the images with the coordinating dies.

The sentiment was also stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Ranger Gold Tinsel embossing powder. I used a mix of sequins from my stash to create the shaker element. I want to especially mention the liquid craft glue that I used from Itsy Bitsy to adhere the OHP sheet to the paper. This is a fantastic glue which dries clear, is super strong and works with almost any material!

I adhered the shaker panel to the card base and the die cuts over the shaker window. I punched out three small flowers and added them to the cake. To finish, I added gold sequins to the centres of the flowers.

Here is a closer look at the card.

I really loved this card. Waiting to hear from my friend now, after she gives her daughter the card.

I am entering this card in the following challenges.

Less Is More Challenge #383 - Dimension:

Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #338:

Allsorts Challenge Week 492 - Pretty Papers:

Mix It Up Challenge MIUCB #19 - Anything Goes + Aperture:

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #362:

Love,
Nandini

Happy Diwali!

Hi! Today is Diwali, the festival of lights. I wish all of you a very happy Diwali and a fantastic year ahead!

I want to share a special card on this occasion.

This card is part of the set I made for my DT post on Mudra Craft Stamps. 

I inked a paper with distress oxide inks in red, orange and pink. I stencilled over it with dark brown distress ink through the Deco Pattern stencil by Mudra. I trimmed the panel to fit a standard A2 card and die cut a rectangle from the centre. I used the frame to make another card. The gorgeous sentiment die is the Cut3 Diwali die by Mudra Craft Stamps. I inked a scrap of paper with the same distress oxide inks I used for the main panel. I added some gold splatters for a more festive look. The base layer was cut from gold foil paper. I die cut the sentiment twice, once from black and again from the inked and splattered paper. I stacked them together and then adhered the sentiment to the inked and stencilled panel. The small sentiment is from the Diwali Decorations stamp set by Mudra. This stamp set coordinates perfectly with the Diwali die. So there are lots of options for your Diwali cards.

Here is a close up of the sentiment.

Love the way this card turned out!

This was the card I shared on the Mudra blog where I used up the frame left over after die-cutting. So I got two beautiful cards at one time.

I hope you liked my card. Entering it in the following challenges.

CASology Week 320:

I used three colours that compliment each other - red, orange and pink.

CAS(E) This Sketch #296:

Less Is More Challenge #383:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Make Your Own Background:

Cut It Up Challenge 160 - Clean & Simple:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Love,

Nandini