Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge - March 2021...

Hi! Welcome to the March edition of the Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge. 

For inspiration, this month I used one of my favorite layered stencils by CrafTreat called the Layered Magnolia. 

I started with a bright yellow card base and stenciled both layers of the Two-Step Plaid III stencil by CrafTreat with Twisted Citron distress oxide ink in one corner. I used pink and orange distress oxide inks to color the flowers. 

You can check out my video on using CrafTreat's layered stencils here. 

Here is a closeup of the card. The sentiment is from the BAF Japanese Mum stamp set by Altenew.

I do hope you will join us in this great new challenge. Looking forward to your beautiful creations in our gallery.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

STAMPlorations March CAS Challenge:

STAMPlorations March Stencil Challenge:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Beautiful Blossoms:

Love,

Nandini

Papercraft Challenge #34...

Hi! Welcome back to the December challenge at the Papercraft Challenge blog. I hope you are doing well.

The theme for December is Anything Goes. If you want some inspiration, do visit us at the Papercraft Challenge blog where the DT has a great array of fabulous creations for you. You can also visit the Papercraft Business site for some great tools that can help you take your papercraft business to the next level. Like the awesome Papercraft Business Planner that helps you keep track of your favorite challenges!

Don't forget the great prizes we have for the winner every month. December Challenge Prize is the sweet Tilda with Little Rudolf stamp by Magnolia Designs.

Here is my inspiration card.

When you pull the tab, the slider moves up displaying the larger sentiment.

I started with a dark brown card base that I inked woth distress oxide inks. The large dot stamp is a made by me using fun foam. I used white pigment ink to stamp it. Once the ink was dry, I took a bunch of stamps with leaf images and stamped them with Versamark ink. I used the Enchanted Gold EP by Ranger to heat emboss. 

The large sentiment is from the Hip Hip stamp set by Kaisercraft.

I used Jennifer Mcguire's videos for the background and the slider mechanism. You can find them here and here.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. I look forward to your entries in our gallery.

You can get more information about Papercraft Challenge Planner here. It is an invaluable tool for all crafters who love taking part in challenges. The Papercraft Business site also has tools that can help you take your business to the next level.

Love,
Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Sparkling Sapphire...

Hi! I am here with my inspiration card for another great challenge at the Rainbow Card Challenges. The mood board this month is gorgeous!

I created a card with layered stenciling as my inspiration.

I used two stencils by CrafTreat called Floral Fusion Positive & Negative Dots. These are 6" x 6" stencils that can be used separately or together.

I started with the Negative Dots stencil and applied distress oxide inks in shades of blue to a piece of white cardstock to create an ombre effect. After my stenciling was done, there was a lot of ink on the stencil. So I sprayed it lightly with water and pressed it against a piece of white cardstock. After drying my papers, I attached the Positive Dots stencil to the inked paper with washi tape and added some Little Birdie sparkle embossing paste with a palette knife. I allowed the panel to air dry.

Once both the panels were ready, I cut them into four parts and got two backgrounds out of them. I rounded the corners and popped up the pieces on some dark blue cardstock. 

The sentiment is from the Let's Celebrate stamp set by Pinkfresh Studio. I stamped it with distress oxide ink and adhered it to my card over a piece of vellum.

Here is another look at the card.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful! Please do check out the Rainbow Card Challenge blog for more inspiration. And don’t forget to link your cards to our gallery. I look forward to seeing your beautiful creations.

Entering this card in the following challenges.

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Inspired by a Movie:

Inspired by the 1980s movie the Blue Lagoon

CAS(E) this Sketch #396:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:

STAMPlorations Stencil Challenge:

Make My Monday Challenge #134 - Masculine:

Love,

Nandini

Papercraft Challenge #33...

Hi! Welcome back to the November challenge at the Papercraft Challenge blog. I hope you are doing well.

The theme for November is Christmas Cards. If you want some inspiration, do visit us at the Papercraft Challenge blog where the DT has a great array of fabulous creations for you. You can also visit the Papercraft Business site for some great tools that can help you take your papercraft business to the next level. Like the awesome Papercraft Business Planner that helps you keep track of your favorite challenges!

Don't forget the great prizes we have for the winner every month. November Challenge Prize is the cute Santas Sleigh Die by Magnolia Designs.

Here is my inspiration card.

I decided to go for non-traditional colors for this card. I used the 2 Step Plaid III stencil by CrafTreat and distress oxide inks in shades of blue and pink. I started with a cream card base and inked the pink inks through the first stencil to create an ombre look. Once that dried, I used the second stencil along with shades of blue.

The sentiment is by Mudra Craft Stamps. It is a mini stamp called Christmas Wishes. I stamped it in shades of blue for an ombre look. After trimming the panel and matting it with dark blue paper, I popped it up on a vellum band.

To finish, I die-cut some snowflakes and added them to the card.

Here is another look at the completed card.

I just love the festive touch te snowflakes add to the card.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. I look forward to your entries in our gallery.

You can get more information about Papercraft Challenge Planner here. It is an invaluable tool for all crafters who love taking part in challenges. The Papercraft Business site also has tools that can help you take your business to the next level.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

WWC295 - Karen's Challenge: All About Occasions

CAS(E) this Sketch #396:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #263:

Just Add Ink #529:

Love,
Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Passion For Purple...

Hi! I am back with another great challenge for the Rainbow Card Challenge. Here is the inspiration pic.

I just love all the gorgeous shades of purple here. My favorite is the bottom right pic with the black and purple combo. Here is the card I created for you.

I decided to do some ink smooshing with distress and distress oxide inks. I used my Waffle Flower Water Media mat as my work surface. I was one of the lucky people to win it when it was released. It is an amazing product, very well designed and useful. I added the inks directly to the work surface and sprayed with water. After pressing the paper into the inks, I dried it with my heat tool.  Since the water media mat is made of heat resistant silicone there was no need to keep moving the paper around. And cleaning up the inks between layers was super easy! Here is the piece I created along with the inks I used.

I added several layers until I was happy with the look. 

I dried the panel thoroughly and trimmed it to fit an A2 size card base. 

I die-cut some wreaths from black card stock and glued them to the smooshed panel which was glued to the black card base. 

The sentiment is from the Wishing You stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink on a scrap of paper left over after I trimmed the smooshed panel. I matted it with black and added it to the card after popping it on some foam tape.

To finish, I die-cut a few tiny flowers from black cardstock and glued them to the wreath.

Here is another look at the completed card.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful You can visit the Rainbow Card Challenge blog for more inspiration from the design team and link your entries. 

Love, 
Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More #338...

Hi! Another fun challenge is up on the Addicted To Stamps And More challenge blog. This week the theme is:

I tried out a new technique with distress oxide inks.

I started with a piece of white cardstock. I blended Twisted Citron, Peacock feathers and Salty Ocean distress oxide inks on it to create a background. Once it was dry, I mounted the Emma background stamp on my stamp positioner and inked it with Blue Jeans distress oxide ink. I lightly spritzed with water and then stamped. Here is a closer look at the stamping.

To finish the card, I trimmed the panel and mounted it on a black card base with foam tape. The sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with pale blue embossing powder on a scrap of black paper. I trimmed the panel and popped it up on foam tape. Here is a look at the completed card.

I am very happy with the way this card turned out. The light spritz of water makes the ink glow, giving the card a lovely look. I hope you are inspired by my card and create something beautiful. You can link up your creations in at the Addicted To Stamps And More gallery. There is also plenty of beautiful inspiration from my talented teammates. 

Entering this card in the April Show & Share by Virginia.

Love,
Nandini

Altenew Academy Project #25...

Hi! Finally, I am almost at the end of the Altenew Educator Certification Program! My last assignment is for A Touch of Texture class by Svitlana Shayevich. This is a mini class with four lessons that give various techniques for adding texture to cards. I concentrated on the lesson on dry embossing.

I die-cut several pieces of thick paper with the Altenew Dodec Star die set and glued them together. I also trimmed part of the pattern off one set to get a different piece. I placed them on a piece of watercolour paper over an embossing mat and ran the whole thing through my Big Shot a few times. The result is a beautiful, embossed piece of paper. The best thing is, you can use either side, depending on the look you want.

I placed a single die cut over the embossing and applied some distress inks with a stencil brush. This gave a soft colour to the raised areas while leaving the debossed area white. Here is a closer look at the coloured panel.

The shape at the bottom left is the die cut I trimmed off. 

To finish, I trimmed the panel and mounted it to a teal card base with some foam tape. The sentiment is from the Fresh Freesia stamp set. I stamped it with Versamark and heat embossed with Vanilla White EP. I trimmed the sentiment panel and popped it up with foam tape.

Here is another look at the finished card.

I hope you like my card and will give this great technique a try.

I am so happy that this is my last class needed for the Altenew Educator Certification Program Level 3. This has been one of the best experiences of my life. Each class I have done has helped me improve as a crafter. I have learnt many new techniques, rediscovered some old ones and also found new ways of using my supplies. And the best part has been the encouragement and support I have received from Virginia Lu and Nicole Picadura. Both of them have been really wonderful! I am looking forward now to completing the rest of the challenges.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Clean & Simple:

Altenew January 2019 Inspiration Challenge:

Love,
Nandini

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

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