Addicted To Stamps & More #225...

Hi! Addicted To Stamps & More challenges are back after a lovely break for the holidays. We have some fabulous challenges lined up for 2017. I hope I will see all of you often in our gallery. The first challenge of 2017 is this beautiful photo.

Two things struck me the first time I say this lovely bloom - the bright colors and the radial arrangement of petals. I decided to go with one of my favorite techniques - teabag folding. This is a great technique for creating quick cards and using up your stash. Here is my card.

I used 16 squares cut from four different handmade papers. I used the arrow fold to create the units and glued them together to create a medallion. I embossed the circle on my black card base with a die from the Lifestyle Crafts nested circles die set. The sentiment is from the Painted Greetings set by Altenew. I stamped it with Versamark and heat embossed with Ranger's Gold EP.

I finished the card by adhering a wooden button from my stash to the center of the medallion.

I hope my card inspires you to create something beautiful. Please link your cards here and be sure to visit the ATSM blog for additional inspiration by my super talented teamies.

Entering this card in the following challenge:

CAS(E) This Sketch #204

Love,
Nandini

Craftyscrappers Challenge #10...

Hi! The new Craftyscrappers challenge is on and theme is Women Power. Today is the first day of Navratri, a festival celebrating the goddess Durga and her victory over evil. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, we want you to make feminine cards for the women in your life.

Our sponsor for this challenge is 

Craftyscrappers is a great e-shop selling high quality die cuts, stamps and embellishments at very pocket friendly rates.

You could be the lucky winner to win amazing prizes from our CRAFTYSCRAPPERS SHOP

FIRST WINNER: a clear stamp set along with craft goodies.

SECOND WINNER: assorted die cuts.

THIRD WINNER: assorted embossed cards pack.

I made a card for a dear friend whose birthday falls in October. Since she loves bright colors, I chose a vivid card base combined with pretty flowers.

I started with a pre-stamped die cut from Craftyscrappers. It is very handy to have these on hand, especially if you are not a confident stamper or don't have a lot of stamps. Since the image is precut there is no bother of fussy cutting. I used distress inks to color the image.

I chose a bright blue card base and embossed it with the WRMK Next Level embossing folder. I cut a frame out of the same paper with DCAM's Double Stitched Rectangles dies. These dies are great since they have stitching on both sides of the cutting line. And the quality is amazing. Here is a close up.

The sentiment is from the Lotus Delight stamp set by Peek-a-boo Designs. I stamped it with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW! white EP. To assemble, I popped up the frame and the image with some double sided tape. 

I hope you like my card. Please be sure stop by the Craftyscrappers blog and check out the amazing inspiration by my super talented teamies.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches #256

Color Throwdown #412

Love,

Nandini

Exciting announcement...

Hi! I am here today with a very exciting announcement that I have been sitting on for some time. I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to be joining the super talented Design Team at Addicted to Stamps and More! 

The challenge this week is very easy and a great favourite of mine...

You can create anything for this challenge, so go crazy and make sure that you link up your creations to Challenge #201.

This challenge is being sponsored by

Happy Little Stampers was created in 2015 by Kylie (owner of ATSM and ATCAS). Kylie wanted to bring out a line of stamps that were useful for every day crafters. From cute to whimsical images, from everyday to funky sentiments there is something for everyone!

Shop: Happy Little Stampers

Prize: $15 gift certificate

My first DT card for ATSM is very special to me because I made this card for my closest friend for her birthday this year.

I started with plain white cardstock and stamped the blooms from MFT's Mini Modern Blooms set with an assortment of Memento dewdrop ink pads. I used the matching dies to cut them. The circles were cut with the Gina Marie X stitched circle dies. The sentiment is from the Folk Sentiments set by Docrafts. I stamped it with Versamark ink and heat embossed with some WOW! Fluorescent Tickled Pink embossing powder. I used the beautiful Woven - Next Level Embossing Folder by WRMK to add some texture to the card. Here is a close up of the blooms. 

I am very happy with the way this card turned out. I hope it inspires you to create something wonderful for the ATSM Challenge #201. You can link up your creations here. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Love,
Nandini

Layered Embossing Resist...

Hi! I am back today with a card that I made keeping in mind a couple of challenges and also a new technique that I have been really keen on trying. It also gave me an opportunity to ink up one of my favorite stamp by Mudra Stamps, a new, Indian company. I love their quality and the designs are really, really gorgeous!

I started with a plain piece of white cardstock and stamped the bloom from the Floral Fantasy stamp set several times with Versamark ink. I used the layered embossing technique by Svitlana from the Altenew DT. You can check out her awesome video here. I used the Red Cosmos inks by Altenew. Here is a close up of the panel.

Rest of the card was super easy. I used the X stitch Rectangle die by Gina Marie Designs to cut my stamped panel. I used the Square Grid die by Simon Says Stamp to emboss the grey card base and mounted the stamped panel with some black fun foam. The sentiment is from a Studio G stamp set and heat embossed with Ranger's Silver EP.

Entering the card in the following challenges:

Color Throwdown #393
I was very inspired by this week's colors.

CAS Mix Up May Challenge
I used Stamping, Heat Embossing, Sponging, Die-cutting, Resist and Dry Embossing.

Stamplorations May CAS Challenge

Addicted To Stamps & More Challenge #194 - CAS

Stamplorations May Theme Challenge

Love,

Nandini

A Special Card...

Hi! I am back today with a card for my cousin who recently completed her PhD. I am so proud of her and happy that she achieved her dream despite many, many challenges. Here is the card I created for her.

I started with pale green handmade paper which I embossed with the WRMK Next Level Embossing Folder - Woven. I am totally in love these folders as they add such fabulous texture to any card. The cream circle die cut is from my stash and I mounted it with some foam tape. For the roses, I simply rubbed the tips of Memento Dew Drops ink pads in pink and orange on some white card stock. I then used the LJD Scribbled Roses Overlay by My Favorite Things to die cut the card stock and some gold foil paper. After popping back all the die cuts into the card stock, I laid the gold outline over and glued it down. Here is a closer look at the flowers.

The sentiment is die cut using the Sizzix Phrase: Congrats #2 from some glittery gold paper and slightly offset over some black card stock. The leaves are cut using another Sizzix die - Flower & Leaf #5, from scarps of green handmade paper.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

CAS on Sunday Challenge #80 - Flowers

Southern Girls Challenge - Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew #109 - CAS (Clean And Simple)

Simon Says: Anything Goes

Creative Friday #150 - Celebrate

Love,
Nandini

Note Cards with Stampaholic...

Hi! Recently my husband asked me to make a set of note cards for him. I thought this was a good opportunity to try my new Stampaholic by Die Cuts and More. I also put together a mini tut for anybody who is interested.

I started with a large piece of water color paper.

I cut the water color paper into 8 pieces, each approximately measuring 4 x 6 inches.

I placed two pieces on the Stampaholic and stamped two leaf images from the Hero Arts Stamp Your Own Plant set with Versamark. Since I was using the Stampaholic, I stamped the images twice. This ensured a clear impression even though the paper is slightly textured. I was also able to work very fast.

After the stamping was done I heat embossed the images with Ranger & Wow embossing powders in metallic gold, silver, platinum and copper.

I die cut the papers into smaller panels with a rectangular die. I also used a border die by Memory Box to add some stitched details around the edges.

To finish the cards, I simply embossed my card bases with three different embossing folder - two from The Next Level Embossing folders - Woven set and the Argyle folder by Darice.

The stamped and embossed panel was mounted on the card base with some foam tape. Here are all the eight cards together.

And the best part? Thanks to the Stampaholic I was able to finish all eight in one day, which considering both kids were home, is some sort of record for me!

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Stamplorations March Challenge - Stamps & Texture

Stamplorations March CAS Card Challenge

Hope you liked these simple note cards. Would love to hear from you.

Love,
Nandini

Some Cupid Love...

Hi! I am back with my inspiration for the Craftscrappers Challenge #5: Cupid Love. In this challenge you need to include at least one thing that showcases a cupid/a heart/a wing.

In the goodie bag that I received from Craftyscrappers was a great pre-stamped sentiment. I was very keen on using it on my card. Since the sentiment was stamped in a lovely shade of brown, I decided to go for a masculine look. Here is my card.



I started with a piece of watercolor paper that I smooshed with shades of yellow and brown. These are photo inks from Camlin and they have really beautiful, intense colors. I then stamped repeatedly with my Script stamp by Kaisercraft with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Metallic Copper EP by WOW! I then trimmed it with Spellbinder's On The Edge Shapeablities die for a nice pinked edge on both sides, which I mounted on a black card A2 size card base.

For the sentiment, I sponged the die cut with a little Rusty Hinge and coated it with several layers of clear EP. This was then mounted on a piece of black cardstock which I had run through the Distressed Stripes embossing folder by Cuttlebug.



Be sure to check out the Craftyscrappers blog for more amazing inspiration from my fellow DT members and also the challenge details.

Craftyscrappers also has an huge range of die cuts for sale. The catalogues are updated regularly. So keep checking!

Entering this card in the following challenges:

HLS January CAS Challenge:

HLS January CASE The Designer: Kylie Purtell

CASEplorations January:

Fusion Card Challenge: 2nd Year Celebration with Special Guests

I used only the sketch.

Just Us Girls #325: Use Metals/Metallics
I used Metallic Copper EP on my background.

Love,

Nandini - GDT, Craftyscrappers

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

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

Trying my hand at typography...

Hi! My second post of the day! I think I am a bit impressed with myself!

I made this card for my brother-in-law's wedding anniversary. The sketch is from Retro Sketches #100.

The colour palette is from Dynamic Duo's DD#88 - Red & Teal.

And my take on this is...

Supplies used are handmade paper in white, red and teal blue. The embossing folder is Daisy and Swirls from Itsy Bitsy. 

I embossed the white handmade paper and then dry brushed with Hobby Ideas pearl colours in shades of blue. The tiny red sequins add a pop of colour.

Here is a close up of the embossing.

For the word art panel, I typed out a list and then applied various fonts till I got a good mix of styles. The names of the recipients are coloured with red sketch pen.

Some red grosgrain ribbon and stitching lines with a white gel pen complete the card.

Here is a close up...

Entering this in the following challenges:

Retro Sketches - #100
I used their lovely sketch

Dynamic Duo's DD#88 - Red & Teal

Used the colour palette

Lawnscaping Challenge 75: Dots and Hearts

I think my card qualifies since the embossing has both dots and tiny hearts.

That is all from me for now.

Love,

Nan