Tag #3 - 25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hi! My third tag inspired by the 25 Days of Christmas Tags event hosted by Tracey McNeely on her blog In My Creative Opinion.

This tag is inspired by Lindsay Larsen's beautiful tags on Day 15. Here is the link to her original post. I loved the clean, graphic design. 

I changed things up by choosing a red and cream color combo. The poinsettia flower is from the Jingle Bells stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. The sentiment is from the Happy Holidays stamp set, again by Mudra Craft Stamps.

Love,
Nandini

Guest Designing for Retro Rubber Challenge...

 Hi! I am very excited to be a guest designer at the Retro Rubber Challenge! This is a great blog that hosts weekly sketch, color, or theme challenges. The main requirement is that we use at least one stamp set that is more than a year old. This is such a great way to give some love to the older members of our stash!

My card today features an old stamp set by Altenew called Big World. This set was released way back in July 2016. I bought it a couple of years ago and never got around to inking it. Here is the card I created.

This is an interactive card, based on a tutorial by Jennifer Mcguire. You can find the original post here.

When you pull the tab, the globe flips over.

I stamped the globes with Altenew inks in blue and green. This set is one of the easiest to layer. Once both the globes were stamped, I used circle dies to cut them ou. The stand and the sentiment on the main panel were heat embossed with the Lapis Lazuli Blue Gold embossing powder by Lindy's Stamp Gang. Here is a closer look at the interactive element.

I finished the card by putting the panel on a dark blue card base. The word 'Pull' on the tab is from the Interactive Card stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. As a final touch, I trimmed the tab and rounded the corners using a corner rounder.

Here is another look at the completed card with the flap closed.

And flap open.

I hope you liked my card and will give this style a chance! Don't forget to pull out your older stamps and give them some love. You can link your creations to the Retro Rubber Challenge.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Entering this card in the following challenges

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:

Make My Monday Challenge #134 - Masculine:

NBUS Challenge #20

Edited – 10-06-2021

Creative Creases Challenge #8

Love,

Nandini

Art Journal #2...

Hi! I am back today with another art journal page. This one is also inspired by Vicky Papaioannou of Clips-n-cuts. 

I started with a panel of red sunboard that was leftover from a stage prop that my husband created for the TedX event in Panjim. I covered it with the one-step crackle medium by Little Birdie. I used a mix of chalk and pouring paints by Little Birdie for the top layer.

While the paint was drying, I stamped the outline image of the Japanese Mum stamp set by Altenew on different papers with Versamark. I heat embossed the images with copper and gold metallic embossing powders by Ranger. I also cut each one using the coordinating die and inked each flower with pink, purple and red dye inks. I also die-cut the leaves from a bunch of green papers. All the papers I have used on this page came from packs of textured paper that are sold at the Itsy Bitsy stores. I find these assorted paper packs very, very handy for card making.

I cut some corrugated paper and adhered it to the bottom of the panel. I also cut some pink and gold paper and created a vase and added it over the corrugated paper. Both were distressed with brown dye ink. Then I arranged the flowers and leaves over the vase, using foam tape to pop some. 

For the sentiment, I die-cut the word BLOOM several times from green cardstock and layered the letters. The companion sentiment is from the Carnation stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. After stamping in black, I lightly inked the edges with green dye ink.

Here is another look at the completed project.

I had fun making this page. I might just frame it and turn it into a home decor piece instead of putting it in my journal.

Entering this in the following challenges:

Love To Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB #45 - Anything Goes:

Love To Scrap Challenge Blog - LTSCB #132 - For The Girls:

Color Throwdown #587:

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Spring Mood Board:

The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge:

Love,

Nandini

In Memory of Bill Blog Hop...

Hi. Today I am here as part of the blog hop to support Sue Trembeth during a difficult time. Sue is a beloved member of the design team at The Rainbow Card Challenge Blog. Her elder brother Bill passed away from esophageal cancer some time back. Losing a loved member of our family is always tough. My thoughts and prayers are with Sue and her family during this difficult time. 

The theme is periwinkle, the color of esophageal cancer awareness. Here is my card.

I started with a panel of watercolor paper on which I stamped the flowers from the Lil Inkers Inky Flowers stamp set with Versamark ink. I heat embossed the flowers with white embossing powder. After the heat embossing was done, I used distress inks in shades of blue and violet for ink smooshing. I allowed the panel to dry and then added some more ink to the flowers with a brush to make them pop a bit more. Here is a closer look at the left side of the panel

And the right side

I kept the rest of the card very simple. After trimming the panel, I mounted it over a black mat on a grey card base. The sentiment is from the Forest Friends stamp set by Pinkfresh Studio. I heat embossed it in white on a scrap of black paper.

Here is another look at the completed card.

Your next stop is the awesome Mary Ellen Driggs. You can also start at the beginning. Here is a list of all the stops of the blog hop.

Mynn Kitchen
Rocky Crafter
Em Fairley
Nandini Karmarkar - That's me!
Mary Ellen Driggs
LeAnn Skinner
Lee Ann Barrett
Gietje Boja-Ligthart
Ewa Pas
Jacqueline Mantle
The Rainbow Card Challenge Blog

Love,
Nandini

Floral Layout with Altenew...

Hi! I am back with another layout I made using some of my favorite Altenew products. I was, of course, inspired by the A Year In Review Sketch Challenge 2019 on the Altenew Scrapbook Blog.

This time I went with the Sketch Challenge #15.

I used both the sketch and the colors as inspiration. Kindly excuse the poor quality of photographs as I am traveling and ended up editing to photos on my phone.

I started with a piece of Ivory cardstock and created the rainbow with different sets of Altenew inks. I used all for shades in each stripe.

Here are the completed stripes.

Next I matted the photo with shades of blue paper and added the date and place.

At this stage I felt today the layout looked a bit 'empty'. So I added some splatters with gold acrylic paint, to tie in with the hold embossing. To create the floral arrangement, I stamped the outline images of the flower from the Peony Bouquet stamp set and the leaf from the Beautiful Day stamp set. I heat embossed the images with Rich Gold embossing powder by Wow! and die-cut them with the coordinating dies.

After arranging the die-cuts in a pleasing way, I adhered them with glue as well as foam tape.

Here is the final layout again.

Entering this in the following challenges, along with the A Year In Review Sketch Challenge 2019.

Yes, Virginia... December Show & Share:

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #113:

Stamping Sensations December Anything Goes Challenge:

Watercooler Wednesday Challenges WWC252:

Love,
Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More Challenge #354...

Hi! Wednesday means a fresh new challenge at the Addicted To Stamps And More Challenge. This week’s theme is very dear to me.

I have always loved the Build-A-Flower series by Altenew. This series features a different flower every month and the sets have both stamps and the coordinating dies, which is great. I decided to go for the Japanese Mums as my first set. Here is the first card I made with this gorgeous stamp set.

I started with a top folding card base in cream. This paper has a fine splattering of dark colors which gives it more texture. I stamped the outline of the Japanese Mum stamp set by Altenew with Versamark ink all over the front and heat embossed it with Ranger’s Metallic Copper embossing powder. After heat embossing, I stamped the final, detailed layer with Versamark and heat embossed with the same embossing powder. Here is a look at the embossing.

Since the background was quite busy, I decided to keep the rest of the card very simple. I stamped the sentiment from the Birthday Greetings stamp set by Altenew on a strip of the cream paper with dark brown ink. For the mat, I simply inked another piece of with the same ink. I adhered the mat to the card base and added the sentiment panel popped up on some foam tape. To finish, I added two pearls from my stash.

Here is another look at the completed card.

I hope you liked this card and are inspired to create something beautiful. I look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. Please visit the Addicted To Stamps And More Challenge to link your creations and also get more inspiration from my talented teamies.

Entering this card in the following challenges:
International Art & Soul Challenge #64 - Embossing:

Crafting Happiness #9 - Flowers:

Scrap From Your Heart Challenge #36 - Monochromatic:

Pearly Sparkles Challenge #43 - Something Beginning with B:

CCEE Stampers CCEE1932 - Embossing:

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

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

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

Altenew Academy Project #14...

Hi! I am here today with two cards that I created for the Altenew Educator Certification Program. These cards are my assignment for the Impressive Heat Embossing Techniques by Svetlana Marchenko.

I have always loved heat embossing and enjoy trying out new techniques. So I was really looking forward to this class. I would highly recommend this class to both newbies and experienced crafters. It covers the basics really well as well as giving several fresh ideas for using your supplies.

I chose to try a technique that I have admired for a long time but never tried. This was the lesson on Layered Heat Embossing. Here are the two cards I made.

I chose to use the Perennial Beauty stamp set because it is easy to line up and doesn't have an outline. I have a large collection of coloured Wow! embossing powders and I used them for my layering. I used glitter EP for the final layer. I don't have glitter blue EP. So I did the last layer with dark blue EP and then repeated the layer with Holographic EP.

Once my layered heat embossing was done, I thought the card needed something more. So I stamped the outline leaf image from the Peony Bouquet stamp set around the flower and heat embossed with clear EP. I didn't bother masking my flowers. I simply brushed off the clear EP off before heat embossing.

Here is a closeup of the blue flower.

There were lots of white specks on the card base after my embossing was done. To cover it I diluted some white poster paint, added a hint of blue and then flicked it all over my card. The sentiment is from the Birthday Greetings stamp set. I trimmed the sides and the bottom of the panel and mounted it on a bright blue card base with foam tape. Here is a closer look at the completed card.

Entering the card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Monday - Monochrome:

Allsorts Challenge Week 486 - Water or Colour Blue:

The Twisted Challenges TTC#4 - Celebrations + Monochrome:

Dare2B Artzy Septemper Challenge - Favourite Colour:
I really love the colour blue, especially when combined with black.


I wasn't too sure about the pink flower. In fact, I started stamping two pink flowers - one on black and the other on dark blue base. The dark blue one was abandoned after a couple of layers because it wasn't looking good. The paper was wrapping too much and the colours didn't work together. When the final layer was done, I loved it! Here is a close up of the pink flower.

I trimmed the flower panel and adhered it to a black card base. I die cut the second panel with an aperture out of the same cardstock and mounted it over the flower with foam tape. Before that, I stamped the sentiment from Birthday Greetings stamp set with glitter pink EP. I tried to re-stamp the sentiment with my stamp positioner. Unfortunately, the paper shifted slightly. So I heat embossed with clear EP. This gave a nice, off-set shadow to the sentiment. Here is a close look at the completed card.

Entering the card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Bling It On:

The Flower Challenge - #24 - Anything Goes:

Some of the lessons I learnt are:

• Use the anti-static powder LIBERALLY between layers. Otherwise, you will end up with a speckled mess. I use talcum powder with a makeup brush.
• Make sure your heat gun is very hot and you work very fast especially towards the end. If you apply too much heat, the layers will start melting together.
• Use a juicy ink pad for stamping and stamp couple of times to get a good coverage.
• Test the paper you are using beforehand. You don't want to abandon the card after putting in a few layers because the paper starts warping or the colours don't work well together..
• Use an opaque embossing powder for the base layer. Otherwise, it will not show up on the dark card base.
• Feel free to mix small amounts of embossing powders to create new colours or effects. 

Love,
Nandini