Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies Challenge - July 2021...

Hi! I am so happy to be back with the inspiration for the month of July for the Happy Little Stampers Challenge. 

This card was made using the leftover images from another card I made last year. 

I used the Buildable Bouquet stamp and die set by MFT for the flowers.

And Zig real brush pens for all the coloring. 

Here is a closeup of the flowers.

Here is another look at the card.

You can check out my original card here

I also have a detailed video tutorial on how I made the original card.

I hope my card inspires you to create something beautiful. You can visit the Happy Little Stampers challenge blog for more inspiration and link your creations. I look forward to visiting you in our gallery.

Love,

Nandini

MFT Summer School Day 1 - Visual Triangle...

Hi! I recently completed 5 projects for the MFT Summer School. This is a fun, educational series by My Favorite Things. It teaches you the basics of good design and how to apply those designs in your cards.

Day 1 covered the concept of creating a visual triangle to add interest to your card. You can read more about it here.

Here is the card I created.

You can check out my video on how I created the card here or you can head over to my YouTube channel.

I used the Buildable Bouquet stamp and die set by MFT for the flowers and Zig real brush pens for all the coloring. 

I used the Smile word die by Lil' Inker for the sentiment.

I have also started keeping track of my NBUS products. NBUS stands for Never Before Used Stuff. These are products that we crafters buy on impulse and never get around to using! I am trying to use as many of these as possible. I have created a Pinterest board for this and plan on updating it. For today's card I used the MFT Buildable Bouquet set from my NBUS stash.

Here is another look at the card.

 

Hope you liked my card and enjoyed the video. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Creations in Pink #25:

Yes...Virginia August Show & Share:

Love,

Nandini

Art Journal #1...

Hi! The major advantage of the lockdown is the amount of time at hand to try new things. I have always wanted to try my hand at art journaling. Inspired by the great videos made by Shari Carroll and Vicky Papaioannou I decided to take the plunge.

I used the MFT Geometric Grid background stamp to heat emboss on a piece of watercolor paper. I used white embossing powder.  I wet the paper and added some watercolors in shades of blue, yellow, pink and green. Since I wanted a very diffused background, I used lots of water. Once the paper was completely dry I used the Tiger Lily stencil by Craftreat and Warm Grey mini ink cubes by Altenew to create the blooms in the background. I also added a hint of pink to the center of the flowers.

I am in love with these stencils. They are so easy to use! Here is a look at the three flowers that I inked.

I inked the edges of the panel with some brown distress oxide ink. The words are from the Floral Art stamp set by Altenew. I stamped them with black ink. I used distress oxide inks to ink the sentiment panels and used foam tape to pop them up on the panel.

I took some pattern paper and inked it with pink, purple and blue distress oxide inks. I die-cut the inked pattern paper and some translucent paper with the Isabella Butterfly die by Memory Box and added them to the page. To finish, I added tiny white half pearls to the butterflies.

Here is another look at the completed layout.

I am very happy with the way this page turned out. I have adhered it to a sheet of black paper. My plan is to add more pages to this journal.
I hope you are also getting a chance to try new things. I would love to hear more about how you are spending this time.

I am entering this page in the following challenges.

Color Throwdown #587:

The Studio Challenges:
5 - Butterflies, 4 - Colors, 3 - Flowers, 2 - Alphas, 1 - Stencil

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Spring Mood Board:

The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge:

Love,
Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Especially Emerald...

Hi! I am here today with the March challenge at the Rainbow Card Challenge. Every month we have a monochromatic or rainbow-colored photo inspiration. Here is this month's pic.

Green is one of my favorite colors and I was very inspired by the beautiful graphic. I decided to use one of my favorite techniques - emboss resist.

I took a piece of watercolor paper and stamped the beautiful Bundles of Blossoms background stamp by My Favorite Things with Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Then I used various shades of green and yellow watercolors by Camlin to get an ombre look. Here is a close-up.

Since the background looks so striking, I decided to keep the rest of the card very simple. I die-cut the letters 'H' and 'I' several times and layered them to create a large sentiment. I added a smaller sentiment by heat embossing on a scrap of black paper.

To finish, I trimmed the panel and a black mat and adhered both to a kraft card base. Here is another look at the completed card.

I am very happy with the look of this card! I hope you find it inspiring and look forward to your creations in our gallery. Please do visit the  Rainbow Card Challenge for more inspiration and to link your cards to the gallery.  

Entering this card in the following challenge.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #239 - Use Inks/Paints:

Cut It Up Challenge #194:

Love,
Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Regal Rainbow...

Hi! I can't believe it is already December. The year seems to have flown past really quickly! I am here today with the final challenge for 2019 at the Rainbow Card Challenge. Here is the inspiration pic.

Rainbows always bring a smile to our faces! There are so many different ways of interpreting this challenge, I am really looking forward to checking out our gallery.

For my inspiration, I went with simple watercoloring combined with die-cutting.

I started with a piece of watercolor card and used the Kokoyu Camlin Artist Watercolors to make a simple rainbow background. Once the paper was dry, I die-cut it using the Banana Leaf Card Front die by Spellbinders. I adhered the die-cut to a dark brown card base. 

I die-cut the frame out of the same paper and covered it with Versamark. I used Ranger's Metallic Copper embossing powder for the heat embossing. The sentiment was die cut with the Tag Talk dies by My Favorite Things. To make the sentiment pop more, I inlaid the background under the tag. Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

I popped up the frame and the sentiment with foam tape and adhered it to the card. To finish, I added some clear jewels from my stash. Here is another look at the completed card.

I am very pleased with this card. I hope you find it inspiring and look forward to your creations in our gallery. Please do visit the  Rainbow Card Challenge for more inspiration and to link your cards to the gallery.

Entering this card in the following challenges.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Just Us Girls #516:

Love,
Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More #306...

Hi! I am here today with some inspiration for the current Addicted To Stamps And More challenge #306. The theme this time is

These cards are a continuation of my previous set of cards. I made 50 cards that I for a friend. His friend also liked the cards. But he wanted 'Thank You' cards. So I tweaked the design and used up the pieces of rainbow paper that were left over. You can see the original cards here.

I started with a piece of cream cardstock. I painted diagonal stripes in rainbow order with Camlin photo inks. I love these for their intense colours and quick drying. Once the inks were dry, I diluted some gold acrylic paint and splattered it over the sheets.

I used the Dotted Florals background stamp by Impression Obsession with the Rocky Shore ink by Altenew to stamp on the cream card base. This gives a light texture without overwhelming or clashing with the rainbow panels. I adhered strips of cream and gold marbled handmade paper to the card base. I added the strips of rainbow paper popped up with foam tape. The Thanks die is by My Favorite Things. I die cut it out of black cardstock and adhered it directly to the rainbow strip.

To finish I rounded the corners with my corner rounder.

I hope you liked my cards and are inspired to make something beautiful. You can link your cards to our gallery here. Also, remember to visit the Addicted To Stamps And More challenge blog for more fabulous inspiration by my talented teamies.

Entering my card in the following challenges:

Time Out Challenges #116:

TGIF Challenges - #tgifc173:

Love,

Nandini

Addiced To Stamps And More #297...

Hi! Another great challenge is here from the Addicted To Stamps And More challenge blog. This week it is

I decided to pull out an old, never-before-used stamp set by STAMPlorations. Here is the card I created.

I stamped the Framed Zinia on a piece of plain white cardstock with Versamark Onyx Black ink. I colored it with my Zigs, blending pink and yellow colors with a wet brush. These markers are so easy to work with! I am really glad I bought them! I added a little black and brown to the edges and the flower centres. Once the piece was dry I trimmed it, covered it with Versamark ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I did five layers of embossing for a nice glossy finish. 

Here is a closer look at the panel.

The pink matting is a scrap of paper from my stash. The black card base was stamped with the Linen Background stamp by My Favorite Things with Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. 

I decided to forego a sentiment since I felt the card looks striking the way it is.

I hope you like my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. Please do visit us at Addicted To Stamps And More Challenges for more amazing inspiration and to link your creations. Looking forward to seeing you in our gallery.

Entering my card in the following challenges.

The Flower Challenge #21:
I based my card on two previous challenges:
#10 - Embossing Heat / Dry
#3 - Use An Older Stamp, Die or Stencil

Back To Basics & Beyond #5 - Heat Embossing:

STAMPlorations Never-ending Anything Goes Challenge:

CAS Mix Up Challenge:

Love,
Nandini

Make My Monday Challenges #73...

Hi! This week's Make My Monday challenge is hosted by yours truly. My choice is a favourite technique - Resist Embossing. There are many ways to do this wonderful technique and many different looks can be achieved based on the supplies you use.

Here is my inspiration card.

I stamped the Penny Black Blissful stamp set with Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. But I took a pattern paper with a small print instead of plain paper. This gives a completely different look to the project. After heat embossing, I used Faded Jeans distress ink to colour the open areas.

Here is a closer look at the panel.

Rest of the card was super easy. I die cut the coloured panel with a stitched rectangle die and trimmed the bottom with the Stitched Basic Edges die by My Favorite Things. The sentiment is from the Floral Fantasy set by Mudra. This is one of my very favourite sets to work with! I stamped it with Memento dew drop ink. The finished panel is popped up on the white card base with some foam tape.

I hope you like my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. Please do visit the Make My Monday challenge blog for more fabulous inspiration and to link your cards. Looking forward to seeing you in our gallery.

Entering my card in the following challenges.

Paru's Card Making Challenges:

The Flower Challenge #21:
I based my card on:
#11 - Focus On Background Stamping

Love,

Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More #291...

Hi! The new challenge is up at the Addicted To Stamps And More blog. This week is the easiest theme of all.

I created a set of cards for this challenge.

This is a great design for creating multiples, especially if you use a stamp positioner. I used the Striped Florals set by Altenew to stamp the images in Versafine Onyx Black ink on a white card base. I love this ink since it gives a crisp image every time. I used the base stamps from the Circle Scribble Flowers set by MFT to stamp different colors of distress inks over the black images. The sentiment is from Sentiments 1 stamp set by Elizabeth Craft Designs. I stamped it with Versamark on black paper and heat embossed with white EP. I mounted it with some foam tape on the card base.

I hope you like my cards and are inspired to create something beautiful. I look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. Please do visit the ATSM blog to link your creations and also to get inspired by rest of the design team. 

Love,

Nandini

Product Review For Itsy Bitsy...

Hi! Sometime back I received a call from Itsy Bitsy asking me to do a product review for them. I was, of course, more than happy to do it! I received three shades of Fairy Sparkle, Texture Tack and a pack of Fleece White card stock.

I made several cards using these products and I am very, very happy and impressed with the quality.


I used simple stamping for the first card.

I used the Mini Modern Blooms stamp set by My Favorite Things and Memento dew drop inks to create an all over design. I then dipped the broad end of my brush into the texture tack and dotted it at the center of the flowers. I sprinkled the Fairy Dust over it and let it dry for some time. The sentiment is from the Recollections You Are Lovely stamp set. 

I really love the crisp and bright images I got with the Fleece White paper and the little bit of bling that the Fairy Sparkle added.

Here are two more cards I made with Fleece White card stock and simple stamping.

A blue and white card made using the Folk Sentiments set by Docrafts with Bahama Blue ink by Memento. You can find more details here.

Made with the Peony Bouquet and the Painted Greetings stamp sets by Altenew. You can find more details here.


For my second card I decided to use stenciling.

I took a piece of paper that my kids has colored with distress inks from my scrap pile. I used a stencil that I had hand cut ages ago and applied some Indian Jamun distress ink by Artistry. I shifted the stencil slightly and applied Texture Tack through it. I then sprinkled the Fairy Sparkle and left it to dry. To match the card base I trimmed the Texture White paper to size and applied the ink directly.

I love the artsy look of this card. It is very easy to use the Texture Tack with a stencil and I love that it washes off very well.


For the third card I decided to combine the Fairy Sparkle with die cuts.

I first created my panel with the Leafy Pattern stencil by Mudra. The word die is by STAMPlorations. I cut it and then covered it with Texture Tack. I pressed the whole thing in a pool of Fairy Sparkle and left it to dry. To finish, I popped up the panel on a matching card base and adhered the sentiment to it.


For my final card I wanted to try something different. I decided to try stamping with texture tack.

I took a piece of Texture White card stock and stamped several flowers and leaves from the Freehand Florals stamp set by Wplus9 and die cut it with the matching dies. This is a beautiful layering set and I stamped one layer with texture tack. I added some Fairy Sparkle and allowed it to dry. The Sentiment is from Geometrical Patterns stamp set that I designed for Craftyscrappers. To finish I added some pretty sequins by Mudra Craft Stamps.

Really love the bit of sparkle that the Fairy Sparkle adds. Here is a closeup of the card.

Here are the Itsy Bitsy products I used. I have included links to the products as well.

Fleece White

Texture Tack

Fairy Sparkle - Lilac

Fairy Sparkle - Sterling Silver

I hope you enjoyed this post and will try these wonderful products. 

Love,
Nandini