Great News!

Hi! I am back to blogging after a break of one whole month. With some exciting news. Last month I was happy to be a guest DT at the Rainbow Card Challenge. I was really thrilled when Mynnette Kitchen who owns the blog asked me to join the team.

This month the theme is Blue Breezes and here is the beautiful inspiration graphic.

The butterfly on the right really caught my eye and I decided to go with it.

I started by placing a piece of watercolor paper in my stamp positioner. I arranged the stamps from the Grungy Butterfly set by Mudra Craft Stamps in one corner. I also added two small butterflies from the Papillon mini stamp set, again by Mudra. I inked the stamps with Peacock Feathers, Blueprint Sketch and Mermaid Lagoon distress inks, sprayed with water and stamped. I rotated the panel and repeated the process. I flicked the distress inks over the panel and continued spraying with water till I was happy with the background. I dried the panel a little, re-inked the stamps and stamped again, this time without any water. Then I allowed the panel to dry over-night.

To add some more interest to the card, I dabbed some Versamark ink randomly on the stamps and heat embossed with Ranger's Holographic enclosing powder.

Here is a closer look at the background.

The sentiment is from the Fresh Cut Roses stamp set by Mudra. I first heat embossed it with WOW!  Opaque White embossing powder and then again with Ranger's Holographic embossing powder.

Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

To finish I simply popped up the stamped panel and the sentiment with foam tape and added them to a Navy blue card base.

Here the completed card.

I am really happy with the way this card turned out. I hope you are also inspired to create something beautiful. Please visit the  Rainbow Card Challenge blog for more, amazing inspiration. You can also link your cards to our gallery. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Love,

Nandini

Guest Designer for The Rainbow Card Challenge...

Hi! Nandini here, with a special card for the current Rainbow Card Challenge. I was really thrilled when I was asked to guest design for this great challenge and said yes immediately! Here is the gorgeous photo prompt:

There are so many inspiring elements here that the possibilities are endless! The one that caught my eye was the stack of candy on the lower left corner. Here is the card that I made.

I started with a panel of white cardstock with a linen finish. I love the texture that the finish adds to the card. I selected a bunch of Mai inks by Mudra Craft Stamps and used finger daubers to 'draw' parallel lines. I love these inks as they have such beautiful, vibrant colours. The shades I used were Lemon Yellow, Tangerine Orange, Ruby Red, Fuschia Pink and Ultra Violet. Here is a closer look at the coloured panel.

The sentiment is from the Fairytale Wishes stamp set and the little star is from the Sparkle stamp set, both by Mudra Craft Stamps. I stamped them with Mai Jet Black ink. I adhered the sprig from the Spring Floral chipzeb over the striped area. Here is a closer look of this beautiful and delicate chipboard shape.

To finish, I adhered the ready panel on a top folding kraft card base.

Here is another look at the ready card.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful. Looking forward to seeing your entries in the Rainbow Card Challenge gallery.

Love,
Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More #342...

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

I decided to use my Artists Markers by Altenew to create a cute card.

I started with a piece of white cardstock and used one of the border stamps from Lawn Fawn's Simply Celebrate stamp set to create a background. Colouring was quick as I just used a bunch of alcohol markers. I trimmed the panel with a stitched rectangle die and popped it up on a black card base with foam tape. 

The sentiment is from the Celebrate stamp set by Avery Elle. I stamped it on a piece of white paper with black ink and cut the panel with the stitched circle die. I cut a larger circle from some translucent blue paper and adhered it to the card. The sentiment circle was popped up on foam tape.

To finish, I took a scrap piece of pink paper and heat embossed it with a couple of layers of holographic embossing powder. I die-cut a few stars out of paper and adhered them around the sentiment. Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

Here is another look at the completed card.

Hope you liked my cards and are inspired to create something beautiful. You can check out more inspiration at the Addicted To Stamps And More challenge blog and also link your creations.

Love,
Nandini

Mono-printing with Stencils...

Hi! I had a post on the Mudra Craft Stamps blog yesterday with some ideas on using mono-printing on your cards. You can check out the post here. I have a total of 8 cards and cover three different ways of doing it. You can also link your cards for the current Mudra challenge - Hello Summer.

I have always loved working with stencils. And Mudra definitely has a large variety to choose from. I created three cards from my mono-printed backgrounds.

Card 1:
The original panel with ink blending and stencilling.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

The Flower Challenge #32 - Embossing (Heat / Dry):

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Add Something Metallic:
I used Metallic Gold embossing powder by Ranger

May CAS Stencil Challenge:

Fab Friday #163:

Card 2:
The second panel after mono-printing. I absolutely adore the soft colours.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - For A Special Lady:

Just Add Ink #456:
I was very inspired by white flowers and really pale colours.

HLS May Watercolor Challenge:

Virginia's Show and Share:

Love,
Nandini

Addicted To Stamps And More #340...

Hi! The new challenge is up on the Addicted To Stamps And More challenge blog. This week we have some gorgeous images to kickstart your creativity:

Here is my card inspired by the beautiful galaxy photos.

I used a technique by Yana Smakula for creating the galaxy background using coloured cardstock instead of white. You can find the original post along with the video here. I found this technique much easier to do and much faster as well.

I started with a piece of grey cardstock. I applied different colours of distress inks with blending foams. Once I was happy with the result, I added some white pigment ink to where I planned on stamping the sentiment and dried the panel with my heat gun. 

The sentiment is from the Everything Together stamp set by Simon Says Stamp. I first stamped it with black ink. After off-setting the stamp slightly, I stamped again with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Ranger's Gold Tinsel embossing powder. Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

To finish, I used an old Craftyscrappers border stamp to create a starry background. I stamped with Versamark and used metallic gold embossing powder this time. I trimmed the panel and mounted it on a black card base. Here is another look at the card.

I am very happy with this card. It is quick and easy. And perfect for a guy. Hope you are inspired to create something beautiful. Do check out the Addicted To Stamps And More challenge blog for more inspiration. And don't forget to link your creations in our gallery. Till next time.

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

Fun With Cover Dies Take 2...

Hi! I am back with my third card using cover dies. The first card was with the Flower die by Gina Marie Designs. You can find it here. I shared the second card yesterday, made using an old Spellbinders die. You can find that card here.

For the third card, I combined a background stamp with a cover die. This is the card I came up with.

I stamped the gorgeous Ornate Background stamp from Simon Says Stamp with grey ink on a panel of ivory cardstock. I love this stamp set, it always looks beautiful. I cut the stamped panel with the Classic Stripe cover die by Mama Elephant and saved all the pieces. I also cut two more pieces out of ivory cardstock. Using the positive die-cut as a guide, I adhered the negative stripes into place taking care to keep the design intact on an ivory card base. I also added one of the plain ivory die-cuts. I covered this with a piece of vellum. The other two pieces were adhered together with the stamped piece on top and glued over the vellum. Here is a closer look at the completed panel.

For the sentiment, I took a scrap of pink paper and added several layers of Ranger's Enchanted Gold embossing powders. I die cut it with some alphabet dies. Since I don't have the exclamation mark die, I simply cut an extra 'I' and turned it into one. To make the alphabet dies pop, I backed each with black die-cuts, offsetting slightly so that the black peeked through. Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

To finish, I added clear drops from my stash around the sentiment. Here is another look at the completed card.

I love the way this card turned out. There is something so beautiful about the way the background pattern continues seamlessly over the die-cutting. And I really like the pop that the pink sentiment adds.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

HLS April Anything Goes With Dies Challenge:

April Show & Share by Virginia:

The Card Concept #113:
I was inspired by the ivory, grey and pink colour palette in the picture.

Watercooler Wednesdays WWC217:

Craft Rocket Challenge #58 - For Men/Boys:

Love,
Nandini