Guest Designer at TTCRD

So a few weeks back, I won at the TTCRD ( Through the craft room door) and was invited to be the guest designer for the week starting May 9. And of course, Digistamp 4 joy generously gave away the use of their stamp set Coffee time.
And here is the card I made..

 And of course it is true, right? All you do need is love and a cup of coffee..and then your love can give you chocolates, a great book to read, a cozy window seat with fluffed pillows and.....well, a girl can dream, can't she?
Coming back to the card, I used papers from DCWV ( Taj Mahal stack) and Recollections ( Union square stack). As you can see, there has been a liberal use of Tim Holtz's distress ink - Walnut stain. The heart on the coffee cup is hand drawn.

Thank you for stopping by....

I think this should be the last one...

 

I meant this should probably be the last Christmas card I make, at least for a while. It seems like that is all that I am making. But for now, here is the card

 

Since this is going to be the last one for a while, why not make it the traditional colors? Also, I wanted to make this one super-cute, so lots of different stamps from different stamping sets. So here we go..the cute reindeer  are from Lawn Fawn and the Santa stamp is from Wplus9

 

And the cute little tweeting birdies are from Lawn fawn

As you can see, I added a few sparkles here and there..just for fun! Making the card was super easy. I just used different size of circle dies to create the windows and arranged the stamps that I colored with Copic markers.

Submitting for the following challenges

Addicted to stamps - Not a square card
A snowflake Promise - Anything goes
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge
Through the Craft Room door - anything goes
Christmas at Sweet Stamping
Addicted to Stamps and more - Holiday

Thank you for stopping by...

Mo manning - winter fairy

Spring is slowly but surely turning to summer but there is always time for one more winter / Christmas card, especially, if one is using a Mo manning stamp. They are soooooo cute.

For my card, I decided to keep it simple and clean ( easier to mail, less postage!)
The background paper has the Tim Holtz stamp in the bottom panel whereas on the top panel, I heat embossed a few white stars. The white dots are made with a gel pen.

 

The Winter fairy stamp has been colored with Copic markers as our the gift boxes. While it is hard to see in the picture, the fairy seems to be blowing out cold air, which I drew and heat embossed in silver color.

Hope you enjoyed the card

Submitting for the following challenges

Crafts and me - Things with wings
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge extra - Anything goes
Addicted to stamps - Not a square card
My time to craft - No designer paper
As you like it - Favorite card base and why
      Well, my favorite card base is a 5X7 rectangle card just because it is easy to put all the little things, stamps, embellishments that I want to without crowding everything out. Though, it does mean that I end up wasting some paper, which I hate!
Fab 'n' Funky challenge - fantasy
Christmas at Sweet Stamping - Anything goes
Crafty Card makers - Things with wings
A bit more time to craft - Anything goes

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Staying calm...

Well, that's the feeling I got when I looked at the finished card.
I was trying to make a neutral card ( not overtly feminine or masculine) to put it in my " I may need this in an emergency situation" pile and decided to use Serendipity stamps, with neutral, muted colors.
Sort of like the end result :)

The sentiment is from Altenew. I had to improvise since I needed the sentiment in one line and it is actually arranged such that "Happy" is above the word "everything". Nothing that a bit of tape wouldn't cure :)
The medallion on the top is from a Christmas collection of sentiments - I think it is Just rite but I have to check ( old stamp - original packaging lost)

I really do like the muted effect. It is difficult to see in the picture but I also incorporated a slight shine effect using the metallic markers.

Submitting for the following Challenges
Addicted to Stamps Challenge
Crafting from the Heart
A prefect time to craft
A bit more time to craft
Crafty Creations Challenge
The sisterhood of Crafters
Crafting with friends
Addicted to stamps and more

Thank you for stopping by...

Another Christmas Card

I am on a roll, ain't I?
Actually, I always start with good intentions, early enough and then the lazy, hazy days of summer roll in and I do not know how the time flies. Before I know it is end of  October and I am panicking!!
Hopefully this year will be better.
And the creation for this week is

I have used Serendipity Stamps as well as my go to stamp for the sentiment..I think it is Penny black? It is so old and of course, the original packaging is long gone.

I stamped the image twice. A part of the second image was die cut in the shape of a tag and colored with copics. 

Submitting for the following challenges

Through the Craft room door
Addicted to stamps
Christmas at Sweet Stamping
ABC Christmas Challenge Blog
Addicted to stamps and more

Thank you for stopping by....

Is it too early?

I wonder if it is too early to start making Christmas / new year cards?
But considering that I am always short of a few cards, come December, why not?

I used a die to remove a panel from the front and used the background digi ( A day for Daisies) to create a beautiful winter scene with five robins.
The images are all colored with Copic markers. The golden snowflakes are heat embossed.

 Submitting for the following

The Cutie Pie Challenge Blog - Dies and Digis
Color Inspiration Monday
Through the Craft room Door
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge
Season's Greeting Christmas Challenge
Fairy tale Challenge Blog - Cards with animals
A snowflake promise

Thank you for stopping by...

Things with wings

First of, a big shout out to all the wonderful artists who not only make beautiful things but also maintain a blog and provide us with inspirations!
As I have found out, making cards and blogging about them are two very different things..Making is easy, blogging ...not so much 😀
Anyhow, here is an accordion card that I made. Such cards were quite the rage sometime back - everyone was making them and now, suddenly, not at all. I wonder why?

Of course, the stamps are Tim Holtz's Crazy birds.
They have been colored with Copic Markers. After trying a number of different coloring tools, I have found Copic markers to be the most versatile. But I am still learning ..

I love the expression on these birds, don't you? Especially the middle one 😉

Submitting for the following:

Alphabet Challenge Blog - A is for anything with wings
As you like it - Favorite coloring medium and why?
Crafting by design - Thinking of you
613 Avenue Create - Anything goes with optional twist

Thank you for Stopping by....

Happiness comes in twos ??? threes ???

So if you saw my previous post, you would know that I loved the tunnel card - so pretty to look at yet so little effort. Of course, that meant that I had to make another one..

This time I decided to go with a Christmas card with my favorite stamp character - Tilda.

All the images, including the background are colored with Copic markers. The snow mounds as well as the branches are die cut from glitter paper. So even though it doesn't show as well in the pictures, the card does glitter quite a bit..very festive :)

And of course, it is very easy to mail these cards. I tried one in the envelope and you can flatten them quite a bit - the recipient has to just pull apart the layers a bit and it gets back to normal.

Submitting for the following challenges:

Addicted to stamps and more - Holiday
Christmas card Challenge - Anything goes
Artistic Inspiration Challenge Blog
The ABC Challenge - E is for Everything
Through the Craft room door - Anything goes
Crafting with an attitude 
 

Spring is in the air

Or the Sakura is in bloom...as they say in Japan :)

Spring is especially beautiful in Japan and is widely celebrated. What better way to herald the new season than by making a card (at least that is how a crafter thinks)!

Spring is the season for new beginnings and the card today is my first attempt at making a tunnel card and not surprisingly, I like it. It is very easy to make too!

The stamp is Magnolia Tilda which I colored with my copic markers ( the collection is growing, YAY !!)  The traditional Japanese doors (Shoji) were easy to make with the square dies.  I used the Origami paper that one gets in the 100 Yen shops and I think it works perfectly for this card.

I used quite a few different dies - the Spellbinder nestabilities, Memory box etc. The flower on the vine is not a part of the die, it is from the Martha Stewart hydrangea punch.

Since this is a tunnel card, the place to write a message is at the back.

I wanted to show that despite the 3-D effect, the card is not quite thick and can be easily mailed. The recipient can pull the sides a bit to make it deeper. 

Submitting for the following challenges

Addicted to stamps - Any shape
Midweek Magnolia - anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - anything goes
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Favorite stamp company - obviously Magnolia - a look-back at my past posts is all that one needs for that declaration :)
Addicted to stamps and more - anything goes
Craft your passion - Always anything goes
Paradise of Magnolia - Dies and punches

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Crazy me....

Actually what I meant to say that in the crafter world, we have all gone crazy about the Tim Holtz's Crazy bird stamps. I love them too ...and here is the proof..

The card is a Zig-zag card and I used these two birds because I just love, love, love the expression on their faces. These two definitely are my favorite! The sentiment is hand written just because my collection of stamps is sometimes not as large as I would like it to be :(

And these is how it looks once you take out the inside card ..which incidentally is a full fledged card and not just an insert.

The sentiment inside the card is also handwritten and very simple..

Submitting for the following challenges

Crafting with an attitude - Anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - Lace or ribbon
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes
7 Kids college fund - Anything goes
Sweet Stamps Blog - anything goes

Thank you for stopping by....

My first gorjuss girls card

So I have finally been bitten by the "gorjuss girl" bug and I made my first card today. And after a long time, I have also followed a sketch from a challenge blog. And I also made a monochromatic card after a really long time, or perhaps for the first time ?

The image is perhaps the most popular gorjuss girl image ever! But what I did realize is that the imperfections in coloring come out much stronger under a camera lens. Believe me when I say, her hair doesn't look as bad as it appears here :(

And of course, the picture of the inside which I left blank, intentionally. This is one of those images which can be used for a number of occasions / messages. And of course, one always needs such cards.

And the side view

Submitting for the following

 Freshly Made Sketches
Addicted to Stamps - Clean and Simple
Stamping sensation - Flower Power
Clear it out - Use pattern paper more than an year old
ABC Challenge- C is for Cute

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It is all about Pink

Though not my favorite color to craft with, I did end up making this "pink" card which I think turned out pretty alright. I had colored the image a really long time ago - may be an year or even more but just couldn't find the mojo to use it. After a lot of wasted paper, here is what it turned out to be..

The image is, of course, magnolia tilda - one of the really old stamps. But still very cute. There is a bit of glitter on the front layer of her dress - my attempt to try and make it look a bit transparent..
And I think the sentiment goes perfectly with the image.

And here is the usual side view. The best part about this card is that it is rather thin and I won't have to pay extra for postage :)

Submitting for the following

Alphabet Challenge Blog - A is for anything pink
In the Pink - For a Special Lady
2 Crafty girls challenge - anything goes / monochrome
Creative Moments Challenge - Anything goes / place sentiment in the front

Thank you for stopping by....

Working on the Christmas Cards :)

So far, it is holding up...my resolution of making the Christmas / New year cards way in advance so that I do not have to panic at the last minute. So here is another one in that collection.

The Card is, of course, a Zig-zag ( or cross-over) card with the Magnolia Tilda stamp which has been covered with Copic markers. The lacy doilies on the left side are Memory box dies. I have also used the Spellbinder dies to frame Tilda image.

And this being a festival card, I have used the trifecta - lace, ribbons and pearls :)
And here is the inside for message..

Submitting for the following:

Digi Design Challenge - Use 2 or more dies
Crafting from the Heart - Anything goes
Inky chicks - Ribbon and/or Lace
Creative Craft Cottage - Pearls and /or Lace

Thank you for stopping by....

Spring is in the air

I love spring..but then who doesn't? Finally gives me a chance to get out and explore though this year, the winter wasn't as bad. And with the turning of the weather comes the urge to create something bright and light and that is how I think of the card I made.

The image is from A Day for Daisies. These images lend themselves beautifully to a simple, clean, light arrangement - perfect for this kind of weather :)

The background clouds were my first attempt at this- I think it is a bit too much. Next time, may be not so many clouds in the sky...

Submitting for the following:

A Day for daisies - Add dimensional flower
Crafty Sentiments Design - Spring
Artistic Inspirations Challenge - Anything goes
Craft your Passion - Anything goes
Ooh La La Creations - Add a sentiment

Thank you for stopping by....

Cute Mo Images..

I love the Mo Manning digis, but then who doesn't? They are sooooo cute and no, I am not being paid to say that. But I did make a card with one of my favorite images and here it is

Isn't that such an adorable image and of course, I made this card for my daughter. Reminds me of the times when she was a toddler - she had chubby cheeks just like that :)

And here is the side view..

Coloring this image was a lot of fun and I am rather proud of the final result!

For the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge, I have completed the second row ( Something old - the blue DP is probably the oldest one in my stash, something new - the pink paper, one of my recent buys, frills and lace and pearls)


Submitting for the following

Aud Sentiments Challenge - Cute + Sentiment
Mo's Digital Challenge - Anything goes
Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge - Shabby Fun Bingo
Crafting with Friends - Anything goes
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards Challenge - Anything goes

Thanks for stopping by....