Wednesday 31 July 2013

A card for an order

Hello sweet bloggers,
Well, the previous card I posted for a one year old was much liked. So thank you for all your lovely comments.
This card is made with a Hero Arts background stamp and I have used distressed ink for it. The sequins have been lying with me for over eight years but the lace is comparatively new - just a few months ago.
This was an order for Idul Fitri which is the Muslim New Year and is celebrated in a big way here and the country is closed for almost ten days. This card was also an order from a friend and she liked it.


I have some good news to share now - my card below was featured in my favourite challenge blog http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ last week. It sure did make my day :-)


I will enter my first card in the following challenges:

Wish you a pleasant Wednesday,

Monica 

Tuesday 30 July 2013

For a one year old's birthday

Hello lovely blog buddies,

Here is my card for an order - for a little boy's first birthday. It had to be flat as it is going to be sent overseas. Frankly I am not so impressed with with what I have made - it seems a bit too busy to me. The stamp is a clear one from Paper Mania picked up from Hobby Craft in London this summer at a super price. I have coloured it in with my new Prisma pencils and the shiny paper came from Merry all the way from Australia - thank you so much, I love it. The printed paper is fancy gift wrap, the star and baby hippo are from my stash of 3D stickers. The candle which you see in place of the letter I is a sticker from EK Success.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - celebrations
 http://craftybootschallenges.blogspot.com/ - animals
http://www.creativecreationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes
http://getinkychallenge.blogspot.com/ - birthdays

Catch you later.

Love,

Monica

Monday 29 July 2013

Sold another seven cards!!!

Hello sweet peeps,
A lady who lives in our complex ordered two cards from me last week and actually bought seven - now how kind is that!!! I am thrilled to bits and she sure made my weekend.
Here is my card to show you for today. It was actually made a few days ago for the challenge at LIM last week which was to make handmade flowers. The embossed piece had to be placed in this fashion as it was too long for my card. I have had it in my embossing drawer for many months now. The flowers are handmade out of punches and the flourishes have been cut into two from a corner die while the pearls are from my stash.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.com/ - wedding/anniversary/congratulations


Happy Monday,
Monica 

Saturday 27 July 2013

A card for a friend's farewell

Hello sweet blogging buddies,

I am a bit sentimental as one of my dear friends is leaving Jakarta for Vietnam since her husband is relocating. She was one of the first few ladies I met when we moved to Indonesia some six years ago and we hit it off instantly. Even though we would have liked to see each other more often than we did, it was always easy to feel comfortable in her company.

So here is a card I made for her in minutes this morning... the sentiment I thought was very apt. Sorry I cannot recall the name of the rubber stamp. The green flourishes are from a larger spellbinder die that I picked up at Hobby Craft in London. It took me forever to die cut it. I have randomly cut it into two and stuck it on the top and bottom of the card. The flowers have been cut from a lace and I have stuck matching confetti in the centres. 


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Wish you a pleasant weekend.

Love,

Monica 

Friday 26 July 2013

More pink coming your way...


Hello sweet peeps,

Thanks for the kind words on my sales yesterday - you all have a big hand in this in every which way.
Here is a card I made yesterday with home made flowers and fancy gift wrap. The centre of the flowers have Kaiser gems and the ribbon is from my stash. No sentiment so as to make it versatile enough to sell easily.


I am entering this card in the following challenges:
http://www.charismacardz.blogspot.com/ - make your own embellies 
http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.com/  - anything goes with ribbon

Happy to have Friday here again.

Love,
Monica 

Thursday 25 July 2013

Sold 16 cards yesterday to two kind friends

Hello sweet blogging friends,

I had a great day yesterday as two of my friends bought 16 cards at one go from me. Can you believe how happy that made me??? It did wonders to my mojo which has deserted me of late. I have noticed that if I don't sell my cards often enough, that is what happens to me. So this sale was a God send for me. I seem to have raised enough to support three of the five children from last year and hope that I sell enough to cater for all five of them for this year.

Now to my card - it is kind of recycled as the striped paper you see is from a mini cake carton from the bakery we have downstairs. It was just too pretty for me to trash even though I had to try rather hard to retrieve it as there were ample chocolate stains on the paper. The cow print is a ribbon (I love it) and the stamp is from Penny Black while the embroidery floss is from my stash.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Off to visit my fave blogs now.

Love,
Monica 

Sunday 21 July 2013

For Less Is More - handmade flowers

Hello sweet peeps,

I hope you are having a good weekend... out here it is already past 7 pm in the evening. Aleeza went back to school last week and Zeenya goes back in mid August. Aleeza was so happy to go back to her friends and normal routine and so was I.
Over at Less is More the challenge for this week is to make a card with handmade flowers. So here is mine made with my new Sizzix flower dies from Susan Tierney (bought with much excitement). It took me forever to place the flowers right and yet I was not too pleased with the result. Not sure whether I would be trying my hand at this again. The washi borders are from my stash and the sentiment is from Docrafts. By the way, the flower is a red poppy but for some reason my camera decided to give it a magenta-ish shade.


I will also enter this card in:

Off to visit and comment now.

Love,

Monica 

Saturday 20 July 2013

Clean and Simple

Hello blog buddies,

Here is my card to show you today made with a Kaiser Craft clear stamp and coloured in with Faber Castell water colour pencils. Rather simple card with not much ado but I do like it.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Wish you a pleasant and relaxing weekend.

Love,

Monica 

Wednesday 17 July 2013

I love this printed paper

Hello lovely peeps,

Here is my card to show you - it is for the challenge at http://www.comeandgetitchallenges.blogspot.com/ sketch
I loved this clean and simple sketch and here is my take on it. The papers came free with a magazine and the sentiment is from Hot Off The Press. The MS border punch fits in nicely, don't you think? The ribbon roses are from my stash.



I will also enter this card in the following challenges:


I hope you like my card... Would love to hear your comments.

Love,

Monica 

Monday 15 July 2013

I love this image

Hello dear blog buddies,

Here is my card to show you for today made with the clear stamp that Sandra sent me. I love it and I took it along on holiday and coloured it in. The corner die is one of my new buys from London. The image has been layered on white card stock and I have used double side foam tape under it. The yellow rose at the bottom has been lying with me for 12 years and has lost it's gluing capacity. I have layered it on a punched green flower to make it look bigger.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Wish you a pleasant week ahead.

Love,
Monica


Sunday 14 July 2013

Recycled from a wall paint brochure

Hello sweet peeps,

Thanks for the warm welcome back to blogland. I love the comraderie we share even though we have never met. Only a blogger would understand what I am saying. Sometimes it feels like a pen pal club except that we send do everything electronically.

Here is a card made with a Nippon paint brochure which my hubby had binned. Yes, I took it out of the dustbin and luckily it was in a plastic sleeve so was intact. It took for forever to place the feather and the leaf (my new buy from Michael's). The flowers have been punched and the paper for the leaf came from Merry from Australia. Thank you, Merry! The feather is from my stash - better use them up instead of stocking them.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Catch you later...

Love,

Monica 

Saturday 13 July 2013

Am back!!!

Hello sweet bloggers,

Ah my own pillow at last - East or West, Home is Best.
We are back from our trip over seven seas and back. We went to the US, yes all the way to the US from Indonesia, trust me it was not a small feat. We went to pretty San Francisco for a week and then to London where my inlaws are and do believe me when I say I survived it well.
San Francisco was lovely - the weather was good on most days. We walked a lot even though the city is small. And I thought walking would help my girth get smaller but obviously it did not as I ate too much there. Lol.
We visited two little towns by ferry called Sausalito and Tiburom (not sure whether I have the right spelling). We also walked to the crookedest street - Lombard Street which was lovely and hot, tiring and sweaty as well. The exploratarium was fun for all of us and so was the Golden Gate Park. The Alcatraz prison we saw from the bay as I had already done it the last time we were here. 
I managed to go to Michael's and have to say I expected much more. I do vaguely remember visiting Michael's with a dear friend many years ago. I bought my Prisma colour pencils from there and I was on cloud nine until I discovered that I had paid much more than what the price was at Blick. Never mind, done is done and I must start enjoying my new colours. In London, we did the Windsor Castle and saw a musical called Mama Mia. Good old ABBA music! And I managed to visit Hobby Craft and The Range - what a sweet way to round off my trip.
Down below are a few photos. I did not take too many pictures this time - just wanted to enjoy it all instead of being with my camera.

 Aleeza and her Dad at the bottom of the crookedest street

The butterflies above are so beautiful and they are blue inside when they open their wings - at the Rain Forest in the Golden Gate Park

Above is a hazy view of the skyline of San Francisco from Tiburom (spelling)


Above is a card I made with a butterfly die that my dear friend Sandra sent me. And the papers were sent by Merry of Unstampabelles. Thank you, dear kind ladies for all your generosity. The sentiment is my new buy... I love embossed sentiments.

I hope all of you have been well. I will come and do my visiting soon.

If you last through this text heavy post and manage to reach the bottom, I send you lots of love,

Monica 

Saturday 15 June 2013

The perfect pear

Hello sweet peeps,

We are leaving for a vacation tomorrow and get back in the first week of July.
So before I go here is my card to show you for the sketch at CAS - colours and sketches.
The image is a rubber stamp from Hampton Art (coloured in with my Faber Castell water colours) and the lace is from my stash while the butterflies were added as a last minute resort to add more life. I have used liquid pearls in the centre of the butterflies to add life. 


I will enter enter this card in CAS on Sunday - black white and one more colour


I will see you all after our break and wish you a lovely summer full of peace and health.

Love,
Monica

Friday 14 June 2013

Happy Birthday card

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is another quickie from me - the chipboard image and sentiment were sent to me by dear Sandra. All I did was embossing and layering to offset the image. The Ek Success border has been backed with vellum and it looks quite nice in real life. I have stuck three silver stars on the right to add charm.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

And it is Friday again - thank God for that :-)

Lots of love,

Monica 

Thursday 13 June 2013

For Clean&Simple

Hello lovely bloggers,

I am so glad to have new followers joining me onboard - thank you.
Here is a card I made this evening with the same paper as the previous card. I did some fussy cutting and stuck the feathers on the card stock. It took me a long time to do the cutting. It is a simple card but I do like it. The organza ribbon is actually creamy but for some reason decided to acquire magical powers and change itself to this pale, pale green. When the card was ready, I realized it would fit the sketch at Clean&Simple.





I am off to do some commenting now.

Love,

Monica 

Always and forever

Hello sweet bloggers,

It is summer holidays and that is sure keeping me busy...
Here is a quick card I made yesterday with a chipboard sentiment that my dear friend Sandra sent me. I love the sentiment and thanks so much Sandra for your kindness. The paper is fancy gift wrap and the ribbon and pearls are from my stash. The red paper is recycled from an old invitation and I have added liquid pearls on the punched hearts and on the top of the red diamonds. I feel I could have done a better job with this card.


I will submit this card in the following challenges:
http://bearlymine-challenges.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.com/ - creative card crew
http://www.craftdoormagazine.com/ - anything goes


Catch you later.

Much love,

Monica

Saturday 8 June 2013

To have and to hold...

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is my card for CASE(e) this Sketch this week. I seem to have a love and not love relationship with this card...
I have used a vellum strip under the Ek Success border punch which looks quite pretty in real life. The feather, ribbon, hand made bow and pearls are from my stash and so are the liquid pearls. The sentiment came from my dear friend Sandra from the UK. Thank you!!!



Hope you are having a nice weekend...

Love,

Monica 

Friday 7 June 2013

Sing like no one's listening

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card I made for a Monday challenge (Techno Stampers Challenge) and finally had time to post it on to my blog this evening. By the way the silvery embossed paper you see on the left was part of a lid of a takeaway box. I have used an Inkadinkadoh stamp and have stamped it with Brilliance pearlescent orchid on black card stock. To add more shimmer I have glittered the bird and the flower. The glittery music note stickers are from Jolee's and the white feather is from my stash. I am not too pleased with the way I placed these two elements though.



Down below is a picture of Aleeza and her class mates at the Annual Concert doing an eightees dance to Foot Loose. Apologies for the poor picture quality but the dance was just too cute for words. 



I will enter my card in the following challenges as well:

Catch you later.

Love,
Monica 

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Happy Birthday card...

Hello sweet bloggers,
Thank you for your kind comments on my last card... Glad you liked that card as I did too.
Here is my card for today - simple and sweet. The happy birthday sentiment is a ribbon and I have used a two toned paper to punch the border which is from Ek Success. The brown blobs have been added for texture.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Off to do some commenting now.

Love,
Monica 

Tuesday 4 June 2013

Going around in circles here...

Hello sweet peeps,
Here is a card I have made for Addicted to CAS - circles. I could not have had more circles than this, could I? Lol... The lady bird (coloured with water colour pencils) is a foam stamp which has no name but I think it is from Japan while the sentiment is a ribbon stamp from Hero Arts.
I have layered some of the round nesties and hearts and propped them on foam dots. The ribbon is from my stash. I do hope this card is not a wee bit busy, though.


I will also enter this card in Cas-ual Friday and Make it Monday (anything goes) this week beside Make my Monday (lace or ribbon) and Pause Dream Enjoy (use foam tape).

Catch you later.
Love,
Monica 

Monday 3 June 2013

For a baby girl

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is my card to show you today... it is a baby girl card and I have used Penny Black slapstick stamps with a matching sentiment. I have had this set of cling stamps for over a year and am glad to air them. I think this card could have been made more interesting but I was thinking of entering this into Addicted to CAS so I did not want to add too much. I have stamped the buttons in Brilliance pearlescent orchid and the ribbon is from American Crafts while the buttons are from my stash. By the way the ribbon came about to help me cover a flaw - I had stamped the sentiment on the image of the buttons but it seemed to look tacky hence the ribbon.


I will also enter this card in Make it Monday - use ribbon

Wish you a healthy, happy and crafty weekend ahead.

Love,
Monica 

Sunday 2 June 2013

Second entry for CAS(E) this Sketch and Cas-ual Fridays

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is my second card for CAS(E) this sketch and Cas-ual Fridays this week. The background stamp is from Hero Arts and I have used pearlescent rust to stamp it. The embossed strip says Enjoy and PS I love you. I positioned it in my CB in such a way to get this sentiment on it. The textured strip below is from a wall paper roll and the buttons are from my stash. I feel the picture quality is not the best and apologies for that.


Hope you are having a decent weekend.

Love,
Monica 

Saturday 1 June 2013

Celebrate...

Hello bloggers,

Here I am with a card after a long gap as I just did not feel like crafting. Yes, my mojo has deserted me and I had to kind of force myself to create a card.
Over at CAS(E) this Sketch is a lovely sketch this week and here is my take on it (I should have been a bit more careful with the layout).
 I will also enter this card in Less is More - the challenge there is create a card after the colour of your house door. And at CAS-ual Friday this week it is all about a clean and simple congratulatory card. I thought this card was a bit bland but my critique Zeenya approved it and off I went with it. The stamp is from a set of Hero Arts ribbon stamps which have hardly ever seen any light. I have cut the stamped section with  
decorative scissors and mounted it on another piece of card stock which has been stuck on that  textured ribbon. I have used pearlescent beige to stamp the sentiment and the beige ribbon at the bottom from my stash. 




Down below is Aleeza with her teacher and some of her friends. They all gathered to sing a song called, "Count on me" by Bruno Mars. I could not take pictures of the show as they were dancing and singing against a white background.


Wish you a pleasant weekend.

Love,

Monica 

Tuesday 28 May 2013

I painted this rose

Hello sweet bloggers,
I haven't blogged for almost a week now - life seemed to have got in the way.
I will certainly come and visit you all in a bit.

Meanwhile here is my card to show you which I have made after a break. The background stamp is from Hero Arts and I have used TH Victorian velvet while the card stock has been sponged with TH peeled paint. The rose was painted directly on to water colour paper with Aleeza's Early Learning Centre water colours during our painting hour together. I went over it with a metallic gel crayon from Paper Chase - which makes it sparkle in real life. I cut out the rose and mounted it on foam tape to give it a raised appearance. The leaves have a story to tell - I found them abandoned by the poolside in our complex and the minute I saw them my heart wanted to bring them home. I seem to like this card and other moments not so am not quite sure but Aleeza certainly does like it and that makes me happy.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://www.cardsinenvy.blogspot.com/ - make your own background

Off to do my regular visits now.
Love,
Monica 

Wednesday 22 May 2013

For a six year old

Hello sweet peeps,
This card was made literally in jiffy as I came to know that a sweet little girl who lives in the same block as ours had a birthday today... So I thought I would surprise her with a card and a small gift (a pack of glitter glue). I have had these foam flowers for something like 10 years and over so thought I must use them for a child's card. The leaves have been punched from a clothes tag and the border at the bottom was left over from the last card I made. The butterfly was lying around on my table and has been used to cover up a gluey error. I could have layered the butterfly but time was at a premium...


Love,

Monica 

Monday 20 May 2013

Crazy for Challenges

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a card I have made for the challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges which is a sketch. I had so much fun making this card as it all fell into place without much effort. The beautiful printed paper was sent to me by my dear blog buddy Sandra as was the chipboard teacup. I simply LOVE it. The green paper you see beneath the pink paper is actually a visiting card which I have recycled. The paper and chipboard image are really pretty and sparkly in real life so I thought the pale green flower would go well.


This is the sketch below...

I will also enter this card in the following challenges:
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

Wish you a pleasant week ahead.

Love,
Monica

Sunday 19 May 2013

Happy Birthday card

Hello sweet bloggers,
Thanks so much for your kind comments on my last post... Glad that you like that card :-) What would card makers do without the world of blogging. I just love sharing my little cards and getting all those delightful comments considering at home, all I have is little Aleeza to show my cards to since Zeenya is not into card making anymore and her father never was. But ofcourse I do have friends who really appreciate my cards but they are not necessarily my followers.

This was another card I made in minutes for Zeenya's friend - and thank God that I have stuck the ribbon the right way (unlike one of my previous cards which had it the other way round, lol) The cake is from my stash - cannot remember where it is from as I have thrown away the packaging. The crystals are from Prima and I have sponged the Spellbinder's nestie. The birthday sentiment is from Penny Black.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

See you later.
Love,
Monica 

Saturday 18 May 2013

Another simple card

Hello sweet bloggers,
This was a card I made a while ago with a Kaiser Craft clear background stamp (using American Craft clay) and when I showed it to Zeenya (my older one) her comment was, "It is too dull, it won't sell". And sold it did the instant I made it to a friend who often buys my cards. Sorry for the poor picture quality... the Sakura copper pen was really shiny and even though I tried different angles, this is the best I could manage. The flower centres have been touched with liquid pearls in mushroom. You may not believe this but plain cards like this sell so quickly that it leaves me wondering what was it about the card that made it sell???


I will enter this card in:
http://blog.oozak.com/ - anything with earth tones

Wish you a pleasant weekend.

Love,
Monica 

Friday 17 May 2013

Recycled card

Hello sweet peeps,
Here I am again with a recycled card made from a very pretty invitation card for a Mother's Day event. As soon as I saw the invite, all that I could think of was how to make a card out of this. So I let it lie on the dining table for a few days and this is what I made. Stuck a few pearls and an organza ribbon - that's all and my card was ready. Even the dotted paper is part of the invitation card by the way as is the embossing on the rose.


I will enter this card in:

Thank God it's Friday once again! 
Love,
Monica 

Thursday 16 May 2013

Could not resist blogging...

Hello lovely peeps,

I know some of you have asked me to slow down with blogging in order to rest myself but it is sooo addictive you know. Lol. 
Here is a card I made a while ago but it did not post it. The flowers have been stamped directly on this textured card stock using a clear stamp (cannot remember the name) and have been coloured with a red water colour pencil. I have used two kinds of striped paper and the ribbon and hand tied bow were used to add more red as was the EK Success border punch. I tried to position the stamp in an unsymmetrical way on the card stock to make it look natural.


I will enter this card in:


Off to do some commenting now...
Love,
Monica 

Wednesday 15 May 2013

A quickie

Hello sweet bloggers,
Thanks so much for all the congratulatory comments about my cards - I was on cloud nine yesterday.
Here is a quick and simple card I made for Aleeza's friend's birthday today... These mini card blanks were sent to me by Shirley-Anne and they seemed to be just the right size for a card needed in minutes.

Below is the gift that Aleeza and I wrapped and decorated together. She wanted a cake on it and I had this best wishes sentiment lying around with the flower and leaves so I stuck it on.


Wish you a pleasant morning, afternoon or evening.

Love,
Monica 

Tuesday 14 May 2013

I sold 33 cards at the bazaar!!!

Hello lovely kind peeps,

Thank you ever so much for all the good wishes you have been sending me for the bazaar.
which was a huge success. I managed to sell 33 cards out of 54 cards today which is the best sale I have had in all these years and I will continue to support financially deprived Indonesian children with their primary education.
So my count so far is a total of 85 cards for this year and with that comes the price to pay - tired neck muscles and some other health issues. I think I may need to slow down which is heart breaking really because card making is my passion and my life. And selling cards for charity gives me a certain mission and purpose in life which is extremely fulfilling. I have been making cards on a large scale since the past 15 years and it's effects are telling on me. Or maybe I need to simplify my style even more so that it does not increase the repetitive stress. 
Sorry for that moaning and groaning and now to this aperture card which is a repeat of the earlier one I made like this a few weeks ago. I think I went a bit wild with the flowers and have almost covered the aperture instead of showing it. Some of you asked me to make more of these and you were absolutely right - both the ones I made sold.



 Down below is a picture of my table - I took the picture so it is without me.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://craft-deebowz.blogspot.com/ - must use handmade bow


Love,
Monica 

Monday 13 May 2013

Another one for the bazaar

Hello sweet bloggers,
Yes, tomorrow is the bazaar and I am hoping I do well there. Here is another card for sale tomorrow. Very simple - made with with papers and the tiger prink is a ribbon and so is the sentiment. Buttons from my stash and it was done - no stamping, no embossing, no sponging just sticking and sticking.


Thanks for all good wishes for the bazaar and I really appreciate them.

Much love,

Monica 

Sunday 12 May 2013

Another one for the bazaar

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is another card I have to show you to add to my collection of 54 cards for the bazaar on Tuesday, the 14th. Thank you for all the encouragement you have been giving me. 

This is a simple card with a Petaloo flower which I love and the leaves have been punched from textured paper that I created in the days that Zeenya used to craft with me. We stuck tissue paper over printer paper and sponged it with natural food colour (we mixed two food colours - cannot remember which ones as it was some years ago). I do like the way the it turned out and it just happened to match well with the flowers. I have used liquid pearls in gold for the flowers and the lace is from my stash.


I hope you are having a good weekend where ever you are. It is 730 pm here as I write this post so that means our weekend is almost over. 

Love,

Monica 

Saturday 11 May 2013

Card for a man

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is my card to show you for today... a card for a man made with two kinds of fancy gift wrap papers and washi tape.  The paper with concentrics is actually silvery but it does not show in the picture. The yarn and natural buttons are from my stash and the sentiement is from a larger sheet. I am not sure whether I should have stuck the washi tape at all as it seems to transparent.



Hope you all are having a pleasant weekend. I am getting all set for the bazaar on the 14th. I have  made something like 50 plus cards.

Love,

Monica