Thursday 27 February 2014

A Male Card

Hello sweet bloggers,

Another quick card to show you made with bare minimum of embellishments made over Christmas while we were in the UK bought at The Range close to my brother-in-law's home. All made with no glue and stamps!!!


I will enter this card in:
http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com/ - keep it simple

Wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful Thursday,

Monica 

Wednesday 26 February 2014

A Feathery Card

Hello lovely peeps,

Here is a quick card to show you which I am going to enter for the challenge at CAS(E) this sketch and  and  Less is More which is all about metal. The challenge Let's Craft and Create is embossing (wet or dry) so here is my entry.

This metallic paper was the same that Aleeza got from school. I had finished the scrap she got for me when I made the last hearty card. This was her bit lying around and I got tempted to make this feathery card with it. I have used an embossing folder to give the feathers more dimension and do think it looks nice. The sentiment and coppery crystal finish it off nicely though I wish I had used a flowery font for the sentiment. Anyway, it still looks nice, don't you think?




Wish you a happy Wednesday full of good heath and time to craft,

Monica 

Friday 21 February 2014

A hearty card

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a card I made with gold paper that Aleeza got for me from school. It was a bit crumpled so I thought using my heart die cuts along with embossing would give it fresh look. I had to use it to make her little heart happy and I did.
I know Valentine's Day is over but I still fancied making a card with hearts. It could be used as a modern wedding card.



Catch you later,

Monica 

Thursday 20 February 2014

Hello there

Hello sweet bloggers,
I know it has been a long time since I visited or posted and much as try, time seems to elude me. And Aleeza has just recovered from an eye flu' which kept me busy as well.
So here is a quick post with the card I made for Aleeza's sixth birthday. The theme was Minnie Mouse so here is my Minnie Mouse card made with a sticker!!! Well, she loved it and that is all that matters. I wrote a little poem for her inside and she was rather touched with it.


Wish you a happy day,

Monica 

Friday 14 February 2014

Happy to blog this evening

Hello sweet bloggers,

I am rather slow with blogging this year... life seems soooo hectic.

Here is a card that I made for Aleeza's lovely teacher who is a male. The coffee bean on the right moved a little but I realized that only after I took the picture. 


We celebrated Aleeza's birthday party last Sunday and both the kids and adults had lots of fun.


Aleeza with her sweet smile at the party.

Look at the joy on her face after opening all her presents.



I will enter this card in:

http://www.addictedtocas.blogspot.com.au/ - code word coffee

Wish you a happy weekend,

Monica 

Sunday 9 February 2014

Lunar year of the Horse

Hello sweet bloggers,

I seem to be going slow with blogging and to top it all, we have changed our internet service provider and that has further slowed down everything.
Aleeza's sixth birthday was on the 7th and we had a party for her today with her class mates. It was a real hit and I will try and post some pictures tomorrow.

Now to my card - it has been been made for a very special person who is in his eighties. I had these special peel offs that I had bought from a museum shop in Prague. I fell in love with the horses the moment I saw them and saved them for over three years. Remember, I spoke of my hoarding instincts earlier? Lol. The stars are from the same sheet while the little rocks are negatives from another sticker sheet. The copper boarder came from Shirley Anne. Thank you so much for all your kindness. The organza ribbon is from my stash and I thought it fits in quite well.



Down below is a card that Aleeza made for her Dad almost on her own to congratulate him on joining another company. Sweet of her, isn't it? 


Here is another card that Aleeza made for her sister.


Hope to catch you later.

Love,

Monica 

Tuesday 4 February 2014

This is a glueless card ;-)

Hello sweet bloggers,
Am trying to keep on with blogging even though life seems fairly hectic. I got such a sweet card in the mail from Merry which made my heart sing and that inspired me to find time to blog. People in blogland are the kindest, yaay.

So here is my glueless card made while I was in the UK for my sister in law. All self explanatory really... She loved it and so did her son's girl friend so I made an identical one for her as well. 


I will enter this card in:

http://craft-deebowz.blogspot.com/ - anything goes with a bow

Now that was a serious bunch of challenges for me.

See you later,

Monica 

Sunday 2 February 2014

For Less Is More

Hello sweet peeps,
I was looking at my blog and saw that in January all I have is two posts!!! Aleeza was poorly after we came back as Indonesia has been having crazy rain and the temperatures have dropped significantly. Of course nothing to beat the temperatures of cold countries but low enough for us to stay away from using air conditioners or even fans. 
Here is a card I made for one of Zeenya's closest friends who helped me through a phase where we were having mother-teenage daughter issues. This is another stamp free card made with fabric and washi tape and pretty butterfly stickers. Zeenya felt I could have done better but I was quite impressed with it. I hope it meets the challenge rules at LIM this week which is all about rainbows.


I promise to be more consistent with blogging this month.

Love,

Monica 

Tuesday 21 January 2014

99 percent recycled

Hello sweet peeps,

I have been so busy trying to resettle into my regular routine after our big travel however it seems to take longer than ever. Maybe it is a good idea to just be and let things flow at their own pace rather than rush them. The kids are back to school and that is what is most important I guess. My exercise and sleep routine are still all over the place and inspite of not much time difference from India to Indonesia I am all over the place.

Now to my card which I made for Aleeza's friend. Can you beat that everything on this card has been recycled from the reverse nestie to the image and the name, Alex. And let me tell you where the image came from? Okay how about a wild guess? You give up, right? Well, they came from a free origami kit that Aleeza got when we flew Singapore Airlines. I thought we were lucky to find a card that was perfect for Alex. What a coincidence that was.


 Thanks for kind comments and condolences on my mum in law's passing away. Hubby who is so strong otherwise is a changed man. Funny how older the parents, more the loss. I thought it was easier to let go when parents are old but I am noticing that even though my hubby is in his fifties and his mum was 97, he is still finding it hard. Infact out of the three siblings that they are, he seems the most affected.

Catch you later.

Love,

Monica 

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Happy to be back

Hello sweet bloggers,

Happy New Year to all of you! Wish you all (and meself) a healthy,  happy and abundant 2014.
I am sorry for my sudden absence, the reason being that I lost my 97 year old mother in law so  we had to suddenly fly to the UK and spent a week with my hubby's family. It was a sad time yet it was a celebration of her life well lived. After the funeral we visited New Delhi to see my dear mum and spent a few sunny days in Goa with her. It was lovely as the pictures will tell you.

Down below is a beach in Goa - idyllic and beautiful, a quaint island state with a strong Portuguese character.

A famous church in Goa called Bom Jesus where the body of St Francis Xavier has been lying since many centuries.

Inside the church is this beautiful coffin where the saint's body is housed. Wish this was a clearer picture but if you look intently, you can see his head on the right hand side.

 I saw these lovely vases in a hotel in Goa and had to show them to you.


 This is a picture with a very dear friend in a beautiful Crafts Village in New Delhi taken with this man from Rajasthan (a colourful Indian state with beautiful palaces, jewels and fabrics) playing a flute. Can you spot how long his mustache is??? He decided to park these funny turbans on our heads when we asked him for a picture. Again I wish the picture quality was better.


 At last a card to show you which I made in the UK for my sister in law. I managed 20 quick cards and left most of them for her to use. She wanted thank you cards to give at the hospital where my mother in law was admitted. This was made with bare minimum embellies as that is all I had. I purchased everything from The Range including the card stock to make these quickies.

Will come and visit you soon after unpacking our bags.

Love,
Monica 

Sunday 22 December 2013

Thank you, Sue

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is another card to show you which is non-Chrismasy. The image is a stamp from a set I bought for Zeenya many years ago from India. I have coloured in the tulip with my Prisma pencils. The happy birthday sentiment came from Sue - what a coincidence that it fitted in so well with the image. The washi tape is my newest buy and I love it.


This is Aleeza with her play dough art work.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Wish you a happy Sunday,
Monica

Friday 20 December 2013

Happy Birthday card

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is another card done in seconds with my cling stamp from Stampendous. I have used Brilliant pearlescent ink pads and the crystals are from Prima while the double ribbon is from mys stash.


Down below is Zeenya with her art work at the Visual and Performing Arts Concert on Tuesday. She was one of the two kids from her grade to be chosen to demonstrate her art piece in front of the theatre. So as many of you said, she is coming back to Art which makes me want to burst with happiness. If there is anything I wish for my girls it is that they do art, art and more art. And of course I want them to make the world into a better place.

This is a close up of Zeenya's free hand art piece. Her art teacher is lovely and I have much gratitude for her for motivating my daughter to enjoy and excel at art. 

This 3D art work by Zeenya was also chosen to be displayed at the concert. VPA stands for Visual and Performing Arts. 



I will enter my card in:


Thank God it's Friday,

Monica 

Thursday 19 December 2013

Anything but Christmas

Hello sweet bloggers,
Hope this finds you in good health and cheer with Christmas fast approaching. The schools break tomorrow for Christmas and then we are off to travel.
Here is my card to show you, it all started hap hazardly and still looks that way to me. The lovely sticker on this card came from Merry and I love it. There is something about roses that makes me like them so. I have used the green ribbon to hide the tell tale line that is left behind after embossing. The sentiment is from Spellbinders and I have used my pink metallic Sakura pen over it.  Thought I must put something on the top so good old pearls came to the rescue.

 
I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Thursday,

Monica 

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Recycled card

Hello kind peeps,

Here is a card made with a recycled image from a super market brochure. The snowflakes border is from the same brochure as well. All I did was to layer the image on to a gold paper and add a ribbon along with lots of scoring on the top and bottom of the card. 


Aleeza had her Christmas concert yesterday but I could not take pictures as she was too far. Here is a shot of her friend and her with lights in their hands. The money from the sale of these lights will go to the Philippines.

The evening was called The Festival of Lights and down below is a display created by older children made out of milk cartons.

I will enter this card in:
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - always anything goes
http://unstampabelleschallenges.blogspot.com.au/ - Christmas, no stamping
http://archiscraps.blogspot.com/ - Gingerbread


Wish you a wonderful Tuesday,

Monica 

Sunday 15 December 2013

Cute lil' giraffe

Hello lovely peeps,
Here is a card I made yesterday with my new clear stamp from Hobby Craft in London. I have coloured it with my Prismas. I have used pop up fabric glue on the giraffe' dots and the leaves have been die cut from scraps using tiny Wonder House dies. The orange layer has been recycled from a brochure and the paper is from Kaiser (I think) and it was left over from a previous card I made. I think the leaves may be overshadowing the image and I did consider using buttons initially but ended up with this leafy affair.


I will enter this card in:
http://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes
http://sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://stempelsonne.blogspot.com/ - anything goes with a stamped image as the central theme

Wish you a happy Sunday,
Monica 

Saturday 14 December 2013

Natural wreath

Hello kind bloggers,

Here is my card to show you for today made with dried up grass that I found in the play ground downstairs. It was actually curled into a circle and all I did was to shape it a bit more with my fingers. I drew a circle lightly with a pencil on the green layer to make the wreath sit nicely. Then I stuck holly leaves under the wreath and added liquid pearls around the wreath. My famous Joy sentiment completed the card even though it's font is a trifle casual for this card. I have to add that I had lots of fun making this card.




I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy and healthy Saturday,

Monica 

Friday 13 December 2013

A few more Christmas cards

Hello sweet bloggers,
Another simple card for Christmas made with the bare minimum of material. The Christmas tree came from Sandra and the crystals are from Prima. I have used my Sakura silver gel pen to outline the window and the top layer has been stuck with foam tape. The ribbon and scoring finish it off nicely. A very common layout and I think I should have rounded the corners of the layer on top as well.


I will enter this card in:
http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes with ribbon

Thank God it's Friday again,

Monica 

Thursday 12 December 2013

Thank you Lynn

Hello sweet peeps,
It is such a busy time, there is so much happening around, Christmas concerts at school, birthday parties and the coming holidays. So much to be grateful for, really.

This card I have today has been made with a clears stamp that was sent by my dear blog buddy, Lynn. Thank you for sending me that parcel a few years ago, bursting at it's seams with stamps and other goodies. I do love this stamp, Lynn and used it a lot last year. My friend who ordered four cards, bought six and this was one of them.
I have stamped the image with Brilliance pearlescent rust and have gone over it with my fave gold Sakura pen. Added tiny, shiny starry stckers along with organza ribbon and it was done.


The same card taken with the flash 

I will enter this card in:
http://www.lovesrubberstampschallenges.com/ - simple Christmas
http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/ - metallic element plus one colour of your choice

Sorry that I have not been regular with my visits,

Monica

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Frugal crafter here

Hello dear bloggers,
I have got an order for another four cards from a close friend - yaay.
My card to show you today is a frugal crafter's job really. The stars have been punched out of adhesive holographic paper and the ribbon is from my stash. This sentiment is from Penny Black and I seem to use it with delight every time. I have scored the paper on the right hand side to add interest.


I will enter this card in:
http://craft-deebowz.blogspot.com/ - anything with a bow

Wish you a nice Tuesday,

Monica 


Saturday 7 December 2013

Ho Ho Ho and thank you, dear Helen!

Hello sweet bloggers,
My dear kind friend Helen who is an amazingly talented crafter sent me cards to sell and I managed to sell them with such ease. Thank you, Helen, for your kindness. I was lucky to have sold another ten cards (from Helen's lot and mine) and the amount I am donating to the Philippines Typhoon fund has gone up to USD 230 (from USD 165 initially) and I think I will stop at this.

Remember I said I went to Aleeza's class and baked cookies with the kids on Wednesday? Since they were not enough, I baked some more the next day and took them to class. The kids were so delighted and they LOVED them. Oh the joy I got was immeasurable, honestly. Sometimes giving gives the giver more pleasure than the receiver I feel. 
I was lucky to have sold another ten cards and the amount I am donating to the Philippines Typhoon fund has gone up to USD 230 (from USD 165 initially) and I think I will stop at this.

Now to my card... another CAS card with a very shiny sticker that came from Sandra. The ribbon is from Arthur Dailey in Melbourne and the holographic paper is from Hobby Craft in London. The holographic tape is Zeenya's and the silver cord has been recycled from a gift. 


These are the lovely cards Helen sent me to sell for charity

I will enter this card in:
http://qkrstampede.blogspot.co.uk/ - white with a touch of red and green



Hope you are having a peaceful and crafty weekend,
Monica

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Snowflakes

Hello bloggers,

What a busy day I had today!!! I had to go to Aleeza's class to bake shortbread cookies with the kids. They turned out rather good except that plenty of them got burned as I was not familiar with the oven. As a result the kids were left wanting for more. Aleeza's teacher is so kind and he explained to them that it was okay if they did not get enough of something. And they seemed to understand. For my part, I think I will bake the same cookies and send them to class to make up for the faux pas. I hope I do it sooner rather than later.
Then I had to take Aleeza for a birthday party in the evening which was a swim party but it began to pour along with thunder and lightening so the kids had to come out of the pool. Yet they seemed so happy to be together and had a great time. So did I though I could not wait to get home after a long and hectic day.

Here is my card to show you today. That crumpled gold paper is handmade from India and looks really beautiful in real life. I have stuck textured dull gold paper under the reverse snowflakes. The centre snowflake is my latest buy from the button store close by. I have decorated the snowflakes with gold glitter and added a thin gold border at the bottom which has been sent to me by Merry - many thanks. For the life of me, I don't know why I punched the bottom of the card stock. 


I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Wednesday,

Monica 

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Thank You Sue

Hello kind people,
You know something, when I started my blog in 2010 at the behest of a very close friend, Aparna, little did I imagine that it would create such magic in my life. I have come across such talented as well as kind people who have added a sparkle to my life. A sparkle that makes me smile and glow and feel happy every time I look at the comment section. Words alone cannot express my joy... But you understand what I am trying to say, right?

The card that you see below is kind courtesy of Sue who sent me this beeeeeeeeeeautiful white  die cut which I have used as a bauble with a silver string and a handmade bow. The sequined border is my latest buy from the ribbon and lace store in the local market close by. A few sequins came off the thread so I stuck them in the centre of the bauble. Thank you so much, dear Sue for this delightful die cut.



 Aleeza took part in the Gymnatstics Festival at the weekend. She was so thrilled with the medal and goodie bag she received that she has decided to be more enthusiastic about Gymnastics. Lol.


I will enter this card in:
http://www.vostamps.blogspot.com/ - Christmas with non-traditional colours

That was a huge number of challenges for me. Lol.

Have a nice Tuesday,

Monica 

Monday 2 December 2013

Meow



Hello sweet peeps,

I went to make cards with the kids in Aleeza's class and they sure had fun. They just seemed so absorbed in making cards and sticking as much material as possible on the card as they could. I spent most of the time trying to take care of my stamp pads from being left open and drying out but it was all well worth it.

Here is my card to show you today made with my clear stamp from Hobby Craft bought this summer from London. And you know what happened to the sentiment with it? As I was trying to peel it off the acetate, it split into two. However I did not give up, I thought I would still be able to use it - somehow. But it was not meant to be and as I was trying to be as gentle as I could, it came apart into another piece so I had three parts lying on my table and all I could do was to dump it in the dust bin. And the cat stamp refused to come off the acetate layer but this time I did not resist that. Instead I stuck it along with the acetate layer on an acrylic block with double sided tape and managed to stamp it. I was rather impressed with what I did and gave myself a mental pat. The image has been coloured with my Prismas - how I love them so. I have mounted the white nestie on foam tape and layered it on to a scalloped nestie which has been recycled from a brochure cover. The paper on this card is from Kaiser I think and the ribbon is from my stash. I tried to copy the sentiment in my own hand writing.



I will enter this card in:

Happy Monday,

Monica 

Sunday 1 December 2013

Another Christmas card

Hello sweet bloggers,

A lady in our complex has asked me for cards so am making a few more. That is great news but my fingers are rather painful due to the stress so I need to go slow and make it as effortless as possible. This year has been excellent for me as I met my target of supporting five Indonesian children with such ease. And I have an extra USD 200 which I am going to donate to the Philippines Typhoon Fund. I could have raised more if my hands were in better condition.
This card is simple and did not take much effort at all. I have stuck a 3D wreath, stamped a sentiment and used self adhesive holographic paper at the bottom.


I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Sunday,

Monica 

Friday 29 November 2013

My new embossing folder from Helen

Hello bloggers,

Here is a card I have made with an embossing folder sent by Helen to me. I really like it, thank you so much. I have used old paper to sponge the edges and have stuck bee stickers made out of felt along with green ribbon at the bottom. I did think of a sentiment like Just Bee-cause but let it be this way for reasons of flexibility.


I will enter this card in:
http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes with ribbon


Wishing you a happy weekend,

Monica 

Thursday 28 November 2013

A super quickie

Hello dear bloggers,
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate it. I am grateful to my followers and all the kindness that has come my way ever since I started this blog. 

Here is another super quickie... just ribbon and a gigantic 3D sticker with lots of bling on it and some scoring to finish it off.

I will enter this card in:
http://lexiscreations.blogspot.com/ - Christmas

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Peace


Hello dear bloggers,
Every Wednesday is Manyano Day for me and a group of friends. Manyano means a circle of sisters in Afrikaans and it was started by a South African lady who used to live in Jakarta. I am lucky to be a part of this very special group that meets every Wednesday for yoga, fabulous home cooked potluck, meditation, Angel card reading followed by an interesting Ted Talk or a movie. Not to mention the tea and cake that we eat to help our girths expand, lol. It is indeed one of the nicest days of the week for me and I look forward to it rather excitedly.
Now to my card -  I have used fancy gift wrap to cover the card stock and a Sizzix die cut for the sentiment. The paper is actually a subtle gold but in the picture it decided to look dull and muddy. The gold stars are stickers and the organza ribbon is from my stash.



I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Wednesday,

Monica 

Tuesday 26 November 2013

A quick birthday card

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is another quick card to show you today. I have made it for a friend of Aleeza's who has her birthday today. Aleeza could not go to her party as it is a weekday and with the traffic here, it was a bit impractical. Beside she had a trial for a swim lesson as well. I did feel bad that she could not socialize but had to be practical.
The happy birthday sentiment is a ribbon and the die cut hearts are from Wonder House Japan. They cut so smoothly and with such ease - honestly one of the best brands I have seen. I have used very bright and sparkly pink and white checquered paper for the hearts and that makes the card quite girly, I think which is just what I wanted.


I will enter this card in:

Off to bed now. Catch you tomorrow,

Monica 

Monday 25 November 2013

The perfect pear

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is a quick post from me to show you my latest card. I am trying to get better at colouring so here is my take. I made the card without flowers and then as an afterthought decided to overload it with flowers which are handmade by yours truly. I could have done better with the leaves around the flowers, I think. I cannot remember the name of the rubber stamp but do recollect that I got rather cheap. The woollen yarn and embroidery thread is from my stash and the embossing folder is one of my fave. The scalloped nestie hiding behind the round one has been die cut out of a brochure.

Without the overload

With the overload 

I will enter this card in:
http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

Happy Monday,
Monica 

Sunday 24 November 2013

Partially Recycled

Hello sweet peeps,

This card I have to show you today is not a Christmas card... a relief, isn't that. Lol.
The printed paper with hearts is actually a postcard and I have used ribbon to cover up the empty space on the right. The pink nestie is also from the packaging of an embossing folder while the blue nestie was sent by Shirley-Anne. The cute chipboard teddy and hearts were sent by Sandra. There is a tiny tag on the image which says, 'With Love' which is ideal with the image.


I will enter this card in:

Happy Sunday,

Monica