This card sold as well...

Hello bloggers,

Thanks for your lovely comments on my last post...

You know what my older one is going to be entering Middle School in August so their moving on ceremony is on the 9th. She will move to a bigger campus which is going to be different from the elementary one. I feel a bit sad at the thought saying goodbye... I have got so attached to her elementary school. Such a warm and caring environment and such lovely staff as well.

Enough waffle there... now to this card... simple card which i made in minutes.
The embossing has been done with my new Cuttlebug folder - just LOVE it.

I have used metallic white paper for the embossing which was sent to me by Leigh (http://www.charitycrafter.blogspot.com/) and stuck it with foam dots on metallic silver grey paper.

The blue sentiment is a ribbon which says  "it's a boy" and congratulations has been embossed with Cuttlebug as well. Looks far better in real life, to be honest.

The blue beads are from my stash.

Happy crafting and hugs,

Monica

I have sold 105 cards for Japan Red cross so far... yippeeeeeee!!!

Hello, my lovely, cheerful, motivating, loving and encouraging bloggers,

I am still unable to comment on some of fave blogs... Google - uuuurghh! Never mind, I hope things get better.

I have managed to sell 105 cards so far and now I must put a stop till I get my next batch ready...

Now to this card - I managed to sell it - yippee!!! For USD 3.5!

I have used  a Hero Arts stamp on this card which has been coloured by Zeenya using Darwent water colour pencils in those good ol' days when she used to take interest in crafting... no longer, though!!! Sob, sob, sob!

The edges of the paper on which the image is stamped have been distressed with Wild Honey while the brick background is new gift wrap.

The woollen yarn at the bottom is what I bought when we went to Singapore a while ago.

The flowers are home made with flower punches from Carla craft and I have added a blob of 3D pop up fabric glue to their centres. I distressed and crushed the paper before punching out the flowers.

The sentiment is hand written on that little tablet which was sent to me by Shirley-Anne.

Hope you like it... I have used this stamp earlier but it is always a hot favourite for some reason. I do like it, I have to say.

Hugs,

Monica

Blogger and google playing up again...

Hello lovely bloggers,

I am sitting on my computer and am trying my best to visit you but Google is playing up again. I was able to leave comments on some blogs though...but not on most!

Please don't give up on me... I will come and visit you when Google allows me.

Hugs and lots of "I miss yous",

Monica

Apologies all!

Dear, dear blog buddies,

This is a short post to apologise as I am not able to comment on anybody's blog today as my gmail is playing games and I simply don't know why. I have had several failed attempts to comment on Sandra's blog as well as FatMonica's so I am giving up for now.

So please just bear with me... I will visit soon.

See you as soon as Google behaves.

Hugs,

Monica

Card with Shirley Anne's paper and Lynn's flowers

Hello bloggers,

This is a birthday card I made this early morning as I could not sleep - got up at something like 3.30 am!!!

The lovely paper is from Shirley-Anne - all I did was to distress the sides with Crushed Olive.

The ribbon, butterfly, (from Carla craft punch) sentiment label and flower have been distressed as well with Crushed Olive. This is the first time I have distressed designer paper and ribbon!

The yellowish green flower is from Lynn's goodies - what a co-incidence that it matched perfectly! I stuck a yellow satin rose in the centre of the layered flower.

The white flower behind the green one has been die cut with my Sizzix mini flower die. I do love it as it is so versatile!

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

http://bunnyzoescrafts.blogspot.com/ - lace
http://ccmspotlight.blogspot.com/ - challenge yourself to try something new

Thanks for visiting and I do hope you like my simple creation...

Hugs,

Monica

Butterfly from Sandra's treasure box

Hello, you lovely people out there,

Thanks for your lovely comments on my last card and the warm welcome back. Sure I am happy to be back in my haven!

Here is a quick card I made on Saturday as Zeenya (my older one) had to attend a birthday party and we had like ten minutes to get a card ready.
I have used navy blue card stock as the base and the butterfly is from Sandra's lovely treasure box... you cannot imagine how much that pretty treasure box could house all the way from the UK!!!

Sorry, the sentiment is not very clear in the picture - it says Happy Birthday.

The blue paper that you see is handmade from India.

The ribbon is from my stash - my ribbon drawer is in urgent need of organization. I try to do clean it every few months but it lands up looking messier than ever before. Lol!

Zeenya actually liked it without being critical and I was happy not to over do my fingers...


I am going to enter this for Less is More - the theme of which is butterflies this week.


Hugs,

Monica

PS: By the way, the world did not end yesterday???

With love from Lynn!

Hello bloggers,

Hope you are happy and healthy...

This post comes after a long gap and believe me I was kind of getting cravings to post something...

Here is a card I made with Lynn's delightful candy... kiddy's cards are always a big hit for some reason.  I love this teddy sticker and the self adhesive hearts. Thank you, Leigh!

The sentiment - SWEET TREATS is handwritten and the cupcake embossing folder is my new buy as well...

Wish you a pleasant Monday where ever you are...

Hugs,

Monica

Our weekend on a small island!



Hello bloggers,

Here are some pictures of our long weekend trip to Lombok - an island that is a twenty-five minute flight from Bali and a one and half hour flight from Jakarta. The beach was so pristine and untouched - quite a novelty in Asia, really.

Sorry, that the roof of the beach hut has come in the picture.



This is my little one, Aleeza making a funny face if you please! She simply refused to get into the sea even for just a dip or into the pool. Since dear husband could not come along I had to be with her... so I could not swim at all. Never mind!

Hugs,

Monica

Thank you, Lynn!

Hello bloggers,
Hope you are well and happy...
Here are the fab goodies that Lynn sent me last week. Such lovely embellishments and stamps, rub-ons and what not. Lucky, lucky me...It doesn't rain, it pours... in a good way, I mean.

And look at this lovely card that came along with the goodies. I love the bicycle and the basket of flowers at the back. The sentiment is just right for me, Lynn. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Actually I am short of words to express how I feel - that does happen to us sometimes, right?

Better get down to some serious crafting now.

I will come and do my rounds as soon as I can.

Hugs,

Monica

Slow down and take time to smell the flowers...

Hello bloggers,

Thanks for the comforting words about my fish...
I feel better already! I seem to have gathered serious information on the psychology of goldfish in the bargain - now does that sound fishy? Lol!

Now to my card - I have used metallic cream cardstock and I have stamped the turtle with my Peachy Kleen clear stamp on a light green card stock. It has been coloured with my Darwent water colour pencils. I went over the outline of the turtle with my Sakura pen in green and gold.
The bits of gold paper is actually a new gift wrap with a great texture. 
The hand-torn strip of paper at the bottom was originally cream which I distressed with Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge. I went over the sides with Crushed Olive.
The three bead look alikes are coffee beans and the sentiment is handwritten. I just think that life is just so busy that we don't take enough time to smell the flowers.
The flowers have not been made by me but are from my stash. 
I do like the sentiment, what do you say?

I am going to enter my card in the following challenges:

http://everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://crazychallenge.blogspot.com/ -  anything goes
http://critterchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - green and yellow
http://happichallenge.blogspot.com/ -  green
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.com/ - anything goes


I hope you like my card - thanks for visiting and I would love it if you have a minute to leave me a comment.

Hugs,
Monica

Less is More - my first time

Hello bloggers,
Thanks for all the love you have been leaving me for my blogoversary. I cannot believe that my little blog is one year old!!!


Hope you all are happy and feeling your best...


The girls and I have been down with a flu' and to top it all one of our gold fish died - she just jumped out of the fish bowl and committed suicide! I discovered its' absence in the middle of the night when I went to eat a midnight snack and it sure did break my heart. I kept staring into the bowl thinking it would magically appear from somewhere. But it didn't and I went to bed  a trifle sad. Next morning, Zeenya found the dead fish lying on the floor by the side cabinet. 
Anyway, one has to move on, right, so what I did was to buy another fish immediately to tide over the loss. People go through much more in life so this is just miniscule, I guess.


That was enough waffle there...


Now to this card - I have been tempted many a time to participate in Less is More but somehow could not get down to it. However this time, I made a serious effort because the challenge was 'white on white'.

I have used my new embossing folder which I bought over the net alongwith some more crafting goodies. The sentiment has also been embossed as you can see.
I have made the flowers with my Ek Success scallop punch - it was easy peasy for a change. I just sprayed some water on the punched shape, crumpled it up and shaped it with a quilling tool. The one in the centre has two punched scalloped flowers while the ones on the sides have a single flower. I finished off the flowers with flat pearls in the centre.


Hope you like my card. Would love it if you leave me a comment.


Hugs,


Monica

Featured blogger

Hi bloggers,


As I mentioned in my blogoversary post, I would be featuring a beautiful blogger each month and here is my first:


Dear Sandra of http://www.rosepetalcreations.blogspot.com/


You know when I started blogging last year, I used to secretly crave for those awards, yes yearn for them, waiting when I would receive my first... and guess who was the first one to give them to me? Yes, you got it, it was none other than Sandra, the lovely Sandra. And then she went on to give me the second award followed by the third one - I just felt so proud to post them on my side bars... It meant so much to me.


Sandra makes the most beautiful layered cards with  much grace and beauty. She manages to find the cutest images to use on her cards and her colour schemes are always so wonderful. Her papers are the prettiest on the block, you can check them for yourself...seeing is believing, right?

She is a blogger with a such a gentle and kind heart... always leaveing me with encouraging words to read. I am a big fan of you and your cards, Sandra!


Hugs,


Monica

Tomorrow my blog completes a year!

Hello lovely bloggers,
Tomorrow my little blog completes one year...


No fancy giveaways or anything close - rather far from it.
However I can say without any hesitation whatsoever that blogging has changed my life for the better.

I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for the love and motivation I have received from my regular followers who visit me come rain, shine or snow!

Never did I imagine in the wildest of my dreams that this journey would be the discovery of a whole new world full of great crafters who have so much to share... I have learned so much and more from you all.


Thank you to you and you and you!!!


Blogging has become such a serious addiction that I seem to have little time for anything else - including housekeeping and cooking!!! Lol!


There is something NEW I want to start tomorrow and here is a peek:


I would like to do a special monthly feature on a blogger (old or new) who has touched my heart.

It is just my way of paying forward all that I have gained in blogland...


Incase any of you have any suggestions on this, I would love to hear them.

Sorry for all that waffle - but hey, it's MY day !!!


Hugs,


Monica

Yippee - this one sold for USD 4 as well

Hi bloggers,

Hope you are keeping well and happy...

You may be fed up of this shoe card that I keep posting in with different shoes but it seems to be a HOT favourite and sells rather quickly. It sold for USD 4 - am so chuffed about that. This is the second card that I have ever priced for this much so far...but it makes me happy that my work is being well received.

By the way 22 out of 24 cards that Helen sent sold off! Thanks, Helen! Her blog is worth a peep for sure.

The doily stamp is from Paper Mania (I stamped it with Tim Holtz distress ink  - fired brick) 

The shoe stamp is from a set of Hero Arts clear stamps. I went over the outline with a Sakura nail pen in black and coloured it with my Marvy brush marker in red. The distressing has been done with the same fired brick distress ink.

Then, ran the rectangular piece of paper through my Cuttlebug.

I have made the flowers  with my Ek Success scalloped punch. The  tiny stems have been cut free hand.

The ribbon is from my stash.

The sprig have been punched from my Carla craft punch.

The sentiment is handwritten but not my own - I have copied it from the stamp as it would not fit if I stamped it directly on the scalloped flower nestie.

I am going to enter this for the following challenges;
http://alotarubberstamps.blogspot.com/ - red and white
http://bythecuteandgirly.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://emeraldfaeries.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Monica

I love this sentiment

Hello bloggers,


Here is my second post for the month of May - rather quick and simple. And it sold!


I am confessing  a weakness today - I LOVE buying fancy gift wrap and have collected so much that I seem to be falling short of space to keep it. So am planning to get new craft cupboards but not planning to work on this obsession! Lol! Crazy, isn't that???

This card was made with new gift wrap.
I do like this sentiment - sorry, I am too lazy to go and check out where the stamp is from...I think it is from Penny Black.
The mosaic, stars and ribbon are from my stash.


Happy crafting with lots of hugs,


Monica


PS: By the way, this sentiment -
"ANGELS CREATE MIRACLES AND SO DO OUR FRIENDS" 
reminds me of my kind blogging buddies who are such a delightful addition to my crafting world.

This card sold for USD 4

Hello bloggers,

Hope you are enjoying May in all it's glory... mind you, in Asia May is one of the hottest months with the mercury touching 48 degrees celcius and over in some cities...  it can be a bit of a torture, you know. We are lucky to be in Jakarta where it never gets too hot. And if it does, the heavens smile by sending us rain and we are cool again.

Okay, that was some waffle there and now to some more rambling about this card. Notice how small the picture is - well, that is because I did not colour in the face well and that was the only way to hide the flaws. 

The stamp is from Hero Arts and I have used different embossing folders with my handmade flowers (sadly, I seem to have used up most of my flowers :( and with my fingers the way they are, it will be a while before I make some more.
I added touches of glitter to the dress to make it look glam.

And guess what, for the VERY first time, I gathered all my guts to sell this card for USD 4/ - yes, for the very first time! And it was the first card to be sold from the batch. So I am doing something right!!!

Hope you are having a nice day, evening, night where ever you are...

I am going to enter this for plenty of challenges and here they go:

http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://diekreativenstempelfreunde.blogspot.com/ Mother's day
http://hippitywithippity.blogspot.com/ - flowers
http://happichallenge.blogspot.com/ - Moms
http://heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com/ - all about Mom
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://ooh-la-la-creationschallenges.blogspot.com/ - tres chic
http://www.pollycraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://stampwithfun.blogspot.com/ - lace or ribbon
http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://tsgclearstamps.blogspot.com/ - flowers



Hugs,

Monica