Hi bloggers,


Hope winter is less extreme... soon it will be March and daffodils will arive... 


That reminds me of the poem , "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth... 


Does anyone recall it? 


I hope I have got the name of the poem and author right?



Here is my latest card for a man really... I cannot believe that I made it this easily!!!

Materials used:

Vanilla card stock


For the distressed effect on the sides I have used Jim Holtz  ranger distress inks - 
                                     wild honey
                                     peeled paint
                                          and
                                     rusty hinge

The squiggly design and happy birthday sentiment stamp are JUMBO stamps from Stampendous impressions.

I used a mixture of wild honey and rusty hinge to stamp the squiggly design.


The happy birthday sentiment was done with a mixture of rusty hinge and walnut stain.


The random pieces of mosaic are from my stash.


I do like how this card turned out... hope you like it, too. 


On second thoughts which I seem to have often, I think I should have used mosaic all over the card. I was being stingy because I love this embellishment and want it to last a loooong time.






I am going to submit it for the following challenge:


www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/ - anything goes


Hugs,


Monica


                                                                            

My yummy goodies from Singapore

Since one of my very dear blog buddies - Leigh  (Charity Crafter) asked me to show my crafting goodies from Singapore (and some from Jakarta, too) - here they are!

 I am so chuffed - just hope DH does not see this picture because it may hinder his recovery...  hehe!

I love these sentiments - just find them so very witty. I picked it up just to amuse myself...

Read the one about Youth - a bit rude but funny nonetheless!!!

And the one about families being like fudge...

Enjoy!

Aleeza's birthday in school

I thought I must share some pictures of Aleeza's birthday in school. My older one had a holiday so she tried baking a chocolate cake which just refused to get baked! So in desperation we had to order a cake from the restaurant downstairs because we were really running late. It could not be fancy but the quality of chocolate that the pastry chef used was excellent. The kids loved the cake and so did the teacher and her aides.

Aleeza lounging around on the carpet in her class room.

This picture is obviously not good for obvious reasons... I was so touched with the way the teacher stuck her name on the window. They even hung a Happy Birthday banner above - so thoughtful of them.

Aleeza blowing her candle with help from Zeenya and me.We should have taken a better picture of the cake but can you believe that in all the mayhem we forgot... It was a real tasty choco cake called 

Chocolate Devil.

Aleeza eating her snack.

Hugs,

Monica

Aleeza's Birthday card

Hi bloggers,


We just got back from Singapore last night after a whirlwind of activity...


Thanks to all of you for asking after my husband - he is faring much better and on the road to recovery.


I managed to find time to gets lots of crafting goodies for myself - yippeeeeeee!!! 
Singapore for us is like a haven because everything is just so easily available. 


Here, in Jakarta I have to struggle to get craft supplies but in Singapore it is the opposite. 


Still not like the States or the UK but good enough! 


And the food is pretty good, the air is clean, the public train and bus system is a breeze... It is truly the Switzerland of Asia! 


Saw how much I could waffle without even being asked a single question!


I have made this card for Aleeza's birthday today - she turns three and it seems like she was born yesterday!

Material used:

240 gsm cardstock in creamy yellow for the base.


Blue cardstock stamped with Hero Arts flower stamp with Jim Holtz distress ink - broken porcelein.  


Scalloped Martha Stewart border punch used at the bottom of the blue card stock before sticking it on to the base cardstock.


Hero Arts little girl stamp stamped with Stazon permanent ink and coloured in with Darwent water colour pencils.


Blue and off white lace from my stash.


Organza roses in yellow, blue and mauve from my stash, too.


The Happy Birthday sentiment is handwritten with Sakura metallic pens.

I was quite pleased with the way the card turned out even though the picture seems a bit blurry.


Hope you like it - Aleeza did!  : )


I am going to enter this card for the following challenges:


www.littleclairesdesigns.blogspot.com/ - anything goes


www.toptiptuesday.blogspot.com/ - anything girlie ( I love that coz' I always seem to struggle with making men's cards.)


www.mygraficocrafts.blogspot.com/ - anything goes 




I promise I will come and visit you all as soon as I have opened all my bags - luckily there is not much laundry this time as we went only for 3 days.


Hugs,


Monica

Hiya everyone,

It is me again... I am delighted to accept this award from  Monique - www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com/ 

Thank you so much, Monique! 

I feel honoured and treasured to say the least. I just feel so touched when I receive these awards because they put me on the top of the world... 

Do visit

Monique's 

blog to see her wonderful creations... she is amazingly creative and loves to recycle as well. 

Here are 7 things I would like to share about myself ( I hope I don't struggle - Lol!)

1. I studied Sociology honours in college and wanted to go and do my Masters in Social Work 

INSTEAD

2. Landed myself in a job as a Guest Relations Executive in a 5 star hotel and loved every minute of it. 

3. I have worked in the garment industry and in the hospitality industry. I have to say that I loved working in a hotel because I got to meet people from all over the world... and I realized that people are the same inside even though they all have a different exterior. We all need to be loved and respected no matter which part of the earth we come from. And I am lucky that my life has been touched by so many lovely people as yourselves.

4. My hair started greying at 28!!!

5. I always wanted to study Design in any form but did not - some day I will.

6. I have a dream to write a book - one fine day, it should materialize.

7. I love blog land and could spend hours visiting blogs and making friends. I have come across such nice people through blog land that it has made my life far richer than it ever was.

The second thing that I gotta do is to share this award... 


WELL, I PASS THIS ON TO WHO EVER READS THIS POST... WITH LOVE FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. DO TAKE IT AND POST IT ON YOUR BLOG. 

Monique, I am sorry that I took so long to post this... we are going through a bit of a rough phase at home with my DH having to undergo surgery in Singapore while we are here. Wish I could have been there with him at the time of the operation. We are going to fly to Singapore on Thursday to look him up for 2 days. 

Hugs,

Monica

The first post for February

Hi bloggers,


Can you believe that it is the 1st of February today??? One month gone by so very quickly!


I made this card a while ago and you can see my famous handmade flowers on it... That reminds me that I must start making my flowers again. Remember how I used to make only flowers for the longest time... I guess that was a phase.


Now to this card - I have used a stamp called Tara Reed designs by Stamps Happen, INC  that Zeenya picked up from Hobby Craft in London... I had to pick it up - simply irresistable!


The green distressed effect has actually been stamped with a square stamp from Whispers (docraft). Have colourd the stamp with my Darwent water colour pencils. 


I love the sentiment of this card... The ribbon is from my stash and so is the metallic violet paper (Paper Chase tissue paper). 


Hope you like this card. 


Hugs,


Monica

I am delighted to receive this award from not one but TWO LOVELY LADIES - 

 Leigh -http://www.charitycrafter.blogspot.com/ - a blogger with a heart of gold who makes the most beautiful cards to donate them. And she is so full of love, cheer and humour at all times. She provides me with so much inspiration...

AND

Shirley-Anne - http://www.shirley-anne-stampingforjoy.blogspot.com/ - I admire her talent for making the most effective cards with such grace. More than that I look up to her in ways more than one for her stoic approach to life... She has been through a lot in the past few months and has bounced back with such ease.

The usual number of blogs to receive this award are 3 to 5 

BUT

I will be passing this award to twice the number of blogs since I have received it from 2 ladies. So lucky me and lucky all of you... Lol!

Okay, before I start waffling again here goes my list:

Sandra - www.rosepetalcreations.blogspot.com/  - She uses the most wonderful papers and images for her cards and turns them into even more stunning creations... and to top it all she is such a loving and caring person. Even if she is famous I cannot resist giving her this award for the simple reason that she has brought me so much joy. It is just a tiny way to reciprocate. 

Lynn - http://creativecraftsbylynn.blogspot.com/ - You have to check out her classy and elegant cards... She knows exactly what to do to make her cards stand out. And she provides me with so much inspiration and motivation - NEVER missing to post her lovely comments on my blog... I do know that she is famous already but please I could not overlook her.

Helen - www.helenmade.blogspot.com/ - Such an amazing crafter - makes so many different arts and crafts... and is blessed with incredible amount of patience. Makes flowers, does quilling and a host of other stuff.

Monique - www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com/  - A lover of recycled stuff and makes much more than cards - all of which is delightfully impressive. I love her weekend linky parties - do check them out...

Andrea - www.andreajbpiecesofmine.blogspot.com/ -  Another gifted crafter - makes such pretty, pretty cards with so much charm and writes the most touching posts.

Fat Monica - www.chasingart.blogspot.com/ - She is into ATCs... and makes real neat ones. An ATC specialist - unusual that!

Shelly - http://shanarunacreativespace.blogspot.com/ - She is into photography, paper crafting, scrapbooking and a host of other lovely things...

Philippa - http://quilliance.blogspot.com/ - She is into quilling and oh-so-gifted... makes the most wonderful quilled creations.

Maria - http://craftycre8tions.blogspot.com/ - Her cards are really stylish... and she has a kind heart to donate them to great causes). 

Marie - http://cardmakingbird.blogspot.com/ - She makes such beautiful cards and I just love reading her posts. A lady with such a positive and kind attitude.

Please do visit them and see for yourself what they do... it would be worth it, I promise you that.

There are a couple of conditions for the award :

The aim of this award is that we bring unknown, good blogs to light, so I would ask you not to blog fellow bloggers that already have 3,000 followers.


You have been TAGGED and want to participate?


Then create a post where you post the 'LOVE BLOG' image.


You should also blog the persons link that gave you the award and inform her/him that you accept the award.


You can then choose 3 - 5 favourite blogs which you also link in your post, then each blogger will inform you that they have been tagged.






As Leigh has put it in such wonderful words, "It is okay if you are too busy to accept this award, I understand".

A card for Luke

Hi bloggers,


While I was visiting one of my fave blogs - Leigh at http://www.charitycrafter.blogspot.com/  I read about Luke so decided to send him a quick card which is posted above... 


Just sharing the blog post - just in case you wanna send that little gem of a boy called Luke a card...

 The picture above is that of Luke

Below is Leigh's (charity crafter0 blog post:

Hi all, over at Lacey's blog (Hand stamped by Lacey) HERE, she was asking for cards to cheer up a very poorly boy called Luke and to send them to him care of her (address at the bottom) he will be 6 years old on the 16th February so a card could be birthday. I have made my card and it is more of a cheer up card here x

My card will be sent tomorrow, can you spare one too?

Cards can be mailed to:

Pray for Luke

c/o Lacey Stephens

12623 NW 6th Street

Coral Springs, FL 33071

USA

Thanks for dropping by x Leigh x

Old is Gold!

Hi bloggers,

I made this card from the left overs lying on my table... I have been cleaning up my table and organizing my papers of late and that has kind of deprived me of ideas.

"A creative mind is rarely tidy" - cannot recall the author. Sorry about that!

That is my excuse for my creative juices not flowing...Lol! A lot of you well organized souls may not agree, right?

Waffling again...!

This card has been made without much fanfare with dried leaves that I picked up on the road while I was walking in pretty, pretty Prague last summer... I just pressed them in a book and here they are now. I just love their shape!

I have used the following Jim Holtz ranger distress inks for the edges -
wild honey
peeled paint
walnut dye
For the darker effect on the edges, I have used rusty hinge.

The stamp that you can see is from Inkadinkado and I stamped it with peeled paint distress ink.

The sentiment is hand written with a calligraphy pen - it went a bit crooked but never mind.

Hope you like my card - I  do because I have used natural embellies on it.

Hugs,

Monica

Clean and simple for children

 Hello bloggers,

Thanks for the kind words on Zeenya's cheese cake. YOU MADE HER DAY!

Aleeza (the younger one) had a play date and Zeenya offered the little friend her cheese cake and did she love it. Infact I packed her a doggie bag home and her mum was soooo... happy!!!

Now to this card - it is a simple card for children made in minutes... I have used my Cuttlebug for the square shapes. The stickers are from my stash.

The polka dotted ribbon is really cool - I got it from the scrap booking section of a book store from Prague. It feels so nice to touch with the embossed polkas on it.

I tried writing the Happy Birthday sentiment with  special Crayola pencils which can write pretty well on dark surfaces. Sadly they are not showing well...

This card is also a quick make but it took me a little more time than the first one...

My Cuttlebug came in handy for the squares and the embossing.

The stickers are from my stash.

The punching at the bottom has been done with Carlacraft punches - they came out with some new ones last year - easier to hold and work with.

Hope you like my simple cards - sometimes I need cards for children and don't have any available so I thought I might as well be prepared for a change.

Hugs,

Monica

Zeenya's been baking!

Hi bloggers,


I thought I had to share what Zeenya has been up to of  late - BAKING!!! 


Well then, she will never be a real part of our crafting community really because I feel people who love cooking don't really care for  serious art and craft. 


I would be happy to be proved wrong in this case... 


Anyway, I am not going to let that make me unhappy for the simple reason that this Strawberry Cheese Cake that she baked was yummilicious!  Even sweet Teddy agrees to that.


She got the recipe from youtube and the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7dBN45P2N8 and Caroline Aritiss is the name of the lady who shared how to make it. According to Zeenya she loves watching her cooking/baking videos. She has a real English twang which Zeenya is a real fan of!!! 


The real strawberries in the cheese cake did lend a great taste to it. 


Wish I could have shared it with you all!!!


Hugs again,


Monica

I am not so regular...

Hello bloggers,


Somehow I have not been able to devote much time to card making - instead have been tucking into some Japanese sweetmeats brought by one of the ladies in our complex. She came to tea and brought this lovely box that she advised was pretty rich in calories and that it would be best if I share it with others. And can you imagine what exactly yours truly did??? I gobbled it all down myself - it was one of the tastiest sweetmeats that I have ever laid my hands on. But was it rich in sugar! And since I finished the last of the lot I have been trying to go exercise regularly to keep guilt pangs away... I hope that helps.


Okay, enough rambling there... 


Now to this card - it is a Hero Arts stamp that I purchased from Kinokunia - which is the name of the book store in the mall close by. It sounds like a tongue twister (doesn't it?) and it took me a long time to get it right! 


I have stamped these flowers with Brilliance pearlized lavender on red card stock. Wish my picture quality was better... It looks quite nice in real life. 


I do so like this swirly Happy Birthday sentiment by Penny Black.


The red strips at the bottom were extra trimming from red card stock and I thought I would fill up the space at the bottom. Looks okay, doesn't it?


 I am slowly getting bolder and trying black as the base in my cards. I would not have gone anywhere close to black some time ago. See, blogging is bringing about so much change in me. Thank you, bloggers!


Hope you like my simple and clean creation...


Hugs,


Monica

More Valentine's cards

Hi bloggers,

I have been missing for a while now... just trying to resettle back and there is so much laundry to do even now. I still hadn't opened the last of my bags - can you believe that? I did that today and feel kind of relieved.

I  have made both these cards with the same swirly ribbon but see how different it looks on both the cards. 


I have used light pink metallic paper and die cut the hearts on this card. 


The pink hearts are recycled from handmade pink paper from Indonesia which was an old gift wrap. 


 I added the gold dots with glitter glue from my stash to match the gold lining in the ribbon.

On the second card, I have die cut the hearts from handmade paper in dull gold and pink (recycled from old gift wrap as mentioned above). 
 I wish the picture quality was better to capture the texture of the paper. The card stock is pearlized and lends a nice touch to the card.


I hope you like my cards.
Hugs,


Monica

My lovely gifts from an angel!

Hi bloggers,


Gosh! Can you believe it that we have finished more than half of January already... for me time has just been running away since the 2000s - just yesterday we were waiting for 2011 and the first month is half over!!!


Here is what my dear, dear friend - Leigh (www.charitycrafter.blogspot.com/) sent me all the way from the UK to me for Christmas. I think it was my BEST Christmas gift ever because it came with so much love... and the wrapping paper was out of this world. I have saved it to make cards with it next Christmas. 


It is a wonder that it reached me because the post in Indonesia can be a bit unreliable... but the parcel came with such good feelings that I received it.


Aleeza, my little one has taken over the Teddy and the charms - conveniently!!!


Leigh, your card is exquisite and I will treasure it with all my heart.


Hugs,


Monica

First Valentine card and partly recycled

Add caption

Hello bloggers,

This is my second card for today - see how happy I am to be back!!!

I embossed my Hero Arts block stamp on to creamy white paper. The big hearts have been cut from Sizzix while the small hearts are from my Carla craft punch. On the top right is a metal heart which sadly cannot be seen in the picture. I seriously have to do something with my photography skills.

The foil hearts have been recycled from the kitchen shelf.

The sentiment at the bottom is handwritten.

I am going to link this to Naturally Me Creations - a beautiful blog run by Monique of South Africa. Do visit her and see the delightful stuff she makes. She is a big fan of recycled stuff as well and does it with real pizzaz!

Have a nice day where ever you are...

Hugs,

Monica

Back to crafting - feels great!

Hello bloggers,


I hope you are healthy and crafting where ever you are... You all have become such an interesting part of my world that my real life friends seem to have taken a back seat.

I feel so grateful for all you lovely people out there who have enriched my life and craft in so many ways. I have learned sooooooooooooo much from you all. Thanks for all your encouraging words and motivation, too. No matter what, you all always manage to say the kindest things about my cards.And the techniques that you all have shared have had a great impact on my crafting.


 Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!


Now to this card - Zeenya embossed this butterfly (from an Inkadinkado stamp) before we went to New Delhi and I came back and thought that I must use it. She took out the ribbons and insisted that they should be stuck at an angle. 
My contribution was following my girl's instructions besides colouring in the embossed image with blue and mauve metallic gel crayons. As usual the real life picture looks far better. And yes, I rubber stamped and heat embossed the doily from a stamp (sorry, am to lazy to go and check out the name). 

The butterflies are from lovely Teri's blog candy. It came as a rescue because I used them to hide some flaws!


Hope you like my card...


Hugs,


Monica

Happy New Year!

Hello dear blogger buddies,

Here's wishing you all a very happy, healthy and OFCOURSE a creative 2011. 

I am sorry that I have been missing in action as I was attending an Indian wedding in New Delhi. I will try and find some decent pictures of the bride and post them next time. We had lots of fun with good food, wine and music. It was biting cold in Delhi but we managed to keep our spirits warm with Vodka and natural good spirits!! 

The card above was made for the bride to be but we FORGOT to carry it along as we made it minutes before we left for the airport. I promise that it looks much better in real life as the colours are too dull in the picture. Zeenya heat embossed the cake and I just added some quick embellishments and voila it was ready. Pity it is still lying with us!!! 

Yours truly at the wedding with my two girls - Zeenya wore contact lenses for the wedding.

These are some of my school friends I met up over for lunch in New Delhi - the wine added to our happy smiles apart from the fact that it was a lovely feeling to meet up with old buddies from school. I am the first from the left - in  pink.

I will try and catch up with all of you at the soonest. You cannot imagine how much you were all missed.

Hugs,

Monica

For Zeenya's former teacher

 Hello again,

This was a quick make for Zeenya's former teacher which I heat embossed (and not Zeenya!) - the picture quality is not good as it was taken from my phone. But the card looked quite nice on a shimmery baby blue background. The stamps are from Inkadinkado. The broad ribbon is what I bought from a small ribbon and lace store close by.

This was another last minute card to sell and it did! It is nice to make non-traditional cards.
The block stamp is from Hero Arts while I have used a punch at the bottom. The sequins are from my stash - love using them as they add so much sparkle. I have to add that they are a bit fussy to stick though.

I am going to submit this for http://www.fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/ - quick and easy



I promise I will not bore you with any more Christmas cards but incase I do... please bear with me.

Hugs,

Monica

My last minute orders!

Hello bloggers,

I know you all are fed up of seeing Christmas cards... this was one of my last minute Christmas cards which I think is a rather common place one. But the lady who ordered these cards did like it.

The candles are from Sizzix mini dies which I think looks rather cartoonish!!! Sorry for using the saaaaame sentiment yet again... I do like the script so bear with me. The dull gold paper looks much nicer in real life - it has this netty feel to it which makes it rather elegant. Everything else is from my stash.

I have been really slow in my postings this month... hopefully next month will be better.

Hugs,

Monica

A beary happy Christmas!

Hello bloggers,

To overcome my withdrawl symptoms I thought I must post another card. This card was to be sold but I gifted it to Aleeza's teacher's daughter alongwith her Christmas gift. Her daughter is four years old so she should have liked the card.

Zeenya heat embossed this image from ummmm... sorry, I cannot remember - Inkadinkadoh or ? I stuck it on this textured gift wrap and the card stock is actually shimmery matt gold but it sadly doesn't show in the picture.

I seem to have some more Merry Christmas sentiments but just love this one and keep using it over and over again... sorry if you have seen it so many times earlier.

I have almost finished my order of 15 cards so then I should have more time to blog (or so I think!)

This card is going to go to Michelle's Monday Linky party.

Also I am going to enter this card for the following challenges:

http://www.freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.com/ - sparkle and shine

http://www.craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com/ - a beary project


Hugs,

Monica