Hello there

Hello sweet bloggers,

I have pictures to share of Aleeza's 7th birthday party to share with you in this post. It was a musical party with lots of song and dance which was indeed an enjoyable affair. I sure was busy for a month before the party but it was all good fun and am so glad that everyone including I had a gret time.  

Here is a card I made for a friend who wanted it for the Chinese New Year. It is a Penny Black rubber stamp and I have covered the flowers with Sakura blooms punched with two shades of paper. For the flower centres, it was pearl dots. 

Aleeza (with face paint) on her party along with another friend 

My older one in the picture below with Aleeza and her friend - look at the united colours of Benetton here ;-)

Below is a picture of the banner and the balloons

Cake time 

Enjoy,

Monica 

Hello!

Hello lovely bloggers,

I know I have been missing for a while now and that is because life has been hectic.

Here is a quick card to show you which I made a while ago. The embossed sentiment is my new purchase from the craft store. The buttons and lace are from my stash and that is it, really.

I am off to do some visiting now,

Monica 

Baby girl card

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a card for the challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch. 

A short post from me today as dinner is waiting on the table. The image is a store bought one and I have stamped the sentiment and embossed the little rectangular paper.

Thank God it is Friday!

Monica

Hello

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here a card I made couple of days ago with my Hero Arts stamp and home made paper flowers. The stamp had delicate flowers on it but I decided to mask them.  Gosh, it seems forever since I made them. The sentiment is store bought and that is it, really.

I apologise that I am not able to send emails as yet. Thank you so much for the kind comments that you all have been leaving for me. Our home still needs much attention and that keeps me busy.

Happy day,

Monica 

Pictures from Christmas and our trip to New Delhi

Hello sweet bloggers,

Believe me, it feels good to blog... Here are pictures to share with you. I have many more but these are what were handy on my camera.

The one below is from Aleeza's class party. I love those stockings!!!

This is Aleeza posing

Down below is Aleeza's mum and another mum posing

This is my great aunt visiting New Delhi from the US and on the left is my cousin 

 This is Aleeza doing a funny pose with my cousin's daughter and my mum in the lobby of the club

At a lunch in a pretty restaurant with my daughters, mum and my third cousin (on the left) who is visiting from the US. His mum is of Indian origin while his Dad is American.

Another comical pose with crazy friends in India

I know it was a picture heavy post! Enjoy anyway,

Monica 

Happy New Year

Hello sweet bloggers,

I wish you a very happy new year and may it bring good health and cheer alongwith all that you wish for.

I have been missing as we went to New Delhi for ten days and spent New Year's Eve with my mum in the army club where she is a member (my late dad was in the Indian Army). Apart from that we had yummy food, met up with friends and relatives, laughed and generally just chilled out. It was wonderful and a much needed break for me. I will try and post pictures soon.

Here is my card to show you which I made a while back. The embossing has been done on packaging paper and the ribbon, image and gems are from my stash. The tag has been die cut from a natural bark. 

I promise to answer emails and visit your blogs soon.

Happy to be back,

Monica 

Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is another stampless Christmas card made with cork stickers and a store bought sentiment stuck on a Spellbinder die linked together with red raffia.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas,

Monica 

Christmas is so close

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card to show you today - the snowflakes have been punched from the left overs of wedding paper.

The border at the bottom is actually dull gold but it looks brown in the picture. The gold dots which also appear brown are gold pop up glue. I cannot remember where the sentiment is from.

Wish you a happy Tuesday,

Monica 

Hello there!

Hello lovely bloggers,

It is rainy season here in Singapore and it sure is raining cats and dogs. I am quite a lover of rain but this kind of rain is a bit much, you know.

It is Aleeza's assistant teacher's birthday this week so I offered to make a card for her. I cannot remember the stamp as I had this card half ready many months ago. All I did was finish it off last evening.

 I just love this cake and I have coloured it with my Prisma pencils. There are pretty rhine stones on the roses which were Aleeza's recommendation. The rose printed tape at the bottom is my latest buy from a craft store. I have embossed the bottom of the card and the ribbon punch has been woven through a beautiful patch of jacquard wall paper.

Here is a funny picture of Mona Lisa with Indian finery to bring a smile to your face.

Lots of love,

Monica 

Making Christmas cards

Hello sweet bloggers,

I hope you had a good weekend. I went to the nursery and bought pretty plants for our balcony which gave me much happiness. Aleeza was sick for over a week (she is back to school now) and I needed something to cheer me up. 

Here is a super quick Christmas card I made with my new cork stickers. The sentiment stamp is a clear one - it may be Kaiser or Penny Black (it is out of it's packaging, so cannot tell).

I will enter this simple beauty in Less is More this week which is all about Christmas.

I wish you a pleasant day ahead,

Monica

Partly recycled

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a card I made a while ago with natural material. The frog and the grass have been die cut from the same bark I found in the drive way. The eyes of the frog are wooden beads and I have used my Prismas to shade the frog and grass while the brown outline has been done with a Staedler marker. The sentiment is store bought and the printed paper is from my stash.

Wish you a happy Sunday,

Monica 

Hello again with my 'oh so red card'

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here I am back again with another card the very next day. Aleeza is poorly today so while she watches her fave show, I do one of my fave activity - blogging.

This card is made for a friend who wanted a card to give a newly married couple. She wanted lots of red as the couple is Chinese and Asians do love the colour red when it comes to celebrations. So here is my 'oh so red card'.

Thank you for the kind comments on my previous post,

Monica 

The tag here is from the bark of a tree

Hello sweet bloggers,

Gosh, life has been busy. I went to do a training course for children which was fairly enjoyable and I met nice people there as well. Apart from that, it has been home and children and card making OFCOURSE. How lucky we are to have a passion and get such happiness out of it. 

Here is my card to show you today which fits in the challenge over at CAS(E) this Sketch this week and for Virginia's View challenge which is all things metallic. 

The gold border stickers were sent by Merry to me and the tag has actually been die cut from a bark of a tree and I have gone over the edges with a metallic Sakura pen in copper. Now, how creative and eco-friendly is that. The key charm is from my stash and the sentiment is a wooden one stamped with a metallic Brilliance. I am unable to recall the name of the stamp, though.

I have been missing the land of blogging so yet could do little about it. I hope you all have been well and healthy. Will make my rounds soon.

Lots of love and thank you for not giving up on me,

Monica

Happy Halloween

Hello sweet peeps,

Happy Halloween to all those who celebrate it. What a fun day we had in school this morning with the entire school celebrating in all it's glory. I will post pictures another time as I am yet to load them on the computer.

We were away to Hong Kong as we wanted to take Aleeza to Disney World - she is going to be seven next year so we thought let her enjoy these fun places. It was a wonderful experience and since it was fall, it was nice and cool. Singapore is hot and humid all year long so it was a luxury for us to be in pleasant clime.  Zeenya also met up with a friend of hers from her previous school so it was a win-win for everyone.

Here is a card I have made with handmade paper from India. The chipboard images are from my stash as is the sentiment. The blue glitter pop up dots are fabric glue from India. I love their texture.

Happy weekend,

Monica

My new border punch

Hello sweet bloggers,

Yesterday we went to watch a film called, "The Rewrite" which was quite a nice one with dry humour here and there. Hugh Grant was really good. What luxury to enjoy a good film and have a laugh too. And Singapore is more prone to getting English films unlike Jakarta so that is indeed something to be grateful for.

Here is a card to show you made in my new apartment with my new border punch. The sentiment is store made and the black and white chevrons are a ribbon and the bottom is washi tape. 

 I will enter my card in the following challenge:

http://craftingattheweekend.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

Wish you a happy Sunday,

Monica 

Hello there!

 Hello sweet peeps,

Thank you for not giving up on me even though I have not been regular with my visits and comments. Here is my card for you today made in my new home. Yes, I actually could manage to make a card and how wonderful is that. That must mean I am getting back to me. Lol.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.ca/ - anything goes
http://www.ttcrd.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

Hoping to come and see you soon.

Lots of love,

Monica 

Lady bugs

Hello sweet bloggers, 

That was a big break of 10 days there. Life is just keeping me so busy and vital issues like school are taking much of my time.

Over the weekend, we took Aleeza to a Hairy Maclary Show and was she happy to see it. She wished it would go on for 'four hours'. Even though it was a bit babyish, she loved it. It is such a blessing to have an almost 15 year old along with an almost seven year old. Oh how nice to have an innocent view of life. She finds happiness in the smallest of things and it makes me marvel at the psyche of a child.

Here is my card to show you today which was made while we were in our temporary accomodation. The stamp is a tiny one and I made a border out of it. I have coloured in the stamp with Aleeza's Faber Castell's and the fabric tape is from Indonesia. The sentiment is store made while the black and while check paper under the sentiment is part of the packaging from the fabric tape. The very tiny button is from my stash.

I would be happy with lots of good energy coming my way.

Happy day,

Monica 

Happy Birthday to Mahatma Gandhi

Hello sweet bloggers,

Today is Gandhi's birthday - yes, the famous Mahatma Gandhi who believed in non-violence. How I wish he could bring peace to this troubled world of today.

Meanwhile on a smaller note, here is my card which brought me lots of peace while I made it. The background is a stencil which has been sponged in with distress ink and a butterfly added to give company to the bamboos.

Here is Aleeza's version

Here is my little artist assembling a decopaged image with my help. The joy she derived from this activity was beyond words. Thank you, dear Sandra for sending these images to us. 

Down below is the final result  which looks far more three dimensional in real life

Thank God tomorrow is Friday,

Monica 

Hello

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is the second card I made since I moved into our apartment. I will show you the first one later. It has no printing on it - all store bought embellies yet it looks nice, doesn't it? It could be ideal for a man - less is more for them. Lol.

I will enter this card for the challenge at LIM which is mostly words - well, it kind of qualifies or so I think>

I wish you a great Tuesday and thank you for not giving up on me,

Monica 

Hello from me!

Hello sweet bloggers,

Gosh, life has been so hectic of late. We had my hubby's nephew and girlfriend visit us from the UK and then we took off to Jakarta for two days to see our friends. It was lovely to go back and meet everyone, even though it was a wee bit early to do that. Nonetheless it was worth every minute!!!

Here is a card that I made while we were househunting. I have used recycled black card to die cut the birds and have layered them with a shiny paper at the bottom for added dimension. The sentiment is handmade. 

Wish you a happy day,

Monica 

Art work by Aleeza and a very dear friend

Hello sweet bloggers,

Gosh, I have been missing so much haven't I? Just settling in and getting used to life here and having house guests seems to be taking all of me. It is barely a month since we moved here but it seems longer for some reason.

Here is something to share and it is not a card... It is Aleeza's art work created in her art class. I loved it and am sure you will do. It reminds me of juicy watermelons. Lol. What does it remind you of?

Here is Aleeza (on the right) with her new friend Tatiana in her PE uniform. Yes, we are adapting to a "uniform" culture here. Lol.

More friends of Aleeza

This painting was made by a dear friend many years ago, maybe seven years ago. Isn't it so very vibrant?

I promise to come and visit soon. Pardon my tardiness.

Lots of love,

Monica 

Hello there!!!

Hello sweet bloggers,

Yes, I found some "me" time to blog and here I am with a simple but pretty card. I bought this embossing folder with much excitment two years ago and this is the very first time that I have used it. 

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://pictureandscrap.blogspot.sg/ - make what you want

http://cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - make a card

Wish you a happy and healthy Wednesday,

Monica

I have been missing blogging so much!!!

Hello sweet bloggers,

I have been so busy ever since we moved into our own home on the 16th. The girls started their school on the 18th and we are trying our to make our new apartment look like our home. The art room is the last to receive my attention as there is so much to do even though we have come a long way.

Here is a card I made with a recycled image from a brochure. Zeenya was mighty disappointed with my attempt at recycling but I do like what I did even though it was not much.

I promise to come and visit your blogs as soon as my life looks a bit normal. As of now, I am obsessed with hanging pictures, sorting out book cases, arranging cupboards and more.

Have a lovely Thursday,

Monica 

Cute froggie

Hello sweet bloggers,

The innocent teachers from my children's ex-school in Jakarta are still in detention but there are two petitions that have been getting substantial support and the media in Canada has done many stories on this unfortunate case. So we are hoping for justice to prevail... And what touches me most is the bravery and the stoic approach of these two teachers. The school community is sending them three meals a day and ensuring they are well in which ever way they can. What amazes me is their positive and humorous attitude.

Now to my card made with my new striped paper, polka dotted ribbon and froggie stamp bought from a book shop here. The ribbon is store made but the sentiment is not - it is handwritten. I like this happy-chappy's smile and that is what attracted to him.

The card below is made by Aleeza. I helped her die cut the sentiment and the cupcake and she coloured them herself. I love the vibrant colours she has used.

I will enter my card in the following challenges:

http://www.lovesrubberstampschallenges.com/ - stripes

http://fattastictuesday.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

http://www.craftysentiments.blogspot.sg/ - add a sentiment

Wish you a happy Wednesday,

Monica

All Pink

Hello sweet bloggers,

I hope you are having a good weekend and doing what you love and in case you are not, may you soon do that.

Here is a card for CAS(E) this Sketch this week where the challenge is to have something to do with  a tag. Here is my pinky, pink card to show you made with my new banner die cut and new sentiment from Pebbles and the image is a free one from a card making magazine from the UK. The washi tape and gems are from my stash. I can see that the ribbon on the tag needs to be trimmed off a wee bit but I was too eager to post this card so apologies and the photograph could have had a better background.

I will also enter this card in:

http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.sg/ - bunting or banners

http://time4scrap.blogspot.fr/ - anything goes with an optional theme animals

I wish you a happy day,

Monica

Partially recycled

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card made with my new Hello and music notes die cuts. The sentiment and music notes have been recycled from the backing material of an embossing folder and the doily has been recycled as well (from a saucer in a coffee shop to be precise -lol). I ran the Hello sentiment in my CB to give it added texture. The butterflies are stickers from my stash. 

I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://thepapershelter.blogspot.com.ar/ - anything goes

Wish you a pleasant day,

Monica

Hello there!

Hello sweet bloggers,

Thanks for the kind words of support you all expressed in my last post. I am hoping and praying that wisdom will prevail and the wrong doers will naturally own up to help save the innocent teachers who have been illegally arrested.

This card has been made from an image that I found on a brochure and felt it was just too beautiful to be trashed. So here is the simple beauty I created which gave me much joy.

As you know, we have moved to Singapore, so am contemplating which charity to donate my cards too. In Jakarta, I was supporting five primary schoolers with the sale proceeds of my cards. 

As of now I just may send these cards to the wives of the two teachers who are in prison with the hope that they will need cards very soon to send as thank yous when their dear husbands are released from prison.

I will enter this card in the following challenge:

http://thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

http://chocolatecoffeecards.blogspot.sg/ - polka dots

Wish you a happy day,

Monica

Yellow tulips

Hello sweet peeps,

Hope all of you are well and if you are not, I send you healing wishes.

I am sad to state that two innocent teachers from my childrens' previous school in Indonesia have been arrested since the last eleven days as a group of mums have decided to accuse them falsely on charges of fabricated child abuse.

Mothers who support the school and these innocent teachers have started a petition to help them get released. An old student of one of these teachers has started a facebook page which has gathered great support for them. The Canadian press has also done stories on these two innocent men and we hope truth, wisdom and justice will prevail. 

I am doing my best in which ever way I cant to support the school and that takes a lot of my time apart from house hunting and tying together bits and pieces to get the new school admissions in place.

Now to my sweet and simple card... All store bought items and quick assembly here. 

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://crafterscafeblogchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

http://thepapershelter.blogspot.sg/- anything goes

Wish you a day full of smiles,

Monica 

Cute teddy bear

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card to show which has been made with a clear stamp sent by dear Sandra a while ago. I love it and think it is rather cute. And I must give a pat to myself as I have done a good job colouring it using my Prisma pencils. The printed paper was sent to me by Terry and the felt ribbon is what I picked up from Jakarta before leaving. The little blue ribbon is what Lynn sent me some years ago. Thank you, lovely ladies.

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

http://www.addictedtostamps-challenge.blogspot.com.au/ - anything goes

http://digistamps4joy-sa.blogspot.sg/ - for the boys

Happy Thursday,

Monica 

I love making thank you cards!

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a thank you card to show you today made with what Sandra sent me in the post some time ago. The sentiment and the butterflies came from her. I have die cut the banners from my new banner dies. Thank you, Sandra.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://craftingattheweekend.blogspot.co.uk/- anything goes

http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

Wish you a pleasant Sunday,

Monica 

Thank you, dear Sue

Hello bloggers,

Thank you, dear Sue, for sending me this cute heart embellishment which I have put on this card. It is so full of sweet details that I think it sufficed rather well and the ribbon and sentiment (also ribbon) were just right for it.

I will enter this pinky pink card in the following challenges:

http://crafting-with-dragonflies.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

http://4kraftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

And thank God it is Friday,

Monica 

Turquoise

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is my card to show you for today made with my new Spellbinder dies. I have coloured them with my Prismas. I simply adore peacock feathers and could not resist buying this die set.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://www.kis-challenge.blogspot.ca/ - turquoise

http://www.craftforthecraic.blogspot.ie/ - your fave colours

http://brownsugarchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Still trying to figure out a way to enter blogs and comment.

Catch you later,

Monica