Happy to be back

Hello lovely bloggers,

We had a lovely vacation in Melbourne - little Aleeza loved visiting the aquarium, zoo, botanical gardens and the beach. 

Zeenya loved buying shorts in neon colours and I was besotted with the pretty flowers in the botanic gardens.

Down below are some pictures...

These frogs below (spotted at the aquarium) are not plastic!!! I was fascinated with their colour.

Aleeza feeding the lambs - it was a thrilling experience for her and she fed them thrice. The lambs looked so cute and they were really hungry - so much so that they almost snatched the bottles from the kids. It was like a tug of war...

Aleeza looked so focussed and dedicated - she even forgot to smile!

Petting rabbits...

 At St Kilda's beach

I have a busy day today but will try and visit you all. 

Much love,

Monica

Going to be away for a week...

Hello lovely bloggers,

First of all - a very warm welcome to my new followers. 

We are going away for a week as my older one has her autumn break... It is simply ages since we took a decent vacation. So you may not see posts from me for a few days. However I will come and visit if I can...

Down below is what Aleeza made in her art and craft class in school - I am sure there was lots of help from the teacher but I just felt that I had to share the brightness of this creation.

Do forgive me if I am not regular with my visits in the coming week.

Stay well, healthy and happy...

Love,

Monica

For Teacher's Day...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Here is a card I made yesterday as Aleeza's school wanted us to make something for the teacher as an appreciation... The images have been sent to me by my dear blog buddy, Sandra - thanks ever so much

Actually I was going to make this card to sell but thought I would give it to Aleeza's teacher instead. The ribbon looks a bit wonky but in real life it is fine.

Below is a quick poem for Ms Dorothy - the teacher. I used to love writing verses as a child! 

Catch you soon...

Love,

Monica

Casual Friday - second entry

Hello lovely people,

I am trying to better my art of colouring stamps - thanks to all the inspiration I am receiving from blogland... Here is a Hero Arts cling stamp that I stamped and coloured with water colour pencils. I cut it out and stuck it with foam dots on cardstock which I ran through my Cuttlebug.

I have used a MS border punch for the leaves and a pink shimmery tissue paper below that which has been hand torn and crushed. Stuck a strip of vellum over the black leafy border to tone down the effect of black and a couple of crystals from Prima on the sides to hide the glue marks.

Below is a the same card without the vellum strip - which one do you like more? The black is a bit over powering, don't you think?

Am planning to enter this in Casual Friday - celebrate the women in your life.

Wish you a happy Tuesday.

Love,

Monica

For Less is More - Silver

Hello lovely bloggers,

Over at Less is More they have silver as the theme for this week. I just did not seem to be in the mood to make a silver card but suddenly remembered that I had made this card a few weeks ago... and it just seemed to fit the bill. It is a Laundry Line clear stamp (I think) and I have used a silver stamp pad. Went over it with a 3D glitter glue in silver to make it pop and pop it certainly did. Punched an MS snowflake border in vellum and  applied the same glitter glue in the centre.

Less is More is good for my hands - in minutes I can produce something without much labour.

This is going to be my first Christmas card for the season - I better get my act together and produce some more.

Lots of love,

Monica

For Casual Fridays - celebrate the women in your life

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you are having a relaxed weekend...

Here is a card I made with my new Prima mask which I sponged in with distress inks and coloured it later with water colour pencils. Distressed the sides - which is not very visible and backed it with pink paper. Added some pearls and pink ribbon to make it more interesting. As usual it is sentiment free as it makes it easier to sell.

Am going to submit this card for Casual Fridays - celebrate the women in your life. It may be a wee bit too busy but I do like the way I coloured it... Would love to know what you think of it.

Will come and visit later.

Lots of love,

Monica

For Less is More - third entry

Hello lovely bloggers,

This is my third entry for Less is More this week - Wedding and Marriage. I am just so in love with white on white cards... I thought I would make an Indian card this time but could not go anywhere beyond white so here I am with yet another white card. Hope it is not an overdose of white for you all.

I just ran the cardstock through my Cuttlebug, added some lace and handmade roses, leaves and liquid pearls in the centre of the roses and on the embossing. 

I will also enter this card in Card Mania -handmade flowers

Today I am going to take Aleeza to a very special kiddie's place along with her best friends so she is rather excited about it. 

Love,

Monica

Thank you, Sandra

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you are well and enjoying the beginning of October... Aleeza is on autumn break while Zeenya's school breaks later. So when Aleeza goes back to school, Zeenya is on vacation. That is what you get when your kids go to different schools. Never mind, Aleeza is still little so it is okay, I guess.

Zeenya had a rough two days - she was down with gastro-enteritis and she had the worst stomach aches ever which came and went at their own sweet will. Her threshold of pain is pretty high so I felt really sorry to see her cry. Anyway this morning was much better and she even went back to school so all is well now.

I have made this card with a chipboard image sent by my dear blog buddy Sandra. Isn't the teddy the sweetest? Did some embossing on cardstock and used some printed paper from my stash. Stuck a butterfly from Petaloo to finish it off. Thank you, Sandra, this made such a quick make and am sure it will sell well.

Am going to submit this card to

http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.com/ - for a kid

Today is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday - may their be peace and goodwill in the world.

Lots of love,

Monica

Second entry for Less is More - Wedding and Marriage

Hello sweet bloggers,

Welcome to my newest follower - thank you!!!

I made this card this morning to overcome my disappointment with my new Quickcutz dies... I used a different kind of paper and lo and behold it worked. Happy bunny me. :-) It is going to be my second entry for Less is More - Wedding and Marriage.

It is a rather simple card - the hearts have been punched and embossed with smaller hearts stuck on them. The embossed sentiment and hearts have been mounted with foam pads.

The medallion is from Quickcutz - I love it but it often refuses to do a good job and I have wasted much paper with it. The tiny pearls are from my stash.

I quite liked how this monotone CAS card turned out - no colour, no glitter, just white paper and a few pearls really.

Wish you a nice Sunday - healthy, happy and crafty.

I am also going to enter this card in Make it Monday linky party - anything goes

Love,

Monica

For Less is More - Wedding and Marriage

Hello lovely bloggers,

I had a quiet and relaxed Saturday - coloured in a few stamps and did grocery shopping. It is my husband who does it  generally and manages to forget the most important things. So when I get a chance to go, I just feel so much the better for it because I know exactly what we need.

The challenge at Less is More is Wedding and Marriage this week so I turned out this card after many a failed attempts with some Quickcutz dies. 

I have embossed this and have used Sizzix minis for the hearts. The hearts and flowers are a pearly cream but they seem a pale yellow in this picture. I have stuck tiny pearls on the hearts after running them through my Cuttlebug. I should have waited until the morning to take a better shot but I so wanted to post this card this evening. 

I hope you all are having a decent weekend... it is almost 9 pm as I write this so it is the end of the day here for us while it may be the beginning or the middle for many of you.

Love,

Monica

For Casual Friday

Hello bloggers,

Today was Aleeza's sports day and it was great fun for both parents and children. When they are this little, they are really lovely. 

Since my girls have a huge age difference between them ( aged 12 plus and 4 plus) I seem to understand better how sweet this age is ( I mean four plus) They are just so innocent and now I know what people mean when they say, 'Enjoy them, now'.

Below is a card I made this evening for Casual Friday, the theme this week is to be inspired by your blog header. But my card is a bit too busy for Casual Friday I think! And I never seem to tire of this sentiment!!! Used it a million times and inspite of that the cards sell with it.

Below is a picture of Aleeza's sports day - she is in the orange t-shirt in the centre. They are singing the inaugural song here.

Catch you soon. 

Lots of love,

Monica

This one sold instantly!!!

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you are having a decent day/evening which ever part of the globe you are in.

I had a lovely day with some friends over, we had a yummy potluck lunch and lovely conversation along with it. I don't know what it is about potlucks but they are such fun.

Now to my card, I have used a Hero Arts block to stamp the background in Aqua and then went over it with my green and yellow water colour pencils. Also glittered some of the flowers in the image. Stuck a butterfly and a flower alongwith some pop up glue over which I dabbed some silver nailpolish.

Am going to submit this card for the following challenges:

Addicted to stamps and more - Spring

Crafting for all seasons - Things with wings

For fun challenges - Use a stamp

Paper shelter challenge - Anything goes

Tomorrow is Aleeza's sports day and she has been soooo excited about it since the last three weeks... But this afternoon, when I remarked, "Tomorrow is sports day, Aleeza, aren't you excited?" Pat came the answer, "No, I am not". And when I asked why, she responded, "Because I have been excited all these days, today I am not!!!" Some logic there...

See you soon.

Love,

Monica

Sold another 21 cards!!! Yay...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you had a good weekend... 

This is a card I made in seconds this morning following the sketch at Clean and Simple but did not quite get it the way it was meant to be so am not sure whether I will submit it at all.

Just used three different kinds of  laces from my stash, stamped the sentiment and that's it.

And yes, am so glad that I have sold another 21 cards in hubby's office. Have to get down to Christmas cards now.

Gotta go as Aleeza has just got back from school. She is watching Charlie and Lola (one of her fave shows) but I just gotta remind her when time's up. 

Love,

Monica

Autumn leaves

Hello sweet bloggers,

Hope you all are having a relaxed and pleasant weekend...
I have just come returned home from grocery shopping, had my cuppa and Aleeza and I indulged in some fun stamping.

Now to blogging - here is a card that I just stamped randomly with Hero Arts clear stamps. Used distressed ink to stamp the images and coloured them with water colour pencils... Not as good as you do but this is almost my maiden attempt with such kind of stamps. 

The panel at the bottom was embossed and sponged with distressed inks.

The sentiment is handwritten on punched labels propped on foam dots. 

Am going to enter this card for Casual Friday - the theme being Fall.

Catch you later.

Love,

Monica

Shades of pink and white

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card I have made for Annabelle Stamps Blog - the challenge being shades of pink and white.

I have used my latest Sizzix embossing folder, sponged it and added touches of white in the embossed image with my Uniball white pen. I have stuck the embossed paper with foam dots to give it dimension.

The flowers have been punched and stuck foam pads as well.

Zeenya (turning 13 this November and who speaks very little) acknowledged that the card was attractive and I think so too.

Gotta finish my lunch and get Aleeza from school.

Will come and visit later.

Lots of love,

Monica

Wonder...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Here is a card I made a few days ago... I think it is an Inkadinkadoh stamp that I have used. It has been stamped with Brilliance pearlescent orchid. 

The background papers were sent to my by dear Terry which I have been hoarding for say over a year now. 

The feathers, pearls, flowers and butterfly are from my stash. The flourish is a Sizzix embosslit.

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

Try and on Tuesday - anything goes
Pin And Tack - anything goes
Through the Craftroom - anything goes

Stay well and lots of love,

Monica

Some quick cards

Hello sweet bloggers,

First of all, I must apologize for not welcoming my new followers. A very warm welcome and many thanks to all of you.

This morning I attended a talk by a visiting psychologist on "Pressured Children" at my older one's school and it proved to be very useful. It kind of made me feel good about my parenting style - like not pushing my kids for high grades!!! 

Below are some cards that I made in a jiffy with the flowers and sentiments that Karin sent me. I have used my new embossing folder from Quickcutz as well. The flourish is from Sizzix - saw it in Singapore and grabbed it for dear life. Lol.

Am going to submit this card the monthly challenge at Unstampabelles, the theme this month being embossing.

Off to get some dinner now...

Thanks for all the sweet comments on my previous cards.

Love,

Monica

Less is more and Casual Fridays

Hello sweet bloggers,

Am back with another card for Less is More this time - the theme is ovals this time.

I am also going to enter this for Casual Fridays - black,white and another colour.

I have used my scalloped oval punch and punched three windows and stamped the teeny tiny ladybirds on the inside. I bought this ladybird stamp on my last visit to Singapore - so small is it that it has no name on it. But it sure is pretty!

The red dots on the ladybirds have been done with my Sakura red gel pen.

The ribbon and crystal are from my stash.

Below is a picture of the inside of the card.

Now I must run to the supermarket to get some groceries.

Catch you later...

Love,

Monica

Casual Fridays

Hello sweet bloggers,

Gosh, this week flew by soooooo quickly - just don't know where it went???

I have been making cards but have not been able to blog and how much I have been missing that.

Here is a card that I put together for Casual Fridays - the theme this week being black, white and one more colour. 

I was just stuck on using red with black and white instead of trying another variation.

Such an easy theme but my mojo was not with me so here is what I turned out - with my Ek Success border punch and a piano key ribbon. 

Could have added a sentiment but decided to leave it clean and simple.

Wish you all a pleasant weekend - may the weather behave and children, pets and partners as well, lol!

Love,

Monica

For less is more - foliage

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you had a nice weekend...

I managed to make a few cards with great ease and that made me happy!!!

And now to this card that I made this afternoon for Less is Morehttp://simplylessismoore.blogspot.co.uk/ - just before I went to pick up Aleeza from school.

The two pictures are of the same card but the second one was clicked on the high density mode - see the difference.

I put it through my Cuttlebug and then stamped the leaf in the centre as it kind of looked a bit blank in the centre. The leaf is from a clear Hero Arts stamp set and it was stamped in Olive vine. I sponged it with Tim Holtz crushed olive and wild honey. 

The sentiment is handwritten with a brown Staedler pen and Sakura gold gel pen over that.

I went over the embossed outline with Sakura gold gel pen and it looks really nice in real life.

Will come and visit a little later on...

Love,

Monica

Out and About...

Hello sweet bloggers,

I have coloured in these two images with water colour pencils while I was stamping with Aleeza... 

I have used this stamp umpteen times, yet haven't fallen out of love with it.

The two cards have the same colours but I have sponged them with different inks.

The embellies vary as well...

This is a Penny Black stamp and the first card has been hand torn. All the embellies are from my stash. 

Am going to enter these cards for the following challenges:

The Poodles Parlour - Here come the girls

Inspire me Fridays - Anything goes

The quote above touched my heart - saw it on Face book and thought I should share it.

Taking Aleeza for her swimming class now - seems a tough task as she is trying her best to get out of it. 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Love,

Monica

Wooden it be nice...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Here is a card that I made a  short while ago and am going to enter it for Shopping our Stash the theme being - Wooden it be nice. Anything wooden will do - faux or real or anything similar.

For my card, I have used a textured card stock and have used a stencil which has been coloured in with distressed inks and sponged as well. 

The teddy is from Inkadinkado and the wire mesh has been sitting in my drawer for say, 12 plus years!!!

The braid border at the bottom is an Ek Success punch. 

I forget where the photo corners are from - maybe Ek Success.

Rather plain card but I do like browny cards, wonder why???

Catch you soon, gotta go and get something to eat.

Love,

Monica

For less is more - pink and brown

Hello sweet people,

Here is a vey quick and simple card for Less is More - the challenge being pink and brown this week.

I have used baby pink card stock and have stamped a Hampton Art cupckake in Brilliance fast drying coffee bean. 

The mesh border is from Hero Arts while the sentiment is from Penny Black - all stamped with the same ink.

I have coloured in the cupcake with a pink water colour pencil and also the mesh border. Stuck some pink gems and voila my card was ready.

Would love to hear what you feel about this card... a bit too basic isn't it?

Off to do some housework now - to dry the laundry actually.

Love,

Monica

Aleeza's card for her classmate

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card that Aleeza stamped by herself for her buddy. The owl stamp came from my dear blog buddy cum soul mate - Sandra. And the sentiment stamp is from Penny Black.

She kind of made a mess at the bottom so I stuck the black and white ribbon to hide the flaws.

She also stuck googly eyes with some help from me. I tried colouring the balloon and the dots on the owl's hat with a metallic gel pen but it looks a bit untidy, doesn't it?

I have some good news to share - I sold 11 cards to a few friends today so am so happy...

Thanks for all your support and kind words of encouragement.

Hugs,

Monica

Thank you, Lynn

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card I made today as I had some ME time since Aleeza was in school after a long sick leave. She had bronchitis but is significantly better. I have to share something - as a mum, I just cannot feel bright and cheerful if my kids are not well. I just like healthy kids. I know that people go through much worse and I secretly admire them. You should see me, I just collapse even if the kids get a cough!!! That's me... And trust me I am quite brave with other stuff that life doles out to me. Or at least I try to be.

Over to my card now. I have used vellum for the first time in this card... that subtle embossed paper at  is vellum and I have sponged it with broken china distress ink.

The baby pram stamp is from dear Lynn who always manages to make me laugh with her funny posts. The clear stamp is from Autumn Leaves - Baby. I have heat embossed it in cloudy white and I went over with my Sakura blue gel pen around the outline and the tiny dots as well. Also put liquid pearls on the wheels and coloured in the flowers with the same blue pen. The printed paper is from a bookshop in Malaysia.

The buttons are from my stash - bought some months ago and finally inaugurated today. Lol.

The quote below is something I found on Facebook and it is my way of saying thank you to Lynn.

I am yet to send a parcel to the hospital - better get down to that soon.

Have a wonderful day or evening.

Love,

Monica

Butterflies

Hello sweet bloggers,

Hope you all are well and happy where ever you are... 

Here is a card I made a while ago - the base is peach cardstock and the butterflies are from Petaloo. The paisley punch is from Ek Sucess and I have used metallic paper which is not visible in the picture. There is printed paper under the border punch so it looks really nice in real life. The sentiment is handwritten.

Will come and visit you later... thanks for all the blog love you leave me.

Hugs,

Monica

High heels

Hello lovely people,

Hope you had a good weekend... Ours was rather quiet, too quiet. And I could not find much time or inclination to craft.

Here is a card I made a few days ago with a stamped image that was gathering dust on my table. It is from Hero Arts and if you recall, I have used it many a time before and don't seem to tire of it.

Rather simple card - glittered the shoe on the outside to add glamour to it. And used shiny paper which is not visible in the picture. Used Carla craft corner punch on one side and MS border punch on the other. 

Off to spend time with Aleeza now.

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Monica

Butterflies

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you all are well out there... it is 830 am as I write this post... Aleeza's school is still closed and she is down with this horrible cough which just does not seem to go away. So I took her to the doctor's yesterday and you know why she wasn't getting better - because I was giving her the wrong dosage. 

How silly and unmindful could I get??? Anyway, I have resolved my mistake and it is not much point crying over spilled milk.

I made this card a bit differently - randomly cut off a part from the front and stuck layered rectangular card stock on it at an angle.

The butterfly image has been fussily cut from a larger handprinted and handmade paper. The antennae have been made with floral wire by yours truly.

Added some pop up glue on the butterfly as well on the embossed butterflies on the left (embossing folder - Tim Holtz alterations.) Stuck some crystals from Prima on the butterflies. 

The tiny circular stickers you see on the inside are from my dear, kind friend Sandra. Thank you for all the sunshine you bring into my life. The pink border on the right is a shiny paper and those cords on the left of the butterfly image are from my stash.

Below is a saying that I have copied from a page on Face Book... it touched me so I thought I would share it with you all.

Have a wonderful Friday...

With love,

Monica

Stencilling with Aleeza

Hello sweet bloggers out there,

Hope you are having a pleasant weekend... it is a slow, lazy Sunday morning here with the girls and I colouring, painting and now I am on to one of my fave activities - blogging.

Aleeza (all of four and a bit) coloured in these stencil with sponge dipped in a white stamp pad. I helped her as well but she wanted to be independent and seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. 

I have used one of my new Ek Success border punches to create border and stuck a Martha Stewart punched border on white stock on the edge. 

I have touched up the stencilled design with my Sakura silver pen to add some glamour but I think it made it a tad messy. It was meant to be a male card which looked rather bland. So landed up adding butterflies in silver (which does not reflect in the picture). In the end, it landed up looking quite elegant, if I may say so myself.

Have a lovely, healthy and crafty Sunday.

Love,

Monica

Commissioned card

Hello sweet people,

Hope you are well and happy...

Here in Indonesia, it is approaching the end of the fasting period and soon it will be Idul Fitri on Sunday or Monday. Most people go home to their villages to celebrate the festival with their loved ones. So Jakarta is almost empty and the roads are traffic free - which is a rare delight! Apart from that schools close, offices as well so it is pretty much quiet, very quiet!!! That is unusual for a city that hardly sleeps.

Here are two cards I have made for an order...

This is one of my new embossing folders that I picked up from Singapore. Rather simple but I like how it turned out. Do you?

Below is the second card - there is ribbon instead of a stamp and I have used platinum dots around the hearts.

Sorry that I don't remember the name of the embossing folder - Aleeza is hungry and I must get her a snack.

Love,

Monica

Butterflies

Hello sweet people,

I made these cards with another new embossing folder and sponged them as well. 

I cannot remember the name of the butterflies - sorry.

The hello was sent by my dear friend, Karin - thank you so much. 

The sentiment "Believe" on the second card has been used many a time with me yet I love it no end...

I went over with Sakura metallic gel pen and that makes the embossing shimmery. 

Stuck some crystal on the blue card and some dimensional gold glue on the green one.

Will come and visit you soon... thanks for all the lovely comments you all keep leaving me.

Love, 

Monica

My new embossing folder

Hello lovely bloggers,

So happy to blog again... 

Here is a card I embossed and little Aleeza colored with pastel chalks for me... 

I put some bows (which Aleeza didn't seem too impressed with) and gems on the roses to dress them them.

I LOVE this embossing folder because flowers do something to me. Lol.

Below is a card that I embossed and colored with chalks... so one from daughter and one from mum.

Hope you are having a decent weekend... it is 10 am as I write this post. 

Wish you a healthy day!

I am going to be good - will go and exercise to shed some extra kilos.

Hugs,

Monica

Pretty birds...

Hello lovely bloggers,

I made these cards yesterday - sorry, cannot recall the name of the stamps ( Aleeza and I stamped them a while ago).

The papers are from my stash (got them from Singapore some six months back) and the berries have been touched up with pop up silver glitter glue.

Both the cards have been brightened up with silver Sakura gel pens and look really silvery in real life...

Will come and do my rounds after I publish this.

Crafty hugs,

Monica

Thank you, Karin!

 Hello lovely bloggers,

Here I am posting my latest card from my very own lappy!!!

A few months ago, Karin sent me this lovely parcel with super duper crafty stuff - thanks so much for that, dear!

How lucky am I to have such kind souls accompany me on my journey and help me spread smiles across the path.

The flower you see in the centre of the card is from Karin - isn't it pretty? I love the way the blues turned out on this card... 

This is how the aperture card looks... Those little dots on the sides have been done with glitter glue and a Sakura pen has been used to make those loops - kind of gels, don't you think?

Above is a close up of the pretty flower. I stamped an MS doily stamp with my pearlised stamp pad on the card stock to make the flower look bigger and add some more elegance to it. 

This is how the inside looks... the receiver would have to use a metallic paper to write a message though.


I am planning to send some cards to the hospital in Singapore soon.

Catch you later - taking Aleeza to the play ground.

Hugs,

Monica