Partly recycled card and my mum's embroidery

Hello sweet bloggers,

Yes, life has been busy with my initiative called United World Sanctuary, my new self study of essential oils and my fave passion called Meditation. On Monday, I am hosting a workshop on essential oils and a special massage technique with them called Rainbow technique on Monday, 29th at my place. There is a very learned lady here from the US who will be teaching us and I am excited.

Now to my simple card which has pretty much used recycled material. The sweet hippo has been die cut from a yoghurt lid and the blue nestie you see was part of a brochure in it's previous avatar. The grey banner is designer paper given by a dear friend. The blue and grey paper actually shine pretty much in real life. The sentiment on this card is one of my favourites. I did take a permanent black marker and touch up the happy hippo's eyes, ears and smile. 

I thought of sharing this pretty embroidery that my mum did in Home Science which she did a degree in. This was embroidered in the 1960s. She claims the 3D effect is because she used all six veins at the same time. She always tells me that one should create stuff that takes the least amount of time and is pretty at the same time. Well, this proves her theory quite so. Lol.

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Teddy

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card to show you that Aleeza helped assemble after choosing the paper and die cut and embellies. The teddy seems to be cross eyed here but in real life, seems okay. I did most of the sticking and paid Aleeza two Singapore dollars for it and she was laughing that I did all the hard work and paid her for it. Well, I wanted her to get into card making so it was kind of a bribe. Lol.

Well, she did colour in the nose and mouth.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://abitmoretimetocraft.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Froggie says hello

Hello lovely bloggers,

Happy first of the month. I remember as kids, we used to say to each other, "A pinch or a punch on the first of month' and how happy we felt at something as small as that.

Here is my card to show you today. I simply love this sentiment and the die cut frog has been made from printer paper that was given batik treatment - a technique which I learned from the art teacher in Zeenya's school and we made it together over 12 years or so. I actually saved this paper all these years. I coloured the frog with yellow colour pencils, stuck googly eyes and layered it on another frog in a different shade of green to give it another layer and some shadow. The washi tape is from my stock and that is that.

To those who are aware of my initiative called United World Sanctuary, we had another great event on April 26th with 9 ladies and we had a very informative talk on essential oils and their benefits. It was much appreciated and I too learned much about the uses of essential oils. 

I have also started conducting meditation sessions for individuals and groups and am getting a good response. 

I will enter this card in https://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.sg

Happy crafting and happy, happy happy,

Monica 

Happy...

Hello bloggers,

Here is my card to show you which has been made with primarily packaging material. The pearls came from Sandra. The second photo shows the inside of the card.

I will enter this card in:

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

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

http://conniecancrop.blogspot.sg/ - reuse, reduce, recycle

Happy crafting,

Monica 

PARTY

Hello bloggers,

Here is a card to show you made with a wooden stamp that did not cost a mighty sum for a change. Packaging material was used to stamp on and it seems a wee bit creamy as compared to the base card. The famous silver Sakura gel pen was used to decorate the image and rhine stones which I picked up while we were in Spain last summer. The ribbon is from my stash. 

I will enter this card in:

http://addicted-to-stamps-challenge.blogspot.sg/ - stamped image + sentiment

http://lacysunshine.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

http://www.dare2bartzy.com/wp/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Hello April

Hello bloggers,

Here is my card to show you today with a Kaiser Craft image which was stamped many months ago when we went to a beautiful island called Kota Kinabaloo in Malaysia. I have used Faber Castell water colour pencils to colour in the card and the nestie was used as a border to sponge around the image. There was a faux pas on the left while sponging hence the unannounced presence of the banner on the left. I tried to die cut the banners following the straight lines of the print yet I know I could have done better. The music signs were suggested by Aleeza and she also suggested I put "happy" on the top of the card and "birthday" inside. This is all that my little card could hold - lol.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://addictedtostamps-challenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

http://www.thehousethatstampsbuilt.com/ - use die cuts

http://inspirationdestinationchallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Very similar to the previous card

Hello kind peeps,

Here is another card to show you with the snippets that were left behind from the card yesterday. I added washi tape and a silver strip and a generic card was ready. Apologies for showing you an almost similar card to the one I posted previously. Just wanted to clear my table of little bits and pieces lying around. Infact all of last year, I have tried to use up stuff that I have been leaving half finished. 

On another note, I conducted a meditation focussing on relaxation response for 9 ladies at my place on Wednesday and it went quite well. As I may have shared with some of you, I launched an initiative called United World Sanctuary in May, 2016 whereby I host events and workshops for likeminded ladies. The first event was a healthy Indian food cooking session and the second was a talk on Detox by a doctor. The third event was a talk on Essential Oils and so on. The latest one was on meditation which has been my passion for 8-10 years now.   

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

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

http://crafty-girls-creations.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

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

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

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Black and silver

Hello sweet bloggers,

Thank you for your kind comments on my last post and here is another quickie to show you today. I was actually going to use a stamped image on this card but realized that the white background of the image was a tad cream so I opted to go with the paper alone which is quite dressy by itself. The silver dots were randomly added with a gel pen to hide a faux pas. I was trying to be very wise cleaning my scissors with my fingers and I calmly slashed my thumb it while doing so. And there were some tell tale marks which came on the card. So out came my trusted gel pen and I dotted the card.  Another wise thing I did was to use a silvery beaded mat as a backdrop for the card. Am left wondering whether it has taken the attention off the card. 

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

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

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

http://themaleroomchallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - black, white and one more colour

Happy crafting my friends,

Monica 

Hello again!

Hello sweet people,

Here is a card to show you today the image of which was stamped two years ago or more. I have coloured in the Kaiser stamp with Prismas.

Thank you, dear kind friends for not giving up on me. Your comments mean the world to me.

This is the same card against a darker surface.

I will enter this card in:

http://4craftychicks.blogspot.sg/ - punches or dies
http://cardz4galz.blogspot.sg/ - pink
http://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - make it feminine
http://craftingwithanattitude.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes
http://crafty-girls-creations.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting and more,

Monica 

Hello with a baby card

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a quick card for a baby boy. The sentiment has been recycled from a tea carton. The rest of it is pretty explanatory. The blue nestie under the sentiment came from Shirley-Ann while we used to live in Indonesia.

I will enter my card in:

http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://simplypapercraftsforalloccassions.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy blogging,

Monica 

Hello March!

Hello sweet peeps, 

It is already middle of March and this is my first post for March. Here is my little card to show you which was clicked in a rather creative manner. Lol. I did the background with liquid chalks and used Dervent colour pencils to make a border around the rectangular nestie. I have used Wink of Stella over the pencils and it looks quite pretty in real life. The decoupage stickers are from my stash. 

Wish you happy crafting,

Monica 

Hello from the other side

Hello dear bloggers,

Wow, life sure has been busy at my end and that is what has kept me from blogging. I do make a card or two every now and then though. I think I need to get my computer sorted as my phone camera and computer are having issues. 

Now to this card, it is a quickie. Washi tape and die cut which was a pastry box in it's previous avatar. It was such a pretty shade of pink or fucshia that I did not have the heart to bin it. Sorry for the twig on the left side that seems to be jutting out from my bougainvillea plant. I thought I was being creative by using a plant as a back drop. Lol.

Cannot wait to come and see what you all have been up to.

Happy blogging,

Monica 

Hello there!

Hello sweet bloggers,

I am back after a long back and trust me, as always, I have missed blogging so. Yesterday was Aleeza's 9th birthday so here is the card I made for her in school while I was waiting there to give cupcakes to her class mates. The balloons have been made upcycled from packaging material and the diecuts have been mounted on foam dots. Ribbon and washi tape and there it was. I did intend to put a die cut 'happy birthday' sentiment but there seemed little space. It looks nice, I thought.

Happy blogging,

Monica 

Hello and Happy New Year!

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is wishing you and yours a very happy new year. December just flew with our annual holiday to India of which I will post pictures soon. I am happy to get the chance to do a quick blog post. 

Here is a simple and self explanatory card to show you today. My older daughter is always happy to see simplicity on cards and she did mention that I could have added something more to it. Maybe I will and showcase it again. Lol.

Happy blogging and happy health and happy everything,

Monica 

More Christmas cards

Hello sweet peeps,

It is indeed that time of the year when there is much happening... Christmas time seems to be here sooner than I thought which is a blessing I guess. 

I have been selling quite a few cards of late. I got an order of 12 cards for Christmas and prior to that one kind lady bought 20 cards from me. For the UN day at school, the charity that my daughter supports (Kids for Cambodia) sold 12 cards. So that is quite a decent number and to add to that I had people over and they bought six cards and I have an order for another five. Wow, so let me count how much that makes 55 cards and I am quite happy with that. 

Down below is a card which was part of the order. The ornament has been diecut with shiny metallic paper and I have layered foil under it. The foil came from a Christmas cracker so it is partially recycled. It was rather thin and the fact that it stayed intact helped me give it more body. The sentiment has been diecut from a yoghurt lid. The border embossing folder left a mark so I resorted to silver tape to cover it up. It looks far prettier in real life. The silver cord and little rhinestone gave a graceful finishing touch. 

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Hello after a long time

Hello dear bloggers,

I have been wanting to blog but life just got in the way beside other commitments. Here is a card I made for Less is More a few weeks ago but did not get down to posting it. I have used brilliance lavender to rubber stamp and I dabbed it on to the white nestie below the text image. It looks quite shiny in real life but this is the best the camera decided to do. Gold cord and gold ribbon and it was done. I could have added sequins or rhine stones but my older one felt it was enough and did I go with her word. 

I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://avenue613.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://addicted-to-stamps-challenge.blogspot.sg/ - die cut plus stamp
http://cleanandsimpleonsunday.blogspot.sg/ - Christmas
http://lacysunshine.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Wish you happy crafting with lots of health and happiness,

Monica 

Celebrate

Hello bloggers,

Here is my card to show you made with one of my fave stamps which has coloured with Dervent water colour pencils. The sentiment die cut has been placed on two labels of the same size which have been positioned to appear as though they were nesties.       

http://abitmoretimetocraft.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

http://creataliciouschallenges.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with a sentiment

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Yes, recycled again

Hello dear peeps,

Here is my card to show you today and yes, like the title, the heart has been recycled from the carton of Marks and Spencer tea bags and the sentiment has been die cut from the same packaging. The butterflies are a border punch and I went over them with my new love, Wink of Stella which makes them sparkle. I wish you could see the card in real life as the blue is much nicer and the sparkle makes it look dressy. The little flowers around the sentiment are the leftovers from the heart die cut. Pretty simple card and I rounded off the corners of the card to hide the damaged corners of the card stock.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://artbymiranchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://brownsugarchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Cup cake recycled from a paper cup

Hello dear peeps,

Here is another card made with the same paper cup that I used for my previous creation with shells. I am so glad that you all liked it. I had two cups in all so I still had some paper left behind and I wanted to finish it off instead of saving it. Yes, my new mantra is, "less is more". 

The cupcake has been layered twice and stuck with foam dots. The wee candle you see on the cupcake is the real colour of the paper cup. For the chocolate chips I have used fabric pop up glue in brown and I have also used distressed ink on the cake and the diecut sentiment. The brown paper with the border punch on it has been lying in my stash since almost six years and it came all the way from Australia. The washi tape was not supposed to be here but I felt the card was a tad dull so resorted to a touch of brightness.  Last but not the least, the jelly beans on the cake were meant to look colourful however this is the best I could after distress ink on them. The card was finished off with Wink of Stella on everything except the white areas.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://avenue613.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

http://stampedblessings.com/amusing-challenge/ - anything goes
http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - scraps and cut offs

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Shellebrate for Less is More

Hello sweet peeps,

Oh how I miss blogging when I am not able to...

Been a busy time yet I managed to make this card with my new diecuts. The designer paper is from my stash and the shells and sentiment have been die cut from a paper cup, rather two paper cups. I sponged the shells with distressed ink and brushed them with metallic Wink of Stella. The shells have been stuck with double sided foam to make them pop. They do look beautiful when they sparkle under light. I had this tray full of shells so decided to use it as a prop. 

I will submit this card in the following challenge:

http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.sg/ - celebrate

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Upcycled card

Hello sweet bloggers,

I was away to a beautiful island in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia as it was autumn break and I fell in love with watching sunset every day while we were there. I realized that each sunset I watched was different from the other and it had me totally mesmerized. For some reason my phone and camera are not relating well with each other so I am not able to download photos. I will certainly send you photos when I succeed in downloading them.

This card was made a while ago and it looks quite nice in real life. The colours match quite nicely when I look at the card and yet in the photo the card stock looks so yellow. The roses have been up cycled and I actually got them from the newspaper. The sentiment is embossed and I have sponged it with distressed ink and stuck it with 3D foam dots. The card stock has also been sponged to give it character and that is pretty much it.

I will submit this card for the following challenges:
http://cleanandsimpleonsunday.blogspot.sg/ - flowers
http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.sg/- anything goes
http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - scraps/cutoffs

It is such a relief that it is Friday today.

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Roses

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card I made a few weeks ago. I stamped it with my Brilliance pad and I think it is a Kaiser craft clear stamp which has been in my stash for years now. I coloured the image with my Prismas and stuck washi tape and rhine stones in the centres and voila it was all done. 

Remember, I mentioned in one of my previous posts that one of Zeenya's friend's mum bought twenty cards in an instant from me? Well, here is a picture of the cards. Sorry for the poor quality - it was at 11 pm. 

I will submit my card in the following challenges:

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

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

http://ooh-la-la-creationschallenges.blogspot.sg/ - feminine

Happy crafting,

Monica 

My new embossing folder

Hello dear bloggers,

Here is a card I made a few days ago with my new embossing folder and coloured it with Japanese brush markers from a store called Miniso. The washi tapes seem to match well with the colours so everything fell together quickly. I cannot recall the name of the rubber stamp. The threads and button are from my stash and the punched butterfly was coloured with the same brush markers.

I will enter this card in:

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

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

http://welove2create.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Monkeying around

Dear bloggers,

Thank you for the kind words on my previous card and here I am to show you another card. The brown background is actually from a box of Lindt chocolates. I trimmed it down and put it through my cuttlebug and the image was found monkeying around in Aleeza's room. The little monkey had a hole in his tail which was covered with a handmade bow while his face was coloured with pigment ink which made it a tad messy or so I think. Two kinds of washi tape and ribbon from my stash completed the picture along with a die cut sentiment.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes and a sentiment

http://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with ribbon/lace

http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.sg/ - ribbon/lace

http://crafty-girls-creations.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

http://cutecardthursday.blogspot.sg/ - CAS

Happy day,

Monica 

For Less is More - thread

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a quick card (well not really quick as positioning the baker's twine took me all of ever) to show you which I made this morning. The printed paper is from Kaiser craft while the balloons and sentiment have been die cut from the packaging carton of Marks and Spencer extra strong tea. The balloons have been mounted on foam dots. The blue colour on the sentiment and balloons looks really nice in real life while in the photo it seems a tad dull. Since it is a male card, I am okay with that. Lol.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.sg/ - thread

http://lauralcraft.weebly.com/ - monochrome

http://welove2create.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy day,

Monica 

I love roses

Hello bloggers,

Here is another simple card made with stickers and embroidery yarn. The sentiment is from Hero Arts (I think) and I love it's font. The pink button came with a stash of art supplies all the way from Skye who lives in Australia. She herself makes lovely cards and is taking a break from card making as she is busy with other things. I am lucky to belong to such a caring and sharing community of crafters and honestly, every form of encouragement takes my creativity to a whole new level.

I am building a collection to sell for the charity in my older one's school called, 'Kids For Cambodia.' I will share more details when Zeenya lets me know exactly what they do with the funds. I have been wanting to post good news about the sale of 20 cards to Zeenya's friend's mum. I was amazed at her spontaneous and generous support. Thank you to that lovely lady.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://craftingwithanattitude.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

http://crafty-girls-creations.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

http://littlemissmuffetchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

Thank God it's Friday,

Monica 

A simple thank you card...

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a quick card made with washi tapes and a sentiment that was die cut from a Lindt chocolate box. The gold tape is really sparkly in real life and it looks really pretty.

Down below is a card which was made by Aleeza for a friend. She coloured in the image (which she stamped on her own) with my Derwent metallic pencils and the sentiment is handwritten. Over the sentiment, Aleeza used a silver gel pen to add glitz and the pink flower is handmade. The picture was taken while we were in a taxi so please pardon the quality. I am surprised at my generosity toward her by way of letting her have my prized art supplies. Lol.

I will enter my card in the following challenges:

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

http://ttcrd.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

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

Another Christmas card

Hello dear peeps,

Here is another Christmas card to show you made with my new die cuts ( I have thrown away the packaging ). The bauble has been die cut from Aleeza's colour pencils and layered on to another layer of the die cut in grey to give it a slight shadow. The embossing and ribbon along with the gold cord completed it and I stuck the embossed layer with foam dots on to the card stock. 

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

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

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

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

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Hero Arts Stamp

Good morning sweet bloggers,

It is a lovely Sunday morning with a clear blue sky in Singapore and soon I will be taking Aleeza to the SPCA to see animals. She has joined SPCA in school as a service since she simply loves animals. 

Now to my card, a simple beauty made with corner stickers and and a Hero Arts wooden stamp that I had to pull out from its wooden head and glue it back as it would not stamp in a straight line. Oh how accomplished I feel now. I mounted both the white layers of cardstock on foam dots and voila! My card was ready. 

http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - monochromes

http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

http://scrappers-delights-challenge-blog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Christmas cards

Hello dear bloggers,

Here are two cards which I made last week to start building on my Christmas cards... I have coloured the inside of the embossing folder by which I mean the flat side. Bisque Versamark is what I used to colour and I also ran the stamp pad on the edges of the card stock. The embossed image was stuck with foam dots and the flowers were coloured in with Wink of Stella. The pretty ribbon is from Indonesia and the centre of the flowers was dotted with another shiny brush pen called Wink of Luna which doesn't shine as much as I would think. The second card is quite the same as the first one except that I added bisque pearls to the flower centres and used another ribbon.

I will enter my card in:

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

https://creativecornerchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - no patterned paper

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

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

Wish you a happy weekend,

Monica 

Flower tutorial AT LAST !!!

 Hello dear bloggers,

This tutorial was lying in my drafts since July 2011. I am finally posting it without captions as the pictures speak for themselves. I know the flowers are dated and there are many tutorials out there on youtube yet I am sharing it. Enjoy...



I still have some of the flowers left with me and have kept them very safe since I have not been making these as often as I used to...

I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://sunnydaycrafting.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Partly recycled

Hello sweet peeps,

I have been wanting to share that I am getting cards ready to sell for my older daughter's service project in school which is called "Kids for Cambodia" and I am excited.

Here is a quick card made with my younger one's colour pencils carton. The banner and the sentiment are both from the carton and they give a nice glossy look because of lamination. Not much explanation here except that I stuck the embossing on the card stock and the banner has been put up with sticky foam dots.

I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - monochrome

http://scrappers-delights-challenge-blog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

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

Happy crafting,

Monica