Handmade crochet flowers and partly recycled

Hi bloggers,


So this is the third week of February already and soon daffodils will be smiling... :)


I have been wanting to make my handmade flowers for a long, long while but somehow could not get down to it... This time I thought I would try something different - so I made some crochet flowers with woolen yarn.


I remember trying my hand at crochet as a 10 year old girl and then years later I gave a go at crochet flowers which were not really brilliant...


I have to thank Helen of  http://helenmade.blogspot.com/ for inspiring me to these flowers again... You honestly have to check out her brilliant site - she creates the most amazing crafts.


They are not the best because I think wool is a bit much for summer cards.


 I could not find a thinner crochet needle so here I am with my woolen flowers which I do think are a bit bulky.


The three square blue backing papers behind the flowers are actually wall paper - a free sample from a home store in the UK. So I recycled yet again!!! Just a teeny-tiny bit, but still...


The metallic steel grey cardstock is from my stash and so are all those ribbons. 


I weaved the ribbon through after punching with my new Fiskar's border punch which is my fave companion these days. 


And yes, the turquoise satin roses are not made by yours truly - they were bought from a store in Mumbai.




I am going submitting this card for the following challenges:


http://peartreedesigns.blogspot.com/ - one colour (all shades of a colour are allowed - so hopefully my card fits the bill)


http://stampingwithdragon.blogspot.com/ - birthday card - I hope this can pass off as a birthday card.


http://stampinbsdesignteam.blogspot.com/ - monochromatic




http://michelle-pinkpaperparadise.blogspot.com/ - Monday Linky Party




Hugs,


Monica

Brown and blue at last...

Hi bloggers,

Hope you are happily crafting away... I have been lucky to be able to post  so many pictures this month... 

For this card I have used the following:

Brown card stock

Flower stamp - a freebie from Cardmaking and Papercraft

Flowers stamped with Archival Brilliance pearlescent blue stamp pad

 Stamped flowers cut manually and stuck with double sided foam tape

Leaves cut freehand with scissors

Blue bow and lacy ribbon from my stash

'You're wonderful' stamp from Whisper words - Do crafts stamped 

and 

heat embossed with black glitter embossing powder on hand torn pearlised paper 

Fiskar's scalloped edge border punch for the border


I am going to post this blue and brown card for the weekend linky party at Monique's blog - www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com/

This card was Aleeza's handiwork this evening. 

I was presented with this cute book mark by Aleeza and her classmates when I went to read them a book for Valentine's Day. It means a lot to me - so thoughtful of the teacher to do that... 

I conducted a card making activity for the three-year-olds with lots of help from the teacher.
This card above was made by Aleeza.

Simple card for a baby boy

Morning bloggers,


It is 10.30 am here in Jakarta as I post this card. The weather is a bit cloudy and it may soon be pouring... 


Hope you all are doing well - keeping warm and staying healthy. I do hope that March brings better weather - hopefully the daffodils will be out by then.


I made this card on creamy, vanilla cardstock. 


The scallop edged oval has been die cut using my Sizzix dyes. 


The embossed flowers are from Cuttlebug.


The embossed pram is from Sizzix - had it lying with me for 7 years and used it for the first time!


For the distressed effect I used Jim Holtz ranger inks - broken china.


I coloured in the pram with Do craft pastel chalks and rubbed glitter glue on top.


The shiny ground below the pram was made with left over glitter glue in the tube which was a waste really but I somehow managed to retrieve it. I cut the glitter glue tube in the centre and dragged out the remaining dried up glitter glue with a satay stick and stuck it on this card...


The sentiment is handwritten and the faux stitching is done with Sakura nail pens (which belong to Zeenya). They have a special 3 D effect on paper which looks really cool. 


Ever since I discovered how nice these Sakura nail pens are, I have conveniently in my art and craft drawer! Keepers are owners!!!


I know this is a rather common place card but I did enjoy making it.


Have a nice day, afternoon, evening (or goodnight) depending on where you are!


Hugs,


Monica

I cheated and I have the nerve to say that!!!

This is the inside of the card...

Hello bloggers,

Here's wishing you A Very Happy Valentine's Day! 

I have to confess that I did not make my DH a Valentine's Day card - instead I gave him a ready made card from a shop. 

Now that is blasphemy in the world of hand made cards, right? 

Specially when my blog is called "Handmade Cards With Love" - ironic, that!

 But, please, I have a genuine excuse for doing this - I bought this card when I was in Singapore because DH does not like those mushy, mushy cards. 

I thought this would cheer him up after his bout of ill health.

I hope I will be forgiven by my fellow bloggers for cheating...and also that you all will still love me the same and keep visiting me. 


Hugs,


Monica

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