Going to be out of action temporarily...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Just a short post to tell you that I have a ganglion (a swelling which comes about after the fluid oozes out of  a joint) on my left wrist.

 This is the hand I use a great deal to punch (me being ambidextrous) so it seems that it is under great stress.

The doctor has asked me not to use pressure with my left hand... how can he say that when crafting is my first love... He meant I should not use my beloved punches. If only he knew how much I am in love with my craft punches. I have been using them for well over 11 years and it is just natural wear and tear. Maybe I should try and make cards which do not make me exert any kind of pressure. 

On second  thoughts however, I will try and rest my left hand so that it improves... It is not an uncommon occurence though and often times there is no pain. Sadly in my case there is a fair amount of pain. So rest I must, I guess.

I will try and visit you all however after the pain subsides.

Until then I am this wounded soldier trying to be brave about not being able to make my beloved cards!!! 

Only you crafters would empathise with me... never mind.

Ciao and hugs,

Monica

PS: Not a nice way to start the beginning of the month, right?

A simple birthday card...

 Hello lovely bloggers,

Can you believe that January is at it's end... my God, isn't it amazing how these years are passing by. Really, it is the age of digital technology in no unsurest form.

Now to my card... Very simple and childish as my mojo is not very active these days.

The papers are from the book store close by. The gift and cake border punch is from Ek Success and so is the bubble border punch. The butterflies are what were left behind from a MS border punch - waste really but they looked so dainty that I thought I must recycle them. The ribbon is from my stash.

Will come and visit you all now...

Hugs,

Monica

Pictures of Bali

Hello lovely people,

I thought I must share some pictures of our short and sweet trip to Bali...

Paddy fields below - that was the view from our room. I felt I could watch it forever - coming from busy, busy Jakarta it felt like paradise!

Flora and Fauna in the hotel 

Aren't the flowers below unusual? See how the red flowers come out of white ones. Interesting, isn't that? On the left, one can spot two buds (waiting to blossom) still inside the bigger white flowers.

More flora in the hotel garden...

The day bed in our room ...

Close up of the wood carving above... all carved by hand. Balinese people are amazingly talented!

 Check out the carving on the study table - so intricate, isn't it? Model insisted on being photographed and I did not have the heart to ask her to stay out of the picture.

This is the foyer of a room close to ours... I get fascinated by Buddha images - they kind of relax me!

Aleeza outside one of the smaller side gates of the Bali palace. They still have a king and queen living there!

 This is a butterfly that fluttered into our room... dear hubby tried to help it to find it's freedom from the bondage of our room but sadly he damaged it's wings as you can see on the top left.

This butterfly stayed in the room all those two days that we were there and passed away minutes before we left...  I kind of felt I had to give it an honourable tribute hence the picture. We don't get to see many butterflies in Jakarta so it was very special for me...

Wish I had a better zoom lens to make my tribute more worthy.

Hope you enjoyed viewing Bali through my phone camera...

TGIF again!

Hugs,

Monica

Mizuhuki from a Japanese friend

Hello there,

Just a quick post to share what a dear Japanese friend brought for me from Japan... it is a paper crane, yes, it is made of paper!!!  The craft is called MIZUHUKI which is the tradition of making handicrafts out of paper.

The picture does not do enough justice to it  - it is just so delicate and pretty. This friend knows that I make cards so she thought this would be an ideal thing to give me and sure it is. I am fascinated! Japanese art and crafts have held great interest for me ever since I was a little girl and my dad brought home a traditional Japanese doll dressed in a pretty silk kimono. We had it for many, many years and now I wonder where it is. Funny how some childhood memories get sharper with time...

The sad part is that my dear friend is relocating back to Japan! That is the flip side of these expat assignments - you make friends and then when you get close, it is time to say good-bye! The good part is that there is always somebody nice waiting out there. So I am always on the look out. Lol.

Below is the middle of the crane - sorry that the bird is pointing in a different direction. I have rested it on the beautiful box that it was packed in. By the time I loaded the picture on to the blog, the bird mysteriously changed direction. Trust me, it did! Lol.

Thanks for visiting and I would love to hear what you think of this amazing paper craft called Mizuhuki.

Hugs,

Monica

A quick card for my next charity batch...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Here is a quick card I made last night - just stuck some printed paper and ribbon, crystal and three butterflies which were punched out of crumpled and distressed paper. I was quite happy with the way it turned out.

Am going to enter this card in MIM - anything goes.

Will come and do my rounds tonight...

See you soon,

Monica

We were away to blissful Bali!

Hello lovely bloggers,

We just got back from Bali yesterday... it is just an hour's flight from Jakarta so I decided that we needed this short break (less than 48 hours). And was it wonderful... we stayed amongst paddy fields and it just felt so good to look at those green fields! And we stayed in the Art district which is my favourite. Got to see some real creative little boutiques as well. What else could a little crafter hope for?

 I kind of needed this change because life was been a bit bumpy but am all rejuvenated now. Ate yummy, freshly prepared food as well (with no canned additions). 

Sorry that I could not comment but soon I will! Still gotta do the laundry - but blogging is far more attractive!!! 

It is 10.22 pm and past my bed time, however some commenting must be done before I can retire to a good night's sleep. Lol.

Hugs,

Monica

Half way post for UnstampaBelles DT

Hello lovely bloggers,

Hope you have had a good week...

This is a card I churned out this morning for UnstampaBelles DT.

The challenge involves no stamps or digis and the theme this month is anything goes.

The inspiration of this card came from my special blog buddy Sandra who sent me a card similar to this one a while ago. Thank you, Sandra!

 I wove a mauve silk cord through a Spell binder  nestie and attached my home-made flower on to it. 

The "create a border punch" is from MS (not very clear in the picture but quite pretty in real life). The DP is unknown and the feathers and ribbon are from my stash. The crystal is from Prima.

I seem to be getting deprived of my mojo of late... hopefully it will come back soon.

Thank God it is Friday!

For those of you celebrating Chinese New Year, here is wishing you a wonderful year. May the dragon shine in on you...

Hugs,

Monica