Japan was lovely

Hello sweet bloggers,

I sure have been away for the longest time I think. We were on a week's vacation to Tokyo and Kyoto and it was just beautiful. I was struck with the elegance and charm of Kyoto and it's beautiful Buddhist temples more than anything else. I found grace and charm every where I went and indeed it was a transformational trip for me. I even got to sit and meditate in one of the temples so next time I am missing you know where to find me. Just kidding there, lol.

Down below are some snapshots of  the cherry blossoms and the temples we visited in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Close up of a Sakura bloom.

A cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

This a real flower - I couldn't help but take a picture.

A family picture with an elegant Japanese sales lady in a store

A lady dressed up as a Geisha.

Down below is my hand made tissue paper Sakura made while we were waiting for the bus to take us home from a pretty park.

A real stunning golden temple

These two pictures are my doodles in a restaurant on the disposable paper mat - sorry for the picture quality.

The Goddess of Mercy temple below.

This is the entrance to another temple

I promise to come and visit you soon,

Monica 

For a basket ball lover

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is my card to show you which was made for my older one's school friend. He is a basketball player and I was lucky enough to receive these clear stamps from a very kind lady who lives in our block. They just were exactly what I was looking for. I have done faux tacking around the stamped nestie with a metallic pen which gives it more colour. My daughter did not want a sentiment which was just as well for me.

Below is my little one's unedited recipe of a banana cake which I found so cute that I had to share it. As you can see, squishing is all that is required and voila the cake is ready. Lol.

I will try and do some visiting now,

Monica 

This card took us five minutes to make

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a super quick card that Aleeza and I made for an eight year old's birthday in five minutes just before her bed time on a week day. She chose the image from my stash and we glittered the edges and the flower which is not really visible in the picture. For the flower centre a button came in handy while the sentiment is from my stash. 

My card seems to fit the sketch over at CAS(e) this Sketch or so I hope. Lol.

Wish you a wonderful Sunday,

Monica 

For CAS(e) this sketch and LIM

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is my card for CAS(e) this Sketch  and LIM this week and I do hope you like it. 

The flowers are hand made by me and the Spellbinder leaves (die cut from a cake box) have been sponged with distressed ink. The sentiment is store bought and the background leaves are from my balcony - am trying to get creative with my photography skills. Lol.

Wish you a happy Sunday,

Monica

I am back

Hello sweet bloggers,

I am sorry to be missing for such a long while and I have to say that I missed blogging. We were away to a pretty island called Batam in Indonesia for a night last week as you will see from the pictures. It was just an hour-long boat ride away. Sadly, it was polluted with oil and strong smell yet the scenic beauty was divine.

Here is a card I made a few days ago. I think it is a Penny Black stamp that I bought a few years ago but have used it the very first time on this card. All the embellies here are from my stash.

Below is a picture taken while we were on the boat to the island

This is the view of the ocean from the lobby of the resort we stayed in

The picture down below is that of sunrise from the beach

Life is beautiful

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card to show to show you today which I stamped like over a year ago and let it be coz' I did not know what to do with it. And last night, I found that this pretty polka dotted ribbon from American Craft matches nicely with it. I think it is an Itty Bitty Unity stamp and I have used a metallic Brilliance stamp pad to stamp it. I could have added liquid pearls or something to liven it up but my older one felt it was fine the way it was, so here it is. By the way, the sentiment was part of the same stamp and that suits me just fine considering my cards are mostly sentiment free. 

Wish you a happy Sunday,

Monica

This makes me happy

Hello sweet peeps,

Thank you for your kind words on my last post and here is my card to show you today which I actually stamped and coloured while I was at the Botanic Gardens on Saturday afternoon. 

I know I could have done better but can you believe it that I forgot to take the acrylic block with me and had to use the acetate sheet alone to stamp. I took a few Prisma pencils along to colour and came back home and put my simple beauty together. Yes, no ribbon, no bling, no nothing - just a flat, very flat card.

I will enter this card in the challenge hosted by LIM this week which is about 'what makes you happy' and this stamp with poppies (from Hero Arts, I think) sure makes me happy. 

Off to do some commenting now,

Monica