Our weekend on a small island!



Hello bloggers,

Here are some pictures of our long weekend trip to Lombok - an island that is a twenty-five minute flight from Bali and a one and half hour flight from Jakarta. The beach was so pristine and untouched - quite a novelty in Asia, really.

Sorry, that the roof of the beach hut has come in the picture.



This is my little one, Aleeza making a funny face if you please! She simply refused to get into the sea even for just a dip or into the pool. Since dear husband could not come along I had to be with her... so I could not swim at all. Never mind!

Hugs,

Monica

Thank you, Lynn!

Hello bloggers,
Hope you are well and happy...
Here are the fab goodies that Lynn sent me last week. Such lovely embellishments and stamps, rub-ons and what not. Lucky, lucky me...It doesn't rain, it pours... in a good way, I mean.

And look at this lovely card that came along with the goodies. I love the bicycle and the basket of flowers at the back. The sentiment is just right for me, Lynn. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Actually I am short of words to express how I feel - that does happen to us sometimes, right?

Better get down to some serious crafting now.

I will come and do my rounds as soon as I can.

Hugs,

Monica

Slow down and take time to smell the flowers...

Hello bloggers,

Thanks for the comforting words about my fish...
I feel better already! I seem to have gathered serious information on the psychology of goldfish in the bargain - now does that sound fishy? Lol!

Now to my card - I have used metallic cream cardstock and I have stamped the turtle with my Peachy Kleen clear stamp on a light green card stock. It has been coloured with my Darwent water colour pencils. I went over the outline of the turtle with my Sakura pen in green and gold.
The bits of gold paper is actually a new gift wrap with a great texture. 
The hand-torn strip of paper at the bottom was originally cream which I distressed with Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge. I went over the sides with Crushed Olive.
The three bead look alikes are coffee beans and the sentiment is handwritten. I just think that life is just so busy that we don't take enough time to smell the flowers.
The flowers have not been made by me but are from my stash. 
I do like the sentiment, what do you say?

I am going to enter my card in the following challenges:

http://everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://crazychallenge.blogspot.com/ -  anything goes
http://critterchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - green and yellow
http://happichallenge.blogspot.com/ -  green
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.com/ - anything goes


I hope you like my card - thanks for visiting and I would love it if you have a minute to leave me a comment.

Hugs,
Monica

Less is More - my first time

Hello bloggers,
Thanks for all the love you have been leaving me for my blogoversary. I cannot believe that my little blog is one year old!!!


Hope you all are happy and feeling your best...


The girls and I have been down with a flu' and to top it all one of our gold fish died - she just jumped out of the fish bowl and committed suicide! I discovered its' absence in the middle of the night when I went to eat a midnight snack and it sure did break my heart. I kept staring into the bowl thinking it would magically appear from somewhere. But it didn't and I went to bed  a trifle sad. Next morning, Zeenya found the dead fish lying on the floor by the side cabinet. 
Anyway, one has to move on, right, so what I did was to buy another fish immediately to tide over the loss. People go through much more in life so this is just miniscule, I guess.


That was enough waffle there...


Now to this card - I have been tempted many a time to participate in Less is More but somehow could not get down to it. However this time, I made a serious effort because the challenge was 'white on white'.

I have used my new embossing folder which I bought over the net alongwith some more crafting goodies. The sentiment has also been embossed as you can see.
I have made the flowers with my Ek Success scallop punch - it was easy peasy for a change. I just sprayed some water on the punched shape, crumpled it up and shaped it with a quilling tool. The one in the centre has two punched scalloped flowers while the ones on the sides have a single flower. I finished off the flowers with flat pearls in the centre.


Hope you like my card. Would love it if you leave me a comment.


Hugs,


Monica

Featured blogger

Hi bloggers,


As I mentioned in my blogoversary post, I would be featuring a beautiful blogger each month and here is my first:


Dear Sandra of http://www.rosepetalcreations.blogspot.com/


You know when I started blogging last year, I used to secretly crave for those awards, yes yearn for them, waiting when I would receive my first... and guess who was the first one to give them to me? Yes, you got it, it was none other than Sandra, the lovely Sandra. And then she went on to give me the second award followed by the third one - I just felt so proud to post them on my side bars... It meant so much to me.


Sandra makes the most beautiful layered cards with  much grace and beauty. She manages to find the cutest images to use on her cards and her colour schemes are always so wonderful. Her papers are the prettiest on the block, you can check them for yourself...seeing is believing, right?

She is a blogger with a such a gentle and kind heart... always leaveing me with encouraging words to read. I am a big fan of you and your cards, Sandra!


Hugs,


Monica

Tomorrow my blog completes a year!

Hello lovely bloggers,
Tomorrow my little blog completes one year...


No fancy giveaways or anything close - rather far from it.
However I can say without any hesitation whatsoever that blogging has changed my life for the better.

I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for the love and motivation I have received from my regular followers who visit me come rain, shine or snow!

Never did I imagine in the wildest of my dreams that this journey would be the discovery of a whole new world full of great crafters who have so much to share... I have learned so much and more from you all.


Thank you to you and you and you!!!


Blogging has become such a serious addiction that I seem to have little time for anything else - including housekeeping and cooking!!! Lol!


There is something NEW I want to start tomorrow and here is a peek:


I would like to do a special monthly feature on a blogger (old or new) who has touched my heart.

It is just my way of paying forward all that I have gained in blogland...


Incase any of you have any suggestions on this, I would love to hear them.

Sorry for all that waffle - but hey, it's MY day !!!


Hugs,


Monica

Yippee - this one sold for USD 4 as well

Hi bloggers,

Hope you are keeping well and happy...

You may be fed up of this shoe card that I keep posting in with different shoes but it seems to be a HOT favourite and sells rather quickly. It sold for USD 4 - am so chuffed about that. This is the second card that I have ever priced for this much so far...but it makes me happy that my work is being well received.

By the way 22 out of 24 cards that Helen sent sold off! Thanks, Helen! Her blog is worth a peep for sure.

The doily stamp is from Paper Mania (I stamped it with Tim Holtz distress ink  - fired brick) 

The shoe stamp is from a set of Hero Arts clear stamps. I went over the outline with a Sakura nail pen in black and coloured it with my Marvy brush marker in red. The distressing has been done with the same fired brick distress ink.

Then, ran the rectangular piece of paper through my Cuttlebug.

I have made the flowers  with my Ek Success scalloped punch. The  tiny stems have been cut free hand.

The ribbon is from my stash.

The sprig have been punched from my Carla craft punch.

The sentiment is handwritten but not my own - I have copied it from the stamp as it would not fit if I stamped it directly on the scalloped flower nestie.

I am going to enter this for the following challenges;
http://alotarubberstamps.blogspot.com/ - red and white
http://bythecuteandgirly.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://emeraldfaeries.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Monica