Monday 2 December 2013

Meow



Hello sweet peeps,

I went to make cards with the kids in Aleeza's class and they sure had fun. They just seemed so absorbed in making cards and sticking as much material as possible on the card as they could. I spent most of the time trying to take care of my stamp pads from being left open and drying out but it was all well worth it.

Here is my card to show you today made with my clear stamp from Hobby Craft bought this summer from London. And you know what happened to the sentiment with it? As I was trying to peel it off the acetate, it split into two. However I did not give up, I thought I would still be able to use it - somehow. But it was not meant to be and as I was trying to be as gentle as I could, it came apart into another piece so I had three parts lying on my table and all I could do was to dump it in the dust bin. And the cat stamp refused to come off the acetate layer but this time I did not resist that. Instead I stuck it along with the acetate layer on an acrylic block with double sided tape and managed to stamp it. I was rather impressed with what I did and gave myself a mental pat. The image has been coloured with my Prismas - how I love them so. I have mounted the white nestie on foam tape and layered it on to a scalloped nestie which has been recycled from a brochure cover. The paper on this card is from Kaiser I think and the ribbon is from my stash. I tried to copy the sentiment in my own hand writing.



I will enter this card in:

Happy Monday,

Monica 

Sunday 1 December 2013

Another Christmas card

Hello sweet bloggers,

A lady in our complex has asked me for cards so am making a few more. That is great news but my fingers are rather painful due to the stress so I need to go slow and make it as effortless as possible. This year has been excellent for me as I met my target of supporting five Indonesian children with such ease. And I have an extra USD 200 which I am going to donate to the Philippines Typhoon Fund. I could have raised more if my hands were in better condition.
This card is simple and did not take much effort at all. I have stuck a 3D wreath, stamped a sentiment and used self adhesive holographic paper at the bottom.


I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Sunday,

Monica 

Friday 29 November 2013

My new embossing folder from Helen

Hello bloggers,

Here is a card I have made with an embossing folder sent by Helen to me. I really like it, thank you so much. I have used old paper to sponge the edges and have stuck bee stickers made out of felt along with green ribbon at the bottom. I did think of a sentiment like Just Bee-cause but let it be this way for reasons of flexibility.


I will enter this card in:
http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes with ribbon


Wishing you a happy weekend,

Monica 

Thursday 28 November 2013

A super quickie

Hello dear bloggers,
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate it. I am grateful to my followers and all the kindness that has come my way ever since I started this blog. 

Here is another super quickie... just ribbon and a gigantic 3D sticker with lots of bling on it and some scoring to finish it off.

I will enter this card in:
http://lexiscreations.blogspot.com/ - Christmas

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Peace


Hello dear bloggers,
Every Wednesday is Manyano Day for me and a group of friends. Manyano means a circle of sisters in Afrikaans and it was started by a South African lady who used to live in Jakarta. I am lucky to be a part of this very special group that meets every Wednesday for yoga, fabulous home cooked potluck, meditation, Angel card reading followed by an interesting Ted Talk or a movie. Not to mention the tea and cake that we eat to help our girths expand, lol. It is indeed one of the nicest days of the week for me and I look forward to it rather excitedly.
Now to my card -  I have used fancy gift wrap to cover the card stock and a Sizzix die cut for the sentiment. The paper is actually a subtle gold but in the picture it decided to look dull and muddy. The gold stars are stickers and the organza ribbon is from my stash.



I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Wednesday,

Monica 

Tuesday 26 November 2013

A quick birthday card

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is another quick card to show you today. I have made it for a friend of Aleeza's who has her birthday today. Aleeza could not go to her party as it is a weekday and with the traffic here, it was a bit impractical. Beside she had a trial for a swim lesson as well. I did feel bad that she could not socialize but had to be practical.
The happy birthday sentiment is a ribbon and the die cut hearts are from Wonder House Japan. They cut so smoothly and with such ease - honestly one of the best brands I have seen. I have used very bright and sparkly pink and white checquered paper for the hearts and that makes the card quite girly, I think which is just what I wanted.


I will enter this card in:

Off to bed now. Catch you tomorrow,

Monica 

Monday 25 November 2013

The perfect pear

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is a quick post from me to show you my latest card. I am trying to get better at colouring so here is my take. I made the card without flowers and then as an afterthought decided to overload it with flowers which are handmade by yours truly. I could have done better with the leaves around the flowers, I think. I cannot remember the name of the rubber stamp but do recollect that I got rather cheap. The woollen yarn and embroidery thread is from my stash and the embossing folder is one of my fave. The scalloped nestie hiding behind the round one has been die cut out of a brochure.

Without the overload

With the overload 

I will enter this card in:
http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

Happy Monday,
Monica 

Sunday 24 November 2013

Partially Recycled

Hello sweet peeps,

This card I have to show you today is not a Christmas card... a relief, isn't that. Lol.
The printed paper with hearts is actually a postcard and I have used ribbon to cover up the empty space on the right. The pink nestie is also from the packaging of an embossing folder while the blue nestie was sent by Shirley-Anne. The cute chipboard teddy and hearts were sent by Sandra. There is a tiny tag on the image which says, 'With Love' which is ideal with the image.


I will enter this card in:

Happy Sunday,

Monica

Saturday 23 November 2013

Shiny, shiny card

Hello kind peeps,
Here is another quick card for the last order of six cards from my friend who landed up buying seven cards instead. She liked my simple creations and am so glad that she did.
This card is made with the same holographic tape that belonged to Zeenya. The silvery stars were lying in my sticker folder for the longest time. The image is from a beautiful set of stickers sent by my dear blog buddy Sandra. The red and silver layers behind the image is adhesive holographic paper from my stash. The sentiment is a clear stamp which was also sent by Sandra. I loved making these red and white cards - they were quick and not at all tiring for my over strained fingers.


I will enter this card in:

Happy weekend,

Monica 

Friday 22 November 2013

Card Making in Aleeza's Class this Morning

Hello bloggers,
Today was a busy morning for me in Aleeza's school. They had a book character day and the kids had to be like in a fancy dress. Aleeza agreed to being  a princess and I found Zeenya's princess gown from seven years ago. Boy, did she cry non-stop when I dressed her up this morning. She found the clothes far too uncomfortable and the tap of tears just would not close. I could even manage a decent picture of hers.
I did a card making session for the kids today which was full of smiles and joy. Most of the girls wanted to make cards except one boy who seemed rather keen. Down below are pictures of the kids. Oh what a beautiful age this is - the hugs come so easily and freely.



TGIF,
Monica 

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Zeenya turned 14 yesterday

Hello lovely bloggers,

Yesterday was Zeenya's 14th birthday - her friends spoiled her rotten and one of the boys in her group actually baked brownies for her and got them to school. She did not want a gift from us which really impressed me. I gave her a card with money inside and got a lovely cake and flowers for her. 

Down below is the card - made in five minutes really. 



This is the cake - I asked the chef not to use colour in the flowers so she made cream coloured roses.


The two sisters - apologies for poor picture quality and I did not even care to lay the cake on to a proper plate :-)



Happy Wednesday,
Monica

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Poinsettias

Hello sweet bloggers,
When ever I want cards real quick I resort to a layout of three symmetrical images... So here it is. I had to stick gold ribbon on all four sides since the paper was slightly bigger than embossing folder.  I had stuck a layer of red card stock under the punched flower and a rhinestone in the centre of each of them.


I will enter this card in:


Wish you a happy Tuesday,

Monica 

Monday 18 November 2013

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way

Hello lovely peeps,

We had a reunion for Aleeza with some of her friends and their mums on Sunday. We took the kids to Pizza Express for lunch and it was just so nice to see how happy the kids were to see Aleeza and vice versa. They met after a gap of almost six months and there was lots of fun and laughter. 

Here is another card which was part of the large order. I have used red card stock as the base and stuck shiny paper on it which I crumpled and crushed to give it more texture. The green paper is fancy gift wrap while the bells are toppers from Arthur Dailey - a budget store which I found in Melbourne. The red and gold organza ribbon is from my stash. I actually added two gold rhinestones in the bells but forgot to click a picture with them. 


This is a picture of the three girls in her previous class. There were 16 boys and just three girls in the class!!! 

Here are more of them, enjoying their pizzas. In the mirror, you can see the reflection of us mums. Oh how sweet is this age.


This is Aleeza at home last night modelling her rather colourful doll which she got as a present from her buddies. The doll is called Dee. What a co-incidence that is because one of her fave teachers in her previous school is called Dee and her present teacher's last name is Dee.



I will enter my card in:

http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/  - always anything goes

Happy week ahead,

Monica



Saturday 16 November 2013

With love at Christmas

Hello lovely peeps,

A Christmas card to show you yet again - the gift boxes and sentiment are from the same set of clear stamps sent to me by Sandra. I have coloured in the image with Prisma pencils which has been cut out and popped on dimensional foam tape. I have also stuck tiny star in the centre of the bows on the pressies. I had to use this pretty ribbon to camouflage the strips of paper which were pasted at a crooked angle. It is pearlized paper and looks nicer in real life. The star stickers on the top and bottom finish it off. This is another flat card and I am not too fond of it to be honest.


I will enter this card in:

Happy Saturday,

Monica 

Friday 15 November 2013

Yay, another order for six cards

Hello dear bloggers,

Thanks for the kind words on my last post - means the world to me, you know :-)

Here is card to show you for another order of six cards from a dear friend. She wants flat cards as she would like to send them by snail mail. A few years ago I would have struggled with making such cards but now I seem to be getting fairly confident at them.
I have used part of the embossing folder and stuck silver stickers and a layered snowflake using three different kinds of punches and paper as well. The holographic tape is actually Zeenya's and I have conveniently smuggled it. Lol.


I will enter this card in:
http://4kraftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes

TGIF,

Monica 

Thursday 14 November 2013

Red and Gold

Hello sweet bloggers,

Yesterday evening was lovely - some close friends and I went to a fusion restaurant for dinner to bid farewell to a dear friend who is relocating back to Melbourne with her hubby after living in Indonesia for 17 years. We had a great time with good food, drink and lots of laughter. 

As you know, I have sold enough cards to continue supporting the five kids which I did last year. And I have been lucky enough to have another USD 170 left over which may increase to USD 200. I am thinking of donating this amount to Red Cross in Philippines for the victims of the recent storm tragedy. It is a small amount but am sure it will help in some way. And thank you, dear bloggers for all that you do for me. It makes me stay motivated to do what I am doing.

Here is my card to show you today - the base is a browny gold paper and the red layer is handmade paper from India and the dull gold is fancy gift wrap embossed with my pretty snowflake folder. The ribbon looks even prettier in real life and the crystal you see in the centre is from Kaiser.



Down below is a shot of the 30 cards all packed and ready to be delivered.



Happy Thursday,

Monica 

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Snowflake

Hello sweet bloggers,

The order for 30 cards is almost done and I will hand it over tomorrow to my friend who asked for them. It is time to give my fingers some rest now that I have turned out over 50 cards in the last three weeks.
This card has a window and vellum behind it and I have popped the top layer on foam dots after scoring them. You may wonder how many times I am going to use this JOY sentiment, well, I just love it so. The snowflake (MS I think) has been punched from a gloss silver cardstock and so has the sentiment. The rhinestones finish it off nicely.


I will enter this card in:


Wish you a happy Tuesday,

Monica 

Monday 11 November 2013

Peace

Hello sweet peeps,

Honestly blogging is one of the nicest things that happened to me and that makes my life so good.

Down below is another CAS card made with my newly acquired Peace die cut from Sizzix. The paper is super fancy gift wrap and over the MS snowflakes I have used Glossy Accents which cannot really be seen in the picture. The silver crystals finish off the card which I do seem to like very much.


I will enter this card in:
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - always anything goes

Catch you later,

Monica 

Sunday 10 November 2013

Joy

Hello bloggers,

Here is a card made with one of my new dies from Sizzix which have probably retired but are still considered new here. Lol. I have used pearly white paper for the die cut and the poinsettias have been fussy cut from a larger sheet. I have used a negative for the window and have popped it up with foam tape. The ribbon and crystals are from my stash.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Happy Sunday,
Monica

Saturday 9 November 2013

Sherry on Christmas

Hello sweet bloggers,
Here is another card for the same order which has beautiful crinkled grey and gold paper from India. The topper is from my stash and so is the ribbon. I love how this card turned out so beautiful in minutes.


I will enter this card in:
http://sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://scrapping4funchallenges.blogspot.ca/ - anything goes

Wishing you a happy weekend,

Monica 

Thursday 7 November 2013

White on White

Hello bloggers,

This is an aperture card and I have stuck acetate in the aperture and added another card stock with an aperture over the acetate  to to give it a neat appearance from inside. The Christmas tree has been die cut (from Wonder House) and so is the sentiment which has been stuck with double sided foam tape. The pearls are from my stash - not sure whether I need to stick a pearl in the centre of the alphabet O.
I do like this CAS beauty a great deal.



I will enter this card in the following challenges:

See you later,

Monica 


Wednesday 6 November 2013

Merry Christmas

Hello lovely bloggers,

Here is my card to show you for today quite similar to the one I made some weeks ago. The paper is fancy gift wrap and the grey is actually a matt silver which doesn't show in the picture. I have used a clear stamp the name of which has slipped off my mind. I have used foam glue dots to prop up the image after cutting it and mounting it on another round nestie.  Silver crystals from my stash and a few lines of scoring at the bottom finished off the card. I like the way I did the thin strips at the bottom.


I will enter this card in:

Off to comment now,

Monica 

Tuesday 5 November 2013

With love at Christmas

Hello sweet peeps,

I made 9 cards this morning!!! And now have another 8 to go and I will be done with my order of 30 cards. 
Down below is a card I made with a clear stamp set sent by dear Sandra to me all the way from the UK. I have coloured the image with Prisma pencils.  I have layered the white image on shiny blue paper. The crushed red paper you see is actually printer paper that has been moistened with water, crumpled and then dabbed with black water colour paint. Zeenya and I did it many years ago, when she was all of six and now she is almost 14!
The washi tape is from my stash and so are the rhine stones. The sentiment is from the same set of clear stamps. 


I will enter this card in:


Wish you a happy Tuesday,

Monica 

Monday 4 November 2013

Christmas is coming...

Hello dear bloggers,

Diwali is over and it certainly did leave a sweet after taste with all the decoration, celebration, food, fun and laughter.
Now back to my Christmas order of 30 cards. Here is a card similar to the one I posted a while ago. The image is from a clear set of stamps from Hero Arts and the sentiment which I have used a million times is a die cut from Wonder House. The colouring is done with Prisma pencils and I have used silver pop up fabric glitter to make tiny snow flakes. 


I will enter this card in:
http://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.com/ - all things Christmas

See you later,

Monica 

Sunday 3 November 2013

Another Diwali card

Hello sweet bloggers,
I have still not begun on my Christmas order as we have been having lots of fun decorating our home with Rangoli (floor decoration done with coloured rice or flower petals) and distributing chocolates to as many people in our complex specially the staff.
Here is another Diwali card that I made last week. The paper came from Terry. I touched it up with my Sakura gold gel pen and added sequins sent by Sandra and my card was ready.



Catch you later,

Monica 

Saturday 2 November 2013

Sunflower

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is my card to show you today... It has been recycled from a health shop brochure cover. Just added ribbon to it and it was done. Sent it to Aleeza's mail box in class a couple of days ago and the kids loved it. 



We had a Diwali celebration in Aleeza's class and it was fun with henna tattoos, nail polish for the girls, music, dance and Indian snacks. The kids had a great time but I could not take any pictures. This was taken by the other mum who helped me. The colourful Rangoli on the round table was done by her with coloured rice, rose petals and jasmine buds. Apologies that the picture cannot be enlarged (goes all fuzzy).


This is my Rangoli decoration at home done with curry leaves, rose petals and jasmine buds.



To all those who celebrate Diwali, here is wishing you a happy and blessed Diwali.

Love,

Monica 

Thursday 31 October 2013

Grateful...

Hello lovely bloggers,

Happy Halloween to all those who celebrate it. We will have a trick or treat in our complex tomorrow and I have to be ready to receive like 50 kids. I did not buy candy, bought sweet wafers instead to help them preserve their teeth. Lol. I know they won't be very pleased with me.

Here is another quick card to show you made with my clear stamps from Inkadinkadoh. I have coloured in the image with Prisma pencils. The sentiment and little leafy border is also from Inkadinkado I think.  The edges have been sponged with rusty hinge and the card stock is actually a negative. The polka dotted ribbon is from my stash.That little flower came from Karin and I have used some pressed stalks (or whatever they are called) that were lying scattered around on my table.  The centre of the flower has been adorned with a pearl sent by Lynn. Not too sure if I like the arrangement of the flower and this dry stuff. Any way here it is.

Down below is Aleeza's ex-teacher from her previous school all dressed up with face paint. She is a professional face painter. Sorry that this photo quality is not the best as it was taken on her phone.


I will enter this card in:

ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com - always anything goes

Catch you later,

Monica 

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Is this scary enough for Halloween - not!!!

Hello kind bloggers,

I have some more good news to share - a close friend has asked me to make 30 Christmas cards for her. As I have all ready met my target of supporting the same five primary schoolers as last year, I may look at another charity.

This card you see below was made in a real jiffy - except that the cat and flower stickers which are really 3D and cute had lost their sticking power so had to keep pressing them down with my fingers only to realize that the best way to have them stay on the card was to use glue. And they stayed after that. The fence is my new die from Wonder House, Japan and the washi tape at the bottom is from my stash. The clouds have been punched from a new punch as well. I know this card does not look scary enough for Halloween. Somehow I am not the scary card making types. Lol.
I am going to pop this card in the mail box in Aleeza's class. Yes, her teacher has made a mail box and has asked parents to drop in mail for the kids. What a nice way to revive snail mail...




Catch you later,

Monica

Monday 28 October 2013

My Diwali order of 20 cards is done

Hello lovely bloggers,

Have I been occupied!!! It was cultural week in school and Aleeza's class was representing Papua so they all dressed up as tribals thanks to one of the talented mums who made them tutus and necklaces. The same week was the UN day celebration as well which is the most touching event of the year where all the children from different nations come together to parade with the flags of their countries and perform cultural dances. This year we had a total of 62 nations - how nice is that to have children from so many countries bring in harmony and peace. May this radiate to the entire world...

Now to this card - yes, another Diwali card for you to see. I have almost completed the entire order of 20 cards. I have used my new Ek Success border punch which was beckoning to be asked out. The shiny paper is from dear Terry and the two kinds of shiny ribbons are from my stash while the sequins are from India.


Down below is Aleeza's class with their teacher on the UN Day



 Aleeza dressed up as a Balinese girl for the UN Day

Here are the tribals from Papua :-) Aleeza is fourth from left

I will enter my card in:
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - always anything goes

I will come and visit your blogs soon... do bear with me.

Wish you a pleasant week ahead,
Monica 

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Stencilled image

Hello sweet bloggers,
Life has become rather hectic since Aleeza joined her new school, more so because I volunteer quite often in school. 
Here is my card to show you - this time with a stencilled image from India coloured with Marvy Brush markers and I went over that with my Sakura gold marker. The striped printed paper is screen printed and made in India but bought in Blick at San Francisco!!! I have used pop up fabric glue in gold around the image and inverted sequins (from India) on the four corners along with a small gem from Paper Mania. Scoring on the right side finished it off.


I will enter this card in:

Wish you a happy Wednesday,
Monica 




Monday 21 October 2013

Blue is the colour...

Hello sweet peeps,
We were away for the weekend to a breathtakingly beautiful island near Bali called Lombok. It was just so therapeutic to see just the sea and water. It is fairly untouched compared to Bali and that made it even more enjoyable. We stayed in a resort that had all natural decor and that made it even more befitting. 
Now to my card - this is another Diwali card for an order. The lady ordered seven cards but has increased them to 20!!! I bought these Anne Griffin papers from the scrap booking store last week and have added some silvery dots on the paper and a sequined paisley which seems slightly mismatched in the picture. In real life how ever it looks quite nice.


 Down below is a picture of the ocean that I clicked from the car on the way back to the airport.

Another shot of the mountains and the sea from the car...

I will enter my card in the following challenges:

Wish you a happy Monday,
Monica 

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Sold another 7 cards...

Hello dear bloggers,
First of all, a very warm welcome to my newest follower, Joni.
I sold another seven cards to Aleeza's ex-teacher - bless her soul and yours as well :-) Looks like my target of providing education for all the five children I supported last year will be achieved. But trust me, it is not me alone who should take the credit. You all have been a big blessing to me in every which way and have a big way to play in my success. And of course all those kind people who buy my cards as well.

Here is another Diwali card for an order... Diwali cards are fun to make because no amount of bling is considered too much. So the dressier the better. The paper for this card was sent all the way from the US by dear Terry. If you take a quick tour through her blog you will see how talented she is. This paper has a glittery look and is far prettier in real life. The gold sequins on the sides were sent by my friend Sandra and the rest of the embellies are from my stash as is the ribbon.



I will enter this card in:
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - always anything goes
http://thecraftingcafe.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes
http://creativecraftchallenges2.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Wish you a happy Thursday,

Monica

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Dream a Little Christmas Magic...

Hello lovely peeps,

Those of you who visit me frequently would be saying under your breath, "What, another white on white Christmas card!!!" Anyway for better or for worse, here it it is. Really easy peasy to make and sell. Added white liquid pearls for interest since there is little effort here and yet it looks elegant, doesn't it? The sentiment is a clear stamp that was sent to me by my dear blog buddy Sandra who is on a sabbatical from blog land (I miss her dearly).


I will enter this card in:
http://www.kis-challenge.blogspot.ca/ - all is white
http://artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - anything goes
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/ - always anything goes
http://addicted-to-stamps-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Christmas is coming

Am trying my best to survive the Autumn break :-)

Lots of love,

Monica