Friday 2 December 2016

More Christmas cards

Hello sweet peeps,

It is indeed that time of the year when there is much happening... Christmas time seems to be here sooner than I thought which is a blessing I guess. 

I have been selling quite a few cards of late. I got an order of 12 cards for Christmas and prior to that one kind lady bought 20 cards from me. For the UN day at school, the charity that my daughter supports (Kids for Cambodia) sold 12 cards. So that is quite a decent number and to add to that I had people over and they bought six cards and I have an order for another five. Wow, so let me count how much that makes 55 cards and I am quite happy with that. 

Down below is a card which was part of the order. The ornament has been diecut with shiny metallic paper and I have layered foil under it. The foil came from a Christmas cracker so it is partially recycled. It was rather thin and the fact that it stayed intact helped me give it more body. The sentiment has been diecut from a yoghurt lid. The border embossing folder left a mark so I resorted to silver tape to cover it up. It looks far prettier in real life. The silver cord and little rhinestone gave a graceful finishing touch. 



Happy crafting,

Monica 

Monday 28 November 2016

Hello after a long time

Hello dear bloggers,

I have been wanting to blog but life just got in the way beside other commitments. Here is a card I made for Less is More a few weeks ago but did not get down to posting it. I have used brilliance lavender to rubber stamp and I dabbed it on to the white nestie below the text image. It looks quite shiny in real life but this is the best the camera decided to do. Gold cord and gold ribbon and it was done. I could have added sequins or rhine stones but my older one felt it was enough and did I go with her word. 


I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://avenue613.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://addicted-to-stamps-challenge.blogspot.sg/ - die cut plus stamp
http://cleanandsimpleonsunday.blogspot.sg/ - Christmas
http://lacysunshine.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Wish you happy crafting with lots of health and happiness,

Monica 

Wednesday 16 November 2016

Celebrate

Hello bloggers,

Here is my card to show you made with one of my fave stamps which has coloured with Dervent water colour pencils. The sentiment die cut has been placed on two labels of the same size which have been positioned to appear as though they were nesties.       


http://creataliciouschallenges.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with a sentiment


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Thursday 10 November 2016

Yes, recycled again

Hello dear peeps,

Here is my card to show you today and yes, like the title, the heart has been recycled from the carton of Marks and Spencer tea bags and the sentiment has been die cut from the same packaging. The butterflies are a border punch and I went over them with my new love, Wink of Stella which makes them sparkle. I wish you could see the card in real life as the blue is much nicer and the sparkle makes it look dressy. The little flowers around the sentiment are the leftovers from the heart die cut. Pretty simple card and I rounded off the corners of the card to hide the damaged corners of the card stock.




I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://artbymiranchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://brownsugarchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Monday 7 November 2016

Cup cake recycled from a paper cup

Hello dear peeps,

Here is another card made with the same paper cup that I used for my previous creation with shells. I am so glad that you all liked it. I had two cups in all so I still had some paper left behind and I wanted to finish it off instead of saving it. Yes, my new mantra is, "less is more". 
The cupcake has been layered twice and stuck with foam dots. The wee candle you see on the cupcake is the real colour of the paper cup. For the chocolate chips I have used fabric pop up glue in brown and I have also used distressed ink on the cake and the diecut sentiment. The brown paper with the border punch on it has been lying in my stash since almost six years and it came all the way from Australia. The washi tape was not supposed to be here but I felt the card was a tad dull so resorted to a touch of brightness.  Last but not the least, the jelly beans on the cake were meant to look colourful however this is the best I could after distress ink on them. The card was finished off with Wink of Stella on everything except the white areas.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://avenue613.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://stampedblessings.com/amusing-challenge/ - anything goes
http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - scraps and cut offs

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Thursday 3 November 2016

Shellebrate for Less is More

Hello sweet peeps,

Oh how I miss blogging when I am not able to...

Been a busy time yet I managed to make this card with my new diecuts. The designer paper is from my stash and the shells and sentiment have been die cut from a paper cup, rather two paper cups. I sponged the shells with distressed ink and brushed them with metallic Wink of Stella. The shells have been stuck with double sided foam to make them pop. They do look beautiful when they sparkle under light. I had this tray full of shells so decided to use it as a prop. 


I will submit this card in the following challenge:

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Friday 28 October 2016

Upcycled card

Hello sweet bloggers,

I was away to a beautiful island in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia as it was autumn break and I fell in love with watching sunset every day while we were there. I realized that each sunset I watched was different from the other and it had me totally mesmerized. For some reason my phone and camera are not relating well with each other so I am not able to download photos. I will certainly send you photos when I succeed in downloading them.

This card was made a while ago and it looks quite nice in real life. The colours match quite nicely when I look at the card and yet in the photo the card stock looks so yellow. The roses have been up cycled and I actually got them from the newspaper. The sentiment is embossed and I have sponged it with distressed ink and stuck it with 3D foam dots. The card stock has also been sponged to give it character and that is pretty much it.


I will submit this card for the following challenges:
http://cleanandsimpleonsunday.blogspot.sg/ - flowers
http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.sg/- anything goes
http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - scraps/cutoffs



It is such a relief that it is Friday today.


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Roses

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card I made a few weeks ago. I stamped it with my Brilliance pad and I think it is a Kaiser craft clear stamp which has been in my stash for years now. I coloured the image with my Prismas and stuck washi tape and rhine stones in the centres and voila it was all done. 


Remember, I mentioned in one of my previous posts that one of Zeenya's friend's mum bought twenty cards in an instant from me? Well, here is a picture of the cards. Sorry for the poor quality - it was at 11 pm. 


I will submit my card in the following challenges:


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Monday 3 October 2016

My new embossing folder

Hello dear bloggers,

Here is a card I made a few days ago with my new embossing folder and coloured it with Japanese brush markers from a store called Miniso. The washi tapes seem to match well with the colours so everything fell together quickly. I cannot recall the name of the rubber stamp. The threads and button are from my stash and the punched butterfly was coloured with the same brush markers.


I will enter this card in:






Happy crafting,

Monica 

Friday 30 September 2016

Monkeying around

Dear bloggers,

Thank you for the kind words on my previous card and here I am to show you another card. The brown background is actually from a box of Lindt chocolates. I trimmed it down and put it through my cuttlebug and the image was found monkeying around in Aleeza's room. The little monkey had a hole in his tail which was covered with a handmade bow while his face was coloured with pigment ink which made it a tad messy or so I think. Two kinds of washi tape and ribbon from my stash completed the picture along with a die cut sentiment.




I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes and a sentiment
http://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with ribbon/lace

Happy day,

Monica 


Monday 26 September 2016

For Less is More - thread

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a quick card (well not really quick as positioning the baker's twine took me all of ever) to show you which I made this morning. The printed paper is from Kaiser craft while the balloons and sentiment have been die cut from the packaging carton of Marks and Spencer extra strong tea. The balloons have been mounted on foam dots. The blue colour on the sentiment and balloons looks really nice in real life while in the photo it seems a tad dull. Since it is a male card, I am okay with that. Lol.



I will enter this card in the following challenges:

Happy day,

Monica 

Friday 23 September 2016

I love roses

Hello bloggers,

Here is another simple card made with stickers and embroidery yarn. The sentiment is from Hero Arts (I think) and I love it's font. The pink button came with a stash of art supplies all the way from Skye who lives in Australia. She herself makes lovely cards and is taking a break from card making as she is busy with other things. I am lucky to belong to such a caring and sharing community of crafters and honestly, every form of encouragement takes my creativity to a whole new level.

I am building a collection to sell for the charity in my older one's school called, 'Kids For Cambodia.' I will share more details when Zeenya lets me know exactly what they do with the funds. I have been wanting to post good news about the sale of 20 cards to Zeenya's friend's mum. I was amazed at her spontaneous and generous support. Thank you to that lovely lady.



I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://littlemissmuffetchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

Thank God it's Friday,

Monica 

Wednesday 21 September 2016

A simple thank you card...

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a quick card made with washi tapes and a sentiment that was die cut from a Lindt chocolate box. The gold tape is really sparkly in real life and it looks really pretty.



Down below is a card which was made by Aleeza for a friend. She coloured in the image (which she stamped on her own) with my Derwent metallic pencils and the sentiment is handwritten. Over the sentiment, Aleeza used a silver gel pen to add glitz and the pink flower is handmade. The picture was taken while we were in a taxi so please pardon the quality. I am surprised at my generosity toward her by way of letting her have my prized art supplies. Lol.



I will enter my card in the following challenges:
http://ttcrd.blogspot.sg/ - always anything goes

Tuesday 20 September 2016

Another Christmas card

Hello dear peeps,

Here is another Christmas card to show you made with my new die cuts ( I have thrown away the packaging ). The bauble has been die cut from Aleeza's colour pencils and layered on to another layer of the die cut in grey to give it a slight shadow. The embossing and ribbon along with the gold cord completed it and I stuck the embossed layer with foam dots on to the card stock. 


I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://craft-deebowz.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with a bow

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Sunday 18 September 2016

Hero Arts Stamp

Good morning sweet bloggers,

It is a lovely Sunday morning with a clear blue sky in Singapore and soon I will be taking Aleeza to the SPCA to see animals. She has joined SPCA in school as a service since she simply loves animals. 

Now to my card, a simple beauty made with corner stickers and and a Hero Arts wooden stamp that I had to pull out from its wooden head and glue it back as it would not stamp in a straight line. Oh how accomplished I feel now. I mounted both the white layers of cardstock on foam dots and voila! My card was ready. 




Happy crafting,

Monica 

Saturday 17 September 2016

Christmas cards

Hello dear bloggers,

Here are two cards which I made last week to start building on my Christmas cards... I have coloured the inside of the embossing folder by which I mean the flat side. Bisque Versamark is what I used to colour and I also ran the stamp pad on the edges of the card stock. The embossed image was stuck with foam dots and the flowers were coloured in with Wink of Stella. The pretty ribbon is from Indonesia and the centre of the flowers was dotted with another shiny brush pen called Wink of Luna which doesn't shine as much as I would think. The second card is quite the same as the first one except that I added bisque pearls to the flower centres and used another ribbon.




I will enter my card in:


Wish you a happy weekend,

Monica 

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Flower tutorial AT LAST !!!

 Hello dear bloggers,

This tutorial was lying in my drafts since July 2011. I am finally posting it without captions as the pictures speak for themselves. I know the flowers are dated and there are many tutorials out there on youtube yet I am sharing it. Enjoy...

































I still have some of the flowers left with me and have kept them very safe since I have not been making these as often as I used to...

I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://sunnydaycrafting.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Sunday 11 September 2016

Partly recycled

Hello sweet peeps,

I have been wanting to share that I am getting cards ready to sell for my older daughter's service project in school which is called "Kids for Cambodia" and I am excited.

Here is a quick card made with my younger one's colour pencils carton. The banner and the sentiment are both from the carton and they give a nice glossy look because of lamination. Not much explanation here except that I stuck the embossing on the card stock and the banner has been put up with sticky foam dots.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:



Happy crafting,

Monica 

Wednesday 7 September 2016

I coloured the background here

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a card that I wanted to post yesterday and could not find it in my iphotos. Well today, I did manage to. It is a new embossing folder (bought a few months ago) and I cannot remember the name. I sponged the flat side of the embossing folder with a Versamark stamp and see the result. I LOVE it because I am a big fan of cherry blossoms above everything else. 
At the bottom, the colouring went a bit fuzzy as it was my first effort at this. There is a way to close the embossing folder which I will master with practice. I saw this technique on Pinterest and fell for it. I have tried using distress ink stamp pads but the result is not as brilliant as this. 
The crochet ribbon tape is from my stash and the MS butterflies have been layered for more dimension. I went sentiment free to aid the sale of this card. A part of me wants to keep this card for life, though.




I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://ttcrd.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Monday 5 September 2016

Upcycled

Hello sweet peeps,

I am here again with another card which in my words is a simple and sweet beauty made with tissue box packaging. The diecut was done with the same paper and so was the heart.
I embossed the packaging to add more interest to it and slapped it on cardstock. That was pretty much it, really. It took me some time to cut through the thick paper though and I had to use the Sizzix machine two to three times back and forth to ensure success. And the embossing of course was done with my famous Cuttlebug.


I will enter this in the following challenges:


Happy Monday,

Monica 

Sunday 4 September 2016

Baby girl card

Hello dear bloggers,

Here is a baby girl card to show you today which I coloured in with Faber Castell pencils. The ribbon and stash is from my stash and the bow on the baby elephant is a punched one.



I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://littlemissmuffetchallenges.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://craftingwithanattitude.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.sg/ - new beginnings

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Wednesday 31 August 2016

Second entry for Casual Friday

Hello sweet bloggers,

While I was making the previous card, I went ahead to make this one as well since I had the background paper (hand drawn lines). The starts were die cut from packaging material and my younger one Aleeza coloured them with a cherry cobbler kind of red pen. I quite like the raindrop effect on them so I decided to put them on a card. The sentiment as you may have guessed is handwritten and two of the stars have been stuck with foam dots. I will enter this card in Casual Friday where they have a challenge with black, white and a pop of colour. 



Happy blogging,

Monica 

Monday 29 August 2016

For Casual Friday

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is my card to show you today. For the stripes, all I did was run a thick calligraphy marker in black and red on a piece of cardstock and I stuck it over black paper. For the thinner lines, I used the thin side of the marker. The red beetles came from Sandra, my dear blog friend who has not been blogging for a while now and I miss her. To add to that, many of my blog friends have been quiet so I am kind of missing them. I will enter this card in Casual Friday where the challenge is black, white and a pop of colour.




I will also enter this card in the following challenges:
http://cagichallenge.blogspot.sg/ - black, white and one more colour
http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything that flies


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Wednesday 24 August 2016

Cling stamp

Hello dear peeps,

Here is my card to show you which I made with a cling stamp (Penny Black or Hero) and I used old paper distressed ink to stamp and Derwent water colour pencils to colour and my new aqua brush. The matching embroidery yarn is from my stash while the button came from Skye in Australia. The green water colour effect at the bottom of the image was done with Derwent water colour pencils as well. 



I will enter this card in the following challenges:


Wish you happy crafting,

Monica 

Saturday 20 August 2016

Yaay, I made the background on this card

Hello lovely peeps,

Here is my card to show you on this lovely Sunday morning. The mauve or lilac background was created by yours truly while playing with liquid chalks. And did it give me a time and a half because when it dried up, it was all powdery and flying everywhere. Since I did not have a medium to fix chalks, I took a paper tissue and rubbed it off and after about three attempts this is what I arrived at. I used purple, hot pink and blue liquid chalks (sprayed water over them) and somehow purple seemed to dominate, gently though. A wee bit of embossing and layered butterflies (the bigger one) and organza ribbon with white butterflies on it completed the card. I popped up the rectangular paper on foam dots and it looks quite elegant. No sentiment here as it would help sell it quicker. Yes, the doily was lying around on my table and I felt it would enhance the softness of the card. I promise the butterfly is blue but here it seems to look different. Why or why do cameras have a mind of their own?


I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://creativeartistemixedmedia.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - embossing heat or dry
http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://scrappers-delights-challenge-blog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.sg/ - close to nature
http://casmixup.blogspot.sg/ - spray 


Happy crafting,

Monica

Monday 15 August 2016

Cute Panda

Hello sweet peeps,

So today was the day - summer holidays done and school begun. I had mixed feelings to see a 16 year old and an eight year old go back to school. The 16 year old is far too independent to be missed as she was busy this summer working and also travelling out of Singapore to do a photography course. I was a tad sentimental to see my eight year old whom I am clutching on to yet the day worked well for me. So here I am blogging without any distraction. 

I looked at the sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch and found that my card below kind of fits the bill. Or so I think. Lol. The paper on this card came from a very special lady who lives in our complex and the image is actually from a diary cover which I have embossed and layered. The border punch was used to make it look leafy. The silver border is a sticky ribbon tape and oh what fun to have things to stick directly without applying glue. The hello as you may guess is recycled from cosmetic packaging.


I will enter this card in:
http://cagichallenge.blogspot.sg/ - punches and dies 

Happy crafting,

Monica

Friday 12 August 2016

Happy Birthday Card

Hello bloggers,

Here is my card to show you today where I have used a Penny Black stamp (I think) and coloured it in with my Prismas. As you may notice, I did try and create some background colour there with my water colour pencils and a wet brush. The designer paper came from Terry and I have used to a border punch and the blue dots are actually fabric glue. 


I will participate in the following challenges:
http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with birthday

Happy crafting,

Monica 


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Tuesday 9 August 2016

Another Hello Card

Hello dear peeps,

Here is my card to show you, the background of which has been stamped with pearlescent Versamark. It is a pretty Itty Bitty stamp I have used from Unity. The round foil has been die cut from a yogurt lid while the hello sentiment has been die cut from a cosmetic carton. In real life, the pearlescent ink looks quite pretty. The polka dotted ribbon is from American Craft.


I will enter this card in the following challenges:



Happy crafting,

Monica 

Saturday 6 August 2016

A Rakhi card

Hello sweet bloggers,

Here is a card to show you which I made with very fancy designer paper that Terry sent me some years ago. Rakhi as I may have mentioned in an earlier blog post is a Indian festival that is celebrated by sisters in honour of their brother/s. The sister puts on a band on the wrist of the brother (similar to a friendship band) and prays for good health and wealth of her brother. The brother in return hands over a cash gift to his sister and promises to take care of his sister.

My card was a quickie except that the die cut letters took me a while to stick as I thought of giving a shadow effect with gold layering. I think I need to invest in a very fine tipped glue to help me stick tiny bits together. I have used gold tape across the paper and a die cut flourish to enhance the card. MS border punch helped too and I think I may have used the punch upside down. Still looks nice, though.


I will participate in the following challenges:

Happy crafting,

Monica 

Thursday 4 August 2016

Hello

Hello dear bloggers,

Here is a quick card I made while trying to achieve results with double embossing folders. Ihave been noticing in blogland, crafters trying all kinds of techniques so I tried my hand at something new for me. Unfortunately what I did was to snap my C plate (Cuttlebug) into two and that is it. I did manage to tape it up for the time being. Back to my card - I used two colours to sponge the embossed paper instead of two embossing folders, lol, which did not happen.
 My new Washi tape helped make the felt butterflies from my stash look more elegant. The sentiment is handwritten with a thin tipped Staedler marker and the nesties have been sponged too. I have no idea why I chose such a very bright background with bougainvilleas. Maybe I wanted to show the plant and how colourfully it is blooming. Lol.




I will enter this card in the following challenges:

http://cardsinenvy.blogspot.sg/ - flat card with wings


Happy everything,

Monica 

Tuesday 2 August 2016

My new thinlets


Hello sweet peeps,

I bought these thinlets some three months ago and did die cut them right away and found there was not much I could do with them. Sometimes, things look so good at the store and when you bring them home and try them out, hmmmm, the whole story changes. I got them with much excitement as roses are my fave flowers yet the results are different from what I expected. I have used old wedding card paper to die cut the roses and coloured them with Prisma pencils and went over them with Marvy brush markers. The nestie has been sponged with distress ink and the sentiment has been stamped with copper pearlascent Versamark ink pad. I have stuck pearls in the centre of the flowers to make them look more interesting.


I am going to enter this card in:


Happy crafting,

Monica 

Sunday 31 July 2016

You need sun glasses here... Lol

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is my card to show you today which has been created with a background I made many years ago (almost seven) with my older one while playing with food colours and paper. I took a sheet of tissue paper and we put in vegetable colour randomly on it. Since I carefully removed the other two layers of the tissue paper, it was a very thin leaf I had left behind. So I took a rectangular piece of paper and folded the paper behind and stuck it too. The vellum sheet has been recycled from an old invitation card and the sentiment is one of my faves. I know I have been using it all too often. The striped banner was lying around on my table since months and I did not know what to do with it. It looked a bit crushed so I put in the whole arrangement in my new embossing folder. Sandra, my blog friend sent me these happy chappy dragon flies and this one seemed to match perfectly. 


I will enter this card in the following:


See you later,

Monica 

Saturday 30 July 2016

Hello

Hello sweet bloggers,

This is the life, really, when I can blog every other day. Aleeza (my younger one and all of eight) asked me why I like blogging so much and my answer was that it makes me happy to see so much creativity and be part of such a loving crafting community as well. So I have decided this pampering is important for me and blogging.

This cow image (Penny Black) was stamped a few years ago in red and I don't know why I chose red. So to get rid of the red, I went over it with my black Pilot pen and coloured the hearts with my Marvy markers and am not sure what it did to the hearts. I could have coloured in the nose pink. Could have and should have !!! Lol.
The Hello sentiment has been die cut from a cosmetic carton and the flowers are leftovers from another die cut (part of a yoghurt lid). The designer paper is from my stash and was bought at the local stationery store called Popular. I decided to air my MS border punch and it just so happened to match with the hearts on the cow.



I will enter my card in:
http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes with a sentiment
http://inthepinkchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - rubber stamp to be coloured pink

Happy crafting and happy everything,

Monica 

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Choose happy

Hello sweet peeps,

Here is a card I made today while Aleeza was hanging around in my art room. I had hand drawn this image while we were watching a you tube tutorial (sorry, that I cannot recall the link)and coloured it with my Prismas. I have sponged the image with scattered straw to match the designer paper which was sent to me by Terry some six years ago. Yes, I am trying to un-hoard the stuff I have been stocking. Lol. I stuck a googly eye and a ribbon around his collar to dress him up a bit. Aleeza was not impressed with my drawing but I seem to like it. The sentiment is from 7 Gypsies which I love.




I will enter this card in the following challenges:
http://craftysentiments.blogspot.sg/ - animals
http://lemonshortbreadchallenge.blogspot.sg/ - anything goes
http://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.sg/ - make us smile
http://craft-deebowz.blogspot.sg/ - anything with a bow

Happy crafting,

Monica