Sold 84 cards for Japan Red cross so far...

www.

Hello bloggers,


See, I could not resist blogging... so am back! Thanks for your good wishes - my fingers will get better soon, I guess.

This is a card I have made for an order... remember I made the same card in blue a few days ago? The lady who wanted to buy it wanted it in pink - so here it is. Thanks, Sandra for the cute sheep.

The pink background paper with touches of blue is actually wall paper !!! The buttons are from the extras that come  along with clothes and the safety pin has been recycled as well. The grey base under the sheep is a price tag from a garment. The ribbon is from my stash. Aren't you impressed???

I am going to enter this for Monique's weekend linky party at www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com/

By the way, did anyone see the Royal Wedding? I did and found it so light and relaxing to watch telly for a change... I felt I was transported to another world - sometimes we need these kind of happy distractions, you know. I thought Kate looked really elegant in her wedding gown. I do sooooo hope this marriage stays forever.

Hugs,

Monica

Apologies for not being regular with my visits.

Hello bloggers,

I hope you are well, healthy and crafting away...

This is a short post to say that I have been a bit busy oflate. Thus I have not had enough time to come and visit you all. I promise I will do that at the earliest. You know, I suffer from withdrawal symptoms if I don't. Lol!!!

I have painful finger joints as a result of over use, so am trying to keep away from the computer and card making - sob, sob!
Do bear with me...I also want to apologise for taking so long to post some wonderful awards that I have received. Thank you so much!




Helen and Khush, I will also do the tagging stuff soon.

Thanks again for making my world bright and happy which helps me to spread it further in my own little way.

Hugs,

Monica

Thank you, Helen!

Hello bloggers,

Last night I was happily surprised when my hubby handed over a brown paper parcel to me... When I opened it what popped out were these amazingly beautiful cards sent by Helen of www.helenmade.blogspot.com/ Thank you, Helen! The cards are just so very pretty.

What I did this morning was to pack these beauties in plastic sleeves and send them off to hubby's office. They have already started selling...

I consider myself lucky to have entered a whole new world out there... thank you, dear bloggers for all your love, encouragement and generosity - in which ever way. It means the world to me... I am so grateful to have met such a nice bunch of crafters.

Hugs,

Monica

Art and Craft by three-year olds

 Hello bloggers,

Aleeza, my three-year-old made this basket in school for Easter. I thought the teacher did a good job of recyling a milk carton!!!
Sorry for posting it this late...

 This is the side view of the carton...sorry all the chocolates
were eaten away by the time this picture was taken...Lol! Now I know why my waistline is expanding!!!


This card was made by Zeenya a few weeks ago. She made it with designer paper that I had won as candy in a lucky draw on Terry's blogversery last year.

She dressed up the paper with pop up fabric paint, glitter glue and metallic Sakura pens.

Catch you later...

Hugs and thanks for visiting,

Monica





Hello bloggers,

Hope you are having a good and relaxing Easter weekend... I certainly am...

This is a card I have made for Rosalee's 16 year old sister who had a farming accident  in Canada wherein she sadly lost three of her fingers. And here I am moaning and groaning about aching fingers and shoulders... shame on me, really!

I stamped my Hero Arts flower stamp on pearlised white paper (which was sent by kind Leigh) with Jim Holtz Ranger distress ink in crushed olive. I coloured in the flowers with my gold Sakura markers. 

The gold cord is from my stash while the green printed paper was also sent by dear Leigh. 

The sentiment is handwritten - am not too pleased with it to be honest. This card could have been more cheerful and somehow it doesn't seem right for a 16 year old. I do hope it cheers her up, though. And as usual, it looks nicer in real life.

Happy Easter to all of your lovely, lovely people out there.

Hugs,

Monica



61 cards for Japan Redcross so far...

Hello bloggers,

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods...

Here is a card I finished today...

I have used pearly white cardstock.

The designer paper is hand block printed from India.

The little bit of crushed gold paper is handmade and from India as well.

The sentiment is from a Sizzix embossing folder.

Some of the flowers have been punched and I have stuck sequins on them.

The metallic daisies are actually confetti from Paper Chase. I just shaped each daisy with the end of a satay stick.

This card looks far prettier in real life... that is sadly often the case with me. 

Anyway I do hope you like it.

I am going to enter this card for the following challenges:


http://creativecraftchallenges.blogspot.com/ embossing
http://karensdoodlesnetherlandschallenge.blogspot.com/ - punches
http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://babybuddesigns.blogspot.com/ - flowers
http://naturallymecreations.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Happy crafting and many thanks for all the lovely comments you all leave me. It is such a source of joy and inspiration...

Hugs,

Monica

Thank You Card

Hello bloggers,

It is a nice Tuesday morning as I write this post to you all and the time here is 11 am.

This is an aperture card and it went haywire because I did not use my newly acquired Ek Success punch properly. So from a square this is what it finally came to be - a rectangle which is just as well because the sheep fits in well.

This cute sheep came in the adorable treasure box from dear Sandra.

The paper is actually new gift wrap that I bought for it's crackled appearance.

The ribbons are from my stash. The safety pin is from a garment tag while the buttons are the extras that come along with shirts and stuff like that.

The sentiment is handwritten - isn't it cool??? Thank you from the 'baatom' of my heart! I promise I did not copy that from anywhere - it is my creation!

I am going to enter this in the following:

http://bunnyzoescrafts.blogspot.com/ - one for the boys
http://mygraficocrafts.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://card-ideas.blogspot.com - for guys
http://littleclairesdesigns.blogspot.com/ - animals

Hugs and happy crafting,

Monica

Christmas card

Hello bloggers,

Sunday is over and here is Monday... kids off to school and I am on the computer... 

it is 11 am as I write this post to you all lovely bloggers out there. I hope you had a nice weekend. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant called Tuscano yesterday for lunch and I do think it was by far the best Italian cuisine I have ever had. I think it beat the food in Rome!!!

Now to this card - Sandra had sent me these very lovely stamps some time ago for Zeenya (who is going through an off-craft phase - sad, sad, sad). So I decided to make use of these awesome stamps.

 I stamped the image on creamy beige multi shaded cardstock. 

 I coloured in a few elements of the image with Sakura gold along with Uniball coppery silver pen instead of using traditional colours.

It looks quite nice in real life unlike the picture which is rather bland. 

The picture does looks better on zooming in though... I have used gold cord on the side to finish it off and also faux tiny gems here and there to make it look more lively. 

Have a nice Monday!

Lots of love,

Monica

A quick card with sweet Sandra's goodies!

Hello bloggers,


Good evening! It is almost 5 pm as I post this card...


I have made this with the delightful craft candy that Sandra sent me in that lovely treasure box... 


I hope you like my card...It took me all of 15 minutes to make it. I do so like such quick makes for selling! Isn't it cute?


The sentiment is handwritten.


The ribbon at the bottom is from my stash. Everything else is from that treasure box which I love to bits. Thank you, Sandra!


Wish you happy crafting, good health and cheer where ever you are.


Lots of love and hugs,


Monica

A total of 56 cards sold for Japan Redcross so far...

Hello bloggers,


I hope you are enjoying sunshine and good weather where ever you are...


These are quick cards I made on Friday to sell at hubby's office... They did sell - thanks to the kind people who bought them.


They are all quick makes and nothing compared to the great stuff that you bloggers turn out...nonetheless they sold, yipppeeeeee!!!


Thanks for your good wishes and encouragement.


Hugs,


Monica

Thank you, Shirley-Anne

Hello bloggers, 

I am back again to show off my booty yet again... this time from dear Shirley-Anne - THANK YOU so much for your kindness. I received a beautiful array of stickers, super-duper embellies and designer paper from her.

Here is the lovely handwritten note from Shirley-Anne which I will treasure for ever... check out those lovely stickers on either side - my faves!

Such a generous collection of designer paper... yaaaay!!! Lucky me!

And here's what I created this morning with Leigh's and Shirley-Anne's goodies. The hearts on the top left are from Shirley-Anne while the paper used on this card is from Leigh. Someone in hubby's office asked me to do a card for his niece - a seven-year-old girl who loves hearts! 
The sentiment is handwritten - you did not have to guess that, right?


Thank you, Shirley-Anne! I love everything you sent me... 


Hugs,


Monica

Lovely card, box and treasure inside - thank you, Sandra

Hello blogging buddies,

Lady luck has been smiling on me.... look at this stunning card that  Sandra  sent me ... Isn't it lovely?

This prize winning box made by her accompanied the card.

This is a little note for Zeenya (my older one).

Here is the treasure that came popping out of the box !!!

Thank you, dear Sandra, for making my crafting days special and bright. I do so appreciate your kind generosity. I will soon be making cards with these goodies. I feel so truly blessed, you know...

Hugs,

Monica

Sold 49 cards so far...

Hello bloggers,

First of all, I apologise for the poor picture quality of this card...

It took me all of 20 minutes to make it and it sold in an instant...

The stickers (used 3D foam dots to mount them up) looked quite cute against the metallic cardstock and so did the Martha Stewart border.

So far I have sold 49 cards... and am going to be making some more to sell next week.

I am in  Singapore as my older one had Friday off...

Will try and visit you all when I get back on Sunday.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

Monica

Another two for today

Hello bloggers, 

I am back to show you another two cards I made this afternoon. The first one is a pure case of cheating, yes, cheating!!! Want to know why? The image has not been stamped by me but is from a beautiful gift wrap that I bought some years ago. I just added some ribbon and rhinestones and here is my card... pretty, isn't it?
I am going to enter this for:
http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com/ - spring
http://everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.com/ - spring

No cheating here, I promise!!! 

Have used a Hero Arts cling stamp... stamped it twice with two different distressed inks - crushed olive, wild honey and also my apricot stamp pad. 

The sides have been distressed with crushed olive and wild honey. 

This card is for fall, right? I realized that much later... I don't know what is it with me? In summer I am drawn to fall colours and in winter hues of spring attract me... Never mind the fact that in Indonesia we don't have any seasons!!!

Happy crafting with loads of hugs for all your encouragment,

Monica

Sold 32 cards so far...

Hello bloggers,

I am so chuffed as I have had a sale of 32 cards so far... 

I made these quick cards (which were not that quick somehow) today  to build up on my stock. 

The crinkled paper on the first card was made by Zeenya and me many years ago. 

The crosses that you see are stickers that were gifted to Zeenya by one of her classmates. The hoarder in me wanted to put them away safely but I chose to conquer that feeling!!!

I just added some bling to them and here they are...

Hope you like them.

Hugs,

Monica

Some more coming...

Hi bloggers,


I am back with my second post for the day...


I have made this card on ordinary black cardstock.
Of course you can see my home made flowers... the big rose is handmade while the two small blue flowers were stamped with a cheap freebie foam flower stamp that came with a card making magazine. 
I stamped the flowers with my Brilliance archival stamp pad in metallic blue on light blue cardstock and cut them out. 
For the centres, I have used small pearlized flowers in white.
The embossing is done with Cuttlebug while the distressed paper at the bottom is pearlised handmade paper from India.
The shiny lilac paper is from a big role of gift wrap that I bought many years ago and I mostly use it on my kiddy cards. 
The sprigs have been made with a Jeff tree punch and the ribbon is from my stash.
The sentiment is hand written.




I am going to submit this for the following:

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com - blooming blossoms
http://thecraftypad.blogspot.com/ - flowers
http://www.gingerloftchallenge.blogspot.com/ blues
http://clearitoutchallenge.blogspot.com/ - make a flower


Hugs,


Monica

For Japan Redcross

Hello bloggers,

 I made this card a while back... in fact my ex - design conultant (the famous Zeenya, now infamous because she does not want to get anywhere close to art and craft since she has started chatting with her friends on Skype) coloured in this  Penny Black image some weeks ago.

I distressed the image as there were some tell tale stains on it.

The ribbons, embellies and sentiment are all from my stash.

And I have to share that this card sold yesterday... Yippeeeee! This lady in our complex bought five cards from me and she seemed to buy three which were red!!! So does that mean I must make more red cards?

I am going to submit this for the following challenges:

http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com - anything goes

http://paperplaytime.blogspot.com - anything goes

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/ - sparkle 

Hugs,

Monica

Thank You card for Mum

Hi bloggers,


Hope you are having a nice weekend... it is 11.05 pm here in Jakarta and the weekend is almost over...


I sent this thank you card to my dear Mum... and it did manage to reach her in 10 days. Thank God - better late than never!


The flowers are home made (surprise, surprise) and the papers are from Terry's blog candy yet again. 
The rectangular stamp is from Prima and so are the faux gems.
The sentiment is handwritten.


Mum loved the card, she said it was perfect for spring... 


No, I did not send her a card for Mother's Day... 


Happy Mother's Day with lots of hugs,


Monica

Quick and simple

Hi bloggers,


I am back again... made this card two days ago - very quick and simple. Just pretty stickers and paper (from Terry's blog candy)


A real quick and simple card but I had fun making it.


The stickers are from my stash.
The pink ribbon is actually from my daughter Zeenya's t-shirt - yaay, I recycled!
The beads are also from hair braiding that Zeenya did while we were in Krabi some eight years ago. I almost wanted to throw them but they manage to stay with for so many years!!! Hoarder, me!


I am going to submit this for the following challenges:

http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/ - Spring

http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ - Spring

http://stampingwithdragon.blogspot.com/ - Use something from home


and to Monique's linky party at www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com

Hope you are having a good weekend. It is almost 10.20 pm as I write this post. So Saturday is almost over... Any way, we still have Sunday to look forward too.


Hugs,


Monica

What do you think of this version?

Hello lovely bloggers out there... 

Remember I made this card a few days ago? Here is another version... Do tell me what you think?

I took slightly textured white card stock and stamped it with my doily stamp using Jim Holtz  Ranger distress ink  - fired brick. I have to say that I do like the result.

The shoe stamp is from Hero Arts and I distressed the red paper with black pigment ink.

The little black piece of paper has been embossed - you can't see much of it though. 

The ribbons and gems are from my stash.

I like this version more than the earlier one but would love to hear what you think?

I am going to submit this for:
Monique's weekend linky party at www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com
http://polkadoodle.blogspot.com/ - no designer paper

http://creativecottagechallenge.blogspot.com - white space to show



Have a nice weekend... 

By the way, yesterday was April Fool's day so I played a prank on my hubby and daughter... it was fun! For my hubby I packed an empty perfume bottle really well with some stones inside. He is generally not turned on with gifts but he actually was excited and ripped it apart... only to find stones inside!!! Lol!

And I told my daughter, Zeenya that her favorite cousin was arriving in mid-April instead of May. Was she delighted!!! That was a bit mean but it is okay, it was April Fool's day!!! 

Hugs,

Monica

Me and my flowers!!!

Hello bloggers,


I am back again with another card... and I do like this one.


The roses were made by me (you did not have to guess that, lol!)
I just took plain mauve coloured construction paper and went over it with watery acrylic paint in silver to give it a shiny look before die cutting the flowers. 


The sentiment is a folder from Sizzix embossed with my Cuttlebug (love of my life, really!)
I did the scalloped border with my Martha Stewart border punch on metallic papers.
The sticker with leaves and pot is from my stash.
The sprigs are from a tree punch by Jeff.
The tea pot border punch is really cute - cannot recall it's name. I put a silver ribbon at the bottom of the punched out teapots to make it look glamorous.


Hope you like it. Would love to know what you think about it.


Am entering this in the following challenges:


http://ceschallenges.blogspot.com/ - die cuts (my roses are made out of mini Sizzix flower dies)
http://sparklesforumchallenges.blogspot.com/ - spring ( I hope my roses remind you of spring and so does the pot with green leaves
cutedaisymay.blogspot.com - let's glitter and glitz it
http://www.gingerloftchallenge.blogspot.com/ - die cut and punches (my roses and the teapot border punch at the bottom)


Hugs,


Monica

More cards for Japan Redcross

Hello bloggers,

I hope you all are well and happily crafting away...

I made this card two days ago. I wanted to stamp the sentiment which says "Kick off your heels and have fun" but there was no room left on the card... I have made cards in the past with this sentiment and they looked so full of fun.

The shoe stamp is from Hero Arts - I went over with Zeenya's nail pen over it and then I distressed the image with barn red.  The satin roses and ribbons are from my stash.
The black sprigs are from my Carla craft punch.
The swirly silver and black sticker is from Ek Success.
Embossing done with my Cuttle bug - the white paper has been distressed mildly with barn red as well.
The silver swirls on the left have been painted with fabric pop up glitter glue.
I am not very sure of this card - there is no focal point to it, really.

Off to make some more cards... just sent off 30 cards to sell to a sweet lady who lives in our building. Let us see how many she buys.

I am going to enter this card for the following:

http://squigglefly.blogspot.com/ - sparkle and shine


Have fun and stay healthy and cheerful!

Hugs,

Monica

Thank you card for a special friend

Hello bloggers,

I am back again with a card that I made two weeks ago... 

I used these multi stamps from Prima  - clear stamps that I placed randomly on a big block and stamped it with black pigment ink. 

I have been seeing a lot of black and white cards and it was finally Lynn of  http://creativecraftsbylynn.blogspot.com/ whose card inspired me to get down to making one. 

The sentiment is handwritten (thanks to the encouragement I have received from all of you, I seem to be getting more confident with writing my sentiments) and the ribbons are from my stash. The faux gem flowers are  from Paper Mania.

I have snail mailed this card for a very special blogging buddy (sorry, cannot disclose the name as it meant to be a surprise)... pity it has still not reached her. It is going to be two weeks tomorrow since I mailed it. Sob, sob! Hopefully one day, it will arrive at it's destination.

Hope you like it. 

Hugs and thanks for viewing,

Monica

More cards for Japan Redcross

Hello lovely bloggers out there,

Hope you are having a nice morning, afternoon or evening where ever you are...

I made these similar looking cards at the week end. 

Have used Peachy Keen clear stamp - mini turtle and coloured it in with my Darwent water colour pencils along with distressed ink on the sides of the paper.

The background paper is from Terry's blog candy.

The chocolate paper has been embossed with Cuttlebug. 

The mosaic at the bottom is from my stash and the teeny tiny bit of twine has been recycled from a gift. 

The sentiment is handwritten with a Calligraphy pen.

I have used the same stamp, coloured it in with Darwent water colour pencils but  gave it a touch of glitter with glitter glue and my Sakura metallic pens ... wish you could see it in real life. 

The watches you see in the background are from Hero Arts stamp. 

I used different distress colours to stamp it and distressed the borders as well. 

Embossing done with my beloved Cuttlebug and the lace border has been punched with my Martha Stewart border punch. 

Which one do you like more?

I will link this to Michelles's Monday Linky party at http://michelle-pinkpaperparadise.blogspot.com/

Happy crafting with loads of love,

Monica

Crochet cards with my new woolen yarn

Hello bloggers,

While I was in Singapore I bought lots of woolen yarn from Spotlight - like a typical hoarder ... and made plenty of flowers when ever I got the chance...

So here are my flowers... the paper roses too are home made from a Carla Craft punch.

The lovely papers on the first two cards are from Terry's blog candy. I have finally come to terms with using those wonderful papers now... Might as well enjoy them and not leave them for my grand-children throw away... lol!!!


The leaves and stems in the second card have been cut manually and the crochet flower centres are actually coffee beans... aren't you impressed???

The third card is partly recycled as the foil is from the kitchen shelf and all the other scraps of paper on it were lying around on my table...

I am going to enter the first card for:

the linky party at Monique's - www.naturallymecreations.blogspot.com
http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/ - ribbons and roses
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/ - show your appreciation
http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ - punches
http://cinspirations.blogspot.com/ - no square allowed in the card (mine is a rectangle)
http://polkadoodle.blogspot.com/ - spring has come
http://stampingwithdragon.blogspot.com - bring on spring
http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.com - spring has sprung
http://suchins.blogspot.com - anything goes (my ever favourite challenge)


Hope you like them.

Hugs,

Monica

The versatile blogger award

Wow - Lucky me! I am delighted to receive this award from two great crafters:
 Bea at http://beadeesblog.blogspot.com/ and Fiona at http://beehivecards.blogspot.com/ 

Thanks so much for the joy - no wonder I love blog land! Full of loving, caring and sharing.

I am supposed to share 7 things about my self  in order to receive this award. I think most of you would be bored to death by now about my waffle with each and every post... But I will give it another go:

1. I have a dream to write a book ( I know I have mentioned this earlier on and not much has progressed since then... Somehow I feel that by putting it down in writing I just may move a step closer to my dream!) Lol!

2. I am one of those people who cannot be compelled to do something that I do not enjoy doing.

3. If I like something I cherish it for dear life... and if I don't I quietly walk away.

4. I have met the nicest people through blogging and it has become the most pleasant distraction of my life... so much so that I am busy blogging away when I should be getting cards ready for my charity batches.

5. When I go out to the cinema or for dinner with my family, I always carry some crafting tools in my bag - that can be off putting for others, you know but certainly not for me. Lol!

6. I have to order new craft cupboards as I am a bit fed up of the plastic drawers I use at present.

7. I cannot imagine that I started working at age 17 and gave it up at age 32 to have babies and tend to them.  Crafting helped me stay overboard and provided the most delightful stimulation for my mind. One day I hope to take my charity crafting to another level.

I'm going  pass it on to the following wonderful, wonderful bloggers who have changed my life for the better:

Sandra - http://rosepetalcreations.blogspot.com/

Shirley-Anne - http://shirley-anne-stampingforjoy.blogspot.com

Leigh - http://charitycrafter.blogspot.com/
Lynn - http://creativecraftsbylynn.blogspot.com/

Kym - http://kyms-crafty-cards.blogspot.com/
Sylvia - http://happycraftytimes5.blogspot.com/
Katrin - http://katrin-hobby.blogspot.com/
Monique - http://naturallymecreations.blogspot.com/

Aud - http://hippieaud.blogspot.com/ 

Terry -  http://terryeo.blogspot.com/

Sandy - http://angsandy.blogspot.com/
Helen - http://helenmade.blogspot.com/
Iram - http://artscraftsnhobbies.blogspot.com/

Catherine -http://catherineshandmadecards.blogspot.com/
Andrea - http://andreajbpiecesofmine.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth - http://nuttysnews.blogspot.com/
Beverley - http://isastampingoodtime.blogspot.com/
Cameo - http://blissmadedesigns.blogspot.com/
Susan - http://shogan03-timetoplay.blogspot.com/


I would be delighted if you could visit these awesome blogs and leave them some love. You will be the richer for that, I promise.


Just a small foot note - in case anyone does not wish to pick up this award for any reason, I understand ...



Hugs,

Monica