New Year, New Beginnings!

Hi all! 

A happy New year to everyone. I have been away from the blog for a long time... almost a year. My new year resolution is to craft more & share more 😊

Today I am sharing a birthday card I made.

I am also entering this card for the Tic Tac Toe challenge 029 #tttc029 and I have chosen the top row: Stamping, Die cut , White.

I cut a bright white cardstock using Doodled Lace Cover die by Altenew. Adhered it on a hot pink paper. Then I stamped & heat embossed the sentiments with black embossing powder on a strip of vellum. 
Secured the vellum strip with double sided tape to the back of hot pink paper. Added some diamentes to the card as well as on the vellum.  Mounted it on a not-so-bright base. Added pink glitter strip on the card base that was showing through.
Here is the final result.
PS: I know I should be investing some time to do better photography next time :)
Take care!

Rainbows & Layers

My entry for Artful Crafting Challenge # 13

A Rainbow Explosion Box :)

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/05/challenge-13-layer-it/

Where in the world is my glue?

Hello Ladies (and girls  , and guys?)

Up for some crafty tips? Here goes....

Tip #1:
I usually buy my sticky-things like glue bottles, double-sided tapes, 3-D tapes in a pack of 6.  I also bulk-buy acetate sheets, black sharpie markers and glitter bottles.

What happened was, it seemed i had lot of everything but in reality i was using things haphazardly. So i had 6 nearly empty bottles of glue, a quarter tape on every roll & so on.....

This went on for quite sometimes because i had no idea what to do..... Then one day i had an idea .....
Now , when I buy anything in bulk, I put a number on all things from 1-6.  I don't use bottle/roll marked "2" unless i have emptied the "1".
And when i reach #5 , I know it's time to go shopping!

Tip #2:

I don't own a diecut machine & buy them from my lovely crafter friends. There are times when there is not enough time to order & I am short on diecuts.... For those rainy days I keep some diecuts as templates. While you can't hand cut doilies....... Oval frames, tags, butterfly silhouettes, can be traced and hand-cut.

It's time consuming but hey! We all started with a pencil, ruler & a pair of scissors...... No harm getting back to basics sometimes!

Happy crafting
<3

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/01/crafty-kick-start-2016/

Inspired by craftykickstart16 again!

Hi again,
Here comes my second post.....

After watching people creating all those lovely master pieces with distress inks in #craftykickstart16 , I was just dying to buy them. And i did it this month :D

The Ranger Distress mini inkpads are economical and you get so many shades. Plus there was a valentines sale at artful crafting so I just had to shop. These are the things i got:

Aren't these lovely?

Then came the distressing part & I was distressed :(
All the tutorials seemed so easy and here i was with a blotted piece of paper.

Then I thought spraying some water will give it some effects...

Still not impressed......then i gave it one more go, this time I added more colours and blended with more force. Misted the paper with regular water spray bottle (forgot to order a mini mister :P)  this time it worked :D

Then I distressed some more..... (see , I am showing-off my new stamps  too :D )                                                                                

Loving my new inks , watching Tim Holtz videos and practicing. Taking it slow & steady ...... 

Thank you for joining me :)

Take care!

My shopping list:
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/stampendous-perfectly-clear-stamps-3x4-love-thoughts/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/unity-cling-rubber-stamps-sweet-on-you/
rtful-crafting.com/shop/crafty-impressions-clear-stamp-hugs-kisses-2x3/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/distress-mini-ink-kit-13/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/distress-mini-ink-kit-8/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/distress-mini-ink-kit-7/
liquid pearls,
dotted essentials cardstock
american craft cardstock,
rangers glossy accentsstencils by heidi swapp
stencils by Crafters workshop

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/01/crafty-kick-start-2016/

Inspired by Craftykickstart16

Hi everyone,

As the title shows, this post is inspired by the #craftykickstart16 . The last day of January , still its better late than never :D

These are my go-to tools & stamps:

A metal ruler
Paper cutter
Acrylic block
Ranger Black Archival Inkpad
You are the best stamp set by Hero Arts
Thinking Of You stamp set by Inkadinkado
Flower stamp by studio g
Scallop punch by EK Success
Lace border punch by Martha Stewart
Fiskars circle cutter

The sentiments stamp sets are just LOVE!  These have almost- ALMOST every sentiment that we usually need.

Flower stamp gives a nice effect as a background as well as the main element when stamped with bold colours.

Lace punch & scallop punch are so versatile that we need one whole post for it :)


Fiskars circle cutter comes in handy all the time. It can cut circles from 1" diameter to 8" diameter & is super easy to use.

Archival ink is very easy to work with. I like bold, black outlines so its perfect for me.

Acrylic block is a necessity offcourse!

This paper cutter has been my friend when i did not know there were all sorts of punches , trimmers and cutters out there & its still my best friend <3



PS: next post coming up before February starts :D

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/01/crafty-kick-start-2016/

Magic Slider Card for Artful Crafting Challenge # 8

Hi everyone,

I have made this card specially for the Artful Crafting Challenge #8 : Water Colours (missed all the previous ones due to my laziness :/ )

It's a Magic Slider Card and it goes something like this:

Made a card base for 5*7 inch card, then cut a piece of watercolour paper & Acetate sheet a slightly smaller size. got a butterfly & floral motif for my card (those old embroidery books are a treat since i don't embroidery that much now )                                                                                                                                        

Copied the image on my watercolour paper, coloured it using regular watercolours. added a cubism background. 

                                                                                         

 using double sided tape, I taped the acetate sheet & paper together, then added clips on each side so that it stays on top firmly. then traced the motif on acetate using a permanent marker. so it looked something like the above picture.

added a rivet to tie ribbon.

                                               

Inserted both the panels, covered the base with black craft paper. added yellow brads to ensure the slider only slides and doesn't come out :) added sentiments, some handmade flowers and a die-cut butterfly to complete the look.

this is how the card looks when pulled out:






Hope you like my work!

PS: I should really post more often, I am finding it quite enjoyable :D

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2015/11/challenge-8-water-coloring/
                                           

TCE 2014

Hi :)

I displayed my work at The Crafter's Expo 2014 this december. it was so much fun meeting people who love and appreciate art and handmade. I had been preparing for 2-3 months but never had the slightest idea having your own booth is so much more than just making cards!

The things i needed were:

* a panaflex for my booth
* visiting cards
* shopping bags with my brand name
* plastic seal envelopes
* a log book
* a notebook for taking orders with the customer's mailing addresses
* a LOT of change
* large price tags ( i had four price ranges)
* mints
* tissue box
* trash bag
* stands & boxes of different heights to display the cards effectively
* tapes,stapler, common pins, thumb pins, safety pins, some stamps & inks, markers,        scissors etc.
* an effective social media campaign (through facebook, twitter, instagram & whatsapp)
* 2 helpers
* a good camera to take pictures (which i forgot)
* A good night's sleep (that we crafters can never get a day before the exhibition)
* don't forget your cards at home in all this mess :P

hope this checklist helps you.

and here's a picture of me at my stall at The Crafter's Expo 2014

Happy Holidays
&
Happy New Year