Scrapbook Mini's!!

I've been MIA for 3 weeks..and its not a good thing...felt so lost being away from my blog. I'll show you what kept me busy!!I had to do two albums, one for a baby and one for a friend. I loved the whole process and someone said it recently to me, making them is addictive. I finished making them and now I have nothing to do...I feel strangely vacant. Making cards...well got some birthday cards to make so you'll see them shortly!

Here's the cover of the Friendship Scrapbook mini..for more pics of the album pages, go to this page

And this is the second album,

 The center is left empty for the baby's pic.  There is an acetate sheet covering the front and back pages.
The alphabets are die-cuts so generously sent by Juhi..(love you girl!) Even though its a boy album, the alphas are glittered with pink glitter and glossed over! They look fab...

Here are some pages of the book....I won't be putting up the pages that took me the maximum work. Simple reason, I've had people copy my work without crediting me. And I don't like that. I will credit people who inspire me and I would love to thank Laura for her beautiful videos. She can make scrapbook albums like no one in this world can! She's truly an inspiration! Check out her videos.. her albums...way out of this world!!

The first page, for the pregnancy photos, ultrasound pics.

This page has the birth details and first photo of the baby!

There are two pages for each month of the baby's first year and this is the last page, for the first birthday.
There are tags as the mother wanted to attach keepsakes to them. So there you go, this is what has kept me so busy...should be back with more cards soon!

I'm so dying to buy some new toys/supplies for my birthday..but can't decide on what to pick. Stamps, distress inks, punches, twinkling h2o's, prisma pencils!! What is not on my wish list are Copics..i can do without them. I can do without all the stamps in the world, but some like hero arts..yup..those I love..
Its a bit tough to figure out what you need versus what you want.

Would love your feedback on this album!

Crafty JC Challenge #3 - Inspiration Challenge.

Welcome to the 3rd Challenge from Crafty JC Challenge! I am so honored to be the DT for this month along with Sudha and Khona. It has been a fabulous time for me.

This month the Challenge is "Inspiration". All the 3 DT will have one inspiration photo for you to choose from. I have 2 cards to share with you today! And we are being sponsored by none other than Karen's Doodles.The prize for this challenge is 3 images from the fabulous collections at Karen's Doodles.

Here is my inspiration photo for this challenge. Its a card from one of my very sweetest blog friend Michele Kovack. She was the one who filled my collection of wood mounted stamps! A wonderful person, a super mom and a wonderful,wonderful crafter. She too loves glitter as much as I do...

I would love for you to step by her blog and say Hi to her...Here is the card by her and there is a tutorial too.

I have loved this card for its glitter (no prizes for guessing that) and the vibrant colors. I chose to take the rainbow as an inspiration and create my own.

I used the cut-n-tuc templates to create the rainbow. Sun is from Tiffany's Doodles- a freebie.  I used glue and gloss on the acetate sheet to create the rain. After all you can't have a rainbow without the rain and the sun!! The clouds have been lined with silver pen (literal silver lining in the clouds!!)

Loads of martha stewart glitter! yumm! (ignore my finger in the corner)

The second card is with an image generously given from Karen's doodles. I chose to pick these Birthday Penguins coz I found them to be the most happiest! To be honest I had a tough, very tough time picking an image to work with..they're all so gorgeous!

Here I chose to keep the rainbow theme and used 5 colors in coloring the card..and the cupcakes in front are in the rainbow colors and I knew I had hoarded that rainbow ribbon for a reason!

Glitter and glue and gloss!

I hope you like my DT cards for this challenge and I would love to see what you can create with the inspiration.

Just some simple rules :
1.Pick anything you like from that photo, the colors, the shape, the theme...and show us your interpretation.
 Do mention which photo inspired you and what inspired you. If you can put up the inspiration photo along with your card, that would be great..but not necessary.
2. Make sure its a new project.
3. Link it up on Crafty JC's Challenge blog. 
4. And as my favorite blogger says, Have fun!

I've kept my chatter to a minimum today.. I wanted to go on about how I created these cards. But since there are a lot of pictures today, the banter goes down!

Supply list

Rainbow card:

Fabriano CS, OHP sheet, Cut-n-tuc template-circle, Sharpies for coloring, Memento-tuxedo black, sentiment-Heart and soul rubber stamps, Martha Stewart glitter, glue and gloss for the raindrops. Clouds hand cut- and watercolored. Lined with silver gel pen, Black ultrafine Sharpie

Penguin card:

Fabriano Academia CS, Faber-castell watercoloring pencils, hobby ideas glitter in shimmer ice, glue and gloss, rainbow ribbon -a RAK, small cupcakes and sentiment- Inkadinkado Cupcake stamps.

Cut-n-tuc templates/Coluzzle

This is post no.3..please scroll down for older posts..

This is just a post to show my cut-n-tuc templates, what is called the coluzzle in the USA (they have been discontinued in the USA). I've got a lot of queries as to what it is or how I use it. But I can show great photos, so this is what it looks like. Its pretty easy to use once you get it in your hand. There are a load of videos on youtube if you want to see how it works.

1. The foam mat is what I had with me, from my Parchment kit. What you can use is those packing materials sheet, usually white in color, similar to Styrofoam. You stack your foam mat, then your paper and then the template and then cut.
Tip - Do not use your cutting mat as a foam mat, you will not get perfect cuts. It needs the foam mat to push the knife into the grooves.

The foam mat on left is from Shilpi, and one of right is the one from my parchment kit.

2. Now my multi-colored template. Its a tip I learnt form SCS (splitcoast stampers) It makes sense to color every groove else you start at cirlce one on right and circle two on left. Trust me, I've done that..it makes it easier for you to remember which circle you were cutting or need to cut!! I used my Sharpies since sketch pens won't work. Fear not you can use those OHP permanent markers to line them too!

These are the other two templates that I have. The oval still has to be used..hence not colored. I do have more fancy templates too, but these are ones I use the most..

3. The rotating knife/swivel knife- pricey but a must. I've tried other blades but the grooves are too thin and a straight blade, while helping you to cut may scratch the grooves of the template. Smita reminded me to add this bit, you get refill blades for this knife. Since it gets wedged between the two groves, there is a good chance you will break it. (I'm on blade number 3 right now). Most importantly, direction of the blade in the groove is very important. Keep the sharp edge of the blade in the direction in which you are cutting. Should minimize the breakage of the blade.

If there are any more questions, bring it on. I'd love to help you as much as I can.
And no they aren't paying me for this. I wish they would!

All of these can be found at your nearest Shilpi store and if there isn't any near you, they are more than happy to send it to you at your home address. Here is their email (sales@shilpi.com). Their website is down as of now.

Scrapbook mini

This is my second post for the day...scroll down for my first post! 

You've all heard me whining for so long that I'm trying to finish my mini..its finally done...at this point I don't have much to say...(but you know I still will say something) Mind you, these are only some of the pics...

The front, still going to be embellished

Pages 1 and 2, the page on the right is a pocket with a tag.

This is the mini tag.

the tiny pink flower peeking, is a mini tag too..

So these are just some of the pics..love to know what you think of them. I hope my friend likes it. Though she is more interested in her baby's album which btw has not even seen the light of the day..and she arrives on 23 of this month!! Is it any wonder that I've got headaches most of the week!!!

And then there are some peeps that I want to hug, literally if I could and since i can't, {{{A virtual Hug}}} Jaya and Ujjwal, love you girls..Thanks for sending me such amazing blog candy...wanna see what Ujjwal sent me?

It is like paradise for me. All that glitter, punches, flock, stickers, paints, handmade embellishments! Thrilled beyond words girl..Thank you so much!!

And this is what Jaya sent me..(yup peeps I can smell the smoke) I'm a lucky girl what can I say!!

(This photo is from Jaya's blog)
Thank you girls so much!!

Glittery Cupcake

Hey people, its been a long break for me. 15 days since my last post..working on a few projects that took all of my time..then family was visiting..and so on forth...to cut the long story short, I'm back with a card..
It was such a pleasure to work on a card after so long..I've been working on scrapbook pages for 3 weeks non-stop..and they never seem to end..no matter what you add, there is always something to add...and being the finicky perfectionist that I am, it adds to my work.
There's so much to share, I'll be dividing it into two posts, one tomorrow..

On to the card, this card is based on two challenges, the Card patterns's sketch #81 and Crafty JC's 1-2-3 challenge...
It all came together pretty fast...my newest Inkadinkado cupcake stamp is what I used..every stamp on this card is from the same set. And that gorgeous doily is a RAK from Juhi..you rock girl !! Thanks so much!!

Loved how this turned out. The glitter that I used on the cupcake took my breath away..This glitter was sent to me by Jan and I've been hoarding it ever since..(a year back)  it shimmers! I don't know what kind of glitter it is,but I want some more and also need a fine tipped glue pen for this... Compared to this the hobby ideas glitter looks like chunks! that's how fine this glitter is..

I loved how the PP tied up nicely with the white dots I put around it..The sentiment looked too bare with just the word sweet so I gave some dots around it. I have to admit, it looks nice! The rose with leaf trio is stamped on the pink CS with Versamark.

Ok, that's enough about glitter..not enough? ok one more shot of the glitter! :)

This photo does not do it justice..IRL it is much more pretty..
The roses next to it have the hobby ideas glue in ice shimmers.

Next up, I wanted to show my ATC's for the month of August. The theme was orange, white and green. And Butterflies had to be there...this was very very simple, took me more time to print this than put it together. Images are colored with Sharpies, are glossed with glue and gloss. Backed on a black CS. The white flowers are colored with very light grey..just for shadows.

There is a different way of assembling this butterfly..if you're interested I'll show you how. the second wing on top is popped up with a foam adhesive.

Here's a shot to show the gloss..

That's it for now..will be back with photos of the amazing candy I won from Jaya and Ujjwal and the album that has driven me nuts. I will still be MIA for a couple of days as i try to finish the bigger album..but should be back with Crafty JC's 3rd challenge.

Supplies:
Cupcake card
Pink CS - Fabriano, Black memento ink,Rose bud memento ink, sharpies, Ultra fine glitter, hobby ideas glitter-ice shimmer, signo white gel pen, rhinestones, versamark, PP from Itsy bitsy(sweetheart)

A blog award

Smita passed this award to me. Thank you so much girl...Really appreciate it.. I found  her through the comments on Dina's blog. Imagine finding your neighbor on a blog of someone outside the country!! Such is the quirkiness of life..

Now I need to pass this award on to SEVEN favorite blogs. Its tough but here's the 7 peeps

1. Priya 
2. Manasa
3. Shraddha
4. Jaya
5. Michelle

That's all the peeps I can think of..rest all of them have this award on their blog, if you feel i've missed out on you...please add this super badge to your blog!!

Thanks a ton Smita for this..

Butterfly wishes!

This post is a mix of the bad and the good..lets leave the bad for the last...The good part...I won the first ever CraftyJC's challenge! Yay! Sooo excited..and I get to be the DT for the 3rd Challenge..excited and nervous already!Thanks Jaya for this wonderful opportunity.

Just made a card yesterday night..I had seen this card making kit in Hobby ideas and I loved the colors it had..so wanted to make it..first tried with punched out butterflies..nope..then with punched out daisies..nope..then had to turn to this handcut butterfly...yup..worked perfect..The card kit that I had seen had long petaled daisy.
Also used some recycled corrugated sheet. Loved the effect it gave. Started to hoard cartons and boxes after this card...Hubby thinks I've finally lost it..:D

Here's the card

Woo-hoo! It seems blogger has finally fixed the issue..Love the clarity of this pic..good going blogger!!

Yes! I am showing off my new Apron lace Fiskars border punch..its a super toy..and yup..its wanna made me buy some more..any suggestions as to where to buy the cheapest from? 

Just a close up of the card.

Been busy making my scrap book album..long way to go..Its my first attempt and its not easy...Hats off to those who make it seem so effortless.

Now for some bad news, we didn't win in the Paperworks Challenge. It wouldn't have shocked us or upset us so much if the voting process had been clear from the start. The voting process had loopholes, and at the beginning of the voting process we were told, the total votes will count. At the end when we asked them to clarify the votes, the public votes counted only for 50% of the votes..It feels so awful that we stayed up at night till 3 am (some of us really did) to finish the cards since we were fighting with their time zone advantage too and not make to the top 3. Really bummed!

Anyhow, it was a learning process..I love that 4 of us got to share such super camaraderie, send texts in the middle of the night..bite nails waiting for each others cards and loved the encouragement of each team member! Here's a toast to the fab 3 team mates..the best I could ever have! Cheers to you girls!

Photo courtesy -Corbis.com

Supplies:

Fabriano CS, blue and green lightweight CS, pink ribbon-local, pearls-Itsy bitsy, glitter-hobby ideas ice shimmer and blue shimmer, paper flowers - Rak from Heather, Sentiment - Heart and soul rubberstamps, blue ink- Memento Bahama blue.

OLW#17 - Using borders

Its been a long two weeks...the first week went in biting my nails for the Paperworks Ultimate summer challenge!! And then, in traveling to meet my family in Mumbai, and then the voting process..checking the votes was the first and the last thing I did in my day!! Before I jump into my post, let me thank each and every friend that voted for my Team. All my friends on every networking site and all my friends in the blogging world..Thanks a ton..

It sounds like an award acceptance speech!! Last post I was canvassing and this post I'm thanking!! Though the results are not out yet..but hopefully we made it to the top 3!!

Ok, now coming to the post..this weeks One Layer Wednesday was to use border stamps...I had two stamps, but then I saw Donelda's post about using wheel stamps and I realized I had those too..9 of them! two unmounted but of no use..to cut a long story short, I use two of the wheel stamps that I'd bought ages ago from hobby ideas.
Aligning them to run straight, big problem..used my scale as a guide and still managed to ruin 2 cards! This is the 3rd attempt..

Added colors with my Sharpies, some glitter and gloss on the centers of the flowers. that's all to it.
Sentiment is from Stamping Bella which I got from Dawn! (Hi!!)

Since I love how this turned out, I made another..

I love the sheer Simplicity of this card..such a pretty wheel and such pretty colors.. added some glitter and gloss on the wings of the bee..colors with sharpies. Sentiment is from a Studio G dollar stamp.

See how pretty the gloss looks!

Blogger has been constantly ruining my photos..at least ruining the clarity of it for a past few weeks..anyone know how to fix it? The moment I put the photos into the large mode, it  blurs..I hate it especially when I take so much pains to get a sharp clear shot.  Here are the same pics on Flickr, pic 1 and pic 2. See the difference. Its the same pic, uploaded to two different places!

Well that's all the banter from me right now..been organizing my stamping stuff..since I got more stuff, don't have any place to put it..so re-organizing. Spent hours cataloging my clear stamps..so much fun..and then my wood mounted stamps..and now time to arrange the accessories (everything else other than stamps, paper and inks)..can never have too many of them..phew! need a room for all of this..

Just made a new page with a peek into my crafting supplies. In case you're interested you can find it below my header or click here..

Challenge #4 , final project...Voting begins

This will be a sticky post....

Voting begins...

I'm showcasing all the projects so far...so that you know which projects to vote for...

First project was by me (Tejal)...Sketch challenge..Here's the card..

Second project was by Smita, for the color challenge

Third was the inspiration challenge, done by Spardha 

 Final project and a very fabulous one at that..was by our team captain, Shalini 

So these are our projects....Here's the link to the voting page..and call every available friend to vote for us..Indie Stampers!!!

 VOTE HERE

Search for Team Indie Stampers and vote for each person in all the 4 categories!


28th MST midnight the voting closes~
Thanks in advance for all your love and votes!! Appreciate it more than I can say!!

My box of goodies

Please don't be jealous..I just love sharing my happiness and so am sharing my goodies that have been here..My dearest friend was kind enough to send all of these with her mom...yay!!

I love the way Frugalities packed my goodies..this was packed inside a bigger box...and yay! I finally got my heat gun..now to try and not to burn it..again!!!

I placed this order when they were having their 49% sale..so all of these is half price..can you see the little candy next to the huge jar of MS glitter. Pictures on the website are so deceptive!!

This was my first order(before the 49% sale, still these were 15% off) I'm a frugal shopper..won't buy unless its on discount..plus I love their flat rate shipping..3.99!!..can someone see their jar of perfect pearls..will be on its way to you shortly...and my oh so lovely inkpads!! there is more candy (literal candy) in this pack too..plus the beautiful penny black 12x12 sheet of blue that you can see...now for some more detailed pics...

These are my brads, embossing powders, my huge jar of Martha stewart glitter, and my 12 inkpads..

d

I finally have my very own cupcake stamps, and hero arts stamps!! the top two are by inkadinkado.and the last pic..promise not to bug you more!

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Apron lace punch, corner rounder, clear embossing powder, candies!!

And quite a few of you are looking for binder rings..Manasa has found some at Venus traders in Pune..I'll try and get the phone number of the shop for you..these are what she sent me..two sizes..

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That's all. Will be back to showcase Shalini's entry to the PWCO challenge...You girl rock with all your support and love...Thanks a ton again.