Q & A - Silhouette Cameo .

Here's a few QandA that I got for my previous Cameo intro post! These answers are not the end of the world. These are what I think is necessary. You may have different needs and use out of your machine. Use my advice as a guide and go along with what you need!

Q - What else do I purchase with my silhouette? What accessories are necessary?

• Get an extra blade and a replacement mat first. So that when you do have problems in the  middle of a project you are not stranded.
• A dust cover for you cameo. 
• As far as tools are concerned, I would say, you can get the scraper tool. For the rest I use local alternatives. A palette knife to lift up my designs off the mat instead of the silhouette tool. I don't use a hook. I do have the Quickstick but I don't really like it that  much. 
• If you want to use pens with your Silhouette, get the new pen holder. It has 3 sizes and can hold any pen that you have!! 

Q- Where can I purchase the images to cut with my Silhouette?

• your first option is of course the silhouette store. You can buy the designs for as little as 99 cents. Or you can buy a subscription to the store so your image cost falls to 50 cents or lower depending on your subscription. During sales you can buy them off for 25 cents if you have a subscription. 
• BUT READ FIRST - If you want to use your silhouette for commercial reasons, that is if you want to use the files you get from the store and sell those products that you make, you need to buy a commercial license for that design. Which is roughly 8$ per shape. 
•  OR you can use free images, don't just Google ( because Google will show shapes which are not free and you may run into copyright issues), find images that are marked free for download and then trace them and use them. If you can design your shapes, that is even more awesome!!! Stay away from Disney shapes. Disney chases people with a vengeance. I have read of several Esty shops being closed for issues with copyright.  
• If you have the Designer Edition of the software, you can load cliparts, free Svg files and tons of image and trace and use them. 
• SVG files are available at a lot of places, some give out daily freebies and some weekly. I won't list out the sites, you can just simply Google Free SVG files and you will get a ton of them. Make sure they are free before you download them.

Q - Where did you I buy my silhouette and what did I pay for it, how did I get it here?

Funnily this was the most asked question. I got it directly from Amazon during the Black friday sale for 199$. I had it shipped to a local USA address of a friend who has an export import business. And he had it shipped to my address along with his cargo.

But that does not mean I got it shipped for free. I had to pay about 6000 INR for shipping and customs.

The sole reason for opting from Amazon was that I was getting a bundle. I got an extra mat, an extra blade, a sketch pen set, a Quickstick and 10$ gift card. 

And Amazon ships faster. My order arrived within 10 days to India (which was thanks to the quickest shipping I've ever seen thanks to my buddy) During the same time, Silhouette America was offering the same bundle for 229. And they ship slow. So while my Silhouette reached India, many people in USA were waiting for their Silhouette to be shipped out even after 10 days of placing their order on Silhouette America website. 

Unless you can have someone bring it for you (Its a big box and weighs around 11 pounds) it will be too costly to ship it directly. Unless you have a jugaad! My advice would be to buy from one of the Craft stores in India. Shalini mittal at Crafter's corner can get one for you.
Q - What is the difference between the New Cameo and the old?

• The main difference is the control panel. The old has a button system, the new has a touch screen. 
• The old Cameo is grey, and the new is white on the inside so some markings are easily seen. 
• And there is a holder for keeping your blades. 
• The old one could take and SD card and you can take your machine somewhere else and cut the design with that. New one, uses a USB so there a some better options for this. 
• Other than that, there is absolute no difference. You can check this post for a more detailed difference and pictures of the new vs. old. 

http://joyslife.com/new-silhouette-cameo-2014-compared-to-original-silhouette-cameo/

Q - What is the difference between Cameo and Portrait?

• The size of the mat it can take. Cameo has 12x12 mat, which means you can cut a 12x12 sheet of paper, the potrait is compact and takes in an A4 sheet of paper. 

Q - What do I do if I don't get proper cuts?

• That is an extensive topic. There are a lot of things to consider if and when you don't get proper cuts. The paper, the settings, the blade settings, the cut setting, pressure settings, and the packet size. 
• You can always email Silhouette America, they are the best to help
• Or you can join the Facebook Silhouette groups. They are the most amazing bunch of ladies who will help you out in a jiffy! This is one of the good ones 

Q - What kind of paper to use?

• I love Fabriano Elle Erre paper for its crisp cuts. 
• Also the Campap Whites 210 gsm
• Campap Black 120 gsm ( Good for layering)
• Multipurpose 160gsm (Works well with layering)
• Bazzil if you can get your hands on it. 
• You can check other colors on Campap over here. Its where I buy from.

If you do use any other brand, make sure it is not fibrous. If it is, it will stick all over your mat and will leave an ugly fuzz when you lift it off. 

Q - What is Vinyl? Where do I get it?

Vinyl is what is used in signboards, on your card number plates. It is what I've used on my Cameo. You also get Heat transfer vinyl with which you can make t-shirts and clothes. But I am still trying to locate the local sources for it! Any shop that does custom T-shirts will be able to help. But as I have come to know, We are a weird race. We don't like sharing. They will not tell you where to buy it, they will not even let you buy from them. Weird weird people!

Finding vinyl is not easy, but not hard either. You just have to go bug the local signboard shops for vinyl. I bug my cousin who has a signboard and design shop!! :P Lucky me right??
I am checking on ebay and there are very few who do sell, but you can try there too!

IF you find any links and would be happy to share, please do. It shall benefit everyone!


Q - My Mat is no longer sticky? Do I need a new mat? or Can I fix it?

First of all DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BLUE COVER OF YOUR MAT. COVER YOUR MAT WHEN NOT IN USE. ELSE YOU MAT WILL LOSE ITS STICKINESS IN ONE WEEK. 
  
You can fix it.

first try washing it with soap and water and let it air dry, It should get sticky again.
If it still doesn't work, you can use the Scotch Re-positionable spray. Tape your sides down and spray it. This Spray is available with Anandha Stationary stores (just email them)
or Pick buy it online from here 

Head over to this link to see the step by step of how this is done! 


So that concludes my lengthy post! Still have any questions?? Shoot them in the comments!
And if you found this helpful, please pay it forward by helping someone else!

till the next post,
Tee

Book Review - Nirbhaya And Other's Who Dared

First off the bat, let me clear one thing. This book has nothing to do with the Nirbhaya Case! The title is a little misleading, but once you start reading you will find faint echoes of the same case resonating through each story.

 

 (Click on the image to buy the book right away!)

 This is a book of 22 stories of Women. Women who dared to be different, to change from who they were all their life!  Some are inspired from real stories and some are real stories. Author Kusum Choppra has very clearly and without the use of superfluous words brought home the point with each and every story.

Each story revolves around the woman. She is the central character in each of the stories. She has various names, she comes from a different strata of society, she lives in a different part of the country, but every woman in each story has one thing in common. She decided to stand up for herself.
Even though we call ourselves as being in the 21st century, the mindset of people, men and women have not changed.
The woman is still considered the weak link. A burden for the father, a trade off to the boss for a higher position, a meal ticket, a punching bag, a caretaker!! And what not!
But there comes a time when you have had enough and you have to decide ..ENOUGH is enough! And that's what these women did!

Its heartwarming in some places, its shocking and some stories will make you cringe! But the essence is the same. They Dared and they decided to stand up for themselves. They rebelled against the so called rules of society and decided they wanted to live for themselves.

Is it a must read. I would say, if you like a little dose of empowerment..do read it.

Just a little drawback according to me. I wish the author had started the narratives differently. It just takes a bit of re-reading to know what the story is about. Maybe that was her intention, but I didn't like the narration style...starts abruptly. Guess it comes down to my habit of perfection. It was different enough for me to take notice of that fact!!
 But the ending!! Ahh! Each story ends with such a bang..even a small sentence sounds like a loud clang! Wake up sound kind of! That part I really liked!

Its one of the more different books that I've read. Different. Totally. 

Silhouette Cameo...Info Post

I thought its high time I did a post on the Silhouette Cameo...I've probably answered 50 mails and endless whatsapp conversations about this nifty gadget.

Simply put its a digital die cut machine. But it goes beyond that...If I sat down to list what all you can do with it, it would take me days. But lets get down to basics...

What you can cut - you can cut thick paper upto 250 gsm...I don't advocate 300 gsm because the machine is not built to handle that much pressure. But I have cut 300 gsm...but with a nifty trick. More on that later.

• Scrapbook paper
• Printer paper
• Cardstock
• Thin chipboard - like your cereal boxes 
• Fabric
• Vinyl
• Adhesive paper
• Transparency etc

This is vinyl I cut with my Silhouette and decorated my Cameo with! 

What else can it do - Replace the blade with a pen tool and you can fake a very fabulous handwriting with your Silhouette.

Print and Cut - Using it in conjunction with your printer, you can print the design and then feed that paper into your Cameo and it will cut around the design.  CAMEO does not print .. only cuts what you've printed... Saving you the trouble of cutting it by hand! Nifty eh!!  It does require a bit of software handling though...but easy once you get the hang of it.

What kind of designs you can cut - If you are a graphic artist or can dabble in Corel or Illustrator, you can cut any image on this earth. But if you are like me...you still can cut any image on earth.
Silhouette comes with a free software and free 50 designs to start you off. (The new Silhouette comes with 100 free designs )Then there is the Silhouette Online Store that has tens of thousands of images that you can download and use.
Most of these designs are priced at 99cents. During sales, they drop to 75 cents, sometimes 50 cents.
And if you buy a 3, 6,12 month subscription to the store the price per image can drop to 10cents too. Depending on your subscription.

Now- there is a Designer Edition of the software, which is basically an upgrade to the free software. It allows you to trace images, use .svg files and host of other features which I've yet to play with. But I use the tracing and svg feature the maximum.
What you can do is trace any vector and get a cut any image you can Google....There is a fabulous 8 part Youtube on tracing . Worth checking out.

This is free image I found on google and traced it to get the ECG line...had to play around with the file for while before I could get it correct...but it works!! 

Another set made with designs from Sihouette Store..the rays, the flowers and the banners...only the sentiments are stamped! 

There are host of graphic artists who design free svg files and you can download and use them. The internet and the Pinterest world is full of free designs that you can search.

What you can't do in Silhouette -
You can't cut glitter paper - Well actually you can cut American Crafts Glitter paper, but that will dull your blade faster. If you are cutting glitter paper, its better to keep that blade exclusively for glitter paper.
You cannot emboss. Not like you can in your die cut Machines. 
There is an engraving tool that is supposed to work, but I haven't tried it.

So what's the downside?
1. The first thing people crib is that they have to keep buying mats and blades. Its not like a darn trimmer where you have to buy a blade every 4 months...unless you are cranking 150 cuts a week...then you need a shitload of blades and mats.
I have had the same blade for almost 8 months...the same mat for 8 months...but I have a re-stick spray which I use every 3 months and the mat is as good as new.
Because I haven't used a whole lot of variety of cardstocks, my blade is good. If I used fibrous cardstock, my blade would have gone for a toss. I use just a standard few brands of cardstocks and that keeps my blade from wear and tear.


2. The learning curve for the Silhouette software is a little high, but not hard.
There are millions of tutorials and amazing amazing groups on Facebook that jump and guide you in a second. I love love those Groups. Absolutely free of negativity, and oh they love to share! Love those ladies!
I have always suggested to those who ever approach me about whether to buy the silhouette, download the software first. Its free to download even without the machine. Watch tutorials and play around with your software. Then buy the machine. Download the software here (scroll to the bottom and on the right is the Legacy Version. That is what I use. You can try the Basic Edition V3 if you are a little brave)
Coz I do know a lot of people who have just jumped and bought the machine and then don't use it because the software curve is high or they just don't know what to do with the machine once they get it.

Its not like your Big shot where you don't have to think. You need to know what you want to cut and how the design to look before you cut.
You need to figure out what kind of paper works for you, what kind of settings for the blade work for that paper.
If you think that's too much headache..its not for you.
Its kind of like getting to know someone ... what works, what doesn't work, how to trick it to get it to work for you...kind of like getting your boyfriend to do the work while making him think he is the boss!! hehe!!

So I'll wrap up this post here....and part 2 will have answers to whatever questions you have on this post!!

Toodles!! Till the next post!

P.s. I'm happy to answer questions and do some research. Because it widens my horizons, but please don't be so lazy that you just post the question and expect me to answer without you lifting a finger. If you want to buy a Cameo you at least need to know what the Cameo is. Read up, watch videos and use Google. After that if you have queries , feel free to ask me. I'll be happy to answer. But after all this big gyan you come and ask what is a Cameo....sigh....

P.P.S I am not going to compare this with other digital die cut machines...Simply because I own only the Silhouette Cameo. I'm not going to buy another one, so I'm not going to read up on The Brother Scan -n- Cut, The Cricut Expressions 2, The Cricut Explore etc. Unless you want to send me another one and have me compare!! I'm all game!! (Bwahhahaa!)

Experiment of a different kind...

First of all, let me thank you for a the abundant wishes on my birthday!! I was totally overwhelmed at the number of messages that kept popping up on my Time line. Thank you so much for that.

A surprise cake at our dinner date!!

But after that day..I disappeared off Facebook. I wanted to stay away from it. And hence the delay in thanking all of you for my wishes and hugs and blessings you showered on me.

I've been restless since a while. At some point I thought it was depression, and then it dawned that I was restless because of Facebook. Strange as it may seem, even that might not be the correct reason. But I wanted to test the theory out. So on my birthday, I decided not to touch Facebook for 10 days. What Followed was amazing, as if the Universe had decided to honor my wish!

Festivals followed, and then my vacation. Second day into my vacation, my phone broke down. And so I was off Facebook, Whatsapp and everything social. Third day of my vacation, my watch stopped working. I had no clue of time, since hotels don't have a clock. I love that about a hotel... no need to watch the time.

View from my hotel room!! Sheer bliss!

And by day 5, I was so much at peace. I had so much time to ponder, reflect and decide how to change a few things around me.

I had been addicted to Facebook and recently all I found on it were the bitch wars, the bullying, the putting down of  people. Even though it is a means of social interaction, most of what I saw was bullying, mocking,  condescending tones in comments. A personal experience left me very very hurt and thus my decision to pull back from Facebook. I am going to give it not more time that I need to be there. Check for my favorite people and log the hell out.

The sharing part was almost non-existant. If someone queried a tutorial, despite them learning from someone else, they refused to share. And that made me mad and sad.  And these were people I thought I knew. Where crafting was a way to connect with other like minded people, now its a power game. It has become a way to make money...and there is no passion in it. A hobby without a passion is just a business. Each to her own. But that is not me. Will never be me.
Thankfully I still have some real awesome gem of people I call friends and who are more than happy to share their passion...and that is what I will love about them, honor that and cherish them for being who they are!

And this restlessness was also the reason I took a break from crafting, from my DT commitments.
It is strange that something like this can affect me so much. But it did and thankfully opened my eyes...and it made me dig deep into my soul...and probably showed me a new direction. I've just found the road, I still have to walk on it...but I will. Anything that brings me peace...I hate the restlessness.

I'm going back to good old days of blogging and checking blogs, rather than checking on Facebook and liking it and leaving no comment.

My biggest regret is that despite having 100+ wishes from friends who are crafters, I did not get a single card in the mail. But then that blame comes to me too...I haven't sent out any myself this year despite it being one thing I wanted to do. So lets see this year how I do....

Things will be different. That's for sure! but some will remain the same!

Like my love for doing reviews, and answering boat load of questions!!

So that's it for my Experiments of a different kind!! What do you think??

Mixed Media Canvas

Though I made this in August, I got around to editing the video today.

I had just a rough plan how I wanted this canvas to go and just went with what I felt like doing at that time!

Since this was my first ever canvas, I was sure to make mistakes. I would have been shocked had my first attempt been perfect!!

So go on, enjoy the mistake and then see the next one that came out well!!

       

The one that turned out right!!

       

Please leave any questions or queries in the comments!! 

Product review - Crackle paint and Shabby Embossing enamel

Just thought I'd share this post here too..

 Today I'm showcasing two products in one Video and hope that you like them!

One is the Ranger's Crackle Paint...I'm using the Clear Rock Candy...you can see all the colors we have in the store here! You get them in all the colors of the distress ink plus a few more...like the metallic colors in Brass, Pewter and Bronze. Then there's Clear and the White picket fence.

So on to the next product that I'm talking about..
The Frantage Shabby White Embossing enamel...this is one of the coolest embossing powders ever...Check out the Video to know more...

                         

Here are some of the close ups of the projects and crackle effect I show in the Video..

This is the flower with small crackles because of the thin layer of paint

This is the flower with the larger cracks because of the thick layer of crackle paint on it!

Hope you enjoyed the Video and please leave any comments or queries below..

Much love
Tejal

Playing with Watercoloring!

I finally sat down to try and experiment and do something for me for a change....no orders, no dt commitments ... just simply me having fun.

So since I have been watching the Watercolor class day after day and playing a little at a time, I decided to jump in and do an actual project..
Enter the no-line watercolor...Sounds hard but not that difficult. Once you get to know your paint brush well, the results are spectacular!

Also, I opted for another watercolor medium. I didn't like the actual watercolor because they will always dry lighter than when you put them on. And I don't like the pastel, faded out look!!

 Khush I blame you for the Govinda keeda you've put in me!! I like bold and bright things now!! Lift off this curse so I can do something pastelly!!

The 1st attempt is on 200 gsm paper...2nd on 300 gsm
 
So the Color medium I used is the Camel Transparent Photo colors. I used, literally one drop of color and I still had color left after coloring !!! It still will need practice, but its amazing being able to play with something and feel good about it!! Especially if you aren't good at it!

 You can try this with watercolor pencils too...but getting this brightness is impossible with traditional watercolor mediums. My favorite in Watercolor pencils is the Staedler Luna 48 set

Also for the paintbrush, I used the large barrel Koi Sakura Medium tip Waterbrush. (this is a set of two brushes..so you could share it with a friend)  I don't really like the small barrel brush...I don't like its grip...but you can use that too, if you like it! Here's the link for the small barrel medium tip brush

The paper...Its heavy...but oh the way it holds water!! I simply love it! Brustro 5x7 sheets of 300 gsm paper..

I did try with the same watercolor paper but 200 gsm...doesn't hold too much water...it warped a bit..will be trying again with 200 gsm with a bit of less flooding of water on it! Also they have some Artist watercolor paper...I'm going to buy and try..and review those too!

Oh and if you want to try it, here's the Video for it!! Thanks for sticking around till the end...see you soon!!

Much love
Tejal

Baby Announcement boxes

I've literally lost my mojo for crafting and hence the long hiatus from crafting. I am working on orders but I haven't really done something for myself..just for fun!! And that is going to change soon.

But for those who follow me on Instagram..if you don't you can follow me here..I had posted a couple of sneak peeks of what I was upto. And I thought it was time I posted something here too!! So finally I'm blogging...and hopefully regularly.So here's what I put up on my Instagram

This was my first ever attempt at a bulk order. I had never done one before and just to know how to do one, I took up this one!! As Richard Branson says....Say yes first and figure out how to do it on the way!! And that is literally how I did this!

 An image which I  hand cut..200 times!!

 Dual colored ribbon bows....

And double layered scalloped tags..stamped and embossed. These tags went on the chocolates inside the box...sorry don't have a picture of that!

And all of these finally combined to make these box toppers..

Its a little hard to see in the picture..but the blue label is embossed too...something to tie with the scalloped tags inside.
The green tags are printed at home, on my (FINALLY I HAVE A COLOR PRINTER) Epson L-120. anyone need a review??

And that's the long and short story of what I have been upto this whole month!! I'm planning to post a few posts a month..and then get back into the regular groove...

See you soon!
Much love,
Tejal

Getting to know me Bloghop

GOOD GOD!!! my blog has been inactive for 3 months!! That shows either I have been too busy or too lazy!! I think the latter!!! I think there are lot of changes that need to happen...starting soon!!!

Ok, so back to the topic of this blog post. Getting to know me!!! Sindhu tagged me for this fabulous little hop!! It requires me to answer a few questions about me...and in the process you get to know me..
And if you haven't checked her blog out, you have to!! She has mastered the art of CAS Cards...she has totally found her niche and I love her ability to explore and push her boundaries while still staying true to her style!! Drop by her blog and you will see what I mean...She can use a large background stamp or a Resin or a Charm or a tiny stamp and turn the card into something marvelous!!
Check this post for example....when you think of Die cutting, you would think ornate cards, and
over the top embellishments!! And see how she surprises you!!!

So getting to know me...
What am I currently working on?
Currently I'm in the middle of my first bulk order. I was more curious as to how the process goes..and when I got the chance I jumped and said "yes". Though it is extremely repetitive and once you have finalized the design, there is nothing but cut, copy, paste. More than the order or the work flow, I am learning more lessons in how to manage bulk orders. No one can teach you those!! And I will be happy to share those lessons with you!!!

Featuring some cards to break the monotony of just reading my essays!!! :D

Why do I write/create what I do?
Card making was just a silly hobby I had before I got married. Those days I was (still am, but rusty) a working Physiotherapist. Card making was an excuse to do something other than treat patients. Something Just for me.
Then marriage happened, cities changed and I didn't like the work options here. So picked up the hobby again, just to keep myself busy. Then a friend asked if I could do a scrapbook for her. And when she said she loved it, it felt like another door had opened. I've never looked back ever since.
And now I cannot imagine myself in a hospital or a clinic.
Being Creative and making beautiful things soothes my Libran spirit more than I ever knew. And also the joy of bringing a smile on the face of every recipient...that is what my soul craves for!

How does your writing or creative process work
 It begins with what I need to express with that card or scrapbook. Once I have that fixed, then I hop over to my Pinterest board to find sketches or color combos or even try to CASE cards. Even then, it takes me over a week to envision a single card....
Scrapbooks are easy ... most of the photographs give me the flow...I can make scrapbooks faster than I can a single card. My Scrapbooks have photographs as their main focus, not the embellishments that I own, or the dies I can pile on that page. If they complement the photo, I will use them. They have to convey a story, a message. Each and every photo. That is the basis of every scrapbook I make.

How do I become inspired or stay inspired?
Mostly my inspiration comes from all the new techniques that I read up or see on Youtube. Every night before I sleep I spend 10 mins ( I say 10 but it could be an hour too!!) surfing Pinterest.
Some say surfing too much Pinterest kills your mojo. To each his own I say. 
-> I bookmark some tutorials, I make a mock copy and then change something about it when I try it. ->There are some artists that inspire me on a daily basis, one of them being Jennifer Mcguire, Laura Denison, Kathy Orta, Gayatri, Yana etc.  I love surfing their blogs, their videos and I love how easily they share their talent and are generous. They are my main source of Mojo!
->I continue to learn. Everyday. If I find a term or technique that I don't know... I will read up on it!! That keeps me on my toes!
 

How does my work differ from the others of its genre?
Simplest to answer. I do not compare. Each one has their own style and method.

How long does it take to create a project?
Depends. I can make a scrapbook in one week and a card in 5 days. I'm a terrible terrible time-keeper. I can never keep deadlines, and I get bored very easily. While doing one project, I may get idea for another one...and I will ditch one to do the other...and it continues!! You get the idea!! :p

 What are my favorite things I love to create with at the moment?
Stamps, Stamps and more stamps. And If I talk of the most favorite brands, it has to be MFT leading the show, with Papertrey ink, Hero arts and Mama Elephant right now.
Then of course I love accent glitter...any kind of subtle glitter shimmer! Wink of stella, Stickles, and glitter embossing powders.
I'm hoping to go crazy with some textures soon...that's my next obsession.

 What is my signature style?
Style..none ...but signature element- Butterflies and glitter. I usually add them to every project.
As for style, I usually get bored soon of one style...so one year I will do CAS, then get bored and jump to over embellished cards, then get bored and just do scrapbooks. So there's isn't something that says, its my signature style! But butterflies and glitter should point you in my direction!! :D

Thanks for reading so much!! If you are still with me, thank you!! I do hope to post regularly from now on...

I have to Tag two more so you can get to know them....

Saumya... I have to tag her....she is someone you will love getting to know....I cannot describe her in one word, I need a whole dictionary to do that. I love her boundless need to know...similar to mine..and her willingness to try something new every time when it comes to crafting. Be it kiddy craft, be it bulk orders, scrapbooks or mixed media...she can do it all, with flawless ease!! Sound like a case of hero worship?? It is!! She is simply brilliant...head over to her blog next week to read about her!!

I will tag Khushboo but she is already been tagged, never-the less...I cannot go by without tagging you!! someone who made me love bold and bright colors...for that you have my eternal gratitude!

And you have to meet this crazy girl...Erum...I have known her since my early days of crafting, almost 8 years now!! (oh my gosh..)..this girl has a way of turning colors and rules upon their head....her sense of color is simply amazing...and can she play with textures??  Simply brilliant... Every card, scrapbook, Cardini she makes, I message and tell her...I'm going to copy that!!
You have to stop by her blog or her Facebook page and check out her work!!! I've finished all the adjectives in my dictionary when it comes to describing her work!!

So I'll stop here...and let you take a breath!! I tend to ramble when I start typing or talking. My phone bills are proof of that!! :D

Going 3D with box of notecards

Today I'm sharing my project for Crafter's Corner Challenge - Go 3D. For this month, all month long, you shall be getting tons of inspirations and projects and tutorials using the WRMK punch boards.

I'm playing with the Envelope Punch board and can I tell you how much I love it!! Its simply fabulous.

I've made a set of note cards and the envelopes and A box to hold all the cards. It was made in a jiffy with the Envelope punch board. I can't believe I waited this long to get it!

 Here is the note card...with the envelopes and the box I made... it took me more time to cut the files on Silhouette!!
The card is completely silhouette made! The sun rays, the roses and the label. Only thing I used extra is stamps from Simon says and Avery Elle for the sentiment.

 I used an extra rose to create a stopper for the back flap of the envelope box. All 3 cards and 3 envelopes fit with enough room to move!

And here are the 3 note cards in all. All are 5x5 in size. I do hope you like them.

Do head over to the Crafter's corner blog to see what my fellow DT's have made...and join in the fun...

if you have any queries...feel free to email me or leave a comment.

Girly Photo Display Flip Album

..that is another mouthful!!! Hello and Happy V's day to all! Just popped by to share another Display Flip album. The last one was a total Masculine version...This one is as girly as it gets!!
Flowers, butterflies and pearls and swirls...its got all!!

Leaving you with the pictures...lots of products used...will list out most at the end, if you want to know anything...leave me a comment! Here is the link again to the tutorial... I kept the dimensions same...the smallest page is 4x5 and the largest is 10x5.

It has the same base stand that I made in this album.

 The little blue tab is a hidden sentiment.

 The best cut sentiment ever....love it!!from the silhouette store.

Supply List
Paper - Floral stack- DCWV
Dies - Rose creations, Tessatina Border, Floral flourishes, Fleur di lis squares, label 17 spellbinders
Stamps - Fiskars - Memory 8x8, Hero arts, kaisercraft.
Flowers - local plus some RAK's
Butterfly - again a gift. 

See you soon!!

Musical Birthday Card

This is the last of my backlogged posts...that never got done....This project was made way back...In August...and I didn't blog it....Gaah!!

It was to be for a guy who loved music...and it had to be huge!! so This is a A4 size card...yeah..bigger is always better...or so the clients seem to think!!

Each piece of the guitar is hand traced and cut from a free image on Google.

Background was made with my favorite sprays .. Mistries From Die Cuts and More.
The music stamp is from Kaisercraft..one of their texture stamps...

And I did use real wire for the strings! some beading wire.

The Happy birthday and Rockstar is a die cut...from cuttlebug baby face alpha set.

And the stars are glittered and topped with glossy accents!! The whole guitar has an outline of silver glitter pen!!

Hope you liked this Larger than life card....Do let me know if you have any questions!

See you without any more backlogs! :)

Stencilled..Bonus Class

I'm taking this AWESOME Online Card Class called Stencilled...and it is amazing...beyond amazing...
I have always been intimidated by stencils...and this class makes it look so easy!!

I love the fact that they are willing to share so much of their knowledge... and its not just in classes...even on her regular blog..Jennifer inspires and teaches so much on each and every post.

No one can inspire me like she can....I have to give an example of their large heartedness.... the class runs for 4 days...and most of the videos were shot before the CHA happened. Yet, because there were new products that would work with this class, Jennifer made a bonus video just to share that info..  Show me one person here who has that big of a heart. Anyway...that is digressing from the point...

Here is the first card I made coz, I just had to. Its Jennifer baby...she inspires and I create! This is a CASE of the card she showed on the class today. I wanted to make cards for day 1, and 2 but being a weekend, I just don't find the time!

I just have two stencils...and this is one of them....and I love how the card came about...and its so easy to mass produce!!  After clicking the picture, I saw that the heart was a bit wonky!! ah..what the hell...its handmade!! :D The perfectionist is taking a back seat for a while!!

Base is 6x6 from a card kit on sale at Hypercity!!  Of all the places...200Rs. kits from Itsy bitsy being sold for 40Rs.!! With envelopes! Score!!

I am absolutely in love with my new Wink of Stella Glitter Brush pen....this is with the glitter and a layer of glossy accents on top!

To give a faux chipboard look and feel to the die cut, I have layered 5 layers of the die cut...I think you can see under the B, S, O.

Any questions...shoot below!! See  ya soon!!

Home Decor Project - Hanging Photo Frame

Having posting everything to Facebook these days, I often forget that I've not posted it to my blog.

This is the second Hanging Photo Frame I have made! This was made in December and I still haven't  posted the first one as yet on my blog...but it is up on my Card Shop Blog...you can check it out there...and if you have any queries, feel free to email me or leave a comment. (if you leave a comment, please make sure to leave your email address else I cannot get in touch with you! )

This was a custom order for a friend.

Individual pictures.
I have loved using my Perfect Layers Rulers in this project...As I love having the perfect mats!!  And this tool didn't disappoint!

Loads of supplies have gone into it...so if you need something specific....please email me...

This was soo much fun to make...and I'm glad I was able to send some sunshine and smiles to someone!!

Standing Flip Photo Display Album..

,,,phew!! That was a mouthful of a title!!

So...(do I begin everything with Soooo!!?)  I have challenged myself to blog everything I make before I post pics on facebook...and also to go and comment on at least 10 blogs in a week...more is better....
I feel no one reads blogs these days....its the world of just "Liking" everything and leaving everything else unsaid. I realized that just "likes" don't boost the confidence of a crafter...its the little comments at the end of the post that mean the most....Sure it will take effort on my part...but I'm going to blog more...encourage others to blog more....its more than just sharing your creations...its about sharing who you are and where your creativity comes from!!
Phew...I wanted to say these words since soo long...laziness came in between...not anymore!!

This Photo Display Stand is made from a tutorial from Marla at Lake Avenue Designs..check here for the complete tutorial..  No ribbons, no butterflies, no flowers and no laces... would that make it easy or hard....!! You decide!

I have changed a few things.... My pages measure 6 inches across instead of 5 in the tutorial...I wanted more space...And I made my own base to keep it standing...pics to follow..

This is how the Album will stand...I adore the sentiments....They are from Technique Tuesday..Incredible...I love Ali Edwards beautiful handwriting fonts!! The main happy birthday is a file from Silhouette store...and the background shape..Couture Creation die from IB Store...Cupcake from PTI

So each page flips over to reveal a photo under it...

Here's the first flip....I've kept the embellishments, the extra nonsense to a minimum...bcoz I wanted the pictures to be the highlight of the album... not my supplies or my dies!

 And this is where the arrow points too..I wanted a cheeky way of saying the sentiment, but hiding the main word at the same time!! I don't know if that makes sense to you!

I loved creating this page...cutting the letters out with my new toy...Silhouette Cameo!! It is awesome!! I mainly wanted it for the titles...I used to get fed up of not having the perfect font dies or the time I would waste in cutting individual alphabets one after the other....This baby is so worth if only I ever cut out alphas all my life!! :p

This photo was so adorable, that it needed its own Polaroid frame...so this frame is handcut! yes..I do use the scissors now and then!! :p
Stamps from Lawn fawn..my silly Valentine....Stars from MFT- Stackable stars

Again embellishments to a minium....the photographs speak a thousand words...and I wanted them to be the focus... The Say Cheese is again cut from the Silhouette Cameo... The red Tabs are MFT bracket die...the are small pullouts for secret messages (wink wink!)

And the last back page....

I wanted something cute and whimsical on the last page...this is the back page. The banner is a SC cut file.. Stars again MFT...bike is a Lawn fawn stamp - Cruising through life.

This is where I made my own changes....The tutorial had a ribbon stand...I made it my own way....

I made this stand and this is how the album will stand.... if you need a tutorial...leave a comment..and I will make one for you...

So this is how the whole album came about...In 3 days...its a record of sorts for me!! :D

Any queries about any supplies or for making it...leave a question with your email...I can't answer if your email isn't connected to your blogger account!

See you with more backlog posts!!