Fairy Tales +Add your Own Twist at The Twisted Cahllenges

Hi Everyone

Am overwhelmed with the number of participation at the The Twisted Challenges September Challenge and this month we are again here with a super interesting topic for our 5th Challenge.

Fairy Tales take you to a dreamland, a world you want to believe in.  They have their own conventional thoughts, myths, prejudices and this has remained intact for all these years. We thought of creating and adding a twist to these age old tales in our own way. 

Eg:- Snow White in the actual fairy tale was poisoned by her step mother with an apple. Keeping in minds the contemporary times she could have been poisoned through coffee so you could illustrate that scene from the fairy tale but instead of an apple the Witch Queen could offer Snow White a coffee mug. 

Having said the above, the scope of adding a twist is immense so shake yourselves up and rack your brains and while you do so I shall tell you the premise of my project for the said theme.

In India, be it fairy tale or reality, a fair skin has its advantages. A family wants fair skinned daughter in law for their son. As a part of the television industry, I see biases to have a fair skinned female lead unless the story revolves around a dark skinned character. Terms 'Beauty' and 'Beautiful' are in many ways synonymous to fair skin. All age old fairy tales have fair and beautiful princesses and fairies and witches are dark and ugly and hence I decided to add a twist to this very old and outdated thought process through my project.

I have knowingly coloured the existing fairy tale princess in all skin tones from fair, wheatish or brown to black and emphasised on the thought that beauty is not and should not be skin deep. We always say it 'Beauty lies within a person's heart' but in the real world dont actual practice it all the time and hence it is important to change the way we think. And also start young with our kids to instill in their minds that Beauty and Fair Skinned are not and can never be synonymous. I just hope that the publishers of these Fairy Tales also realise the mindset they might be influencing in young kids by making most princesses fair and labeling them beautiful.

To depict the powerful message in a softer way, I decided to make it like a poster or framed wall art that could very well be a part of a kid's room. The frame is handmade with cardstock with the help of Elizabeth Craft die. I have then taken some Disney stamps with the fairy tale princesses (from left to right-Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Snow White and Cindrella) and stamped them with Versafine Black ink on Canson watercolour paper.

The image has been coloured using Zig water colour markers and then fussy cut. I die cut a banner on a cream cardstock to carry the sentiment. The sentiment is handwritten. All images have been attached to the frame with double sided tape to given them dimensions.


Hope you like the twist I have tried with the fairy tales and join us at The Twisted Challenges  for our October theme.

Happy Crafting

Saumya

Celebrations +Monochrome at The Twisted Challenges

Hi Everyone,

We have arrived at our 4th Challenge and when I look back I feel immense happiness at the response we have got till date. 

This month we have  an interesting challenge at The Twisted Challenges.

Celebrations with Monochrome may sound a bit off and some of you may wonder, how can one show celebrations with only one hue and its shades and tones. But thats the challenge, and to support it we are allowing neutrals -black, white, cream, grey and kraft in minimal use. 

I for one was super excited with the theme and wanted to challenge myself further. I chose to work with the neutral colours we have allowed, as at the end of the day some of them are pure hues after all!

 I chose the colour BLACK. Yes, you heard me right and I am celebrating 'Teacher's Day'. I have a couple of young teachers in my life and through this challenge am celebrating one of them.  It’s not always about learning from elders.... sometimes we find ‘little teachers’ in our life walking in heights shorter than us but thoughts higher and far more pure  than us.

This is my niece Ananya Kaho Mohanty, and this photo is from my 2015 trip to Hong Kong. She has grown up not only in age and  height but as a person too. My recent trip to Hong Kong showed me a far more responsible, competent and caring person than she was 3 years down the lane. She showed me and taught me that patience is the key word and that being happy is the most important thing. Things may go wrong and will always go wrong but being happy in whatever you do is the most important attitude one can adapt. This teaching was worth noting and celebrating and hence for my sweet and young 10 year old teacher, Happy Teachers Day. 

The florals are stamped images which have been coloured using Zig markers (Blacks and Greys and water only)

The butterflies are stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. And a lot of stenciling has been done across the page with Catherine Pooler inks with shades of black and grey.

I have layered some pattern papers behind the photo mat to create more tones and shades of black and grey 

The sentiment down has been stamped with Black Versafine ink on white cardstock mounted on a black cardstock.

The sentiment 'World's Best Teacher' has been stamped with Versamark ink and white embossed and I have used Uniball white pen to create the stitched border on the banner of the sentiment.

Hope you like this project and join us at The Twisted Challenges for our September Challenge.

Happy Crafting

Saumya

Go Bold+Replace Me at The Twisted Challenges

We are here with  yet another challenge with a twist at The Twisted Challenges.

This month's challenge is 

So we need a bold sentiment to be the focus and the twist is to replace atleast one alphabet with an image. 

As this month is also the Rakhi month (In India, sisters tie Rakhi at their brothers hands to emphasis the love and bonding between them) I decided to make some Rakhi cards with above theme for my brothers.

These are single base card as in like a postcard and have no opening or as we say inside of card element. And I have added my Rakhis for my brothers on the front of the card itself.

I have taken the sentiment "Happy" to be my focus (Bold sentiment) and replaced the alphabet 'A' with a smiling girl standing and waving!!!

In this card my focus sentiment is "SMILES" and I have replaced the 'I' with a Teddy Bear holding a balloon with a globe design on it. The globe balloon actually worked so well for me with the overall sentiment - Sending Smiles across the Miles signifying that the card was coming from one part of the world to another. 

Hope you like my creation and join me in The Twisted Challenges. 

Happy Crafting

Saumya

Fathers Day Gifts

Hi Everyone,

This is a long pending post from the Father's Day. If you have my previous Mother's Day post you know that I gifted my mother some gifts that hold memories to my brothers and my childhood. I have tried to do the same for my Dad on Father's Day too.


Project 1:

My Dad loves gardening and flowering plants are his favourite, so much so that he is forever clicking photos of his garden and sending it to us on the family group in whatsapp. If he spots a beautiful flower in social media he send that too. So I decided what better that give him a handmade table pot so that he could plant a small succulent or flowering plant for his working desk. So I bought a plain white pot from the market and decoupaged it.

Project 2:

Front View

My Dad loves going for walks and carry a juice bottle in case he gets hungry or needs energy so this was an easy choice of making a medium sized insulted bottled with the art of decoupage for him to take along for his walks.

Side View

Back View

Project 3:

My Brothers and me have learn Table Tennis thanks to our Dad and we totally owe it to him that he took time from his job to teach us the sport and emphasised on practice and that though now days none of us play the sport regularly but we do remember how to play it and play it decently well not to embarrass ourselves. My Dad is still plays the sport at 78!!!

So I got the TT bats made in MDF and decoupaged one with red flowers (as he loves flowers) and the other one with playing cards. Playing cards is another sport taught to us as a family entertainment by our Dad. Everytime I visit them after lunch is a family card game time and believe me when I say its a serious business cause they are real fights and people get upset if the partner makes a mistake .....hahahha....

I have then added a message for my Dad from all of us on both the bats. The black one has a hand written note. The red one is scrabble tiles and MDF cut out. Also for people who know the Table Tennis sport know that the usual colours in a bat is black and red so the colours were not a tough choice.

Project 4:

Crossword solving everyday in the newspaper was another favourite activity as a kid and one that still is practiced by all of us. My brothers have started that practice with their kids and I do it alone or sometimes with my husband. So each one of us  chose one word that best described Dad to them and I compiled it in a cross word puzzle and did an image transfer .

The flowers are decoupaged.

Close up of the Crossword

 I hope you like the projects and let me know what you did for your father's day gifts.

Happy Crafting

Coffee Under the Rains

Hi everyone,

Today am sharing my Mid Month Inspiration for The Twisted Challenges -Tea/Coffee with Rains.

Yes am sure the title itself must have given you a peek not only into my project but also into my list of most favourite things! 

Coffee and Rains definitely works for me and if you have read my previous post you know my body contains coffee instead of blood....I love picking up a book and sitting by the chair sipping coffee and enjoying the nature....but the other half of me also loves sipping her hot coffee pot in the open park. Yes, its lovely to carry your own coffee mug to the park and sip on it while it rains. Our park has a small sitting area and I carry my picnic mat to lie down and carry a couple of books as the nature can be really inspiring.

I have tried to collect all the above elements of my favourite things to put it together in my project in the form of miniature art. I have been wanting to try my hands at this art form for a long time and I finally gave in to the temptation.

The girl is a cute Stamping Bella Stamp, coloured with zig watercolour markers and fussy cut to suit the design. The backdrop is a pattern paper from one of my favourite brands Echo Park. 

I have created two layers of vellum clouds by die cutting them and adhering them to add depth and dimensions to the project. For the same reasons I also have two layers of grass die cut and adhered.

I added a succulent from Itsy Bitsy and Deco Stones from Immix (Expressions Craft) to give a bit realistic feel to the outdoors that I wanted to create. The books are from Dress My Craft collection and the coffee mug charm was locally bought. 

The rain drops have been created with the help of different sizes of clear droplets from Letzcraft.

I am entering this to the following Challenges:

Double D Challenges

Addicted to Stamps

Thats Crafty Challenges

Coffee/Tea +Rains at The Twisted Challenges

Hi Everyone

Am sure by now all of us are experiencing the Rains in India and Mumbai rains are super famous for all the trouble they create. But Mumbai rains are also a lot fun. People step out with family and friends on flooded streets to get muddy and play football....I have seen this happening only and only in Amchi Mumbai!!!

                                      Well this months challenge is Coffee/Tea +Rains.

Apt for the month isnt it? Rains and Tea with pakodas .....yummmmmm....but am a coffee addict (Cut me anywhere and I shall bleed coffee...hahhaha) so my theme is Coffee +Rains.

Since the topic is so close to my heart I made it around me...my personality and what I love making the most Bookmarks !!

Lets look at them individually:

Bookmark 1:

This one is just 'ME' ....Coffee, Books and Rains is just the perfect combination for me to be in bliss and heaven. All images are stamped and coloured. The poor girl has been cut in two brutal pieces to give the effect of she sitting in a coffee mug reading a book. This was a standing image of a girl  reading a book. I have extending her legs to form the 'bent knee' illusion with my Mitsubishi Uni Pin fineline pen. The Rain drops is a stamp from Altenew Dancing in the Rain.The sentiment is also from Altenew Dancing in the Rain. The cup image is from Jane's Doodle and the girl is from Penny Black-a day in Paris.

Bookmark 2:

This design is an extension of my dream/wish/fantasy to swim in a coffee pool. All images are stamped and coloured and again the poor girl has been disrupted from a serene pool bench and brutally cut in two halves. Since she already had her knees bent I didnt have to do the extra bit here. The sentiment is from Altenew Dancing in the Rain. The cup image is from Jane's Doodle and the girl is from Penny Black-a day in Paris.

Bookmark 3:

This design is again an extension of 'ME'. I love coffee and people who know me will vouch for this. There was a time I was seen in any and every cafe in the town ....just sitting and sipping a hot cup of coffee reading a book or script (when I was working in media) or just ideating with designs to craft or holding my meetings (again when I was working in media). Since last year I have reduced my coffee intake to a great deal and my visit to cafes to almost NIL. I started on my healthy living trip with Yoga but the temptation hardly dies...right? So I love this image of yogic frog from Stampendous slyly eyeing the tempting coffee mug on a beautiful rainy day. The sentiment is super true in my case with regards to my love for Coffee and it belongs to Stamping Bella Tiny Townie Rachel Loves The Rain collection. The coffee mug is from Penny Black-Mocha Moments. The window with rains and city backdrop is from Altenew Dancing in the Rain collection.

I enhanced the rain drops with a silver Uniball pen and a little bluish ting with the help of my Zigs and kept the skies and city purely dull to emphasize the sentiment and highlight the yogic frog and coffee mug.

Bookmark 4:

Rains and Romance go hand in hand...call me chessy or filmy I believe in that. So I have highlighted that element through the coffee mugs and heart image. The sentiment is from Altenew Dancing in the Rain. The coffee mugs are from Lawn Fawn and the heart is a punch cut out with some glossy accents to highlight it.

I gave a colour wash to the city backdrop with pastel colours and the rain drops have been done as mentioned above

Hope you like the inspirations and play along with us this month with the theme at The Twisted Challenges

There are other designers too who have some great inspirations for you. Do visit them and leave them some love at their blogs.

Happy Crafting
Saumya

Its Florals with a twist at The Twisted Challenges

Hi Everyone,

This is one of the mad hatter out of the team of three "The Twisted Challenges" team. We are a monthly challenge blog with our first challenge this month.

For our opening challenge we have florals as the theme..... but wait......did you think we would keep it as simple as that for you? Well no, we love challenges and hence we decided to add a twist to it. 

Theme for the month of June 2018 is :

Checkered Florals

So what kind of projects can you create...You can create anything...yes anything! No restrictions on what you create as far as you stay true to the theme and follow the rules of The Twisted Challenges

As a part of my Inspiration for the Challenge I have created two projects with two different techniques. Please also note that both the cards are aimed at men! One for a nephew who recently did extremely well in his 12th Boards and another one for my dearest Father on the occasion of Father's Day. Who said Floral cards were not for men....both the men in question love flowers and the addition of checks surely gave the masculine touch to it.

Project 1:

This is a simple card using the technique of layered stamping.

I have used a Kaisercraft Mini Background Stamp-Arty to create the checks on a white cardstock with the help of Catherine Pooler Ink and over that stamped a layer of Watercolor Roses from Hot Off The Press Stamps using the Versafine Onyx Black Ink.

I have die cut the sentiment "Congrats" from Winnie and Walter dies and adhered it to a strip of vellum. The strip of vellum allows me to give depth to the card along with maintaining the focus at the sentiment and yet allowing the stamped design to peep through the translucent sheet.

Project 2:

 

 This card showcases the double stenciling technique.

Step 1:

I have taken the Craftreat Layered Rose Stencil and with the help of a washi tape attached it over my white cardstock. I then traced the design with a pencil. 

Step 2:

I then layered my Memory Box Texture Mesh stencil over the first Craftreat stencil.

Step 3: 

With the help of Inks of my choice and daubers I starting dabbing over the Texture Mesh Stencil. Due to the rose stencil being below the texture mesh stencil, the inks created checkered patterns in the shape of the flower. 

Step 4:

I then created the leaves around it in the same way following the steps 1 to 3.

Step 5:

Using my 0.2 Black Uni Pin Fine line Mitsubishi Pen, I retraced the outline I had made with the pencil. 

Step 6:

I have then layered the colored cardstock (Craftreat Double Sided Cardstock) and pattern paper (Papericious) as per desire to create the card.

Step 7:

To complete the card, I stamped the sentiment on a black cardstock using Versamark Ink and heat embossed it with CTMH Gold Embossing Powder. 

I hope you like my inspiration. Please do not forget to visit the The Twisted Challenge blog to see what the other two team members have created and leave some love for them in the comment section. 

Also share your own creations in the Blue Linky tool provided at the end of the challenge blog. You could win a goody bag from our sponsor ...so what are you waiting for....grab your supplies and show us your crazy ideas on this month's challenge theme at The Twisted Challenge Blog

Lots of Love and Happy Crafting

Saumya