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

Its all about Mothers feeling Special!!!

Hi everyone,

Long time ...really really long time.....though I have been crafting a lot ....I have not been blogging about it....and I thought  I should rectify that, so here I am with the promise that I shall not only bring all of you to speed with all my projects....I shall also be a regular  at blogging from now on. 

While I was away from the blogland, a lot of things have happened in life and I was burning myself with coping with them and their aftermaths.  From a steady growth in craft business start up, to a friend going through a major surgery to personal life crisis etc etc. But we shall discuss those stories on another sunny warm day over a cup of coffee....for now,  lets move on to the Mother's Day projects I bring to you today.

PROJECT 1:

The quote was the easiest to choose and went very well with the concept I wanted to showcase. She literally lights up my world. Be it our fights or our discussions or our gossip sessions....they light up not only my but my family's world too.

I have painted the glass jar with Mod Podge Sheer  Aqua Colour and allowed it to dry in the sun for a day. Post which I coated it with Mod Podge Sparkle and again a day of sun drying. While preparing for the project and its drying time, I had kept the quote cut in vinyl through the help of a dear friend ready. Post the Sparkle Mod Podge layer all dried up, I got the vinyl cut quote transferred to the bottle. The cap of the bottle is painted with black chalk paint and post a day of drying a layer of Mod Podge Sparkle was painted over it.  I then had a battery operated LED copper string of lights that I inserted into it to turn it into a mood lighting lamp. 

PROJECT 2:

This project is a Pinterest inspiration and what attracted me to it is the use of actual buttons. My childhood has been all about wearing the stylish frocks that my mother stitched after getting inspired from the then hottest selling english magazine "Women's Era". In the 1980-1990's, they featured a lot of English Ladies and their dressing styles which got my mother attracted to their styling. She not only stitched my frocks but also took care of my school uniforms/school cardigans/ scout and guides uniform/ my odissi dance costume etc etc. I hardly knew a tailor in my life. My mother was my go to tailor and knitter. So buttons and frills where a special part of her stitching and knitting journey. Hence, this project was close to not only her heart but mine too. And its true, Mothers do hold us together like 'BUTTONS' ...

I first got a customised box frame made and then inserted a nice but subtle pattern paper which would not take away from the beautiful colorful buttons which were then put together from my stash collected over the years. After putting back the frame together I put the quote (vinyl cut, thanks to a dear friend) over the front of the glass frame and coated it with some Sparkle Modge Podge. Now you may wonder when there's vinyl why coat it again with Mod Podge. Well, for two reasons.

1. Too obvious, I just wanted it to be doubly secured as I was to ship it out and didnt want to take any risks in case the vinyl peeled off.

2. The coat of Mod Podge helped blurred the contrast of the moving buttons behind. Due to glass the colours and shapes of the buttons were too distinct and distracted my line of sight/focus from the quote. And while the buttons are an integral part of the project, I didnt want the focus to go from the quote and this step helped me with that cause at hand.

PROJECT 3:

This picture is special, very very special. This was taken in the December of 2017. The entire family was assembled together after 5 long years since my marriage in December of 2012. (We three brothers and sister stay in different parts of India and World and manage to tag along sometimes but someone or the other is always missing  -be it the spouses or the kids or one entire lot of family). So I decided to not only do a layout for it but do a layout that can be framed and kept on a table top for easy access rather than on a wall hanging at a distance. 

The Layout is done entirely from the Craftreat's new release paper pack called 'LIVE TODAY' and the frame is a market bought wooden frame which I have painted with Home Decor Chalk Paints and Crackle Medium. 

If you want to see the step by step making of the layout, here is the link below. This was a project I did as my DT Post. 

Back to Basics  (Link for Step by Step Procedure)

PROJECT 4:

This is again a simple card I put together with the same paper pack to write a short and sweet message to my Mom and tell her how much she is loved and thought of by the whole family. 

PROJECT 5:

I loved making this and this was a real fun project  too. I have been eyeing this design for ages now and many people in my social media friend list have attempted it before I could and for different art forms but that did not deter me from going forward with the execution of this project. I asked my family members to recall a word that they would associate with Mom and send me back on message and then I put it together with their names below . Yes, every mom is a supermom and they should believe in their superpowers (their attributes ...their kids and their grandkids) That's what this project is all about. 

I stamped this super girl image from Craftangles (HNDMD.in) and die cut it. There was another image of a flying supergirl, I used that image to partially stamp it to create the fist movement behind the popped up super girl ( with the help of a double tape).  The paper used is Canson Watercolor Paper and the images have been colored with Zig Clean Watercolor Brush pens. 

Hope you enjoyed the projects as much as I did making it and blogging about it. Do share your links in comments if you have a Mother's Day project too. I would love to visit your blog and read your stories and see your projects. 

Happy Crafting 

Saumya