I have moved

I have been having many issues with blogger of late. I am moving to http://kreativityandme.blogspot.com/. Please bear with me till I am able to set it up properly.

Cheers,

Smita

I am back!!

Well, finally!! And about time too... Ok, for those who don't remember me (guess most don't coz I have been missing in action for a long time now), I am a cardmaker from India. I love crafting (no needlework and knitting though) when I have some spare time... I got into card making quite accidentally never having thought I could pursue a craft so seriously. This blog is my attempt to bring out the creativity in me. I do not sell my cards and mostly make them for personal use.

I have not been active in blog land for around 5 months now due to some personal problems. And during these last few months most of my crafting activities have been centered around my son - costumes for school functions; masks, animals with moving tails, trunk etc... when he was bored; trying many types of papercraft during his holidays just to keep him occupied and entertained - kind of sums up everything I have made since June! :-)) Why, just today I made him a spider bracelet that should do fine for his school's Halloween celebration (it isn't a very popular day around here so the bracelet and a spooky hat should be good enough).

Ok, coming down to the cards. I finally managed to get some time to do my own thing and decided to get down to some serious crafting. My favorite sketch blog has always been 2Sketches4you. So my comeback card (whoa! I am making myself sound like a celebrity, huh?) had to be based on their sketch.

The first card here is very loosely based on the sketch. I had to try these paper flowers from Kathy's blog somewhere so I added them to this card. I haven't added the sentiment yet. The champagne bottle and flute are stickers. I threaded a few buttons together for the embellishment.

Ingredients

CS: Metallic CS from DCVW, plain CS's from stash, DP from Hobby Ideas

Others: Leaf punch by Jef, 3D outliner from Hobby Ideas (used as champagne)

This second card is more of an actual adaptation of the sketch. Sorry about the poor light; the pics were taken from a mobile phone. Sentiment not yet added. This is an anniversary card like the previous one. I have 2 entwined hearts here (not clear in the pic) - a pink and a blue. The flowers and leaves were punched and hand embossed. Basically, it took a lot of effort to punch and shape all those flowers ;-)

Ingredients:

CS: Metallic CS from DCVW, others from stash

Punches: Flower punch from Carla craft, leaf from Jef

Others: rhinestones from stash, 3D outliner from Hobby Ideas, white microbeads from stash

That's from me for now. Hoping to be able to craft more often.

Cheers,
Smita

The crafting itch....

Hi there everyone,

It is now almost 5 months since I last crafted properly (except for my anniversary cards in June)!! Can you imagine a crafter staying away from her tools for so long??! Even I can't... but the situation has been such that I am left with no choice. I have been having people coming and staying all the time since we returned from our vacation... And I am one person who needs all the peace and quiet possible to be able to sit and craft! I can't stand interference and talking while I sit down to work... and there has not been this kind of a suitable environment for me since so long!

Anyway, now I want to craft... and the inspiration - apart from my own little creative side - is the new Fiskars Paper Trimmer that my dad got for me from Australia. I have been dying to own one of those; so now I am in seventh heaven. I shall hopefully be able to create something in the next few days... :-)

Here's a pic of what I've got... (this is from a website though):

Cheers,

Smita

Random ramblings

No, I have nothing to post... I made a few cards for my husband on our anniversary (which was on the 27th of June) but I haven't clicked pictures of them.

I just couldn't resist writing... The blog has been inactive for so so really long. My hands are even itching to craft again... ;-)

My (parents and brothers) -in-law are here with us now so I really have no time for crafting as such. But I do intend to make one more card for a cousin. If I manage to do it, you will see some post from me soon. I am also expecting more guests so there is no chance of taking out my craft material in front of everyone. I usually prefer creating in either complete silence or with soft music in the background. And with so many people at home, both these environments are impossible to create! :D

Well, a little about our vacation... It was one of the best-est (if there were such a word) trips I have ever had. Since it was our first vacation abroad, we both enjoyed ourselves to the hilt... and so did Aaryan... was sheer pleasure.... an awesome theme park. Kuala Lumpur was a shopper's paradise. Langkawi was the closest to heaven I could get... blue waters and the picturesque landscape. Singapore is now my favorite city ;-) Loved it loved it loved it...

Till later...

Smita

No new posts for sometime

Hi all,

There will be no new posts from me for some time now. We are going on vacation next week and I am too excited to do anything productive now ;-) After we get back, my in-laws will be coming over for a long stay. So I am not too sure when I will post next.

I will miss crafting for sure.

Love,

Smita

Debbie's droolworthy birthday candy

Hop over to Debbie's blog for the chance to win some truly awesome candy. Don't believe me? Well, check out this pic:

Hurry up! Last date: 23rd May.

Newer colors

I was chatting with my best (and oldest) friend, Kunkum, today. She commented that my blog was colorful, but there was loads of blue and pink. In today's card for Laura's Sketch # 26 at 2S4U, I tried to use other colors too - yellow and orange, for example. ;-) Vineet thinks the color combination is different but nice.

And I think I will try doing some of Kristina's challenges now on, so that I don't go wrong with the colors and I have a nice palette every week. I do look up all color challenges every week, but somehow when I sit down to make a card, I choose whatever suits my fancy at that moment.

Coming back to today's card. I love this stamp. It is from a new clear stamp set I bought recently. And I am totally in love with GlueDrops (which is our version of the Glue Dot). The adhesive is very strong and it kind of holds anything. I bought a circle punch too, recently, after looking at it for months. I was waiting for something larger, but this is the largest I have been able to find. :-( I used it in one of the bubbles (the green one). I have again give paper piecing a try but I think it is going to take a while to perfect this art.

My card recipe:
Cardstock: Metallic CS from the DCWV stack, blue patterned paper from Hobby Ideas, yellow and orange CS from stash
Stamp: Bubbles stamp from a Hobby Ideas clear stamp set
Others: Heidi Grace rub-on; Fevicryl 3D outliner in various shades; Staedler markers; Carla Craft circle punch; lace and ribbon from stash
PS: Vineet hates the pompom!! :D Wonder why?! I kind of find it cute and have bought it 3-4 shades. He thinks it looks kind of cheap!!

Does anyone have any nice template for a 6*6 card envelope/box? I checked Mel's blog (Mel Stampz) but couldn't find the kind I needed. I liked one of the semi-envelope templates that she has and used it for a friend's wedding card.

Love,

Smita

PS: For those of you suffering from the summer heat, have you had any ice lollies/popsicles yet?! :-) I just had one some time back.

Denise's gorgeous candy

Visit Denise's blog for a chance to win some great candy. She is offering loads of candy, so you might not want to miss out.

Love,
Smita

Cute

I received this wonderful award from Dora, whose blog I have been visiting and who has been leaving very sweet comments on my blog too. Isn't it cute?


Thank you, Dora for this... and thank you for including me in your list of friends. Do drop by Dora's blog to see her lovely creations.
I would like to pass on this award to:
Sharanya
Sylvia
Sankari
DeeDee
Maria
Donna
Carla
Juhi
This award, Friends... comes with the following description to be added & passed along: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in selfaggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated." It also says: "Please give more attention to theses writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Love,
Smita

More candy

There is more great candy at Marcea's blog. Her birthday candy ends on May 12th. Go and check out what she has to offer.

Love,
Smita

Yummy candy at Janet's blog

Here is a chance to win some (no, loads of) yummy candy. Hop over to Janet's blog. Read the entire candy post for more chances to win the truly awesome candy.

Love,
Smita

Bright and nice

Hi,
I have a few cards to share with you today. Three to be precise. I am just too lazy to click pictures and post every day... I am trying to change this habit ;-) Hoping to be more regular soon...
Aaryan is down with a fever today and the poor kid hasn't eaten anything but 2 biscuits and a little bread since morning. I hope he recovers soon. :-(
Anyway here is something about today's cards.

This first one was a 'trial' card, if I may call it that. I wanted to try a tea bag folding star... it hasn't turned out great but then, as I mentioned, it was a 'trial' card, so I am happy I learnt what I wanted to. Inspiration again from Donna's blog. Of course, her card was beautiful and she had used the kite to make up her pattern and not this pointed star. I really wanted to use it for last week's sketch over at 2S4U but I finished the card only on Sunday...
Printed paper from Hobby Ideas; flower from a sticker strip from A C Moore; rub-on from Hobby Ideas
This next card is for a friend who is getting married soon. Bright colors are part of the Indian wedding... I haven't used any of the traditional reds and gold here though.. a little off beat for our kind of weddings.. The gorgeous patterned paper used here is from the Heidi Grace stack that I won. The printed vellum and pink velvet paper are from the Paper Company, the pink metallic card stock is from the DCWV stack, the flower - I don't remember the name, but it is again from the A C Moore set that Chirag got me, ribbons, lace and pearls are from by stash.

The last card is for 2S4U , Laura's sketch # 25. 2S4U seems to be the only challenge blog that really makes me create something every week (well, almost every week). Their sketches are always so much fun and seeing what the DT and fellow bloggers come up with week after week is truly inspiring.

The idea for the paper weaving was inspired by a creation by DeeDee (another one of my favorite cardmakers)! I added some tiny pearls to the center of the flower for added effect. I loved my card this week; Vineet thought the colors were a little offbeat and that I could do better with the sketch... What do you think?

Card stock: Green metallic sheet from DCWV; patterned paper from Hobby Ideas; embossed handmade paper from local stationer; green and pink tinted papers (used for the paper weaving bit in the center) from stash

Stamp: Gift stamp from Hobby Ideas

Others: Flower from a local craft bazaar; buttons, ribbons, pearls from local markets; sentiment from Heidi Grace; pompom lace and other ribbons from local markets; leaf punch by Jef

Love,

Smita

Smita goes international!

He he he he... Still laughing over the post title! Well, I am not kidding... ;-) I really have gone international with this card. Stop stop... Before you build up too much expectation out of the card, let me explain...

I had won Donna's blog candy a few weeks back. Anyone who has been reading my blog knows that I love her work. I had tried an explosion box in Jan inspired by her creation! ;-) Anyway, coming back to the point.. I received my yummy package on Saturday. God! You should have seen my scream and jump... There were loads of Heidi Grace paper (even double-sided, something I had never before seen), epoxy stickers, flower and button stickers, three spools of ribbon, chipboard stickers et al. So, you can imagine what made me scream. None of that stuff is actually available here so I wa,s thrilled beyond words.. so thrilled that I couldn't craft for so long (!!! well.. that's an excuse). I made a little card for a friend a couple of days back but then we gave it to him without clicking pictures. There goes!! It wasn't my best but it did use that yummy Heidi Grace paper.

I want to create one of Donna's goodie bags just so that I can use the double-sided paper without wasting even an inch of it!!
I spent most of today just thinking of what to use as the focal element in my card. I wanted all the focus to go to that circle in the sketch... and I hate circles!! ;-) You are wondering why! Well, I hate cutting around them because I never get them perfect; my local stationer does not have the cirlce punch in supply ever, which pisses me off; I am still hunting for Prima flowers look-alikes so that it becomes easier for me to fill those 'circles' in sketches; and lastly, I always wonder how people interpret the circle so well every time whereas I can't look at it as anything but just that!... Did I confuse you? I hope I did. Just wanted to tell you how much I dislike circles when I have to work with them... nothing against the shape otherwise! LOL!

Coming back to today's card. I have used a lot of stuff from Donna's package and some things that my bro-in-law (Chirag) got for me from AC Moore when he came down for the wedding. Thanks to both Chirag and Donna, Smita has finally gone international ;-)

Cardstock: Metallic CS from the DCWV textured metallic sheets range, Polka dots designer paper from the Heidi Grace pack, Pink velvet paper by The Paper Company, scrap of pink printed vellum sheet from The Paper Company, Blue and white CS from stash
The circles are made from a sheet of shimmer patterned paper from Hobby Ideas. (Ohhh! I love the shimmer)
Others: Sentiment from Heidi Grace, Blue lace and satin ribbon from stash.

Love,

Smita.

Bev's fab blog candy

Bev has some fabulous candy up for grabs (yeah, and this time there is some real candy too ;-) ). You wouldn't want to miss out on the chance to win, would you? So hop right there and grab the opportunity. Who knows, you might be the lucky one!
Her work, needless to say, is superb.

Love,
Smita

Whacky colors: Purple, orange and green

Ok! I know I am late for this challenge... I made it based on the color challenge at 365 Cards, completely forgetting that it is a daily challenge!! :-((( Anyway, now that the card is ready, I might as well post it.
Oh and one more disaster. I wanted to make a card for the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. This week's challenge was based on one of my most favorite movies- My Fair Lady. But since the challenge was to use Embossing on a card, it was a little difficult one for me (I have no idea whatsoever how to emboss properly! No embossing powder available here, remember!)... Did read the tutorials... almost managed one faux embossing, but messed it up and had to trash it. :-( Anyway, just because I wanted so badly to play, I used some embossed paper. Does that count? Well, I don't know!!

Anyway, the only good thing is that I was able to make my second card based on the 2S4U sketch this week. Isn't that awesome!? :-)

My card recipe:
Cardstock: Metallic CS from the DCWV stack, printed paper from Hobby Ideas, purple tinted paper

Stamp: Gift stamp from Hobby Ideas (yeah, the same new set I bought 2 days back)

Others: Crocheted lace, decorative flowers and beads from local craft stores

PS: Please bear my stamping for some time. I am still trying to learn how to layer properly. I will then try and concentrate on the coloring techniques et al.

Pretty in pink

Hello,
Every week, I think of creating a card based on the 2S4U sketch first thing on Tuesday morning (the sketch is up by Monday night my time), but procrastination gets the better of me, and I end up creating the card earliest by Friday!! ;-)
This time, I broke my record, and created the 2S4U challenge card today!! :-)) Yay yay yay!!! I am pretty pleased with the result. I love the patterned paper I have used in today's card. I also bought a new stamp set today...hmm..not exactly a set, but yeah, all the stamps came in one box! I had seen the set earlier, but didn't buy it... don't know why. Anyway, it had been on my mind ever since...

My card recipe:
Cardstock: Metallic CS from the DCWV metallic sheets stack, patterned paper from Hobby Ideas, plain CS in pink, deep pink and chocolate brown
Stamps: Cake and Candle stamps from Hobby Ideas
Others: Pink sheer organza ribbon and pink satin thread from stash, locally available dry letter transfer (rub-ons), eyelets

PS: I also used Lulu's tutorial!! (yes, I know, doesn't look like it!)...LOL!!

Love,

Smita.

My charming Dwarf

Today was 'Fairy Tale character in school' day at Aaryan's Playschool. What fun!! :-) I wish I was studying with him ;-)) Chuckle chuckle....
After a discussion with Mamma and Richa, I concluded that I should dress him up as a 'Dwarf' from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I read and re-read the story to him over the weekend to get him excited about the character ;-))
I didn't do too much for the costume... made everything with Crepe paper mostly. The hat and a matching jacket. The beard was made with a scrap piece of paper with cotton for adding dimension. He was a little teary-eyed at school, but then we had told him that we will be clicking pictures, so he did dress up and pose. :-) Most of the others were dressed in store-bought costumes, so Aaryan was a little out of place there, but then I love everything handmade, so it doesn't matter! :-)

Did you hear about the big giveaway?!

Melissa of Creating from the heart is giving away a brand new Cuttlebug!!! Can you believe it? Just last week Papa and Murali bhaiya were telling me that I should invest in the machine. I have been thinking of buying it since then, but it is sooooo damn expensive!!! :-( Anyway, one lucky person is going to get it for free at Melissa's blog! How cool is that!?! :-)

Love,

Smita

Black or white?

Hi,
One lazy blogger, that is what I am!! :-( I have been intending to post for a while, but I just wouldn't stop reading others' blogs. Actually, for the past few days I have been busier reading food blogs than doing anything crafty! Anyway, here I am again.
I have something to share with you. I WON DONNA'S BLOG CANDY!!!!!! Whooooooooooooooooohooooooooo!! Isn't that cool?? I have been reading her blog regularly for a long time now, and I am so glad I won. I was stunned for a while; back to my senses now. :-) But now that I have won, I must not forget to tell all those who haven't visited her blog yet to please do so now!! She is one talented cardmaker, and with years of experience behind her! I love her creations.

Next, here is my card for Kazan's Sketch # 23 at 2S4U. I have been dying to make a black n white card since long, so here it is. Not made for anyone or for any particular occasion.

The recipe:

Cardstock: Silver from the DCWV mettalic textured paper stack, Patterned paper from Hobby Ideas (yeah, from my new stock), white glossy paper, white textured, black tinted paper, and parchment paper from the local stationer.

Others: I used locally available dry letter transfers (rub-on) for the sentiment, Fevicryl 3D-Outliner for the shimmering dots.

PS: Ohh, and did you see I finally tried a little bit of 3D layering by cutting out a flower from the patterned paper and layering it over another similar one ;-)

Love,

Smita.

More blog candy

Here is some more blog candy up for grabs! Do check out Sally-Ann's adorable creations too.

Love,
Smita