My Stall at The Hundred Hands Collective IV - by Hundred Hands

If you've been following my Facebook page and blog, you will know that last week I participated in the Hundred Hands Collective IV - by Hundred Hands. Hundred Hands is this fabulous NGO that encourages and supports artisans both urban and rural, who make hand made products. They help them establish their business, develop contacts, provide advice and occasionally, hold a bazaar to help them sell their stuff. I was grateful to be invited for their event and here are some photographs of my stall.

My dear friend Reshna sat with me the entire day and did some serious hard selling much to my amusement and delight. And dear friends who always support my work like Gitanjali here was one of the first to stop by and pick her favourites. 

I had visiting cards made!!! How important I felt. Ha ha! But I'm glad I did, so many people picked it up even though the didn't buy anything or even look at anything. What's up with that?!

I made a wonderful little card stand for each of my cards so that they could stand upright and be seen easily. They would also not occupy much space on my table as they would if they were lying down allowing more cards to be displayed.

I had been hanging on to creations for some time. Don't know when I made these masks but stuff like that and the notebooks, they all sold within an hour to ladies with little girls who they knew would love it. I tell you sometimes I think my greatest market is 5 to 8 year old girls. 

This was my tag and table decor section. I had made dining labels, cutlery holders, 3D sleighs. Everything was gone by the end of the day. 

And here's how my stall looked at about 4pm - half way through the sale. My table was quickly clearing up and I was running out of stock to sell.

I wish I had taken a picture at the end of the sale but I forgot. I was left with 10 Christmas cards and 2 general cards. All the rest - tags, gifts etc were sold. All in all a very very very fun and productive day!

Thank you so much to Hundred Hands for letting me be a part of their fabulous event. I was delighted and honoured and motivated to pursue this even more!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 30 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - A Final Batch of Ornament Cards

It's Day 30 and the final day of my countdown. Can't believe how quickly and craftily the month has passed and can't believe I managed to stick to this goal. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

My final project to share is a last batch of ornament cards. They're the same design as my red and white ornament cards which you can view here but in a different colour scheme. 

I used a lot of paper from the DCWV Evergreen Stack which was really bright and festive. I added giant bows and ribbons to add to the detail and loads of crystal stickers to glamourise them. 

My ornament tags sold very well at the Hundred Hands Event. I was delighted that this idea was well received. I made about 30 and have just a couple to bring home.

So that wraps up my Christmas Craft Countdown for 2013. I started out thinking I was crazy to do this and perhaps I was, but it really got me crafting a lot and getting ready for the festive season - my favourite time of the year. Now as December begins, I'm going to be spending it baking mostly but crafting too, of course till the crack of dawn!

Thanks for coming along on this journey and see you around the Blogosphere!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 29 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - Santa Belt Cutlery or Silverware Holders and Tags

My project for Day 29 is one of my favourite projects of the countdown. I think it's such a darling idea and I'm so delighted I was able to complete them in time. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

The idea of this project is to add a little festive fun to any Christmas party. It's simple enough, not too detailed and elaborate but all the same so festive! Slip your napkins and silverware into these little pockets and suddenly the table will be transformed. At my sale during the Hundred Hands Event people were saying that this is only for sit down dinners but I disagree, you can use them for buffet style parties too, which is what I will be doing.  I finally sold all 30 and even received an order for 15 more!!

With the same Santa belt theme in mind I made a set of tags as neat and as crisp as the cutlery holders. It's not clearly visible but the black belt is actually laced through the white buckle, so when you look at it in real life, you can see the detail. 

I added some thin striped ribbon as the tag topper and my Santa Belt tags were ready. I made a whole lot of these for my sale and I'm happy to say that they all sold out!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 28 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - More Festive Tags

I made a lot of Christmas tags for my Christmas Craft Countdown and my projects for Day 28 is another set of tags. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

My first batch is a Santa Hat tag. It's a shaped and flapped tag, different from my usual tag design. The reverse side of this tag can be glued on to the gift and the flap offers plenty of space to write personal messages. I added some fun embossing on the white bits to draw attention to them. Love how this turned out!

My next group of tags is a steaming mug Christmas tag. Something about the cold at this time of year makes steaming mugs seriously christmassy. I once again put the swirls Sindhu sent me to good use as the steam and some pretty gold ribbon also added to the design.

I often find that dry embossing makes cards look really quite elaborate and intricate and since it's so easy to do, I usually add a little to most of my creations. In this tag it was a Snowflake design. To see a card made using the same steaming cup theme, click here.

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 27 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - More Ornament Cards

My project for Day 27 is some really pretty red and white ornament cards. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

I think ornament cards are a fun way to send Christmas cards to friends and loved ones because once they receive it, they can hang it on their tree. I used some paper from the DCWV Evergreen stack and then jazzed up  the whole card with lots of little crystal stickers.

 

The card has a flap and inside is etched - 'Seasons Greetings' perfect for this time of year. There's plenty of space to write your personal message and plenty of ribbon to comfortably hang it on your tree! At my sale at the Hundred Hands event, a lot of people purchased this not to to send to anyone but just to hang in their homes or on their own tree. Ha ha!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 26 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - Re-usable Dining Labels or Place-Cards

It's been a while since I've had a chance to update my blog on the Craft Countdown. I got really tied up with my Christmas sale and although I was crafting like crazy, I just couldn't find the time to blog about it. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here.

My project today is something I'm really proud of. I have made dining labels - labels that you can put beside each dish that you serve at a dinner party. They can also be used as a place-card to allocated dinner seats for each guest. Now I've made these before for the ItsyBitsy blog and but they were for one time use - and that's a lot of effort for just one party. So this time I figured out how to make them reusable.

My secret ingredient? - A layer of transparency sheet or OHP sheet just under the final red frame. This way the white card stock beneath would remain protected against anything written on the label. I could now scribble the title of the dish with a erasable marker or white board marker and then...

... erase it off using a sponge or napkin until....

..... it  was as good as new and ready to be used for the next dinner party! Hurray!

 I made 30 of these labels and during my sale at the Hundred Hands event, these were the first to go! They were such a hit! 

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 25 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - A Sleigh Explosion Box

I'm on the 25th day of my countdown and today I have yet another explosion box to share with you. I've done 3 others during this countdown and this is the fourth. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

This is the box when it's closed. As always I keep the outside quite muted except for the huge bow. The colours and designs is all solid without any decoration. The idea is that once you open the box, the explosion is not just with the sides opening out but also with the blast of colour and design. 

Here's the box when the lid is opened. The sides all fall down to reveal a big oversized card measuring 12" by 12". I added a pattern paper with the title Happy Holidays so that I didn't have to add any text myself. Then I made spaces for 3 tag pockets in which I slipped three tags and 2 spaces for journaling. 

Here's a look at the 3D sleigh filled with gifts and beside it a view of the sleigh tag I made to coordinate with the theme of the box. Everything is cameo cut and as always I am delighted with the outcome of my Cameo Creations. 

That wraps up today's post. See you tomorrow when I hit Day 26 of my Christmas Craft Countdown!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 24 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - Sleighs Sleighs and more Sleighs!!!

Today is the 24th day of my Craft Countdown and I've got a whole bunch of sleighs to share with you. 

Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

I first made this sleigh towards the start of my countdown and you can view that post here. I loved how Christmassy it was and how roomy and sturdy too! Perfect for displaying holiday candy in my house or for presenting goodies to my friends and neighbours. So I decided to make a few more and here they are all lined up in a row. 

This is the reverse side of the sleighs. I've added just a tiny rim of pearls on the back for a little bit of glam. It also came in handy to hide all the glue residue. The pattern paper on the sleighs is all from the DCWV Evergreen stack so it's really festive and fun.

And to give you an idea of the size of the sleigh, here's a picture of one with my sunglasses lounging inside comfortably - see they're pretty big - about 6" long! So it's a really roomy and decorative paper craft creation. 

Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

A Gingham Country Christmas Card

Got a quick post to share. I loved the theme at the Shabby Tea Room this week and since the collection is closing in just a couple of hours, I have a few moments to publish my card.

The theme is Gingham Country Christmas and gratefully I had just a few scraps of Gingham paper in my stash. I was also thrilled to use the fabulous glitter swirls Sindhu sent me for my win at her challenge. That's what I used to create the steam for the drink. As always, the inspiration photo is so delightful. Sharing it below.

That's it from me. Later folks!


If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 23 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - Gold And Silver Tags

Today is day 24 and once again I posting a day late. The projects were complete, photographed and ready to be shared but Saturday was a busy busy day - two birthdays parties to attend and the kids down with the flu meant that I couldn't share my Day 23 projects. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

Today I've made some tags without using the traditional red and green. Not that gold and silver is not Christmassy but somehow red and green is more so. I had this beautiful bell cut file in my Cameo library which I cut in some gold card stock. The same gold paper became the base layer of the tag and the white background is embossed with a gorgeous Merry Christmas design. I finished it off with a wispy satin lined ribbon which is again gold and I think the end result is quite pretty.  Here is a closeup. 

For my second set I made silver and white the central theme of the tag. I found these pretty swirly reindeer cut file from www.birdscards.com and I glued it to the base white card stock using dimensional tape. A neat silver bow became my final touch and my 3 tags were ready.

Here's a better look at the reindeer tag. Love those swirly antlers, don't you? This isn't the first time I have used this design. For my Rudolf explosion box, I used the same cut file for the Rudolf Tags. You can view it here.

I have to say that I am NOT AT ALL pleased with how these tags photographed. They both look much better in reality and I just couldn't capture it properly. I tried my best to make them look as they really do but I failed miserably. The gold is looking too harsh and the silver is looking too dull! #@$@#$#@!!!

Right, that's it for me. Stay tuned for my Day 24 post which I will publish later today. Thanks for stopping by!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Day 22 of Sunehra's Christmas Craft Countdown - Rudolf's Explosion Box

Today I have another Explosion Box to share with you. This time the star of the project is our favourite reindeer Rudolf. Perfect for day 22 of my Christmas Craft Countdown. Once again to recap, I've set myself a challenge for Christmas. My Countdown Goal is simple - Every day from November 1st to November 30th, I'm going to make 3 projects. They could be cards, tags, gift boxes, ornaments, whatever I want to complete but I have to complete at least 3 projects every day. To see my previous countdown projects, click here. 

So the layout and design of my explosion box remains the same. You can view my previous creations here. But I do try to bring in a different theme for each creation. The theme is reflected in the colours, the tags and of course the central 3D element. In Rudolf's explosion box, the central 3D element of course is a 3D Rudolf complete with a red nose.

I found the cutfile of the design online and cut it out on my Cameo. Gluing it wasn't easy I guess because it's a small reindeer, had it been bigger, it wouldn't have been so tiresome. The nose is a red pompom. Adorable isn't it! The Rudolf Tags too have a red nose, this time it's a crystal sticker. The cutfile is from www.birdscards.com, another free design.

And here's a look at the box when it's closed. Again it's completely muted and restrained so that it really explodes when opened - explodes literally as the box just opens up, explodes with colour and of course explodes with fabulous central features.

That wraps Day 22. Just 8 days to go and many more great ideas in my mind. Looking forward to it all unfolding or maybe unraveling! Ha ha!

If you would like to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com