A Roses And Butterflies Card - Inspired by a Previous Project

Does this look familiar? If you know my work, you'll recognise it immediately! One of my earlier projects on this blog was a Glittering Butterfly Card with a Ginormous bow. The feedback was a shade mixed - some thought it was grand and stylish and loved the bow. Others weren't too kicked about the colours, the bow being so big and the gold was bordering on harsh. So when I was asked to recreate this for someone, it was mildly suggested that I tone it down a bit - replace the gold with red, reduce the size of the butterflies and replace the bow with something less dominating. So here's my creation!

I replaced replaced the bow with a rim of red roses from ItsyBitsy. Love them, can't go wrong with them. I also made the butterflies smaller as you can see. The rest I kept the same. The base layer is white card stock, followed by another layer of card stock and the top layer is vellum embossed with a floral design.

 But here's something new to share! How do you like my coordinating box envelope? The flap has the same butterfly design in the same rich red all cut from my cameo! Isn't it awesome! I've made it before for other butterfly cards but just realised that I have never shared it on my blog. 

So what do you think of my card as compared to the previous one? Is this better or do you prefer the gold one? Would love to hear your thoughts! 

Linking to 

DCAM Challenge 3 - I've chosen the red and white colour scheme.  

Flutter by Wednesday - No Orange or Black

Delightful Challenge - Winged Things

My Time to Craft - Butterflies

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 Head over Heels Card!

I'm loving the challenges that are going on at present in our little Craft Blogosphere. They are really inspiring me to get crafting. Sindhu's 2nd challenge in her Anniversary Celebrations is an ABC Word Play. Hosted by Tejal, we have to choose a letter in the alphabet and build our card around that. I chose the letter S! S for Stilettos, S for Swirls (on the embossing), S for Spots (on the shoe) and S for Sunehra of course!! Ha ha! We are also required to keep it CAS - Clean and Simple.

I'm not naturally inclined towards CAS unlike Sindhu who seems to have MASTERED IT!! So I actually take double the time with such cards than with a layered, heavily embellished one. I was at it till 1:30am this morning and here is the final project! The shoe is cut with my Cameo and some pretty DCWV pattern paper. I used the Cameo with a pen for the sentiment too. 

Lulupu's current challenge is Word Play with CAS and I love Pooja's guideline - loads of white space, a focal point and a pun in the sentiment. I had some fun thinking of the perfect sentiment for this card but then it became obvious - I'm head over 'heels' into you!

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 Lacy Parasol Black and White Card

Whew! It's been a long time since I posted a project on this blog. It's not because I've not been crafting till the crack of dawn, because I have. It's not because I don't craft any more, because if you've been following the Itsy Bitsy blog, you know that I have. It's not because I've run out of ideas, because again  all my ideas are showcased on ItsyBitsy. I guess I haven't posted in a while because the responsibilities of being a mother of 2 finally caught up with me. Between shuttling my son to school, dealing with daily homework, trying to manage my extremely naughty toddler daughter and ensuring I spend enough time with them, I finally had to give my craft blog a bag seat.

That was until I saw Corrinne's fabulous inspiration on Sindhu's blog. Sindhu is celebrating her first wedding anniversary and her blogaversary by hosting weekly challenges. Corrinne Dietrich of Dietrich Designs was the first host and her challenge is Wedding/ Anniversary Cards with Black and White and Lace. Corrine's inspiration card is totally to die for and from the moment I saw it, I knew I had to make something for it. Last night after putting the kids to sleep, I suddenly got an idea for it and I jumped up from the covers to craft! Here's what I made. 

My idea was a lace parasol right from a Jane Austen novel. And I wanted it closed so that the frilly trim is dominant. I actually have 2 such parasols - actual versions one with black lace and one with white. I could never use them but they were so so so so pretty that I just had to have them. I followed the tutorial on this link to make the parasol with a few changes of my own. Here's a closer look at the parasol. 

The ornate frame is cut from my cameo and the pattern paper beneath it is from the DCWV Lemon Flower stack. It's sooo gorgeous! Silver textured design, perfect for my card. Was delighted to find it in my stash but very reluctant to actually use it. It was so so so pretty. 

Well that wraps up this post. See you around Blogosphere either here or on the ItsyBitsy Blog. Toodles!

Also linking to Lulupu's Load it Up Challenge (Thanks Doc Sonia). I have 4 layers over the base card and the 3 embellishments are - a lace parasol, ribbon and a pearl.

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 Shabby Chic Pink Card

I gotta say when I first saw the inspiration photo at the 'For Love of Crafting' Shabby Chic Challenge, I was literally blown away and despite it being a really crazy month for me, I was desperate to create something for the contest.  But as the days passed, it became more and more evident that time was not on my side, and I would probably have to give it a miss. The month of July began, and all hope was lost until I saw a post on my blogger feed. It was a project by Shweta Patil of 'Creative Space'. She had just done a Shabby Chic card for this challenge and that's when I remembered, For the Love of Crafting  starts on the 10th of the month, not the 1st which means they were still open for submissions! Hurray!! I got to work right away and here's my creation. 

So there were a lot of things in the inspiration photo that appealed to me. The soft cream, white and pink colour scheme, the floral motif, the rose bunches and the theme of Shabby Chic is one of my faves at the moment. I tried to incorporate all these elements into my card. Here are some closeups. 

And here's a look at the the inspiration photograph from the challenge. Isn't it just fantastic! Makes you want to just run to the craft table and get crafting!!

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 Lush and Bountiful Window Card

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my dad's calendar and the textured card. I am thrilled to say that my Textured Card made it to the top 3 at the Shabby Tea Room and today I'm back with another card created for this week's challenge at The Shabby Tea Room. The theme this time is to use the colours in the inspiration photo and to include a window as well. Of course as always I just loved the photo, so much in fact that my card is quite literally inspired by the layout, design and colours in this picture!

Don't you just love the pretty purple flowers and the lush creeper all over the window. That's pretty much what I wanted to recreate in my card. So I made a window and using some plant fillers from Itsy Bitsy I covered the entire space surrounding the window. Here are some closeups of the details.

 

Since the card was so 'bountiful', I decided to use the sentiment, "Everything Grows with Love". Isn't that lovely. I concealed it inside the slightly ajar window. And then I filled the rest of the space with some tiny purple roses from Itsy Bitsy. Here's a look a the card when it's upright. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great weekend 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

A Textured Card with Jute and Lace

I haven't been able to make anything for this blog in quite a bit! I've been so tied up with the Itsy Bitsy projects that I just couldn't fund a free minute to create projects for any challenges. It has also prevented me from commenting on your lovely creations but I must say I have been popping by so please forgive me. I have to kick off this post with some super happy news. 2 of my cards made it to the top 3 of 2 challenges and both the results were announced last week. For Lulupu's My Mom My World, my Apple Tree Card made it to the top 3 and for Crafter's Corner Bingo, my Garden Swing Card actually won! How friggin cool is that!!! Yippee!!! It got me so pumped that I got to work on a fresh card and this time it is for The Shabby Tea Room - Totally Textured

The challenge comes with a gorgeous inspiration photo that I have added at the bottom of this post and also asks that we use dry embossing and stitching to create texture. Now that was a packed challenge! So I started out with a jute/ burlap sheet that I picked up from Itsy Bitsy and began to create my card. I love the tassels on the inspiration photo so I tried to create that effect by pulling out some of the jute threads and roughing them up a bit. I also loved the frill in the photo so I used some crochet lace to create an underlay frill beneath the jute sheet. 

   

For the stitching, I created a stencil by using the negative card left over from using the Cuttlebug vintage corner die and followed this stencil to create the curly corner on the top and bottom. I stitched it with white wool so it adds even more texture to this card. For the embossing, I took a piece of white card stock, embossed it with a floral embossing folder and added the sentiment - "For a very Special Mom". With Mothers' Day in just 2 days, it had to be the theme of this card. Here's the inspiration photograph - didn't I tell you it was divine!

I loved making this card. This inspiration image has been on my mind for a few days now so I am relieved, thrilled and satisfied that I was able to create something for it. I also want to thank you all for the wonderful support you showed for my 100 followers candy - I am now at 150 followers which is like WOW! Thank you all so much for coming on board and I hope all my followers, new and old enjoy this project and my future projects as well. 

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 Garden Swing Card

I'm still bitten by the Vintage/ Shabby Chic bug thanks again to Saumya at Swap Central for this post. It sort of opened my eyes to different styles of vintage being not just beiges and browns. At the same time I am in LOVE with the challenges over at the Shabby Tea Room. This week is another picture inspiration and we are required to use not just the colors but also the theme of the picture to create our project. So here's my creation. 

 

The photo inspiration is at the bottom of this post and it's a picture of what I think is a blue garden bench filled with flowers - lovely spring flowers. So I've created a garden swing - which actually SWINGS! How cool is that. I created an oval frame window on the cover of the card from where my swing would hang. I used a piece of wood for the swing and colored it blue with Tumbled Glass distress ink. Then I glued a couple of tiny roses on it before hooking it on to a silver chain which I attached to the top of the frame. Here's a close up of the swing from front and side views.

   

I used some gorgeous pink lace for the border of the card and added a rim of pink pearls to add to the Vintage effect. A soft lavender organza bow completed the shabby chic look. For the inside panel I used some floral pattern paper to compliment the color scheme. Here a look at the card when it is closed. 

 

Oh my God... I just love love love how it turned out. You know how you conceive a card and then you try to follow through on your idea and most often it just collapses and you end up making something else? This time it turned out exactly as I imagined it... so I am so so so so happy! Here is the inspiration photo from the Shabby Tea Room #161 - Shabby Spring

Thanks so much for dropping by. Would love to hear your comments on my card. If you would like to know the supplies used on this or any of my projects, please write to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn@gmail.com

Also linking to:
Crafters Corner 7 - Bingo (I have used everything on the grid except for stamping)
Simon Says Stamp - April Showers or Spring Flowers
Fab n Funky Challenges 166 - Spring Colors
Crafts and Me Challenge 128 - Lace and Pearls

A Shabby Teapot Card

School's out for the summer!!! My son's school that is. And what does that mean? No waking up early, no packing snack boxes, no hurried baths and most important of all - endless crafting till the crack of dawn!!! Last night after my husband and I caught a late movie (GI Joe - please don't ever ever ever watch it) I sat down at my craft table and by 4am - here's what I created.

As you can see I'm still over the top obsessed with the Shabby Tea Room and their 'Beautiful Blues' theme this week. Yesterday I posted another card for the same theme which you can view here. Today I went with a more pastel feel. I started with some navy card stock and then I layered over white distressed with some Tumbled Glass distress ink. For the central doily design I used a rose frame cutfile from Birdscards.com which you can find here. The centre focus is a vintage teapot, again a cutfile from Birdscards.com.

Another thing I tried for the first time is adding charms to my card. I got some delightful little charms recently and took great pleasure chaining them up and adding them to my bow. The photo above provides a close up of the charms. And how gorgeous is that open rose! Another one of my faves from ItsyBitsy.

Finally I gotta say, I just love the theme over at ICR this time. It's all about English being such a 'Punny' Language and we are required to use witty sentiments and callouts using puns. I guess that inspired me to use a pun for the sentiment - You are TEAriffic. Cute isn't it! The sentiment was etched on my cameo using a pen holder and a Staedler Microtip Pen. 

Also entering this card into Crafting When We Can - #41 - Name That Tune. "I'm a little Teapot' is the song - my daughter just makes me sing it to her all the time.

I have made a video tutorial on how I used the Cameo for this card. It's still being edited but will share as soon as I spruce it up for you! And as always, if you want to know the supplies used for this or any of my projects please write in to me at craftingtillthecrackofdawn.gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by....

Blues for the Shabby Team Room

My latest favorite challenge blog is the Shabby Tea Room. What fabulous themes, fabulous DT inspiration projects, fabulous colors.. I can't say enough! This week's the theme is 'Beautiful Blues' and here is my creation. 

I started with a white base and cut a swirl background out of navy punch paper which I laid over the base. I found a strip of lace left over from my daughter's Christening gown and used it to create the lace overlay you see. Then added loads of organza ribbon and finished off with a crochet flower from Itsy Bitsy. Here is a close up of the lace, bow and organza ribbon. I've also added a side view so that you can get an idea of how dimensional the card is. 

And here's the inspiration photo. Now come on - with a picture like that, who can resist creating a card. Just LOVE IT! I think I will be making a couple more cards for this challenge - if of course time permits.

As a sad end note, I want to dedicate this card to Liz Chechi who left us a couple of days ago at the tender, incomplete and unfair age of 43. I made this card thinking of her - tall, classy and so elegant. It perhaps doesn't do her justice but it's my very best attempt. 

A Titanic Card

Yesterday was a HAPPY HAPPY day because I found out that I had won the Oodles of Doodles challenge at Beyond Grey for this card and today I am back with my submission for this fortnight's challenge at Beyond Grey. Once again they have come up with a stupendous theme - a Clean and Simple Movie Inspired Card. How friggin' awesome is that!!! I am such a movie buff and was just brimming with ideas. For most of the past few days I was thinking of going Twilight style, all dark and twisty. But that just wasn't working out so my final creation is a romantic card inspired from the unforgettable movie - Titanic!

As you can see I have focussed on that classic scene of Jack and Rose on the ship, kissing for the first time. Of course my card isn't quite so dramatic and sensual, it's almost cartoonish I think. But I am super kicked with how it turned out. Here's a close up of the silhouetted couple kissing. For the inside of the card, I replicated the wave pattern and chose a line from the movie as the sentiment - 'You Jump I Jump'.

For my color scheme I went with the Play Date Cafe's super choice for the week - Black and White with a splash of coral. Coral is such a pretty color - not red, not pink, not peach but somewhere in between. I was lucky to find some dual toned coral pattern paper in my stash and used that for the hearts and sentiment. Here's the inspiration image from PDC. Also just in case you aren't familiar with the movie, here is the poster.

All the shapes on my card are cut on my Cameo. I have received so many requests to show how it works so stay tuned, I will be very shortly be providing a first hand look at how I create with the Cameo.

Also linking to 4 Crafty Chicks - CAS

Thanks for stopping by...

Horses for Debbie

Some of you already know this - about a month ago, my building had a carnival where I put up a stall to sell all my cards and crafts. One of the items on offer was my carousel card, which you can see by clicking here. An American lady called Debbie saw someone buying that card and istantly asked me if I could recreate that for her. She was away from home and had loads of horse-loving friends back in the US who she missed dearly and to whom she wanted to send a few cards. She wanted 3 of the same carousel design and a couple more variations of the horse theme. So here is what I came up with. 

For the carousel cards I chose three colors inspired by the pattern paper I used for the envelopes. The first was this pretty yellow, pink and orange design. Doesn't it look like a real carnival!

The second was this monochromatic blue design with an awesome chevron pattern paper that I picked up from ItsyBitsy for just Rs. 10. What is interesting is that I have used only blue in this set but there are literally four shades of blue - the lace, the 2 tones of the carousel and the envelope are all different shades of blue. I'm entering this one into Creative Moments Challenge 11 - Shades of Blue

And the third was this this rich red color scheme. I was grateful to have the red damask pattern paper for the envelope and I really adore the lush almost passionate feel of the card.

Next I wanted to make something masculine. I got this DCVW gorgeous pattern paper from ItsyBitsy and the sandy plaid design was just perfect for the my theme. Did you notice the sentiment with the little horseshoe 'U'. The 'Missing' is etched with my cameo. I'm entering this one into Here Come the Boys #47 - No Stamps Allowed and Addicted to CAS #7 - Masculine

Finally this is my favorite. I got this lovely paper and I was just waiting and waiting to make something with it. I was finally ready to use it for this card. Then I cut out the lovely lace panel using my cameo, added a soft organza bow and a rim of pearls at the top and bottom. I used the sketch from Stampin Royalty as a guide.

 

And that wraps it up. Debbie really appreciated the cards and is looking forward to sending them to her friends in Texas and Alabama. I certainly hope they like it too.

My Favorite Doodle

The challenge this month at Beyond Greys is all about Doodling - hand drawn or etched creations. It's such a fun challenge and I guess I'm not the only one who thinks so. Literally every day when I check my blogger dashboard I see one or 2 projects created just for this challenge. All the entries, combined with the super awesome inspiration over at Beyond Greys - (I mean like WOW - Pooja's waves are just amazing and Snehal's bird is so clever and cute) just got me in the mood so here is my creation.

From my school days, my favorite doodle was always eyes. I loved drawing eyes - open eyes, closed eyes, beautiful eyes. There have been countless college lectures I have doodled through all the while, immersed in the eyes. So when I saw this challenge, there was only one thing I could do - relive my doodling days with some mesmerizing eyes. 

My other inspiration was the O Sanam video - I guess thinking of college made me think of that gorgeous song and that sad beautiful video, and that's kind of how this Arabic princess look came together. I did the skin with my copic markers - I only have the skin shades. The green I did with BIC markers. I completed it with this amazing DCVW La Creme pattern paper - you can't make out but  all the black flowers on this sheet are velvet... soooo pretty!! Got it from ItsyBitsy of course where I could just pick up the single sheet and saved some money. 

And this is the inside of the card... such a romantic cover had to have a romantic sentiment. I etched this one with my Cameo and a pen holder - 'I only have eyes for you'. Another reason to get nostalgic because that's kind of how I felt in college - met my husband when I was in 2nd year and only had eyes for him. 

Ta Ta for now :)

UPDATE 13/3/2013 - Won the Beyond Grey Challenge for this card! Yippee!

Basket of Roses Card with Envelope

Some of you may have seen my post this morning on the ItsyBitsy Blog of a Basket of Roses Card. Thank you all for the lovely comments, it's so reassuring to get your support. The colors I used for this creation were inspired by the Inspired by Stamping Inspiration Challenge picture for this week. The combination is white, light brown and red which became my pallet for this concept. I also made a matching envelope for the card and here's a look at the set. 

The card has a woven bask at the base and the top is filled with bountiful and superfluous lush red roses. For the first time I found the greatest challenge of the colors was incorporating white which I was finally able to do with the 'Thank you Tag'. Here's a closer look at the envelopes. 

Since it is a 3D card with all the roses protruding from the card, I had to make a box envelope which is almost three quarters of an inch thick. I extended the woven basket effect to the envelope flap and made the body of the envelope with the same card stock as the the roses. Then I cut a rose background which in the same shade of red card stock which I glued over the base red making it look like the envelope is embossed with a rose design. Lovely isn't it!

Here's a look at the card upright from different angles. I really had fun packing in the roses and I think that paid off. Here is the inspiration pic from IBSIC challenges. As I look at it I realize that I was inspired by more than the color. The heart packed with roses has obviously spoken to me... hee hee!

I have done a full video tutorial of how I made the card. It was really easy and inexpensive. So pop on over to the ItsyBitsy Blog and let me know what you think. All the supplies used is on the ItsyBitsy blog as well.

Also entering it into Incy Wincy Designs. They have asked us to add texture and with all the weaving I've done, I think I definitely added some serious texture. 

Then I noticed Craft Room Challenge is asking that we make our own embellishment. My whole card is one big handmade embellishment hehe.. so I'm entering this challenge as well. 

Ta ta for now...