Wire wrapped Kolam Jewellery

Hi all!! Hope you had a great Diwali! I made these wire wrapped ornaments for my next post at BeadsnFashion. Head over to http://blog.beadsnfashion.com/2015/11/15/wire-wrapped-handmade-jewellery/ to learn about the technique and tips to make your own jewellery findings.

Here are more pieces that I made:

Do you like them?

Photo layouts

Hi all! Wish you all a very Happy Diwali!! I made these blank photo layouts sometime last month..

I tried employing different paper crafting techniques in each of them..

Which is your favourite among these??

Stringing materials at BeadsnFashion

Hi all.. Interested in finding about different kinds of jewellery stringing materials and different ways to use them? Pls visit my second blog post for BeadsnFashion at http://blog.beadsnfashion.com/2015/10/28/our-wide-range-of-jewellery-stringing-materials/

Less than six days left...

LESS THAN A WEEK LEFT!!!

Hello Peeps.. Just wanted to remind you all that the 'Earring ExtraOrdinaire' contest submission at BeadsnFashion closes in just 6 days from now!! With Diwali round the corner, we know that you'd all be very busy with the festivities and sharing of joy... Please make it another occasion to celebrate by showcasing your creativity on our blog.. Head right over to http://blog.beadsnfashion.com/…/our-versatile-earring-comp…/ in case you'd like to pitch in!!

Mini cards...

Hi all! Here are some mini cards that I made for my local haat stall.. The mini metallic card bases are from Itsy Bitsy that I had for a looong while now in my stash.. I remember that I bought them when I wanted to try card making first.. and then I had made this quilled card.. How time flies!!

I have used the remaining cards from that set, stamps and tiny sentiments, random findings like buttons, scraps of cardstock, different kinds of inks  and a tiny dab of glossy accents in these cards:

And here is the whole set:

Hope you like them...

Magnetic mini frames

Hi! These are tiny frames.. Can hold just a passport sized or so pic.. The base is an old invitation card sponged with Evergreen Bough and Black Soot distress inks. The die-cut panel (SpellBinders Delicate Doilies die set) was also sponged with the same inks and stamped with a Technique Tuesdays stamp whose name I am not able to recollect now.. happens all the time with me :) The magnetic base and backing were prepared similar to that in a previous post..

Here is another similar mini frame:

Magnetic Square photo frames - 4

For this frame too, I used old invitation card as base, sponged Distress Inks and ColorBox pigment Ink, added inked up die-cut panel with foam tape. Embellished with rhinestones.. This is a little smaller than the previous frames and is square shaped. The die is from Spellbinders Delicate Doilies die set.

Here is another frame made similarly: (Sorry, the pic is not well taken.. )

Magnetic Photo Frames - 3

For this frame, I used an old invitation card again as the base, die-cut it and sponged it with Distress Inks.. The Di mini-ink sets are pretty handy, right? I just loved using them.. Then added die-cut (Tattered Florals die set from Tim Holtz) fabric-paper flowers and added pearls to them and rhinestones to the base. The 'Family' is a stamp from We R Memory Keepers and the panel is die-cut.

For the backing and magnetic base, I used the same technique as in my previous posts..

Do you like this?

Magnetic Photo Frames - 2

For this frame, I used an old metallic gold coloured invitation card as the base, die-cut the frame and tried to sponge vintage photo distress ink onto it. But because of the glossy finish on the card, the ink wouldn't stay. So I rubbed a little Creamy Brown Chalk Ink from Color Box Chalk Ink set and then sponged the Vintage Photo DI.. Then attached the die-cut jute flower and popped the wording panel with foam tape onto it. The panel is again cut and inked similar to the base. Added die-cut letters which I inked with Walnut Stain DI..

For the base and backing, I followed the same technique as in my previous frame. How is it?

Magnetic Photo Frames.. 1

Hi all.. We had a local haat/flea market in our apartment complex and guess what I made? A bunch of magnetic photo frames and some mini cards.. wanted to share them with you..

For this frame, I used the negative of a die-cut blue corrugated sheet that I had bought from Itsy Bitsy, trimmed it to size and added the embellishments and diecut words to it.. For the 'Where' and 'When' panels, used diecuts again which I inked on the borders and then stamped the words with stamps from a custom-ordered stamp set from Shoma of Artbug.. Then I stuck the piece onto a similarly cut cardstock panel to give it more strength and mounted the entire thing with foam tape(on three sides, the fourth side is to slide in the photos) onto a double layer of cardstock backing. Then adhered magnetic tape on the reverse side of the backing.

How is it? 

An announcement :-)

Hi all! It has become my habit to disappear completely for a long time and then to flood you with posts suddenly.. :-) Am unashamedly doing that again now.. There have been major changes going on  particularly on my professional front and it is taking time for me to cope with everything.. but life is much more beautiful with these changes now.. will keep you posted when the right time arrives.. Until then, I want to share a happy update.. I have been selected to be the first design team member of BeadsnFashion, a one-stop destination for all things related to jewellery making!!!

Here is the link to my first post with them. You MUST visit it, especially if you like making jewellery and are very creative about it. Bcoz there is a contest that you can participate in and win exciting prizes!

And be prepared to receive a deluge of new posts from my feed now :-)

Handmade stencils

I was itching to do some DIY and struck upon this a few weeks back when I was ogling mixed media projects online with a crazy obsession.. Well, before trying these designs above, I started with simple ones:

 (had used this one on my son's birthday album cover page.. wasn't quick enough to wash the acrylic off.. u have any tips for this?)

Did this with a craft knife on some plastic folders that we usually get in stationery stores ( cost just 6 Rs. and each was cut into four pieces for all the stencils above!) The hearts was the first one I cut and it shows in the pic that I wasn't deft with the knife to begin with, right? :-)

But once I got the hang of it, the rest patterns were a breeze.. I just drew the image on a piece of paper and placed the plastic sheet on top of it and went through with my knife.. Well, everything placed on a thick newspaper bed to avoid the floor getting the scratches, of course!

Peach-Plum-Apricot cobbler

I made this most-delicious-dessert-we-have-ever-had with a bag of these summer fruits gifted by a neighbour who happened to visit the hills to beat the heat.. it was melt-in-the-mouth and finger-licking-good!!

We had it with vanilla icecream.. yumm!!

Here's the recipe at : http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/summer-stone-fruit-almond-cobbler.aspx

I had halved the recipe and we(four adults) finished the whole batch in two servings!!!

Birthday card for a Special Someone

Hi all.. With the scorching summer waving goodbye and making way for monsoon winds and rain, there seems to be a lot of cheer around! Kids are coming out to play after a long dreary time and seeing them play makes one feel good and playful too :-)

Here's a little card I made for a special someone a couple of months ago.. The kraft cardstock and Lunne patterned paper was bought at Ananda Stationery Store a few months back when I made a trip to Chennai. The cupcake is handmade with scraps which I handcut and embossed.. The 'frosting' was done with Faber-Castell 3D outliners (Pearl) which I had in my stash for a long time.. I had planned to give it a nice piped design but it so happened that the tip was dried out and everything came out in one BIG blob when I unplugged it.. so, there goes my design ;-( But I like this look too.. don't you?
The 'cherry' is a spare button that came with one of my kurtis :-)

Here's a  closeup of the cupcake:

Another day's dinner...

Oh. no.. I don't really keep cooking exotic dinners all the time.. These are reserved for close knit family on special days.. That day, it was fried tofu, chilli-garlic spinach (some of it ground with some leftover dal to a paste for the dip) and zuchhini-capsicum bread. The tossed spinach was the best!

Baked Lemon - Chicken Breasts with Herbs

Tweaked the popular lemon chicken recipe to make this by stuffing with garlic and sprinkling oven-dried mint which I crushed/powdered with hands and sieved on top.. Served with home-made garlic bread (turned out very average.. boo hoo..) and veg corn soup.

Dinner that day:

Photo fridge magnet for my neighbour

My neighbour is a very sweet lady.. her daughter's family stays abroad and so she misses being with him. But her daughter keeps sending her his pics on Whatsapp.. Having a son almost that age, I understand how cherished these memories would be for her.. So I made this fridge magnet for her as a gift..
(Again, please excuse me for the pic.. even the stray glue marks show..hmm !!)

I cut two pieces of card stock of equal dimensions for the base (to give it proper strength), rounded the corners with my Docrafts Corner Cutter and stuck them together. Then matted a DCWV pattern paper after rounding its corners too. Then I die-cut the photo using Spellbinders Nestabilities Blossoms 4 die and matted it on to black card stock cut with the same die. The embellishment are glass stones that we usually find in our homes for decor (to put in fish tanks, glass bowls etc), some pearls and a Portacraft sticker with ribbon bought from Itsy Bitsy during the recent summer sale.. I bought the Spellbinders Die too on the same sale and was raring to try it :-). After sticking it all together, I stuck some self-adhesive magnetic tape (that hubby bought for me in a US craft store - was on my wishlist and on his phone to-do list for a long time :-)) on the back to convert it to a fridge magnet.

So, how has this turned out??

Li'l N's Birthday album

This is one MEGA project I was (and still continue to.. for the stamping and embellishments) working on for weeks together.. Each page is a project in itself and I used the opportunity to learn quite a few techniques.. I have finished some of the pages.. here's the stack:

And a sample of the insides:

(The decoration at  home was entirely done by me and balloons were blown by my father-in-law.. will add more pics of it later)

For the cover page, I have painted the background with acrylics on canvas, used some homemade texture paste and hand-cut stencil for the squares.. painted on it with pearl metallic acrylics (matching his outfit) and used wooden store-bought alphabet. The '1' is handcut and painted, again to match his outfit that day..  :-)

Will keep uploading pics now and then as I keep completing the album...

Bagels with Cream Cheese

V LOVVVES bagels.. He has a few every time he goes to the US and almost everytime we go to a Dunkin Donuts outlet.. This one has been on my must-try list for a long time but I was a bit apprehensive about getting the texture right (my nemesis in baking!) But when I did dare try, what a treat we had that Sunday morn for breakfast!!

Made the bagels and the cream cheese from scratch.. Will upload the recipe soon.. if you'd like to try it sooner, please check Peter Reinhart's recipe on Epicurious and Yummy Tummy for the Cream Cheese! Both are a little time and effort-consuming.. but worth it, really!!

Flowers with Thanks to Dr. Sonia

Hello all!! I'm back from a loooooong hiatus, thanks to Dr. Sonia.. She literally brought my blogging spirit back to life when she put in a comment in my previous post asking if everything was right :-) I just adore her for her time management and involvement with all her readers despite being a busy professional with an active kid at home!! KUDOS TO YOU MA'AM!!

Though I have not been blogging actively for the months past, I have been experimenting a lot with cooking and crafting too whenever I can steal time after my son sleeps (and everyone else too, for it usually gets past 1 or 2 at night!!). Yes, I really don't focus too much on photographing and blogging/recording things too much due to this time crunch but just manage to click a few pics with hubby's phone for memories' sake..Well, there's no stopping us crafters, right? :-)

That said, it is really becoming increasingly difficult for women to manage everything these days.. Work, home, child(ren), hobbies, relatives, guests, social circle and what not.. PHEW!! ;-).. So, here's a little bunch of handmade flowers for all the wonderful ladies and Dr. Sonia especially!

I die cut half A4 sheets of blue and teal felt, a pink jute sheet and a purple foam sheet to begin with.. Here, I have used Sizzix Tattered Florals die. Then, I layered the flowers with different combinations to check out what looks good. Once the combinations fell in place, I used a head pin and a bead for the center and glued the layers using hot glue (by melting a glue stick over a candle..I had bought the glue stick in an exhibition long back and it was lying unused till now!). Then applied distress inks (Worn lipstick, Evergreen Bough and Chipped Sapphire) around the edges of some of the flowers (lighter toned layers) to make em pop and voila.. done!

Will be posting more pics of my craft work and a few special new dishes that I tried (all in the past few weeks) in future posts.. but please do bear with the poor quality and raw, unedited or minimally edited pics.. Time is at a very high premium and I'd rather prefer to use it to finish those n projects that I always start but have to leave unfinished!!

New Born Baby Card

Wish you all a Very Happy New Year!!

V's cousin has had a baby boy recently.. news of a new birth in the family evokes a completely different, happy and nostalgic feeling in me after my son's birth.. i sure felt happier earlier too when i heard such news but this is so different!! I hope other mothers too can identify with what this is about.. hmm :)

I have made this card to welcome the little one.. Have done some basic stamping, embossing, inking and matting.. The banner is made by cutting pieces out of a washi tape..

How is the card? Here's a close up and better view: