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!

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??

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:

Fibre-tissue paper earrings

Remember my rice paper earrings? This one was made the same way... From a piece of a new kind of violet-colored paper I found in a bouquet wrapper... It looks like tissue paper but is more fibrous and difficult to tear. Do you happen to know what it is called?

I have used a handmade wire loop of 22 gauge wire, pearl metallic acrylic colors and kundan stones. I have tried to give a rustic look by dabbing the paint rather than applying it smoothly. Have not sealed it yet but hope to do it tomorrow night (read as after my son sleeps.. :))

How is it?

Kraft Korner - Cash/Gift card envelopes

Hi All! Hope all of you would be enjoying the festive season and preparing to usher in the new year.. The peak muhurtham season just before and after this month of margazhi means a lot of weddings, house warming ceremonies and other occasions would be scheduled around this time.

Kraft Korner - Return Gifts for Valaikaappu :)

Hi All! In case you were wondering if I have really gone into hibernation, here I am :-) I've just migrated to warmer climes (read parents' house :)) on maternity leave... Winding up work, preparing the house for my long absence, last minute check-ups and packing had taken a lot of time and energy but this entire phase is just so beautiful and I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Kraft Korner - A 'Flutter' card...

This time, I have tried making my own embellishments.. Yes, the butterflies that you see on the card :) They were stamped using foam stamp from Itsy Bitsy which I inked with green markers on a yellow punch paper and then fussy cut. Next, I used Faber Castell 3D outliners to do up the shiny wings. Here's a closer view:

The card itself has orange punch paper layered on to white card stock.  I had punched little butterflies out of the orange paper and stuck below them a strip of the same pattern paper (DCWV) that you see on the left side of the card. The vine and flowers are stamped and the heart trail doodle is hand-drawn. For the sentiment, I hand-cut a banner strip off a lovely golden coloured satin-finish paper from Itsy Bitsy and wrote out the sentiment using a black gel pen. I guess I should have tested it first because the ink ran through the fibre a little, making the letters fuzzy... It has given an interesting effect though. The heart spread (fluttered :)) a little too much for the shape to be made out clearly and so I used a maroon satin-finish paper to replace it with a hand-cut heart that I've stuck using double-sided adhesive foam tape to give it a raised effect. Did the same with the butterflies too...

How do you like the card? Can you suggest me which inks work best on satin-finish paper without bleeding?

I'm linking this to
1. Anything goes with Itsy Bitsy Challenge and
2. Lulupu Word Play Challenge
3. Challenges 4 Everybody

And do I need to tell for whom I made this card?  :)

Kraft Korner - Faux Jade Necklace

Hey all! Winter is around the corner.. days are bound to get a bit sluggish (yeah, I like to just keep hibernating inside my rajaai :)) So I want to make the best use of the few days left before the cold overtakes my energy!

 It has been a while since I made jewellery.. I have been wanting to try out wire-wrapping for quite some time now. I did try out a couple of wire-wrapped earrings but they were quickly made and swiftly gifted away to dear friends before I had the patience to click them for memory's sake...

Kraft Korner - 50th Bday card for my M-i-L

Hi all! As you have guessed, my experiments into cardmaking are in full swing :) And this time, it is stamping!! I was just waiting for a perfect occasion to make use of all the information gleaned from Stamping videos on youtube and I did get a very special one... 

Kraft Korner - Cracked Glass Art

Whoever said that breaking a glass was inauspicious probably had not heard of glass paints and the myriad ways to convert broken glass into beautiful objects of art. The first time I used glass paints was to help my sis when she wanted to do a wall hanging many years ago. I had helped only because she had asked me to and my part was restricted to tracing out a geometric pattern on paper and breaking the bubbles on the paint with a pin head. I was neither fascinated with the job nor with the paints or medium. But after being bitten by the craft bug and especially after seeing Suman's painted bottle, I was itching to try out some glass painting. But I could not lay hands on a piece of glass which I could use to test-run. Desperate with waiting for a test piece, I was even prepared to sacrificing the plainness of a couple of window panes for my trial runs :-)

Kraft Korner - A tiny Thank U card

After being tempted by so many pretty cards made by some of my fellow blogger friends, I have dared to venture out into card making as well :) Before I get more adventurous with the multitude of techniques, textures and trinkets used to make cards, I decided to try out with a simple, tiny one first.

 I have just quilled a leaf, a few petals and a coil for the flower's centre. For the stem, I have just added a couple of swirls. After sticking these, I found that the placement was skewed and the right side of the card should have something more to balance. So, added the coordinating strips.

I have used this as a mini Thank U note to go along with a bunch of handmade jewellery for my doctor cousin whom we keep pestering for free advice whenever the occasion demands ;-)
So, how is it?

Kraft Kormer - My second paper lampshade

 

Remember the first lampshade I made out of handmade paper? Here's another one.. I thought of block-printing this initially but the texture of the paper was not suitable for uniform printing. So, I have just painted a border and added a few flowers made out of punched dots. 

Kraft Korner - Polymer Clay Jewellery Tutorial

 

Polymer clay is a (group of) modelling compounds based on PolyVinyl Chloride...Chemistry apart, the fun and understandable part of this material is it is easy to shape, retains the shape and colour after baking, the colours are easily 'mix'able i. e. they can be blended to form new colours just like you do with your paints... What more, it can be painted upon, engraved, embossed, clay-modelled, punched, moulded into just anything that your imagination makes it out to be! I was super-excited when I came across this material and have been playing around with it for a while now.. So, when Itsy Bitsy (craft supplies store) announced their SizzixTutorial Challenge this month, I thought what better than to add a Polymer Clay Jewellery Tutorial?

Kraft Korner - Earrings for my cousins

Childhood holds special memories for each of us.. And I can say that a mix of the words- cousins, summer holidays and grandparents' home- would bring a rush of nostalgia to most of us. Ah, the simple games, the mingling with the village kids, farm-work gazing, bountiful supply of desi mangoes, playing on mounds of unhusked grain, the story sessions at the regular power-out hours, tender-coconut drinking competitions, buying a variety of 10-paise candies with money 'earned' from grandpa, trips to the local water spots, playing with the groundnut- shelling cranker on the terrace, hide and seek in the granary, hmmm... endless list.

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 3 - Foam Kundan Earrings

3. Foam - Kundan Earrings

As the name suggests, this is a very simple yet elegant pair made out of foam dots and kundan stones and sealed.

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 2 - Quilled Earrings

2. Quilled Earrings

I learnt a few new quilling techniques recently and I thought I'd put them to good use and get practice as well. The top portion is a jhumka made using white 4mm strip, painted in pearl-metallic silver acrylic paint. The middle portion is again a white strip fashioned thus using an old comb, painted similarly. The lowermost portion is white beads, as u can see. The quilled portions have been coated with clear nail polish to give it sturdiness (believe me, the piece becomes very strong after coating.. try it) and to make it water-proof.For those who do not prefer long danglers (like me), i guess just the two quilled parts would make a fabulous piece too.. what say?

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 1 - Rice Paper Earrings

White is as complex as simple it seems to be... Both scientifically and artistically too :) It lends itself to any background,it is essential to impart light and effect in paintings, it provides contrast to an otherwise dull work and so on... But a work with only white?  Phew, it is quite challenging!

The challenge this month at Itsy Bitsy dared us to create something using only white(s)... Thankfully, silver can be used too, for bling. Here is the link/inspiration image to the challenge:

Beautiful though the image is, it made me (and i'm sure, other contestents too) rack my brains a bit to come up with something befiiting it.. I love challenges and this one was quite up to its name! I have tried to use different media since I wanted to experiment and learn as much as I could in the process.. And I can vouch that it was unalloyed fun the whole way through :) Well, here are my entries:

Kraft Korner - Baby steps in Beaded Jewellery Making

 

It all started when we happened to visit the Strand Bookstore in New York... While V was busy browsing through the non-fiction, logic, math sections, I was drawn to the cooking and crafting sections as you might have guessed :) There were umpteen number of books that I wanted to take back but there's only so much that one can buy and carry! Three books were on my shortlist and one of them was Carol Grape's "Handmade Jewellery".

Kraft Korner - Quilled Paper Jewellery - Towers of Hanoi

When I began reading and knowing about crafts, I found paper quilling to be very intriguing. How a simple strip of paper is entirely transformed to so many different shapes and patterns! My very mindset about paper started to change.. Though I kept browsing and reading more about quilling, it is only very recently that I mustered courage and got myself my first set of quilling strips and a simple slotted quilling tool. To start with, I just made a simple tight coil out of a sky blue strip and sealed the ends. When I wondered what I could do with it, my recently acquired another interest - jewellery making- inspired me to try out a pair of earrings. I made another blue coil, two pink ones and strung them into this: