Creativity takes Courage

Hello and good morning dear friends!

I can't believe I forgot to share this fantastic piece of news with you all....

Well... better late than never... what say? :)

My work has once again featured in Our Idea Book!!! (India's first ever craft magazine.)

It's in the September 2017 Issue on Page No. 7.

This project is very special to me, because it is symbolic. It is dedicated to all those people who put their work out there, take criticism with a smile on their faces + hope in their hearts and strive to improve with each passing day. :)

P.S. I love making ATCs so to be able to use a combination of them and make a project was a lot of fun!

To buy the magazine, click > HERE

In case you have any specific query related to this project, don't forget to shoot me an email at halak.shah@gmail.com or leave a comment below this post and I will reply as soon as I see the msg!

I'd love to know what you think! Have a lovely weekend!

Hello Friend

Hello and good afternoon dear friends!

Here's a simple card I made for a friend using Altenew Persian Motifs with Papericious Papers (Pretty Basics.)

The sentiment is by So Suzy Stamps.

The oval stitched die is by Peek-a-boo Designs and I've colored the image using Staedtler luna color pencils.

I've added a bit of glitter to the colored image but you can also heat emboss it using sparkly embossing powder!

Thank you for stopping by!

Have a lovely day! *Hugs*

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Cards For A Cause

One of the joys of papercrafting is we get to spread happiness, make some one smile, brighten someone's day.

It is the primary reason that made me take up cardmaking after the end of art classes that I took up during school. :)

We have an awesome facebook page that goes by the name of "Cards For A Cause - India"

You can check out the group :  HERE 

This group conducts various card drives wherein we crafters get an opportunity to contribute to a cause by sending out cards.

The most recent card drive was the : send cards to soldiers drive for which I made these thank you cards.

How'd I make these cards?

Here are the steps :

1. Created background using the Hypnotic stencil by Penny Black.
(Distress ink colors used were : Spiced Marmalade and Mowed Lawn)

The Indian flag consists of colors Saffron White and Green, so that was the color theme I wanted to go with.

2. Stamped the sentiment using the fantastic Thank You stamp by So Suzy Stamps.

3. Die-cut using a rectangle from the Rounded Rectangle Dual Stitched die by Peek-a-boo Designs.

4. Added navy blue sequins and matted it onto navy blue cardstock.

5. Lastly, added a glittery multi-colored strand of thread.

I also created matching envelopes for the cards after which I penned down a few words of thanks and then sent these out! ^__^

Before I sign off, here's one more picture :

I hope you liked my project. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a lovely evening! *Hugs*

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An ATC with neon colors

Hello and good morning! ^__^

This post has been really overdue.

I created this neon ATC for a swap a while back.

Deets :

1. Stenciled background using distress inks with Rhapsody stencil by Memory Box.

2. Stamped the flowers from Altenew Persian Motifs.

3. Stamped sentiment using the Hello Friend stamp by So Suzy Stamps.

4. Added stitching towards the top and bottom edges. (49 & Market stamp - Gabi's Line Stitch)

5. To color, I've used Staedtler color pencils with Sakura pens in neon colors.

6. Added a bit of glitter + some washi tape and a tiny heart sticker.

7. Finally, matted it onto red cardstock and boom! The ATC was complete.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! *Hugs* <3

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Hello friend

Hello and good evening!

Here's a card I made for a friend using So Suzy Stamps and Ink Bites. (All inks are by So Suzy Stamps except black.)

Kinda looks like one of those beautiful cherry blossom trees, what say? ^__^ I love this particular set of ink bites because it's a color co-ordinated set of soft pastel shades that make awesome cards for all age groups! And two shades of purple! Woo hoo!

Steps :

First, on a die-cut piece of cardstock I stamped the Bare Tree Tall stamp using the Pretty Pewter Ink Bite.

After that I used the Dot Splatter stamp and stamped it multiple times using Thistle Thicket and Lucky Lavender Ink Bites.

All of the ink bites that I used are from the So Suzy - Highland Spring Ink Bite set.

Stamped sentiment (Hello Friend) using black archival ink.

Next, using Carnation Pink Nuvo Drops I added a couple of drops to the tree and sprinkled glitter over it.

Matted it onto black card base, added a couple of heart stickers near the sentiment (purchased locally) and tied a silver twine.

Here's a close up :

And that's how I did it! ^__^ Thank you so much for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Linking this to : So Suzy Ink Bites Challenge

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Saying thanks

Here's a card I made to thank a friend.

Could I have said thanks over a phone or msg? Sure. But for a card maker, there is no better joy than to say it with a card. ^__^

How'd I make it?

A CAS project, I used the Flower Flourish stamp by So Suzy Stamps along with a sentiment stamp by Tim Holtz.

Stamped the flourish and sentiment onto cardstock and tied a ribbon.

The cardstock that you see here is the white textured cardstock sold by PABD. (Peek-a-boo Designs)

Colored parts of flourish using Sakura Pens.

Added glitter to parts of flourish. (I used pva glue and glitter with a thin brush but an easier option is wink of stella!)

Finished it off with a few pastel sequins. (From Craftin' Desert Divas)

And that's it!

Before I sign off, a quick close up :

Sparkly!

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

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Bunch of ATCs!

Hello and good morning! ^__^

Here's the post that was long overdue...

What happened was I made some ATCs, and then made some more and since they were all different, I decided to collaborate them into one big post!

So here goes..

The photograph that you see above was a part of a sneak peek of a gorgeous Limited Edition stamp set called Away We Go launched by Peek-A-Boo Designs.

You can read all about it : HERE 

Next up, this set of ATCs was made using distress inks, stencils, washi tape, glitter, crackle accents, modeling paste, die-cuts and sequins along with some mini mixed media themed stamps by Peek-A-Boo Designs.

This one was made using distress inks with my favorite stamp - Phineas The Peacock by So Suzy Stamps.
The sentiment is a sticker.

This one has a mix of stamps from Studio G, Altenew and So Suzy Stamps.

This ATC has the Love Balloon and Celebrate stamps by So Suzy Stamps along with the usual suspects, glitter, washi tape and sequins!

This one was challenging, as the theme was love without using the colors : red and pink!

It has quite a few items like rhinestones, pearls etc. adhered to it but, the stamps used for this project are by So Suzy Stamps & Tim Holtz along with the Rhapsody stencil by Memory Box.

Last but not the least, this ATC features a Heidi Swapp stencil with a partial So Suzy Stamp (Stardust Dancing).

I'm sorry I couldn't describe the steps in detail for each and every ATC, because as you can see, they are all different and that would make this post painfully long!

But... if you have any query regarding any of these, drop me an email at : halak.shah@gmail.com OR leave a comment on this blog post and I shall reply to it at the earliest!

Thank you so much for stopping by! *Big Panda Hugs*

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A sparkly birthday card

Hello! ^__^

A quick post today, sharing a with you a birthday card I made.

I made this using Bielo Cardstock, a sample of which was given to me as a part of the 3rd birthday celebrations at The Craft Shop. (Thank you Priya! It's really awesome!)

This cardstock is smooth and super sturdy, 300 gsm.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it took on the inks during stenciling, because these are not distress inks... these are dye inks! So despite me using dye inks, as you can see, it led to a nice, smooth blend.

It's pure white cardstock, which means it does not have subtle yellow / grey undertones, thereby making the colors look more vibrant.

All in all, I really enjoyed using it and will definitely be getting more of this cardstock to try with other mediums!

A fairly easy CAS project, here's a list of the stuff I used to make this card :

The sentiment (Happy Birthday stamp by So Suzy Stamps) was stamped using Archival ink.

The dye ink set is called Highland Spring and is also by So Suzy Stamps.

I used brads (by Kaisercraft), washi tape, glitter (both local buys) and some die-cuts (RAK from a crafty Pen Pal).

Also on the butterfly and the background you can see a script stamp which is by Tim Holtz.

Here's a close up :

This was one awfully tough to photograph project (blame the poor lighting) but I did manage to click a picture at a lower angle to show you the shimmer on the butterfly.

Oh, also used some mini pearls, a teeny tiny confetti star and some rhinestones in blue and purple on the butterfly. (From my stash.)

The various layers of shimmer! Sparkly sparkly! ^__^

And that's that!

Thank you so much for stopping by, have an awesome day!

Linking this to :  The Craft Shop Contest 

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Same same, but different

Hello hello! ^__^

So, a couple of days ago, just another evening... me making this card...

I did need one more card for a friend and this design would be too blingy for him (because this was designed for a girl)....

That got me thinking.... what if I whip up a slightly toned down version of this card using the same craft supplies in a different color scheme?

Hmmm.... 

Yep, I did it! :D

A minimalist look on this one with a  warm color palette and finished off with just a touch of gold sequins.

The process of making these is the exact same, only difference being : the first one has been matted and jazzed up a little more with the shimmery card base and the sequins + pearls.
Whereas the second card, as you can see, is a lot more simpler.

Steps :

This card uses 1 of each of the following elements :

1 Stencil (Flourish by Tim Holtz)
1 Die-cut (Forest Branch by Marianne Creatables)
1 Stamp (Happy Birthday by So Suzy Stamps)

1. First, I stenciled the design.

2. After that applied colors to the die-cut using a blending tool with distress inks.

3. Added a coat of crackle accents to the die-cut and adhered it to cardstock.

4. Stamped sentiment with Archival ink.

5. Lastly finished it off with some sequins.

For the fancier version : (Up to step 5 exactly same)

6. Added pearls along with the sequins and glitter to select leaves of the die-cut.

7. Trimmed, rounded one corner and matted onto purple cardstock. (Rounded the corner of purple cardstock too.)

8. Finally matted it onto silver embossed cardstock. (From my stash.)

And there you have it folks, two projects with same supplies and different color combos!

Thank you for stopping by and have a lovely evening!

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A winter ATC

Hello and good evening!

Here's a winter themed ATC that I recently made.

It does not snow where I live but boy oh boy, winter sure is pretty in some parts of the world! ^__^

This is just my humble attempt of winter portrayal.

Steps :

1. Smooshed salty ocean and mowed lawn distress inks onto paper and let it dry.

2. Once it dried, I took the Hypnotic stencil by Penny Black and stenciled the design using salty ocean distress ink.

3. After that, I took a die-cut consisting of a ring of snowflakes, applied crackle accents to it (for that crackle / frost look), let it dry, cut it up and randomly adhered to project.

4. Stamped sentiment (Winter's Butterfly stamp by So Suzy Stamps) and butterfly (Wplus9).

5. Lastly, added some white sequins + colorful rhinestones and matted onto black cardstock.

And that's how I did it!

Hope you enjoyed reading it! Have a lovely evening dear friends! *Hugs*

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Swimming by, saying hi!

Here's a hello card I made for a new friend. :)

Kept it simple and let the beautiful sea horse stamp shine through.

The seahorse stamp is... of course! By my favorite rubber stamp company, So Suzy Stamps.

He also has a name! He goes by the name Polo - The Seahorse! How cool is that!

Okay okay... enough about me going gaga over the cuteness, here are the steps :

1. Stamped Polo and masked him.

2. Stenciled around him using Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers distress inks with Tim Holtz Flourish stencil.

3. Stamped sentiment using archival ink with a Wplus9 sentiment stamp set. (From the strictly sentiments series)

4. Colored Polo with Staedtler Luna color pencils and Sakura gelly roll pens.
Added glossy accents to his belly + fin and sprinkled some glitter over it to give him a little bit of sparkle!

5. Tied a bow and matted it onto green with a final mat onto white card base.

6. Finally, used the sequins I recently bought from the Pastel assortment at Craftin Desert Divas (yay!) and scattered them around!

And that's it! I hope you guys have a lovely Sunday!

Thank you for stopping by! Till next time!

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Peacock Plumes!

Good afternoon! ^__^

I re-created a few of my past projects featuring the super gorgeous Phineas stamp and Reindeer stamp by So Suzy Stamps.

(Sentiment stamps : Strictly Sentiments by Wplus9 & Don't Give Up by So Suzy Stamps.)

Personally, I love the black Phineas but this is the first time I did a green version of Phineas and everybody I showed it to at home loved it so I am one happy camper!

To read the deets on how I made it, click - Here

  

Here's the ATC that I re-created.

Steps - Here 

I made co-ordinating envelopes too!

I had a lot of fun re-creating these projects as they feature some of my all time favorite stamps!

Thank you so much for stopping by!
*Hugs*

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Challenge #7 @Craftyscrappers

Hello hello! ^__^

It's my last post as a guest designer for Craftyscrappers and so I decided to do a reminder post for their ongoing Challenge #7 that consists of Stamping Techniques.

The technique I picked was masking and I have a mini-tutorial for just you guys so here goes :

These are the die-cuts by Craftyscrappers used in this project.

The oval shape was used as a mask for the masking technique. [Die-cut code : DC - BCS - (2)]

The butterfly die-cut is out of Craftyscrappers butterfly die-cut catalogue.

The first thing that I did was lay down my cardstock and masked a portion of it with the oval die-cut.
I used masking tape to tape the cardstock to my cutting mat.

I used stamps by :

Hero Arts (Large Solid Flower), Peony (So Suzy Stamps), Script (Tim Holtz) along with a stencil (Hypnotic) by Penny Black and created this background.

The sentiment that was stamped later onto the oval masked portion is by WPlus9.

Inks I used were :

For background and sentiment : Altenew Red Cosmos Set, Walnut Stain and Picked Raspberry.

For the butterfly I used Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves and Picked Raspberry.

Then I added glitter to the red peony flowers, adhered a few sequins and stamped my sentiment.

Tinted the butterfly using distress inks, adhered it to card and added crackle accents for that cool crackle effect.

Matted the white cardstock onto maroon and then finally matted it onto white textured card base.

And that's how I did it! The challenge ends on 19th March (Saturday) so you still have time to play! Join the fun!

Incase you missed the link, here it is once again, to participate, click -- Here 

Have a lovely evening and thank you for stopping by!

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Mixed set of ATCs

All of my ATCs reached the intended recipients on the same day!

What are the odds of that! ^__^

So, without further ado, here are the pics :

ATC #1

This is made using my current favorite mini stamp by Peek-a-boo Designs, called Pixie Dust. 100% made of Photopolymer and priced at a mere Rs. 100/-, this stamp is a great buy and a must have in your stamp arsenal!

I stenciled the background using distress inks (Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn and Black Soot) with my TCW - Texturized stencil.

Stamped sentiment and colored the little hearts using my Sakura pen in neon green.

Glittered up the word Love in black glitter. (Did the three tiny dots next to the word in black glitter too!)

Used two different washi tapes for some added texture and interest.

Added a tiny butterfly and some glitter along the edges and matted it onto black cardstock.

Here's ATC #2

I stenciled the background with a Kaisercraft Quarters stencil using Mowed Lawn and Mustard Seed.

Added a ribbon that co-ordinated with the colors and adhered some golden sequins.

Topped it with a sentiment from a set of sentiment cards I received with my Papericious Planner - Color Splash.
I used some in my planner and some I saved for cards and small projects, they are in such happy colors and so uplifting, I absolutely love using them!

The tiny heart below the sentiment is from a sticker packet bought locally.

Finally, I added glossy accents + a sprinkling of glitter to the sentiment, the tiny heart and a few areas of the stenciled portion.

And these are ATC #3 (Blue) & ATC #4 (Pink-Purple)

ATC #3

I used the Tim Holtz - Scribbles stencil with Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers for this one.

Added glitter to select areas and adhered some heart stickers and sequins.

Sentiment is from Peek-a-boo Designs - Bold Hugs N' Love set in black glitter.

The strip at the bottom is stenciled using Hero Arts - Stylish Borders stencil.

And to finish this piece, I added a thin ribbon in peacock blue color tied up into a pretty bow!

ATC #4

This ATC is based on my earlier design where I made a batch of ATCs for an overseas  swap, the only minor differences are :

1. This one is bigger than the ones I sent overseas. (The ones I sent overseas were 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.)

2. It does not have sequins added to it but the sentiment 'Be' is coated in black glitter.

Stamps are by : So Suzy Stamps - Tulip Stem and, Simon Says Stamp - Be.

You can read more about ATC #4 --Here

Here's a cool little close up of ATC #3 & 4 :

So, that's that. Which one is your favorite? I'd love to know!

Till next time dear friends! *Big Panda Hugs*

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Sending a note..

I know what you're thinking... what's up with all the reds and pinks... February is over already!

It's just that I have only reds and pinks in dye inks and I am awaiting on new colors in the mail so....

Yeah, till they get here, you are gonna see quite a few of reds and pinks in projects.... (read : A LOT)

But hey, in my defense, it is a different design and I am using what I have to the maximum. :D

So, I made this card to thank a friend, using my So Suzy Thank You stamp, Tim Holtz flourish stencil, a couple of die-cuts, some butterflies and the usual suspects, sequins.

Here's how I made it :

1. Stenciled half portion of my white cardstock in light pink ink using Tim Holtz - Flourish stencil. (Still my favorite stencil.)

2. Used my So Suzy Stamp and stamped the sentiment in coral pink ink and glitter coated it. (I used locally bought loose glitter, but hey, wink of stella works good too!)
Also, I just love love love this font... what can I say, it's dreamy!

3. Took die-cut in white and using a blending tool tinted it coral pink. Trimmed it the way I wanted and adhered to project.
(Looks kinda red in the image, blame my poor photography skills but it is actually the same color as the sentiment.)

4. Added a splash of sequins.

5. I also wanted a pop of color, so I punched out some butterflies using my Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly punch, glitter-coated them and adhered to project.

6. Matted the white CS onto maroon CS and boom. Done.

Thank you for stopping by and have a lovely evening! *Hugs* <3

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A bunch of happy little ATCs

Phew! Finally some quiet time to sneak away from everything else and write on my blog...

Of late I feel like I am always in a rush... so much to do and such little time!

I made this bunch of ATCs for swap and thought I'd share them on here.
Love themed, this is a set of 10 identical pieces that I sent overseas. I will be receiving 10 different ones from my hostess in return.

The last theme was coastal for which I had sent 10 beach themed ATCs.
You can see that post -- Here

These are the 10 miniatures of coastal themed awesomeness that I received from 10 different artists the last time! How cool is that! ^__^

Okay, so getting back to this... how'd I make these?

Steps :

1. Took textured cardstock and cut out 10 pieces ATC size. (Standard ATC size, 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.)

I think using textured cardstock really adds that extra something to the project... what do you think? :)

2. After that I took my Hero Arts large solid flower stamp and stamped in pale pink dye ink.

3. Took Hero Arts Stylish Borders stencil and gave a border to ATC base using pink dye ink.
Also hand-tore and adhered red and white striped washi tape to it.

4. Took my Love stamp by So Suzy Stamps and stamped in red dye ink.

5. Punched out butterflies using my Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly punch, glitter coated them and adhered to project.

6. Added a few clear, white and pink sequins to project.

7. Finished it off by attaching a small piece of red polka dotted ribbon to the top LHS corner.

And that's that! ^__^ Hope you like them! Till next time!

Before I sign off, here's a close up. Have a lovely evening!

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Two stamps, two cards

Good afternoon! ^__^

A few days back I received the January edition of my exclusive stamp a month club (SAMC) stamps by So Suzy Stamps and I gotta say, I LOVE THEM!

This month was the first month of SAMC and so Suzy sent us members  not 1 but 2 stamps! How cool is that!

The stamps for Jan featured a pair of super cute flip flops with a motivating, positive and happy sentiment! (I love such fun sentiments, they help make great encouragement cards without sounding too boring / preachy.)

Here are a couple of cards I made using them.

Card #1

I stamped the flip flops onto patterned paper bits, fussy cut them and colored the flip flop bands. (The design was simple and thus, it was a breeze to fussy cut.)

Added a rhinestones to the band centers and also coated them with a little bit of glitter.

Stamped sentiment and arranged flip flops like how I wanted.

Added colorful heart stickers, some rhinestones and finished the card with a twine by doodlebug.

Card #2

For this card, I stamped the flip flops and sentiment onto white cardstock and jazzed up the flip flop with a rhinestone center and some glitter.

Then I went in with patterned paper, ribbon, washi tape and coordinating elements to finish the project in my signature style, whimsical. ^__^ 

And there you have it, two cards that are fun and easy to make using two stamps.

This idea would work with any two co-ordinating set of stamps, and are great for mass production so have a go, experiment and get crafty! :D

Have an awesome day! *Hugs*

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A simple swap

Apart from the overseas swaps, I swap at this little ATC Club for folks residing in India where we only need to exchange one ATC a month with the swap partner for that month. :)

The theme this month was winter and this is what I came up with.

A simple ATC, featuring one of my favorite stamps by So Suzy Stamps, with my current favorite stencil, Flourish by Tim Holtz.

1. Created background with Shaded Lilac and Salty Ocean. (Used my Papericious Ink Blending Tool for it.)

2. Stamped the sentiment which is Winter's Butterflies by So Suzy Stamps in salty ocean distress ink. (Yes, I stamp with distress inks!) ^__^

3. Punched out butterflies + snowflakes, added glitter to them for sparkle and adhered.

4. Finished it off with some clear and white sequins + a thin glittery blue border.

So, that was how it was done! Have a lovely evening!

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ATC Swap!

A while back I did an overseas ATC swap.

The standard ATC size is 2.5" x 3.5" and for this swap we (all participating members) had to make 10 ATCs.

Our hostess was the super awesome Suzanne Moore of So Suzy Stamps and the theme was bling for November.

How could I say no to bling! ^__^ It was a wonderful experience and I am surely gonna participate in future swaps!

These are the gorgeous ATCs that I received from the talented participants.

I love all these miniature pieces of art! ^__^

I made an identical set of 10 ATCs. Here's a close up picture of what they look like.

A fairly simple ATC, I used Tim Holtz Flourish stencil along with my favorite flower stamp, the Tulip Stem from So Suzy Stamps!

The sequins are from my stash and sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp.

Butterfly is from Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly punch.

Happy New Year and have an awesome 2016! ^__^ Till next time!

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New Challenge @ Craftyscrappers

Hello hello! ^__^

It's time for a brand new challenge at Craftyscrappers!

Theme - Challenge #4 - Black and white with a hint of color.

I made a CAS card for this challenge, using the pretty flower die-cut, Code - DC - FLW - 16.

I wanted a geometric, abstract look and what better to combine it with than a pretty flower?  

Steps :

1. The colors moving from black to grey are actually stenciled (Kaisercraft Quarters Stencil) using 3 different inks by Hero Arts. (Black, Charcoal and Soft Granite.)

2. The Flower Die-cut is by Craftyscrappers, Code - DC -FLW - 16 which I have tinted red and given a holo glitter finish.

3. Did a bit of masking using grey, black and red inks and added a couple of sequins after adhering the flower.

4. Stamped sentiment. (It's actually a larger sentiment, I inked only part of it because I only wanted Congratulations on my card.)
This stamp is called - "Congratulations on becoming a new" by So Suzy Stamps.

5. Lastly, added a white brad for the flower center and black glitter to sentiment!

So, I hope to see you participate, click here for the deets!

Till next time! *Hugs*

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