Happy Mother's Day!!

Today is Mother's Day..and I am so glad my cards reached my two moms...Well one is my mom, and the other is my neighbor..who practically wished I was her girl...and has always been there for me....

There's not much to post today....just wanted to show the cards that I had made for them....

The Blue one for my Chetna mom (She loves  Aqua blue...)

This one for my mom...

Its all Hero arts and papertrey ink ..The Butterflies, flourish background is HA and sentiment is Papertrey ink.

This is how my butterflies float in air...used a paint brush to curl the wings...

Sending these cards to Crafty JC's challenge - For A Special Lady

Lawnscaping Challenges - CAS cards

For the love of Crafting- Recipe Challenge-Bow, stamping, and sentiment

I wanted to show that I used Rock Candy Distress stickles (Brought again from Khyati..) on this card..which is not at all visible...and the best way to show this..is a teensy tiny video...or watch it on youtube



Hope you love it as much as I do...Have a great mother's day...and have a great week ahead!!

hugs, Tee

Blog Candy Winner!!

Thank you so so much for celebrating with me...I had a blast reading everyone's comments..and they made me feel super super happy!!!
Since I crossed 50 peeps for my blog candy, I've decided to offer another candy...a second winner who gets their choice of two distress inks too!!!

so Random.Husband picked out two numbers for me today morning...
No. 5 - Piyu!!!! Yipeeeee - Mail me for your choice of two distress inks..so I can forward the same to Khyati..(do you even need more distress inks?)

And no. 38...Mansi - Congrats!! Mail me for your choice of two distress inks...

Mail me at Tejal2210 (at) gmail (dot) com. You have two days to get in touch with me, else I pass this on to another person! Thank you again!!

And just a sneak peek of what I've been upto for the past 3 days...

 

  

  

 

I had a blast coloring these...and if It wasn't for Khush who guided me step by step while coloring them..I wouldn't have been able to do it so well!! I will put up a whole project, plus a tiny video...which will enable you for something else too...

 

And I do have a set of colors to sell...coz I know they're beyond the scope for me..They're my Derwent Inktense Watercolor pencils- set of 24. I'm asking for 900 for it plus shipping...do let me know if you're interested.  Its in a tin box..and none of the pencils have been sharpened..just barely used.

300th post blog candy!!

Just thought of sharing some love that I've received from you all.. This is my way of thanking you for encouraging me and standing by me through my ups and downs!

So what can you get from me? Two of my very favorite things! Hero arts and Distress inks! I have many things to celebrate...as and when they come along, I will have some more candies...consider this a mini candy!

These two stamps...plus 2 distress inks....Your choice...will ask my favorite seller to get it for you!!!
 (Khyati has always got me my favorite colors!!)


All you have got to do, is put your name down in the inlinkz below...that's it.

You can always say hello to me on my Facebook page
You can check out my new  store  blog - Where I put up my watermarks, cards, and die cuts and some stamps that I need to get rid of! :)
You can follow this blog...but as I said not necessary! 

Candy will run for a short time...two weeks only!  10th May the winner will be announced.
You will have to email me to claim your prize.
or within 2 days, I shall announce another name.

Good luck and Thank you for being along with me on this journey!! 

Buying your first Distress inks!

Planning to buy your first distress inks? Confused as to what colors to buy? Don’t know where to start?

Do I sound like one of those telebrand ads? I think I do!!

 It is confusing if you have a limited budget and over 36 colors to buy..  I had this post long time in the making! I had a lot of people come and ask me how to buy or how to choose the distress inks!

So I’ll just break it down for you, as to how I brought them. 

Whenever buying inks or paints that have too many shades of colors…pick the basic ones first..then buy one color lighter and one color darker than the one you have…In distressing, it gives you a perfect blend…and in coloring it gives you fabulous shading! 

So having said that…what will be your basics first 5 colors?…

Distressing isn’t complete without Vintage Photo..so that’s your first

 

Then pick one blue, green, pink and yellow. 

So your first ever colors could be (This is how I bought my colors, you may choose to differ…this is just a guide..not a rule)

Vintage Photo

Shabby Shutters (Green)

Broken China (Blue)

Worn Lipstick (Pink)

Wild honey (Yellow orange) 

Then you can pick your next set…adding one shade darker and one shade lighter to each of the above…

Antique linen (Lighter than Vintage Photo) & Walnut stain (Darker – I don’t own nor need this color since I prefer fresher colors..but you can if you are going for dark vintagey projects)

Green family- Peeled Paint (darker than Shabby shutters)  & Bundled Sage/crushed Olive (lighter)..

For Blues family – Tumbled glass (Lighter) and faded Jeans (darker blue)/also Chipped Sapphire

For pink family – Spun sugar (very light pink) and  Barn door (darker- it is  more of red) 

Yellows -  Mustard seed (pure yellow) and rusty hinge (darker shade of orange)

That brings you to around 15 inks! 

Then you fill in the missing gaps…like purple – Milled lavender and Dusty concord

Reds – Fired brick and Aged Mahogany (Dark reddish brown)

I seem to think these are enough to start with…I have bought last 6 colors, but haven’t touched them…coz they’re the extras…purples and lightest pinks etc..which aren’t that much used…What I use most are my top 15 colors!!

Always keep a color chart for your reference…You can download and print it off the ranger website…and keep adding the colors you get…

And another tip…store your inkpads upside down..they’ll always be juicy when you get down to using it…Since I store my inkpads sideways..I make sure I keep rotating them..else they would dry out in the 44C heat ! 

And now some bit of enabling....I always get my inkpads from Khyati...who has given me the best prices ever. So I asked her to hold of ordering her next batch till this post goes up...So you have till monday to place your orders with her...and has also very kindly given a 5% discount to those who wish to place the order for the full set of 36 colors....Just tell her I sent you...and you can have your 5% discount (on 36 colors only) 

But trust me, you'll get the best price even if you order 10 colors! 

She does have a quite a few inks in stock right now..so if you have been waiting to choose your colors..now is the best time...

As always feel free to ask questions....your questions help me learn more and maybe help others who have the same doubts! 

Hugs! Tee (my new name....psst Khush I love it...and my husband has forgotten my original name ..he calls me Tee now!!)

On a Break

Hey all...I'm sure you've noticed my absence on my blog...

I'm on an official break from crafting..or rather crafting on the floor...my back pain had gotten worse over the months...finally trips to the doc and x-rays and blood reports (with fainting spells... I can't see my own blood..I did anatomy in med school....dissected frogs and rats..and yet when I see my blood, I faint!! ) ...

I'm not to craft on the floor..official orders (how I sit quietly...I don't know)..Hubby is quite happy not to get me a working table so that I take rest!! (which I can't)
So I sneak in some crafting time of whatever tools he's not hidden from me! Which is almost nothing..just PP, CS, and my scissors and trimmers....
So you won't see any post from me here....for a while to come...but I will keep posting some stuff..so that you don't forget me....and Blog Candy is being set up..with Stamps and Inks..so watch out!

So off to enable you a bit....Did you check out Pie lane's newest Challenge on using Stencils? and did you catch up on using glitters and stencils?

And if you did, do link me up if you try this out...would love to see what you come up with!

Also Deepthi at My Arts has very kindly featured me as her artist this week...Do drop by to read my ramblings from the heart...

Till then...see you soon!!

Paper Pretty Studio Blog Hop

Hello Peeps,

I have been honored to be a part of a blog hop to welcome a brand new kit club called Pretty Paper Studio which was launched yesterday.

Pretty Paper Studio (PPS) is a monthly scrapbooking + cardmaking kit club based in UAE but they  also stock  all the basic paper craft supplies at affordable prices. The store is live...just drop by and you will drool....if that wasn't enough, have you seen their card kits and scrapbooking kits?  And wait till you see the contents of their very first kits....I am almost ready to break my piggy bank!! :D

Ready for a little peak at their kits for this month




If that is not sheer heaven, what is?

You can purchase their kits at subscriber prices (AED 205) until April 15^th.

To celebrate the Store launch, we are having a blog hop with chances to win some amazing prizes!  Leave a comment here and other blogs on the hop to win Pretty Paper Studio’s Project Kit called ‘Spring Break’. 

Two Lucky winners will be selected from all the comments received to win the kit. More comments you leave will give you more chances to win. Winners of Blog Hop will be announced on April 18, 2012

You should have arrived here from the very talented Shasha's Blog, if not you might want to start from Donna's blog.  And you can always go to the PPS blog, if you get lost on the way :)

When I think of the word Pretty, its always rainbows and butterflies for me...and thus to welcome you all to this blog hop and to welcome the start of a new venture....I have made an complete hero arts ensemble for you!! :) Wishing Paper Pretty Studio the best of very best!! :)

I will be posting details of this card on another post....  Till then make sure you drop by the store and
the Paper Pretty Blog for some AMAZING inspiration!!!

Now off you go to Ujjwal's blog for some more fabulous inspiration and don't forget to keep commenting on each post...you have a chance to win the Project Kit called Spring Break!!

Thank you the PPS team for letting me be a part of this fabulous event!!!

Till then!!
p.s. This is my  300th POST!! keep your eyes out for a give-away coming soon!!! :)

Liebster Blog Award

Recently Gayatri passed this award to me..and I am beyond honored girl...You are such an inspiration to me...I doubt there is anyone who visits your blog and doesn't linger for hours! ....I usually end up browsing all her past posts when I get the time!!

 

The idea of the Liebster Blog Award is to spread the love from one small blog (under 200 followers) to other small blogs. This helps to spread knowledge and readership.

To accept the award, you must:
1) Link back to the person who gave it and thank them for thinking of you.
2) Post the award to your blog.
3) Give the award to 5 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) that you appreciate and value.
4) Leave a comment on the blogs of the five people you have chosen to let them know. 

It is very very hard to narrow down on just 5 blogs... 

Khushboo ( I know you already have it. but I have to give it to you)

Mona 

Divya

Jovita

Saumya ( another crazy chick I love to hang out with on my BBM..you didn't know..BBM is the latest cafe, where I can hang out with my crazy buds!!) 

So thanks you all for inspiring me in your little ways and thank you again Gayatri for leaving love for me!!

Cuttlebug and Stencil Tutorial

I already have this post up at Pie Lane blog....but just posting it here for those who drop in here...Do drop in at the Pie Lane blog for some more inspiration!!

ETA- 

For Big shot users - the stack would be follows (This is only my research, someone will have to do it and tell me how well it works)
From bottom up
Tab 1 of the multipurpose platform
 Cutting Pad
 Metal Stencil
CS
Tan embossing mat/Silicone sheet
Impressions Pad ( link here)

Picture Heavy Post!! 

I have been struggling with  how to use the stencils...I didn't get a proper embossing for a long time...I could use it with with mists, I could get it to work with inks but the traditional embossing...zilch!!! So while stumbling around I finally found how I could use it..but before I tell you that...for those who want to try traditional method of embossing, here is a great tutorial on how to use your stencils with a light box (or use a glass table and put a lamp underneath your table)

Here's Sri showing you how to use a glass table and a lamp under it to use your stencils..(zoom in and you can see some new stencils!!)

But what I did was for gadget freaks like me!!! I used my Cuttlebug!! YES!! The cuttlebug works great with your Pie lane stencils!!

I will show you the cuttlebug stack later on, but first this is how the embossing looks!! That left me speechless!!!!

What can you do once you emboss it?  Place the stencil back on the embossed side...tape it down...and use a sponge and your inks to sponge it over....

The embossed part fits right in the grooves and takes inks very well....

That is Broken China distress ink....is that fabulous or what!!
You can also just rub a small ink pad right over the embossed area without the stencils.. This was with Fabriano Brustro CS...

I also tried with a bit of scrap of pattern paper!!

The paper is on the stencil...instead of removing the paper from the stencil, I just turned it over and inked it up!!

You can use either side for your projects!
I also tried with a scrap  piece of parchment paper (I'm still researching on parchment vs vellum)

So now you've seen what you can do with your Pie lane stencils...and the cuttlebug!!! Here is how to do it!

From the bottom, you use your
A plate
B plate
Stencil
paper (same size as the stencil - try not to use bigger)
Tan embossing mat (this is the secret to that fabulous embossing...you can use a rubber mat not a mouse pad , silicone baking  mat but the thickness has to be around 1.25-1.5mm)
B plate
and CS shims (very necessary)

The shims and the tan embossing mat (from Spellbinders.com) are the most important part of the embossing stack. You can vary the CS shims depending on your CS...for Fabriano I needed 3...but when I used the same 3 shims for the Pattern paper and parchment, the embossing tore the papers. Its a bit of trial and error on your part, but once you get hang of it....the whole world is open for you!! try whatever you can!! and Share with us!

When I used 3 shims, it  tore the paper, 2 would have been sufficient for thinner papers. I use the backing of the cuttlebug dies as shims...you can use thick chart paper, cereal box sheets, etc...one word of warning..if it feels tight when rolling throught the cuttlebug...it is tight...reduce the shim and try again. This is what I've discovered...if you find something new...do share in!

So hope I've inspired you to look at your stencils in a new way today....Do post any questions you have and I will post the answers here itself...so everyone can benefit.....

And coming soon...ways to use glitter with your stencil..

Yes!! I love glitter!!
Happy Crafting!!

Fascinating Friday and an enabler alert!

A week ago Noor from Paperie Designs invited me to be a Featured artist on her blog and I was more than delighted to accept it. Thank you once again Noor for this fabulous opportunity...

 

You can drop by her blog, Paperie Desgins Studio and read the interview here and Don't forget to drop in every Friday to comment on her blog..You have a chance of winning a 50$ gift voucher from Two Peas in a Bucket..Isn't that fabulous? I can already make a long list of what I would buy!!

On another note, how was Holi for everyone? I'm a scared rabbit who hides in her hole when holi comes calling...I hate the colors and for good reason...I spent my day hiding in my house..Thank God hubby doesn't force me to go play!
But it did give me a chance to play with the holi stamps from Varna's stamps...and are they fabulous or what!!

I loved the stamps so much that I wanted to play only using the stamps..no other element to it..and It is fabulous..I just loved using the inks and going crazy with it! All memento inks.

Lemme show you another one...

Sorry, this is a cellphone pic...but you can see..all you need is colors!!! All inks are memento inks.
Sending both these cards to Crafty JC's Challenge - Many Colors Holi

On another note, I'm glad all of you are loving my watermarks...I went a step ahead and got them done into rubberstamp so I could stamp the back of my cards...and who better to ask than Varshitha!!

And let me tell you, its so good, its crazy! don't believe me? here's the proof!

This is how I got my stamp!! And Its so fabulous!! The one in blue is my digital watermark and the one in black is the clear stamp!!
And when I stamped it...each and every detail is visible...the stamp is around 2"x 1.5" approx.

This is the stamped version. Its a sad cellphone pic..but couldn't get my camera to charge up soon enough to take pics and upload. Totally love it!! :)

So if you don't want a watermark, but just want a rubber stamp, I can help you design it and have Varshitha make it into a rubber stamp for you!! Possibilities are endless...

If I don't answer your emails this weekend or the next, don't worry, I'm just a little crazy with visiting family and meeting my bestie after 6 yrs and will be off to an adoption agency to find a baby girl for my bestie!! (Cross your fingers for her)

Wedding Inspiration!

Hey there...did you guys check out the Scrappy Swap at Saumya's blog? I'm surely in...someone's trash is surely my treasure!! :)
Maybe we shall have a challenge post the swap...more when we reach that point!!

For now, I've got a fabulous card for you up on Pie Lane ... and small tip to using your products better!!

Hop on over to the Pie Lane blog, be inspired and come back with your own challenge cards..we love seeing your creativity out there!!

See you over at the Pie Lane blog!