Whats up Crafty.. : Boxed up emotions ;)

Hey there :)
Off late its been all about shabby chic and honestly I have been pretty anxious about trying it. You need to a be a wee bit daring in life I gather..
My trial turned out to be a risky affair. Sacrificing a wooden box seems risky in my case ..
But would you be the judge of it ?? Tell me if I ruined it or made it through..
I would love to hear from you guys..
so yeah...there's a flower made out of sheer ribbon I have hoarded for centuries..
The leaves yet again ..ribbon ..hoarded for epochs..

A kind benevolent friend and owner of Craft Adda online craft store (Read Khyati Kothari) was kind and sweet enough to send me these clay cameos that she made.. and I am floored and feel fortunate. 

I used distress inks to colour it.. 

Oh and how can I ever forget the Tim Holtz Idea-o-logy book knobs..

Mahh... they are gorgeous..and to fit one of those on the lid was nothing less than agony. 

Imagine using an awl like something (read animal dissection instruments from 2002) for want of better tools and constantly poking it and chafing the lid to create a hole big enough to fit the screw for the knob. 

Pure Agony !! 

My thumb gave up on me as a gripping limb. 

Forget that.. I used some vintage paper..with victorian roses on it. It looked effin..awesome without embellishment. 

Let me just think ...how many techniques did I use.. ?

Hmm...there's flower making ..Decoupage...distressing..woodwork..paper piecing ..and so on. Phew..thats whats wrong with me.. its d OCD.

Trust me the flowers are gorgeous when you see them for real.the pictures ruin the look. They almost look tacky.

The cameo is very english...

I even found some vintage lace from my Grandmum's needlework collection. The wooden box was coated in several layers of inks and acrylics and finally the complete box was sprayed with varnish for longevity..so the magenta which you see on the wood is a layer of acrylic that was distressed with a sandpaper. 

To finish off .. my usual trademark..some pearl flourishes. Oh and the inside of the box was covered in paper too. I like it for my first attempt. But what I like the most is the fact that this work will survive the test of few years. The permanence is appealing don't you think ?

It breaks my heart when my creations or for that matter..anything handmade gathers dust and deteriorates. 

Anyway thats it from me.. I hope you like it...and I also wish to know if it qualifies as shabby chic..
Drop me a mail or a  comment..in case you wish to know anything about the project.
Hope it inspires you to create .. :)
Ciao

Winners Day BGC#26

Hello all 

Time for the top 3 and winners of the Movie inspired cas challenge

So the top 3 were 

Meghna (2) 

Sunehra  

And 

Vithya  

Congrats Girls please grab your top3 badge !

Now for the winner who gets to claim the 500 RS voucher from 

Crafters corner is ..... 

Surprise surprise !!!! 

Lucky girl Sunehra   !!!! 

Sunehra please contact lightbox.c@gmail.com with in 48 hrs to know how to claim your prize. 

Congtatulations ! 

And thanks all for playing ! 

Hugs 

P

BGC #27 - Fetch that Sketch

Welcome to BGC #27 - Fetch That Sketch!  This is a card challenge using a sketch I put together for everyone.  This sketch is for inspiration and you can interpret it in so may different ways - turn it sideways, move the sentiment around, make a square focal point, you get the picture ;) 

Whatever you do with the sketch - Just remember to have fun!  

Let's get started, here's the sketch:

We would love to welcome back our premium sponsors for this challenge  : 

And whats on the prize ?? 

 

 Crafters Corner  

Well we hand picked some Wonderful paper pads for you from My Mind's Eye 

all sponsored by our generous sponsor   Crafters Corner 

 

1. Miss Caroline Fiddlesticks Paper Pad 6 

2. Howdy Doody Designer Paper Pad 6"X6" 24 Sheets 

Excited enough ?? 

Well then 

 here's some inspiration from the BGC design team. 

Lucille

I used a few fun digi stamps from TiddlyInks.  Added a strip of ribbon and a sentiment

Yum is right :)

Pooja

Pooja gave a "lovely" spin to the sketch with this pretty card.  Love the sentiment and the sparkle

 Brenda

 

Here is Brenda's beautiful card for the sketch ! So very vintage and amazing right ?

Jovita

 Look at what jovita came up with ! Some flip to the sketch sure looks amazing here. And the same sentiment that one of our other DTM used but such a different outcome :)

  Ebba

Here is ebba's amazing card ! dont u just love that image ? And the sentiment is perfect with all the papers and colors coordinating so well. 

  

Snehal

How about this ? Such an innovative job with the sketch . Love the embossed piece and the coloring on the perfect pears ! :) 

 Kalindi 

Here comes kalindi with her cute card. Beautiful embossing with an amazing tangled thread mesh fabric that gives the whole card so much more depth. Enjoyed it !

So I hope we have inspired you enough to enter more than one entry this time :) 
I hope lots and lots of entries for this one. 
Have a great week ahead. 
Hugs !   

Whats Up Crafty - Tutorial and Card

Hi there.

So today its Jovita here sharing whats on my craft table (to be specific ... dining table) these days..

Recently I did an order for Tissue Pom poms (also referred to as flowers ) . As I searched tutorial after tutorial I realized one thing, I just ended up making tissue apples  :(...... I made apple shaped pom poms instead of the nice fluffy round ones..

This reference picture was given to me and I just could not get it right till I figured out something.. So that is what I am gonna share with you all today... To make a perfect 10 inch pom pom here is what you need

5 sheets tissue paper (locally called Kite Paper) - Full size

Wire - used for flower making 

Thread - to hang the pom pom

First we have to fold the paper in half and cut it across. 

So now we have 10 sheets of tissue laying one over the other.

Place the paper VERTICALLY (as seen in the picture) . 

Vertically is important to avoid apple shaped pom poms

Then you start making a fan fold about an inch apart and this is what you get. Tie the center with the wire and then the thread. You can use a transparent thread available in the local stationery.

It is important to tie the thread at this stage, as once we fluff the pom pom it would be difficult to tie the thread 

The next step would be to round the corner edges with a scissor. You can even cut it in a V shape as per your preference.

Once done rounding the edges we can start pulling up the layers...to start getting the fluff

and after pulling up all the layers this is what you get... Yummy fluffed pom poms....

So with this technique I made 150 pom poms in colors Pink, Yellow and Turquoise Blue... It was such a riot of colors... 

You can use these pom poms as a party decor...  They really look lovely.

Hope you like this tutorial. 

Make them in different sizes and colors and hang around.

And here is another crafty project I made... A birthday card on order

Have a look....

Love the way the stickles shine out on the cupcakes... 

So let me know what you guys think...

Till then 

Happy Crafting

Hugs 

Jovita

Winners day - BGC#25

Hello everyone !

Its your favorite segment of the month :D Winners day !

Well we had some amazing entries for the unusually difficult challenge set by 

our very own Kalindi (Oh yeah ..the girl's got some brains !)

Oodles of doodles ! (With lots of 'O's)

So we picked the top- 3 to be - (In random order they are) 

Catherine Sinika 

(check out her entry she was really innovative !)

Shylaashree  

(With her intricately done flowers !)

and 

V.S.  

(for her amazing invites !) 

Big hand for all the top3 they truly deserve it !

Please grab your top3 badges from the side bar. 

 

I would like to make a special mention if some of the entries that were so close but still very much amazing !

Nazneen   with her amazing camera card !

Tanvi  with her beautifully done background !

Now for the winner !

The winner would be  ----

22. Sunehra  

Sunehra please contact crystal at whimsysponsorship@gmail.com to claim your 5 free digis. 

Please let them know that you are the winner from Beyond Grey challenges. 

Thanks all !

Do join us for our current challenge - 

bgc26-movie-inspired-cas card 

It can be any movie as long as its a Clean and simple card inspired from it. !

Hugs 

PJ  

 

Whats up crafty? - Distress ink tutorial

Hi everyone!

I don't want to interrupt you in your crafting for our ongoing challenge, but I think it's good to sometime take a short brake. ;) 

Today I would like to share my favorite thing when it comes to scrapbooking and card making, a tutorial of how I'm coloring. I love to color stamped images for the cards I make. I mostly use digital stamps because it's easier to change the size of the image and I don't have to wait for the postman. :) I'm so impatient.... But I do have some rubber stamps too. 

When I'm coloring I use Distress Ink Reinkers from Ranger that is a water-based dye ink. You can also use the Distress Ink pads if you prefer and now they also have the same colors as Distress Markers. When you're coloring you only need a tiny drop of the color you want to use. You can use an acrylic block or another plastic thing as your palette because the color will not dry as long as you have it on any plastic.

 This is how the Distress Ink Reinkers looks like.

When coloring with Distress Ink I use Canson 200 g aquarelle paper and a synthetic brush. I recommend a brush with a fine tip for the details. Right now I'm using a size 2 from da vinci, but I would recommend a finer one, size 0 or 00. I'm looking for a new brush that I like but haven't found anyone yet. If you have anyone you can recommend, please let me know. When I'm coloring I also have water near me so I can clean my brush and some kitchen paper to dry my brush with.

I start with stamping the image I want to use with Memorize dye inkpad. Of course you can use another one but it's important that it's waterproof. For my tutorial I've used a stamp from Magnolia which I think is called Flower girl with petals.

It's important that the brush is damp and not wet so don't take to much water on it. I start to color where I want the color to be darkest. In this case I begin with tattered rose as a first layer for her skin.

After that I clean my brush with water and make sure it's still damp. Then I start to draw the color out from the edge with circular movements. All the time I take the excess ink of my brush. Then I go on and draw the color out until it's smooth and I can't see any edges. I continue to color her neck.

I start where I want the shadow and draw the ink out with circular movements. If you get to much ink on your paper you can just pick it up on your brush and wipe it off. (Sorry for the lamp that causes the yellow tint on her feet)

I use the same color for her arms and legs and then I go on and color her dress. It's important to let the ink dry before you color the nearby parts, so that the ink doesn't bleed.

The color I use for her dress is named Milled lavender. Maybe you think now that the color is to pale. But it's better to paint another layer if you want it to be darker because it's not that easy to get a dark layer undone. On this image I've also colored Tilda's shoes with Pumice stone.

I  don't want you to fall asleep so I've tried to hold the amount of pictures down. It's just a few more....

For the first layer of her hair I use Antique linen. I leave some parts of her hair uncolored so it's still white where I want the light to fall. When I take some water on the ink it will bleed out so it's not that white but still brighter.

And for the second layer I use Walnut stain. In the video you can see how I'm coloring the third layer in the same way using Vintage photo. Here I've also made a second layer on her skin using the color named Tea dye, I make it exactly the same way as I did with tattered rose. 

 And this is the result.

As a bonus I've made a video where you can see how I'm coloring. :)

I hope you like my tutorial and remember that this is just my way of doing this. There's so many ways of coloring and you have to find your own.

Happy coloring and don't forget the "Movie Inspired CAS"-challenge.

Ebba

BGC#26-Movie Inspired CAS

                                      I am a big Movie buff and so naturally this was my first choice for the challenge.So all I am asking you to do is be inspired by a Movie....it can be the poster or a character or the story .You take your pick and make a CAS( Clean and Simple) card with that in mind .Simple? Nah .....I set the challenge and took the maximum time to come up with my card.But believe me its just the thinking part which takes maximum time.the execution doesn't.

And what do we have  for the winner?

A 500/- voucher from Crafter's Corner.

And now moving on to my favorite part...DT inspirations

   Brenda

She made this cute card inspired by one of my favorite movies Karate Kid.Such a perfect card for any kid and what fabulous coloring skills she has!

I also loved the sentiment and the fun way she placed it.Gorgeous pattern papers and fantastic coloring is a recipe for a perfect card. One helluva Kickin job Brenda.

 

           EBBA

I dunno a single soul who didn't like Lion King and our lady here is inspired by  Lion King and depicts that in her very cute card  with one of the characters.Those cute banners and the lyrics Hakuna Matata add that edge to this beautiful card.You rock Ebba so do your fingers.

Awesome coloring and fabulous cutting.Hakuna Matata in Swahili means - There are no worries.You have to agree with me that this is a perfect choice for an image which echoes this sentiment.

                                                                         JOVITA

Our lovely lady was inspired by MADAGASCAR and made this  very very WILD card.I love the sentiment and it is a very unusual card for someone you have a soft corner for and a very clever one too.

That's what I like about it .It is wicked and delicious.

 
POOJA

I am not surprised to see this elegant and very chic card by our graceful Pooja.

Chevrons.... a ballerina in black....a very classy sentiment and pearls and what you have is a elegant card.

she is inspired by the movie Black swan and what an interpretation.!

Perfection as usual Pooja.

                                                            

    LUCILLE

You will agree with me when you see this pretty card that this lady is super talented.To pull of this card is no easy task.Love love love those horses and your awesome coloring skills.

Love the burlap twine with knots ....adds a special touch to this already precious card.Inspired by the movie All the pretty horses.

KALINDI

And now from this very talented lady we have a card inspired by the movie Finding Nemo.She has this very unpredictable persona and style which intrigues me.You can never identify Kalindi with a particular style She is very very versatile.And the proof is this beautiful card she created with this cool background and those cute pouty fishes.And the handwritten sentiment is ohhh so kewl.!

 SNEHAL

And finally its me with this simple card inspired by Chicken Little.Lets say I chickened out after setting this challenge and this one not only is inspired by my choice of movie but also by my state.

So what are you waiting for? Pour in your Movie inspired entries.there are no movie tickets to be won but the prize is awesome and any Crafter's dream.

  Happy Crafting.

 Love and hugs

      Snehal.