This Month's Blog Highlights theme is BABY. I must say I struggled to find inspiration as I don't usually make a lot of cards in this theme. In doing this project, I also realised that I don't have any of the new Baby stamp sets from the new catalogue. It helped to highlight a gap in my collection which I didn't realise I had. As a result, I had to use a combination of old and new stamp sets, which worked worked out brilliantly I think. As I had heaps of fun making this project, I think I am taking a liking to baby cards.

For this project I have used the Zoo Babies stamp set (Old) and  the Lift Me Up and Up & Away thinlit dies (New) and Balloons Celebrations stamp set. In my mind, I had an image of an elephant being lifted up by either a bunch of balloons or a hot air Balloon. I tried both but decided to go with the hot air balloon which I thought made more of an impact.

For the colours, I have used powder pink ink and cardstock, flirty flamingo ink and cardstock, smoky slate ink and cardstock and whisper white cardstock. I've stamped the card front first with the little dandelynes from the Balloon Celebration stamp set in smoky slate, stamping off one time first.

I stamped the elephant first and cut out it out another image of the elephant manually and placed it on on top of the stamped image, giving it a shadow and a 3D effect. I did the same with the ears, adding a little bit more depth. Using quite a lot of dimensionals, I was able to give all the elements a bit of lift. 

For the inside, I stamped the smaller hot air balloons in Smoky Slate and cut out one piece and lifted it up using dimensionals. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, hope you have enjoyed browsing through my projects and found some inspirations. If you like what you see, please leave a comment or two below, or simply click on one of the reaction buttons to let me know what your thoughts are about my creations. I value your opinion and I am always looking to improve my craft through constructive feedback from my guests/readers. I am also looking to expand my audience base, so please feel free to share my creations within your social circle.

Ramadan in a box

In the spirit of Ramadan, I have decided to integrate the concept of an Advent Calendar and make a Ramadan Calendar. And wouldn't you know it, Stampin' up has a suite of products just perfect for these types of occasions. Its called the 'Eastern Beauty' bundle. For this project I have also used the window box framelit dies. For the cardstock, I have used all of the new in colours and as well as Emerald Envy.

For those who doesn't know much about Ramadan, here is crash course:
Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic Calendar, when all Muslim people from all around the world, from different walks of life, fasts for 30 days. Fasting for Muslims means no eating or drinking anything at all from Sunrise to Sunset. Once sun sets for us during Ramadan, it is a time we spend with family, together we break our fast for the day, its time of sharing and giving thanks. Ramadan teaches us humility, as abstaining from food and water during daylight, we get to experience a little bit of what people with very little means have to endure everyday. Ramadan teaches us to be generous and kind to one another, and most importantly, it teaches us to be grateful for what we have. It puts our level of resilience, will power to test, pushes us to be better people. The end of Ramadan is marked by a grand celebrations, which lasts up to three days, this is known as Eid-Ul-Fitr or most people know it as 'Eid'. But don't expect it to be on again at the same time next year as the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle, so it means that the month of Ramadan starts at different times each year. Which is great I think because it keeps it exciting and interesting.

When I saw the 'Eastern Palace' suite of products, my mind went straightaway to thoughts of Ramadan, and I would love to share some of those ideas with you. I am planning to make all my Eid cards with these products, and I have also used these to make some Ramadan decorations. Here I would like to showcase a Ramadan Calendar I have made for my three boys. I usually make one for Christmas as well, this is the first time I am making one for Ramadan. I want them to be just as excited about Ramadan and Eid, just as much as they are about Christmas. To achieve that, I knew that I have to make it fun for them, and adding  a little treat doesn't hurt either. 

I have cut out 30 window boxes using the window box framelit dies, then put it through the big shot again with the Eastern Medallion framelit dies to cut out the patterns on top and sides. This was the hardest bit as it took quite a bit of time to cut out and assemble all these boxes. For the numbers, I have used the large numbers framelit dies, and a gold foil sheet.

For the inside I've an Eastern Meddalion with some information about Ramdan, a led tealight candle and some sweet treats for the boys to enjoy. The condition for getting a sweet treat is that they have to learn about Ramadan. Its working well so far.

I have placed all of the boxes on a round table I have in my family room, decorated it with a Sari I had in my collection and placed some lights around it. I also made a banner using the new in-colours card stock and the large letters framelit dies. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, hope you have enjoyed browsing through my projects and found some inspirations. If you like what you see, please leave a comment or two below, or simply click on one of the reaction buttons to let me know what your thoughts are about my creations. I value your opinion and I am always looking to improve my craft through constructive feedback from my guests/readers. I am also looking to expand my audience base, so please feel free to share my creations within your social circle.

Emboss Resist Daisies

Here is a simple to use technique that makes a huge difference, its called emboss resist. Here is a youtube clip that demonstrates how this technique is done. I love using this technique not only because its easy to use, but also because it looks different every time you do it and, and you can achieve a great outcome every time. 

For the first card I have embossed with white embossing powder and used silver for the second one. The colour combo I have used here is Powder Pink and Tranquil Tide, with a touch of Very Vanilla. I brushed over the embossed image very lightly to give it a softer look. Also, I didn't use watercolour paper and so didn't want to damage the paper with too much water colour. Just enough to make the embossed image to pop out. Particularly like how in the first card is a combination of stamp and punched out daisy and an embossed daisy, a slightly different take on it, haven't seen it done yet.

Thank you for visiting my blog today, hope you have enjoyed browsing through my projects and found some inspirations. If you like what you see, please leave a comment or two below, or simply click on one of the reaction buttons to let me know what your thoughts are about my creations. I value your opinion and I am always looking to improve my craft through constructive feedback from my guests/readers. I am also looking to expand my audience base, so please feel free to share my creations within your social circle.