On my shelf right now...

The bout of reading is here! You'll find these on my shelf right now...

Autobiography of a Yogi - Mum had suggested this book to me a while ago and she keeps talking about what an interesting read it is. So I finally bought myself a copy while we were at The Self Realisation Fellowship in California. (which by the way is such a beautiful place!). Paramahansa Yogananda, a great saint, talks about his remarkable life dotted with saints and yogis, science and miracles, death and resurrection. I have to admit, I did find it a little hard to read when I started as the tone of the book isn't very modern. But as you go on, the book simply fills you with sheer wonder! It is a spiritual book and I'm very intrigued by philosophy, so this book is very interesting, in my terms.


Sacred Games - the adorable couple, H&A, (our very good friends) lent me this book. We share a common passion for good books and they promised I'd like it. And I do :) I'm still reading it. It's quite on the same lines as 'Shantaram'. It's set against the backdrop of the Indian underworld, the gangsters and the power-play. I think it's a great read.


The Food of India - It's a book on Indian food and has gorgeous, gorgeous pictures, I love it! It's my latest inspiration in the kitchen :)

Husby darling also picked up Dan Brown's Deception Point and since he's hogging it right now, I'll have to wait my turn :)

Another Birthday Card

I'm back with another birthday card I made this afternoon. Colouring in that cake has brought in some cake cravings. Darn! Maybe I'll settle for some of my instant 'throw-in-a-buncha-stuff in a bowl' microwave choc pudding instead, hmmm...

 

 

Birthday Card

I must admit, I've been addicted to pink 'n' purple and all colours girly. So, when I sat down to make a card for my cousin, I was kind of lost! I'm sure he wouldn't really be flattered with a pink or purple card :) So I chose to make one in shades of green. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Hope he likes it. I wouldn't know that now would I, if I haven't mailed it to him yet?! *sigh* Will I ever be organised? I wonder...
I have to put in bold on my 'to-do' list and soon :)

A closer look...

Oozing with cuteness!

These gift card holders look yummy enough to eat! They're so so so easy to make, see it here. I've used K & Company's Valentines Day patterned paper. They're so pretty, all pink 'n' red and girly :) I've also used some of my new stamps that I was dying to use. Hmmm. life's good!

 

 

 

 

Hide 'n' Seek: A Card? A Bag?

I frequently scour the internet for craft ideas and inspiration. I'm amazed at the creativity that's out there! It makes me feel so proud that we're all this big, huge crafting community, constantly creating. In my head it's like this massive wave of positive energy, all flowing into making something beautiful! *sigh*, it's an overwhelming feeling. Tell me if you've felt it too...

So, I made this super cute gift bag that looks like a card. It's so easy to make and again, can be so easily customised for anything. I bought a pack of  (paper) party loot bags in white. They're available in different colours too. Then I trimmed down the bag to the size I wanted and cut out two pieces of CS. Then I stuck them on to both sides of the bag and used patterned paper to decorate. For closure, I used a square piece of CS and used dimensionals at the bottom only. That way the flap opens and closes easily.
I love it!

All boxed up!

Continuing my box frenzy (for some reason!). I love how these turned out. They're so versatile, great for small gifts. And they're so easy to customise to suit any occasion. Love it, love it, love it!

 

 

I'm sending the red 'n' black one as my entry to Caardvarks' Red Heart challenge and the pink cupcake one to In Style Stamps' Sweets! challenge.

Please click on the images for a larger view.

Love is in the air!

For people in love, every day is Valentines Day, what say? *wink*
But February 14 does bring with it romance, dancing, flowers, chocolates, candle light dinners, etc, etc. Here are two cards I made for that special day :)

The camera doesn't do much for the shade of red, but the cards look very lovey-dovey :)

I got to use my new stamps. The shoe (stamp) looks familiar, doesn't it? In that case I don't think I need to remind you that it's one of my favourites, oops! I just did!

Inspired Projects

How cute is this? I say it looks yummy enough to go 'slurrrrp'! I saw this on Angie Kennedy Juda's tutorial here. Boy, am I gonna be making several of these or what?!
(I should've probably put it on a darker background...)


Angie is a SU demonstrator and has some pretty awesome videos/tutorials on YouTube. Check them out here. Here's a book mark I made inspired by one of her projects.


Okay, I also have lots of other fun stuff that I've been making and wanting to share. More in my next post!

Good Things Come in Tiny Packages!

Well, I can't really stand by that statement...maybe, maybe not :)
I made these little boxes for Valentines Day. Aren't they the cutest or what? They are perfect to hold something tiny and cute and precious, maybe. I don't know if you think chocolate is worth making a fuss about but I certainly do! And that's exactly why I put in a little Hershey's kiss in one of them. Let's see now, maybe I'll give it to a special someone.

Pssst! I gobbled it up right after I took the picture, hehehe.

Will be back with more Valentines Day treats soon!

Grandpa

Ajja, that's what we fondly call our grandpa. Everyone's favourite, grandchildren and great grandchildren alike. With his loving smile and gentle ways, he is such a calming presence for our large extended family. I have spent so many memorable summer vacations at my grandparents' place in Mangalore and whenever I think of my grandpa, I remember the little orange candies that would mysteriously appear in his hands if we closed our eyes (!), the yummy sweets he used to bring back home for all of us, the stories he used to tell as we drifted into a blissful sleep at night and the medicines he used to give us with his magical touch that would just scare the coughs and sneezes away! I love you Ajja, we all do!

I made this card for his birthday this month.


The sparkly silver and gold flowers don't photograph well...but the card turned out quite well overall.

My craft loot from the US!

Okay, so here's what I've been raving about :)

Tools: Got my Cuttlebug, yes!! An embossing heat tool, a large crimper, a 2-in-1 corner rounder, a snowflake punch.

Some yummy patterned paper...



Clear stamps...
Rubber stamps...I love the shoes set, they're from Hero Arts.


Stamping markers...


Glitter and ribbons...

I used a couple of things already for the scrapbook pages I was talking about. There's so much more to do and I'm so excited, yay! Will be back with some pictures soon.

Made something, felt good :)

I've brought back so many beautiful memories from our holiday! Even while we were there, seeing places, doing fun stuff and taking pictures, the thought of getting back and making some scrapbook layouts always lurked around somewhere in my excited mind. And then, I had all that lovely craftsy stuff that I'd bought, so I worked on a couple of scrapbook layouts. I picked some of my favourite pictures that I want to send to some very special people back in the US. I won't post the pictures of my pages just yet, 'cos I want it to be a surprise and don't want them seeing all of it right now :) I should be mailing them in a couple of days, so will be back with some pictures soon.

And I'm back!

Hey there! Happy New Year!
We're back after a wonderful and memorable holiday in California. We had such a good time! Here are some pics -




One of my fav parts of the trip was the craft shopping I got to do. I got so many fun things and at such a bargain, wow! And for the 'crafty' reputation I have, I got some gorgeous gifts from my cousin. I can't wait to use all of it. Will come up with something soon.

This new year, I want to take my crafting hobby more seriously and do something worthwhile with it. I want to organise my craft supplies and work on creating a little craft nook for myself. I better get started then!