Projects featuring Roundy Sentiments

Hello and good morning! ^__^

I'm Halak and today I'll be showing you some projects with a fantastic stamp set called Roundy Sentiments.

But before that, let me remind you, today's the last day of the month and tomorrow we have the new release launch over at Peek-a-boo Designs!

Super psyched about it! Fabulous set of products releasing tomorrow!

You probably might even get to see a sneak peek or two... but shhh... you didn't hear it from me... :D  

So.. here's a look at the stamp set :

I love circle text because it's unconventional and fun!

This stamp set has a great mix of sentiments and patterns so you can build your entire project without the use of additional stamp sets.

Let's check out the projects one by one, shall we?

Starting with this bookmark that I made :

The sentiment is a sticker from my stash.

I used a cool color scheme of blues and greens for it.

Tip : I wanted to embellish the project but wanted it to be functional as a bookmark, so I used flat sequins.
If you use cup sequins, it will ruin the book pages and the sequins could get crushed when the weight of the book is too much.
Hence, while making a project do think about what you want to use it for and embellish it accordingly.

Next up is this birthday card.

A CAS project, I used pastel colors for the patterns and Archival black ink by Ranger for sentiment from the set.

The butterflies and the stamped heart are coated in fine glitter.

And here's an envelope.

I masked the top half of the envelope before stamping to be able to write stuff on it.

Tip : Notice the sentiment on this project. In the stamp set it is quite big + runs continuous and I didn't want it repeating while stamping so I masked it such that the sentiment is stamped without repetition.
If I were making a bigger project like a card or a layout, I would keep the entire sentiment.

So this brings us to an end of this blog post. I hope you enjoyed reading it! Which project is your favorite? I'd love to know!

Thank you so much for stopping by, have a great day! *Hugs*

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Peek-a-tute : CAS projects

Hello and good evening! ^__^

I'm Halak and this time around I have a tutorial.

All about CAS (Clean and Simple) projects, the basics.

I thought of covering some essential basics while doing a tute on the projects that you see in the above image.

Mother's day is fast approaching (2nd Sunday of May 2016) and this project is perfect for our mums who occupy a very special place in our hearts.

The PABD (Peek-a-boo Designs) stamps used in this tutorial are :
1. Mom's Heart and,
2. Flower in a jar

Here are the pics :

So, CAS cards and projects... how do we go about them....

The trick is to keep it like the name suggests, clean and simple.

Clean, as in a lot of white space and,  simple, meaning minimal embellishments.

For me, the biggest challenge is to keep the cardstock on which I am working, clean. :P
What I do is wash my hands after using inks and also keep a nice clean eraser close by!

Let's go through the steps for the project :

First, I stamped the mom's heart stamp using Archival ink.

Tip : If you want your project to have one cohesive feel, pick an element that is a part of your focus stamp.

Example : I was sure that this sentiment will be my focus but I wanted something subtle that would go well with it, so I picked the element : heart.

Making a heart stencil.

Yeah I don't have one, but it is so unnecessary anyway. I keep making these all the time out of scrap paper pieces.

How to make : Fold a piece of scrap paper, make this drop shaped pattern and cut it out. Boom, done!

Open the cardstock, you will have two items now, the solid heart and the heart stencil.

We're going to be using the stencil here.

What I did was take a stencil, sandwich it between my cardstock and the heart shaped stencil and created a soft look with distress inks.

Tip : Do not try to position the heart exactly in the center of image because it divides the attention to multiple things in the same spot thereby making the project unappealing.

I also colored the hearts in the image using Sakura pens but hey, if you don't have them, fret not, gel pens and ball pens also work just fine. (These require a bit more drying time than the Sakura pens so if you use them, do ensure that the ink is fully dried before moving ahead.)

After that I took the rose and leaf stamp from Flower in a jar set and stamped them onto cardstock using archival ink.

Note : I masked the rose to have the leaf partially under it.

Colored in using Sakura pens, and added sequins. Also added a tiny strip of purple paper tape.

Lastly, added a teeny tiny red butterfly and matted onto purple cardstock.

Remember the rule, do not go overboard with embellishments.

And that's that!

Moving on, let's say you don't have the time to make a card or you got your mum a gift already... what to do?

How about a tag that can double up as a bookmark?!

Nothing too crazy, I stamped sentiment with Archival, stenciled roughly around it, added heart shaped stickers + washi tape bit and matted onto purple cardstock.
(I covered a couple of stamped hearts with stickers and remaining I colored with Sakura pens.)

Lastly added a piece of ribbon. (The fact that it goes really well with the sentiment is just an added bonus!)

It's flat, so you can use it as a tag for a gift, or a bookmark! ^__^
My mum loves reading, so bookmark it is!

I hoped you enjoyed reading and learnt something new. Go on, do something special for your mum, the woman with a heart of gold who does so much and asks for nothing in return.

Till next time! *Hugs*

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A Sneak Peek!

As I write this post, I can't tell you how psyched I am to be able to bring these projects for your eyes only!

Woah... I forgot the intros et al... Hello! ^__^

I'm Halak and I know I know... it's peek-a-tute Friday but so much fun to hijack the blog and do something different!

Don't worry, the peek-a-tute will happen later towards the evening but for now, CHECK THIS OUT!

A couple of ATCs that I made using.... oh yeah.. never before seen Peek-a-boo Designs EXCLUSIVE stamps!

Of couse I couldn't show you the entire set... the design team would murder me for such shenanigans, but Vidushi allowed me to share 3 images from the exclusive stamp set that you'd get if you register for the Exclusive Stamp Club membership.

Read all about Stamp Club : Here

For membership, click :  Here

The moment I received these stamps I was like, man oh man, I wanna make something using these... can I can I... oh pretty please...

So Vidushi said, okay, but only 3 images.

How cute is that postal stamp image?! Probably the first one that says India too!

And that adorable hot air balloon!

Okay, I better shush and let you check out the projects. In the ATC on the left, the balloon is paper-pieced, whereas the vibrant one on the right is colored using Sakura pens.

You will see me today once again for the tutorial but till then, have an awesome day!

P.S. I highly recommend signing up for the Exclusive Stamp Club.
This stamp set is bloody AWESOME!!!

Thank you for stopping by and keep smiling! *Hugs*

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Cute Critters

Hello and good evening! ^__^

I'm Halak and today I'm going to be talking about the super cute Exclusive stamp set that is called : Cute Critters.

This is what the set looks like :

To read about the stamp club click : Here 

It's a great opportunity to own some exclusive stamps that will not be released to the general public!

The following Peek-a-boo Designs Products are used in the projects :

1. Cute Critters stamp set (Exclusive)
To subscribe click - Here

2. Lily Hope stamp set (sentiment is used in Project #3)
To buy click - Here

3. Wine Cardstock
To buy click - Here

Oh and incase you were wondering, this is what the Lily Hope set looks like :

      

So, without further ado let's check out what I made :

Card #1 - Mr. Fox

Mr. Fox here was paired up with some pretty butterflies, and given a mix washi tape base to stand on.

If you do not like water coloring and building forest scenes, this look is perfect for your project.

I colored Mr. Fox with color pencils.

That gorgeous card base is the fantastic wine cardstock by Peek-a-boo designs. Look at that stunning texture on it!

If you haven't gotten some already... well then, what are you waiting for, go get some!

What? You love watercoloring? It's the latest trend you say?

Have no fear, project #2 is here!

Card #2 - Panda (minus the kungfu!)

I masked the panda and stamped the thin bamboo stamp around to build background.

I colored it with distress inks and added highlights with color pencils.

Oh, and the bamboo leaves were hand-drawn. ^__^

This critter set has fantastic images for building watercolored background too!

It even has an awesome tree which led me to creating project #3.

Card #3 - The Happy Tree

So this is where I used that sentiment from Lily Hope set.

Paper-pieced the trunks and the central tree leaf portion.

Colored in the other two trees using a Sakura pen.

Of course I had to add a couple of butterflies, they just add to that happy tree who likes flaunting it's sparkly coat of leaves and who is comfortable in his skin.. or should I say bark... lol! :D

This happy tree project is the classic clean and simple cardmaker style.

So, fun party with modern elements, some watercolor bliss or the classic clean and simple... which is your style?

I'd love to hear from you! Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful sparkly evening!

*Big Panda Hugs*

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Peek-a-tute with Nysaa!

Hello and good afternoon! ^__^

I'm Halak and today I'm going to be taking you through a tutorial for the card you see in the image above.

Before I begin, a reminder : Our current ongoing challenge is to have a colorful project in a set, that is two or more things in a project but it cannot be two cards.

This tutorial has been created keeping in mind the ongoing challenge guidelines.

This means, your entry to the challenge can be a card with a matching tag, a card and a matching envelope, an album and a tag... etc.

Two or more projects in a set which have to have 4 or more colors from a rainbow. There's still time to play along so I hope you participate! ^__^

Okay so now that the reminder is done with, let's get to the project!

I made this card with a matching envelope using the following stamp sets : 

1.  Stringy Text

2.  Nysaa 

Steps :

First, I stamped Nysaa onto white cardstock twice. Kept one image as-is and fussy cut the second image.

Then on the cardstock where I kept Nysaa as-is, I placed a sentiment from Stringy Text to position and stamp.

Note : I masked the lower portion below Nysaa's dress using a small piece of scrap paper. I was not actually bothered about the dress itself because I had decided early on that I would be paper piecing.

Once my sentiment was stamped, I took the fussy-cut Nysaa and masked the Nysaa on the cardstock with masking tape.

After I masked Nysaa, I took a stencil and stenciled pattern using Orange (Spiced Marmalade) and Yellow (Mustard Seed) distress inks.

Tip : When you stencil, exert the lightest pressure you can and then build up on color. Remember, transition from light to dark with building up on colors is easy, but a transition from dark to light is not possible in stenciling.

For the dress I stamped Nysaa partially onto pattern paper.

Note : A great way to add a personalized touch to pattern paper is to stencil a design on top of it like I did using distress inks.

It gives projects added dimension and depth.

Tip : It is also helpful if you know what color blends will give what results, example : 

Pink + Yellow = Orange 

Blue + Yellow = Green

Pink + Blue = Purple etc. 

It is easily available online with a chart so when you have the time, do look it up, it will benefit you greatly because you will be able to achieve more from less.

Positioned the dress that I paper-pieced onto Nysaa and decided on the embellishments I was going to use.

Tip : If you are a lazy colorist like me (lol) or coloring is not your thing but you want a beautiful outcome while using a doll image, an option like Nysaa is great because once the dress is paper-pieced, there is very little coloring required!

Once the dress was adhered, I colored Nysaa using color pencils (Staedtler Luna, 48 color set).

Finally added some pearls + rhinestones, matted the white cardstock onto purple cardstock and added a tiny black felt flourish on the top left hand side.

So that's how I did it!

The matching envelope was super simple, just stenciled the same design that was on card background using yellow and orange distress inks, stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from Stringy Text and added a couple of embellishments.

Hope you enjoyed the project and learnt something new!

Thank you for stopping by! *Hugs*

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Damask delights - Project ideas

Hello! ^__^

Having Monday blues? Well I hope this post brightens your day and cheers you up because today I have project ideas! Yeah, something for everybody!

I'm Halak and today's post features the super pretty and versatile Damask stamp set which is a part of March 2016 stamp release by Peek-a-boo Designs (PABD).

Before we get on with projects, here's the complete list of stamps and card stock that I used :

Stamps :
1. Damask 
2. Lily Hope and,
3. Bold You 

Cardstock :
1. Black (For ATC base)
2. White Sand Texture (For Card base)

This card that you see above is Project #1.

I love the fact that the damask set has solid images, (I am a very lazy colorist) and it takes ink really well.
You must have seen the stunning post by our DT member Vijaylaxmi, wherein she made a beautiful pattern paper using the damask set.
If you haven't seen it, click -- Here

Now I'm going to go through a few other fun ways to use this set.

In this project, I wanted a mixed damask look because... come on..
asymmetrical is sometimes super fun!

So I stamped a mixed bunch of damask designs in pale pink dye ink, added a sentiment from Lily Hope set and some butterfly punch-outs + sequins.

You can see the close-up of the mix damask designs in pale pink ink here :

Crisp and gorgeous impression! Gotta love that!

By now the symmetry lovers must be going like whaaat...

I have a project idea just for you guys...

Boom! Check out this envelope :

Project #2

A damask shape, inked up and stamped across the edge of the envelope for a border.

Added some rhinestones and pearls with a healthy splash of glitter (you can use wink of stella / stickles / sparkle as a substitute) and there you have it!

One classy envelope with the lace effect going on because of that damask... trust me, the recipient will be mighty impressed.

So, as you can see, this set looks great with random damask shapes stamped as abstract or a single damask shape stamped in sync.

Close up :

What after symmetry, you ask?

Let's go with a curve!

Project #3

This mixed-media style ATC has that gorgeous damask curve running through it which makes it very striking to look at.

How did I do this?

Simple. Took my round box lid in which I store my crafting tools, and with that drew a curve lightly onto stenciled background.

Mounted damask stamp onto block, inked and stamped the little damask away.

Once the curve was done, I erased the line.

Here's a better look at it :

The sentiment for this ATC is from the Bold You stamp set.

Bonus Tip :

What else can you do with damask?

I am thinking shapes, squares, rectangles, zig-zags etc.

Go make a crazy colorful mandala using this and use your geometry box to make concentric circles as guides for stamping!

Fun, right? :D

So you see, the only limitation is your imagination! Get this set, sit with some inks and get crafting! No other stress buster like it!

Hope you liked my post and thank you so much for stopping by! :) I'd love to know what you think! *Hugs*

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