Black and White and Pink - A Dramatic Card

It's time for some drama peeps and nothing is more dramatic than the color combination of pink, black and white. So I put together a little card using these colors. It doesn't slide, explode or stand up but I'm pretty kicked with the way it turned out. And with Teachers Day just around the corner, I thought it would be a perfect way for my little boy to show his appreciation for his nursery 'Aunty'. 

If you're an avid crafter like me, you probably spend a great deal of time scouring YouTube for craft videos. One recurring trend I always see is 'layering'. So I jumped on the bandwagon. This card has 4 different layers - black, then white, then pink pattern paper and finally a stamped and embossed card.

I've also learned that sentiments should not be hand-written unless you have a calligraphic hand writing style, which I certainly don't. A professional and elegant card can quickly lose its beauty if such a risk is taken. Since I couldn't find a stamp for this message, I used my computer and took a print out. I cut it to size and glued it on a black strip of card. Is that cheating?

Here's a list of items I used for this creation all from ItsyBitsy of course:

1. Black card stock
2. White Card Stock
3. Grosgrain Ribbon
4. Pink Craft Rose
5. Framelits Die - for the circles

Let me know what you think of this 'dramatic card' - I really love hearing your feedback, comments and tips!

Sunflowers and Die Cutting

So my little girl Kyra is turning one next week and I've been busy crafting my head off for her birthday party. The theme is sunflowers and I've managed to incorporate the theme quite substantially in the entire event. The birthday invitations, decorations, thank-you cards and take away gifts are all embellished with sunflowers. And I couldn't have done it without my Big Shot and some super dies.

Sunflower  Invitations

This was the invitation card. I kept it fairly simple considering I had to make about 20 of them but I managed to incorporate stamping, embossing and die cutting all into each invitation. The background yellow card is embossed with an ItsyBitsy embossing folder. The green pattern paper is one of my favorites and the sunflowers were created using a Sizzlits flower layer die. I even managed to find brown foam circles for the center from ItsyBitsy. I provided the details like time, place and venue on the reverse side, so the front was dedicatedly sunflowers.

Here's a video of how I made the flowers using my BigShot and a Sizzlits Die

Sunflower Decorations

I'm having the party in the front garden of my parents house and I wanted it to be flooded with sunflowers. Now creating them from scratch in the numbers I needed would be too mammoth a task so I need a simple approach. I started with a yellow plastic disposable plate and placed a brown circle in the center. I used brown card stock and a circle framelits die both from ItsyBitsy to create the circle. Once that was glued down, I detailed the petals with a black marker. Fabulous wouldn't you say! I've made about 40 of them, each taking about 2 minutes to create. 

Sunflower Thank You Notes

Next I got to work on the Thank You cards which would be attached to the party favors. I used a yellow card stock and added my signature green pattern paper. I placed an ItsyBitsy sunflower on the corner and finished it off with a picket fence embellishment. The 'Thank You' was stamped, not the neatest job, have to say!

I had so much fun bringing this theme to life and I'm still brimming with ideas. The food, the balloons, everything has a potential to be thematic. Let's see how the shingding turns out. Irrespective, it's been a real crafty pleasure!

An Exploding Box Card

An exploding box is a great variant to a traditional card. From the outside it looks like a present or gift box but then when you open it, you're in for a lovely surprise - photos, messages and other personalized notes. My mother-in-law's birthday is this Friday and I thought this would be great way to wish her as well as share some timeless photos.

At first glance, it looks just like a gift. The idea is that we give it to her as if it is her birthday present. Then when she opens it, she'll be treated to an expansive compilation of pictures with her near and dear ones. I also included a message, making this so much  more than just a birthday card.

I saw this box on a tutorial so here's the link. I really liked this style of exploding box because it isn't too busy. Plus it's really easy to create. The video explains clearly how to put it together so I've added some photos of how I decorated each square. There were 9 squares and I wanted each pair to look different and unique without any recurring theme.

I made green and pink flowers using the my Sizzlits die and Big Shot machine. I also used one of ItsyBitsy's embossing folders for 2 of the squares. I combined pattern papers with card stock for the remaining squares and moved on to the outside of the box.

The outside of the box was plain white and could use some decoration, so I stamped each square with a stamp set from ItsyBitsy. For a contrast I made the lid of the box solid red. Put everything together and my exploding box was done!

Each square contained a picture and a message. I finished the look with a huge yellow bow on the top.
Here's the final outcome. Have to say I'm pretty pleased with the outcome.

And here's a video of how the box opens and 'explodes'.

Happy Crafting peeps!

The ItsyBitsy Anniversary Sale

We're so kicked to announce that our anniversary sale is on right now - from today the 16th of August to the 24th of August 2012! We recently had a store wide sale and a number of our loyal fans expressed their disappointment that the Internet shoppers were losing out. So we are rolling out this sale just for you, the online shoppers. We've got massive discounts on a number of items so if you're looking to stock up on our supplies, there is no better time that right now!

Have you been eying an embossing or die cutting machine? Or thinking of getting a few embossing folders? Head on over to www.itsybitsy.in and grab them with discounts of 10 to 25%. Some of our stamps are at 50% - UNBELIEVABLE SAVINGS!! And we know you've been eying our boutique element flowers, they too are on 30% off!!!

So don't waste another second. There's so much to buy and just 8 days to do it! Do pass the word around to your fellow crafters, this is an opportunity that cannot be missed!!

The TriColors are Quite Beautiful - Aren't They?

The ItsyBitsy challenge this month is all about the TriColor and if you scroll down, you will see a number of submissions, all showcasing just how beautiful the tricolor is. I think the best thing about it is that individually the colors - saffron, white and green don't really mean anything but put together, they mean so much, to all of us.

So for my sister-in-law's birthday which is on the eve of Independence - the 14th of August, I decided to wrap her gift with these colors. And I had the best time doing it. I started with a simple white base, topped it up with a green chart, edges cut in a pinking style and finished it off with orange ribbon. It really was as simple as that.

Of course the crowning glory was the orange edge carnation I made out of tissue paper. Gorgeous isn't it. I actually learnt it as a child in craft class and I haven't seen it in the usual craft spots so I thought it would be great to share as a tutorial. The video at the end of this post shows how I put it together.

Independence Day means so much to all of us. Our nation's struggle for freedom is fresh in all our minds and I hope it continues for generations to come. This challenge is a tribute to the patriotic sentiment that sits with all of us and we are thrilled to see such beautiful and exciting submissions just half way through the month. Thanks for supporting us and happy crafting folks!

Emboss your Card and Make it Stand Apart!

Embossed cards can really take your craft project from one level to another. If you have a die-cutting/ embossing machine then you will probably want to stock your craft corner with loads of dies and embossing folders. You will soon find out (or probably already know) that these can really burn a hole in your pocket. Which is why ItsyBitsy started making their own Embossing Folders. At just Rs. 199 a piece, they are affordable and offer an excellent finish to your cards, scrapbooks, boxes and mini albums. 

To give you an idea of how to make these work, we put together a couple of cards using ItsyBitsy's very own Embossing Folders. If you look closely you can see the beautiful flower detail embossed on to the cards. The feel of the card also improves exponentially when its embossed. Combine it with some beautiful pattern paper, craft flowers and sentiment cards all available at the ItsyBitsy store, and in a flash you have a one of a kind creation that would rival most craft projects.

I recently bought a couple of the ItsyBitsy embossing folders and can personally attest to their quality. To give you an idea of how they work, I put together this little video.

So crafters, if you have an embossing machine, you know where to get quality embossing folders without having to encash your retirement savings. And if you don’t have an embossing machine, then it’s worth going for one considering ItsyBitsy offers economical embossing folders. You can choose from either Cuttle Bug or Big Shot if you want both die cutting & embossing. If you just want to emboss, go for Texture Boutique, it's cheaper and works really well. Happy Crafting Peeps!

The ItsyBitsy TriColor Challenge

Crafters! It's the month of August and this year we have more than one reason to be patriotic. Of course it is the month of our nation's independence and what better way to celebrate and sanctify the occasion that to spend the month crafting with the tricolor. Second the summer Olympics are taking place as we craft. Let's cheer our boys and girls out there in London by creating unique and original tricolored craft projects.

So to kick things off, I created a card with the tricolor pallette. My sister-in-law is joining a new company on Monday so I wanted to give her something special while at the same time, not too serious. I was on YouTube heavily through the month and came across the slider card using a plastic bag. So that's what I made. The link to the video I referred to is here.

My card tells a bit of a story. We've got a sole sheep grazing in a bed of craft grass and the sentiment reads 'So you're off to Greener Pastures. Then as you pull the slider out, it says, 'Good Luck' and 'U'll Rock'.

To add personality to the card I had laced the top and bottom with some satin ribbon and added a couple of sunflowers for some panache. For the inner slider I used Itsy Bitsy distressed alpha stamps and embossed the surface with one of their new embossing folders. The grass was created using the craft grass available at the ItsyBitsy store and I just loved the little sheep embellishment again from ItsyBitsy's 3D sticker range. Quite sorry to let that go actually. To give you an idea of the sliding action, I made a video.

Back to the challenge, here are the rules:

1. You can make anything you like with the Tri-Color (Saffron, White and Green) being the dominating color scheme. All 3 colors should be introduced.
2. The contest closes at midnight on 31st August 2012.
3. In order to submit your entry, click on the inlinkz button provided at the bottom of your page, add your image and link to your blog.
4. Each participant can submit a maximum of 3 entries. 
5. Participants can withdraw entries at any time before the contest closes by deleting their submission.
6. Backlinking to old projects is not permitted. All submissions have to be created after 2nd August 2012.
7. In your blog post, create a link back to this page - The ItsyBitsy TriColor Challenge.
8. 2 winners will be selected and will receive a voucher of Rs. 1000 each, redeemable at www.itsybitsy.in

In keeping with the spirit of the challenge, we would be thrilled if you incorporated only Indian-made products into your creations as far as possible. Be sure to include the details in your blog post. All the best and Vande Mataram!

Winners of the ItsyBitsy Craft Flowers Challenge

We are thrilled with the response to our first mainstream challenge - the ItsyBitsy Craft Flowers challenge. We had 23 fantastic entries which displayed the creativity, versatility and talent among our crafters here in India. It was no easy feat choosing the winners and here's the criteria we used while evaluating the creations:

1. Creativity - after all you had to create something other than a scrapbooking or card layout which demands creativity.
2. Finish - how clean, neat and complete your project looked.
3. Applicability to Contest Guidelines
4. Type of flowers used and how they were applied. 
5. Overall look of the creation. 

So without much further ado, here are the 2 winning entries!

We've got Shilpi with her fantastic lit canvass and Shubhra with her gorgeous embellished box. CONGRATULATIONS to both of you for your excellent submissions. 

Shilpi's Magnificent Backlit Canvas

Shubra's Divine Embellished Box

Shilpi and Shubra, we will be writing to you separately to share details of your vouchers for Rs 1000. You can also now proudly add this badge to your blog and our mail will give you the image URL address.

We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who participated. We loved seeing your creations with our flowers. Your interpretations were inspiring and versatile, showing just how much you can do with craft flowers. Thank you once again.

Stay tuned to a super exciting challenge for August where we hope to see even more participation and support.