A Wedding Message Book

Wondering what a Wedding Message Book is? Well this is the first for me too! A dear friend's brother is getting married next month and the new bride and groom wanted a book in which their friends and family could write little notes and wishes. They wanted something different and original so my friend asked me if I could put something together. And I thought 'WOW! What a great idea!' I just got started on the project and this blog post which is part of a 2-part series is of the cover of the book. 

 

The colour scheme for the wedding is apple green and fuchsia so I figured I would use the DCWV Cherry Limeade stack available at Itsy Bitsy for the project. The colours are an exact match which is extremely fortuitous isn't it! At the centre of the page I put in a space for a photo of the betrothed couple using a paper from the same paper pack and I used some chipboard laser cut corner embellishments as a final touch.

The central feature of this layout is the cross stitch border I added on the top and left sides. I recently picked up the Sew Easy tool from Itsy Bitsy along with some Sew Easy floss and I was eager to incorporate both in a project. I think stitching adds a wonderful textured touch to any project and since I've always been a cross stitch embroidery nut, it was the obvious choice. I have created a video of how I used the Sew Easy tool and put together this layout which you can watch here. 

Here's a closeup of the title of the book that I created using my favourite Itsy Bitsy alpha tags. The title reads, 'The Great Big Book of Greetings'. Isn't that fun! The tags are a nice deep pink and at the top of each tag I added a tiny green pearl. Each of the tags have been stuck with foam adhesive dots so that they appear dimensional. I just love that effect!

I used 2 flower packs to jazz up this page. For the green flowers, the Bubble Gum Antique Fusion blooms were my choice and for the pinks, I used . The leaves are from the Itsy Bitsy Gardenia series which I think gave a small shade of relief from the burst of flowers on the two corners. I used the Sew Easy Organza ribbon for the pretty bow on the corner and if you want to see how I made it, be sure to watch the video earlier on in this post. 

The next part of the series will be about the inside of the book and how space will be provided for 200 messages and greetings in just 20 pages. I'm still not clear how I'm going to do it but I am truly relishing the challenge! Be sure to watch this space for updates!

What do you think of my Wedding Message Book project and how did you like my video tute? Would love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let me know!

Supplies Used

Celebrating 60 Glorious Years!

My grandparents recently celebrated 60 years of marriage. Isn't that an incredible achievement? My mother wanted very much to give them a keepsake to remember this occasion so she asked me to make a photo desk calendar. I was happy to oblige and got to work on the project. It's hard crafting to someone else's taste aesthetic. My mother doesn't like too much of embellishments. She's always prefers 'Clean and Simple' projects so as I was putting this whole calendar together I had to ensure that it was not too grand or lavish. It had to be clean, crisp and extremely memorable.

The picture above is the cover of the calendar. I chose a somewhat muted colour scheme as this gift was to be placed on my grandfather's desk. The papers are all from the DCVW Basics Stack. It's a fabulous pack to pick up for masculine or neutral projects because there is nothing flowery or girly. It's all geometric and solid. The flowers are from a new range at Itsy Bitsy called 'Gentlemen' which contains blooms in greys, blacks and blues. This isn't available online but was at the store and I found it went perfectly with my theme. 

                                  

The base card stock is navy blue and each paper has been trimmed using the Rotary Cutter from Itsy Bitsy to get that awesome scallop edge on all four sides. Scallop edges are a great way to add a little relief and fun to a project and it's so easy to do. Be sure to watch this video demo to see the rotary cutter in action. 

To bind the photo desk album together, I used my favourite crafting tool - The Cinch from We R Memory Keepers. It's the most amazing device as it allows you to punch and bind your projects with ease. No running to the spiral binding centre or struggling with makeshift tools at home. This one does it all and it punches easily through card stock, chip board and other tough papers. Watch this space for a demo on the Cinch coming up very soon!

Finally the binding wire was again from the We R range at Itsy Bitsy. They've got so many options in so many colours and sizes, you can definitely find the one that best suits your project.

Each photo on each page was from my mother's old albums. We found photographs from as old as 1950. I scanned them, enhanced them and sized them to fit uniformly on each page. The calendar will last my grandparents till Dec 2014, but there were too many photographs to add and since the format is the same, I thought I'd just add 3. 

My grandfather was overwhelmed with the gift. He called me from Kerala to express his appreciation and gratitude. It actually felt pretty great to make him so happy with something so simple. He has proudly placed it on his desk, a desk that is practically as old as his marriage and has set aside his trusted Manorama calendar in favour of this photo desk one. 

Thanks so much for dropping by, would love to hear from you so leave a comment and let me know what you think of how I commemorated 60 glorious years for my grandparents.

Supplies Used:

Winners of the Itsy Bitsy All That Glitters Challenge

Folks, it's been a long wait and we're seriously sorry about that, but we finally have the talented winners for last month's challenge here at Itsy Bitsy. The theme was 'All That Glitters' and you were asked to create anything as long as it contained some sparkle or bling. The entries were fantastic and given the delay in announcing the winners, you can imagine how difficult it was for us to choose the top projects. But choose them we did so crafters, here are your winners for the Itsy Bitsy All That Glitters Challenge!

The winner for Paper Crafting is Indrani of Rey Creationz for this super classy and stylish card; and the winner for Jewellery Making is Anurita of My Space My Creativity for this stunning fringe choker necklace. Well done ladies!! You each win a voucher of Rs 1000 from Itsy Bitsy and starting from this month, we are inviting the winners of our challenge to create a guest post for the Itsy Bitsy Blog. Do write in to info@itsybitsy.in to claim your voucher and get more details about the guest post opportunity!

Now on to the finalists for each category. Once again it was really hard to choose just 6 toppers so kudos to all of you for your tremendous effort!

Finalists for Paper Crafting:

Pooja

Indira

Nandini

Sindhu M

Cinthi

Anushree

Finalists for Jewellery Making

Shylaashree

Gunjan

Cinthi

Pratyusha

Neha

Taranjot

And that wraps up this Winners Post. Finalists please write in to info@itsybitsy.in to claim your badge. Congratulations to everyone featured here and I hope you are all eagerly working on your tutorials for the July Challenge. We can't wait to see your creations!!

Cheers! And Happy Crafting!!

An Elegant and Classy Gift Card Holder

I don't know about you but I ALWAYS feel guilty while giving someone a gift card or voucher for their birthday. I feel bad that I couldn't think of something really thoughtful to give and feel that vouchers is like the easy way out. The only way I can feel better about it is if I present it in a really nice way so when my mother's birthday rolled around and I purchased a gift card for her, I was glued to my crafting table trying to create something really spectacular to package her gift card

Now my mother is not a big fan of extremely elaborate projects. She prefers Clean and Simple stuff any day of the week so that was my guideline starting out. I decided to make a pop up gift card holder card with a matching box to place it in. Here's a look at the card from the outside: 

                         

The gift card I was giving was from Shoppers Stop and consequently was black and white. So I decided to use a range of papers from the DCVW Forever and Always pack for my project which are all shades of black and white.  This paper pack is literally mesmerising, the kinds of designs are just stunning and the great thing about shopping from Itsy Bitsy is that you can buy either the entire pack or only the sheets you want. Here's a look at the card when it is opened. As you can see the gift card literally pops out, almost like it's in your face. Isn't that a fun way to present a voucher?

                                        

And here's the complementary box I made for the card. I followed the same design and layout as the card and since the card was square so was the box. The ribbon is this lovely ivory from the Kaisercraft ribbon packs. The flower is one of my all time favourites from Itsy Bitsy - an open rose. And the pearl danglers were made using some Itsy Bitsy beads and fillers. 

Of course to finish it off I added a rim of pearls all over the border of the card and the box. The sentiment was die cut using the Victorian Labels die and voila - my set was ready. My mom was thrilled to bits with this gift, she gingerly opened everything and loved the interactive element of the pop out holder. Now that was an effort well spent!

Have you presented gift cards in a unique or interesting way? Leave a comment and tell us all about it! We'd love to hear! Till then, Happy Crafting Folks!

Supplies Used:

The Itsy Bitsy Big Shot Party

July 6th was a red letter day for all of us here at Itsy Bitsy because it was the date of the first ever Big Shot Party - a party to celebrate and commemorate Itsy Bitsy becoming the sole distributor of Sizzix products in India. 15 likeminded crafters from various corners of Bangalore got together at the Itsy Bitsy store in Banashankari to share ideas, dies, embossing folders and their mutual love of craft. I, myself was thrilled to be part of this fabulous event and take great pleasure in writing all about it. 

The Itsy Bitsy team had done a fabulous job of setting up the space. Each crafter got a dedicated space along with a name tag for themselves and their Big Shot. I was the first to arrive so I got a chance to see the room with all the tables set up and the demo station in place. Pretty soon the invitees started coming in. Some came alone, others with their daughters and others with their husbands so pretty soon it became a bustling centre of activity and excitement. It didn't take much to start chatting, we all had one big hobby in common - a love for all things crafty so as we waited for the final guests to come, we shared tips, ideas and practices so much so that we were practically interrupting each other. 

Soon we were ready to begin so everyone took their assigned spots. After a welcome talk by Itsy Bitsy owners Harish and Rashmi Closepet, I took the stage with a quick demo on the Big Shot, the Tattered Floral Die, the We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Tool, the We R Memory Keepers Sew Ribbon Tool and heat embossing.  Shortly after Sharada Acharya did a demo of a tag using the Itsy Bitsy Scallop Circle Die and I gotta say, it was a clever idea and a rocking demo!

Then it was time for cake and refreshments. Any guesses what the cake was? That's right - it was a BIG SHOT CAKE!! How cool is that! Rashmi and Harish cut the cake amidst party poppers and confetti and we all drooled over the rich chocolate hiding under all that fondant!

Next it was time for snacks and refreshments, after all we crafters need some solid fortification before our creative minds can get to work right? There were some fabulous eateries on offer and we all pigged out just a little as we continued to catch up with each other on our crafty interests.

Finally it was time to get to work. Harish took the group through all the Itsy Bitsy products available for the layouts. There were dies, embossing folders, inks, stamps, embossing powders, embossing guns, flowers, chipboard laser cuts, papers and so on. Apart from these guests were encouraged to ask for any additional supplies they needed to make their layout stand apart and these items too were provided. At 4:30pm, it was time to start crafting and the group was given 2 hours to create their masterpeice!

We wrapped up by 6:30pm and each layout was photographed. Following that everyone got together for a group photo before heading back home, energised and enthused from a dedicated afternoon of crafting! We had a fabulous time hosting this first ever event of its kind and considering its success we are hopeful of doing it again. So if you're in Bangalore and you have a Big Shot, watch this space for more exciting events coming up! 

Here's a look at the fabulous layouts from the Itsy Bitsy Big Shot Party! To vote for your favourite be sure to visit our Facebook page and hit like on the one you like the most. 

The Itsy Bitsy Sizzix Tutorial Challenge

Folks, it's a new month and time for a brand new challenge here at Itsy Bitsy. But before we get to that we have something fabulous to celebrate here at Itsy Bitsy. We are thrilled to announce that Itsy Bitsy is now the exclusive distributor of Sizzix supplies in India. Isn't that awesome! So now whenever you purchase a Sizzix product, you can be sure it came from us.  

In addition to celebrating the Sizzix announcement, we also want to create a month of learning and sharing for all our crafter friends. There is so much creativity in our little crafty world so why not spread the knowledge and pass along some tips. Your challenge this month is to create a project using some product from Sizzix and add a tutorial in your submission. For the jewellery makers we understand that it is quite impossible to add a Sizzix product in your submission so only the tutorial is required in your submission.

And for inspiration - here is what I created! It is the cover of mini album scrapbook I am making for a friend who just delivered her 4th baby girl. Hence the title is aptly called "The Princess Diary".

So to comply with the guideline of the challenge, I decided to use the Sizzix Tattered Florals Die from Tim Holtz in this project. Here's a close up of the flowers I made using this die. The papers are pink punch papers and glitter sheets from Itsy Bitsy. Here's a close up of the flowers: 

I also had some fun with the new range of WOW embossing powders at Itsy Bitsy. I picked up a gorgeous chipboard laser cut and head embossed it silver to complement my colour scheme of pink, black, white and silver.

I added this adorable princess dress embellishment also from Itsy Bitsy. It was so apt since the entire project is all about bling, sparkle and bright pink!

Finally as per our challenge rules, I have included a tutorial for this inspiration post. I have made a video demonstrating how I made the flowers, embossed the laser cut and basically put this entire project together. Hope you like it and find yourself learning a couple of tips and tricks too. 

Challenge Rules:

1. For the Paper/ General crafting project, your submission can be a card, box, tag, scrapbook layout, dress, embroidery, crochet work etc - anything as long as it is handmade and includes a Sizzix product and contains a tutorial. 
2. For the jewellery making project, your submission must be some form of jewellery and once again must incorporate a tutorial in the submission. You are not required to include a Sizzix element in the jewellery making submissions
3. The tutorial can be a video or picture tutorial. 
4. Quilled jewellery or jewellery made out of paper beads will fall under the Jewellery making category.
5. The contest closes at midnight on 31st July 2013
6. In order to submit your entry, click on the inlinkz button provided at the end of this post, add your image and link to your blog post containing the submission. There is a separate button for each category.
7. If you do not have a blog, please create an album on any online photo gallery, ensure the settings are public and link it up as detailed in point 6. Ensure the tutorial photos are included in your album.
8. We will no longer be accepting submissions via email however for any doubt, please write in to itsybitsycraftcontests@gmail.com
9. Each participant can submit a maximum of 3 entries within each category
10. Submitting old projects is not permitted. All submissions have to be created after 5th July 2013
11. In your blog post, create a link back to this page - The ItsyBitsy Sizzix Tutorial Challenge.
12. Entries are welcome from all over the world however if you are the winner, we can only ship your prize to an Indian address.
13. 2 winners will be selected, one for jewellery making and one for paper/general crafting who will each receive a voucher of Rs. 1000 each, redeemable online at www.itsybitsy.in.
14. In addition 3 to 6 finalists in each category will be selected all of whom will receive a badge to display on their blog. 
15. We would love it if you display our new badge on your blog, you can find it on the sidebar.

We are super excited to see what you come up with and judging by the talent displayed in previous challenges we are 100% certain that it's going to be a gala hit! So hurry up and start linking! Looking forward to your creations! 

Also stay tuned to our next post where we will share a fabulous jewellery making inspiration for this challenge along with a video tutorial! See you soon!

Submissions - General/ Paper Crafting
Submissions Jewellery Making