Veeboutique

random thoughts jumping in my head..

It's 3am & I can't sleep.

I have a huge lab practical on Monday. I also have a powerpoint muscle project due Monday. And I still have online homework to finish before Monday 11am... Monday will not be fun.

I'm madly in love with Essie's 'Nice is Nice' & 'Sand Topez' nail polishes, along with it's new packaging. It's my new it-colors for spring.

I realize I still haven't gotten a call from the eye doctor telling me they have my contact lenses when it's been over 3 long weeks since I ordered them...

I need to get a bunch of projects done & out of the way so that the new ideas I have can come out of my mind & onto paper. I think I'm going to start scrapbooking again..

I finally 'put away' or deleted all the files on my laptop desktop. I can finally see my wallpaper again. But post-it notes? Err now that's another story that I don't even want to get into or even look at right now.

The 'dead bird' I happen to believe was laying next to my front porch turned out to be just a whole bunch of feathers together. This made me want to keep it & plunk out feathers since no actual bird was in it but before I could even put that idea into reality, my brother decided it was best to kick it to the street & away from me. I did take a picture of it so I will post it up here tomorrow to show you how awesome it looked.

I think I embarrassed myself enough for tonight [unless you guys want more?]. Good night & sweet dreams..

[[UPDATE]]

Here's the photo I was talking about.. doesn't it look like a dead bird curled up?!?! And I don't have any idea as to why there is a toy donut laying next to it. I think one of the neighborhood kids threw it here.. or maybe it came with the feathers?!?!

Link Love: [04.08.11]

 

L I N K  L O V E

                                                                                    

[image found here] 

`=] Photos like this makes me want to throw my own party for no special reason.

`=] Love this post by Elsie Flannigan who talks about juggling her career & personal life without feeling overwhelmed.

 

`=] If you love watching makeup tutorials online, you must watch this video. I promise you'll laugh from beginning to end!

`=] A super & quick DIY tutorial on how to make a yellow clutch. It's [mentally] added to my summer to-do list as I type.

[found image via lifelovepaper]

`=] Here's an awesome guide on posting images & giving credit when credit is due.

`=] To all students out there, here are the classroom rules, as told by illustrator & graphic designer Frank Chimero.

[found via black eiffel]

`=] If I had an office/studio space like the one above, I would rule the world!

`=] For nail polish fanatics like myself, here's a DIY on how to do a 'Halfmoon Manicure' using just nail polish & stationary reinforcements.

True Love Wedding 'Congratulations' Card

It's safe to say wedding season has begun because I've gotten a few requests to make congratulation-themed cards. Even in my circle of friends & family, I know about three to four couples getting married this spring & summer. I'm hoping to have a wide selection of these cards in the next couple of weeks.

The first card I'd like to introduce to you is called 'True Love'. It's a gorgeous elegant styled card centered around a heart embellishment. The card is measured to be 5 1/2" x 3 3/8" & the color scheme chosen are black, white, grey & lavendar.

Inspiration for this card came from a pack of heart & flower embellished stickers I had purchased a while ago. Each pack came with different size, shape & color stickers. The stickers were beautiful but the color scheme & size wasn't what I was looking for. Rather than go out & look for the perfect embellishment, I decided to use what I had & make my own!

I took a puncher & punched out a heart on the damasking flocked paper [Deja Views' Sweet Romance] I used as the background. I destressed it with ink [Ranger's Distressed Ink in Milled Lavender] to add some color. On top I stamped out a heart & covered it with lavendar glitter [Ranger's Distress Stickles in Milled Lavender]. As a finishing touch, I added another cut out heart stamp, this time added three pearls to the side & covering it entirely with glossy accents. Each layer is adhered with 3D adhesives.

Rather than just stick the embellishment onto the front of the card, I decided to create a circular window to the right side of the card & adhere the heart to the inside of the card. I carved out a circle on both the gray card stock (the card base) & the lavendar card stock [Wausau Classics Cardstock in Orchid]. I inked the lavendar card stock using clear stamps from the American Crafts Wedding Stamp Collection. Pearls were then added on each end of the circular label-type design.

I didn't want the left side of the card to look boring so I added black ribbon (with white stitches on the edge) to the top & bottom of the damasked paper. I tried a new ribbon technique (new for me) & created this banner look by tucking in the ribbon on both sides. Tying the ribbon & into a bow would have been too much & would take away the focus on the heart embellishment.

I kept the inside of the card really simple. I stamped the same circle design on the exact spot that the one in front (of the card) is stamped on. The last finishing touch was to add the 'Congratulations' sentiment next to it.

                                                                                   

The card started out as something I put together as a sample but I'm totally loving it! I'm thinking about making 3 different versions of it: lavender, sky blue, & light green. If you're interesting in buying one, email me [veebhu.patel@gmail.com] & let me know.

Monthly Goals: April 2011

Dear April,

Why are you pretending to be winter when I'm so ready for spring? You were the only one who managed to trick me on April Fool's Day. I look out my window only to see SNOW falling to the ground! But I still have hope in you because this week's temperature will be in the 50's & up [well that's what weather.com is telling me..]. I promise to make you proud! I'll work hard & keep myself busy but in return, you give me the beautiful spring weather that we all want. Oh & thanks in advance `=]

Lots of love..
vee `=P

                                                                                      

I'm hoping my open letter to April will work its magic. But for now, I'll keep my end of the bargain & list my goals for the month. I have tons of things to work on, especially for the blog. So it's m*f* go-time!

• blog everyday this month
• give my blog a lovely makeover.
• workout 3x or more a week.
• office decor.
• finish up requested projects.
• be more creative than I've ever been

Oh & the wallpaper above is made by me! I figured rather than find a desktop wallpaper online, it's time I get my hands dirty with Photoshop & make some magic. Plus it's an "unofficial" introduction to my little friend Danbo `=] (more about 'him' later). Happy April!

Make & Mail Monday [04.04.11]

Hi guys! I'm here with a new feature called the 'Make & Mail Monday' card series. I introduced it before but to be honest, I was NOT ready for it. I still don't know if I'm fully prepared but I'm going to try & work my butt off to make it perfect so I hope you all enjoy it.

This week's card is all about spring & Easter. I found this $1 stamp set above & I wanted to create a cute & colorful mini-card. Because the stamp set is small, I made a mini-MINI-card (it's smaller than the usual 3"x3" mini-card) which can also be used as a small gift tag. What I like about this card is that it's an easy & fun card to make. You don't need the exact products I used - you can always change things around that work for you. Of course I will have all the materials listed along with step by step directions. So let's get started!

[SIDE NOTE: This is my very first DIY type of post so I apologize if the directions are unclear. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section]

                                                                                     

Materials Used:

• Studio G Clear Stamps - VC0008 Series 29
• Copic Sketch Markers
• Kraft Card stock [Measurement: 3" x 4.50"]
• White Card stock [Measurement: 3" x 1.5"]
• DCWV Textured Card stock Stack Brights - Orange [Measurement: 3" x 2"]
• Martha Stewart Crafts Score Board
• White Thread
• Tsukineko StazOn Ink Pad - Jet Black
• Fiskars Border Punch - Apron Lace
• Derwent Watercolour Pencil - Spectrum Blue 32
• Ruler / Pencil / Scissors / Water Brush
• Tombow Mono Adhesive - Permanent
• Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer

                                                                                    

Instructions:

STEP 1: Using a pencil, lightly draw a line 1/4" from the bottom of the white card stock.
                   

STEP 2: Ink the [easter eggs on grass] stamp, using the pencil line as your guide. The line on the stamp should be on top of the pencil line. You will have to stamp twice since the stamp is shorter than 3". Be careful not to overlap the eggs though.
                   

STEP 3A: With the flower stamp, ink everything but the sentiment 'It's Easter Time!'. If you want, you can cut out the sentiment but avoiding it with black ink is not too difficult. If you do happen to ink up the sentiment, gently wipe it off with your finger or with a baby wipe.
                    

STEP 3B: Stamp the flower image twice, with the grass line matching the flower line. I used the space between the 2nd & 3rd egg (from left) as a guide to place the first flower.
                   

STEP 4: Now that you have your cute stamped image, color it in using Copic markers. Here's a list of all the colors I used. For the grass & some of the flowers, I blended in two colors together.

                   

STEP 5: Use a watercolor pencil in sky blue & lightly color in the background. Then take a water brush & go over the watercolor pencil. It blends in the harsh marks & softens the entire look.
                   

STEP 6: Take the orange card stock & use a border punch to punch one of the 3" side.
                   

STEP 7: Fold the kraft card stock so that the card measures 3" x 2 1/4". You can either fold it manually or use a score board & scorer. I won't lie, life has been so much easier using a scoreboard - I highly recommend one!
                   

STEP 8: Cut the bottom edge of the stamped white card stock so no white edge is shown. Adhere the white card stock on top of the orange card stock & leave 1/4" space between the border punch & the stamped green grass design. Cut off the extra orange card stock poking out on top.
                   

STEP 9: Ink 'It's Easter Time!' sentiment, leaving out the flower design. Just like before, if you do happen to get ink on the flower, wipe it off with your finger or a baby wipe (If you don't like getting messy, I definitely recommend the baby wipe). Create a border with this sentiment by stamping it on top of the folded card twice.
                     

STEP 10: Then alternate inking 'Celebrate' & 'Spring!' on the chick stamp design & create another border on the bottom of the card. Another way to create the stamped border is to cut out the sentiments so now you have 3 different stamps. Either method will work. Personally, I love cutting stamps so that in the future, I can use the stamps separately for other craft projects.
                   

STEP 11: Once the top & bottom sentiment borders are stamped, take the white/orange card stock piece & adhere it between the sentiments.
                    

STEP 12: Take white thread & wrap it around that space you created between the edge of the green grass & the border punch. After wrapping it about 10 times, you should have a thick border. Lastly, tie a knot behind the front of the card & cut the excess pieces. If you want the thread to be more secure, add adhesive under it on the back of the card so it sticks in place.
                                                                                    

I thought about having a giveaway each week but I decided against it. Instead, I'll be having a big giveaway at the end of each month with all the weekly featured cards & stamps of that month. It gives the winner a wide range of products to use. So now that I've had my first taste of what a DIY-type post requires, I should go & start on next week's M&M Monday card!