Ramadan Kareem card

Hello everyone!

I know it's a bit too early to make Ramadan cards, but why not right? Better early than late!  This card was the last one I made for my craft product review video. I picked one of the few Ramadan Kareem metal cutting dies from In Love Arts Shop, and came up with this simple straight forward design. It's nice to make simple card designs once in a while.

So, here is the Ramadan Kareem metal cutting dies. There are a few dies in this set. That's why with just this set, you can straight away make a complete card with them. I just added more tiny stars and punched the corners with a corner craft punch and it's done. Just think of a suitable colour combination, arrange them in a nice angle, and that's about it!  This is probably the fastest cards I completed compared to the other 4 cards I did for the craft product review. LOL! :D

The sentiments are in Arabic and it says Ramadan Kareem. It's super cool to see Arabic wording dies because it's not something I commonly see or sold here. This is actually the first time I've seen anything like this, seriously. So when I found out that they are selling this, I immediately grabbed the opportunity to own one.

I do plan to make more of this card when I have some free time and explore what other designs I can do with the dies. There's so many things we can do with them. I don't think I've ever sent anyone a Ramadan Kareem card before so it's great that I can do so this year. We're always so focused on Eid cards, but we rarely do much when it comes to Ramadan cards. We just focus on the 'ibadah' more during the holy month. Which is also a good thing. :)

In Love Arts Shop is selling other Ramadan Kareem dies and clear stamps at their website and I plan to collect them all! One by one till I own all the designs. I can't have them all at once so I just have to be patient in collecting them :D.

I'm So Grateful For You - Die cut card

Hello everyone!

Today I want to share with you one of the 5 handmade cards that I made for the craft products review which I did this month on YouTube. This design is mainly made using die cuts! Kinda rare for me to just use die cuts as decorations. Usually I would mix it with quilling or other types of decorations. But this one is almost 99.99% made of die cuts. 

The floral frame die cuts that I used for the background for the card is made using dies that I received from In Love Arts Shop. Love it so much. First time ever for me to try to blending intricate die cuts with distress ink!! I really love the effect. The die cut looks like it's blended into the card itself since I used a red distress ink to match the colour of the card. 

The whole colour scheme and combinations are based on the die cut birds and roses. I really love them a lot. Too bad the shop where I bought them from don't sell them anymore. I can't even remember what year I bought them. Anyways, they are no longer in stock there. So I guess this card is a limited edition, LOL! Coz I can't make another copy of it.

The stamped sentiment is also from the same clear stamp set I got from In Love Arts Shop. I hope they will stock up more clear stamps that has handwritten sentiment designs like this. They are so pretty.

This card was done in just a few hours. That's why die cuts are great. It saves us time when we need to make a card in a hurry. When you already have the idea in your mind, you can make a card faster with the right materials. Easy to assemble and look fancy at the same time. ;).

Celebrate Your Day - Quilling card

Hello everyone!

Finally today I get to blog about this card here. I made this card last year after I received the metal cutting dies and clear stamps from In Love Arts Shop. I couldn't blog about the card until I uploaded the craft product review video on YouTube. As always I have to review all the craft products I received from In Love Arts Shop and create cards from them.  I took quite some time to get all the cards done for the review. Need to make the cards faster next time. :D

I really love the Square Lace frame dies a lot! The designs are so intricate and beautiful, that's why I chose it. I didn't know I was going to have problems cutting dies like this when I first got them. I never had intricate dies like this before so it was a new experience. A good one actually. I'm actually glad that I talked about my issues with the dies in my review video because, I gained some new knowledge about how to cut intricate dies the correct way. 

The clear stamps are great! They are of good quality and I didn't have any problems using them. I chose these clear stamps because their sentiments are combination of handwriting and block letters. A nice combo and the sentiments are not common like what usually see here in Malaysia. It's something new to me. So love them! 

Stamping and using distress ink to colour the die cut was fun. It's also something I haven't done in a long time. During this time I found out about the makeup blend brush that a lot of people are using to blend the ink on paper. I got so excited about that blending brush because it just so happened that my distress sponge are all spoiled because they are so old. Can't use them anymore. Luckily I didn't buy new ones yet. So finding out about the blending brush was a real blessing. Not only is it cheap, it worked better than the sponge.

I used the Martha Stewart butterfly craft punch to make those paper butterflies for this card. I haven't used it for my handmade cards for a long time so it was nice to use it again. I'm glad the craft punch is still working, LOL. Bought it so many years ago. I have a few more of Martha Stewart's craft punch that I haven't used in a long time. Need to check if they still function :D.

If you are interested to purchase the metal cutting dies and clear stamps, below are the links to each product I shared here. Do use my discount code FSAZLINA to get 15% off each product.

Hand Writing English Grateful Words Stamps

SKU: STZH145

http://bit.ly/2QKTD5H

Echoing Square Lace Frame Dies

SKU: DMZH409

http://bit.ly/2QRQUr0

Want to learn how to make the quilling flower on this card? Play the video tutorial below and watch how I make it. Happy quilling! :)

Happy New Year 2020 card with quilled fireworks!

Hello everyone!

I guess it's not too late for me to share this Happy New Year 2020 card I made last year after I received the second package of the metal cutting dies from In Love Arts Shop. After doing the review video on YouTube, I am now able to blog about this card.

It wasn't easy coming up with an idea for this card as I don't always make Happy New Year cards each year. It's rare thing for me. I am more into making birthday cards.

I used this alphabet dies from In Love Art Shop to for the words Happy New Year on the card. The first time I used this die I struggled with it because the design is quite intricate. But I'm so happy now that my problem is solved. I can now use this die as much as I like for my handmade cards. 

The alphabets were glued onto a craft punched scallop square and arranged to form the words. Not usually what I normally do when using die cut alphabets  but in this case where the die cut alphabets don't seem to go well together, then one option is to do it this way. I kinda like it! :D

I think this is the first time ever I made quilled fireworks. It's a very simple design not too fancy. Didn't take too long to make this. I wish I could add more quilled fireworks but there wasn't enough space.

If you are interested to purchase the metal cutting dies, below is the link to it. Do use my discount code FSAZLINA to get 15% off each product.

Art Alphabet Dies

SKU: DMZH684

http://bit.ly/2qHyxuh

Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020!!!

Hi guys!

Day 1 of 365! Happy New Year to everyone! All my best wishes to all! Here's hoping that 2020 is going to be a really great year for all of us. It's a new day, new beginning, a fresh start!

Said my good-byes yesterday to 2019 and even though I wish I could have accomplish more, I'm still thankful for what I have accomplished in 2019. So today I'm just going to talk about my TOP NINE most favourite of 2019! 

To start off, I want to talk about the quilling flowers first! There were 2 quilling flowers I created last year that I was so happy about. They both have that vortex twist to them which a lot of people were interested in and wanted to learn how to make. I'm glad I could make video tutorials on them and share them on my YouTube channel for all to view and learn from. I gained more quilling fans from these flowers too! Because it was something new and exciting for them to learn. The Triangle Twist quilling flower was my favourite between the two. I made more of that compared to the Teardrop Swirl quilling flower. At first it was just a single colour, then three colours and the last was rainbow colours! I just had to make it in rainbow colours, LOL! Just because I love the colours of the rainbow a lot. I never actually made a card with them until later in the year because earlier on I was not in the best of health, so I was more focused on making a lot of quilling stock instead of creating something with them.

I also did a lot of stitching on my handmade cards last year. Like a lot!! Haha!! And yes, I'll be doing more of that in 2020 too. Watch out for that. It's just so therapeutic and it's something I enjoy doing during commercial breaks while watching TV! Not a time wasted in a day guys! LOL! :D It's not like I never stitch on cards before but last year, I went all out man! Like really came out of my comfort zone to stitch like I've never stitched before. And it was all worth it. I learned something new from that experience too. It was great! To be honest, one of the reasons why at one point in my life last year I stitched a lot on paper was because of my ill health. I was spending most of the time lying down. So stitching was a lot easier to do at the time. Not a lot of tools needed and I could basically do it anywhere in the house. I don't really need a special place to do it. Since I didn't like to waste time doing nothing and crying about my ill health, I turned to sewing to keep me sane. Because I can't imagine a day without creating something artistic with my hands. I didn't have the energy to knit or crochet at the time....but sewing on a small piece of paper was enough to make me happy. 

Still on the stitching subject, I tried the string art for the first time last year. Man... there's just so much to explore with this one. I've only managed to try two types of string art and I can't wait to do more in 2020. Just like stitching on cards, with string art, I could use different types of thread and yarn too to sew different string patterns on paper. I did managed to make a video tutorial on my YouTube channel for the square string art and it was because so many of my followers requested me to do so. Usually people would do string art on a piece of board with nails. But I don't fancy doing that and prefer to do it on paper instead. If there is a possible method to alternatively do string art on paper, then I'll do it on paper because I just love working with paper! ;) Yay to all paper lovers out there! :D

One good news for me in 2019, was when I was offered to do product reviews for 2 companies at the same time! One from Malaysia and the other from China. And to my surprise after the first review I did for both companies, I was offered again by them for the second time in December of 2019! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do the review immediately in December because to make a review actually takes a lot of time and so, therefore I'll be doing it in January 2020 instead. So watch out for those two reviews this month! ;) I love doing reviews for both companies, so I hope to be able to do more in 2020 if given another opportunity. I can't really choose which product review I love doing most because each one has it's own specialty. But as a designer, the review I did for the craft products really suits me the best because it's what I deal with almost every day. Getting free craft products is like a dream come true for me and also for a lot of crafters out there. I've had the opportunity given to me years ago, so it was nice to get it again last year.

There was one thing that I discovered on YouTube that really blew my mind in 2019 and that was the stamping tool! For many years I've had issues with stamping that was unresolved until I saw this stamping tool that could solve all the issues that had been lingering in my mind for years. I never knew that someone invented the wonderful MISTI tool a few years ago.....never heard of it here in Malaysia. But thank God for the internet, now I know! And I even made a DIY video tutorial on my YouTube channel on how to make the stamping tool that actually works really well for me. I really love the stamping tool a lot and ever since I made it, I've been stamping almost every other day! Thank God I didn't sell off my stamps and gave up on stamping! Life is beautiful when one can stamp again! LOL! :D

Ok, still on the subject of stamping....with stamps, I was able to stamp images that I could quill on! Yes, that pink red roses on the photo above says it all. The minute I quilled on the stamped rose, the rose looks so much more exciting to me. And that gave me an idea of what I want to try next in 2020. Stamping and quilling together! Hope to be able to do that! :)

Last but not least.....knitting. The last topic of 2019. I started knitting like mad in 2017. Clueless yet hyper excited about it at first. Was willing to go through lengths to get the tools and yarn anywhere in Alor Setar or outside my state. Anyways, I started knitting a shrug that year but was only able to complete it last December.  It was a tough journey but I was persistent. I never gave up on it. This first shrug is actually for my Mom. Made it with a special yarn I bought from Pinky Frog Shop. I really love the dot yarn a lot. It's so soft and comfy. It's definitely one of the best yarns I've worked with. As if I've worked with a lot of yarns already! LOL! I'm just a beginner! Yes, I have not worked with many varieties but the dot yarn is one of my favourites. I can't believe that after two years, the shrug is done! I did combined the knitted shrug with some crochet finishing. I do have another knitted shrug that I need to complete. That one is for me! Haha! Of course I will make one for myself too right?? But I'm using a different type of yarn for that one and it's not as heavy as the one I made for my Mom. Can't wait to finish knitting that one this year. Hope that is possible because I do have another project that has been postponed for too long. So that's two in the oven. Who knows maybe I can get both done by year end! ;)

OK! That's all I think is worth mentioning about from my crafty life in 2019! Let's create more and write new exciting stories of our adventures in arts and crafts in 2020. Let the fun begin!:)

Spirelli or Dutch String Art on card!

Hello everyone!

I'm absolutely in love with this Spirelli or Dutch String Art that I've just tried for the first time a few days ago. Been wanting to try this technique for quite some time now because it's a super easy technique that everyone can do and the result is pretty awesome when used as a decorative little embellishments on scrapbook pages and cards ! All there is to do is wind the thread, string or yarn around the circle scalloped shaped die cut or star shaped die cut. I really had fun with this one. One thing great about it is that you don't need special tools to make it other than the dies and the die cut machine. If you don't have a die cut machine, then you can trace the shapes onto card stock and cut them out with scissors. Just remember that the shapes must be symmetrical in shape with scallops or points.

I learned how to do this technique from a few crafters on YouTube. Didn't realize how easy it was to do this until I saw the tutorials. Since then I have been "SPIRELLING" non stop! LOL! At the moment I've only been doing it on the circle scallops die cuts. It is also possible to do it on oval shapes, triangles or squares. But since I only have the circle scallops die cuts, I just focus on that shape for now. 

I used this technique to embellish a birthday card that I made for my ex school teacher, Cikgu Sabariah, who is also my Mother's good friend. She was super happy about receiving the customized mug from PRINTCIOUS and the birthday card.

If I'm not mistaken, Cikgu Sabariah and my Mom have known each other since 1972! That's a pretty long time! They always celebrate their birthdays together and I am always in charge of making the birthday cards, hahaha! :D Her birthday was actually in August but they decided to celebrate it in November because she, my Mom and her other good friend wanted to celebrate all their birthdays on one selected date since her friend has not for been well for almost a year now. They are all retired school teachers :). 

If you wish to learn how to make the flower that you see on the card, do hit the play button on the video below to learn how to make your own Triangle Twist Quilling flower. And for those who are interested to purchase the Happy Birthday dies that I used for the card, then click on the link below the photo. Apply the discount code ----> FSAZLINA to get 15% off. Worldwide shipping if you have orders over more than $25.00 at their website. Ok!Thank you so much! :)

Happy Birthday Decor Edge Dies

SKU: DMZH337

http://bit.ly/2WB0qzY

CRAFT PRODUCT REVIEW FOR IN LOVE ARTS SHOP

Hello everyone!

I'm back today with a craft product review for In Love Arts Shop. Oh my God, can't tell you how much I love their die cuts and quilling papers! I was over the moon with them! Really enjoyed making handmade cards with them.

If you check out the video you'll be able to view some of the handmade cards I managed to come up with recently. Will blog more about them soon! 

I want to explore and experiment more using the die cuts but the quilling papers are all finished! Yikes! Wish I could get more next time from them. The quilling papers are quite thick unlike my own quilling papers. Maybe theirs is about 90 or 100 gsm. I'm just guessing since the weight of the paper is not stated on the packaging. Mine is only 80gsm.

I want to do a handmade card video tutorial, so please check out the video and let me know which handmade card you like the best from the video. I'll do a tutorial for the most requested card. It will be my fist time making a tutorial for a handmade card and I'm pretty excited about that. LOL!

Thank you for watching my video! ;)

Rainbow heart - Quilling Tutorials

Hello everyone!

Good news, I have two quilling video tutorials to share with you guys today and some photos of handmade cards that I made using those quilled rainbow hearts! Yay! For those of you who subscribed to my YouTube channel, you probably have already seen the video tutorials before I published this post. LOL! So for those who haven't subscribed yet, please do so in order to get fast notification whenever I upload a new video. :)

The first rainbow heart quilling tutorial that I made, showed me making a quilled rainbow heart using a quilling husking board. I made a lot of the quilled rainbow hearts last year. It was very easy to make anyways and looked pretty nice on cards. So I made a lot of them for stock. I wasn't sure if people wanted to learn how to make it because it was so simple. But I was surprised that there were people who made requests for it. So since many wanted to learn, I decided to teach! :D

But then, not everyone owns a quilling husking board. So for those people, I made another video just for them. Now everybody gets the chance to make quilled rainbow hearts. No more excuses for not making one anymore :D.

I love stitching on cards! So for both cards, I stitched repetitive patterns and used only single colored threads. Less complicated. But time consuming nonetheless. Especially the card with the white stitches. That one took the longest to complete. Not sure if I'll ever do that one again in that size. Maybe I'll make the cross stitches a little bigger next time. I love the transparent stickers too! It allows us to see through the stitches. 

Anyways, do check out the videos below. I'm sure you'll enjoy quilling rainbow hearts a lot after this. I love using them for my handmade cards. Great for any occasion. Happy quilling everyone! Thanks again for watching my videos ;).