Standing up for paper jewellery

Hello All,

I have been fielding these questions about "how to water-proof paper jewellery" for a long time. Yes, we crafters try our best to make them as "resistant" to water but "proof" amounts to someone wanting to dunk the earrings/bracelet/pendant etc into water and expecting it to stay intact. And HERE is my answer to all those who look for water-proofing of paper jewellery:

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Martha Stewart Punch earrings

Hello All,

Ever since I lay my hands on these amazing punches, I've been experimenting left right and centre. And it is so aptly said, the most amazing ideas often come from the most unexpected quarters! :) I had gone to meet someone and she mentioned something which suddenly planted this idea in my brain! I'm always looking for ideas to use my tools differently :) And I so know that I will be making these for a long long time to come. A hint to other crafters, use your tile punches as well, this is fun to create :) And FAST! :)

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

First Blogoversary...........challenge and giveaway :)

Dear All,

I don't believe it!!!!!!!!! ONE YEAR has flown by! I've written 140 posts and received so much love and appreciation from fellow crafters (and non-crafters too!)..........it's time to give back.........:)

There is no need to follow my blog, anyone can participate............since this is MY blogoversary, I am going to set a real tough challenge, in and of my favourite type of work.........are you prepared? :D

So, here comes my challenge............

You need to make a NON-CARD project, of minimum A4 size and it has to have Quillography {quilling text} in it. The majority technique has to be quilling, you can mix and match though. It has to be a new project, no backlinking please. As a pre-requisite, the image of the project has to have a ruler in it, so that I know that the project meets the required criteria. You have until Aug. 26 (11:59 pm, IST), 2012 to participate. I will announce the winner on Aug 27, 2012; the day I started my quilling blog, exactly a year ago :)

If you have a blog, create a post with pictures of your project and leave a link to your entry in the Comments section for this post. If you don't have a blog, you can e-mail your project's picture to pritzd@gmail.com. You have more than a month to participate.......so take your quilling tools out, let me see what you come up with. I HAVE set a tough challenge, I know. But well........you won't know what all you can do until you push yourself :)

And now, the Giveaway! I will be giving away a hand-made Quillography monogram frame in A4 size to the winner of my challenge :)

Till then...........

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: My first ever quilled "project", using 300 gsm bronze paper and a broken needle :)

For those unfamiliar with quillography, here is a small tutorial (by no means like a class I take, but should help): http://quillingmesoftlee.blogspot.in/2012/03/after-long-hiatus-quilled-lettering.html

Make cheesecake, recycle cheese-box :)

Hello All,

Ever since I made the cheesecake (recipe here), I had been eyeing the boxes in which the cream cheese came. And once Snehal announced her challenge, I grabbed the opportunity (I was due to make a box anyway, something I had been postponing). So, here it is, my entry to Snehal's challenge while I make a box for the bronze black earrings too :)

And here is a more complete look (top view, with the bronze black earrings in it and with my pearl bangles in it):

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Bronze black paisley earrings

Hello All,

Once an order comes in, there starts a long process of digging deep into your brains for that ONE elusive idea which will fit snugly into your client's expectations. I got an order for bronze black earrings and this painstaking process of digging for an idea was shortened majorly by the client herself.

I think my most preferred clients are the ones who broadly know what they want and let me figure the rest out. The ones who know nothing make me spend a LOT of designing time! :D And the ones who know everything, well ummm.........discard designs after designs. So Pragyan, thanks a lot, for just suggesting the design and giving me the artists' license to figure the rest out! :) So, here I am, with bronze and black paisley earrings.........

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Strawberry cheesecake recipe :)

Hello All,

A very very different post so far! Of a recipe! :D

I made a lot of cheesecakes in Stockholm but then, the ingredients were really easy to come by. In India, I've to hunt things down and keep them affordable as well :)

Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients (for a 1.5 kg cheesecake)

Large eggs - 4
The Laughing Cow Cream cheese spread - 3 boxes (128 g each) [You can substitute this with Amul plain cheese spread, NO FLAVOUR], in Pune, it is available in Ozone, Aundh.
Powdered sugar (not icing sugar, you can grind it in your home grinder) - 300 g
Amul Fresh Cream - 2 cartons of 200 ml each
Britannia Nutri-Choice multi-grain biscuits - 400 g
Butter (preferably unsalted but you can use salted butter also) - 130 g
Strawberry syrup (or fresh strawberries, if you can lay your hands on them) - 40 ml
Weikfields Cornflour (or corn starch or corn meal, the names may vary) - 2 tablespoons
Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon full
Sugar (for glaze) - 150 g

Crust:

Break the multi-grain biscuits into small crumbs (don't grind them in the mixer, that makes a crumbly crust). Soften the butter by putting the butter in a cup and putting that cup into a bowl of warm water. Add the butter to the biscuit crumbs and mix thoroughly.

In a baking tin (if you have a springform tin, nothing like it), make a complete lining of aluminium foil and pour the biscuit crumb + butter mix. Make a uniform layer at the base by gently pressing with your hands. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and bake the crust till you get a strong cookie baking smell. While the crust is getting baked, prepare the batter for the cheesecake.

Batter:

Bring the cream cheese to room temperature and beat either by hand or using a food processor until it's absolutely smooth. Add fresh cream to it, one carton at a time and mix until smooth. Now add the eggs, one at a time and beating to a smooth consistency. Add the powdered sugar the same way, little at a time and beating till it becomes a smooth mixture. Add the vanilla essence and 20 ml strawberry syrup. This will give gentle flavour to the cake.

Pour the batter GENTLY (don't pour fast, it'll upset the crust at the bottom) over the crust and allow to bake until the centre of the cake is no long jiggly-wiggly upon shaking the tin. You can also use a skewer but I prefer the shake and check method. Once done, take the cheesecake out and allow it to cool. Once it is cool enough, cool it in refrigerator.

Glaze:

Take 200 ml water in a small (preferably non-stick) bowl and add the cornflour to it. Stir until no lumps remain. Now boil this at a REAL low heat, stirring all the time. Add 20 ml strawberry syrup and the sugar, stirring continuously. The mixture will begin to thicken. Don't allow it to become a gel (you will need to keep checking the consistency all the time). Once it has thickened, pour it gently over cooled cheesecake. Allow to cool and then, put in the fridge. The glaze will become a light pink gel and HOLA! Your cheesecake is ready! :) Enjoy.....................

Happy Cooking

Pritesh

Daisy punch flower tutorial

Hello All,

Ever since I made a punch-craft card, I had been thinking of posting a tutorial for the purple flower.

I found time today and here is the tutorial :) The video upload said it'll take 240 mins (that is 4 hours, to save you the Maths!!!!!) so I am posting the pictures. The video will mostly come by tomorrow! :) [These are snapshots, so they are unlikely to be great quality]

You'll need a daisy punch (you can choose the size depending on what size you want the flower to be)

A pearl/tight coil for the centre

A not-too-sharp tweezers

A slightly darker colour pen/sketch-pen

Drag the tweezers gently along the centre of the petal, length-wise. The curve of your palm skin will crumple the paper appropriately.......

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Celebrating Uniqueness - Dedication Laas :)

Hello All,

When I came across this card, I loved it at first sight and I absolutely had to make something similar! Just one small glitch, a lack of scrapbook papers. I hardly make cards, so I never have scrapbook papers on me. And scrapbooking is an alien art to me! :D So, I set about making my own tiny squares with hand-drawn designs :) Very very simple stuff really..........this card is dedicated to Laas, who is MY kind of unique and truly special..........Happy Friendship Day :)

Submitting this to Hands-2-Hearts Challenge no. 2

Pritesh 

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Simplicity - Inspiration Manu

Hello All,

Ever since I checked out the simple yet awesome frames Manu (Manuela Koosch) had been making, my hands had been itching to try something simple. This project was made over 2 days (I kept waiting for ideas to strike, hence the delay!).......but it's a fairly simple one otherwise :)

Hope you like it. Thanks Manu, for giving me the much needed break from heavy duty stuff :)

Hugs to you

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Sketching resurrected

Hello All,

After a long silence, I am back. I have been working on this clock for a while and trust me, bulk of the time was taken by "creation" of that spiral digitally. I wanted it to be done properly and Logarithmic Spiral seemed the right choice to me (Boy! I wish there was a simpler way!!!!). I created the spiral digitally (thank Wiki for explaining what it is!) and printed it. The "rays" are hand-drawn and then, "hand-sketched". Long before I took up quilling, I used to sketch and I must admit, I enjoy it even now :) I loved those sunny colours and sketching them brought back my portrait memories :) The small black dots are done using black metalling 3D outliner.

In some ways, a very simple clock.............(this is just the dial, the time-piece will be fitted tonight) :)

This is Aadyaa Originals' gratitude to Ramesh Uncle, for his help with procuring craft material from USA and being kind enough to bring it all the way with him. Thank you so much, we owe you! :)

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Hola Punches!

And finally, the day has come when I decided to try out punching "seriously". I always thought it was an easy-peasy job! But well...............I stand corrected and thoroughly humbled! There is SO much to do in punches, I think I am looking at mixed media for a LONG time to come :) This card made me a HUGE fan of all those who make cards because I don't think I ever use THIS many supplies of different kinds in a frame!!!!!!! Putting that variety together in a presentable form IS a task and my respect for card-makers has gone up two notches!

My first serious trial at punches and their use :)

Answering all the questions:

I've used a hand-made beige-gold paper for background, a simple beige paper punched using Martha Stewart punch-around-the-page deco fan punch, the flowers are made using Punch Punch Super Giant and Large Daisy punches, the half-sticker pearls (smaller ones) are from a local shop, the big half pearl is from Panduro (Sweden), the "scrapbook paper" effect on the beige paper is hand-drawn swirls and leaves (for the life of me, I can never decide what scrapbook paper will fit where and I hardly have any anyway), the organza ribbon is from Pipoos (Belgium), the leaves are 2" and 1" leaf punches I bought from A-One Craft Supplies and so are the pollens. The "Smile" is yours truly's hand-writing (I still can't figure stamping too well!)...........have I listed everything?

Linking this one to Crafty Creations Free for All challenge :)

Happy Punching (Hahahaha)

Pritesh

 PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

A Special Day :)

Hello All,

This is such a beautiful day! Rainy, slightly cold and so special for me as a crafter. :)

Today, Paperie Designs Studio has done a feature on my work and I have my family, my terrific friends and above all, my sister to thank for bringing me where I am today :)

 Thank you Hussena Calcuttawala for allowing me this opportunity! You are one of the sweetest crafters I've come across :) Also, thanks Noor Nahdi, for believing in my work :)

Also, today, I cross 300 followers on my blog Quilling Me Softly! Thank you all, for all your love and encouragement..........I hope I continue to create and to share whatever little I know and learn :)

Thank you............




Happy Quilling Pritesh PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Beaute Naturelle - Final Edition

Hello All,

Thank you all for so much love and encouragement for my previous posts............here is the third (and final!) part of the order..........4 more sign boards for Meghana's boutique in Pune..........I have a busy few days ahead of me, hence the rush to post them in one go :) If you're in Pune, do drop by for the opening and trust me, the stuff she stocks is WONDERFUL! Just picked up one today :) Go freak there! :)

For her nature-inspired line of home-decor products:

Being Meghana, she is all for promoting individual artists and there is one wall in her shop dedicated to Art! This is what will describe that wall :):

Being eco-friendly needn't be an activity, it can become an attitude........and Meghana announces this is style:

Trust honey bees for collecting the best wax you can get and imagine a flavouring of raspberries and pomegranate in it! THAT is one of the many awesome things Meghana offers in her "Lip Service" section:

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Beaute Naturelle - Part 2

Hello All,

A quick post (darned Internet decided to conk off today, and I spent half the day out of sync really). The mission statement for Beaute Naturelle (www.naturelle.in) is here! This was the toughest one to make as I was working on targeting women who have an eye for beauty and will be impressed by the beauty of THE statement the first thing into the shop :) I really like the way it turned out to be.

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

Bougainvilleas

Hello All,

I can't believe I'm actually posting yet ANOTHER one within minutes but I am so excited! Here is my take on bougainvilleas..........using magenta kite paper I bought from a local store, pollens and MS punch-around-the-page deco-fan punch from Neha (of A-One Craft Supplies) and the duplex paper and floral tape from Sudha Kalra (whose prompt dispatch of the supplies saved me a hell lot of work) :) Thank you girls........

This is a mixture of paper-cutting and quilling................so not really a proper qualifier to be on this blog actually :D But what the heck, I loved making it and am enjoying posting it :)

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

A first for Beaute Naturelle - Part 1

Hello All,

I had been working on and for this post for a long long time and now that Meghana Chaudhary Joshi is ready with her boutique, Beaute Naturelle, I hereby post the work I did for the boutique!!!! Yay!

When Meg came and discussed the idea. I was so excited. This was my first order of this kind - sign boards. She gave ONLY the text and I had 100% creative freedom to decide how I wanted the things to be. I must admit, I LOVE working that way! So, in the series of sign boards, this was the first one I made: Adornment. This is for the jewellery section of her boutique! For all those who are in Pune, please DO check out her place. It's beyond belief good! I was so tempted to buy the whole shop off! :) And she opens on Saturday, July 7 @ 5:30 pm. Check her webpage for more details............here's to Meghana, to Beaute Naturelle and to women entrepreneurship :)

MUCH more to follow (remember all the snippets from the post wip wip worray?), counting down to Meg's boutique's opening.......

Happy Quilling

Pritesh

PS: If my posts inspire you to create something on similar lines, I feel highly flattered. But please, do respect the effort I take in conceptualizing and executing, please give a direct link to my work when you are inspired by mine. Thanks for understanding........:-)

THANK YOUUUUUU

 Hello All,

A fleeting post really, to say a HUGE thanks to Susan for the lovely quilling comb (my eyes will pop out if I look at it for a longer time!!!) and for the AWESOME card to go with it! I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is! And Susan, trust me, I am NOWHERE even close to how well you quill AND colour AND use punches! Thanks a LOT! Loads of love and hugs from India - Pritesh