Love, Grow, Cherish!

The three magical, yet extremely powerful words set the theme for the card that I made for a very special fellow crafter, Shereen Aftab. 

When one is designing something for a client, there are many factors that one has to be mindful of, and at many times these factors curtail our creativity. But designing simply for the love of crafting is a totally different ball game. 

I love designing using numerous elements, mixed media and several techniques; all of which is visible in this tag/card. I went all out with this one!

The base is in the tones of Off white, and the second layer is from Vintage Vogue (tones of grey) from Many Happy Returns. So basically the colors used here are soft, and simple- Pink, off white and grey.

I started working on this from the base, using 4 different sizes of flowers. The largest was made using the DCWV Black Currant stack (and yeah, if you have been a regular follower of my blog you must have figured by now that this is one of my favorite stacks). Arranging the flowers was the most challenging part of this entire project followed by positioning the Prima Swirls. But I managed both tasks successfully and was happy with the result.

No card is complete without a pretty little butterfly- had to add one here.

So once everything was put together, I held in my hand a beautiful masterpiece that was all set to travel.

Happy Crafting!

Flowers!

As many develop a taste for paper crafting in Pakistan, not everyone has access to all the tools and techniques; and even if they do manage to find what they are looking for, not everyone wants to spend that kind of money to acquire the required supplies. So to facilitate the newbies and help the old-bies cut down on time ..(hehe).. I worked on some flowers which can be used on projects.

These Aged Flowers with rhinestone centers, come in a pack of six with sizes ranging from 2" to 1"; these consists of 2-3 layers of petals, are distressed, inked, stamped, and molded to give them an aged look. All you have to do is peel them off the backing and stick them onto your project! and you are good to go.
:)

Each pack of 6 is priced at PKR 250
currently available in:
Yellow
Red
Blue
Peach
Pink
To order email favorsmore@gmail.com; Shipment option available.

So Thankful for YOU in my life: Sister

I have seen a lot of cards for many different people and several occasions, but I haven't seen many which are done specifically for those very special ladies with whom we grow up, and who, actually, are our first friends; our very own Sisters.

Using a combination of cardstock, I put together this very special, yet very simple card.

Though the sentiment used here can be used for anyone, I wanted to use it for a sister cause it fits so well with the entire theme.

Supplies used to put together this card:
Cardstock:

• "BRIOCHE" from Memory Box, 
• "PIXIE" from Memory Box, and 
• "Nostalgia" from My Minds Eye

Swirls and pearls from Prima

If you want a tutorial on how I did the daisies, just let me know; will be more than happy to post one.
Happy Crafting!! 

Coloring with Photoshop

I was going through all the files on my laptop when I found a ton of digi stamps that I had been collecting since over a year.
Here is one that I worked on today; I cannot seem to locate the site from where I had got it, but its Cuddly Buddly Lily.

Here is the original that I found online:
(If anyone knows the exact link to the site, please let me know so i can add it here)

And this is what it looks like after I colored the above:

Really like how it turned out. Will be working on a few more and sharing them here.

Happy Crafting!

The Quilled Pram

Today's post is dedicated to give everyone an understanding of the amount of effort and time that goes into making all those cute little things for the tiny new comers; and in the process make clear why Favors & More's products are defined as 'Exclusively handcrafted'.

The focus will be on the Quilled Prams that we recently did on some 70+ baby boy announcement favors for a very happy mom-to-be.

It looks simple, with nothing much to it right? But when you actually get down to making these, it takes minimum 15 minutes on each pram -note: the time stated is just for the pram, does not include the assemby of favor boxes and other details-.

Please understand that nothing used on these prams (except for the acrylic pacifier) is ready made.

What we start off with is a plain sheet of cardstock -yes cardstock not paper-; and cut it into the desired shape. We end up with something like this -reminds me of pac man :) -

Once that is done, each piece is individually dry embossed by hand. Which takes times ofcourse, but gives the desired detail.

The above was a bit difficult to capture, so this is the best the best pic.
Now that the simple part is over, we come to the quilling part. What we start off with are called quilling strips, over 220 in this case:

 Each of these is quilled to form the wheels, and the handle of the pram.

  Once that is done and the ends secured, the wheels are added to the prams

This is like 60% of the job done (with respect to the embellishment). After this, the prams are added the favor boxes, and further embellished with a bow, pacifier and handle. I was too tired to take pictures of those as I proceeded.

So you see, when at Favors & More we say 

'exclusively hand crafted' 

we mean it!

Here is the finished product:

and here is what makes it all worth it:

"Saba, the boxes are so adorable i love them...it shows all the hardwork thank you so much...next time i will be contacting for (other) themes inshallah" ~ Mrs. Arzak

Here are some other similar prams that we have done:

 According to my mom; "each is a piece of art"

Happy crafting! =)

Surprise Gift From Many-Happy-Returns

It is amazing how a sweet gesture just brightens up our entire day! Today my day was brightened up by Shereen from Many-Happy-Returns.
As you know I am busy preparing for The Crafters Expo these days, so I needed a few paper stacks I ordered them from Many-Happy-Returns a couple of days back. I received my parcel today and was delighted to spot an extra 6x6 paper stack in the parcel.

Sweet Shereen had thrown in an extra pack of 6x6" Dots & Stripes: Cheerful stack, double sided, 24 sheets! Isn't that amazing ladies!!

I love polka dots, and the love the colors that she has used in this stack. I will be using this stack on a project soon, and I promise to post all the details =) it will be sometime after the expo though. Just by the way; the picture does not to justice to them.. they are really pretty!
For those in Pakistan wanting to order visit Many-Happy-Returns, you can also visit her stall at the expo.. she does some amazing stuff!

** Update**

Here is a card I did using this fun stack =)
The card will be available at the expo!

 

Preparing for The Crafters Expo!

For the first time ever a Crafters Expo is being held in Karachi, Pakistan! Isn't that great news, and yes ofcourse Favors & More is part of this absolutely fantastic event.

So why is The Crafters Expo such a big deal?
- Its the first ever Expo in Karachi dedicated to paper crafts
- There are over 40 extremely talented craft-ers taking part
- Not only will there be one of a kind hand crafted products to purchase but lots of free demos too
- Imported craft supplies from famous companies like Graphic 45, Sizzix, etc will be available at some stalls
- You will have the opportunity to interact with some extremely talented individuals 

The Crafters Expo, which is being hosted by Firefly, is aimed at laying the foundation stone for a community where all interested in this craft (as a hobby, or otherwise) can connect, for a life time. The aim is to encourage and cultivate talent.

Our Plans:
Since the expo will be from 1pm to 7pm PK time, 30th Sept; We aim at:

- Atleast 3 quick demo sessions on some easy to do craft stuff.
- A couple of fun giveaways
- lots of interaction
 (inshallah!)

Our Products for the Expo:
As some are already stocking on craft supplies, Favors & More will be focusing more on products made using these supplies and which can be incorporated in existing project. These will be:
- Embellishments
- Die cuts
- Kits
We will also have on display, Favors & More's main stream projects, but we those will not be the main focus at this event.


Looking forward to meeting you all there!