Christmas Bollywood colours

What's up with the title of this post? Sounds like a rather random amalgam of nouns, doesn't it? I suppose that is to be expected since the idea behind it is rather random - but I guess you must all be used to that by now! But, please let me explain...

For the first time in what feels like a long time, I devoted an entire night to watching TV (because "Om Shanti Om" featuring Shah Rukh Khan was showing on SBS Two) by myself (because Hubby is overseas). I'm almost a Shah Rukh Khan fangirl - except that I'm too lazy to read about his life story, I have no wall space for posters, I'm too cheap to buy most of his DVDs and I forget, by the time I go to sleep, to dream about him. Well, I did say that I was "almost" a fangirl...and I had to add the last qualifier just in case Hubby reads this.

If you clicked on the IMDB link of Shah Rukh (he and I are so on a first two names basis¹), the one picture of him represents quite well how I think of him - endearing, earnest and ...um... conservatively clothed. Hey! I wasn't kidding about SRK not quite making it into my dreams. But, he is pretty spunky for someone who is in his mid-40s, don't you think? So, imagine my surprise when he appeared like this in a music sequence in the second half of the movie. "OM! Oh my Shanti oh my!" *fans self* *submerges head in a sink of cold water* *runs around the room squealing* I then had to lie down for the rest of the movie - admittedly, I was already lying on the couch for the first part of the movie but that was by choice.

So what does this have to do with anything at all? *ponders* Hmmmmmmm ... I just had to over share? *sheepish grin* That plus the fact that in one of the music sequences, Deepika Padukone was dancing around in scarves coloured just like a Christmas card I made the night before! You can see her outfit in the YouTube trailer of "Om Shanti Om" linked above (at around the 30 second mark). As expected, whilst I was excited to see the colours I had used swirling around the screen, I wasn't thinking about cards during SRK's performance. *sighs dreamily*

Oh yes! Where was I? So, here is the Christmas card:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Green Galore
Pink Passion
Real Red
Silver Encore
Summer Sun
Taken with Teal
Tangerine Tango

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings

Cardstock:
Whisper White

Accessories:
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Sahara Sand

I included a shot of the card at an angle so that the sheen of the Encore Silver is visible. I also used a matt fixative to prevent the silver from smudging. Yet another deceptively difficult card - if only I could make cards that were deceptively simple instead!

Counting down the two days until Hubby is home *claps happily*

ETA: Just entered this card into Shelli Gardner's Stamps Ink Paper challenge. I hope the link to SRK was not too racy!

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1. It's goes something like this in my head:
LMY: Hey hey Shah Rukh! How's it shakin' my man?
SRK: Hi Lin Mei! Long time no see. How come you never return my calls?

I imagine it'd go something like this in real life:
LMY: He..hello Shah Rukh!
SRK: Uh... Who are you?
LMY: Lin Mei
SRK: Er..OK. Bye Lin Mei. *snaps fingers*
*LMY gets dragged off by minders*

See - first two names basis EVERY time.

Really bright delights

I'm gettin' old! Oh boy! was it a shock to realise that today. I treated my aunt to a Donut King buy one get one free coffee - does that technically qualify as a treat I wonder? Probably only if I nominate hers as the one that's paid for...I digress. While waiting for the milk to get hot and frothy, I had a look at the garishly iced doughnuts on offer and was struck by the thought, "How can anyone eat fluorescent blue?" I imagine a munched up portion lighting my oesophagus on its trip down to my stomach, with all and sundry privy to its illuminated descent...I have to confess to shuddering a little bit at the thought. Nothing that incandescent could be harmless to the human body - no wonder little children become hyperactive after consuming this sort of food colouring: all that excess brightness has to be converted somehow (basic case of conservation of energy). Anyway, it didn't seem too long ago when such colourful doughnuts would have been a siren song to lure me into throwing myself at the unyielding rocks of my parents' legs begging for two or three or more (in all different colours because at that age, every colour is a different flavour ... which is why hundreds and thousands are the ultimate gourmet delight for kids). Now that I am getting old, I think you'd have to be nuts to want that kind of dough. *sigh*

On the subject of brightly coloured, please dust off your favourite eclipse viewing technique for the following card. I thought that it was time to be bold and use my stash of Only Orange...I have to say that I think "Only Orange" is a bit of a misnomer - as in whatdyamean it's ONLY orange? It's an in-your-face RETINA-MELTING orange. If you ask me, it'd be more appropriately descriptive as "Over-the-top Orange" or "Outrageously Orange". *folds arms stubbornly* Anyway, I matched it up with some Bravo Burgundy because I needed a bit of bravado to use Outrageously Orange for a Spring Mini swap. In the end, I think that I liked it.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Bravo Burgundy
Only Orange
Real Red
Tangerine Tango
VersaMark
Whisper White Craft

Stamp sets:
Oval All
Simply Said

Cardstock:
Bravo Burgundy Textured
Only Orange
Whisper White

Accessories:
Aqua Painter
Bravo Burgundy Grograin Ribbon
Heat Tool
Scallop Oval Punch
White Embossing Powder

A tip with stamping on Only Orange cardstock - test your dye ink on some scrap cardstock first as some colours can look surprisingly dark or dirty on it.

PS. I left the post date as the date I started this post since it does mention "today" BUT it has only just been published - two weeks later. Oh the shame!

Decompression chamber

The INKlings team weekend was tremendously enjoyable and really constructive! It started with a bit of a wobble since I only finished my Card-in-a-Box and swaps at 4:30am on the morning of the camp, began packing anything a couple of hours before I had to leave and the only navigational tools that Kylie and I had to get to Vision Valley was a powerless sat-nav and some printed directions local to a cafe 10 minutes away from our destination. The motorways got us through the first 75km and even though we contemplated exiting a couple of times, we were too giggly (read: slow) to do so and, thus, were saved from ourselves. Once we neared Galston, it seemed like all the roads intersected with each other several times over - which made missing a turn just a reminder of what to do at the next juncture. Now that I look back on it, I am so thoroughly impressed that those responsible for the roadworks had the foresight to invent the equivalent of a Möbius strip highway...you couldn't even choose to be on the wrong side (I'm sure we tested and affirmed that theory a couple of times).

We met up with Fiona at the Greenshades Cafe, amazingly at the designated time, for a hearty serving of lamb shanks on creamy mash and crispy toasted bread soaked in olive oil with basil and garlic. Great company, good food and a wonderful way to start off the team weekend. As for Cania, what's that again?

After finishing lots of everyone else's Card-in-a-Box, I had time to try one of the sketch challenges suggested by Carol. As I only packed a paltry amount of cardstock and ink, I imposed on Fiona, Ruth and Lis for Dimensionals, mat pack and piercer, white embossing powder and inspiration - the last one was completely gratuitous and attention seeking. Thank you for putting up with me, INKlings! Here's an arty shot of the completed card:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Baja Breeze
Chocolate Chip
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Always
Curvy Verses

Cardstock:
Baja Breeze
Chocolate Chip
Parisian Breeze Speciality
Whisper White

Accessories:
1/2″ Circle Punch
Heat Tool
Mat Pack
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Stampin’ Write Marker in Chocolate Chip
White Embossing Powder

The mug shot version is on the Elite Challenges blog ... my scanner has a penetrating brightness that seeps into all the indentations of the textured cardstock leaving it looking completely smooth - a bit like Hubby's head.

Many thanks to Jayne for a fabulous team weekend - I am very grateful to have her as my upline. Also, I'd really like to thank those of you who have been incredibly patient and dropped by even though my blog must have looked like time capsule - frozen in time with no hint of anything new, week after week!

Published work

Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft

Vol 15 No 3
 
 

Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft

Vol 14 No 9