Au Lang Syne

It's the last day of 2012 and I anticipate a busy day at work.  Normally the end of the month marks the busiest days and 12/31 means the end of the month and the end of the year so it is going to be extremely busy!

I am glad that I did get some time to prepare this card for the challenge at 4 Crafty Chicks.  Remember those cupcake cards I made last week?  They rekindle my love with the color Buttercup.  It is one of the rarely used colors.  The ink pad is juicy and stuck at the very bottom of my ink pad stack.

So when I see the color combo challenge at 4 Crafty Chicks I thought I should take it out and give it some love.  Its combo is:

My sympathy card uses the Close to My Heart palette and looks like this:

So glad that the Buttercup cardstock is used!

Thanks for stopping by and wish you all a Happy 2013!

So Long Sweetheart

After finishing my project for today, all my scraps of the Sweetheart paper pack are gone.  It is a cute girly paper pack and I will miss it!

I used it for the Mojo Monday sketch which looks like this:

My Sweetheart card looks like this:

I have decided to leave it this way so it will go to my multi-purpose card stacks.  Sometimes it is good to have some of these as you never know what will run low next.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Sonoma

Before the Sonoma paper pack retired, I had stocked up quite a bit because I had a hard time to part with it and I have been using quite a lot of it.  I love the color combo - purple, green and brown, and I like the patterns on the paper.

When I saw the color challenge at Nacho Average Challenges (the name makes me want to grab some nachos!), I knew immediately that the Sonoma has to be given some love:

I found a CAS sketch at CAS - Colours & Sketches challenge and decided to give it a try:

I made a birthday card and I kept it symmetrical like the original sketch:

Using the Sonoma paper is like visiting an old friend.  I don't think I can stop here.  Let me make another card with it!

Last Cupcake Card

Today I'm sharing the last cupcake card of the Cupcard Week:

This card is based on the sketch from The Sweet Stop:

and the color scheme at Color My Heart: Color Dare #23 Gypsy and Sky and is entering the challenges there.

This card made use of the patterned paper from Pacifica and Hooligan, both retired paper packs from Close to My Heart.  The end of cupcake week also marks the farewell to Hooligan paper pack, as I have used the very last piece on the cupcake.  I have mixed feelings: happy that it is all used up but a bit sad that it is gone.  However, if I feel like using it for scrapbooking, I can always go to Studio J!

I hope these posts of cupcake cards have not bored you.  I sure had fun making them and am happy that one image can be used different on several cards.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Cupcake card #3

Cupcake week?  Yes, so many birthday cards to make and when you have the right materials on hand, it feels really good that you could use them in different ways.  I'm making a cupcake card today, with similar materials.  Check this out:

Yes, same color scheme as two previous cards here and here, and to a certain extent same materials.  It's the same Dotty for You paper packet except that I've used up the Smoothie and Yellow dotty paper so I substitute them with cardstock.  I've stamped the Buttercup cardstock with Whooo's Your Valentine chevron as the background pattern and it looks pretty cute on dotted background.

This card is based on the sketch from Pals Paper Arts and is entering its challenge:

I hope you are not sick of cupcakes yet.  I have one more to share.  Check back later!

One Cupcake Card is not Enough

After a short break on Christmas day, let's continue our Cupcake Week.  Looking at my stash, I believe that I could make another cupcake card with the same supplies used in my first cupcake card.  Yes, same supplies and same cupcake but the cards look different:

Which one do you like better?  This one above or the one shown on Monday? 

This card is entering the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and made use of the sketch provided by it:

It is also entering the challenge at Addicted to CAS and the theme is SWEET:

I hope you can find some time for crafting even if you are busy shopping or entertaining guests.  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy a great time with your family, friends and loved ones. 

It's Cupcake Week!

I'm sure you all agree that this is a busy time of the year.   One of the reasons that I started preparing my Christmas cards early is that I have many birthday cards to prepare this time of the year.  Many of my friends' birthdays fall in the month of January, and in previous years I was not able to create as much as I wish, or the quality of the cards was not up to standard.

I'm glad that this year I can start preparing the birthday cards at this time, when I used to be hurrying to finish the last-minute X'mas cards.

I've already made a couple of birthday cards which all have a cupcake.  I'll share them one by one in the new few days.

I've adopted the sketch from Try Stampin' On Tuesday to make this Birthday card.  It is an amalgam of various things: Dotty for You paper pack, Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge  and the new Whooo's Your Valentine stamp set:

You see the chevron on the right and the hearts on the tag?  They are done by repeat stamping.  The chevron should be more conspicuous because it is grey on white, while the hearts are tone-on-tone.  I can't decide I like which one better as I like them both!  Making your own patterned paper is really one of the best uses of your stamps and I can't help doing it more often.

The original sketch looks like this:

It is Christmas Eve and I hope you are all set for tomorrow.  If you have things unfinished, don't worry and don't panic.  You are not alone and we all understand.  Enjoy the time with family and friends.  Merry Christmas!

An early "Happy New Year!"

It's not yet Christmas but why would I wanna say "Happy New Year!"?

A friend got an unexpected gift this past Friday and asked me to make a New Year card.  "Sure," I said but then realize I had to dig through my stash to get the supplies!  The time I spent on looking for this old stamp set was more than the actual time I spent on making the card!

It's worth it.  I like the card and nothing makes me happier than giving some love to those "abandoned" stmaps.

It is a simple card based solely on stamping:

This card is entering the challenge at Unscripted Sketches.  You'll see that I've follwed the sketch very strictly:

It is also entering the challenge at "Less is More", whose theme is "Drinks."

Check out what other crafters have created and be inspired!

Thanks for stopping by!

One Layer Thank You card

OLW is challenging us to use blue and silver.  I immediately thought of "CAS-ing" myself - using blue cardstock and silver snowflakes.  However I think that the reason I wanted to take part in a challenge is to challenge myself.  CAS-ing myself does not constitute a challenge.

Thus I thought about what I could do and I decided to use Outdoor Denim as the card base and make a card with silver embossing.

Outdoor Denim is a very dark blue, and I bet you think it is dark when you see it in the picture, but trust me, it is blue.  I stamped the flourish twice and then the sentiment in the middle.  It looked a bit plain to me so I colored the rhinestones in blue and put some of them in the flourish.  Easy-peasy.

The card looks quite elegant in person and I probably should make a couple of these to stock up my Thank You cards.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

I've created my own patterned paper!

So after watching the video, how can I not create my own patterned paper with stamping?

I've used the stamps in the new Whooo's Your Valentine Kit to create my patterned paper.  The Kraft background was stamped with a chevron pattern and the bamboo panel was stamped with a background of little hearts.  Check this out:

The owl is so darling cute that I can't finish the card without it.  The hearts were stamped with coordinating XO backgrounds and further stamped with words in pigment ink.

I strictly followed the sketch by Mojo Monday:

Thanks for stopping by!

Create Your Own Patterned Paper

Today's video is showing you how to create your own patterned paper - one of my favorite techniques! Let's learn how to do it!

Framing Your Sweet Treats

If you want to jazz up your treats on your table top, this video is for you!  Let's watch it to find out more how to make the center piece or other decorations more attractive!

Let it snow!

I'm in the Let it snow mood!  You've seen my one layer snowflake card from yesterday and today I'm sharing a card featuring more snowflakes!

The focal point is actually made up of two snowflakes of different shapes, and the middle panel is random stamping featuring small snowflakes!

The card is entering the challenge at The Paper Players, which asks us to make a CAS project featuring snowflakes:

It is also entering the challenge at Retro Sketches:

Please click the links to the challenge posts to see how others have prepared for the challenges.  Let it snow, let's be inspired and creative!

Let it Snow

A quick post to share a one-layer card that I made.

I made it with Sky cardstock as its base, then snowflakes were stamped randomly on the cardstock in VersaMark, and of course the snowflakes were then heat embossed with White powder.  The sentiment was added at the very bottom for the recipient to sing along "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."  To add some interest, I've used the silver glitz glitter gel to add some shimmer on the tips of the snowflakes.

This card is made to enter the challenge at OLW - Snowflakes.  Please check out what other participants have made and be inspired!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.........

Christmas gift

Are we all onto our last minute chores for Christmas?

Almost. 

I've some gift cards for drawing and I wanted to give them a personal touch so they are wrapped in a gift card holder made by the Artiste cartridge:

Pretty neat and I like them.  The gold embossing looks so shimmery in person.  The picture is not doing its justice.  I'm afraid I should ask for a nicer camera and/or photography class for Christmas. 

The project is entering many challenges, as listed below:

1.  CAS(E) this Sketch:

2. Addicted to Stamps and More:

3.  The Friday Mashup:

Enjoy the creations that others have made!  Thanks for stopping by!

Detour from Christmas cards

Christmas is getting closer and closer and I am resisting to make more Christmas cards, because the inventory of my other cards is so low!

I'm sharing a birthday card today based on the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

Using the Clementine paper and Workshop on the Go, I've created this simple Birthday card:

Clementine paper is so cute and the color combo is wonderful.  I look forward to creating more projects with it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Whooo's Your Valentine?

January is National Papercrafting Month and Close to My Heart is celebrating it with a darling kit called Whooo's Your Valentine.

Let's watch the video below to learn more about it!

Simple Congrats card

Sunday Stamps has a color challenge this week:

I've made a couple of cards using this combo and this time I've decided to make a simple Congrats card:

Just random stamping in Black on White cardstock, then cut the tag at 1 1/4" on p.26 of Art Philosophy, attach it with a ribbon and two rhinestones.  As simple as that.  But it is lovely!

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Wishes

When I saw the challenge at Black Tie Friday's I was reminded that a stamp set was bought but somehow abandoned in the pile of stamps.  Oops.  I feel guilty.  It is a Christmas stamp set and I have been making so many Christmas projects, how can I forget about it?

Thanks to Black Tie Friday's challenge this week, the stamp set To You and Yours is being used.  This week's challenge is birds.

My guess is that all paper crafters love birds.  Everything looks better with a bird!

My Christmas card features the bird in the stamp set To You and Yours:

The bird was first stamped in Archival Black ink then colored with watercolor pencils, and blended with a waterbrush.  It was so much fun!

The card is entering the challenge at Heart 2 Heart challenge - Christmas challenge number 4.  If you need more ideas about Christmas projects, head over to the H2H blog and be inspired.

Do you have any stamp sets that you have forgotten?  Dig it up and give it some love!

Thanks for stopping by!

One flip card is not enough

A couple days ago I shared a flip card.  One flip card is not enough.  The more I look at it, the more I want to make more flip cards!

Pals Paper Arts asks us to use this "Seasons Greetings Color Challenge":

I immediately thought of Pear and Partridge paper pack and made a flip card with it:

I looks quite similar to the one I've made here, except that this one uses more patterned paper and the background is busier.  Flip cards are really fun to make.  I'm afraid I have to make more of them!

The card is also entering the challenge at Heart 2 Heart challenge - Christmas challenge number 4!

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas in Red and Pink

How does Christmas in Red and Pink look like?

An ornament in pink, some pink with white snowflakes and a sentiment!  The card is very simple but pretty cute.

This card is entering the challenge at Waltzing Mouse sketch challenge:

Dynamic Duos color challenge:

Addicted to CAS - ornament/bauble challenge:

 

and lastly, Heart 2 Heart challenge's Christmas challenge!

Please click the links above to the corresponding websites to see what other participants have prepared.  Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday card

I'm still replenishing my inventory on birthday card so I have to continue my "birthday card" journey.

I am very happy to see the sketch from Mojo Monday and know that I have to play along:

I've used the color Buttercup and some black to participate Color My Heart Color Dare's challenge as well.  My card uses the Dotty for You paper:

A break from Christmas cards

Not that I am tired of making Christmas cards, but I really need to catch up with my other cards!

I've based my card on the sketch by Heart 2 Heart Challenges:

and the color combo from The Play Date Cafe:

I like the Pemberley paper matches with the combo and decided to give it a try:

The Pemberley paper is very pretty and I don't seem to have enough of it.  It will be retired by the end of January so I guess I will stock up before it is gone!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cluster Stamping

One more reason that clear stamps are clearly the best - you can build your own stamp clusters!

Watch the video below to learn more about this technique.  Enjoy!

A Flip Card

I love flip cards.  I like that they have the dimension and movement but they can be folded into a flat card for mail.  I like that the recipient amazes at it.  I like that kids play with it.  Too many reasons.

I've made a flip card to share today.  It is of course, a Christmas card (I just never get tired of it!).  It is quite simple but nice.  I'm afraid the credit goes to the Cricut cartridges:

The card base was cut with the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Then the accent image and its border was cut with Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  For the left panel, I just traced it around the shape and cut it out so it swings with the flap.  Finally the Cranberry panel on the right was stamped tone-on-tone and the card was finished!

This card is entering the following challenges:
1.  Unscripted Sketches

2.  Dynamic Duos

and 3.  Less is More - Red and Green
Thanks for stopping by!