12 tags of 2014 - April

I can't believe that we are finishing one-third of 2014!  Isn't time flying by too fast?

I have meant to play along the 12 tags of 2014 - April as I bought three framework dies in March but it wasn't until this past weekend I just broke the framework dies open.

I made my first card using the courtyard die here and I like it a lot.  Making my own background using these dies is something new and fun to me.  In this card I've only used the pieces and the frame is still sitting on my messy desk.  What should I do with it?  For the April tag of course!

For this tag I want to feel Spring so I've used Shaded Lilac paint for the courtyard die and the Shaded Lilac stain for the ribbon trim.  It was a very thin layer of Shaded Lilac paint and after I have misted it with water I can still see the tissue tape beneath quite well.  I ran the die again on some patterned papers for the pieces but I am afraid many of them are covered by the leaves and the flowers.

By now we all know my go-to-colors for leaves but guess what?  I have changed a bit this time.  Instead of my usual combo of peacock feathers, peeled paint, mowed lawn I am using peeled paint and crushed olive. This new combo does not have the blue hues and I like it just as much. :)

To match with the patterned paper I have cut some yellow and red flowers.  I think they have a nice contrast with the Shaded Lilac background and trim.

It is quite a relief as I almost miss the fun of 12 tags of 2014 - April.  That's why the tag "Breathe" is a good reminder for myself.

Thanks for stopping by!

A birthday card

I have got a couple of the Tim Holtz framework dies but never had a chance to play with them.  Then I saw the combined challenge between Runway Inspired Challenge and CAS(E) this sketch! challenge and I thought it was the perfect time to use the framework dies!

Frankly, I wished I had bought the lattice framework die - the diamonds would be perfect!  I have the courtyard, honeycomb and the trellis framework dies but not the lattice and I eliminated the honeycomb and the trellis for this card and settled on the courtyard framework die.

My first use of the framework die:

Now let's see the combined challenge from Runway Inspired Challenge and CAS(E) this sketch!:

There you have it.  I think you will understand how bad I wanted the lattice framework die - the diamond cutouts could mimic the patterns on the shorts so well!  The courtyard framework die isn't too bad, it still has some diamond-like openings.

I first cut some gray cardstock with the framework die, then I ran it again on white cardstock covered with tissue tape.  Did you see those filled squares on her pants?  That's what I was trying to imitate.

I stamped the flowers on watercolor paper and colored them with distress markers - Ripe Persimmon, Wild Honey and Dried Marigold, Broken China and Salty Ocean.  For the leaves, they are plain old watercolor paper stained with my go-to leaf colors - Peacock Feathers, Peeled Paint and Mowed Lawn.

I am so happy to have come across this challenge, otherwise the framework die will have to wait much longer before it is broken open!

I am also linking up my card to the following:
Sweet Stampin - no designer paper
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Craftitude - Anything Goes
Creative Finger - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Masculine Thank You card

I am not kidding when I said I need masculine thank you cards.  I made one yesterday and the journey continues.

I've adopted some greens and brown for this card:

I must say I love the ferns a lot.  The die was designed to create one large fern with two small neighboring ferns but they are all attached to each other.  I snipped them apart and they are now three independent ferns getting close together.  I applied distress inks onto the watercolor paper - crushed olive, peacock feathers, mowed lawn and peeled paint.  They look quite nice in real life because they look as if the shades are created by natural sunlight.

The chocolate background was embossed with clear embossing powder in a wood grain pattern.  I think it makes it more masculine that way.  I used a panel of Skylark paper and a Sweet Leaf circle, tied a small pennant with the sentiment to the biggest fern with some twine, voila, a masculine thank you card.  :)

I was inspired by this sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge, one I'm linking up to:

I'm also linking the card to:
Simply Create Too - Stack 'um up
Get Inky - Stamping Die Cuts
Jellypark - one for the boys
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - one for the boys
Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you

Sometimes I think gender neutral or masculine thank you cards are quite a challenge and it is even a bigger challenge when you need one but you find none in your stash.

I just happened to have that challenge last week.  I bought a new stamp set and was ready to get started but just couldn't get it right.  I turned to a Hero Arts die and this card looks much better:

The sentiment Thank You was cut from watercolor paper.  I have first applied three distress stains to it: Evergreen Bough, Broken China and Peacock Feathers.  For the background, I've stamped a large background stamp in green on a Indian Corn Blue cardstock.  I am really happy with the result as I didn't know that blue-green combo can be so pretty!

My card is linking up to:
Cute Card Thursday - Blue and Green
Sweet Stampin - No Designer Paper and
Color Me....!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Wonderful

It has been quite a busy week and before I know it, it is already Thursday but I haven't got a chance to post my projects finished over last weekend.

This card is one of my faves from last weekend:

I like the Skylark paper a lot and that lends to part of the reason that I like this card.  Interestingly I first had this card upside down (the doily was in the top right instead of bottom left) but I accidentally turned it this way and liked it better, so I carefully peeled off the sentiments and rotated them to this way.

Do you see the Sweet Leaf circle mat inside the Lagoon doily?  It is actually a recycled piece.  When I first made the card I cut the doily in Sweet Leaf cardstock but I didn't like it that much.  I cut the same doily in Lagoon, much better.  I still wanted to use the Sweet Leaf doily somehow - so I cut out the circle and used it as a mat and the outer rim of the doily is trimmed into pieces that are scattered on the card.  I guess this is quite a good way to recycle it. :)

I'm linking up my card to:
Heart 2 Heart Challenges - Color Challenge (Sweet Leaf and Lagoon)
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Crafting Musketeers - Monochrome

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello

Happy Easter everyone!  I hope everyone is enjoying this special day with love, laughter, joy and yummy food.

I am sharing a quick post today so I could go back to my beloved chocolate -

I used Close to My Heart Cricut Art Philosophy to create this window card and I love love love window card! The card sketch is based on the one from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

Internet connection at home has been interrupted, I hope it will be resolved soon so I will be able to link up my card to various challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fun with watercoloring

Watercoloring is very popular these days.  If you are spending some time in blogland you know what I mean - you see watercolor in one form or another everywhere!

I am jumping on the bandwagon and try it out!  This is my first attempt:

I've used three reinkers to create the watercolor background:

I put a few drops of reinker on a plastic plate, then mixed each one with some water to dilute it for a bit.  I grabbed a paint brush from my stash and started to paint the watercolor paper with broad strokes to get the watercolor background.  My first attempt did not turn out good enough but this second one made me happy.

I think solid or silhouette types of stamps works best with this kind of background.  This Dreamer stamp set is just perfect for this.  I stamped the three images in Cocoa, then when I looked at my not-so-good watercolor background, I stamped the butterfly and the "dream" on it, fussy cut them and pop them up onto my card.  How I like the idea to recycle that piece! 

I'm afraid that the picture does not capture the dimension well but I hope you could still see the shadow behind the butterfly and the word "dream."  It is pretty cool in real life.

I didn't think of this beautiful color combo myself, I got the inspiration from Color My Heart Color Dare:

the color combo over at Pals Paper Arts is very similar:

 I attempted to create the watercolor background thanks to the challenge at Just Us Girls:

 My card is also linking up to:
Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
Craftitude - Anything Goes
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Things with Wings

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter

While I was making more and more Easter cards based on this card I shared a couple of days ago, I can't help but wondering if I could modify it a little bit so the prep work becomes more interesting.  Guess what?  I used another stamp set in the middle panel and voila, another Easter card:

It's the same paper and same sketch.  All I changed was the focal image.  I still got to play with coloring. :) 

If you need a few last-minute Easter cards, this is a good option. 

My card is linking up to:
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Easter
Cuttin and Stampin - Easter
Stampavie and more - Easter
Divas by Design - Easter
Cute Card Thursday - Easter
CCEE stampers - Easter
Moving Along with the Times - Easter
Hanna and Friends - Easter
Jo's Scrap Shack - Happy Easter
Addicted to Stamps - Photo Inspiration

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter

I'm still working on my Hello/Friendship cards but when I was preparing for yesterday's card the bunny reminded me of another bunny image.  Then I realized that I should prepare a few Easter cards.  I used one of my all time favorite sketches from Originals.  You can't believe that I like it so much that I do not even have to refer to the cutting diagram in the book because I have the measurements in my head!

I like this sketch because it is easy, simple but classic.  It can be used for all occasions and good for both horizontal and vertical cards.

For this card, I used the Lollydoodle paper, Sweet Leaf cardstock and the Some Bunny stamp set from hostess rewards sets.  The images were colored with ordinary color pencils and some Watercolor pencils from Close to My Heart.

If you need a few quick Easter cards, this is a go-to option.

My card is linking up to the following:
Cards in Envy - Easter
Artistic Inspirations - Easter animals
Craftin Desert Divas - Anything Goes
Created with Love - Easter
Lexi's Creations - Easter
The Paper Nest Dolls - Anything Goes
Love to Scrap! - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello

I'm continuing my project of preparing Hello/Friendship cards.  As I was thinking of my friend while making this card, I can't think of anything better than something playful for her:

This is a simple card but I do like it a lot!  The bright colors of the card surely give me a lot of positive energy and I think it will bring happiness to my friend!

I'm using the sketch from Sketchbook Saturday:

Too bad I missed to deadline to link up but I can't resist to play along. :)

My card is linking up to:

My time to create - Wildlife

Sweet Stampin - Easter

Time 4 scrap - Easter

Bearly Mine - Spring

Aud Sentiment - Easter/Spring sentiment

4 Krafty Girlz - Anything Goes

Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Friends Forever

I think it has been a while since I said Hello to those that do not live close by.  How about sending them a friendship card?

I do not make many friendship cards but I like making them a lot because even though not all my friends are crafting they like my cards and they reply with a letter that tells me how they are.  That letter coming through the mail man means so much to me!

I love the Ivy Lane paper from Close to My Heart.  I like the color combo of green and purple.  Did you know that these colors are exclusive to the Ivy Lane paper?  They are so pretty.  I was at first a bit intimated by these special colors but everything I needed is in the workshop on the go, so there is really no need to look further.

This card is perfect to link up to the Color My Heart challenge:

It is also linking up to
Creative Card Crew - Animals
Cards in Envy - Anything Goes
Paper Nest Doll - Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge - For a Friend
Just Inspirational Challenge - Family or Friends

Thanks for stopping by!