Thanks

Building stamps are very popular right now.  I love them too!  I like that they are versatile.  By changing the combination of stamps and colors you have an unlimited number of images!  The February Stamp of the Month at Close to My Heart is a building stamp and I am having quite a lot of fun with it!  I tried different color combinations and stamped an entire background:

I've used the newer colors from the Close to My Heart palette - Pixie, Canary and Glacier.  I was very happy with my one-of-a-kind patterned paper but I'll tell you honestly I was stuck after that because I couldn't decide how i wanted to put it on a card.  LOL.

I knew I should use a big portion of it because the size of the pattern is rather large.  Then I decided to cut 1/2" strip off, attached it to Whisper (grey) cardstock as the card front.  I added butterflies from Art Philosophy cartridge and the sentiment from Artiste cartridge to finish it off.

My card is entering the following:
Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes
Cuttin and Stampin - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Retarte - Something New Something Old
Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy Your Day!

I was extremely busy this past weekend as I was continuing the Lunar New Year's celebration, coupled with the arrival of a little guy in our extended family.  Both Nathan and his mom are doing great!  We cannot be more excited.

I didn't take a picture of the welcome baby card, as I was in a rush to the hospital.  In fact, after taking a gazillion pictures in the hospital, I am not sure how to adjust the settings back to taking pictures indoors.  I keep thinking that this card could use some photography skills:

I haven't decided if I will give this card out soon.  I like having it on my work desk to remind me to enjoy my day. :)

I'm linking up my card to the following:
Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
Sister Act Craft Challenge - Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
Amusing Challenge - Anything Goes
Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
ABC challenges - D for die cuts
Card and Scraps - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Triplets

Happy Monday and Happy President's Day for those of you in the U.S.!

I hope I am not boring you but I love the sketch of this card and this card so much that I've decided to do a third one, this time a Christmas card:

These three cards share the same structure and elements but because of the different papers they all look so different.  Love this type of collage where I can use up a lot of scraps from my 6x6 paper pads.  Also love it because I think I'm finally more comfortable in using patterned paper on cards.

My card is entering the following:
Hiding in My Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday
Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes
All Sorts - Any occasion other than birthday
Amusing Challenge - die cuts
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Twin Card

Happy Friday and Happy early Valentine's Day!

I know some of you in the U.S. are having a long weekend but even if you don't have Monday off, have a fun weekend!

In late January, I shared a card using various Lawn Fawn paper and dies to create a collage on a card.  I am using the same concept and same dies to create a twin.  It's a V-day card for my co-worker:

The two cards are very similar because I was using almost exactly the same dies yet they are also very different because of the paper used.  Here, I randomly picked a pack of used 6" by 6" paper and used scraps within that pack for the die cuts, then stamp part of the sentiment on one of the die cuts.

I really like this concept and can see myself doing it again and again.  I also like the bonus perk of using up scraps!

My card is entering the following:
Crafting by Design - Love is in the Air
Crafting for All Seasons - Have a Heart
Double Click Challenge - use a Heart
Bloggers Challenge - Love is in the Air
Chocolate Coffee and Cards - Love is in the Air
Fussy and Fancy - It's all about love
Jo's Scrap Shack - Valentine's Day
Scrap and Craft - Valentine's Day

Thanks for stopping by!

Rainbow Birthday

Happy Monday!

I'm sharing a birthday card with vibrant colors today.  I'm hoping that the rainbow colors will counter the Monday blues.

This card is easy to make.  I've used various distress inks and the ink applicator to blend the colors onto a piece a white cardstock, then stamped "happy birthday" from Winnie and Walter in black, added a black border to this rainbow panel and finally stuck it on a white card base.

It is easy to make but I'd say it's difficult to make it nice.   When it comes to adding colors onto a larger piece of paper, it's hard to blend the colors without any streaks or marks.  I was told to start blending in a circular motion from the craft sheet to the card, so here, when I added the orange, yellow and green, I had to start blending from the top and bottom to the center of the panel, otherwise the red and blue from the two sides would have been contaminated by the other colors.  I can't help but wondering how to achieve this effect if I were to do this on a larger piece of paper?  Perhaps I should employ other medium such as stains or sprays.

I'm entering the bright birthday card to the following:
Challenge up your life - Rainbow
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Monday Morning Challenge - Anything Goes
The Crafter's Cafe - Birthday

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you

The class Clean and Simple 4 is finishing up and I wish I had more time to do the "assignments."  There are quite a number of techniques I wanted to try but when time is running out I'm going to try those that appear to be easier.


I happened to have gesso and I'd like to try this "stamping with gesso" and "gesso resist" techniques:

Stamping with gesso is not difficult at all.  It's my first time using gesso and I'm sure it won't be the last.  It dries very fast!  This technique reminds me of stamping with paint.  Comparatively, gesso is a much faster-drying medium and much more forgiving too! 

I'll going to try this more often!

My card is entering the following challenges:
Sassy Studio Designs - Anything Goes
Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
Scrapper's Delights - Anything Goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Smile!

Inspired by Day 7's cards in Clean and Simple 4, I've made a card using the technique shared by Kristina Werner:

It's repeat stamping.  Kristina Werner did it with some layering of the image but I don't think it is a good idea on my card because if I overlap the camera image too much, it may not show up as a camera!

I had hoarded an extremely huge number of sparkles and I think it's time to let go of that obsession.  See the little sparkle on each shutter?  Isn't that cute?  I thought about using black sparkles and I did try that out.  These silver ones look a lot more fun!

My card is entering the following challenges:
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes
Loves Rubberstamps Challenge - Anything Goes
Clear it Out Challenge - Anything Goes (my stash is the sparkles)

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Monday!

Happy Monday and hope everyone had a great Superbowl Sunday!

Did you craft and watch the game at the same time?   I was certainly munching on snacks too!

I am usually not that productive when I didn't focus on my projects.  This time is no exception.  I actually made so many mistakes that I've tossed more cardstocks than used them on cards.  LOL.

This is one among few that I am happy with:

I learned this embossing technique at Online Card Classes and wanted to give it a try.  Basically the same embossed image is stamped on both the background and the foreground image and lined up to create some interest in that embossed greeting.  Alas I didn't have many embossing powders so I've used clear in the buildings and Liquid Platinum in the background.  I real life it is pretty cool.  The part I like most is that it is a black card with shimmer and some clear embossing.  Both stamp sets are from Second City manufactured by Basic Grey.  I can't tell you how much I like these products designed by Kelly Purkey.  They are fun, modern, chic and awesome!

My card is linking up to the following:
Robyn's Fetish Challenge - Anything Goes
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!