Going on An Adventure

I hope those in the States have enjoyed a great Memorial weekend.  Salute to those who have sacrificed themselves to protect us!

My weekend is not as craft-filled as I wish.  The most crafty part was probably the shopping part!  LOL.  Because of additional sale on certain items, I did stock up a few things at Michaels and Joann's.  But in terms of actual crafting, not much was done.

Apart from spending time with friends and family, I did quite a bit of reading.  Some was for work (too bad my supervisors don't read this blog otherwise they may consider giving me a raise for being so into work) but more was for leisure. 

Know the girl who makes perfect CAS cards called Cristina Kowalczyk (see her blog here)?  She is also an author of several books.  While doing grocery shopping at Target, I also picked up her book The Book of Unknown Americans.  I'll tell you honestly that not that many other books stood out to me.  Further, many card makers have given positive reviews for this book and it made to Targer's reader club, it couldn't be bad.  Finally, isn't it a nice way to support a fellow crafter?   The book didn't disappoint me.  It was just as beautiful as her cards.  No kidding.  It touched my heart, very much.

Probably due to the fact that I live in a city where the population is diverse, I've heard some similar stories from real people, but I never felt the intensity of their emotions when they told me about them.  Cristina's book and the stories of her characters led me reflect on what I heard, and understand those who are new to this country.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes some easy read and anyone who wants to understand immigrants more.

Onto the craft project today.  I am sharing a simple layout that I made based on a sketch from Sketchbook 2015:

I've used Amy Tangerine Stitched paper and Kelly Purkey's Clearly Kelly: Destination set from Hero Arts.  This page came together at no time.  I remember Amy Tangerine once said that the pretty papers look prettier on a project than sitting in a drawer.  She is right.  I hoarded quite a bit of her patterned paper but apparently her paper on my layout means much more to me!

I'm linking up my layout to the following:
All Crafts Challenge - Anything Goes
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Scrapbook Stamp Society - Anything Goes with option of a tag

Stuffed Animals in a Meeting

Stuffed animals play quite a big role in my family.  I like them (yes, I still buy them at this age!), my brother and sister-in-law like them, and now my 2-year old also likes them.  Well, my mom likes them too.  The only person that does not like them as much as we do is probably my dad.

Having said that, my dad, didn't hesitate to buy a stuffed animal for his first grandchild, my niece R a big Minnie.  My niece R would put the big Minnie on a chair and then read with her, play with her and sometimes try to feed her.  She likes to feed Ernie from Sesame Street the most because Ernie's mouth is always open.  LOL.

R likes many activities but one thing we all enjoy is to play stuffed animals with her.  I can't even count the number of pictures that capture both me and her and some kind of stuffed animals.  One day we put the stuffed animals in a circle and did some role play.  It was so cute and I snapped a picture with my cell phone.  I turned it into a scrapbook layout:

Yup, the big Minnie is R's new favorite.  Just in case you are interested, she doesn't like Mickey, just Minnie.  LOL!

I used a sketch from a sketch class I'm taking now.  It's Sketchbook 2015 at Studio Calico.  I am enjoying it immensely!  There's no doubt that I truly like sketches.  Sketches help me a lot as I lack creativity and I only know how to read and follow sketches strictly.  What makes this class so awesome is that every sketch is interpreted to be used on layouts, cards, even project life!  I've learned so much from the contributor's interpretation.  

I've made several layouts based on the original sketches provided by the class.  My next step?  I'd love to use the sketch as the basis, but interpret it differently and make more layouts!  

Thanks for stopping by!

News from OWH

Just want to link the video below made by Sandy Allnock, the founder of Operation Write Home.  If you haven't heard already, Operation Write Home will cease its operation later this year.  For those of you who are sending lots of cards to OWH you'll have to send your package so that it will be received by August 1, 2015.

What are you waiting for?  Make your cards and send to OWH asap!

If you'd like sign up for their yearly blog hop here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead!

Congrats!

I'm sharing a graduation card for a little girl today:

It was made based on the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches:

I meant to play along with sketch challenges more often but it never seems to happen. :P  As I was browsing through the various challenges, I saw this sketch that's CAS and has a lot of potential I told myself I had to play along.  So glad I did!

I'm linking up my card to the following as well:
Addicted to Stamps - CAS
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Goodbye R~

My office is a pet-friendly office.  Even though I do not own a pet, it's so nice to be surrounded by my co-worker's pets all the time.  They are all well-behaved and usually stay close to their owner's cubicle or office.
My supervisor's dog R became very sick and went to doggy heaven.  R was an older dog when he was adopted and my supervisor said R was the sweetest dog on earth.  My supervisor grew up with dogs and he has had many many dogs in his life.  That he said R was the sweetest dog carries a lot of weight.

My supervisor was sad and missed him very dearly.  I've made this card for him:

I've developed the pictures of R on my cell phone and made a small album for my supervisor as well. I hope they help him go through this difficult time.

My card is entering the following challenges:
Crafty Catz - CAS
My time to craft - Sympathy
Scrap-Creations - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm sharing another Mother's Day card that I've made with the pretty Blossom paper today:

I've said this before but I can't help repeating myself:  I really love this paper!  I love the color scheme, the patterns and the elegant feel of it.  Didn't I mention that this paper pack is great on cards too!  Sometimes when the patterns are big they are good for layouts only but this pack can be used on anything.  Woohoo!

My card is linking up to the following:
Brown Sugar - Layers
Jo's Scrap - Anything Goes
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
Heart 2 Heart Challenges - Mum's the word
Amusing Challenge - Mother's Day
Sentimental Sundays - Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day and hope you have a crafty day!

Hello friend!

Happy Wednesday!

This post is going to be super short.  I have spent most of the time for the trial and error on this card:

How did this simple card steal my time, you may be wondering.  It's the multi-color image on the skyscrapers!  I've tried various masking method but it is just really difficult because I want each building has its own color.  At one point I almost wanted to cut up the stamps into different parts.  I've done that before but usually it's only one snip, not many like this situation.  No, I didn't do it because I wasn't sure if I could bring five pieces together easily.

I'm not going to explain each masking method I've done but I'll tell you the best I've found:  use washi tape to cover up the partially stamped image and use it to cover up the part that should not be inked.  Another way to use washi tape!  Yay!  On the other hand, I would only use the type of washi tape that is abundant or one that I don't like as much because it does take quite a bit of washi tape.

I've used masking paper, post-it, typing paper, even regular tape to cover up the partially stamped image but the thickness of these materials had prevented a smooth stamping due to the proximity of the buildings. Because the masking paper raises the stamped surface, the next building to be stamped would not get in touch with paper smoothly and thus it could not be stamped completely.  Had the buildings been farther apart, I think it should not present such a big problem.  Covering up the image when inking, however, is not as difficult.  Post-it, regular tape, or even typing paper would do.

It was quite a lot of time spent on the skyscrapers but it was a good learning process.  :)

My card is linking up to:
Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Stampart papel - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday cupcakes

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a wonderful National Scrapbooking Day that's full of crafts and fun.  I aimed at scrapbooking those pictures from my family trip years ago and not only did I finish them, I also got a few more layouts and project life pages done.  Yay!

I'm sharing a card today that's for my SIL:

She likes purple and that's why it's so full of purple!  The cupcakes, the background, the sentiment, the decorating tool........ I've added some more purple to the inside too. :)

When I was coloring the images, I realized that I only have three purple Copic markers.  I think it's time to expand my purple collection.  See, the cupcake and the decorating tool share the same shades of purple, that's not pretty enough.  And while I am expanding my purple collection, I also want to add more pinks.........

I could continue to count the colors I *need* until both you and I fall asleep.  I wish I had local Copics classes to go to so I could learn more techniques.  The markers are very addictive but even if I bought the entire collection, I don't think my colored images will dramatically improve.  It's a struggle for me to tell whether the deficiency is caused by lack of markers or technique.  The reality is really a combination of both but I secretly wish that it's just the lack of markers.

My card is linking up to the following:
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Eureka stamps - feminine cards
MarkerPop - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine Card Again!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Do you have any projects planned for this special day?

I have been hoarding some pretty paper and embellishments for pictures taken years ago during a family trip.  It is the time to put them to use, and what's better than starting this project today?

I'm concluding my week-long masculine card series today.  This is a card that I made with the specific intent to step outside my comfort zone:

I have always been making clean and simple cards and stamping is usually the star of the show.  But this card is one that is built with multiple layers of patterned paper while there isn't any stamping involved.

This card is made for someone very special to me.  He was a great mentor while I was in school.  He has the kindest and most generous heart and always ready to help you before you ask.  So every year I pour my heart to make a special birthday card for him. 

I'm off to start my scrapbooking projects.  Woo hoo! 

This card is linking up to
Simply papercrafts - lots of layers
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
Craft Challenge - Charm/metal

Thanks for stopping by!