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!

The time tunnel

Sometimes I love to travel through the time tunnel and visit my old crafty friends.  Yes I like to visit those supplies that I have hoarded over the years.  I have this disease that I am always afraid to cut the pretty paper.  I'm worried that once I cut it in the wrong direction or in the wrong size, the project will become doomed.  It is hard for me to consider that as an opportunity to embellish when I was so focused on making the project in my head.  In reality, however, my project continues to evolve as it is taking shape, I really should not worry too much.

There is this stamp set and this paper pack that always remind me of the fond memories - Aspiration stamp set and Unforgettable paper from Close to My Heart.  They represent my very first experience in playing with coordinating stamp sets and paper.  I saw this color combo at Color My Heart and the paper used, so I thought I should jump right on it.  I had so much fun with playing with the set and paper that I actually have made two cards.  I am sharing one today:

I guess I am biased.  I don't think that after all these years the paper or the image seem dated.  They still look fresh and pretty to me.  :)

My card is linking up to Color My Heart Color Dare challenge:

and Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

Stampin 4 the Weekend - Flower Power
Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
4 Crafty Chicks - Pearls
Crafty Girls - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Smoothie

It has been a while since I last played at the Color My Heart Color Dare challenges.  This week the challenge is Smoothie:

I quickly glanced through the paper packs I have but don't think I have any patterned paper in Smoothie.  So for today's card, it was made purely from cardstock, with the help of some washi tape:

I just knew that Smoothies goes very well with Slate so I decided to use it as the card base.  Then I wanted to have some background and texture on the card base, so the overlay was cut from Artbooking cartridge at 6" real dial size.  It is a bit narrower than a standard size card but I think that's ok.  I mounted a panel of Smoothie cardstock but it might be too boring.  What about adding a strip of slate washi tape?  Much better.  I finished up with two clear buttons to add some dimension.

The words Thank You were colored with a blending pen.  I used a blending pen to pick up some color from my Smoothie ink pad then I colored it directly to the image.  How fun!  Sometimes I use this technique to pretend I am the greatest artist of all.  Shhh~

I'm linking up my card to the following challenges:
Color My Heart
Clear it Out Challenge - Thank you card, buttons
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Inky Chicks - Anything Goes
Cards und More - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you

I started making today's card with the color combo from Color My Heart Color Dare in mind:

I love Gypsy and I love Buttercup but I just can't imagine how to put them together.  They are spring/summer colors so I wanted to see how I can tone down the brightness of the colors.  I decided that I will use quite a bit of neutral colors, and I thought of the For Always paper pack.  With a sketch from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2, I knew that I would use the B&T from the paper pack, then use Gypsy and Buttercup cardstock.  I was going to use Sketch 19 but because I want to show the flower on the B&T paper, I have turned it upside down.  I made the roses from Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge then the fun part was to pick a stamp for the panel.  I have chosen one of my favorite sentiments from Avonlea Card Making Workshop on the Go:

Before I stuck down everything, I had used the background stamp from the set to fill the background of the card.  I used second generation stamping, so it is really subtle but it did make the card more complete.

My card is entering the following challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges - Favorite stamp set
The Hobby House challenge - Roses
Amusing Challenge - Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
Eureka Stamps - Thank you

Thanks for stopping by!

Card size

What is your favorite card size?  Standard A2?  A7?  Shaped cards?

Normally I like to make A2 cards because of a couple of reasons.  First, I can maximize my cardstocks.  Second, they tend to be the standards for tutorials, challenges and so forth.  Finally, for those cards that I am donating to OWH, they require cards to be in A2 size.  So A2 has been my standard size.

However, when I am asked to make a card for a special occasion, for instance if my co-worker asks me to make a card big enough for many people to sign, I will make it an A7 size.  I'm sharing one of those today:

The sketch from the card comes from Just Us Girls except that I have substituted the oval with a tag.

Whenever it comes to a manly card I just have to struggle with a lot of things.  I guess many of my supplies are girly so making a masculine card is challenging to begin with.  A manly card tends to have few embellishments.  The only non-paper embellishment is the black hemp on the tag.  Without embellishments, it is quick tricky to make a card, a manly card, interesting.  So I opted to use different fonts.  "Dad" was cut with Art Philosophy.  I welded the three letters and made sure it is wider than the tag.  Having it hanging off the edge does make it pop some more.  Then I used Artbooking cartridge to cut "BIRTHDAY".  Finally I stamped each letter of "HAPPY" and cut it out.

Colors?  No pink or yellow for sure.  I've used the patterned paper from Dakota for the background, which is a nice wood grain pattern on Whisper. Then I have a horizontal panel in Slate and the words in Barn Red.  The pattern on the tag?  It is in Whisper again - bright enough to be seen but subtle enough to serve as a background.

My card is entering the following challenges:
CCEE Stampers - Birthday card
Cards for men - Tag it
Color My Heart - Slate, Whisper & your choice
Sister Act card challenge - Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes
Creative Fingers challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Hooray Hooray

I hope your Labor Day weekend has been fabulous.

The infection on my right eye was persistent so I took quite a bit of rest.  I was frustrated as I really wanted to play at my craft desk non-stop, but the itch, the medication and the eye drop all prevented me from doing that.  Nevertheless I tried to craft in between those hours of rest. 

I have made a birthday card for a little child.  A cupcake was the first thing that came to my mind, then I looked for sketches online for the layout.  I found this from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

 

Then I wanted to use the colors from Color My Heart Color Dare challenge:

 

 

A clean and simple card was then born:

 

 



 Because there is no patterned paper involved, I want to make sure that it has enough interest going on.  I first cut out the pennants from the banner and pop up some of them, then for the cupcakes, I added some glitter gel for that mimics the icing and purposeful aligned them randomly.  I did thought about having a big cupcake (1.5" instead of 1" as shown) but that looked a little odd.  That cupcake could be used in another project, I'm sure.  I also thought about lining the three cupcakes in a row, but I think that is too boring for a young, energetic boy. 

My card is also entering the following challenges:
1.  The Paper Nest Dolls - CAS
2.  The Cheerful Stamp Pad - Inspiration picture (that inspires me to make a birthday card)
3.  Kaboodle Doodles - Use Yellow
4.  Make it Monday
5.  There She Goes - Banners and Birthdays
6.  Get Inky! Challenge - Cakes/Cupcakes
7.  Sentimental Sundays - Birthdays
8.  Dream Valley Challenges - For a Child
9.  Scrapper's Delights Challenge - Paper piecing

Thanks for stopping by!

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

I can't get this song out of my head!
But I like these upbeat songs, they keep my spirits up too!

I was thinking about this song because of the challenge at Heart 2 Heart - Sing a little song for me.  And as I've promised myself to make at least two Christmas cards a week from now on, I started my plan on Christmas cards.  I found out this old stamp set that has the words "let it snow" so I thought it would be perfect for the challenge.

Then I went on to get other stamps that match with the sentiment.  A penguin from the new hostess rewards set, I thought.  I went on to look for a sketch and I found this from Sketch Saturday:

 

To match with the Christmas theme I've decided to replace the bars with snowflakes.  I think the snowflakes are cute with the little penguin!  On to the lines across the bars in the sketch, I've used some stitching to secure the snowflakes.  Just a note about the snowflakes, this set was launched long before Close to My Heart's Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, but believe it or not, the snowflake shape works almost perfectly with this stamp while cut at 1".  The only imperfection is that there is a dot on the image that's missing.  Well, had I not told you about this, I bet you'd never known that there was such a dot as part of the image.

 

 

I paper-pieced the penguin's hat and his tie so he has some color rather than pure black.  To add a little more interest, I've used liquid applique on his hat and the pom-pom.  Liquid Applique remains one of my faves for winter cards - a little effort, a big impact.

My card is also entering the following challenges:

1.  Crafty Hazel Nut's Christmas challenge - Cute

2.  Christmas card challenges - punches

3.  That Craft Place Ltd Challenges - Stitch real or faux

4.  Crazy for Challenges - animals

5.  Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Sew-N-Sew

6.  613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

7.  C is for challenge - Animals

8.  Cutie Pie Challenge - Anything Goes

9.  Color Dare - Sky and Pacifica

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!



Is it feminine or masculine?

Who can believe that I have got a cold while we are in the summer?  Honestly I cannot, even though my throat is sore and my temperature is a tad bit too high.

So I am staying in, trying to relax and get some rest.  I started my relaxing day with a movie but it was rather boring so I didn't enjoy it.  I just couldn't stay in bed all the time!  So I turned to my craft desk.  Alas, I got so excited that I totally forgot to take my medication.  Shhhh~~

I like the card a lot.  The bright colors are perfect for birthday and the images are fun and cute.  At the end I added bakers twine and a bow.  Then I thought, now that the bow may have changed the "gender" of the card.  Is it a feminine or masculine card?  What do you think?

I have decided that it will be great for a kid. 

I've adopted the sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping:

The color combo came from Color My Heart Color Dare - Buttercup, Lagoon and Pear.  So glad that I tried it out as I would have never thought of something like this.

My card is also entering the following challenges:
1.  Kitty Bee Designs - Birthday
2.  Amusing Challenge - Birthdays
3.  Seize the Birthday - Birthday

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrate Today... SMILE

I'm continuing to use the sketches in Make It From Your Heart Volume II for my projects.  Love the convenience of having the sketches AND the dimensions of each piece.

My card uses one of the sketches in the book:

The Laughing Lola paper has really vibrant and unique colors.  I think it can be used for a girly layout but also a Halloween project!  Who doesn't like versatility?

My card is entering the following challenges:
1.  Heart 2 Heart challenge - Sentimentally Yours
2.  Color My Heart Color Dare - Laughing Lola Gold, Purple, Blue and Gypsy
3.  Belli Challenge - Glitter
4.  Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes
5.  Crafts and Me Challenges - Anything Goes
6.  Lady Anne's Challenges - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

4 YOU

A quick post to share with you a simple card I made over the weekend.  I just used one stamp set, a couple of ink pads and cardstocks.  Nothing too fancy but the card turns out cute!  I was attempting the color challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare - Blush, Sorbet and Gypsy.  It is absolutely not a color combo I would normally use.  My simple card looks like this:

I first stamped the wreath in Chocolate, then use the tip of the flower stamp to ink up Blush and Sorbet repeatedly.  The stamp comes in a semi-circle, where normally you would stamp twice to cover the whole wreath, but I was just using the tip of it every time I inked up Blush and Sorbet and scattered the colors throughout the wreath.

In my trial version I tried to stamp all three colors on the wreath but the gypsy does not blend well so I opted to put a Gypsy bow in the wreath and used the Gypsy cardstock as the card base.

It is super fun to use a stamp in an unconventional way.  I love getting more mileage of my stamps!

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday celebration

While Independence Day is approaching, many challenges ask us to use red, blue and white.  I rarely send out July 4 cards because it is a day that we gather for barbeque and I'd much rather use these colors for decoration.

On the other hand, these colors often remind me of the retired paper pack Fanfare.  Its summer colors and patterns are very fun.  So I thought, however making a masculine birthday card with Fanfare?  I based on my card on the sketch from Seize the Birthday:

And my Fanfare birthday card looks like this:

My card is also entering the following challenges:

Color My Heart - Pacifica, Cranberry and White Daisy;
Gingerloft Challenge - Red, White and Blue;
Shopping our Stash - Red, white, Blue

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Attempt to Conquer Hexagons

I mentioned last week that even though I love the look and feel of hexagons I am not a pro in incorporating them in my projects.  Well, in that case I'll keep challenging myself until I become comfortable with them.

I've made another card using hexagons:

I think this one is better than the last one I made.  I like it!

The card is made based on the sketch from Sketch Saturday:

With all those hexagons it is entering the challenge at Less is More - Hexagons.

And this card is entering the challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare - Honey.  I've used Cocoa, Cashmere and Honey.  No other colors.  I had never tried this combo before but I started with confidence that I could use the color palette from Buzz and Bumble paper packet by slightly changing Sunset to Honey.  It worked well.  Don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

A Visit to My Old Friends

My visit to my old friends was a silent one.  No, there wasn't any chit chat or coffee or drinks.

I was just digging through my stash and tried to give some of them love!

I really wanted to play along with the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge (Creme Brulee and Juniper), but my first couple of attempts were a total disaster.  Something was wrong and I could not explain.  I let my ideas sit for a while and came back to my craft desk.  In between I dug my stash and looked for supplies that I have forgotten about.  There they are - the birdie, the paper flowers, and the blings!

I totally forgot about this bird from Sophie Workshop on the Go and the sentiment from Elemental Workshop on the Go.  They go with each other well!

The card is based on a sketch from Deconstructed Sketch 102:

This card is also entering the challenge at Heart 2 Heart - creature feature.

I'm really happy with this card.  What makes me more happy is that those disastrous attempts were all trials and errors for the card I'd like.  If you ever get into this situation, hang in there and keep trying!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamping

This week Color My Heart's challenge asks us to use Hollyhock, Cotton Candy and Blush.  They are all girly, pinky colors.  I rarely use three shades of pink at the same time so I think it will be a good opportunity to challenge myself.

I first took out my cardstocks but I didn't have a clue how I wanted to use them, so I turned to the fun of stamping.

I first cut one a heart using Art Philosophy at 3" as a mask.  Then I pulled out a lot of floral stamps and inked them up in Hollyhock, the darkest shade.  After the first round of stamping around the heart, I turned to Cotton Candy.  By then the card is quite fully occupied except the bottom part, so I finished off with stamping in Blush.  The finishing touch is stamping the sentiment in black.  Voila!

I thought about trimming it down and mounting it on one of the three cardstocks.  Eventually I left it the way it is.  There is something special about one layered cards and I'll make this card one of those.

Did I mention this is an idea from the craft guru Jennifer McGuire?  I watched a video made by her on youtube and copied the idea for my card, except that her card has an off-centered heart and she has used a colorful palette rather than a monotone.

How many stamp sets have I used?  Here they are:
1.  Perfect Fit - Mom
2.  A Tree
3.  A Blossom
4.  4 My Friend

In my trial version I have used many more stamp sets, but I didn't like it because that I think this technique works much better with solid stamps so I had opted to use repeated images rather than multiple outline images.

Have you looked at the challenge at Heart 2 Heart?  It is all about flowers.  Check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Dream

I need to make some graduation cards, some for boys and some for girls, and I want to make them more special and personalized than those off from the shelf.  I've certainly started off with the girly ones first.

I have made this feminine one:

It says "Believe until your dreams come true" inside.  Too bad I won't be send her a bouquet of flowers on her graduation day, so I'll send her flowers in this card. To make the flowers pop more, I've actually inked them in Buttercup then rocked and rolled them in Creme Brulee, so their outlines are more defined. 

It is based on a sketch from Try Stampin' On Tuesday:

and the color combo from Color My Heart Color Dare - Pear, Twilight and Buttercup, the subtle colors from my favorite paper pack, Chantilly!

Now I'm off to making the masculine graduation cards.  Wish me luck!

Birthday Greetings

For the card today I'm combining two challenges:

Color My Heart Color Dare - Outdoor Denim, Lagoon and Pear and CAS-ual Friday - wallpaper:

When I saw the Color Dare challenge, I really wish I had the Later Sk8r paper. Had I received my Workshop on the Go, I'd use the diamond plate stamp to play with these colors.  Background stamps can do quite a lot of fun things!  Oh well, when I get it I'll play with it.

So I've decided to make my background using an old stamp from a Stamp of the Month and that background has become my wallpaper card:

It may not be my favorite wallpaper, but I sure like this color combo.  I never knew that they blend so well and make a great masculine card!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm sharing a V-day card, of course.  It is a card that I'm proud of because I've tried a new technique on it called Plaid Stamping!  It was done on the hearts:

I first did Plaid Stamping on a piece of white cardstock using Cranberry and Blush ink, then I used Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut out the hearts and put them on the dimensional elements.  In retrospect I think I might be able to stamp directly on the dimensional elements (hearts) but I do think it is worth the extra effort to first stamp it on cardstock then cut it out because the cardstock provides a better surface for the ink.

Plaid stamping is a technique that's quite involving and time-consuming for an impatient person like me.  But it is indeed very rewarding when I see the result and I think I'm going to try it with other colors!

This card is entering the following challenges:
1.  Heart 2 Heart Challenge - Love is in the Air
2.  Bitten by the Bug 2 - Heart or Cupid challenge
3.  Color My Heart Color Dare #29 - Cranberry and Blush
4.  The Sweet Stop sketch challenge:

5.  Addicted to Stamps and More! - Bingo Challenge:

Thanks for stopping by!

For Always - a Sneak Peek at the Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book

My new goodies arrived a couple weeks back but I have yet got a chance to play with them due to sickness.  Contrary to what I normally do, the box of new goodies was sitting in a corner.  I'm so glad that I can finally play with some of the new toys!

I've chosen to use the For Always paper to participate the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge - black, white and a "pop" color.  The For Always paper is just perfect for this.  The sketch is from Mojo Monday:

My card added red as my "pop" color:

The one thing I like is the two white panels that were stamped in slate using a background stamp.  Because the For Always paper is a bit distressed, I wanted to give the two white squares some background to match with the distress look.

Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used (All Close to My Heart unless noted):
1.  For Always paper packet
2.  Black cardstock
3.  White Daisy cardstock
4.  Slate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
5.  Diverse Background stamp set
6.  Dimensional Elements (Hearts)
7.  Brad Assortment (Black)

I {HEART} YOU

I {HEART} YOU, said a little owl.

I love owls, especially when they are on a stamp.  They are simply irresistible.

I whipped up a quick little card for two challenges: OLW - Hearts and Color Dare #25 Ruby and Indian Corn Blue.  This card took me about five minutes from cultivating idea to finishing the end product, which is something I love!  Imagine you need a card for everyone in the class.  This will be my go-to card:

Perhaps I'll change it to "let's be friends" for the classmates.  I think either one looks good!

Thanks for stopping by!

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!