Tuesday, March 31

National Craft Month Day 31

I can't believe it's already the last day of National Craft Month.  March has been a challenge for me, and I'm proud that I was able to make 26 projects.  That's a record breaker, at least for me :D

For my 27th and last creation for NCM, I made Easter eggs.  With this project, I used the following:
  • Cricut Expressions
  • various embossing plates and folders (with the aid of Big Shot)
  • Creative Memories 12 inch Decorative Trimmer
  • Fiskars, Stampin' Up and Martha Stewart edge punches
  • leftover cardstock and bg paper
  • Color Box pigment ink
 


Before I began, I cut oval shapes with the CE.  Then, I dry embossed a bunch of cardstock.  Then I swiped ink on the embossed surface.  After that I cut/punched the edges with my edge punchers and decorative trimmer.    And the fun part is adhering layeres of bg paper and embossed cardstock on each "egg".

I'm going to use these eggs in my bulletin board at school.  That's why I also cut grass with the Cricut Expressions.  Right now, the board has my 3D flowers and Think Spring title.  Tomorrow, I'll be adding the grass and eggs in time for Easter.  I can't wait to see what the board will look like.

For more photos, click here.

I'd like to end my NCM celebration with my deepest sympathy to Mish and her family.  Her mom passed away on Sunday.  It was a very sudden and sad situation.  My thoughts and prayers are with you, Mish.  I hope all is well with you.

Sunday, March 29

National Carft Month DAY 29

Did you all have a good weekend?  I did.  Even though I had to work both days, the Unity Blog Hop made it fun.  There were over 200 participants in this event, and as you hop on each blog, you see a lot of inspiring projects.  These are the ones I liked the most:



Simply Me
Family and Crafting
Inky Paws
Paper Princess At Play
Make A Difference
Zany Not Crazy
Altered Ambitions
Blooming Pink
Bella Carta
The Lakeshore Stamper
All Things Through Christ
Barely Banana Days
Lindsay's Creations
3Trikes
Whateva
Fancy Crafty {Me}
Sweet Pea
Real Life in Pictures
Paper Hugs and Die Cut Dreams
Here By Grace
Pink Lemonade
For The First Time
 
And just about everybody thinks Spring is finally here, it snowed another 6-8 inches.
 
Speaking of Spring, I wanted to crochet some flowers today.  I want to use it for a traditional scrapbook layout I've been planning to make.  What I like about crocheting is that you can take it with you, anywhere you go.  And it doesn't require any space.  All you need is a ball of yarn and a crochet needle.  For this project, I used my leftover yarn from past projects.  These are all easy to make - just basic stitches from chain stitch to slip stitch, to single, double and triple crochet.

To see each one in close-up, click here.

Saturday, March 28

National Craft Month DAY 27 and 28

National Craft Month DAY 27 and 28 Welcome and it's time for UNITY BLOG HOP!!!  Woot!!!

  
Kudos to Angela for a really cool idea.  She thought about it while soaking in the tub.  Maybe I should do that more often... LOL!  But before I move on, I have to apologize for posting this earlier than we're supposed to.  I have work all morning till noon and won't have time to post at 10 am CST.  And I don't want to miss this one.






For this special event, we are to create something with Unity Stamps.  I decided to make a Candy Paper Dish.  I fell in love with the Label It set the first time I saw it on the Unity website.  And that's basically my inspiration for this project.

  
 

  
The following are the materials I used:

  • Unity Just Circles
  • Unity Label It
  • Unity Love Grows
  • Nestabilities Circle die
  • Nestabilities Scalloped Circle die
  • Nestabilties Long Scalloped Circle die
  • Tim Holtz distress ink
  • ColorBox pigment ink
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Scor-Pal
  • ATG gun
  • Hersheys dark chocolate miniatures
  • Georgia Pacific cardstock
  • Bazzil Just the Edge cardstock strips
  • Misc.:  leftover bg paper
 

At present, these words inspire me:

"IF IT'S WORTH DOING, THEN IT'S WORTH DOING WELL."

I can't wait to see what a lot of other crafty bloggers have made for the Unity Blog Hop.  

View the Inspirational Blog Hop by starting at http://theunitystampco.blogspot.com/
 
Now, it's time to hop on to the next blog:            THE PAPER GOURMET




Unity Blog Hop!
Hippity Hop for the Unity Blog... 

Thursday, March 26

National Craft Month DAY 26

This is my first time to play with Unity Stamps.  I learned about them through SplitcoastStampers a long time ago, and it was only recently that I took the plunge.  When I saw them in my hands for the first time, I fell in love (once again!).  The quality is really good and their images are beautiful and versatile.  And yes, I was fined $5 when I bought these stamps, together with other items.  But I can say that it was worth it.

Anyway, Unity Stamp Co. had a card making challenge at SplitCoastStampers.  The challenge was to use the color scheme black, white and purple.  And of course, we had to use Unity Stamps.











Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Embassy, vellum, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Unity (Feel the Joy, Becoming Butterfly)
ink:  Spica, Colorbox, Memento
tools:  MS edge punches, SU scallop edge punch, Spellbinders
embellishments:  SU eyelets, ribbon, epoxy stickers
misc.:  embossing powder










To see my Butterfly Card in detail, please click here.

You might want to check out the Unity Blog for some good deals and coupons.  I also hope you can join their Inspirational Unity Blog Hop this coming Saturday - I'm sure it's going to be fun!

Wednesday, March 25

National Craft Month DAY 25

I was inspired by Paulyn's bead creations this month.  She makes really nice bead accessories.  It's been a long while since I last made bead accessories.  If I'm not mistaken, it was with my sister and cousins back in the Philippines almost a year ago.  That was fun!



So tonight, I took out one of my beading magazines, and decided to make a bead pendant.  This style is called a "Spiky Tubular Peyote."  The spikes are supposed to go all around the beaded tube, but I just don't have the time tonight, so I just put 3 rounds of spikes in the bottom.  While creating this pendant, I remember why I'm not so much into beading... LOL!  I'm sure when my sister sees this, she will just laugh at me.  She's really good at making beads accessories (miss you sis!).  But I'm happy with this one - something different for my celebration of National Craft Month :)






The pendant kinda reminds me of blackberries, only it's purple.

Tuesday, March 24

National Craft Month DAY 24

I pre-ordered 2 of the new Nestabilities new releases from 7KidsCollegeFund a few weeks ago.  I already have Nestabilities Labesl 1 and 2.  And today, my Nestabilities Labels 3 and 4 arrived.  That made me decide to upgrade my Nestabilities organizer.  I created a smaller one before, in sort of like a notebook version notebook version.  But my Nestabilities collection have started growing that I ended up with 3 notebooks.  It came to a point that I had no more room for the notebooks and I still have Nestabilities yet to be taken out of their packages.  So I decided to look for a box where the metal pages can fit perfectly.  And then I found one in Office Max.  It kinda looks like this one on your right, except that it's not a snap type. 


So I altered it to fit the theme of my craft room.  I used lace, adhesive backed fabric strip, flower sequins, prima flowers and brads.  I punched one edge of the fabric strip with Stampin' Up Scalloped Edge punch.  Then using Bazzil Institchz guide, I did the faux stitching technique.  I dotted the edge of the cover and the top edge of the box with white Signo pen, following the guide.  After that, I connected each dot with American Crafts white gel pen.  My favorite part of this box is the flower and the brands in front.   

 

Each Nestabilities page fits snugly in the box.  But with its height, I cannot put the cover.  So I decided to just place the cover in the bottom and serve as a design for the box. 



I love my new Nestabilities organizer.  I placed it to the left of my pen organizer, so it's within arms reach when I do my crafts.

For more photos, click here.

Monday, March 23

National Craft Month DAY 23

National Craft Month DAY 23 I wanted to crochet today.  But it had to be a quick and easy project.  So I decided to crochet a cape for my Pullip doll.  I used yarn bought from the dollar store and I finished it while watching 24.







Basically, I just crocheted a rectangle, the folded one of the narrow sides to serve as sleeves to the cape.  Then I sewed a silver button for closure in the front.  I wasn't sure how it was going to look while crocheting this cape.  But I do like the final product :)
 
For more photos, click here.


National Craft Month DAY 9

Sunday, March 22

National Craft Month Day 21 and 22

This has been a very good weekend.  And I have tons of alibi for not being able to create yesterday.  So for today, I tried to do something a little extra special. 
 
You have seen my altered TicTac containers before.  This time, I altered an Altoids tin can.  I've always liked Altoids mints and I make sure I have enough in stock.  And of course, I wasn't throwing those tin cans away. 
This project is a Mini Stationery Set.

If you've seen Altoids tin cans, the cover is embossed with its name.  So I figured that the best way to deal with that is to cover it with something that's printed to camouflage it.  I used adhesive backed fabric to cover the top, then also the inside part of the cover.  I also covered the inside walls.  My theme for this project is Japanese because the fabric I used had Japanese sakura (cherry blossoms).  I used Japanese 3D stickers for embellishment.  For the cover, I really didn't want to put anything 3D on it because this project is meant to be put in a purse.



For the stationery part, I cut white cardstock to fit the tin can.  Then I cut the corners with tje Fiskars Heritage punch.  After that, I swiped the cardstock using a Tim Holtz distress ink pad in Shabby Shutters.  Then on the lower left corner, I stamped Sakura images with Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drops in Red Gold.  I embossed the upper right corner with the same Fiskars Heritage Punch.

The challenge to this project is how to dispense each stationery from the tin can.  So with a ribbon, I adhered it in such a way that it actually lifts up the stationery as you open the tin can.  I really like the way the stationery pops out everytime you open it, then they move back inside as you close the tin. This stationery case will have a special spot in my purse and will be with me everywhere I go.  For more photos, click here.

Friday, March 20

National Craft Month DAY 30

I wouldn't let National Craft Month pass without making a traditional scrapbook layout.  My insipiration for this page is my niece's JS prom pic.  She's grown so much and it seems only last year when we were in World Expo in Aichi, Japan.



For this page, I used the following materials:
  • Base cardstock by DCWV
  • Vellum by Brenda Walton
  • Spellbinders Borderabilities Grand 12" Illumination Border
  • Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles
  • Fiskars corner punch
  • Bg cardstock by My Mind's Eye
  • Clear alpha by Making Memories (PROM)
  • Marquee letters by The Paper Studio (night)
  • Decorative Detail by Hirshberg Schutz & Co. Inc. (ribbon)
  • Adhesive-backed pearls by Hero Arts
  • Ornare piercing guide
  • Crocheted flowers
  • Misc.:  scrap paper, blue flower, purple bead

 

I used quite a few of my tools on this layout, like the Nestabilities, Borderabilities and Ornaire.  One of my favorite parts in this page is the glitter vellum because it complimented my niece's dress.  I also like the insert on the left for journaling.  It is still blank because my brain's dead right now and couldn't think of something yet.  I made the crocheted flower yesterday.  The three pearls on the insert compliments my niece's pearl necklace.  You can see the pierced corner on the insert on the photo below.  One thing I don't like about this page is the adhesive I used for the vellum.  You can see it showing through.  I forgot that I do have adhesive meant for vellum - and that's what sucks.  But overall, this was a fun page to make.




One more day left for National Craft Month.  I wonder what I'll create for tomorrow???

National Craft Month DAY 19 and 20

We got home last night full of pride and sorrow.  Our school and the community are proud that our girls basketball team got that far - the farthest they've ever been in school history.  The girls did a really great job to get to their current postition.  However, last night, the road to victory ended and they were only 4 points short.  It was a very tight game.  And everybody cheered with all their love and support.  I'm surprised that I still have my voice when I woke up this morning.


 
So anyway, for today (and yesterday), I want to create something using our school colors.  I bought a pair of black hair clips weeks ago, and I've been wearing it plain like this.  I took out my Kandi Kane applicator wand and my assortment of bling.  This is actually a quick and easy project.  But I have to admit that it was a challenge to arrange and place each bling in the right position.




With this tool, you can pump your stuff up - pens, cellphones, watches, accessories...  the possibilities are endless.  The Kandi Kane applicator wand is one of my favorite tools and I'm glad that I bought it.




I'll definitely be wearing my new hair clip on Monday.

Have a great and crafty weekend!

Wednesday, March 18

National Craft Month DAY 18

My day started out with two big boxes brought by the FedEx van.  I was actually looking forward to these boxes.  But before I go on, I have to say that for the record, this is not in violation of the resolution I passed late last year about my planet.  I would consider this a necessity to promote organization (and peace of mind).





  Anyway, these 2 boxes are from BestScrapbookShelf.com.  If you read the popular scrapbooking magazines, you would have an idea of what it's about.  They are organizers more popularly known as "Mini Stackables" and they usually have one whole page of advertising for these wonderful shelves.  I've been wanting to have one of them since I saw their ad, but when I checked their prices, it was pretty steep for me.  But a couple of weeks ago, I chanced upon their sale, and I bought their double cabinet (with the approval of DH of course).  Shipping was prompt and all the pieces are complete and in good condition.  Each shelf is 14 x 14 inches and 2 inches deep.  The assembly was really easy and I was able to do it myself.  But the re-organization of my planet was the hard part.  However, I'm proud to say that my planet looks a lot better now.  And once it's ready, and when I have the time, I'll post pictures. That's it for now.  Tomorrow, we'll be heading out to watch the MHSAA Girls Basketball Semi-Finals.  We will be home really late and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to create anything.  But who knows...

Tuesday, March 17

National Craft Month DAY 17

As usual, we got home late from another basketball game.  It's the quarter finals of MHSAA Girls Basketball.  And guess what?  We won!!!  This is the farthest our school has ever been in its entire history.  And we're all looking forward to the Semi Finals on Thursday, with high hopes of making it to the Finals.

Everybody was hyped up and we filled up more than half of the gym.  It was a very wonderful atmosphere.






And tonight's event inspired me to create this digital LO.  I used Memory Mixer for this one, and most of the digital elements came with the software except for the following:
  • black bg by KH Mize of Designer Digitals
  • red bg by Alice Koh (Superhero)
  • shout bubble by Alice Koh (Superhero)
  • red alpha by Kaye Winiecki of Pickleberry Pop (Fuzzy Wuzzy)
  • red stitch by Alice Koh
A lot of people came to support our basketball team, not only from school but also from the communities nearby.  It was about an hour and a half drive to the venue, but they all came and cheered their hearts out.  After the game, the players bowed to the crowd.  That was a really proud moment.

There's more cheering to do on Thursday.  But for now, it's time for me to go to bed... :)

Monday, March 16

National Craft Month DAY 16

This morning, I felt the nice cool air outside on my way to work.  It wasn't freezing cold.  Then around noon, I heard a bunch of birds chirping all at the same time from a tall tree in front of our house.  I guess, that's the sign of Spring.  This inspired me to make a card about Spring.

 

For the 16th day, I wanted to play with Flower Soft.  I purchased it sometime in December, and I've never really gotten around to trying it out.  I have seen wonderful cards using Flower Soft as an embellishment, and that made me decide to buy a few pots.  The funny thing is, the color that I used for this project is the exact same pot that is on their website's front page.
 


For this card, I used the following supplies:
  • Georgia Pacific Cardstock
  • Spring image and Tree branch image by Autumn Leaves
  • Bird image by Verve
  • Spica AtYou glitter pen
  • Flower Soft in Sweet Pea
  • Aleene's High Tack PVA Glue
  • Fiskars Heritage corner punch
  • Copic markers
  • Misc:  leftover bg paper


 
I find it easy to apply Flower Soft and I think that Aleene's High Tack PVA Glue helped a lot.  It didn't take that long to dry, and Flower Soft stuck really well.  I always like dimension in my work, and Flower Soft gave my card a totally different look.  It looked like flowers about ready to come out in time for Spring.

Want to see more ideas on how to use Flower Soft?  Click here.

Sunday, March 15

National Craft Month DAY 14 and 15

I dedicated this weekend in finishing my years old cross-stitch project.  The title is Bend in the Road, one of Cezanne's popular paintings.  I got the pattern free from Cross Stitch Collectibles, also years ago.  I started this project back when we were still stationed in Japan, immediately after I finished another long-term project Midnight Horses.  For the record, we've moved here in the US almost 2 years ago, so you can imagine how old this project was.  I have so many reasons why it took that long, but "laziness" topped it all.  That's why I was really determined to finish it before I go to bed tonight.



And I did.

The size of this one is 17.5 by 23.5 inches.

Here's the last stitch which took place at about 12:20 am.  What my next cross-stitch project will be, I still don't know.  But this time, I want to do a smaller one, so it won't take as long to make.  But not too small, because I don't find them challenging.  Cross-stitching does require a lot of patience.

To see how it looks like, please click here.

Thursday, March 12

National Craft Month DAY 12

I guess I'm going to have to miss this one.  I got home at 12 midnight from watching the Girls Basketball Regional Finals game, and there's just no time and energy for me to create something for Day 12.  I hope to make up for it tomorrow :D

Happy Crafting!

By the way, our school won!  And off to the quarter finals we go!!!

Wednesday, March 11

National Craft Month DAY 11

Some of you may know how hard it is for me to throw stuff away - up to the littlest bit of paper, ribbon or any craft supply, I try to keep.  One day while I was trimming my unmounted rubber stamps, getting ready to mount them to their respective wood blocks, I thought of re-using the leftover rubber.  They still have the adhesive foam in the back, and maybe if I cut them into irregular shapes, and mount them to another wood block, I'd be able to make a background stamp.

So I did.
 

I bought some of those small cedar wood blocks (2 x 2.5 inches and 3/4 inch thick).  They are the ones you put in your closet to get rid of musky smell.  They also come in ball shapes, and you can buy them in regular home stores.  The size and thickness is enough to mount stamps on.  Then I cut my left-over rubber and mounted them to the wood block.  In this case, I used leftover rubber from my Stampin' Up stamp sets.  To maximize the wood, I mounted on ALL sides.

Using my now custom-made background stamps, I was able to create this card.  I was thinking about chocolate during the process.  And my background stamp looked like white shredded coconut toppings on a big chocolate bar.  The sentiment is by Deadbeat Designs and the edge punch is by Fiskars.  I also used Nestabilities in oval, scalloped oval and Labels 2.  For the zigzag stitch, I used Bazzil Insitchz as a guide.

For more photos, click here.

Tuesday, March 10

National Craft Month DAY 10

Today was very busy at work.  But my day ended with lots of fun and excitement.  At work, I got 3 blisters on my right hand.  My right hand, of all places!  I thought I won't be able to create today.  We got home around 10:30 pm from watching our high school girls' varsity regionals game (We won!!!).  So that was the fun part.
But as promised, I had to create or do something crafty each day of Craft month.  So I decided to make a simple and easy one.
 
I have a lot of Post It pads, which I bought from CostCo years ago back in Japan.  And guess what?  They are stored somewhere, and because of that, I don't get to use them.  Hint:  They were bought years ago, and I still have a lot of them... LOL!  So I decided to make a magnetic holder for Post Its, so I can attach them on our fridge - for us to use.  I just used a square chipboard coaster (4 x 4) as my base.  I covered it with bg cardstock then inked the edges.  For embellishment, I used a piece of ribbon with hanging beads and sequins.  It's originally from a paper gift bag I was throwing away, then I decided to detach the ribbon and keep it for future use.  Then on top of that, I attached a piece of Bazzil Just the Edge cardstock strip.  On the top left corner, I just adhered 3 purple flower sequins with mini Glue Dots.  Then, I attached my "fresh from storage" pink Post It pad.  In the back, I adhered a wide magnetic strip, big enough to cover a big portion of the chipboard coaster so it can carry the weight of the embellishments and the Post It pad when attached to the fridge.
 
If I had time, I would have added some glimmer or embossed the edges, or something.  But I had a really long day, and I'm now tired and ready for bed.

By the way, this is not my first chipboard coaster project.  I've made a door hanging sign, mini albums and a mini magnetic photo frame with it before.  You can see them all here.  I've seen others make wall decor and scrapbook elements with chipboard, which I have yet to try.

Where to get chipboard coasters for free?  I keep some from the restaurants we go to.  They usually have chipboard coasters in circles and squares.  It doesn't matter what's printed on it, because you can always cover it with bg paper or paint over it.

'Till tomorrow :)

Monday, March 9

National Craft Month Day 9

I have been coloring my images with Copic Markers since I started stamping. I do have a set of Neopiko markers, but I find them to bleed more.  What I like about Copics is that they are alcohol based, don't bleed and easy to blend (with the help of their colorless blender).  All of these plus the ease of use does come with a price.  Not to mention the very recent price hike.  I'm glad that I bought a bunch of my Copics when I was in Japan.

However, while browsing through the SCS threads, I learned that stampers also use PrismaColor pencils in coloring their images, with the aid of Gamsol (Odorless Mineral Spirit) and blending stumps for blending colors.  So I went ahead and bought a 120 piece set for $52 on Ebay.  That averages to about 45 cents per pencil, compared to about $4 per Copic Ciao marker and $6.50 per Copic Sketch.  A can of Gamsol costs about $12-15.  Blending stumps are $1.25-3.50 per dozen, depending on size.

I used 5 colors shades to color this flower image from CTMH Simple Beauty.  I tried my best to match the Copics ones to the PrismaColor ones:


COPICS
  • Strong Red (R46)
  • Golden Yellow (Y17)
  • Light Prawn (R22)
  • Lemon Yellow (Y13)
  • Moss (YG67)

PRISMACOLOR
  • Crimson Lake (PC925)
  • Sunburst Yellow (PC917)
  • Blush Pink (PC928)
  • Canary Yellow (PC916)
  • Olive Green (PC911)

After coloring with both mediums, I can say that the hues are richer with PrismaColor pencils, and the blending is smoother.  The use of Gamsol wasn't hard and it is odorless.  However, Copics are a lot easier to use, and easier to control, especially when you're coloring intricate details.  Well, I guess you just can't have everything with one product.  I do like them both.


Here are both images colores with both mediums.  What do you think?  Which do you prefer?

Sunday, March 8

National Craft Month Day 8

You know how it makes you mad when a drop or so of bleach goes to a favorite colored shirt?  This has happened to me a few months ago when a speck of bleach landed on my pair of brown corduroy pants.  I like to wear it in the winter because it helps keep my legs warm.  And I won't let a bleached spot keep me from wearing a good pair of pants.



So I took out my foam stamps, and put 2 layers of felt in a shallow acrylic case that's big enough for my foam stamps.  Then I poured bleach in my "custom-made" stamp pad.  That's all the prep I need basically, and then I stamped away.  Don't forget to place something inside the pants where you're stamping to prevent bleach from bleeding through the other side.  I used an acrylic sheet cut from regular packaging of Nestabilities.  It would also be good to have a fine brush handy to touch up some of the images, especially the thin lines.  I tried to use rubber stamps and acrylic stamps, but their etchings are not deep enough to leave a mark on the fabric.  Foam stamps work the best.  What I like about this project is if you make a mistake, you can just stamp a bigger image over it.  That happened to me a couple of times on this one.

Now I can't wait to wear this!  DH doesn't really like it... even the dog growled when she saw it... hahaha!  I don't care, because I love my new pair of pants ;)

Want to see the final product?  Click here.

Saturday, March 7

National Craft Month Day 7

I have been wanting to make a "clear card" for a long time and just never had the chance to.  The reason being is that I haven't found a good brand of acetate thick enough for me to make cards with - at a reasonable price.  Somehow, while looking around my craft room, I saw a sheet of 8.5 x 11 acetate.  I don't know where it came from, but that just prompted me to make a card.



My inspiration for this card is a challenge sketch from Verve.  I have heard about Verve stamps for quite a while, and it was only recently when I gave in and bought some of their products.  The quality is just great and I love all their designs.  I'm looking forward to their release party tomorrow night at SplitcoastStampers and see the new stamps.


First, I adhered the base inside my card, which was cut at the edge with Martha Stewaart Doily Lace Edge Punch.  Then I assembled the other materials in the front, mostly cut with Nestabilities and Wizard dies.  The Verve stamps I used belong to the Fairy Tales and Beautiful You sets, which were wet embossed and handcut.  Then on the inside, I touched up the sentiment with clear AtYou Spica glitter pen.I love this card! 


Click here for more photos.

Friday, March 6

National Craft Month Day 6

My one and only niece started her education this school year (2008-2009) as a kindergartener.  I made sure my brother and sister took photos because it's a once in a lifetime thing - plus they know how sentimental I am.


And finally, 9 months later, here's a digital LO of my niece on her first day of school.  This will be the first page of a digital album, of all her first days of school starting from kindergarten, hopefully until she graduate from college.  Everything in this LO was made with Memory Mixer V3.

Thursday, March 5

National Craft Month Day 5

Tonight, I played with my Cricut Expressions.  I still have yet to make a title for my bulletin board in school:  Think Spring.  Like I've said in an earlier post, it's been a long winter and everybody's looking forward to the colors of Spring.  All the white, gray and cold is starting to get tiring.


I cut my letters and shadows with the Zooballoo cartridge.  Afterwhich, I inked the edges with purple ink.  After attaching each letter to each shadow, I pierced holes, and connected each hole with a Sharpie fine marker.  I can say that  this is a "lazy" way of  stitching in paper crafting, but it still works!  Then with my Wizard cut and emboss Butterfly die, I made the butterflies.  The blue butterfly is actually packaging of Verve stamps.  The yellow butterfly is glitter cardstock and the orange butterfly is leftover cardstock.  Then, I inked the "body" black with a black fine Sharpie marker, and added glimmer on the orange butterfly with AtYou Spica glitter pen.


These letters will go with the 3D flowers I made on Day 2.  A few more elements and my bulletin board will be finished :)

Wednesday, March 4

National Craft Month Day 4

I know that my Sizzix dies, and even the Nestabilties dies, can cut through almost anything.  But I haven't tried cutting thin acrylic packaging with them yet.  And that gave me an idea on what to do for day four of National Craft Month.



I have been saving the packaging of my scrapbooking supplies for a while now, because I know I can make good use of them in the future.  The packaging you see here are those from Nestabilities dies and Cuttlebug A2 folders.  I cut them to size with regular scissors then fed them to my Big Shot machine with some of the dies that I own.


For this one, I cut with the Nestabilties scalloped heart.  In the back, I dabbed Adirondack Alcohol Ink for some color.  Alcohol ink is good for coloring non-porous surfaces like plastic and glass.  But you don't want to ink your stamps with them because they will dry and crack the rubber.  Then in the front, I stamped a background image with black StazOn ink, which is also good for non-porous materials, and at the same time can be used with your rubber and acrylic stamps.  I just realized that my black Stazon inkpad needs more juice so I need to buy a reinker soon.  In other words, the image didn't show up so well.  But then, this is just an experiment, so moving on...  Then with Pilot Latte, I wrote on the edges.  I also added embellishments like black flower sequins, and a Cricut die-cut phrase "I Love You".  This can be used as an embellishment for a card or a scrapbook page.


For the next project, I cut a tag with a Big Shot die.  Then I put that and a die-cut of the same shape, together with a ribbon - just like a bookmark.  But before that, I did some touch-ups with the die-cut by inking the edges with black ink, and adding glimmer to the word "love".  Then for the acrylic tag itself, I just added letters I and YOU, so that when it's on top of the die cut, it says "I love you".  I tied a ribbon in the bottom for a finishing touch.  You can use this as a bookmark in itself, or also as a scrapbooking or card making embellishment or insert.


For the last one, I cut with a Purse Thick Cut die, also from Sizzix.  I assembled it with glue dots, then embellished with ribbon, button, brad and a Prima flower.  The size of this bag is perfect for my Pullip doll.  This is my favorite among the three, and it didn't take long to finish.

After playing with product packaging, I realized that there are no limitations to what you can do.  You can cut flowers, alphabets, various shapes with whatever die that's in your stash.  You can make clear embellishments, or even make mini acrylic albums.  So much more to think about in the future!

Click here to see more photos.

Tuesday, March 3

National Craft Month Day 3

For the third day of National Craft Month, I made a birthday card for a co-worker who's having her birthday on Thursday.  This is a 5 x 7 card.



The tools and materials I used are as follows:
  • Flower stamp, background stamp by Hero Arts
  • Happy Birthday and birthday sentiment (inside) stamp by Cloud 9 Designs
  • Inkpads:  SU Baroque Burgundy (background), Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Yellow Ochre (big flower), ColorBox Black Pigment Ink (Happy Birthday), Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot (edges)
  • Kodomo No Kao embossing ink
  • Spica At You glitter pen in Clear and Black
  • black embossing powder
  • black rhinestones by Duncan
  • cardstock
  • flower by Prima
  • Tim Holtz edge distresser
  • craft knife
  • Misc:  leftover ribbon, clear glass bead, nail art accessory (the small dot on the upper left of the flower)
  • Adhesives:  double adhesive foam tape, glue dots
  • Kandi Kane applicator wand
  • heat gun

With this card, I want to do more stamping.  First, I stamped the background paper with the same ink tone.  Then, I distressed the edges.  I also inked the edges of the card base, in front and inside.  On white cardstock, I stamped the big flower, and the Happy Birthday.  I also stamped and embossed the small flower with black embossing powder.  After that, I cut the three images with a craft knife.  For the Birthday stamp, I added glimmer on the edges with black Spica pen.  I also did the same with the flower image, this time with clear Spica pen.  Then, I made a bow with a leftover piece of ribbon (and I have to say that my bows are getting better!).  After assembling all the pieces, I adhered the black rhinestones with my applicator wand.

I hope she likes it!

Monday, March 2

National Craft Month Day 2

I was set to playing with my flower punches and dies for the second day of National Craft Month. 



My goal was to layer them and make 3D flowers.  I'm going to use them for the school's bulletin board at work, and my theme would be Spring.  The winter has been long, cold and white everywhere.  And I'm longing to see color through the flowers.  Hopefully, these 3D flowers will put a smile on the students' faces, and be more excited about the coming Spring.

 

First, I punched and cut a lot of my scrap paper and cardstock.  I pressed the flowers with an embossing pen/tool for the petals to fold somewhat.  This works well when you do it on a mouse pad.  And then, some of the cuts, I embossed with Cuttlebug A2 folders for more dimension.  Then, I layered and attached them using a glue stick.  I did a little bit more folding, then finished  by applying glitter glue in the center of each flower.


I had fun making these flowers.  It's really easy and you can use them as embellishments in a variety of projects, even in your scrapbook layouts.
And that completes my day two of National Craft Month.

For more photos, click here.

Sunday, March 1

National Craft Month

It's our month, fellow crafters!  Woot!!!!

I don't know why, but I've been looking forward to this month.  Whoever started this occasion, hats off to you for giving us a chance to celebrate our respective hobbies - a month a year!  What's more fun is that a lot of craft stores (brick & mortar and online) are holding special sale events at this time of the year.  But that doesn't mean I'm buying, because I still have a resolution to fulfill.  Also, there are usually a lot of new products being released during March.

For my tribute to National Craft Month, I made a promise to create at least one project a day.  It can be a card, scrapbook page, altered item, anything.  That will be a total of 31 creations for the entire month.  And I'm pretty serious about this one.  Would you like to join me?


So for the first day of National Craft Month, I was able to make my 2009 Calendar.  I like this better than last year's (click here to see).  It's a lot different, and I think a lot easier to do.  I only had to make one template for all 12 months.  Last year, I had to make 12 pages for each of the months.

You can view my 2009 Calendar in detail here.

Happy crafting!