Tuesday, May 31

26

Hello crafty reader!  How was your Memorial Day weekend?  I'm sure you were able to reflect about the heroes who gave their lives for our freedom - the reason why we celebrate Memorial Day. 

My card today is for DSIL's 26th wedding anniversary.  I just wanted it to be simple, with very few embellishments:


Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Martha Stewart, Fiskars, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Stampendous
ink:  Tsukineko
tools:  Cuttlebug embossing folder, SU ticket corner punch, craft knife, heat gun
embellishments:  brads
misc.:  Tsukineko embossing powder
adhesive:  Scotch, mounting tape

'Til next blog!

Monday, May 30

Quick Card

Well, I have to say that with up and coming products in the craft scene, you have to be really patient and wait for the best deal.  Unless you have all the money in the world and you just buy whatever you want.  I have been eyeing the Damask cartridge for quite some time now, and I haven't been lucky.  And I guess to vent my frustration, I played with my Paper Lace cartridge instead.

Here's a quick card that I recently made:



Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Fiskars, My Mind's Eye, DCWV, leftovers
tools:  Cricut Expressions, Paper Lace cartridge
embellishments:  flower sequins, brads, pearls (Want2Scrap)
adhesive:  Scotch, Zots

'Til next blog!

Sunday, May 29

Swooped

How has your weekend been?  Mine's been swell as I spend time with family and do some chores around the home.  I'm not done with the house work yet, and still in the middle of doing them.  I'm just taking a break to post this card:



I fell in love with this stamp by Unity as soon as I saw it.  It's one of their Itty Bitty stamps.


Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  The Paper Co., Fiskars, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Unity
ink:  Stampin' Up, Sharpee
tools:  Cricut, Paper Lace Cartridge
embellishments:  flowers (Bazzil, Prima, Forever in Time), Robin's Nest
adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

Have a wonderful Memorial Day... 'til next blog!

Friday, May 27

Fashion Scrapbook

A few months ago, I cut a big bunch of my brown paper scraps using a variety of dies, mostly Spellbinders and Quickutz.  They have been sitting on a pile on my desk for a while, and last night, I thought of making a mini scrapbook out of them. 

I will consider this one of my green projects, as 90% of the materials used in this scrapbook are leftovers.

Because I cut with different kinds of dies, putting the pieces together was quite easy.  It took only one night to finish.  And before I start filling it up, I would like to share it with you.



To be honest, I didn't know what kind of a scrapbook it was going to be until I finished the album.  The first word that came to mind was the word "kikay" which is a Filipino world that has been associated with fashion and trendy things.

You can see the entire scrapbook by clicking HERE.

Thanks for the visit... 'til next blog!

Thursday, May 26

Adieu

Hello reader!  Today marks my last with the Creative Vision Design Team 5.  I had a really wonderful experience being a DT member and again, I thank Ms. Laura for giving me the chance to show what I can do with her awesome stamps.

Here's a peek of my final Creative Vision project:


Check out the rest of it in the Creative Vision Blog.

'Til next time!

Wednesday, May 25

It's Official

Hi there!  I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful weather, and no harmful wind tunnels have gone your way.  My heart goes out to the people who were affected by the recent tornados that hit the midwest.

Anyway, here's another project I made for Creative Vision:


You can read more about it in the Creative Vision blog.

I'm still raffling out blog candies by on Wednesday, June 1st in celebration of National Scrapbooking Day.  I am guilty that I wasn't able to live up to my promise of scrapbooking all month.  Just the same, if you would like to share your scrapbook pages and/or projects this May, you can link it HERE.

'Til next blog!

Monday, May 23

Charged

Hello reader!  Last week, I RAKed a fellow crafter from the SCS message boards with die cuts from the Robotz cartridge.  And since I was already cutting away, I decided to cut some for myself.

Here's a simple card I made with one of them:



Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  DCWV, leftovers
image/sentiment:  Stampendous
ink:  Tsukineko, SU, Spica
tools:  Cricut, Robotz cartridge, EK Success edge punch, Spellbinders, SU ticket corner punch
embellishments:  star brad, stickers, wiggly eyes,
adhesive:  Scotch, mounting tape

'Til next blog!

Sunday, May 22

Ooops!

I can't believe I forgot to post here for a couple of weeks!  Just in case you miss my posts, you can always check out TINKERPLANET.BLOGSPOT.COM.

Well, I've been trying to do more scrapbooking this month of May.  However, I have to say I haven't been very good.  I will get to the reason later, but for now here are my scrapbook pages/projects so far:
You can also check out my latest projects for Creative Vision:
Going back to the reason why I haven't been creating as much - my OTT lamp of over 4 years broke. And it took a while to get a new one. But it was all worth the wait, thanks to the assistance of OTT staff. You can see my new lamp by clicking here.

While I was waiting for my craft lamp, I was able to do some improvements in my craft room.  I was able to alter a candle holder and turn it into a card stand. I was also able to make an improvised photo studio.  

Ooops... before I forget.  I made a Mother's Day card as well.

And finally just this weekend, I got to reorganize my Stamin' Up stamps.

'Til next time!

Saturday, May 21

Stampin' Up Reorganization

My Stampin' Up collection has grown through the years.  It's not as many as what a lot of stampers have, but I've been trying to limit myself already (my SU demo knows that for sure!).  As a lot of you may already know, SU sets come in plastic cases.  And after a while, they do take space, and it's harder to look for particular stamps as I have to look through each plastic case.  And that can be frustrating.

Thanks to my friend from work, she hooked me up with some plastic packaging from our school cafeteria, which originally holds individually wrapped pickles.  She has been taking them home to store her embellishments and crafting supplies.  When I saw them, I thought they might be good to storing my SU stamps and re-organize them according to theme.  And guess what?  It worked!  But before I put the stamps together per theme, I wrote on each wood block the name of the set where it actually belongs. 

So this is how it looks like before with the stamps in their original plastic cases:


And this is how it looks like now:



Here's a comparison between the pickle plastic container and the biggest SU plastic case:


A pickle container is 8 x 15.5 inches in diamter and a height of 2.5 inches, so you can put two layers of wood mounted rubber stamps inside.  A SU plastic case can only fit in one layer of wood mounted stamps.  This container can also hold double sided stamps very well.


And you know what my favorite part is?  There's lots of room for more.

'Til next blog!

Friday, May 20

Let There Be Light

It is true that when something is missing from an entity, that entity doesn't work the way it should.  That's how my craft room has been since my craft lamp broke.  The OTT lamp is the best I've ever used - my eyes never get tired after hours of crafting (even cross stitching).  Also, you can see colors a lot better because it gives the right balance of contrast and brightness.

I bought my first OTT lamp almost 4 years ago, and it served me well.  And during those times, I never replaced the bulb.  


So when the lamp died, I thought I just needed a new bulb.  And after buying a replacement bulb (and 3 others), none of them worked.  A representative of OTT told me that the ballast and/or some other part must be broke and needed to be replaced.  Considering the cost of the replacement part/s, it's almost the price of a new lamp after a 40% discount coupon.  So I decided to just get a new OTT lamp.



Now everything looks a lot more normal in my planet.  I can see my colors  now, and hopefully that will help get the creative juices flowing some more.
 
And before I end this blog entry, I would like to commend the OTT company for a job well done in taking care of their customers.  Their customer service is good, and I was very satisfied.

'Til next blog!

Thursday, May 19

Fart what?!?!?

Hello everyone!  It's Thursday once again and it's time to feature my latest project for Creative Vision:


The stamp I used here is definitely worth having.  Please go to the Creative Vision Blog to see what I made with this stamp.  Want some radical sentiments?  Check them out at the Creative Clear Stamps Store.

'Til next blog!

Wednesday, May 18

What Set?

Hello everyone!  My term for Creative Vision as design team member is almost over.  I really enjoyed playing with Creative Vision stamps, and I'm glad to have met a good bunch of creative people.  But for the last couple of weeks, I will be presenting a project on Wednesdays as well.

Here's a sneak peak of my Wednesday creation:


Curious what it is?  Please click on to the Creative Vision blog to find out.

'Til next blog!

Tuesday, May 17

Improvised Photo Studio

Hi crafty friends!  Today I would like to share with you my improvised portable photo studio.  I have been using the D-Flector by Sharpics for over 2 years now, and I have been satisfied with the photos I take.  But during that period, I would usually set my D-Flector on my stool, and depend on my OTT craft lamp and ceiling light fixture of my craft room for lighting.  It helps when it's daytime, and natural light comes in through the window.  But it does make a difference when I take photos at night. 

Hoping to improve my photos, I decided to buy a couple of those $10 clamp lamps from Walmart, and use daylight light bulbs with them.  And then I covered the lamps with plain white fabric to hopefully soften and lessen the shadows a bit more. 


After putting together the components of my "improvised studio", I tried to take photos of my cards and compared it with the past shots.  I was right, the shadows are softer.  And since this setup is in another room which uses "regular" light bulbs, changing them to daylight light bulbs will hopefully make the photos a lot better.

Of course, I'm eyeing a better portable studio setup.  But until I have the budget for that, I'll keep enjoying my improvised studio.

'Til next blog!

Monday, May 16

Boracay

One of the things I miss most about the Philippines is the beach.  With over 7,000 islands, there are so many beaches to choose from.  But one stands out for a lot of people, local and tourists alike, and that is Boracay.

I am blessed to visit this island twice, and I'm still hoping for more.  I love its powdery white sand, clear waters and the gorgeous sunset.  I just hope the community there will be able to preserve its beauty and splendor as more and more people from around the world visit this island every year. 

My cousin's recent trip to Boracay inspired me to make this digital layout:


digital elements: Lisa Whitney, Katie Pertiet
software: Memory Mixer V3


I have been telling her to give this place a try as she and her husband love to travel.  They finally did this year.  Of course I'm jealous, but their photos are as close as I can get... for now.

Are you in a scrapbooking mode?  I'm doing my best to scrapbook this month in celebration of National Scrapbooking Day.  Why don't you share your pages here, and maybe you can win some blog candy.
 
'Til next blog!

Saturday, May 14

My Favorite Things

Hello dear reader!  I was looking through my stash of scrapbook kits, and one by ColorBok caught my eye.  If I remember it right, I bought this kit on sale from a book store in an outlet mall.  It's originally "boy"-themed, but I decided to use a different theme.  It will be a mini-scrapbook of my favorite things:

I added some doodling in the front for some personal touch.


The size is about 4.5 x 6 inches and has 12 pages.  I really enjoyed adding the rub-ons on each page.  I think that's my favorite part of the process.  I can't wait to fill up this scrapbook, and it'll definitely be soon.

To see each page in detail, please click here.

Hope you can join me in scrapbooking this month.  I'm raffling off some blog candies on the 31st.  Click here for more info.

'Til next blog!

Thursday, May 12

Thursday

Hello everyone!  It's that time of the week again to share with you my latest project for Creative Vision's Creative Clear Stamps.  This time, I used stamps from two of their sets.  The main focal point of my project is this cute turtle, which I colored with Copics:


Want to see more?  Please visit the Creative Vision blog.

Hey, I'm raffling off some goodies at the end of the month.  Click here for more info.

'Til next blog!

Monday, May 9

Card Display

Hello crafty friends!  It sure has been quite a busy weekend.  But it's all good.  I feel a little bad though, that I have been away from my planet for a while.

I would like to share with you a recent quick project of mine.  You may have noticed among your favorite card makers and designers that little pedestal they use to display their cards when you visit their blogs.  Well, I have tried and a repurposed a lot of things to serve as a holder for my cards when I take pictures. I have searched everywhere too. I guess it's just hard to find the one that would fit my criteria.  That was until I found this candle holder in Walmart for not even $2:


It's double sided, so you can place a small candle on one side and a bigger candle when you flip it over.  I thought maybe that would work to hold my cards, especially the A2s.  The smaller side can hold the vertical orientation cards, and the wider side can hold the horizontal cards.

To give it some character, I adhered rhinestones on both rims, and even around the body, using clear adhesive dots.  This is how it looks like now, showcasing an A2 card in both horizontal and vertical orientation:

horizontal

vertical

Before I discovered the candle holder above, I was using this for quite a while:



It's actually a core from a roll of transparent tape that I took home from work, again adhered with rhinestones.  This is how it looks like with a card on it:



Hope you can join me in scrapbooking in May as I raffle out some blog candies at the end of this month.  All you need to do is link your scrapbook pages/projects here.

You all have a great week.....  'Til next blog!

Sunday, May 8

Happy Mother's Day

Here's a salute with warm virtual hugs to all the mothers reading this blog entry.  I know it is not easy to be a mother and being one requires a lot of things.  I am blessed to have a mother who loves me, and what I am today is because of her and my father.  I am also thankful for having a very wonderful mother-in-law who never made me feel any different.  My wish still stands - to be a part of the motherhood circle.  Someday.

Here's a card I made for this special day.  It's my own little twist of the "easel card". 



See the floating effect I did with the sentiment?  What I did was cutting one hole through all the 3 layers of my card front, and then inserted a piece of leftover plastic packaging in between the layers.  After that, I attached my sentiment.  A short and sweet message will be written down on the stopper that keeps the card standing.



Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  Stampin' Up, K&Co., Recollections
image/sentiment:  Verve
ink:  Tsukineko, Spica
tools:  Spellbinders, Martha Stewart edge punch, Big Shot, paper piercer
embellishments:  rhinestone brad, ribbon
adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape
misc.:  leftover packaging

You can see the card in detail by clicking here.

By the way, I'm giving away some blog candies at the end of the month in celebration of National Scrapbooking Day.  The details are right here.

Also, you might want to check out Creative Vision's card making challenge this week.  All you need to do is make a CAS Thank You card, and you could win a single sentiment stamp of your choice.  Check it out in the Creative Vision Blog.

'Til next blog!

Thursday, May 5

Lake People

Hello everyone!  It's Creative Vision time of the week once again.  And since we're celebrating National Scrapbooking Day this month, my CV project sorta goes with the theme.  Here's a sneak peak:


The stamp you see is from the "Hooked on Fishing" set.  To see my latest Creative Vision project, please click HERE.

Want some blog candies?  Join me in scrapbooking this month.  You can learn more about it HERE.

'Til next blog!

Wednesday, May 4

Summer Bliss

Hello everyone!  Pardon my few days of idleness.  It wasn't due to laziness as I had to work for some craft money.  I sure missed being in my planet, and I'm planning on playing all night.

As you may know that National Scrapbooking Day is just a few days away, and I'm celebrating it in the entire month of May.  I will really do my best to do a lot of scrapbooking in the coming weeks.  Some will definitely be digital, but I hope to make more traditional pages.

And since I'm behind by a few days already, I opted to make a digital page tonight.  When I saw this picture of my friend and his family on facebook, I just had to make a page about it.  This photo perfectly depicts their first summer as a family.


I made this page with the aid of Memory Mixer V3, using the Spontaneous Delight kit by Carrie Stephens.

I hope you can join me in celebrating National Scrapbooking Day.  All you need to do is link your scrapbook pages HERE, and maybe you can win some blog candies at the end of this month.

'Til next blog!

Sunday, May 1

National Scrapbooking Day + Blog Candies

Hello crafty friends!  National Scrpabooking Day falls on the first Saturday of May, but I'm planning on celebrating for an entire month.  Care to join me?

I started out as a scrapbooker, but I have to admit that I haven't been as diligent with scrapbooking as before.  Well, it's easier to make cards, right?  But it is a fact that scrapbook pages last longer.  Scrapbooking is one of the best ways to preserve those special memories, and it never fails to leave a smile on the faces of anyone who lays eyes on those pages.  Tears even.  That's why every month of May, I challenge myself to focus on scrapbooking. 

And I challenge you too, to take out those photos gathering dust from storage and put them in scrapbook pages.  Each scrapbook page you share with us will count as an entry for these blog candies:

BUNDLE 1
Decorate Life:  Scrapbook Book

Soft Spoken 8 x 8 Scrapbook Kit (Me and My Big Ideas)

Making Memories 8 x 8 Cardstock Pad

BUNDLE 2
Decorate Life:  Celebrations Book

Love & Romance 8 x 8 Scrapbook Kit (Me and My Big Ideas)

Live Loud Collection (Imaginisce) includes Chipboard Stickers, 3D Stickers and Clear Stamp

Travel Transparent Overlays (Making Memories)

I have only three rules: 
  1. Link your BLOG ENTRY THAT FEATURES YOUR PROJECT, and not the homepage of your blog.
  2. Make sure your blog entry is dated May 1st to 31st.
  3. Show some love to our participants by leaving comments.  Scrapbooking is not an easy thing to do, and your comments will definitely keep us going.
On June 1st, I will draw two winners, and they have 24 hours to respond. If I don't get a response after that, I will draw a new winner/s.
There is no limit on how many scrapbook pages/projects you can enter.  Just remember, the goal this month is to preserve those special memories.  The more pages you make, the better... and the more inspiration and ideas you can share as well.  That is already an achievement in itself, don't you think?  The blog candies are just the cherry on top.
Can't wait to see your pages!
Who's going to be first?