Quick Thank You

Hello crafty friends!  Sorry I wasn't able to post for a few days.  We had a big party during the weekend, and I couldn't believe how many days it took from the preparations to clean up.  It was a fun party with good food and the IDK band providing live entertainment.  I'm so thankful to have DSILs who rock - they helped us out before, during and even after the party.

Well, I'm proud to say that the house is almost back to normal.  And my planet is in a pretty decent state.  One thing's for sure - I definitely missed crafting!

I missed it so much that my mind went blank when I started making a quick card.  I think my muse decided to go have a party out somewhere as well.

I challenged myself to not make the usual A2 size.  So I ended up with a round quick mini card using Spellbinders Beaded Circles.   

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Recollections, leftovers

image/sentiment:  unknown (RAKed)

ink:  Spica

tools:  Spellbinders, SU ticket corner punch

embellishments:  flower sequins, button brads, ribbon

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots

I can say this is my way of saying THANK YOU to all those who came to our "End of Summer" party.  We have a few more days of 80 degree-days, so I'll enjoy them while I can.  I also thank you, dear reader, for still visiting my blog despite my few days of absence. 

'Til next blog!

Celebrate

It's hump day!  And today is also DSIL's birthday.  A couple of months ago, I made a Tag Set for her and a few days ago, I made a birthday card to match.  I was still in the mood for the Flower Burst edge punch by EK Success, so I played with it again.  This time, I layered it like this:

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  The Paper Company, @theOffice, leftovers

image/sentiment:  unknown (RAKed)

ink:  Spica

tools:  EK Success edge punch, Spellbinders

embellishments:  Robin's Nest

adhesive:  Scotch, mounting tape

I like the outcome of this card, especially the colors.

'Til next blog!

Hi Friend

I don't know why but I'm into making 4 x 9.25 inch cards lately.  They fit well in No. 10 Envelopes.  I bought a bunch of these envelopes on clearance at Michael's one time, and since then I've been making cards that would fit them.

For this card, I played with one of the new EK Success edge punches called "Flower Burst".  I figured that a 2.5 inch strip is perfect to achieve a good flower strip.  I also sprayed the background with Glimmer Mist in Robin's Egg Blue, just about where my sentiment is going to be.  The edges were machine sewed with clear nylon thread.  The white flowers were made using an EK Success shape punch as well, attached with rhinestones at the center. 

The sentiment I used is from one of the Studio G dollar stamp sets.  The size is just perfect to fit the center of my main flower.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  My Mind's Eye, Paper Reflections, DCWV

image/sentiment:  Studio G

ink:  Stampin' Up, Tsukineko

tools:  EK Success, Spellbinders, Janome Sew Mini, heat gun

embellishments:  flowers (Stampin' Up, Bazzil), rhinestones

misc.:  Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Tsukineko embossing powder

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots

'Til next blog!

Thoughts and Prayers

Happy Monday, crafty reader!  Here's a card I made over the weekend.  I was in the mood to play with Spellbinders dies and Core'dinations cardstock.  Concentrating on just the Floral Doily Motifs set, I was able to make this:

I just love how each die in the set go so well together, even size wise.  My favorite part is where the flowers with the embossed purple center "inter-twined" with each other.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Core'dinations, Paper Reflections, K & Co., Wassau, leftovers

image/sentiment:  unknown (RAKed)

ink:  Stamin' Up, Spica

tools:  Spellbinders, Stampin' Up embossing folder, metal piercing templates

embellishments: rhinestones

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

 'Til next blog!

IDK

Time sure flies!  We're already on the second half of August and the season's almost at its end.  This summer has its ups and downs for me.  The lowest would be when I got laid off from work.  But there are a lot more great things that took place.  One of them is the band IDK where I sing lead.  We have been practicing for about 6 months now, and just this Wednesday we won our first Battle of the Bands.  It's also our first time to perform in public as a group.  It sure was fun!

With that, I'd like to share with you a digital layout I made about our band:

Materials used:

software:  Memory Mixer

digital elements:  Alice Koh "Superhero" kits, "Spider Webs", "Stitches Flo Buttons"

alpha:  Kaye Winiecki "Fuzzy Wuzzy"

'Til next blog!

The Bomb

Hello crafty reader!  I was on a craft diet for a couple of days...  but the good news is, my planet is nice and neat.  I was able to "catalog" my new stamps, and now they are neatly organized.  Speaking of new stamps, I just recently discovered a brand that's super cool called Bombshell Stamps.  The moment I laid eyes on them, I fell in love!  I wish I have all the money in the world so I can buy all the stamps I dig from them.  But for now, I'm very happy with a couple of sets.

So today, I played with one of them which is the "Lucky Bride". 

I actually colored the dress black/dark gray and red, but since I embossed the entire image with UTEE in Interference Blue, the dress came out bluish.  That led me to pick a dp to match.  I like the effect that came out after melting the UTEE.  

I also like how the Martha Stewart Deco Fans edge punch really went well with my image.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  DCWV, My Mind's Eye, Wassau, Copic

image/sentiment:  Bombshell Stamps

ink:  Tsukineko, Copic, Spica

tools:  Spellbinders, Martha Stewart edge punch, EK Success edge punch, Marvy Uchida corner punch, heat gun,

embellishments:  rhinestone stickers

misc.:  UTEE

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots

'Til next blog!

Chaotic Planet

Hey there crafty friends!  Sorry I have no project to share with you today as I am busy with other things IRL.  I got laid off last month, so I'm trying to apply for a job or two.  Plus my band is joining a Battle of the Bands in a county fair tomorrow - should be really fun!

That being said, my planet has been in disarray for the past few days.  I am not happy about it, and I hope I'll be able to fix this chaos by tonight.  For the meantime, here's a peak of my chaotic planet:

Even our dog Chichay is not happy about the state of my craft room.  She stays here with me but sits and looks away from all the mess.. haha!

'Til next blog!

Celebrate Paper Cake

Hello everyone!  Today's project is extra special.  Remember my paper cake from early this year?  Well, I made another one especially for Cheery Lynn Designs.  They are looking for new design team members, and they want applicants to show what they can do with die cuts.  I thought my paper cake is something out of the box and would be good to submit as I use shapes cut from metal dies like those of Cheery Lynn Designs.

And so without further ado, here's my latest paper cake:    

The first layer is a die from the Parisian Accents set, while the second layer was made through Floral Doily Motifs.

The top layer is from Fleur De Lis Motifs, which is the hardest part to do, but also my favorite part of the cake.

I got the sentiment from a swap online, so I don't know the brand of the stamp.  The title is cut with Petite Ovals Large and Fancy Tags 2.  For the base, I just cut a circle from the same cardstock used for the top layer.  And the black base is cut from Paper Lace Cartridge.

This is how it looks like top view:

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  DCWV, @theoffice

image/sentiment:  unknown/RAKed
ink:  Ranger, Tsukineko

tools:  Spellbinders, Cricut Paper Lace cartrdige

misc.:  rhinestones, black bead, black chenile pipe cleaner

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

Would you like to give my paper cake a shot?  I made a video tutorial which you can see by clicking here or here.

'Til next blog!

Scrap Card Set

Hello crafty reader!  I am trying to totally clean up clutter on my craft desk.  And as I was doing that, I few questions popped in my mind like:

Why is it such a difficult task?
Why can't I throw this away?
Didn't I already throw this away?
Where will I put this?

And believe me, I have been better.  I have gotten rid of a good number of supplies and RAKed them to friends or donated to the art class in our high school.  And I'm planning to donate some more to our local library.  All I need to do is to overcome this "attachment" to all these craft tools and supplies that I no longer use.  Close your eyes, do a yoga lotus pose, and say "Uhmmmmmm" with me.... 

Let's see if that will work.

Anyway, as I was "cleaning up", I saw a bunch of 6x6 monogram pages I made years ago.

I really have no use for them as scrapbook pages, so I got rid of the letter "O" and cut the background with Spellbinders dies to use for quick A2 cards.  Then I put all six cards and envelopes in a metal holder which originally came with a Bath and Body Works gift pack.

To set the cards well on the metal holder, I put a strip of plastic packaging cut to size on the base.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Wassau, leftovers

tools:  Spellbinders, Martha Stewart edge punch, corner punch

embellishments:  ribbon, brads

misc.:  metal holder, leftover plastic packaging

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

To see each card in detail, please click here.

By the way, my Sing For Joy card was chosen as one of the award winners for last week's "Notions-Seamstress" challenge in the Our Daily Bread Designs Blog.  That made me smile first thing on a Saturday morning.  Thank you Chris!

'Til next blog!

Power, Love and Sound Mind

TGIF everyone!  Yesterday, I stopped by a church-sponsored garage sale in town, and I chanced upon a couple of packs of print and calico fabric swatches.  The 1.5 inch square sizes would work to use for handmade cards, and I just had to make one when I got home.

This card would also go well with Our Daily Bread Designs' "Notions-Seamstress" challenge, but I was late in entering... sigh!   The heat embossed sentiment I used is from the Scripture Collection 2.  So I am also entering this in the latest ODBD Stamping In Time Challenge (SNTODBD41) where we are to have embossing in our cards.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Recollections, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Our Daily Bread Designs (Scripture Collection 2)

ink:  Tsukineko, Stampin' Up, Sharpie

tools:  Stampin' Up edge punch, piercing tool, Spellbinders, Bazzil Institchz

embellishments:  butterfly notion, thread, buttons, fabric swatches

misc.:  embossing powder (American Crafts)

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

'Til next blog!

My First Digital Stamp Card

Hello crafty friends!  Today's card features a digital stamp image made by a real good digital caricature artist Riko Aviso from the Philippines (karikatyur.com).  I met him at Multiply.com, the carrier of my Tinker Planet home page.  Here's a caricature he made of DH and me:

I was really happy with his work, that I made a hybrid scrapbook page with it.  It was a page I made for one of the Virtal Scrapbooking Nights in Splitcoaststampers.

Anyway, a few months ago, I asked Riko if he can make a digital stamp and he gave me a few samples.  I finally got to color one of them today, which is also my first time to use digital stamps.  I rarely use pastel colors with my cards, but I really enjoyed making this one:

Copic colors used:

hair:  Y17, Y15, Y13

halo:  Y13, Y11

skin:  E00, R0000

dress/wings:  B0000, 0, RV10, RV0000

clouds/shadow:  C1, C00, 0

I slightly brushed the center of my white flowers to go with my color scheme.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Bazzil, Wassau, Georgia Pacific

image/sentiment:  angel digital stamp by Riko of karikatyur.com, My Sentiments Exactly

ink:  Tsukineko, Copic

tools:  Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders

embellishments:  flowers (Prima)

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

I have a feeling that I'll be playing more with digital stamps.  I've been researching and there are a good bunch of fun digital stamp companies out there.  In fact, I already have my favorites.

Check out Riko's awesome digital caricatures by clicking here.

'Til next blog!

Kanzashi Flower Card

I just learned recently that one of my favorite bookstores is closing.  They were having a close-out sale and we happened to be in the area, so we decided to pay one last visit.  I went straight to the magazine section, and all the craft magazines were gone.  Immediately I went to the craft books, and I was lucky to find some interesting paper crafting books.  One of them is "Kanzashi in Bloom" by Diane Gilleland.  As some of you may already know, I'm into any Japanese crafts, and this book is perfect for me to give Kanzashi a try.  Kanzashi typically uses fabric, but I figured one of the designs could work with paper.

Here's my first Kanzashi flower using origami paper, which I used as an embellishment for this card:

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  DCWV, Wassau, origami paper

image/sentiment:  Heidi Swapp

ink:  Stampin' Up, Tsukineko

tools:  Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders

embellishments:  pearls (Want2Scrap), button

misc.:  embossing powder (American Crafts)

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

I can't wait to make more Kanzashi flowers using different mediums.  Want to learn more about Kanzashi and the book I just bought?  Click here.

'Til next blog!

Thank You... Once Again!

Hello dear reader!  This is going to be short and simple.  Here's another card I made using the same sentiment from last week's Thank You card.  Again, my background is cut from the Damask Decor Cartridge (Damask8 Card p. 28).

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Bazzil, Martha Stewart, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Inkadinkado

ink:  Tsukineko

tools:  Cricut Expressions, Damask cartridge, Spellbinders

embellishments:  flowers (Prima), black pearls (Want2Scrap), ribbon

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

misc.:  embossing powder

'Til next blog!

Sing for Joy

Happy Saturday, crafty reader!  Last week, I was asked to be guest designer for Our Daily Bread Designs' Stamping In Time Challenge  (SNTODBD40), hosted by Betty Wright.  Well, I couldn't resist and I just had to make another card for this challenge.  This time, I cut a doily from the Mother's Day 2010 Cricut Cartridge. 

The sentiment I used is from the "Sing for Joy" stamp set.  It's also my first time to use Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Faded Jeans, and I love it!

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Daisy D's, Stampin' Up, The Paper Company, leftovers

stamp/sentiment:  Our Daily Bread Designs (Sing for Joy)

ink:  Tsukineko, Ranger

tools:  Cricut Expressions, Mother's Day 2010 cartridge, Spellbinders, Martha Stewart corner punch

embellishments:  brads, flowers, button

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

There is still time to participate in this challenge.  Maybe you can win $15 to spend in the ODBD store.  Click here to upload your card.

I'm also entering this card for another ODBD challenge called Notions-Seamstress. 

'Til next blog!

Dimensional Flower Punch Video

Hello crafty friends!  During a visit at Joann's a couple of weeks ago, I was able to get one more EK Success Dimentional Flower punch.  And as I played with these punches, I love them more and more.  The main reason is that it's just so easy! 

With that, I'd like to share with you a video I made last night which shows how to make the 3D flowers with these cool punches.

You can also see this video in a bigger screen in my Tinker Planet video page.  Click here.

If you haven't gotten the Dimensional Flower Punches, EK Success is having all their punches at 20% off until August 7th.  Use code ALL20 at checkout.  There's more... it's free shipping everyday on all orders of $60 or more. 

'Til next blog!

Thank You

Hi reader!  This is going to be short and sweet.  Today I played with the Damask Cartridge once again, this time using Damask4 Card on page 24.

I really enjoyed doing the layers of this card.  I guess I'm pretty inspired today.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  @theoffice, Wassau, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Inkadinkado

ink:  Stampin' Up, Spica

tools:  Cricut Expressions, Damask Decor Cartrdige, EK Success edge punches, Spellbinders

embellishments:  rhinestones, ribbon

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

'Til next blog!

Happily Ever After

My last visit at Joann's was great.  It's been a while since I felt like a kid in a candy store.  They now have most of the latest Cricut cartridges, EK Success punches, a whole line of Tim Holtz products and a good bunch of Spellbinders dies.  It was really nice to actually touch them, compared to seeing them in photos and videos on the internet. 

Every after band practice, I would stop by Joann's to see what's new.  And I always look for tools that I've been itching to have.  One of them is the Damask Decor cartridge.  I was really happy when I saw it displayed behind the counter.  And most of all, it was on sale.

That night, I enjoyed going through each page of the booklet.  My mind was racing as to what kind of projects I can make.  But as usual, I started with a card.  Thanks to the Gypsy, I'm able to size my card to A2 size with the Damask4 Card as my card front on page 23.

And this is how my card turned out to be:

I added dotted lines using black Spica glitter pen for final touches.  Since I used double sided cardstock for my base, I decided to put another piece of cardstock inside, cut with a matching Spellbinders die and inked with Stampin' Up Going Gray.

Materials used:
cardstock/dp:  K&Co., Bazzil, Wassau, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Verve

ink:  Tsukineko, Stampin' Up, Spica

tools:  Cricut Expressions, Damask Decor cartridge, Spellbinders, Stampin' Up punch

adhesive:  Scotch, mounting tape

And because I was using my Cricut, I was able to make two cards of the same design.  Fun!

By the way, I just made a photo compilation of all my projects during the month of July.  You can see it by clicking here.

'Til next blog!

Paper Pavillion

Hello crafty reader!  I can't believe it's August... how time flies!

I have to say I had a hard time giving a name to my latest project.  But it is decorative, something you can put on a desk.  I wanted to make anything but a card, you see.  And I ended up with this:

Basically I played with pieces cut with Spellbinders dies.  The hanging ball in the middle was made using my Paper Cake Technique.  I love the summer colors of the cardstock from the Cruise Voyage Collection by Gartner Studios.  I didn't want to overdo it, so I just chose red white and blue buttons for embellishments.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Gartner Studios

image/sentiment:  Verve

ink:  Tsukineko, Stampin' Up

tools:  Spellbinders, Creative Memories circle punch, paper piercing template

embellishments:  buttons

misc.:  yarn

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

Please click here to see more photos of this project.  'Til next blog!