Retake: The Most High

Sooo... we're starting to have weather in the 40s.  Not too thrilled about it, but I sure miss my fall/winter clothes.  September was unexpectedly warm in Northern Michigan.  In fact, DH mowed the lawn more last month than all of the summer months combined.  I think.

And I'm using the same old excuses.  Work.  Band.  But wait.  I didn't stop from crafting though.  Well, yeah.  My visits to my planet were less than normal.  After work, I'd stay in the couch and be lazy until I fall asleep.  Sometimes.  I know.  However, I had more visits to the craft stores.  Yeah.  I've been bad.  But I have sooo much to blog about though.  And so much more projects to do.  But I can't start with those until I fix this:

And that's just showing one corner of my planet.  Wanna play I-Spy?  I really need to clean and organize.  My muse goes awol when my planet is in chaos.  I really have to work on this because I signed up for a craft show at the end of this month.  Not funny!

While this was all going on, a co-worker's DF passed away.  I had to make a sympathy card.  And because I just had one night to do it, I cheated.  I still have "The Most High" card I made three years ago.  

Yeah.  Three.  But this card is special to me, because I made it when I was guest designer for Our Daily Bread Designs Stamping in Time Challenge.  That was back when I was super active in the online crafting scene.  I sure miss having all that time.

Back to my cheating story.  Here's what I did.  The size of the "revamped" card is 5.5 x 8.5 inches.  It had to be that big because all the staff members at work had to sign.

The sentiment inside is by Verve Stamps.  This is actually my favorite part of the card.

     

I'm glad that the card was liked by many, especially by the recipient.

'Til here for now... please think of me while you're having fun crafting.

WCMD Day 22

Just before I started writing this blog post, I got one of those New Product Alerts from Joann.com via email.  What came as a shock to me is that one of their "new products" is the Hannah Montana "Ready to Rock" stamp set.  I know that the Miley Cyrus controversy kinda winding down, and we already know that she has changed her image a "whole" lot.  And I respect her choice to do so.  But why is the crafting market still pushing for a new Hannah Montana stamp set?  Well, I don't know if the Hannah Montana shows are still being shown on TV, and maybe still available on DVD.  I guess there is still a market for Hannah Montana.  But I definitely am not in that market, never been.  I'm not saying I don't like Miley Cyrus.  In fact, I like a lot of her songs, even her latest hit.  I was just never into Hannah Montana.  

I guess I just needed something else to write about before I share with you today's card. 

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  leftovers

image/sentiment:  Verve

ink:  Tsukineko

tools:  Spellbinders, embossing folder (Sizzix, Cuttlebug), piercing tool

embellishments:  flowers, button, hemp, ribbon

adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, mounting tape

'Til next blog!

Left Over P2

I was on a roll last Friday -  I was able to make 3 huge cards.  If you haven't seen the first part of this series, you can click here.

For the second card, I used these main elements:

I opted for a horizontal orientation this time, using the wedding theme again.  Verve stamps is one of my favorites for wedding cards.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  The Paper Company, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Verve

ink:  Tsukineko

tools:  Cricut, Spellbinders, heat gun

embellishments:  Darice, 3BirdsDesigns

adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, mounting tape

The last part of this series will be posted next.

'Til next blog!

Left Over P1

During the process of making my best friend's wedding invitations earlier this year, I had lots of cut materials and stamped images left over.  I made several cards with some of them (click here and here to see), and I made note cards which were placed on the wedding reception tables (top right of the picture below) for guests to write messages on.

Last Friday, I managed to clear my craft desk and craft room floor... woot!!!

Then I came across a bunch more leftovers from the wedding invitations - more of  the samplers I made for my friend.  So I made three big cards (8.5 x 5.5) using some of these leftovers.  Making this post first of a series of three.

For this first card,  I went for a vertical design using this image cut with Cricut Expressions and sentiment originally made for the wedding invitation slider.

Most of the tools I used are edge punches by Martha Stewart and EK Success.  The embellishments are mainly by Prima (washi tape and trim). 

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  The Paper Company, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Verve

ink:  Tsukineko

tools:  Cricut, Spellbinders, Martha Stewart, EK Success

embellishments:  Prima, Darice

adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, mounting tape

It sure feels great to make cards again.  Looking back at my old blog posts, the last card I made was in early June.  That was almost three months.  It's time to catch up with the card making.

'Til next blog!

Birthday Wishes

So I spent the past few nights revamping an area of my planet.  Can you believe it?  I still had room for some changes in this little craft room of mine.  But enough of that... for now.  I will definitely show some pics once I'm satisfied.

Anyway, at least my craft desk was clear.  I had a chance to make this card last night:

Materials used:

cardstock/dp - ColorBok, DCWV, Georgia Pacific, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Verve, Studio G

ink:  Tsukineko

tools:  Spellbinders, Janome Sew Mini

embellishments:  brands, ribbon, hemp

misc.:  embossing powder (EK Success, Recollections)

adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, mounting tape

While I was cutting each piece of my flower, I saw a mouse running about.... eeeekkk!  My planet's police force headed by our dog Chichay needs to work double time to catch that intruder.

'Til next blog!

Happy Retirement

Hello crafty friends!  Last night I made a card for one of my bosses at work who's retiring at the end of July.  Definitely a good boss - no need to elaborate.

Can you believe my card was conceptualized from a red envelope I made long ago?  With the color scheme red, black and dark blue, I was able to make this card:

I used a recently purchased Cuttlebug embossing folder (Palm Leaves) to add texture.  After that, I applied Tim Holtz distress ink in Red Barn and Black Soot for more pop. 

And guess what?  I finally got to use this Unity stamp which I have had for years, making sure to emphasize my boss's retirement date.  The image is partially embossed with black ep.  Immediately after stamping with black ink, I applied embossing powder.  I blasted with a heat gun whichever particles that were stuck to the image.

This is how the card looks like when opened.  I used a sentiment stamp by River City, which is perfect for my card.

I made sure to use my favorite Martha Stewart edge punch on selected elements of my card, which I also used to accent the envelope.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Recollections, Wassau, ColorBok

image/sentiment:  Unity, Verve, River City

ink:  Ranger, Tsukineko

tools:  Martha Stewart, Spellbinders, Cuttlebug

embellishments:  brads, stickers

misc.:  Ranger embossing powder

adhesive:  Scotch, Glue Dots, 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!

Good Things Are Worth The Wait

It's almost graduation time for most high school seniors this year.  Ours is actually today.  And usually after that come the many graduation parties.  We have been invited to several ones, which gives me a good reason to make happy graduation cards.

Here's my first grad card, meant for our school's valedictorian.  I know that she really worked hard for this highest achievement, and I'm very glad that she reached her goal.  And because our school mascot is a cardinal, I used the cardinal stamp from the Sing for Joy set by Our Daily Bread Designs.  The image is colored with Copic markers.

I used a whole 8.5 x 11 cardstock for this card, folded in such a way where a small gift can be inserted inside.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  @theOffice, Wassau, Imaginisce, Copic, leftovers

image/sentiment:  Our Daily Bread Designs, Verve

ink:  Tsukineko, Copic, Spica

tools:  Martha Stewart deep edge punch, Spellbinders, Tim Holtz

embellishments:  rhinestone

adhesive:  Scotch, mounting tape

By the way, Our Daily Bread Designs is hosting another challenge running for two weeks, which is to use your favorite ODBD stamps.  You might want to check it out by clicking here.

'Til next blog!

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!

Happy Belated Birthday

I made this card for somebody really special.  She's not just my sister, but a friend as well.  I have to admit that it took time to accept the fact that she's no longer the baby sister of mine.  And even though I still worry about her, I'm really proud that she grew to be a wonderful and independent woman.  We may be different, but we definitely jive.

Materials used:

cardstock/dp:  Embassy, Creative Imaginations, Fiskars

image/sentiment:  Cloud 9 Designs, Verve, Unity

ink:  Tsukineko, Stampin' Up

tools:  Martha Stewart edge punch, Spellbinders, Big Shot, heat gun

embellishments:  rhinestones, ribbon

misc.:  Ranger embossing powder

adhesive:  Scotch, Zots, mounting tape

Enjoy your weekend, dear reader.  'Til next blog!

More VSN Cards

I was able to make a few more cards yesterday.  But before I go on, I'd like to share some happy news.  Somehow, I won a prize in this episode of VSN (yipee!).  That's totally a first for me!  I just received a PM from one of the VSN coordinators, and said that I won a Unity stamp (You're A Star).  I don't know why I won - but for whatever reason, thank you SplitCoastStampers!  Your VSNs and VSBNs inspire me to create more cards and scrapbook pages I wouldn't have thought I could make in a day or two.

 
Going to back to more VSN cards, I was able to make 5 more cards.

 
For this card, the challenge was to make two of the same cards.  And because of that, I opted to make a simple design. First, I punched the inside flap with Martha Stewart edge punch. I made sure the card front is shorter than the back so the punched edge will show. Then I adhered bg paper by DCWV. I layered with white vellum, tacked on each corner and topped with round glitter stickers. The bg image is from the Unity Confession set, and the sentiment is from Verve Beautiful You, garnished with black Spica glitter pen.  

 

In the next challenge, we were to make a wedding card with one requirement.  And that is to use bright and bold colors.  I chose the scheme orange and green for this one. The wedding image is inside the card, and I cut a whole in the front to show it using Nestabilities ovals. All the images used here are from 2 clear stamp sets that were RAKed to me, and there was no brand indicated (but I love them!). For final touches, I adhered sequins and ribbon around the hole. I also touched up the sentiment with Spica clear glitter pen.  

Moving to the next challenge, we were to use only red and black with the neutral color white.  I always like black & white with another color scheme, so I knew this was going to be fun.  I used 4 embossing plates for this card: Sizzix, Stampin' Up, Cuttlebug and Big Shot. After embossing, I cut them to size and swiped Tim Holtx distressing ink pad in Black Soot over them. The images are from Unity Shine On set. I inverted the lamp and made it look like a chandelier instead, then I added rhinestones for a final touch.

And for the last card, we have to use the color combo Banana, Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa.  Also, we have to have something musical on the card.  This was quite a challenge, but I enjoyed making this card. The yellow card was embossed with Cuttlebug. The peanut butter cardstuck on top and bottom I pierced and embossed using Just Petra piercing/embossing template, then distressed. The music stamp (distressed white cardstock in upper left) is by Prima. The embossed sentiment is from Verve Feeling Groovy set. The flowers are from Prima too. For finishing touches, I adhered Dew Drops on the upper left corner.

I wanted to make more cards tonight, but I decided to clean up my planet.  I guess 10 cards in a weekend is not that bad, right?

'Till next blog!

6 Cards in 1 Night

SplitcoastStampers conducted its Mini Virtual Stamp Night this past weekend, and I made sure that I participated.  Even though I wasn't able to do it on the actual night, I still tried to do the challenges yesterday.  The theme for this one is Viva Las VSN - so cool!  All the challenges have something to do with Las Vegas and I love it!

 
There were 10 fun challenges but I was only able to do 6 yesterday.  I'm hoping to make a few more tonight before the deadline, but it won't probably happen.  But still, I had so much fun making these cards:

For the first challenge, the theme was a "buffet" and we were to use our favorite stamp set as the main dish, cardstock and ink for the side items, and choice of embellishments for dessert.  I used SU Thoughts and Prayers, 3 layers of CS (the top layer dry embossed with SU Backgrounds 1, buttons, flower sequins, Nesties die cuts, and the image I accented with Spica At You Clear Glitter Pen. The small dots on the sentiment are actually accents for nails.

In this card, the challenge was called "Let's Play BlackJack" where points were given per layer (1 point), patterned paper (3 points), stamp (5 points), ribbon (2 points) and hard embellishment (1 point) used.  If I calculated it right, I accumulated 43 points because I used 5 layers (excluding card base), 2 kinds of patterned paper, 6 kinds of stamps and 2 eyelets.

In the third challenge, we were to use gold in our card.  Anything gold.  For this card, the golden embossed girl image is by Inkadinkado, while the Rockin' Girl sentiment is by Paper Company Studio. The background is from the DCWV Rockstar Stack.

I love the next challenge called "Cirque Du Soleil".  DH and I saw their show "The Beatles LOVE" in Vegas about 2 years ago and I loved every moment of it.  That show itself was my inspiration in making this card.  I used the following tools and materials:  

 
- SU Seeing Spots
- Verve Feeling Groovy
- Creative Memories curved trimmer
- Nestabilities Nested Birds and Daisy Heads
- Prima flowers
- bg cardstock by DCWV Rockstar Stack
- glitter cardstock by Best Occasion and DCWV
- misc: flower brad, leftover cardstock

 
 

The next challenge was called "The Strip" where we were to use strips of papers in our card.  I like this challenge a lot because it gave me a reason to use my paper scraps.  All the paper/cardstock used here are are scrap paper (except for the card base). The stamp is by Deadbeat Designs.

The last card I was able to make is a fun one.  We had to make a flip-flop or swing card, and I've never done one before.  I always like to create something fresh and new.  I used Kraft Cardstock by the Paper Company, stamped with SU Watercolor Garden images. The sentiments are from the SU Congrats, stamped on parchment paper. The white cardstock is DCWV and the flowers are Prima.

Why don't you try doing these challenges for fun?  I had a really great time making them.  You can see the rest of the May Mini VSN Challenges here.

Another Verve Card

I was supposed to submit this card for one of the Verve April 2009 Release challenges in SplitCoastStampers, but I just couldn't make it to the deadline.  DH wanted to go to town and buy some trees, and of course I couldn't say no.  We got 3 Japanese maple trees and 3 white Cherry Blossom (Sakura) trees.  One of the Japanese maple trees will be planted in front of my craft room :)  

 

 
Anyhoo, following the second sketch, I was able to make this card and added a twist to it by changing the fold.

 
I just wanted it to be simple this time, and focused on the smaller details.  I love the piercing on the two corners, I used with Ornaire Piercing Template.  The shape in the middle is Nestabilities Labels Four.  The embossed image is from Verve Artful Elegance set.  The dots in the middle are epoxy stickers.  The edge punch is by Fiskars.

 
This is how the card opens.  The lilac paper, I cut with Nestabilities Curved Rectangles die.  I had to cut both ends to fit the card.  Then I adhered the cut ends on the top and bottom.  The sentiment is from Verve Beautiful You set, which I touched up with Spica AtYou purple glitter pen.