Here's My Latest...

I love the holiday season!  I especially feel it where we live because of all the surrounding snow.  I love it when the snowflakes fall slowly like feather.  And everytime it snows, I keep telling myself that I want to take a photo of me and DH outside.  But because of the cold temperature, I just usually go straight inside the house... then I hit myself for not taking a picture.

As the song goes, this season is the most wonderful time of the year.

But also the busiest.

Imagine all the cards you have to write (and make if you're a crafter), the list you have to make for gift giving, all the shopping you have to do based on that list, the food you have to cook (not to mention the time you spend thinking and deciding), the house you have to decorate (inside and out), and a lot of other things you have to do... because you want your Christmas to be perfect.  You don't want to miss anybody, and you don't want to be late in sending gifts and cards, as much as you can (My apologies if ever!).

Anyhoo... I want to share with you my latest creation.  These are small gifts I'll be giving to my co-workers before we finish work for the year.  I want to show my appreciation to all their help and for making me look forward to my work everyday. 

I have been saving these Starbucks bottles for a long time (my fave is mocha frapuccino and dark chocolate mocha).  In fact, I've been saving them since they came out in the market years ago.  Again, I just couldn't throw them away because I know I can use them for something.  In fact, I've seen a lot of other scrapbookers do wonderful things with these bottles.  So I just decided to create some Christmas-themed labels around the bottle itself, and also on and inside the cap.  First, I took the labels off with the help of my heatgun.  Then I rubbed the bottle with Goo Gone to get rid of the sticky label residue.  That wasn't the fun part.  After that, I dumped the bottles in the dishwasher for one final cleaning.  While waiting for that, I was stamping and cutting for my labels.  At first, to save time, I tried adhering the die-cuts with the Xyron sticker maker, but they didn't work.  The Scotch ATG 700 still was still the bomb.  I was actually frustrated that I wasted a refill roll of my mini-Xyron.

Anyway, here's the list of materials used:

• DCWV Glitter Cardstock
•  ColorBok die cuts
• DCWV stickers
• Long Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities
• Oval Nestabilities
• Labels 2 Nestabilities
• Big Shot
• Goo Gone
• heat gun
• Creative Memories circle punches
• Scotch ATG 700
• Glue Dots
• Sheer Creations sheer ribbon in red
• Basic Basic 100% polyester ribbon in red
• Stickles in Christmas Red and Green
• scrap cardstock

After assembly, I filled each bottle with candy and chocolate.  I finished all 27 bottles in 2 nights.  I guess that's not so bad.  Now I can breathe and relax, at least for tonight!

Click here to see more of my bottles.

'Till next blog!

P.S.  Let's bring back Christ in Christmas...

3 Christmas Cards in 1 Night

I thought I won't be able to make Christmas cards this year.  I was already trying to remember where my stock of store-bought cards are.  But I guess if you're a crafter, nothing can stop you from making handmade cards, especially at this time of the year.

But before I continue, I'd like to say thank you to Christine, Ingeborg and Claire for the goodies I received recently.  It has been pretty hectic at work, and the goodies took the stress away.  I will post the photos later this week, however you can see what Christine sent me here.  Let me show you my appreciation by giving you ladies a big virtual hug: 

(((((Christine, Ingeborg, Claire)))))

I have made ten cards this weekend.  And tonight, I was able to make three cards:

I'm proud to say that I was able to make use of a lot of my scrap paper/cardstock.  I got to use my Copic Markers and popcorn pens.  And I was able to play with Coredinations card stock for the first time and I love it!  So far, I have been stamping with my wood-mounted stamps.  In the next batch, I'll be playing with my Christmas clear stamps.  You can see the other 10 Christmas cards I've made here.  I'm giving myself until this week to create more cards.  Then it's mailing time!

Before I retire for the night, I'd also like to share with you the inchies I got from Lisa's inchie swap this month.  Aren't they adorable?

'Till next blog!

Review: Scrapbook Play

I have read so many magazines, including special issue ones, but I have never enjoyed reading them as much as I had fun reading Scrapbook Play. It is a special issue magazine released by Simple Scrapbooks late this year. 

The "playful" description fits this magazine straight to the bat. It has tons of ideas, trivia, tips, tricks, quizes, and so much more. I love the websites they recommend because you can use them for your scrapbook pages, or just want to have some fun browsing the internet during a boring moment. I also like the part where you get to know more about the scrapbookers who make Simple Scrapbooks possible, like that of Stacy Julian and Cathy Zielske. It felt like I was with them while reading each page. I will definitely read this magazine again, and follow all those prompts for my future scrapbook pages. Kudos to Simple Scrapbooks for a really fun special issue! 

More New Additions

I have been procrastinating about the Bind-It-All (blue) by Zutter, since it first came out a few years ago.  I know it would be really cool to actually make your own albums of any size and shape, but I was just not that impressed with it. 

But when they came out with the new and improved Version 2.0 (pink), I decided to take the plunge.  I bought my pink Bind-It-All at my local scrapbook store, The Paper Manor, in support of their first anniversary (thanks for the BoBunny Bag!).  After that, I really didn't have the chance to open and play with it. 

But I finally did last night. 

People who know me know how I am with paper.  I just can't throw them away.  And even at work, it's a pain for me to waste paper.  So I have been saving these scrap copy paper for a while, and when I had enough, I brought them home.  I decided these scrap paper will be a part of my first BIA project.

Beforehand, I already watched the video tutorial of BIA in their official website.  So the "hands on" wasn't hard for me.  I love the "centerline punching method" and the fact that I can punch holes even on thick chipboard.    Because of the overall thickness of my project, I had to punch a bunch of pages at a time.  And despite that, the holes still line up perfectly when all the pages are put together.  In this project, I used the 1 inch binder rings, and it was very easy to bind all pages and back & front cover.  Overall, I can say that the BIA is not really hard to operate.

If you notice, the corners of my scrap pad are round.  If you're thinking that I corner punched each page, you're wrong.  In fact, I can't corner punch a thick chipboard with an ordinary corner rounder.  But the fun fact is that I did corner punch the "entire" pad, including the front and back chipboard cover.  And it was possible with another newly acquired tool which is called

The Paper Gator from Around the Block.  With this tool, you can punch 100 sheets of paper and whatever thick material all at once. 

And just to be clear, you don't punch per page, but up to 100 sheets or any similar thickness, chipboard, plastic sheets and even wood.  And what's more, it doesn't require effort to punch at all.  You can actually invert the blade to cut ticket corners, and there are other blades you can purchase separately like the 45 degree angle corner.  I happen to purchase mine from QVC because they have the best deal and their package already includes 3 blades of different radius sizes.

To see this project in detail, please click here.

I have always wanted to have the Tim Holtz Design Ruler since I first learned about it on the internet. A good ruler is one of my necessities as a crafter. My Zero Hero Centering Ruler is about to resign due to the several cuts on the edges. When I saw the Tim Holtz Design Ruler video on YouTube, I knew that would be the best replacement for my old ruler. But when it was released in the market, it was so hard to get a hold of. Everybody seemed to have been able to buy it except me. 

Finally, I had a chance to buy it from CreativePlayStamps a couple of weeks ago. When it arrived in the mail, I love everything about it - from the packaging to the actual product. This is what the packaging says:

".... a clear measuring stick with a straight edge and grid for drawing lines and measuring lengths, a metal strip for cutting, and evenly spaces holes for piercing."

 

















Everything I want in a ruler is now right in my hands! The lines are not only 1/4 inch increments, but 1/8 inch. And the piercing holes are also in 1/8" increments. And I love the fact that there's a metal edge made especially for cutting. I'm expecting this ruler will stay with me for a long time.