My kind of Eye Candy!

 I just love the photo inspiration from Tuesday Trigger Sweets for the Sweet and I can't resist on making a card....again. After a few hectic hours working at the doctor's office, this is my paper therapy! Just take a look at this photo, who would not love everything about it?

It truly has everything that an eye candy can offer--rich Damask fabric background, scallop border, delicate pleats from paper cups, silky ribbons, pink/red and everything creamy--white chocolate!!  Here's my take..

Close-up

Stamps: Hero Arts CL406 Buttons, CG102 Antique Brocade
Others: Hero Arts Ribbons, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen), heart button, Fiskar lace punch, paper doily, SRM Stickers (Love).
My next post will be my first official project wtih SRM Stickers which I'm very excited to share!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #124

Welcome to Etsy Inspired Challenge! Our Shop: Too Cute Kawaii (Kawaii means "cute" in Japanese). If you look through the shop Too Cute Kawaii,  you can see why the name is totally fitting! My inspiration came from this item.

With the doily and cupcakes...this is what I came up with. It was so much fun to play with the cupcake stamps. I colored it lightly with copics, and then added the ribbons, doily...and the SRM Sticker!

Winner Prize: Cupcake earings (see here)

Sponsor: Meljens Designs is a lovely stamp company owned and illustrated by Melissa Jenkins. She illustrates whimsical rubber and digital images inspired by her kids and family. Meljen's Designs has new releases along with a new challenge every Thursday, freebies every Monday and a Guest Designer each month at the Meljen's Designs Blog. Please visit the Meljen's Designs line of stamps at the WHIMSY STAMPS STORE to browse and enjoy Melissa's wonderful images! I used the adorable FREEBIE digie from Meljens' and created TWO cards!

I colored the cherries with copics and added Glossy Accent. The leaf was paper-pieced with Bo Bunny paper. The swirley pattern at the left bottom corner is from the pattern paper. So no extra work there.

 For the 2nd card, I colored the image with Prisma color pencils. I paper pieced the holes and added faux stitching around  the Label 1.

Do you love that pink heart button? A great find in my local sewing store. All three cards sentiments are from the SRM Stickers.

Winner prize - 4 digis

Ashley, Angi, Carole , De

Emily, Jackie, Joy,

Kerry, Rachel (guest design)

Ruby, Savannah , Sherry

Virginia (you are here).

Please link your project to Etsy inspired Challenge here. I appreciate your stopping by!

"funny" card...

We can always use a laugh/smile, right? Well, here's one for you...card-related!

When I say "funny", it's not the funny kinds of cards that make you smile. It's the "funny-looking" kind of cards. A few days ago I made this bike card and somehow that it didn't come out the way that I had envisioned. I had the idea of making waving sentiment as part of the design and make it look like a hilly road. After I finished the card, the more I looked at it, the more I thought about the movie "E.T."!!!! This card is now called : "E. T. Phone home!"


 If that was not funny, hope this will make you smile.

It's hard to create something decent as my crafting hours are cut due to my working at the doctor's office. But I try to keep fun things/thoughts in life to keep me sane. Hope you are doing the same! As the saying goes:  "Laughter is the best medicine", but somehow I can't stay away from doctor's office! How funny is that!?

Shimmering Effect

Sometimes a challenge will give you the push to try new things or remind you that you haven't used a certain product on your shelf for a while. In this case, it was my spray mist that has not been in use. I received Cosmic shimmer Mist from my dear Hero Arts sista Cathy  during my meet with her in London last May. Here is a comparison of the Cosmic Shimmer Mist and Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist. I've never used Tattered Angel, but I LOVE the glossy high sheen from Cosmic Shimmer. The Create Blog's challenge (see here) prompted me to get mine out and so I  sprayed Cosmic Shimmer Mist onto regular card stock, super heavy card stock, and glossy paper. The heavy card stock worked the best due to the water content from the mist.

I'm entering the Valentine's Day card for Papercraft January Challenge and both cards for the Wee Memories Challenge (#40 Anything Goes)

For the square in the center, I applied masking tape around the edges, spray the gold mist and then distressed the edges. I applied the SRM Sticker as it looks perfect for this fun design.

While I was at it, I made another.

Do  you love that button? I do!

I stumbled into the biggest local sewing store in my area a few days ago, I fell in love with the buttons there and couldn't stopped picking up a few...

I ended up spending $15 buying 30 buttons! My DH could not believe that the buttons cost SO much. But I told him that these are SPECIAL kind of buttons! I'm sure you'd agree that it's worth every penny!

Hero Arts Inspiration Friday Photo

Isn't this photo bright and lovely!? It's an absolute contrast from the "white stuff" outside of my windows! This was part of  the challenge photo at Hero Arts (see  here). I knew it will be a challenge for me to come up with something decent. When the weekend came, I could really use some "paper therapy", I did worked on it and came up with this.

It's nothing too exciting. But it did get me out of my comfort zone. And I didn't stop there, I took part in the Hero Arts Flickr Group Scramble Challenge (time limit is 1.5 hour, from start to finish). This card was made in about 30 min.  (more details here)

I just noticed that the sentiment was not quite right....things we do when  we are in a hurry :)

Have a great week ahead!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #123

Welcome to Etsy inspired challenge! Our shop is Nanny's Room. Please check it out as you will not be disappointed! The Nanny's Room Blog also has beautiful artwork on display! Winner Prize #1- Necklace of winner's choice(WOW!). FOR SHOPPERS - 10% off any purchase through the 31st. Use coupon code "etsy10" at checkout. Sponsor:The Twinery .

 Winner prize #2: One Trio pack (value $42) and please note: the winner will be able to choose any 3 spools of their choice. Need I say MORE!?

I drew my inspiration from all the pendants (including this one above) and came up with a water color-like background.

Hope you can join the fun! Our design team is sure going to WOW you again! 

Ashley, Angi, Carole , De

Emily, Jackie, Joy,

Kerry, Rachel (guest design)

Ruby, Savannah , Sherry

Virginia (you are here).

Please link your project to Etsy inspired Challenge here. I appreciate your stopping by!

I {heart} SRM Stickers!

My official post for the DT with the SRM Stickers has not started yet since the project with the SRM Stickers Blog will not be out till February. But that doesn't stop me....I have been making SO many cards with the stickers! I NEED to pracitce! The ease of using these transparent stickers is really appealing to me. After spending a good chunk of time working on the designs, colors, layout....when all that is done, I just want reach out a sticker and finish it off. Here are three cards that I made.

This new stamp Lace Frame from Michael's is so feminine and delicate, so I wanted to use intricate-looking flowers. This stamp Starburst came in handy since I can just use the center part of the stamp! YAY, more ways to use a BIG stamp.

Next is a butterfly card. I have been wanting to try clear embossing for the background and this is the result.

I cleared embossed the butterfly background and then paper-pieced the two butterflies. Add Crackle Accent and some Stickles. Then add the ribbons and button....by this point, I just want to get it done! Apply sticker--end of the story!

Some interesting facts about this masculine card:

~recycled coffee sleeves for the added textured look (FREE)

~faux stitching for details (EASY)

~purchased shirt button from Wal-mart (CHEAP)

~Apply the sticker to the wheel (YAY)

Hope that you are staying warm. I can't wait to go down south (a trip to Florida is planned). I'm counting down the days.... Working at hubby's office is HARD work! Why can't he just "fire" me!?
NOTE: Please drop by SRM Blog  and comment to win the latest new release!!

Off to Work...and a card!

Starting this week, I will be working all of the afternoons at hubby's ( you may know that Dr. John is a family doc) office. His temporary part-time nurse found a new full-time job else where and quit! It was QUITE a process to hire the part- time nurse last time around and I'd rather not go through that all over again. I am upset not terribly thrilled about this. But that's life, right!? I am not a trained nurse, but I CAN assist a few things or two. Part of the "problem" is I have to wait till the regular nurse (who is on maternity leave with twins) comes back in April! That is a LONG time!

Can you see my frustration? Well, let's share a card to calm myself down. I made this card a little while ago. I used blue Perfect Pearl water and then misted it in the textured paper and then stamped the image. Love the shiny image. It was almost impossible to emboss the raindrop background ( after a few failed attempts), so I stamped it with Color Box Chalk Ink in white and then colored it some more with white gel pen. It worked!

On a happy note, I have a interesting blog post to share. My Hero Arts Flickr Friend Lorena starts a new series called Case a Card Monday (CACM). And guess who she chose to case this past Monday?! ME!!!  Please drop by paperella plays and leave Lorena some love!! I hope you are staying relaxed and warm...meanwhile, I will be assisting the doctor with a pap test!! I am very determined to keep my blog going and I think I need the blog more than ever before...don't you think?!

I {heart} DONUTS!

Winners of the blog hop giveaway announced here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been in the donut mood lately, namely, I enjoy making cards with donut images! Don't get me wrong...I'd LOVE to have a REAL donut or two (the kind with the chocolate icing is my favorite).

But the calories are the killers! So I'm content to make cards with donuts. The CREATE Challenge Blog asked for submissions for cards with FELT.

 This has got me thinking....! Donuts with icing! Can you almost taste it?

I love the 2nd card, but somehow the color of the felt is not quite true to its original color (which is a hot pink). But I am posting it to share anyway. The sentiments of the1st and 2nd cards are

from the SRM Stickers (shop here). This card was featured in CREATE Blog.

Last but not least, it's a quick card that I made within an hour. It's for Hero Arts Scramble Challenge. The challenge was to use something old (2010 stamp) and something new (2011 stamp). This donut was paper-pieced. The cutting part was not too bad--thankfully. You can see the Flickr comments here.

Hope you "enjoy" these donut cards! NO calories involved!  Have a SWEET day!

Winners of SRM Stickers and HA Stamps Giveaway Annouced!

The announcement that you have been waiting for...

Blog post giveaway (see Card and SRM Stickers Giveaway):

The winners are Angi @ CokiePop and mimijudy1975 

 Hero Arts Blog Hop giveaway (see Delicate Leaf Cluster Stamp Giveaway)

The stamp set goes to (drum rolls please....): goes to...
Froggietalks said... I like the work you did Virginia.. my favourite card is the leaf cluster card. I am trying to talk myself out of buying that set, because I have so many foliage stamps already, but I suspect it'll be in my basket when I find it :) January 12, 2011 4:14 PM

Please e-mail me (becr8ive@rogers.com) and I will mail off the card and prizes out to you! Congrats! Thank you all for the amazing responses for the posts. I shall have more giveaway in the future!

Have a GRAPE GREAT day!

Etsy Inspired Challenge #122

Welcome to Etsy Inspired Challenge! Our shop this week is Modern Bird. If you like anything about birds, this is IT! Winner Prize (see little bird necklace). Sponsor is Kutz Winner prize - A silhouette cut out .
 My inspiration came from these items...

Aren't they gorgeous!? I embossed part of this Bird and Branch in white embossing powder and then colored the flowers with Prisma color pencils!

Kraft cardstock really pulls everything together, huh!?  Add a ribbon and the SRM Stickers! Voila! Hope you can join the fun! Our design team is going to knock your socks off again!

Ashley, Angi, Carole , De

Emily, Jackie, Joy,

Kerry, Rachel (guest design)

Ruby, Savannah , Sherry

Virginia (you are here).

Please link your project to Etsy inspired Challenge here. I appreciate your stopping by!

Tuesday Trigger!

Have you ever been inspired by a simple photo? The photo in Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger did just that for me--again! Sometimes a picture will do that to you...I just love how the photo inspires me. I think I am more of a visual person as I tend to draw the feel, colors, mood from the photo.

This photo porjects an airy feeling, bright and colorful setting, and a sense of welcome.....and it says PARTY to me! So here's my take.

I had been in love with one layer cards lately. This Hero Arts Small Chandelier stamp (see here)  provides the perfect image. I also used the new stamp All you need to do is some masking and colors! It took me three takes to get the inking just right. It's not all perfect, but at least I'm somewhat content with the result. I adore this SRM Stickers. It's the PERFECT sentiment. So happy when the sentiment takes the guess work out of the card design. LOVE that about the SRM!!

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you miss commenting on the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop, here is the link to win some NEW fabulous Delicate Leaf Clusters and check out the blog hop. Not too late yet!!

Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop

Welcome!  Thanks for coming by from the talented TRacey's Blog!  I'm SO excited to be one of the bloggers to showcase Hero Arts 2011 stamps in this blog hop. I want to thank Hero Arts for this great opportunity and generosity for making this fun event possible. Remember to leave comments at each blog along the way, for more chances to win a variety of the new 2011 stamps!

The first card was made with Dancing with the Flowers. Isn't this a SWEET stamp? I see so many possibilities in this stamp. It can be used for birthday invitations, Hello, Thank you, birthday......anything associated with happiness.

Here I used the Emboss Resist technique to achieve the colorful background (Distress inks: Broken China, Weathered Wood, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Fired Brick, Bundled Sage, Peel Paint). This image depicts the joyful dance so vividly, so a colorful background seems to capture the essence. I used small fine markers to add the flower colors and grass details. The Hero Arts ribbons and Twinery's twines are perfect for the subtle finishes for this card.

The second card is stamped with the gorgeous  Delicate Leaf Clusters.

I used three different kinds of leaves for this card and stamped CG125 Friends Definition for the subtle background. The sentiment was stamped on vellum. I also used the gold Stickles on the yellow leaves for the shine and interest. The sentiment is from the 2010 stamp CL380 Truly Appreciated. The following two cards are stamped in layers. No masking, embossing or any difficult techniques required. Always work with the lightest shades of colors first and work your way up to the darkest or brightest.

I used the same set  (Delicate Leaf Clusters) for this card and it gives a total different look!

Last card is a fun one! There are so many lovely lovely bike images from this CL481 Joy Ride.

The background was stamped in CG267 Scattered Dots first. Then I used the Hero Arts Vertical Cloud for the background and added the layers and then topped it off  with the bike image. The added Twinery on the bike gives the wow factor. Some more examples from the bike stamps, please see One Layer Cards and Banner Card

 Now you should head over to the Arlene's Blog and see what our sweet Arlene has in store for us! NOTE: If you find a broken link, you can always go back to the Hero Arts blog for the master list of blog links: here. please email tami@heroarts.com and provide the blog address that has the bad link so we can fix it.

 Last but not least, I will draw one random winner from the comments for this blog post to win CL477 Delicate Leaf Clusters and some lovely craft goodies! Please enter the comment (one comment per person) by Jan 16, midnight at Eastern time. To be eligible for the draw, please become a follower to my blog tell me which card you like the best or which stamp is on your top wish list.

Happy Hopping!