Hey....Don't Throw That Away!!

You may have seen this card with coffee filter, well, here is part 2! 
 I have been known (only to my family, thank goodness...well, now all of you) that I like to save "garbage" re-purpose waste for my paper-crafting projects. 

Case in point: Ice cream container

I decided to enter this project (my 2nd) for Moxie Fab World's Household Items Challenge. I think this little makeover with the coffee filters fits perfectly with the theme.

 Here is the "how I did it":

1. decoupage the container with white tissue paper with Aleene's Tacky Glue.

2. paint the surface with  Adirondack Paint . Let dry.  

3. ink the coffee filters with distress inks and spray with (sliver and copper) Cosmic Shimmer Mist (any mist will do). Once the coffee filters are dry, stamp flowers with Distress Inks

4. with two sheets of coffee filter, a few Hero Arts flower SRM stickers, I made about 16 flowers. ( I cut them out while watching TV--great for multitasking)

5. Assemble the flowers with glue dots (with a piece of circle as the backing)

5. Add pearls and Dimensional Glue (for the flower centers)  for the final touches. 

The flowers have the extra shine from the Cosmic Mist spray.  I am happy to say that not only this is no longer a piece of garbage,  it is going to be a showpiece on my craft desk
 
Those copic markers will look great in it! I used SRM Sticker for the sentiment at the bottom. Because when you can eat ice cream and keep it like this without the calories?
"Life is good!!"

Now next time when you enjoy the yummy ice cream, you may want to save that container!? Maybe?
edited: Today is Earth Hour event. It is to raise awareness to take action toward climate change. I plan to turn the non-essential lights off for at least 60 min tonight.

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge # 46

Happy Friday!

 The challenge is to create a CAS project inspired by a song. How FUN is that!? Well, the song of my choice is: "Don't worry, be happy!" Aren't these bees CUTE!? I did some simple paper-piecing and used the circle die cut for this card! 


I'm sure you are familiar with the tune...if not, here is a re-cap.

Do check out the CAS-ual Fridays' DT's work to get inspired! AND the design team search is still on!  Please link up your CAS project to CAS-ual Fridays by April 4, Wednesday Midnight Eastern Time. I am excited to see what songs you pick!

My next post is an altered project that I am excited to share! Here is a sneak peek!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Card with Hexagons!

It sure looks like hexagons are all the rage. I remember seeing the latest products from the Winter CHA photos . So many companies have come up with products and supplies with Hexagons! Here are some eye candy that I found via Pinterest.

My card today was prompted by CREATE blog to make a card with honey combs/hexagon in them. Since I don't have hexagon stamp yet, but that doesn't stop my from making cards with this lovely shape. A while ago, I stumbled into the talented and generous Melanie McCarthy (who has 3870 followers and counting). Mel designs paper, templates and fonts and .....she offers them for FREE in her blog! So if you have any special need for shapes. lines or fonts, Mel has it all. Here is how I got my Hexagons! I highly recommend that you become a follower and you will never be without any fancy templates, DIY flowers, lines or shapes!
 

I printed out the Hexagons in regular copy paper and added the faux stitching to make them more defined. The rest? EASY stamping! The stamped flower is a Hero Arts Stamp, but I don't know which set it came from--sorry!
 (Tip: to make the fussy-cutting easier, apply tiny droplets of Glossy Accent over the detailed part of the image, let dry, then cut out. It is SO much easier!)

 .Hope you like my card with Hexagons! Have a great day!

Playing with Pom Pom Flower

 I had made cards with tissue paper before.... But I was totally inspired by the talented Hero Arts DT Tami's card over Hero Arts Blog (see here ) and had to give it a go. This time I used the tissue paper to create a artsy-looking background. Not sure if the goal was succeeded. But it was really fun! I know I would definitely try this out again.

For this card, I used Ranger Adirondack Paint ( Green, Sunset Orange, Sunshine Yellow) to create the striking background and then I applied a few layers of white tissue to tone down the bright colors. As the tissue paper dried, the painted colors and textures really came through. Thus, you have a very unique-looking background. All you need to do now is STAMP.

Supplies: stamp (Pom Pom flower, Type, Envelope Pattern by Hero Arts), Paint by Ranger, tissue paper, Arlene's glue, Basic Grey paper (leaves), button, pearl

 Later, I decided to use the same stamp with a totally different background. The work is all in the background. Once you have that covered, stamping is the easy part!
 
I used Marvy Le Plume markers to create a few stripes and then blended the colors as best as I can with the lighter marker.  I embossed the Pom Pom Flower in (white, detailed) Stampendous Powder. Then I sponged the flower with TH Distress Inks and colored the image with Prisma color pencils. The button and pearl seem to be perfect for the flower center. The sentiment is from SRM Stickers.

I appreciate that you take the time to visit me here!!

Inks, Flowers....and Coffee Filter!

 Runway Inspired Challenge has offered Alexander McQueen's latest fashion photo (details see ric #8 ). Oooh-la-la! Can you resist the dress? I can't. So what does a card-maker do? You guesses it! 

Does this card make you happy? A neat thing about this card:
 
 The flowers were made with one sheet of coffee filter.  Yup, that paper is amazing! It absorbs liquid so well and will soak up whatever colors you put on. In this case, I used Distress Inks!

First you smear the ink pads onto the paper and then spritz generous amount of water and you will see the magic happens. But be patient! It does take a bit of time to dry ( I think heat embossing gun will work also). I went about and do some exercise...and when I came back, ta-da! The paper was ready for me to stamp.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamp, coffee filters, Basic Grey (Little Black Dress), May Arts Ribbons, gems, pearls,  Distress Inks (Victorian Velvet, Fire Brick, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed).

I am also entering this card for Moxie Fab World's Household Challenge. What can be more practical and fun to play with coffee filters!? Next time you run out of the fancy designer paper, have no fear! Make some of your own because it is sitting right in a pantry cupboard near you!

A Blog Named Hero (celebration week)

 ....Have you heard? There is a brand. new. challenge. blog. in town!!

It's organized by two talented stampers Linda Trace and Mary Dawn who LOVE everything Hero Arts!! I know there are many Hero Arts fans out there....Count me as one of them,too!

The theme of the blog challenge is Playing Favorites!

Please head over to A Blog Named Hero  to see what the buzz is all about! Here is a sneak peek of my project  (yes, lucky me!!) ! Thank you in advance for leaving me some love there!

 It's a week long party there, so you have lots of time to join the party!

faith. hope. love

I feel like sharing something uplifting with you today. First, it's a 4-minute long video of my son David (feel free to stop/skip). He performed cello (Bach Prelude Suite 3) this past Saturday's recital. SO proud of him!

 After the recital during our car ride home, both Stephanie and David told me how much they enjoy taking piano and cello lessons throughout their childhood to this day. Both instruments have enriched their lives and that they can not imagine life without playing music. Stephanie now accompanies with her cello at the church service. David plays as the principal cellist in senior orchestra in his high school. They vowed to do the same for their kids (some day!!)-- taking piano and cello lessons! It's just so wonderful and rewarding that you hear these things from the kids...I would do all this all over again!
 I want to part you with an uplifting card . It was an un-chosen card from previous pub submission.
 
The background was created with a few swipes of chalk inks. The Silhouette Flower is from Hero Arts. The sentiment is from SRM stickers. Isn't the sticker PERFECT for this image?

                    Happy Sunday!

CASE Study #83

This is the 4th (and last) week of CASE Study from the March muse Laura Bassen. Since I took part of all three previous challenges, it will only be RIGHT to play the last one, right?

I love how Laura used the clean lines and subtle colors and pattern. The use of diecut (again) is superb! The elements of three are fabulously applied (three buttons, three images, three colors).   Here is my rendition from the inspiration.

As you can see, I took the sketch from the card on the right. I love the dimensions that Laura's card gives.

  I happen to have this Market Street Stamp (Have Faith) and just inked it up for the first time. The Envelope Pattern Background is a Hero Arts stamp. Pattern paper is Basic Grey's Piccadilly. Thanks so much for visiting! 

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge # 45

It's Friday! I am so ready for this week's challenge!  The theme is to create a CAS project with black and pastel color (s).  Please note that there is a Design Team Call (!!!) in the blog! You may want to check it out! (highly recommended)

Sponsor: Sweet Stamp Shop

I used a small circle punch to create the "gum balls" and added Glossy Accent for the shine. The sentiment and curvy lines are from SRM Stickers. Hope you check out our DT's work and get inspired! Please link up your CAS project to CAS-ual Fridays by Wednesday, March 28, Midnight Eastern Time. I can't wait to see what you create!

Happy Spring!!!!!

This is my 2nd post today! I was happy to be asked to share a card today in Scrapbook & Cards Today. How perfect it is to share that on a day like today? 

1. Make card from card stock 

2. Stamp windmill on a thin piece of paper, then cut out the image and use it for masking

3. Brush Markers onto stamp, stamp the main image and mask with the following one 

4. Cut green strips of paper and tear the upper part, then trim it with Fringe Scissor

5. Color image with color pencils. Add sentiment sticker and gems  

Supply / Material List:: Card stock: Kraft (Reflections), Bazzill paper Pattern Paper: Basic white (Basic Grey) Clear stamps: pin wheel image from Cruising through Life (Lawn Fawn Stamp) Pigment Ink: Pastel Colorbox Paintbox Tools: Marvey Brush Markers, Prisma color pencils, Fringe Scissors by Martha Stewart Accents: SRM Press (Spring, Sticker Sentiment), gems (Hero Arts)

Please check out the Scrapbook & Cards Today. There are more Spring inspiration over there! 

Vintage Flower

Today's card was prompted by CREATE Blog. The challenge is calling for "Vintage  Flowers". I had some rough idea what  they are like. Nevertheless, I Googled and did a Pinterest search to get inspired...here is the result.

I took the inspiration from the Basic Grey Paper and just went from there...the yellow flower is from this cling stamp called Large Flower Background. The yellow ribbons are from May Arts. Delicious, huh? This card reminds me of the song called "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" 
 
Believe it or not, it was the first English song I learned. I was in Grade 7 and that song was so catchy... Somehow I learned how to sing the words without actually know what it means. Oh... .those young and innocent days!
edited : this card was featured in CREATE (Vintage Floral).  Check out the inspiration! 

 I have another post later today from Scrapbook and Cards Today ! Super excited! AND.... did you see this Design Team Call !? Check it out!

Playing with Buttons

There is STILL time (8 more days!) to enter Virginia's View challenge #3 (details here and over Lily Pad ). I made another card based on the inspiration photo. Buttons in rainbow order are just.too. fun.

The best part of making this card is placing the buttons, gem and pearls!
Supplies: Hero Arts Layering paper (punch),  Bold Pop Designs,  sentiment from Type , Newspaper Background

I looked through my pile of buttons and dig for the RIGHT ones. It was absolutely relaxing! I am entering this to the March Gallery Challenge over Paper Crafts (see here) . Rainbow-colored themed cards just makes me happy! Hope this card does that to you!

Scrapbooking with Confetti

I made a Card with Confetti . But what about a scrapbook page? I was prompted by the Basic Grey Challenge (see here )--Incorporate Confetti into The Design. Well, here I go again. This time I attempt to make a page with  Sakura confetti. These tiny tiny sakuras were sent to me from my friend Jane in Taiwan. I had them like... forever and today is the day to share a project with the little darling confetti. 

The flowers are so small that I had to use a pair of tweezers to pick up each individual one and placed them as if they are flying away from the pocket!

 

This layout all started out with the stamped flowers on Basic Grey paper, then before you know it,  one thing led to another, a page was "born"! 

 I rarely make a page for my photo. BUT this picture seems so perfect with a pocket-ful of flowers! It feels very satisfying when a layout comes together easily. Aaah...the joy of creating! Thank you for allowing me to indulge myself today :)  

PS: my talented friend Kathy W. is having a giveaway in her blog (see Wading in Creativity ). I hope you check her blog out!  

CASE Study #82

It's official, this month I am addicted to CASE Study! Thanks to the uber talented Laura Bassen, I just  couldn't stop creating cards for CASE Study #82 ! If you see her two amazing CAS cards, can you blame me for being inspired? I think not!

I took the inspiration from both of her cards and came up with a card of my own interpretation. I used this set from Hero Arts called Right at Home.

 I realized the windows and doors from the stamp were somewhat distracting to the CAS design. I then decided to stamp with the black marker with just the edges of the house. Simple! I saved the "boo-boos" to share with you. That way you can really see my designing process....

And it's good for a laugh! Crazy, huh? I know...it's a labor of LOVE!

PS: Thanks SO much for commenting on my last post Un-Chosen. I actually thought no one is going to comment on that post as it is so UN-noticeable (LOL)!  Who knew that you actually like the un-chosen bird card and gave me your wonderful feedback? 36 comments in 24 hours!! Wow! Well, like I said, I have many more un-chosen cards to share! So please stay tuned... 
because I feel the LOVE! 

New Feature---"Un-chosen"

I  was looking through a few cards that I submitted for the publication call ( Paper Crafts Stamp It and July/ Aug 2012 ). Sadly, this particular card has been rejected twice (ouch!!), but I think I still like it a lot.

 I love the painted orange background of this card. Even though it's not perfectly even, but I love the textured look that paint gives.

The imperfection of the orange background really speaks to me. The sentiment seems to fit the stamped Newsprint Bird. The added twines are subtle, solemn and rustic. I can go on and on (LOL). It really is a simple card :)

Lastly here is the Scramble card I made in an hour (details here ). I think this could be the card that took the longest in a scramble challenge. I chose three elements for this card--diecut, green and Pattern paper.

I added the birdie and buttons at the end. Note sure why, but it just felt---right. I think it's just ME!

I have a pile of un-chosen cards to share. I purposely call them un-chosen, instead of "reject". Because....there is really .nothing. wrong. with the cards ,other than the fact that they were not selected for publication. Thanks to a suggestion by my talented scrapbooking blog friend Jing -Jing who commented that the word "reject" sounds too harsh. Jing-Jing thinks these cards should be called "un-chosen"! Makes sense, huh?

Hope you will enjoy the occasional new "feature" in my blog :)  

here is.... wishing you well!

Virginia's View Challenge #3

Are you ready for the latest Virginia's View Challenge over Lily Pad? How do you like this inspiration photo? Our sponsor is Stamp of Life. Please check out the details here

My interpretation

 I decided to play with the clouds for the rainbow theme, so I stamped the solid kite colors to make a pattern and then cut out the cloud images. I also decided to use clear buttons to keep the colors in balance.  Please check out the DT's cards over Lily Pad and I am sure that will get your creative juices flowing. Can't wait to see what you create! I will be stopping by!

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge # 44

Challenge: It's as Easy as 1-2-3

Please create a CAS project with 3 elements-1. a background or pattern, 2. an image, and 3. a sentiment. AND still keep it CAS :)
 Our sponsor: Clear and Simple Stamps 
 
 
The set I used is from Cart Pals. It's a year-round set with punny sayings and images. I used a background, a saying and make an image. I also used the background stamp to create a border. I think this card is good for any gender at any age!

Hope you check out the DT take on this new stamp set from Clear and Simple. Please link up your CAS project to CAS-ual Fridays by Wednesday, March 21, Midnight Eastern Time. Can't wait to see your take on 1-2-3!

Scrapbooking with Punches

One thing I vowed to do this year is to scrapbook more. I figure that the more I do, the easier it gets (same thing applies to card-making!!). When I saw the challenge over Basic Grey blog (details here ), I know I need to make one. However, after I made the page, I realized that I did use the punches (circles and butterflies), but I failed to make a background! Oh well....the main thing is that this gives me a push to make a page!

Can oyu tell that Woody is made of Lego!? This photo was taken in Feb. 2011 at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida.

 When I was thinking of the title for the page, I thought that one thing that I love about my two kids is that they are always side by side for each other.  Despite their 5-year age difference, they are as close as they can be as brother and sister. Both are so different (obviously for a boy and a girl) in their aptitude, personality and style, yet they appreciate each other just the same!

 Since I am a stamper at heart, I had to stamp a few images!

Supplies:  Stamp (Circles, Special Time) Hero Arts.  Basic Grey:  Indie Bloom and Out of Print Collection. SRM Stickers, wooden buttons, Stickles, Marvy circle punches, Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly punch

 Just when you think the kids are all grown up and will not like anything too kiddie. They still love anything and everything Disney and we had to buy these Mickey pasta at the Orlando airport.

I guess some things just don't change!? Since it's March Break here, I took a photo of them while they are at home. They both got new glasses and now...they really look alike!

Thanks for the visit!