I Care Blog Hop

Hi everyone. I am honored to be participating in the first I Care Blog Hope to benefit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on World Suicide Prevention Day 2018!!

Joanne Soukup of Perky Penny Paper Arts©, in collaboration with Simon Says Stamp©, organized this blog hop to raise money and awareness for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and World Suicide Prevention Day. When she contacted me, I knew right away that I wanted to join in!

Here are some sobering statistics:

• Every year suicide is responsible for over 800,000 deaths, which equates to one death every 40 seconds. 
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the world, and 3rd in the United States for those aged 15-24 years old. 
• Every life lost represents someone's partner, child, parent, friend, or colleague. For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected. This amounts to 108 million people per year who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behavior.

I have known someone who has attempted to do suicide and luckily the person changed his mind and the paramedic was able to save his life. But, I also notice people's reaction. Some react as if it's an embarrassment, like no one should talk about it. I totally disagree with this as I feel the person will need people who'd listen to him even more after his attempt. Mental health is a serious thing and it shouldn't be an embarrassment. It's nothing to be be ashamed of to be needing help.

On positive note, this hop is to bring awareness. For information on the blog hop, the I Care Stamp set, and the wonderful ways you can help read her post here.

For my card, I decided to go with rainbow colors as I want to remind anyone who receive this card that each person is unique & amazing and their uniqueness is what make this world wonderful. Wouldn't the world be so boring if everyone is the same, if there's only 1 color?

In this era of social media, we tend to present this happy face and hid our sadness, our burden, our problems.There are lots of ugliness out there, but there are also many good things and beauties. I hope we can all strive to make this world a bit better, a bit kinder. Let's take the time to be kind to each other. We just never know how our simple act of kindness can make someone's day brighter and in some case save life. 

BLOG HOP:

Joanne has all of the links on her blog, so please visit her blog to see everyone’s amazing creations, read their personal stories, and donate by ordering the I Care Stamps set from Simon Says Stamp©. 

There' quite a few blogs for you to visit, so that's all from me. Keeping it short. Thank you for stopping by here and remember YOU ARE AMAZING JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. :)

BLOG HOP LIST

Joanne Soukup - You Are Here 
Erica Andersson - CaCaCraft By Erica

Katherine Cosimano - A Life Inspired

Ilina Crouse - Creativity Within

Dana Joy - Got Joy Creations

Jennifer McGuire Ink

Tracie Pond - Tracie Pond Designs

Marci Snee - My Crafty Contemplated Life

Vera Yates - Ling's Design Studio

SugarPea Designs STAMPtember Exclusive

Hi y'all!! SugarPea Designs are so pleased to be sharing in the excitement of STAMPtember with our friends at Simon Says Stamp! Today we’re thrilled to share with you a stamp set created exclusively for this event and only available while supplies last, called Cuddly Cati! There is also a coordinating die set and you can purchase them as a bundle or separately!

Without further delay here's a look at my card using this super cute set.

For my card, I started by stamping the smiley cactus randomly on my card base. Then, I die cut the flag using Stitched Flag dies. I consider this as one of my classic, must have dies that can be used for so many occassions. If you have followed me for a while, you'd notice that I have used this dies quite a bit.

Next, die cut the banners from Party Banner Duo and colored them with Copic. Once I am happy with the way the banner looks, I worked on the cactus arrangement. Aren't they so happy looking? Adhere the flag to the card base. Finished the card by stamping the sentiment and sprinkle some pretty sequins.

You will love this set. Here's  a look at the set.

Cuteness overload, right? Now, be sure to check out the SugarPea Designs blog to see what the rest of the design team has come up with! And, remember, this is an exclusive set that's available at limited amount. So, better get it if you want it. Can't blame me for enabling for something this cute!! ;) Happy STAMPtember!!

Simon Say Stamp STAMPtember Celebration

** For 2018 Caring Hearts Card Drive Update, please scroll down to previous post.**

Hi peeps. Today, I am joining many other cardmakers to celebrate STAMPtember.

STAMPtember® (stmp-tmbr) is defined by Simon Says Stamp… an event intended to inspire, educate, and celebrate our community of stampers. This is annual event that's highly anticipated by paper crafters everywhere. You can find the party going on strong on Simon Says Stamp Blog.

There'll be a lot of things going on. So, make sure you check their blogs and check out the party blog lists as well. There's hidden surprise throughout the blogs. 

Now, I got to play with a super sweet Donut dies that's simply too sweet to resist. I had so much fun playing with it, that I ended up with 2 cards for today.

For this first card, I mixed supplies from several companies. I made the background using MFT Brick stencil. Next, I die cut and piece together the donuts and adhere to the card with foam tapes. Then, I have this Candy Sprinkle mix from Honey Bee Stamps that's just the perfect embellishments for the donuts. I adhere the sprinkles one by one randomly on the donuts. 

And, of course, in my eyes those sprinkle add so much happy feeling to the donuts that I have to add eyes that are sparkling using black enamel accents. Sentiment is from Concord & 9th Enjoy It set.

Now, I went with bold colors with my 1st card. So, for my 2nd card, I went all pastel with watercolor.

For the background I used another MFT stencil. I think this stencil been discontinued, but I am a big fan of their stencils. Any way, I simply laid the stencil on top of the watercolor cardstock and loosely add the watercolor. Let dry.

Die cut the donuts, watercolor and adhere to the panel with foam tape. Since, I want to make a celebration theme, I think it's only appropriate for the donut to wear party hat (from Honey Bee Pinky the Pig set). Stamp sentiment and add some sequins.

There you go. 2 happy donuts cards. Perfect to celebrate this long weekend, right?

Well peeps, I am glad you get to join us on this STAMPtember celebration & I hope you enjoy today's visit to my blog. Thank you for stopping by & may your weekend be a wonderful one.

A Little Update on Caring Hearts Card Drive

Hi peeps. I've been getting a bunch of email lately asking about Caring Hearts Card Drive. So, I thought I post here to answer everyone as well as mentioning some changes to the card drive.

Yes, I will hold the card drive again this year. This year, I am doing the card drive in honor & in memory of Sean Wilkerson. He's Christy Wilkerson's brother who passed away just this past week. If you remember, last year, Christy helped with collecting the cards for the card drive.

Sean's family requested that people do act of kindness to others in his memory, because Sean himself was a guy who did many kind things to others and I couldn't think of a better way to honor that request than by continuing this card drive in his memory.

The card drive will start in October. Not right now. This is just an update.

Now, I know many of you work in advance and I would like to mention that this year we requested that people limit the card they send to maximum 100 cards per person.

Before anyone get upset, please let me explain my reason. A couple months ago my one and only niece from my side of the family was diagnosed with Leukemia. She is only 5 years old & currently going through intensive chemo. I am planning to visit her in Singapore where she's being treated.

As you can imagine, this is devastating news for our family & we are rallying behind her to get her beat this.

Also, I have business trip that required me to go out of the country during the card drive. So, we decided to do this change to help keep things manageable and to keep my sanity. My niece well being and being with my family is my priority and yes, I have to maintain my full time job as well.

There are a lot of works behind the scene for the card drive and all my helpers are doing this voluntarily outside our full time job, etc. The only way we can continue is by making changes when necessary.

I hope you all understand. This would be our 9 years doing the card rive and I can't thank you enough for your continuous support. We have grown so much from our 1st year. From only 750 cards to over 64,000 cards.

Your contribution touch people lives whether we know them or not. Thank you for your understanding and stay tune for the card drive announcement on Oct. 1, 2018.

 "Together we can change the world, just one random act of kindness at a time. " Ron Hall

Loose Watercolor Floral Cards

So, about 2-3 weeks ago I took a loose watercolor class at Skillshare and let me just say that I am hooked! I have shared these cards on my Instagram, but haven't share it here on my blog. 

This blue floral card was my 2nd watercolor drawing and the 1st that I made into a card. When I did this, I didn't start with any sketch. I just went with it. I was applying hubby's word of wisdom here, go big or go home. Hah!!

I did messed up a bit and that's the part that I ended up covering with the butterflies. Yep, butterflies to the rescue.

Next, is this loose bouquet. This time I used the chickadees from one of The Ton stamp set to help enhance the card and sentiment from Papertrey Ink. It's one of my favorite card!

When I started each panel, I literally started with no plan. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometime not. Hah... It becomes a problem when trying to figure out what sentiment fit with the image. I don't want to have too many empty space or have the sentiment  make it too crowded. For this reason, Papertrey Ink Choose Joy set becomes one of my favorite set to pair with my watercolor drawing.

I am still learning. By the way, if you're interested to sign up for Skillshare class, if you sign up through my link you can get the first 2 months free and I get 1 month free. They have all kind of classes, beyond art and crafts. And, if it's not for you, you can cancel. No commitment, no penalty. Just thought I share it here. You get 2 months free and I got extra 1 month free. Win, win right?

Well, that's all for now. Hope you enjoy these cards. Have a lovely weekend, peeps. <3

SugarPea Designs Sweet Peek Day 5

Yay!! Today is the day, peeps. All the new sets from SugarPea Designs will be available later today in the store!! What's on your must have list?

Hold on, we still have more to share. Introducing Eucalyptus Wreath, Grateful Greetings & Grateful dies. The Eucalyptus Wreath is a beautiful & elegant set that can be used for all kind of occasions.

My card is pretty simple. I die cut my panel using SugarCut Postage Stamp from previous release, then stamped the wreath and colored it with Copic. And, of course, I just have to add some shimmer to it. Anything is better with a little shimmer, no? 

And, I love that the Grateful Greetings set allows you to customize what you're grateful for. Definitely a must have set.

Would you like to win the Eucalyptus Wreath stamp set? Simply leave a comment on SugarPea blog and earn extra entry by leaving comments of the DT blog along the way as well. It’s that easy!! You have all week to comment and winners will be announced on Sunday, August 26th.

The SugarPea team has created some amazing and creative inspiration for you using the products featured here today. Please can visit each of our designers’ blogs below for details on their projects. I hope you enjoy our new release celebration & happy shopping! Cheers...

Amy Kolling

Amy Rohl

Becky Pearce

Laura Volpes

Lea Lawson

Kelly Lunceford

Kerin Sylvester

Raluca Vezeteu

Simonne Clay

Tatiana Trafimovich

you are here --> Vera Yates <-- you are here

Our Special Guests:

Ruth Andrews

Martha Tucker

SugarPea Designs Sweet Peek Day 4

Hi peeps! Phew... we're getting there. Day 4 of SugarPea Designs fall release is here. One more day to go!!

Today, we're introducing a fun Birthday Balloons set along with a matching Balloon dies.

Somehow, when I look at the balloons, the first thing that came to my mind was it'd be fun to put it together with the pup-stronout. Hah... I know it's not a word, I just made it up. Why not, right?

For the background I dropped some alcohol inks on a felt pad and wipe it back & forth on Yupo paper. Then I simply stamped, colored & die cut the puppy and Saturnus. For the balloons I stamped & heat embossed it on Yupo paper and then added the alcohol ink.

Would you like to win the Birthday Balloons stamp set? Leave a comment on SugarPea blog and earn extra entry by leaving comments of the DT blog along the way as well. It’s that easy!! You have all week to comment and winners will be announced on Sunday, August 26th.

Our team has some amazing and creative inspiration for you using the products featured here today. You can visit each of our designers’ blogs below for details on their projects. Thank you so much for stopping by here & hope you enjoy what you've seen so far. Cheers...

Amy Kolling

Amy Rohl

Becky Pearce

Laura Volpes

Lea Lawson

Kelly Lunceford

Kerin Sylvester

Raluca Vezeteu

Simonne Clay

Tatiana Trafimovich

you are here --> Vera Yates <-- you are here

Our Special Guests:

Ruth Andrews

Martha Tucker

SugarPea Designs Sweet Peek Day 3

Hi peeps, and welcome to Day 3 of SugarPea Designs Fall Product Release! We still have quite a few things up in our sleeves to share.

Now, I am a huge fan of story that involves dragons. From the Eragon series to Games of Thrones. So, needless to say, when I saw the Darling Dragons set I squealed with delight. Oh, and to have uber cute bat with glasses??? Bonus! We also have another cute set, called Bewitched (I will showcase his set next week on SPD blog).

For my card, I started by stamping the dragon on the stool directly on the panel. Colored with Copic. The other dragon I stamped, colored, die cut and adhere to the panel with foam adhesive. I couldn't resist the cute bats, so of course, I just had to add them to the card. Since I am not a fan of scary Halloween stuff, I go full blast with cute & decided to make it even more cheerful by sprinkling some sequins mix.

What a cute pair of baby dragons, right? I simply adore this set. 

Now, how would you like to win the Bewitched stamp set? Leave a comment on SugarPea blog and earn extra entry by leaving comments of the DT blog along the way as well. It’s that easy!! You have all week to comment and winners will be announced on Sunday, August 26th.

Our team has some amazing and creative inspiration for you using the products featured here today. You can visit each of our designers’ blogs below for details on their projects. Thank you so much for stopping by here & hope you love what you've seen so far. Cheers...

Amy Kolling

Amy Rohl

Becky Pearce

Laura Volpes

Lea Lawson

Kelly Lunceford

Kerin Sylvester

Raluca Vezeteu

Simonne Clay

Tatiana Trafimovich

you are here --> Vera Yates <-- you are here

Our Special Guests:

Ruth Andrews

Martha Tucker

SugarPea Designs Sweet Peek Day 2

Hi peeps! How's it going? Welcome to day 2 of SugarPea Designs fall release week. 

Today, we are please to introduce Seeing Stars set. This is a set that could easily be used for many occassions, from birthday to congratulations to everyday card. Like for my card below, I made it with hubby in mind. It's a just because card. You don't always need a reason to give cards out, right?

I started by dropping some watercolors on my background panel, let it dry and then used the Star Dust dies on it. Adhere the panel to the card base. Next, I stamped & heat embossed the polka dot star and colored it with mix of distress oxide inks. Die cut and adhere to the card base with foam adhesive. Finished by adding sentiment & some pretty sequins.

Working on this card make me realize that star is actually one of those image that I rarely use on my card. For the life of me, I can't remember if I actually have ever made a card with a star as the main focus. Hah!

Here's a look at the set along with the Stacked Stars dies.

And, did you know that SugarPea has incentive program as well? Place an order* of $60 or more (excluding discounts and shipping) and you will receive To The Moon & Back stamp set, FREE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!

*This Sweet Incentive promotion begins Friday, August 24th at 6 PM EST. This promotion will not be applied to any orders placed prior to and only while supplies last. It is not necessary to add the Sweet Incentive promotional item to your cart or enter a coupon code, it will be automatically included on all qualifying orders!

Would you like to win the Seeing Stars stamp set? Leave a comment on SugarPea Blog. It’s that easy! You have all week to comment! Winners will be announced on Sunday, August 26th

The SugarPea team has some amazing and creative inspiration for you using the new sets. You can visit each of our designers’ blogs below for details on their projects. And while you’re there be sure to leave a sweet comment for them, giving you an extra entry to win today’s giveaway prize.

Amy Kolling

Amy Rohl

Becky Pearce

Laura Volpes

Lea Lawson

Kelly Lunceford

Kerin Sylvester

Raluca Vezeteu

Simonne Clay

Tatiana Trafimovich

you are here -- Vera Yates -- you are here

Our Special Guests:

Ruth Andrews

Martha Tucker

Thank you so much for joining us for Day 2 of sneak peeks! REMEMBER!! The entire Summer Product Release will be available for purchase on Friday, August 24th, 6PM EST.

SugarPea Designs Sweet Peek Day 1

Hi peeps & welcome to day 1 of SugarPea Designs fall release celebration. We have some out of this world cute sets for this release. Let's get on with it, shall we?

Today, we are introducing To Infinity & Beyond stamp & dies set and Star Dust dies. When I saw this stamp set, I think of my nephews. So, Ii made my card with them in mind. Gotta love the pup!!

For my card, I used the distress oxide ink pads to create the background. I simply swipe several ink pads on my glass mat, spray it with water and then rub the watercolor cardstock panel on it. This is such a fun & quick way to create fun background.

Next, I stamped, colored & die-cut the images & adhered them to the card with foam adhesive. I also covered the helmet with glossy accent for finishing touches.

Below you can  take a look at the stamp set. How cute are those planets??

Would you like to win the To Infinity & Beyond stamp set? Leave a comment on SugarPea blog. It’s that easy! You have all week to comment! Winners will be announced on Sunday, August 26, 2018 on SugarPea blog.

The sweet peas have created fantastic projects for this release. Please visit each of our designers’ blogs below for details on their projects. And while you’re there be sure to leave a sweet comment for us, giving you an extra entry to win today’s giveaway prize. Thank you for stopping by here & may your week starts off wonderfully. Cheers.

Amy Kolling

Amy Rohl 

Becky Pearce 

Laura Volpes 

Lea Lawson 

Kelly Lunceford 

Kerin Sylvester 

Raluca Vezeteu 

Simonne Clay 

Tatiana Trafimovich 

Vera Yates -- you are here

Special Guests: 

Martha Tucker 

Ruth Andrews