Greetings from Seattle

Hi peeps. Hopefully all my scheduled post will go up without a hitch. Today, I am in Seattle enjoying the cooler weather (compare to Texas hot! hot! weather). Not sure yet, what's on the agenda today. We plan to do sightseeing as much as we can. I have my comfy shoes ready for doing a lot of walking!

Today, is the official day for MyGrafico to announce their new DT. For today I have this patriotic color card. Plan on sending this card to Operations Write Home. Here's my card:

I used the digi stamp from Chi-Chi Memories 4th of July set.  You get 6 stamps in this 1 set! I am so excited of this new venture. MyGrafico working with many digi stamp artist, so there will plenty of images I get to play with. Yay!!

Don't forget this week is the last week to vote for Gallery Idol. From this week vote they will announce who's the winner for Gallery Idol. If you haven't vote please go to HERE to vote. Hopefully you'll vote for my card. :) Thank you all for the support. I wouldn't be in the Top 5 without your vote. Pretty please with all the yummy goodness on top, please vote and help make my dream come true.

Okay peeps, I am egoing to explore Seattle and looking forward to check out the famous Pike Market! Hugs, Vera.

B'day Bash Blog Candy Winner

Hi peeps. Sorry, I am late on posting  the winners of my b'day bash blog candy. I did pick the winners on the 28th though. :) For those who missed the freebie digi stamp, you can get it here. And here is the card that I posted that day showing how I used my doodle bird. Very clean look, which I love. :)

I wrote down all the names of you gals that joined the fun and have my hubby picked out the name from the bowl. And .... drum roll please.... the winner for the 1st prize package is...... TRINH!!! And the winner for the 2nd prize is... KAREN G (froggietalks)!!

Congrats ladies! Please send me your address and I will mail out your prizes next week after I come back from vacation. I am leaving today for a fun trip to Seattle/Vancouver! Can't wait! Cooler weather here we come!! I have all my post for my DT works scheduled and ready to go.

And don't forget to vote for Gallery Idol!! This is the finale! This week vote will decide who's the winner. My card is the pop-up accordion fold one with the picnic scene with all the animals. Thanks so much for all the support and you all have a blessed day! Hugs, Vera.

Gallery Idol Final!

Happy birthday to me! B'day gal in da house! :) One of my favorite day. Heh... yes, today I am turning 35! Don't feel like it, though. LOL, I am such a kid at heart, I think I'll stay young because of that. Let me warn you today's post gonna be long cause of all  the yummy details of my card.

On  top of celebrating my birthday, today is the start of the final round of Gallery Idol. It's been such an amazing experience. My creativity has been pushed all the way and I get to create beyond my wildest imagination. And thank you to all of you who always encourage & supported me. You know what my birthday wish would be, don't ya?? Please, please go check all  the final entries HERE, and vote for your favorite. Hopefully you'll vote for  my pop-up accordion fold card. :) This card has every thing that I love!

Here's the inspiration pic:

And here's my card. This pic  below shows when the card completely folded. The inspiration picture, makes me think of picnic time and I took the color combo of red, white, green, and orangey yellow. And since it's my birthday I thought birthday picnic bash is very approriate and the pic inspired my strawberry shortcake that the little mouse is carrying. :) I also want to represent my Gallery Idol journey from Top 10 to Top 5.

Stamps: Hedgehog & mouse Penny Black, all the other critters & tree Lawn Fawn,

tree stump Hero Arts, sun Tiffany Doodles digi stamp,

sentiment Papertrey Ink & Verve Stamps (hidden message).

From round 1 Creativity Heals theme, I took the tree and the swing. Remember my 1st card? Beside when  you send someone a birthday wish, it's because you're thinking of them, right? Then from round 2 of item found in a garage, I used sand paper for the rocks around the pond. From round 3 of creative use of ribbon, the pond. Isn't the pond looks so pretty like real water? Here's how the card looks half open. I love it that with every stages, you can get different look of the card. And all the critters start to pop up! You discover more treasure as you open more. There's even hidden message!

Duck, cattail, fence, cloud, & grass were cut using Silhouette.

Pond & rocks freehand cut. Layered ribbon

for the water.

Seriously, this card has so many goodness that I love. I love animals, I have a hedgehog pet named Coco, I used to have 2 pet squirrels, that's why there's 2 squirels in this card. I used to have a yellow lab, Hank who is now in doggy's heaven and yes he loved tennis ball, and you guessed it, I had rabbit pet, Thumper who gave a bunch of baby bunnies back in the day. I love snail image (the real thing?? not so much).  Oh, and the cake... The inspiration pic is overloaded with strawberry, make me thing of strawberry shortcake! 

On top of all those yummy goodness, I get to used all my favorite stamps from  all my favorite stamp company. I used Her Arts, Lawn Fawn, Papertrey Ink, Penny Black, and Verve Stamps in this 1 card. Here's the view when  the card all open.

There's a hidden Irish blessings

that you can see when the card is open.

The cool thing is I think this card still has my clean style even with all the details. And one of the main thing, I want people to be wow, yet know they can do this, too. It's all about stamping a bunch of stuff & cutting. The only tricky details is doing the pop-up, but still very do-able.

Here's the close-up of the apple tree. All the "apples or berries" are made of thread tied in french knot tie.

I love animals (and stuff animals). And since I have great imagination, I like to think how cool would that be to be Dr. Doolitle. This card is my dream world where all living being get along so well, enjoying beautiful sunny day, and I can speak to the animals. I am not in the pic, as I am  taking the picture. LOL. Hey it's my imagination, I can dream it anyway I want, right?? :) 

This close up view of the duck is definitely one of my favorite. The ribbon water looks so real, I can't help but feel happy when I see this cute Mama Duck with her duckling. And the rocks? I *heart* this section. The cattail. Thank you, Silhouette! One of the best b'day present (got it last year).

And here's Coco my hedgehog is helping me celebrating my birthday. Remember there's kiwi on the inspiration pic? That's what Coco is eating. See those little dots on the thingy she's holding? I added those, so it looks like she's eating kiwi instead of cookies. :)

I put so much love in this card. It represents my Gallery Idol journey, it represents all the things I love. No matter what the end result, I know I give it all I have and I am proud of it. I hope you love it as much as I do. If yes, please VOTE for my card. :)

Oh yes, before we end this long post, why don't we finish with the rest of 15 random facts about me as I celebrated 35 years of wonderful life.

21. Each birthday I wish my family is here. Miss them so very much.

22. Scotland is one of my favorite place to visit. Hello, Sean Connery... :) We passed the school he went to on our tour.

23. I am very laid back.

24. I am a softie. I got teary eye even watching Up!

25. I scatter things around, but am also very organized. Does it make any sense? LOL.

26. The Lion King is my favorite animation. 

27. I know all the songs from Mama Mia! My feel good movie.

28. Every now & then I crave cotton candy.

29. I love to travel & wish I can travel more often.

30. My mom is my idol of all time.

31. I still miss my pug, Milo that I lost 6 years ago. Always will.

32. I don't have a green thumb.

33. I am not a good cook. In our household, my hubby is the chef.

34. I loved really spicy food. 

35. My life is wonderful. I am grateful for everything, the good & the bad, cause it makes me a better person.

Okay peeps. That's it. :) Have a blessed day and may your week be full of sunshine & yummy goodness. Hugs, Vera.

Random Facts

Hi peeps! Happy Sunday! Sorry for posting this late. But, it's been a crazy weekend! First thing first.

MYGRAFICO SUMMER RETIREMENT SALE

RETIRING SETS ONLY 1.00 USD

starts 26th, ends 30th midnight

Retirement SALE product downloads cannot be reactivated , as products will be gone ( retired)

Customers must download their products right away as items won't be available after July 2nd.

This promo only valid at MG RETIREMENT CATEGORY and cannot be combined with other promos.

I am getting ready to go on vacation next week, so this weekend I have to prepare all the DT assignment and finished the card for Gallery Idol Final. Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed. I was so exhausted that on Saturday when my gals Joy and Leslie took me out to lunch for my birthday, they  had to convince me to get dessert. That's when you know something is wrong with me. I never have to be convinced to have dessert.  :)

Actually all 3 of us were tired. It was kind of funny actually. 3 tired gals trying to celebrate. LOL. Love you Joy, Les for coming out for me even when you're so darn tired. All we could think of was we need a nap. To be safe we all had some coffee before we left. Love them!  

Since today is my last day of being 34, I thought I'll do some random fact about me. 20 short random facts and tomorrow the rets. Tomorrow gonna be a loooonng post as you wouldn't want to miss all the details of my final card for Gallery Idol.

Okay, 20 random facts about me:

1. My mom said I was born with lots of hairs.  To this day I stil have really thick hair. Here's my pic as a toddler. :)

2. I was born & raised in Indonesia.

3. My girl, Leslie likes to call me rainbow & sunshine

4. I love cheesecake & tiramisu

5. I love pugs

6. I have a hedgehog pet named Coco

7. I am a middle kid

8. I skipped school only once in my school life. And get caught. :)

9. Growing up I was totally rice girl. I had to eat rice everyday. 

10. I didn't like Western food at all when I was a kid.

11. Now, I love steak & cheese. Go figure.

12. In high school I wanted to be a journalist or fashion designer.

13. I think it's funny that all my close girls think I am very funny.

14. I am a procrastinator.

15. I am an organized clutter scrapbooker/card maker. I know where all my stuff despite the piles.

16. I am a kid at heart. I am easily amused.

17. I was the last one in my group that still used flip phone (finally switched when my mom gave me her i-phone. Yep... my family in Indonesia is more techno savvy than me).

18. I still get homesick.

19. I've been in the States for 15 years.

20. I like pretty colors.

Okay, that's it for today's list. Now, I need to pack for our trip. Excited to see what all the gals will come up with for Gallery Idol final. Sorry, no card today. I just feel like rambling. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday eve. Hugs, Vera.

PTI June Blog Hop

White, Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, & Simply Chartreusse

Yay... time for Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! Just a quick post for me as I know you have lots of blogs to hop to. I decided to use the Asian Fusion set as I haven't touch this for awhile and I don't want it to feel ignored. Heh... :)

Simple card, except for the french knot that I added for the flowers.

Here's the close-up of the knots. Sometime I wish we have more than 24 hours in a day. Would love to do more cards with french knots, but it does take require some extra time. :)

Hope you like it. I still need to brainstorming for Gallery Idol final. Only have this weekend to come up with something great! Oy... pressure. Thanks so much for stopping by and I really appreciate it if you please leave a comment & let me know you stopped by. Hugs, Vera.

Gallery Idol Top 5

Good morning my lovely peeps! Thanks to all your vote & support, and after a long torturous day and night of waiting, I am happy to announce that I made it to the final Gallery Idol Top 5! So humble and grateful by this whole experience. What I saw on my computer screen early this morning. Sigh.... I almost forgot to breath when I went to check. It's worth the sleepless night. :)

This week has been so nerve wrecking for me. I mean when I checked out everybody's work (which is like a couple hours before the vote began), I had to pick up my jaw of the floor. Everybody really bring it on for this challenge and I almost cry when I saw their amazing cards. I thought my card was too simple looking, eventhough the process wasn't that simple. And, I am so relieved when many of you said you love my fish! Thru the whole competition, I want to stay true to my style. Which is clean style and I am humble that it has take me this far. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you who voted for my cards.

I am grateful for many things and in restrospect I love wishing people thay may they always have things to be grateful for. One of my favorite blessing to say is this Irish blessing that I used on this card. I combine Hero Arts stamps with Verve stamp. I actually think this will looks nice framed, you know.

This whole card reminds me that there's beauty even in the simplest things, even grass. :) Looking at this makes me feel peaceful. To create this, I stamped Hero Arts Silhouette Grass with Mellow Moss ink. Then using chalks from bottom to top, I layered the colors, green, pink, orange, and blue. I've been really enjoying using chalks lately as you can create soft background with it. After I am done covering the background with chalks, I stamped the Blessings (from Verve Stamps).

And, I also have new challenge from Mami Doodles. This week the it's color challenge, use the colours Blue, Green,white with a touch of Red. The prize will be the last 3 images released (Mimi, Sinead and Leah), plus one of your choice. Cards using Mami Doodles images - including freebies - will have two entries on the draw. Here's what I made. Opposite from the above card, this one is cutesy looking! :)

This card going to my Card for Kids Drive pile. Pretty much all  my cute, kids related cards go to this and once I collected enough I'll be sending them to Jennifer. For more information go to Jennifer McGuire's blog. I hope you like the cards I have for you today. This afternoon I'll be back with a new post for Papertey Ink Blog Hop. Again, big hugs to you all and I hope you know that I appreciate each one of you for all your supports. So very grateful for you all. Hugs, Vera.

Paper Play Challenges

This is my 2nd post for today. For Digi Doodle Shop's Best post please scroll down. :)

Well, officially my work for Paper Play Challenges don't start till next week. But, since their challenge this week is pretty fun, I joined in anyway.  Heh... Although, in all honesty I think I got a bit mix up, too as I just compiled all the list of cards I need to make before I leave for my vacation next week. Extra card never hurt, right? LOL. So, here's my card for this week "It's Sunny" challenge.

Kind of love the paper piecing look. The cutting part, not so much. *grin* I guess, the final result make it all worth it. What do you think of the cute sun? Right now, it's one of my favorite sun stamp. You can get it here and it's free. Thank you all for stopping by and please cross your finger for me that hopefully I make it to Gallery Idol Top 5. Gonna be a loongggg day and night waiting.... :)

DDSB Everything Goes

Happy Thursday peeps! Time for another Digi Doodle Shop's Best challenge. This week it's easy peasy, everything goes! Create whatever you want, no restriction whatsoever.

Here's what I made for this week challenge. I just love this cute owl (you can get it here). And I thought he looks even cuter after I added a couple wigle eyes. What can I say... I have a weakness for owl and cute stuff.  :)

To make the card even nore fun, I added the tire swing and the squirrel. Both from my new Lawn Fawn stamps that I recently received! Go to Digi Doodle Shop's Best blog to enter the challenge.

And, have you vote for Gallery Idol? Only a few hours left to vote. Click on the widget on the right side of my blog to go vote. I hope you will pick my card as your favorite and help me get to the Top 5. We will find out tomorrow morning. Yikes... the waiting is driving me banana! So very nervous... Hmm... what kind of munchie can I have to calm the nerves... Suggestion?? *grin* Have great day peeps. Hugs, Vera.

My Grafico DT Announcement & call

Good morning peeps! Thank you all for making my day with all your sweet comments on my goldfish. I am glad that many of you think he's cute! I am going to try to do tutorial on the fish. I am going on vacation next week, so I will do the tutorial after I come back. Between getting ready for it and all my other commitments, I don't think I have the time to do it this week. :)

Meanwhile, for today, I have this beautiful card to share with you. All stamps by Hero Arts.

Oh, I have another exciting news to share with you all. I am joining My Grafico DT! If you're looking for great digital stamp selection, they have a bunch as they represent several different artist.

And guess what!! If you own a Cricut or Silhouette die-cut machine, and interested to join our DT, please send in your application! My Grafico offers SVG images to use with Cricut and we're looking into making GSD format as well to be use with Silhouette. We need a few more people that has experience with this. You have till June 30 to send in your application to tazzabdevilish@gmail.com.

I am excited with all the new adventures and I hope to continue inspiring you with my creations. Again, I really appreciate all your support. And have you vote for this week round of Gallery Idol?? You have till Thursday to vote. Thank you so much. Hugs, Vera.

Gallery Idol Round 3

Hi peeps! Are you ready to vote again? Please say yes!! :) From this week vote they will pick the Top 5 that go to the final. I would love to make it to the Top 5. But, I need your help to make it to Top 5. You can click on the widget on the right side of the blog or you can go here to vote. You have till Thursday 1PM CST to vote.

So, the challenge is creative use of ribbons. And Kelly (Paper Craft Editor) said they're looking for creative, “outside the box” applications. Boy, I am not one to make masculine card, and never thought I'd say this, but I found this challenge harder than using stuff found in the garage.

Something different with ribbon?? All I can say, my angel must  have watch over me, cause out of the blue I found out that there's what they call "ribbon sculpture". Do you know it? I didn't. But after some research, I found amazing creative use of ribbon. Now, I don't have instruction on this, so I pick something that I can figure out on my own. Peeps, here's my happy goldfish. :)

I am proud to say I figured out this goldfish all by myself through trial & error. Took a couple try, but I thought it turned out pretty darn good. For the goldfish, I used grossgrain ribbon. All I can say, my patience sure was tested when I did this. LOL. I am very picky with my fish. Like I told hubby, not all stuff animal created equal, some are just cuter than the other even if they're from the same manufacturer & same type of animal. Same as my fish. The first one was  too skinny. Looks like I didn't feed it enough food. After 3 or maybe 4 tries, I end up with pretty healthy fish.

For the water, I layered 2 different sizes sheer ribbons. The tricky part is to only taped part of the ribbons, so the bottom part hang loose to create the water ripple effect. Even the bubbles are made with ribbon as well. I used Love My Tapes adhesive, best one to use with sheer ribbons.

The rest of the card, I want to keep it clean. I stitched all around the edges and that's it. I want the water & the fish to be the main focus. Taking the pic just as hard as I want the fish to look like it's pucker up and said, Oohh... someone's having a birthday partay!!" *grin* When it comes to animal stuff, I have great imagination. Heh.. What do you think? You think it's unique? I sure hope so! Would you be interested in tutorial for this fish? I thought of doing a tutorial, but only if I have enough people interested.

So, how about going to Paper Craft Gallery & vote. Pretty please, with cherry and all yummy goodness on top. And again, thank you all for your supports & vote. If I could hug each of you, I would. I am a hugger. *grin*

Don't forget to enter my "B'day Bash Blog Candy". You have till June 28 to enter for a chance to win some goodies. And tomorrow, I have another announcement to make. I am joining another awesome company as part of their DT. Details coming up tomorrow. Okay peeps, may your week be a blessed one. Hugs, Vera.

Sunday morning gratitude

Hi peeps! I am enjoying my Sunday morning, blogging accompanied by my pooch, Nick. He's mama's boy. He always follow me around. I feel bad sometime, that whenever I move between my computer chair to my scrapping chair, he stand up thinking I am going somewhere. He doesn't like to get me out of his sight! Love my boy!

How 'bout we start this wonderful day with a pretty card?. I made this for Hero Arts challenge a few days ago. But haven't post it here. This card look so pretty, but pretty simple to make. Just layering one stamp on top of the other and then added some chalks to create the soft hue. Isn't it pretty? I got these stamps as part of my Hero Arts prizes. Thank you Hero Arts. :) 

I want to continue my random thought of important peeps in my life. Just in rambling mood lately. :) Continue from Friday's post:

6. My SIL, Regina - Jeff's high school sweetheart. Very loving and sweet. They just celebrated their 15 anniversary. And after 23 years together, they still lovey dovey. We often joke that we contaminated her when she joined our family. She proved it by teasing & make fun of my parents (in a good humorous way). *grin*  I pretty much consider her my sister instead of SIL.

7. My foster dad, Agung - beside my mom, I consider him as my rock. When my dad passed away, his support & love helped me through the pain of losing my dad. When I need advice I go to him. He's always there for me. He's my guardian angel. Amazing man.

                             

8. My 3 gals, Joy, Leslie & Deb. I'd do anything for these girls. Each totally unique & different. They show  me the meaning of friendship, how each friend has their own role on your life. Joy has this carefree, happy laugh that just so contagious. And she has such a big kind heart. She gives & help her friends any chance she has. Totally selfless and loving. Leslie is one of the funniest, strong, & resilient woman I know. She's my super smart walking encyclopedia. She knows all kind of facts, that you can't help but be amazed. Deb is my hot temper gal, but very loyal & I know she'd go to battle for me. All 3 of them, in their own way, brought out the best in me. I become a better woman, friend, because of them. They're the first best friends I have with whom I can express my feeling out loud. We say I love you to each other. I hope they know how thankful I am to have them in my life.

9. My mom & dad in law - who's about to celebrate their 50th anniversary this August. They show me what marriage all about. They welcome me to the family with open arms since the very 1st day I met them. They're such wonderful, kind, loving people and I am so lucky to be part of their family. I love them like my own parents. Best in-laws I could ever ask for.

10. My cousins, Julia & Peggy - I grew up next door to them and the closest family I have in the States. They were there for me at my lowest point in life. They helped pick me up and put my life back in order. Peggy helped me got my job where I met hubby. :)

11. My doggies - I have to include my kids here. No one can love you the way doggies love you. No matter how's  their day they always happy to see you, wagging their tails. I actually learned somelife lesson from them. Like forgiveness, never give up, love unconditionally, don't hold grudges, be happy for small things like car ride or treat, etc.

One reason I love having blog, beside sharing my creativity, is that it allows me to put it in writing how I feel, about my days, etc. Kind of like my scrapbook. One of this day, I plan to make scrapbook of my blogging. The journaling should be easy as it's all in here.

Thank you for stopping by and for reading my long rambling. Hope you all have a great Sunday. I am going to meet my cousin, Julia for crepes. Yummy.... have a blessed day. Hugs, Vera. 

Gallery Idol Top 10 & More Reflection

Yippie.. yay.. ay... after another long night of waiting & jumping off the bed at 4.40 AM, realized it was too early, went back to bed & jumped out again at 6 AM..., I am thrill to let you know that I made it to Paper Craft Gallery Idol TOP 10! Thank you all so very much for helping me get to this point. I truly couldn't do it without your help. My heart is just filled with so much gratefulness. I am thankfil for each one of you who voted for me. Big, big hugs to you!!

You know what I am going to be doing this weekend. Working on submission for the Top 5! Yikes.. Cross my fingers & pray that my mojo will keep working. Meanwhile, here's a cheerful card that I made last night using TPE # 117 sketch.

                            

                                           

Continuing with my birthday random thought reflection, I want to recognize those that influence me and make a difference in my life. I want my family to know how much the mean to me.

1. My mom - who's the biggest influence in my life. She's such a strong, wise, understanding, & loving woman, friend, mother who truly the glue that holds our family together. She raised me & my brothers to be good people with good moral, broad mind, kind, who know and appreciate the value of hard work, yet know to enjoy life little things, too. She thought me the value of family, of forgiveness, of having faith and trust that God always watching & guide us through life. Everything I am is because of my mom. I love my mom to pieces.

2. My older brother, Jeff (he's a cardiologist) - I am very lucky to have Jeff as a role model growing up. Jeff really set good example for me & younger brother, Jerry. I often consider Jeff to be like my mom the most. They're quiet, but can be hysterically funny & adventurous at times. He's dedicated, wise, calm, smart, has strong work ethic, etc. I look up to him for so many things.

3. My younger brother, Jerry (photographer/graphic designer) - He's my wild almost twin brother (we're only 11 months apart), my partner in crime, the clown, the baby of the family. Well, we're kind of competing on that position, since I am the only girl, kind of make me the baby of the family as well. *grin* I admire him for his courage & dedication to get what he wants. He started his own business from nothing, he chased his dream, made name for himself, yet still very much down to earth & appreciate people. Simply love him.

4. My dad - He passed away in 2002. He had such great sense of humor. From him I learned to value people as people. Regardless of their job, appearance, etc. I mean, during his funeral, the amount & variety of people that came to pay their respect amazed all of us. From governor, business men to the street sweeper, they all came. He sold cookie from house to house when he was maybe 5 years old, became an athlete (he brought Indonesia's wrestling to international level) who met with the President, who with my mom's support, earned his master degree in his 40s, etc. He show me there's no age limit when it comes to better yourself. I am daddy's girl and I will always treasure that.

5. My husband - one of the most thoughtful person I know and one of the few guys I know that love their in-laws a lot. He loves me so much, support me in everything I do, and just simply a great husband. Even my mom was impressed with his attentiveness & thoughtfulness during her 3 months stay with us. He shows me what a healthy relationship is like. I am so lucky to have him in my life.

Are you bored, yet?? LOL. I'll continue tomorrow with more list of people that I am thankful for. Don't want to put you to sleep with  my long rambling. :)

Oh, and we have a winner for my Card Creations giveaway. Drum roll please.....

LIN  you're the lucky winner. Please email me your mailing address. Thank you all again for stopping by and again for your tremendous support. Love you all. Hugs, Vera.

DT Announcement & DDSB Challenge

Today, I am excited to announce that I am joining Paper Play Challenge DT! Yay! I am so thrill that I get to join their amazing DT. I am looking forward to all the fun! Thank you Sandie for this opportunity!

All I can say is that I am very thankful for everything that happen in my life right now. Thank you to all of you who supported me and have voted for me that make it possible for me to make Gallery Idol Top 15. If you haven't vote today is the last day to vote for this round (end 1PM CST).

On to the card. Digi Doodle Shop's Best has sketch challenge this week sponsored by Pear Tree Digital Designs. For all detail of the challenge please go here.  Below is my very cheerful bright card. ;)

And, don't forget I have b'day bash blog candy going on till June 28, 2010. You can enter by leaving comments or create a card using the free digi. Scroll down to previous post or click on the link.

Okay, today going to be another long day for me waiting for the Gallery Idol Top 10 result. It's so nerve wrecking and if it's anything like last week, many of the girls will stay up late and email gazillion email to each other. We're good at cheering on each other. :) Peeps, keep your finger cross for me and again thank you for all the supports. Hugs, Vera.

B'day Bash Blog Candy

Hi peeps. Since this is my birthday month, I want to celebrate by doing some giveaway. My birthday is June 28, so this giveaway will run till then. And, due to the weight of the items & high cost of international shipping, I have to limit this giveaway to US & Canada peeps. I am personally doing this giveaway and not sponsored by any company. I hope you can understand. :) For the international peeps, I have Card Creations giveaway that run till Thursday, June 17, 2010 (click here or scroll down to previous post).

I've been cleaning my scrapbook room and piled up some stuff for giveaway. Most of the items are brand new. I just have them for awhile and never get to use them. A couple may be used once,but guarantee still in great condition. This is what I have so far. Knowing myself, by the time this giveaway end, I probably add some extra stuff to each package. I am not finish cleaning. :) There's 2 package you can win.

Pkg. 1 - American Crafts Thicker stickers, ribbons, KI Memories gel candy stickers,

Hero Arts Alphabet set, Stampin Up! Delightful Doodle set, aqua & blue glitters,

brown & dk. brown flocks, embossing powder, prima flowers, etc.

Pkg. 2 - Stampin Up! stamps, Hero Arts block stamp,

mix alphabet stickers, fibers, mini eyelets, DCWV pearlized papers,

mix buttons, etc.

Now the fun part! How you can win these goodies. You can enter 2 ways.

1. Post my blog candy on your blog and leave a comment here with your blog addy.

2. Below you'll find 2 of my doodling that Elisa from Mami Doodle awesomely turned into digi stamp. Create a card using either images and link it here. Please limit to 2 card entries.

You have till June 27, 2010 to enter. On June 28, 2010 I'll pick 2 winners. Here's a sample of card using the Doodle Bird. You will see the free digi stamps below.

Just click on the image and it will take you to the real size of  the image. Click on it and do save as. If you're my international visitors, please let me know if you create something with this. I would love to see it. :)

I am looking forward to your creations! Thanks for stopping by and thank you for helping  me celebrate! Hugs, Vera.

Card Creations Giveaway

Hi folks, I made this quick & simple card using my new Hero Arts goodies that were waiting for me when I came home last night. Sigh... love new goodies. :)

And, I promise that I'll make it up to you for not being able to post my giveaway this past Sunday. I have extra of Card creations Volume 8 to give away. I'll also added a couple extra goodies when I mail this out.

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post by Thursday, June 17 midnight (CST) & let me know if you have check out the Gallery Idol round 2 entries and if you have vote for your favorite card. We have 15 amazing cards to inspire you! You'll be amazed by all the fun  creations. And, if you feel inspired by my blog, I would so appreciate it if you become follower of my blog. Please let me know on the comment if you sign up to follow my blog. I'll announce the winner on Friday, June 18, 2010.

I also have a blog candy that I will post later this evening. For that one I'll have a fun challenge and you'll get free digi stamps to play with. Hope you'll like the digi stamp as it's my own doodling that Elisa from Mami Doodle has kindly turned into digi stamp.

So peeps, make sure you come back to check out the blog candy later. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, Vera.

Gallery Idol Round 2

Hi peeps!! Time for Gallery Idol round 2. To vote you can click on the widget on the right side of my blog or you can go here. From this week vote they'll pick the Top 10 that go to the next round. Please check out all the yummy inspirations and vote for your favorite card. *Wink* Hopefully it'll be my card. :) And, big, big thank you for all your support & encouragement.

This time we had to make masculine card using item found in a garage. First reaction: yikes...! Then I thought, hubby and I work for home builder and we do many projects in our house together (although, on most of them I have the supervisor role... hah), surely I can come up with something cool. So, what started with lots of apprehension becomes such a fun project for me.

I made this card with hubby in mind. I can always make him laugh by doing my special robot dance. LOL, I know, it's cheesy and people that doesn't know me well, would never thought I am that goofy. But, yes I can be very goofy around people I am close with. With my silly dance I used to make my dad laugh (although back  then, it was Mr. Bean's dance) and now I make hubby laugh with my robot dance.

So, that's where my idea came from. Then I thought of how my husband often jokes wouldn't it be nice if we had a robot who could do all the house work. Ding, ding, ding. I was like, how hilarious it would be to make a robot with a remote control that listed chores that typically husband have to do and they wish someone else would do it for them. :) And I thought of the perfect sentiments that I hope will make you laugh (hope you catch it, based on i-phone & app).

Peeps, meet HDR (Honey Do Robot). LOL,  sorry I can't come up with better name.

Hubby especially loves the remote control part. I even put acetate on top of the list to make it look like screen glass (thanks for the idea, honey). Took me 4 tries as I tried to use glossy accent and embossing powder, but it make the letter runs.  Hah.. should I put hubby on my own DT? LOL.  See pic below to see what the remote screen says.

So happy of my duct tape robot. This card really made of items found in the garage:
1. Duct tape: come on, every household have duct tape and most men think duct tape can fix everything. ;)
Taped the duct tape to cardstock and run it on my Silhouette to cut the robot shape. The robot & the remote base are all made of duct tape. See, duct tape even fix masculine card issue. *grin*.
2. Corrugated fasteners for the grass colored with Copic markers.
3. 4 square brads on the body for detail. And that blue strip on the body is sand paper! How cool is that?? Sorry, I am so excited on how this is turned out.  LOL.
4 .Washers for the tire rims.
5. Car fuse for the neck.
6. Plastic ammo for airsoft gun for the eyes.
7. Ring cotter and part of broken paper clip for the arms. Oh, that part that connect the body to the bottom part is wire tie colored with green Sharpie.

And... tadaa.... HDR is the result. Hubby pretty much let me go through his stuff and use whatever I want. Hmm... with the exception of cutting part of his golf putting green for grass.

I sure hope this card makes you smile or laugh. I was giggling a lot when I made this. Now, please go to Gallery Idol and enjoy the inspirations from all the talented ladies and please vote!! Thanks so much for stopping by and thank you for your continuing support & vote! Have a great week! Hugs, Vera

Sorry

Hi peeps. I promise to post my giveaway this weekend. But, I am not feeling too well this weekend and also have some other things that need my attention. I haven't had a chance to prepare my blog candy or my post for that matter. I will have to postpone it till Tuesday. I really apologize for this. Hope you can understand. I will make it up to you. Thank you for your understanding. :) Hugs, Vera

Gallery Idol Top 15

Hi peeps! Yay... I am happy and grateful to announce that I made it to Paper Craft Gallery Idol Top 15! Soooo happy. My goodness, I was so anxious and nervous. All the ladies are talented and I have followed some of them for this past year, some were last year finalist, so understandable many times I feel like I am going to pass out when I think of having my card along side them.

Even now, I feel like my heart just beating like crazy. For all of you who are rooting for me, THANK YOU! If I could hug each of you, I would. :) I couldn't have done this without your support. I appreciate each one of you with all my heart!

The amazing thing was how supportive all of us of each other. Seriously, we're all cheering on each other. These girls are simply awesome. They made me laugh, encourage me in my creativity edeavor, and more. All I can say, I am honored, proud, humble to be among them.

And, today the Top 15 also get featured on Cath's Moxie Fab World.  It's one of my favorite blog and it's definitely a must check blog if you're into card making. There's always tons of inspiration there. This whole experience has been such a dream come true for me.

Last night, to calm myself down, I played with one of my fave stamp. What else... The Hero Arts poppy stamp, of course. :) And the flutterbies from HA digi stamp. I am still playing the Hero Arts color layering challenge. I cut a circle from a cardstock and use it as a mask. Stamped the antique words and the poppies, colored the inside with chalks and then added the butterfly.

I think this card really convey CAS style. Everybody has different style. What about you? What kind of style or cards that inspires you when you're browsing around? Please share your thought. For the next round of Gallery Idol we have to make masculine card using something we find in the garage. Hmmm... hubby is helping me brainstorming for ideas. We both work for home builder, so surely I can find something to use, right?? ;)

Oh, since I have many things to be grateful for, please check back here this weekend. I'll be posting some blog candy. I've been cleaning my room and gather quite a bit of supplies. Again thank you all for making my day, weeks, months by your support. Love you all. Wishing you a super duper happy Friday and may your weekend be filled with lots of fun goodness. Hugs, Vera.

Mami Doodles Li'l Alex

Happy Friday! Today, I have a new card using the new digi stamp from Mami Doodles. This weeks Mami Doodles challenge is to make a Summer time card/project. I also made this card for Jennifer McGuire's Card for Kids Drive. Here's the card:

For this card I use the new digi stamp Li'l Alex from Mami Doodles (you can get him here). There's also Li'l Luke with a fishing pole.

If you click on the picture of the card above, you can see the card better and you can probably see all those itty bitty beads border. I told you on yesterday's post how I have to dug my old stash to find some rafia; well, while digging trough those stash, I also found the itty bitty beads. Glass beads used to be a trend, too in scrapbooking. I remember using them for my classes at the LSS. Yes, it was eons ago. :)

Check out all Elisa's new stamps at Mami Doodles blog and  please join us for the challenge. You'll have a chance to win some of Elisa's beautiful images. Thank you all for stopping by. I'll be back with a second post later. Hugs, Vera.

DDSB Challenge 11

Yay... Thursday. How are you all doing? We have new challenge for you from Digi Doodle Shop's Best. This week theme is "Tie It up". Use string,twine,floss,rafia or anything that you can tie on your project other than ribbon.

This challenge made me dug in my old stash. Remember when, rafia was the trend in scrapbooking? Yes people, the rafia I used on my card is from my 2004 stash. Can you believe it? Sigh... make me feel old. That was 6 years ago.

For this card, I decided not to tie the rafia at all. Instead, I cut several 1" long piece of the white rafia. Unravel it a bit and then glued it to the back of the bird frame. I thought the ruffle it create looks pretty. I just love this blue jay. Not that often I created a card with kraft cardstock, so this look is quite different for me. Stamped the Stampabilities graph stamp with Versamark on the cardstock to create a soft patterned background.

Tomorrow's the big day. Whether I make it to the Top 15 or not, I just want to thank you all who supported me and encourage me along the way. Either way it's been a really fun experience. Nerve wrecking, yes, but also so much fun!

Well peeps, that's it for today. Please stop by Digi Doodle Shop's Best challenge blog, check out all the detail for the challenge and hope you will join us! Hugs, Vera.