Happy Day

Finger crossed. Hoping. Oh the nerve of waiting. And...., yay, I made it to Gallery Idol Top 15!! I am so thrilled to be able to continue my ride on this amazing journey. So thankful. Thank you to all of you who voted for my card & made it possible for me to go to the next round. I really appreciate your support. <3

While I need to brainstorm for the next challenge, let's get on  to my card for today. If you  have followed my blog for a while, you know I have weakness for cute & sweet critters. So, it come as no surprise that from  the moment I saw the sneak peek of Lawn Fawn Hello Baby set, I know I have to get them. ASAP. Yep... I think the set was up on i {heart} papers for 10 minutes or so before I snatched it. :)

And, here's what I made.

I combine this cute set with the patterned paper from Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine 6x6 paper pad. And added a soft shimmer to the li'l package with Wink of Stella Brush Glitter Marker. I sure will be playing with this set more because they're simply too cute!

I am also entering this card for Simon Says Stamp anything goes challenge.

Hope your Friday be a good one. I'll be nervously trying to come up with my card for Gallery Idol. Let's hope mojo not acting up. :)

Riley & Company Blog Hop

Hi everyone and welcome to Riley & Company new release blog hop. You should have arrived here from Kendra DeCota. 

Starting today there are 34 new funny bones sentiment being releases. All now available at Riley & Company store. 

I made a couple cards to celebrate this releases. I love the sentiment on this first card. I have some friends in mind as well when I saw this. :) 

Next, another wine related sentiment. Yeah.... I think that's me talking. Hah....

Also, there are some special offer you can take advantage of. 

Special # 1 : Until May 31, 2014 you can buy the entire set of 34 new Funny Bones stamp for only $65 (it's a saving of $105!!) Offer is not available to wholesale customer and limit 1 per customer please.

Special # 2: You can also get a set of 3 Funny Bones stamps (our choice) during this release by simply placing an order of $25 or more (before tax) in the first 24 hours of the release. One per customer.

Special # 3: As an added bonus, FREE SHIPPING from now till midnight Sunday 6/1/2014 CST. Just enter FREESHIP in the coupon code section.

BLOG CANDY!

We'll be choosing 2 lucky winners from  the comments on RILEY's blog to win gift certificates to the Riley & Company online store!! So make sure yu head on over to the blog and leave a comment to be eligible to win.

From here please hop on over to Heather Bolli. In case you missed any link, you can find the complete list at Riley & Company blog. Thanks so much for swinging by here and I hope you enjoy the hop & the laugh. :)

My Girl Cave

A few months back, I get to share my creative space on CardMaker blog. Then I realized that I never shared those pics here. On my own blog. We have to fix that, right?

In our house, hubby refer to his room as his man cave. So, I guess my room can be called as my girl cave then? Hah... It's a my happy cave for sure.

Let's see, here's what you see from the door. My room is very mix match. The furniture didn't match. I have white, light wood, dark wood, almost black wood, etc. But, at the end it kind of give the room its own personality.

Edited to add: In response to June K question, yes that's the doggy bed in the middle. I have 2 little shadows that like to follow me to my room & snuggle or playing there. :)

Here is a view of my desk. Yes, it only look like this for may be 15 minutes. The table used to be my dining table from my single day. The hutch is from Ikea. It's slightly longer than my desk, but when I saw it, I just had to have it. We were shopping for bedside table and I saw this, I told hubby, forget bedside table, I'll take this instead. I love this hutch. :)

Here is the view on the opposite side. On top of the short drawer we placed a granite that was a leftover from one of our job site. It was about to be thrown out and hubby asked me if I could use it, so now it holds my paper cutter, Cuttlebug & score board.

Next to my computer is the Silhouette Cameo. Next to the desk is this paper shelving that I scored from a LSS when they closed out. 

  

Opposite from the entry door is the ribbon rack that hubby built. Originally it was only 5 row tall. Back then I was designing for May Arts, so within just a few months I had to get the shelves extended. Thank goodness for hubby that can build stuff. 

So, there's my girl cave. Filled with pretty papers and ribbons and all kind of crafty stuff that makes me happy. :) Hope you enjoy this little peek into my space. Thank you for stopping by here and have a blessed Thursday.

Magical Substance

Hmm... I don't know about you, but my morning can't really start till I have coffee. There's just something missing if I start  my morning without coffee.

I think this sentiment from Riley & Company captured what coffee lovers feel in the morning. Am I right??? :)

Haha... I am pretty sure that many people could related to this. We all  tend to be grumpy if we haven't take that first sip. 

Please check back tomorrow for the full Riley & Company new releases. We'll have blog hop with giveaway starting at 9pm. May your day be as energized as a shot of espresso or be as yummy as a cappucino....

And... psst... have you vote for your favorite card yet for Gallery Idol? Voting for round 2 is open till tomorrow. I'd love to get your vote if you love my card. Thanks a million. :)

Spritzing Challenge

It's time for new challenge at Riley & Company blog. This time the challenge theme is spritzing/spray mist. I have tons of spray mist and unfortunately half of them either clogged or spray at weird direction. So far, the ones that work great are the Heidi Swapp ones. So, I use that for my card.

I'll be needing a thank you card for a doggy sitter soon, in case you're wondering why the thank you sentiment being matched with this image. :) You have two weeks to plat along. To enter the challenge, go HERE.

And...  today I actually have 2 cards to share. Here's another card using one of the new sentiment set from Riley & Company that being releases on Thursday, 5/29/14. This card is definitely the kind of card that you can only give to your closest friend, who has great sense of humor. Otherwise, you might get hit by shoes. LOL.

And... psst.... do you know that Gallery Idol round 2 already started? If you haven't vote, go check out all the entries and if you like my card, I'd love to get your vote. To check out all the entries and  vote click on the vote widget on the left bar. Thank you so much and have a blessed day!

Gallery Idol Round 2

Eeek.... It's time for Gallery Idol round 2. The theme for round 2 is die-cutting. And from  the moment I saw it, the first thing that came to my mind was shaped card.

After a day of brainstorming, I found my inspiration from Finding Nemo. After all, one of my favorite quote came from  that movie, "Keep on swimming".

So, here's my entry for round 2:

For the card base I used the largest balloon (turned upside down) from Simon Says Stamp Balloon dies set. The water line inside were also cut using the balloon die combine with SSS Curved Edge craft die. Flip the die for the bottom water line.

The seaweed were cut using the leave dies Wplus9 Silver Bells dies set. The fish are from Paper Smooches Briny Blue set. The big red fish were die-cut twice so I can insert a strip of acetate in between to make the fish move-able. See this second pic and you can see the fish swim to the left. :)

To create a glossy look, I die-cut the cover of the card from a piece of acetate, layer it on top and hold the whole card together with a tied bow string. You could barely see the piece of acetate, but if you click on the picture you can see it in larger size and you can see the outline of the acetate on the bottom right corner of the picture.

I hope you like my card and will consider to vote for it. I sure would love to make it to the next round. To vote for your favorite card go to: GALLERY IDOL VOTING

Thank you so much for stopping by here and if you do vote for my card, thank you, thank you, thank you!! And, a quick birthday shout out to my dear brother Jerry who is celebrating his birthday from the hospital bed. Happy birthday, Jerry. I love you, wishing you a very happy birthday and a speedy recovery. xoxo

Riley & Company Day 2

Hi everyone. I am back with more card for Riley & Company new release day 2. More funny sentiment to share. :)

Here's my card using the new exercise sentiment. 

Hah... this is so me. I really need to change it. I really do need to exercise more regularly instead of so randomly. I keep saying I am going to do it, but I admit I often find excuse to not do it.  Well, that's part of my goal for this year. To be better, exercise wise. 

That's it from me today. I'll be back with another post later this afternoon. Thank you for stopping by here and happy Memorial Day. Huge thank you to all our service men and women for all that they do. The freedom we enjoy is because of them. As we celebrate the holiday let us remember the reason. Have a blessed Memorial Day everyone.

Riley & Company New Release Week

Happy Sunday! This week Riley & Company will be releasing 35 new funny bones stamps and starting today we'll be showcasing some of them.

For me, I want to start the release week with this new sentiment stamp. 

I thought this sentiment is pretty funny. This past New Year's Eve at a New Year party that we attended we ended up having firefighters showing up at the house because some flare from the fireworks landed on the roof.

Well, there wasn't anything serious, but once you made that call, the firefighters has to come & check it out. Needless to say, there's some picture taking opportunity. Hah... ;)

Another firefighter story, we went to Halloween party and instead of wearing costumer, hubby decided to just wear his firefighter uniform. People.... that's the night I learned that girls has the thing for firefighters. Seriously, I had so many girls checking him out and some even asked me to take their picture with him!! The nerve... LOL, although I have to admit, I thought it was a pretty cool experience. 

Anyway, there are plenty of funny sentiments coming out, so come back each day to check them out. We'll have a blog hop for the new releases on May 29th (and yes...  there's giveaway involves).

That's it from me. Enjoy your Sunday!

I Admire You

So, yesterday I was pinching myself because of THIS announcement. Happy dance!!

I am so thrilled to be picked as the Top 20 for Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Gallery Idol. Last time I made it into GI was back in 2010. Pretty much it's the event that turned me into card making more seriously. In a sense that I made some awesome friendship from it and I was like, wow, this hobby is awesome. I have friendship that I wouldn't have met if it's not for card making.

I did try again for GI in 2011-2013 and didn't make it. But, I am glad that I never stop trying. Like they said for sure you won't get picked if you don't try. My attitude when I entered this year is whatever happen, happen. If it get picked, yay, if not, okay at least I made something that I am pretty darn proud of.

Quoting Christina from Grey's Anatomy, "If your goal and purpose is to win that award, forget it,  you will never win it. You do what you do because you love it, because it means something, not for the award." Something like that. When I heard it, I was like hey that's great words to live by. Yeah... I am deep like that, getting lesson of life through Grey's. Hah... Go Grey's! ;)

Anyhow.... I am so honored to be among such talents. Seriously, some of the girls are among my favorite card makers! Like Iwona Palamountain for example, oh my word.... that girl has created some amazing work that totally blow my mind. Amy Kolling, one of my favorite! I love her style &I was rooting for her last year. Erin Lee Schreiner has such cool & trendy style. In short, I am excited to be sharing this journey with all 19 girls. Whether it'a short ride or long ride.... I'll just enjoy it.

With this note in  mind, this card is how I feel of my fellow contestants. You all are so awesome!

I'll be brainstorming for the next round, so wish me luck and may you all have a safe & memorable Memorial Day weekend!

CardMaker & Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

Hi everyone and welcome to CardMaker & Technique Tuesday Kick Off To Summer Blog Hop. You should have arrived here from Summer Fullerton blog. In case you missed any link you can find the complete list on CardMaker blog.

I was so excited when I found out that we're teaming up with Technique Tuesday. I've been a fan of TT for the longest time. Am pretty obsessed with their Ali Edwards sets.  I love using them for my scrapbook. Anyway, for today's hop, I get to play with their new sets Hello Friend by Ali Edwards and Say It - Happy set.

With summer theme in mind, I turn to bright, cheerful color for my first card:

And, I couldn't stop at just 1 card. I made another card, this time a mini one and super simple.

I love making mini card. I usually give all my mini cards to my SIL as she likes to use them for her cookies an cupcakes delivery (she owns her own bakery).

I hope you enjoy today's hop and join us for a day of fun & inspiration. From here please hop on over to Jaclyn Miller.  Thank you for stopping by here and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Cardmaker
Laura O'Donnell
Kathy Martin
Daniela Dobson
Kristine Reynolds
Tobi Crawford
Sabrina Alery
Ashley Harris
Summer Fullerton
Vera Yates  <--- you are here
Jaclyn Miller
Jeanne Streiff
Tanis Geisbrecht
Kristie Hartfeil
Mendi Yokishowa
Technique Tuesday

Ikat Pattern

Happy Thursday. I am back with my post for i {heart} papers. For a couple days  my mojo kind of went out the window and thank goodness it's back now. While mojo is here I took advantage of it and played with a few fun sets and made this card.

I still love the ikat pattern and am glad that I give it a try again. For the background I used Avery Elle Ikat set. The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti Lots To Say set and the flowers are from Wplus9 More Fresh Cuts. And the label dies is Paper Smooches Duo Die 3. All supplies from i {heart} papers.

Love the way this card turn out. Every time I see the ikat pattern it reminds me a bit of home (Indonesia), where ikat is part of our culture.

Which, talking about home, in a few more weeks, I'll get to see my whole family again and I'll finally get to meet my niece!! Right now, I am busy preparing for the trip and working on all DT works in advance. Enough to make my days a whirlwind. But, I can't wait! Not looking forward for the long flight and being away from the doggies (I am pretty attach to my li'l shadows), but looking forward to hang out with the families, relaxing, getting to know my niece and of course... doing some shopping. I love shopping in Indonesia and checking out the malls.

Anyhooo.... that's all from me right now. Be back tomorrow for a blog hop with CardMaker & Technique Tuesday! It's going to be fun!

Washi Tape Bird

After spending way too much time on 2 cards for my Gallery Idol entry, today I have a card that's simpler and pretty quick to complete.

Actually, this is the first card that I made for the open audition. It's more my usual CAS & sweet style. Not graphic at all. I am using my favorite image of all time. Birdie!!

Except for the sentiment, everything on this card made with washi tape. I use it as border as well as to create pattern on the bird. Even the beak is made of washi tape.

For the bird. I first cut the shape using Silhouette and then lined up Prima Marketing doilies washi tape to create the perfect round doilies background pattern. Then using a knife I trim the tapes following the bird shape. For the wing part I used Freckled Fawn Random Writing washi tape and repeat the process like I did on  the birdie. Adhere the wing with pop-dots.Repeat the same process for the beak.

At least it's not as much cutting as the other two cards. Looking back, I guess I could say that one thing I am pretty good at is cutting details with knife. I wonder if it has anything to do with knife accident I had when I was a kid. I accidentally cut my finger when I was like 7. It wasn't super big cut, but blood was everywhere and I was crying my eyes out and showing it to my mom. And, I remember her saying, well, now you know why I keep telling you not to play with knife. My mom not the type that freak out when her kids get injured. She's practical and calm.

I think because she didn't freak out, I never get traumatized about using knife and instead learn to use it carefully. Can you imagine, crafting with no knife. Well, I couldn't. It's part of my essential tool.

Well, we'll see how this goes. Last time I made it for Gallery Idol was back on 2010. Cross my finger that I can make it again. If not, well at least I had fun challenging myself to make something awesome. :) Have a blessed week everyone.

Brightness

I finally finished my second entry for 2014 Paper  Crafts & Scrapbooking Gallery Idol open audition. Let me just say that the making of this card is as colorful in language as the card itself. Hah... My patience was sorely tested for this card. You'll see why...

Get your sunglasses out:

So, the first time I did this, my plan was creating the word by cutting, remove the washi tape and replace with another color washi tape. I was already on my second "L" and almost done before I realized that I  miscalculate my space and do not have enough space for the "O". So, all the frustration of carefully cutting and changing the color and have those tape sticking to  my fingers... I was like acckk..... colorful language, then breath in, breath out and decided to start it all over again.

The second time, I decided the word in colors is too much, too busy. So, again, I gently lift up the cut out part and decided to leave it white.

Let's see.... all in all... this one took me almost 2 hours or maybe slightly more including the breathing and calming down part. Hah... I am just glad I didn't give up. The result is quite worth it. And, no, I don't think I will repeat this again.

Anyhoo.... since you could enter 3 cards, I think the next one would be pretty simple.  See you tomorrow.

Bold & Graphic Design

So, it's time for the 2014 Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Gallery Idol. I decided to try my luck and throw my hat into the ring.

The open audition theme is to create card using washi tape. So, after some thinking I decided to go with bold, graphic design with a little hint of gold.

I used Recollection washi tape collection and adhere them diagonally. To keep the line evenly in between, I laid a short piece of washi tape at each end and use that as my guide on where to lay the next tape and just keep repeating the step. Yep, this whole card was made with no ruler whatsoever! Simply hold the tape taut when you adhere them and you'll get a straight line.

To create the diamond pattern, where ever the tape overlaid one another, I gently use a knife to cut & lift up  the pieces to reveal the black background. And, for added visual interest, I kind of move around some of the colored washi tape diamond.

I think all in all it took me about 90 minutes to complete this whole card. It did take a while to cut those little pieces carefully as to not cut the cardstock itself, but the result makes me happy. 

Now, crossing my fingers and wait. Enjoy your weekend, everyone. 

Count Your Blessings

Surprise... surprise... more watercolor card. ;) I think on many card making blog right now, you see plenty of watercolor project.  I wonder how long the trend will last. But, as of right now, I am just enjoying practicing what I learned.

For today's card, I applied what I learned from Tasnim Ahmed on day 8 of the watercolor class. What I love about this class, it makes me look at my stash of old sets and see a new way to use them. This rose is one of my favorite from Papertrey Ink.

I used three different shades of pink and purple to color the rose. The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti. 

I went to the doctor yesterday to figure out what's wrong and they're running some test. I am soooo done feeling nauseous and having heartburn constantly in the past few day. Wonder how I can still make card while feeling sick? This is my therapy. I can forget how awful I am feeling when I just concentrate on creating. 

Last night, actually was a good night in the fact that I actually able to sleep. But, in the morning I open my mouth too soon. I was like oh, I am feeling great. Then a few minutes after it all came back with a vengeance. The problem is I have to keep eating  here and there to control my heartburn, but with feeling nauseous I have no appetite and have to force myself to eat & keep it down. Plain oatmeal is my best friend right now.

Anyway, I am keeping my finger cross and chugging along, hoping we can find out the culprit and fix it. That's it from me. I'll see you all later.

Painted Flower Jar

So, since I am catching the watercolor bug, I have more watercolor card to share with you. This one is one of my favorite. Using the stuff I learned from the class makes me feel like an artist! ;) I think this class is one of the best one so far.

Here's my painted flower jar card. It's so relaxing to do this. Yes, it takes longer and yep,  the card will only go to someone who could appreciate it,  but it's so fun!

For this card I used the mason jar from Paper Smooches Crystal Clear set and the flowers from Wplus9 Fresh Cut Florals and More Fresh Cuts (the sentiment also from this set). To color the jar and flowers I used combination of Memento ink pads and Kuritake ZIG Clean Color Real Brush (awesome watercolor marker  by the way). And, a little enamel dot couldn't hurt, right? This enamel dot is from Doodlebug Sprinkles Swimming pool assortment. All supplies (except for the Kuritake brush) are from i {heart} papers.

I just bought a new watercolor pad, so I'll have plenty of paper to practice on. Hope you're enjoying my current obsession with watercolor. Thank you for stopping by here and may your Wednesday be a great one! 

Life Is Like A Roller Coaster

It's time for new Riley & Company challenge. This time the challenge theme is vacation. Well, for some of us, vacation means a visit to a theme park, so I used this roller coaster fun image for my card.

Since, I like to make card that I can actually give out, for the sentiment I used one that is an encouragement as I don't think I ever send out any card for vacation. :) Inside the card the statement continue into: "You can either scream every time there is a bump or you can throw your hands up and enjoy the ride."

Anyway, super short post today. I am back to work today and have lots of catching up to do. Amazing that amount of work that can pile up when you miss a day. See you tomorrow with more watercolor card! :)

Hello Spring Blooms

Hi peeps. I am back with another watercolor card that I made over the weekend. This card also homework from day 3 inspired by Jennifer Rzasa's card. What can I say, day 3 is one of my favorite lesson. But, I kind of mixed in day 6 lesson in here, too (the flowers were spritzed with pearl water, so it has nice sheen to it).

Kind of funny to think that I used to struggle when it comes to making cards with flowers. Now, I love them. I guess like they say your style and preference could change over time. And, I am for one not complaining. :)

For this card I used Wplus9 Spring Blooms set and the hello is from Altenew.

Well, that's it from me today. I am not feeling so well today and am staying home since I didn't get any sleep last night. So, I am taking it easy and chilling with the dogs. I don't like being sick, but I think my puppies kind of happy that I stay home with them. :) See y'all later....

Watercolor Homework

This week, a few days behind, I decided to sign up for Online Card Classes for their watercolor class. Boy, it is a fun class. So glad that I signed up. I get to learn some new technique and I found combining stamping with watercolor can be quite relaxing.

Well, my first card that I created using what I learned from the class is homework from day 3, which is watercolor stamping and this is the result.

On my process, I think I messed up about 4 panel before I finally find a design that I am happy with. And, once I start, I couldn't stop. This class totally make me look at the stamp sets I have with new eyes. 

This weekend been a pretty productive one. I accomplished  several DT works and created some watercolor cards just for fun. I'll be sharing them throughout the week. 

Thank you for stopping by here and may your Mother's Day be an amazing one. Cheers....

You Are My Happy

Yay... I get to scrapbook again. Slowly, but it feels so good. I decided to start an album for the "kids" and am using Studio Calico album. It's the perfect size as it can hold lots of pages and the smaller size allow me to complete the pages faster.

I am a slow scrapbooker as my perfectionist tendency usually come up to the surface when I scrapbook. Like, when things doesn't line up perfectly, it bugs me to no end and I kind of have to force myself to just let it go. That it's okay to have some imperfection on my page.

Anyway, I have these pics of hubby and Eli that I just love. Here's the way my page turned out. 

Eli was only about a couple months old on this pics and totally adorable! Of course, being his mommy, I will always think he's super cute. Hah... Hubby never really owned by a pug till he met me. Ollie was his first pug. And, when we got Eli, I told him once you hold a pug puppy, you can't go back. Heee... There's just something about pug that totally make my heart goes all soft.

These 2 are my happy. :)

I am entering this layout for Moxie Fab NSD: Scrapbooking Rock challenge. 

That's it for me today. See y'all later....

Watercolor Fun

Growing up I remember that I love playing with watercolor. Not that I am good at it. I just love playing with it. :)

 

I made this card a while back for a submission. It didn't get picked up, but it was a fun card to make using the blowing with straw technique.

 

 

 

The sentiment is from one of my favorite Technique Tuesday stamp set called Loving Words by Ali Edwards. I simply heat embossed the sentiment and then drop some watercolor droplets and gently blowing through a straw to spread the color. And... tada.....

Super quick and simple card to make. By the way, i {heart} papers just added some more new stuff to the store. You can check them all out HERE. May your Tuesday be a great one. :)

 

Purple Onion Designs: Oscar & Charlotte

Happy Monday! To start this week, I am sharing my card using the latest Stacey Yacula stamps for Purple Onion Designs. This time I am using Oscar & Charlotte.

 

 

Both images looks like they should be holding something, so I fussy cut a cupcake from My Mind's Eye patterned paper for each of them. Thank goodness, the cupcake is just the perfect size, otherwise I'd have to think of something else for them to hold. Hah... Love it when things work out effortlessly.

 

Guess what?? I just realized that Oscar is supposed to be a fox. My mom thought it was a squirrel and I told her, no mom, it's a raccoon. Turned out we both wrong. Hah... Yeah, I'd have color Oscar in orange or brownish color if I had known that when I made this card. Oh well, card world is kind of fantasy world where our imagination can just go wild, right? Who says the animal has to be certain color, right?

 

And the enamel dots are still from my DIY pile. I just wish the beads comes in more colors that I'd use. Right now, the choice is limited.

 

Oh yes...., with new month, it means there's new Naughty or Nice Challenge. This month it's all about Furry Friends. Any projects with critter counts. You can check out and enter the challenge HERE (there's a prize for this month's challenge as well).

 

Have a very happy Monday!



i {heart} papers NSD Sale

Happy National Scrapbook Day! To celebrate i {heart} papers have special sale going on all weekend long. 10% of your entire online order of $40+. I am sure we all can use some more pretty papers or new stamps, right? ;) Have fun s hopping & celebrating.

Spring Blooms

Happy May!! Bye, bye to the 1st quarter of 2014. Where did the time goes? I am a bit behind in getting my Mother's Day card order ready. Sooo needing to catch up.  Here's another Mother's Day card I made.

For this card, I used the latest Wplus9 Spring Blooms and Strictly Sentiments 4 set combined with patterned paper from Dear Lizzy Splendid Sunshine paper pad. For some shimmer, I brushed the leaves with Wink of Stella Brush Glitter marker. And, of course a couple enamel dots wouldn't hurt, right? This time I used the enamel dots from Doodlebugs Sprinkles Limeade. (All supplies available at i {heart} papers)

This card came together pretty quick once I figure out what I want to do. I think the thinking process took longer. My mojo is just not quite there, so I am struggling a bit. But, at the end am quite happy with the way his card turn out.

I hope your Thursday is a good one!