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.

Moxie Fab Thanks! Blog Hop

** FOR CARING HEARTS CARD DRIVE BLOG HOP PLEASE SCROLL DOWN **

Hi everyone and welcome to the biggest blog hop ever! Many of us were saddened when we found out that Cath is stepping down from running Moxie Fab blog. I mean, for us, Moxie Fab = Cath, right? So, we want Cath to know how special she is by throwing a super huge blog hop party. Yep, she means that much to us.

You should have arrive here from my dear friend, Kimberly Crawford blog. If not, you can always go to Moxie Fab World blog for the complete list of the hop participants. 

Cath, my post today totally dedicated to you! :) As many other paper crafter would agree, you definitely have quite an impact on the paper crafting industry. It won't be the same without you. You have a knack to spot all things fabulous, trendy, you encourage people to try something new, to broaden their creativity all the time, and inspired us through all those moxie fab images.

On a personal note, you are simply a lovely, down to earth person. I am so thankful that this hobby of mine connected me to you and that we got to meet in person. I didn't get to spend long enough time with you, but the short time I had was very lovely. You are so warm, sweet and welcoming. You probably don't even know this,  but when you emailed me last year about being Moxie Fabber of the week, you gave me such a boost of confidence that I needed.

So, thank you for all the inspirations, the encouragement. Simply put....

And....

Yep, I need 2 cards to say it all. :)

On my 1st card, I made the cat by freehand shape the wire into cat shape. Left the cat tail hanging free. So, yes, the tail will wiggle if you touch it. For the second card I venture into water-coloring to create the soft look.

Cath, it definitely won't be the same without you. I will miss your Moxie Fab post. Thank goodness for FB. We'll keep in touch. Enjoy your free time, give those adorable puppies of yours a hug from me and wishing you all the very best in whatever you do.

From here, your next stop is Jaclyn Miller. Thank you so much for stopping by here.

Dreaming Always of You

You know what... for the last few post of my blog post, I've been wondering why the heck my blog pics looked so different than the way they look on my Photoshop program. Today, I was about fed up and was going to uninstall my Photoshop program and re-install thinking that maybe my program has gone wonky.

Good thing that I decided to google the issue beforehand and found out that it wasn't me. Hah... So, apparently when you upload your picture to blogger  blogger automatically upload your picture to Picasa and auto-enhanced it. And, when they do that the picture tend to looks splotchy and grayish.

Apparently there's some simple step you can do. I found my answer from Peek & Ponder blog. So, if you've been having issue with your blog pictures, do these simple step an uncheck the auto-enhanced option.

Now, that my pictures back to looking normal, I feel better at sharing my projects knowing it looks the way it should look. :)

I am making this card for Moxie Fab challenge to use general craft supply. I found this plain wooden bird at Michael's and make it look all pretty by transferring the patterned paper pattern to it. The pretty patterned paper is from Simple Stories.

I cover the bird with mod podge and do the same to the patterned paper. Adhere the patterned paper to the bird and let it dry over night. The next day, I soak the bird in water and gently rub away the patterned paper till it's very last layer that stick to the bird. I then stamped the sentiment once the bird dry.

I kind of like this technique. It's fun. 

Well, that's it for me. I need to take care of my ol'd lady, my pug, Ollie. She is over 15 years old and 2 weeks ago the vet found out she has gal bladder on top of already pretty bad arthritis. Hubby and I have some tough periods coming up and most likely will have a very tough decision to make. However at this moment, we're still trying to do as much as we can. Hoping and praying that the medications will help her.

Ollie is my baby. I have her since she was only 8 weeks old and she's been my loyal companion through so many stages of my life. She kept me going, kept me sane when I went through really bad time. She loves me and I love her. For me, all my dogs are my babies. The one I lost, I still think of them, one in particular is Milo, who I lost when he was only slightly over 2 years old. The sentiment, "dreaming always of you" still ringing true for me.

So sorry... didn't mean to ramble into my doggies situation, but it just something that been weighed heavily on my mind. I know many of you are dog lovers and understand what I am feeling and going through. All I can do is pray and wait. Hoping for miracle. 

Have a blessed Sunday everyone.

Stamping on Feather

On the recent Paper Crafts Handmade Cards publication, I have 2 of my favorite cards in there. One was the one that showcased HERE and the other one is this one: 

This card has very soft and pretty look. I got the feathers from the general craft section at Hobby Lobby and color them with distress ink and then stamped one of them with handwritten background stamp. Definitely color them first, then stamp it. If you do it the other way around, you'll end up with lots of smear. LOL... yep, speaking from experience. ;)

To keep the soft look, I stamp the pretty sentiment from Avery Elle "Celebrate" set in colors that match the colors on the feathers. If you're interested on Avery Elle's products check out i {heart} papers.

I also want to use this chance to thank both Avery Elle and i {heart} papers for their support for Caring Hearts Card Drive. They are simply awesome, awesome companies!

PS: So excited to share that my Santa card is being showcased at Paper Crafts Connection HERE and on Moxie Fab HERE. Double happiness. So grateful... 

May your day be filled with things that makes you grateful. Cheers.... 

Moxie Fab: In Transition

When I first saw this week Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: In Transition inspiration pic, I wasn't sure if I want to play along or not. Here's the inspiration pic:

I think it was because at the beginning I was too focus on the stripe. Then, I saw CASE Study challenge # 157 and suddenly it struck me how I want to do this challenge. Love it when 2 challenges work it ways into 1 card.

And, this is what I came up with:

This time instead of focusing on the line, I focus on how the color change. To create this card, I first cut the herringbone pattern background using my Silhouette. Then I used it as a template/mask. Using the sponge dauber I dab the colors one by one. I love how the bright color combo make this into such a happy card.

Then I stamped the sentiment on a piece of vellum and adhere the vellum to the card. Added a couple enamel dots. You know.... I resisted this enamel dots for so long and now I am hooked! Love it more than rhinestone or pearl sticker.

Bright color card makes me happy. :) Hope your weekend been a happy one!

Now That's My Cup of Tea

Hmm... I think there's some changes with me lately. Usually I am not one that often do cards with flowers on it. But, with all the gorgeous flower stamps that been coming out, I find myself reaching for the flower sets more and more. :)

For today's card I was inspired by Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger Now That's My Cup of Tea. 

                                            

In my head the plate color would make the perfect background color, so I based my card from there. The white of the cup makes the flower pattern stands out and gives a clean look and since I know I want to do flower cluster, I want my sentiment to stand out, thus I do the sentiment in white.

The vine pattern on the patterned paper is pretty soft, so I can use it without making the card too busy. The flowers are from Papertrey Ink. I just got my order from PTI, so this weekend I play with PTI a lot. :)

That's it from me today. I have massage and brunch plan with my girlfriends, so I better get going. Thank you for swinging by here. Have a blessed Sunday, everyone!

May You Always Walk In Sunshine

I have to say the Irish have a way with sayings or shall I say blessings. There's just something about the wording that makes me feel warm & fuzzy. And when I get a chance to create card using the Irish blessing it makes me super happy.

I made this card inspired by Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: I'm Craving Navy and Wplus9 Monday Mood Board #18.

                            

I was staring at this chevron patterned paper while looking at the inspiration pics. And the vase of green on top of the drawers caught my eyes and it makes me think of mixing graphic pattern with floral set. I was thinking what if I mix this patterned with the flowers from Wplus9 Fresh Cut Florals while keeping to the navy theme? And the results is this:

Now & then I made card with results that totally makes me giddy. This is one of them. I think this floral set is my muse. Whenever I use this set, I always end up with something that I am totally happy with. Best flower set out there. (note: if you don't hav this set, run and get it. i {heart} papers have them in stock) And then, when I was looking for which sentiment to use, this Irish blessing from Technique Tuesday caught my attention and I was like this is it! Totally wasn't planning on it, but I am happy that I did. This card makes me smile. 

Here's pic of the flower cluster close-up. I curled a couple of the pieces and adhere them with thick pop-dots, a couple with thin pop-dots and the rest directly to card with regular glue to create depth.

My mom loves flower, so this pretty card will go to my dear mom who is currently enjoying being a grandma. Well, that's it from me and I'll leave you with this Irish blessing:

May you always walk in sunshine.

May you never want for more.

May Irish angles rest their wings right beside your door.

Triangle Birdie

This weekend is a slow one for me. I finally get a chance to just chill out and catching up on some magazine and did a Glee marathon. And also play in my craft room, of course.

It took me a while to catch up with the triangle trend. Finally decided to give it a try. And what do you know.... I combined this trend with my love of bird.

To make this card, I first cut the bird and then cut all the little triangles and adhere them to the bird. LOL, I think about one third of the way, I started to re-evaluate my idea. Almost decided to chuck the whole thing. It feels like it took forever to cut and arrange those small triangles. But, I am glad that I kept going as I am pretty happy with the result.

I am making this card for Moxie Fab Trendy Triangle and Simon Says Stamp Triangle challenge using goodies I got from i {heart} papers. The patterned paper are from Echo Park Bundle of Joy Girl and Bundle of Joy Boy Dots & Stripes 6x6 pad. The sentiment is from Neat & Tangles Across The Card set.

So, what do you think of the triangle trend? Yay or nay? I am still on  the fence about it. Well, that's it for me for this weekend. Enjoy your weekend, peep.

Spread Happiness

Hi peeps. How's your weekend going? Mine is filled with movie (we rented Jack the Giant Slayer, which was kind of okay, nothing special), trips to check out the new Costco in my town and laundry!! Hah... I actually am super excited to do laundry this time because hubby got me a new steamer. I love it! So much better than ironing. Glad that I get to apply the lesson I learned from working at clothing store, which is how to steam clothes efficiently without burning your fingers. :)

And I am squeezing in a card to play along with Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger A Painterly Palette challenge. Here's the inspiration pic:

                                           

As you can see I am still into ikat pattern. Last time I play with the ikat pattern here I was using muted color palette. This time I go with happy color palette inspired by the cheerful color from the pic.

To create the colorful pattern I simply use my ZIG markers to color the image and then I huff on the stamp to moisten the ink before I stamped the image. This card come together pretty quick which I love, since lately I've been trying to balance my time between work, crafting & actually have down time to relax. :)

Now, I am off to relax and catching up on my piles of magazine. Good nite.....

All Sweetness & Light

Now & then you see some pictures and you'd go, oh my gosh that's so pretty! That's how I felt when I saw Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger All Sweetness & Light pic. This inspiration picture makes my heart skip a beat. It makes me want to decorate our room just like this. I mean, the colors, the pattern... love, love, love.

So, of course I had to make a card for this challenge. I mean, seriously, how could you not? Everything about this picture makes me think beautiful spring weather with colorful flowers blooming everywhere. And, I had this new stamp from Wplus9 that's perfect for what I had in mind.

This flower set is called Fresh Cut Florals and I have to say it's my top favorite flower set. It was love at first sight and seeing the samples made by their DT I know I have to have this. It arrived yesterday and I played with it right away to make this card. 

Dude.... this card makes me so happy. Actually the stamp set makes me super happy. You can bet that I'll play with this set a lot!

That's it from me today. Hope you're having an awesome weekend!

 

Instagram Smile

On Monday, I got a surprised when I visited Moxie Fab World. Cath has chose to showcase my camera gift card holder as published on Paper Crafts 350 Cards & Gifts.

Here's how the card looks like. Can you see the hidden gift card holder?

And, here's how the card looks like once you pulled out the gift card holder. Yep, I created a little gift card holder than can be pulled out when you detach the rainbow stripe. The super think velcro tab hold the stripe in place.

This card will be going to my brother (who is a photographer) for his birthday. I know he'd appreciate this card. :) Thank you for letting me share my excitement here. Have a blessed day everyone.

** Smile and the world smile with you. **

You Color My World

A while back, Paper Crafts had a submission call that required the use of watercolor. And, I've to say it was a fun call, that even after the call ended I continue to play with watercolor.

Then, I saw Moxie Fab the wonder of watercolor challenge. I know right away I want to play along. I have this silhouette cut out that I colored with Luminarte H20 shimmer watercolor paint that I've been wanting to use and this challenge is just what I needed. 

Here's  my watercolor wonder.

This silhouette is just so pretty and I think the watercolor gives it an ethereal look. I simply love the way this card turn out. My love of colors and CAS design all in one. This girl is happy. :)

Well, my countdown to my vacation time is starting. In about another week, I'll be on my way to Paris to meet my mom. I am super excited. The only downfall is hmm... I have to be away from our baby boy for a little bit. With our jasmine in full bloom, hubby took my pic with our li'l guy. I can't even begin to tell you how much this li'l boy color my world.

That's it from me today. Hope you all have a lovely day.

Warm Wishes

It's been awhile where I created a project specially for a challenge. But, I found 2 inspirations pics that I simply couldn't resist. One from Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger and one from Wplus9 Mood Board.

And from these 2 inspirations, I made this card:

I am so happy with the way this card turned out. Loving the pastel effect on this card. I stamped the flowers with versamark ink, then rubbed pastel over the flowers and fussy cut them. I added the strings for extra details, inspired by Jenni Pauli's style. She often added strings on her projects and I decided to give it a try. And, I am hooked! I think it gives the card a fun texture. You can definitely see more string on my projects from now on. :) Am also entering this card for Simon Says Stamps spring flower challenge.

And, how about ending today's post with a cute pic? I have to share my  niece picture here. My SIL sent me this pic of my niece and I feel my heart melt. The sparkle on her eyes gets me every time. And, I love the fact that my niece has such strong connection with her grandma. My brother said that every time she heard my mom's voice she smiles. If she's about to fall asleep, she will open her eyes a bit to give her a smile. Love that!

I sure can't wait to meet this cutie patootie and get to kiss her sweet cheeks. In a few more months. I am planning to be home for her 1st birthday. :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

Flowers, Feather & Butterfly

Happy Friday! Let's start with some Grey's Anatomy love, shall we?? This show is pretty much the only show that I'd make sure I don't miss. I love this show a lot!

And, I know many of you DVR-ing the show and might not seen last night episode, yet. So, without revealing much, I just want to say that at the end of the show, the one thing that trigger me to cry was this simple written word "Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital". Sigh... I still miss Lexy & Mark. And, I love how Yang and Owen are back  together.

Okay, let's move on from my Grey's obsession. After the show, I was able to create just for fun for Moxie Fab Elegant Emerald challenge and A Blog Named Hero free style challenge. The inspiration picture from Moxie Fab is simply gorgeous and I really want to play along.

Love the color, the pattern on the dress, the feathers, the butterfly and the pop of red. As soon as I saw this pic, I have this idea swirling in my head and this is what I came up with:

Recently, I received a generous presents of Hero Arts goodies (thank you, Jennifer!) and one of them is this gorgeous flower background called "Flower Medley Background" that I think is simply stunning.  The sentiment is also from Hero Arts.

For this card, I stamped it with Versamark ink to duplicate the tone on tone pattern like the dress. Cut out a couple feathers that I colored with Luminarte twinkling H2O paint (so these feathers actually has gorgeous nice shimmer), add butterfly, and pop in some red pearls (well, it's actually white pearls colored with Copic marker). I decided to go with black sentiment to pull in the black color from  the wing of the butterfly as shown on the inspiration pic.

I am very happy with the way this card turned out. This card get my mojo going. I think I will have lots of fun creating this weekend. :) What about you? Any crafting plan this weekend?

Also, just a reminder, Google Reader will be discontinued soon. I have switched to Bloglovin and I'd love for you to continue to follow me trough Bloglovin. It also allow you to import all of your Google Reader content. Super easy & convenient. :)

Just For Fun

Somehow I am always easily pulled by sweet images. I think the kid part of me will always like cutesy & sweet stuff. I've been debating whether I should get this cute Wryn images from Tiddly Inks or not since I first saw it. Well, I finally gave in and got it and give it a whirl.

Sometime when I am feeling overload, it's fun when I get to create just for fun. No DT requirement, no submission, just making card for fun.

Challenge: Simon Says Stamp - have a heart

Currently loving making card in size 3 x 4.25. Love the small space, yet it's still provide enough space to allow your creativity to show. :)

A Couple cards

While many enjoying the Superbowl Sunday, I am enjoying the Superstamp Sunday. :)

Spent the day playing with stamps, with a nap break with the puppy who is in super snuggle mood, and stamp some more.

Anyway, I made these 2 cards. The first card I made for Avery Elle January challenge. I love their stamp. Their clean design simply caught my attention.

Next, is a card I made using one of my favorite image from Paper Smooches, this cute li'l hamster. I made this card for Moxie Fab create your own background paper challenge. I made the heart background by repeatedly stamping the heart in various color inks and color in some of them with markers and leave some of them blank.

The yummy wood Polaroid frame is from patterned paper by Lilybee Designs. Love this paper!! I get so many frame from 1 sheet of paper. Also entering this card for Simon Says Stamp anything goes challenge.

Now, back to snuggling with the puppy. If I can snatch him back from hubby. LOL, yes we sometime battle on who get to snuggle with Eli!

Moxie Fab Seasonal Decor

This morning, my old pug, Ollie woke us up several times. I am not sure what is wrong, but she whined and barked a lot through out the night. Starting at 1.30am. So, my morning didn't start in the best way, but oh boy, it changed right away with a visit to Moxie Fab World.

Yep, today Cath is sharing Seasonal Decor from Holiday Cards and More and she's showcasing my Seasonal Greeting Shadow Box!! (You can see the post HERE). I am so excited and thrilled. I think I yelped with excitement when I saw my project there. Then I am grinning ear to ear like a fool. :)

I have 4 projects published on this edition. Beside the shadow box, I also have this penguin card in there.

There are so many cool inspiration on this edition. And this is the first time I get to share the magazine with my mom. Usually she just see it on my blog, but since she is here, I am able to show her the magazine hot off the press.

Thank you for letting me share my excitement. Have a very happy Friday everyone!

Moxie Fab Stamp It!

Super duper last minute entries for Moxie Fab Stamp It! week challenges. I am telling you, these days my job is keeping my mind going at 100mph. So, needless to say as much as I plan on entering early, reality say otherwise. :)

Making this fun card for Moxie Fab Birthday challenge.

The candle is real candle. And, it fits perfectly inside the crab's claw. :)

Next, is a thank you card for Moxie Fab Thank You card challenge. This card is inspired by my team mate, JJ Bolton. You can check out her tutorial HERE.

Now, time to get back  to work. Yep, I am taking work home today.  Good thing I love my job. :)

Thanks So Very Much

Keeping things simple and showcasing my love for birds.  Almost a one layer card. I ended up framing the sentiment to make it a bit more stands out. Hm... looking at the soft colors, makes me want to meditate. :)

Entering this card for Moxie Fab World Spatter challenge and Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge.

Have a fab Thursday, peeps. :)

Scraps & Household Item

This week, Paper Crafts is celebrating the release of their special edition Practical Solutions. And, I am so thrilled that for this publication I have 7.... yes 7 cards!! I was jumping up and down when I got the acceptance email. I worked hard for this edition and submitted a bunch of cards and  so thankful and grateful when that many got accepted.

Here's a peek at one of my card that focus on creative way to use scraps as seen on PC Practical Solution page 70.

I have to say this edition was one of my favorite to work on. I like the idea of using household item and using your scraps (which I have tons and tons of. Eli the puppy been trying to help cleaning it, too by stealing a piece of scrap whenever he could and ended up with me chasing him. Heh...).

Somehow my brain starts piling all these ideas to use unusual stuff. I even made a card using nail polish. Nope, that one didn't get accepted, but I still had fun playing with it. :D

Anyway, for today I want to enter this next card for Moxie Fab household item challenge. For my household item I used real party candle and those pretty dots on my card were made using wax by melting various color candles.

This project totally bring back college memories. Back then, I love doing artsy stuff on my diary, one of them was dripping wax on the paper, then scrape the wax to create the translucent look on the paper. On this one I didn't scrape the wax. I left it the way it is. 

Have you tried this before? Thank you for stopping by here and have a great Wednesday everyone! Cheers...