I have been a little silent on the blog front - mainly because I am enjoying my time with family that I don't get to see very often.
I'll post pictures once I have weeded through them. In the meantime I wanted to share something slightly different for this week's Music Saves My Soul. It's not really a song but I thought this was just too good to pass up.
Just thought this would put everyone in the right mood for Christmas time...
The current Scrap Our Stash December Challenge is near and dear to my heart. It is through this wonderful group that I got my first "recognition" for anything crafty and dear Kathy gave me a chance to be a Guest Designer. And now I have been on this team with a bunch of talented, fun and caring ladies - it's been an amazing journey thus far.
So when this month's challenge is in honor of Scrap Our Stash turning the big ONE, I thought what better then to post a birthday project that I had not shared with you.
This birthday project was actually a CASE study on Claire's really creative work. I fell in love with her boat, so when a friend had a birthday coming up, I knew that the perfect gift was going to be a gift card for a day's worth of sailing. He has picked up sailing as a hobby this year and went to sailing school to get his license. What I love most about this friend is that when he says he wants to learn sailing, he'll actually follow through and go get that sailing license. The only sad thing is we were not sure where he goes sailing, so we could not gift him a gift card. Instead we had to give him his sailing trip in the form of cold, hard cash. I hope, he didn't mind.
Here another up-close look at the captain's face. It really looks like my friend ;)
Funnily enough - I popped over to see what my favorite wee Memories crew was up to this week to find this challenge...
Someone has been gracious enough to give me a little break with all my crafting madness still in progress. At least I can throw this one into the mix and have a little play time...
I've been crafting like a crazy gal and trying to shrink my Holiday Production List. So to keep me going I have been putting up some Christmas music to motivate me along. They make for great "sing a longs" at home.
I really love "O Holy Night" - it's just one of those beautiful song, and especially fell in love with this Celine Dion version when I first heard. It's just so majestic, regal and a great reminder of what this season is all about.
What are your favorite Christmas carols or holiday songs? Any favorite versions?
Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Those were my thoughts when the weather temperatures dropped to below 0 deg Celcius. I was Monday in Boston and could not believe me thinking The Great White North is warmer than Massachusetts. On a great note, this week marks my last business travel for this year ;)
Can't wait to be back later, since I have my huge holiday production to still work on. In the meantime, here is a Waltzingmouse Sketch contribution with a wee, little twist - har har.
I hear you guys groaning. I thought it was punny way to share the current wee Memories challenge with you. And here the actual sketch from Waltzingmouse.
When I first saw this sketch, my brain associated Pokémon ball. I could not get this image out of my head. Thankfully the wee Memories sketch gave me something new to focus on and I finally moved on to "cold" and "snow." Before you know it, I had snowflakes on the mind!
My Stickles were lined up like little toy soldiers on my desk from a few cards ago, and I decided to put the Diamond Stickles to use. The white section was cut into a fun wave to simulate a mountain of snow. And I am so in love with the little flourish scrolls!
In the mean time, I really pray and hope it does not snow on Friday, because I do want to make it home. Last business trip, my 5p flight was cancelled and I was chillin' (quite literally) at the airport until the (delayed) 9:30pm-ish flight departed at 20 minutes past the hour.
Needless to say, I really need every waking and free moment at my crafting sweat shop desk. After all, the holidays are fast approaching...Anyone else feeling the home stretch?
{2010.12.05 - Edit} I know I had post this song before, but I didn't have a chance to share it through the official Music Saves My Soul Round-up. There was a short break during our weekly sharing.
This song was playing a lot when I was driving home for work and something about that cello line in the background just makes me fall in love with the song over and over.
I haven't been too diligent with my crafting cards and haven't pulled out a Sweet Stop Sketch for a while. Can't believe they are #84. Where has the time gone?!
Another fun place to check in on are the weekly wee Memories Challenges. This week's theme is "Ribbons."
I had thought of all the fun things to do with ribbon, and immediately thought of Vera's awesome Ribbon Fish Tutorial. Isn't it amazing? It is still on my list of things to CASE. But I was not feeling the summery, fun vibe. At least not recently when the windy cold has been hitting my face and my fingers have that cold, numb feeling when leaving for work in the morning.
So I decided to do a ribbon wreath, in spirit of Christmas creeping up. I can't believe this weekend is already Second Advent! Half way there, right?
Stamps: (Musical Backgrounds, Compliments of the Season, Around Christmastime) Waltzingmouse Stamps Paper: (Brown Parcel Wrap) Scotch; (Paper Basics Card Stock - Kraft, True Black) Papertrey Ink; (Boxer) Basic Grey; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollections Ink: (Earth Elements - Ruby Red) Stamping Up!; (Momento - Tuxedo Black Green) Tsukineko Embellishments: (Inkssentials - Glossy Accents) Ranger; Value Ribbon - Green (Michaels);
I took two twisty ties and created a shady-looking circle (it was not much of a circle) and wrapped and glued ribbon at strategy locations. The wreath should have a full, 3-D effect. The berries are stamped, cut, and glossied up.
This is my first time playing with Glossy Accents and I was surprised how long that thing requires to dry! In addition, I decided to stamp a background onto the Kraft-colored background, but decided that I could not let the wee, little bit of parcel paper go to waste, that was lying around due to my Wine Label project.
Interestingly, it tends to absorb ink and bleed more. But I like the un-even, vintage-like look. I guess more reason not to throw out my other brown parcel paper.
Well, then, hope you enjoyed this post. I'm off to go back to my sweat shop to create tags for my upcoming cookie swap.
So, when Santa checks his "nice" list, will you be on it? And what are you wishing for? I remember how one Christmas I was wishing for a huge set of color pencils. The kind with 3 tiers in a wooden drawers. Needless to say, it cost a fortune and the little third-grader Ren-Yi was no where near an amateur artist ;) But I digress...
My Christmas memories inspired me to pull my Around Christmas Time stamp set out. And they were in my recent Waltzingmouse Stamp order which naturally meant they had to be acquainted with my ink pads.
I inked up a text background with brown on pink and decided that the brown card stock was too stark. To soften it up, I inverted and added Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid onto brown. The picture below shows this better...
In addition I have been meaning to add Tim Holtz Distress Inks to my collection and have recently ordered four fun colors (mainly inspired by Claire): Antique Linen (I wonder why!), Walnut Stain, Chipped Sapphire, and Sugar Spun. Here the Sugar Spun in action...
I love, Love, LOVE my new inks. And I can't really explain why it took me this long to try 'em. In fact, love them so much that I am starting to eye other colors...What are your favorite shades of distress ink?
But this is not just any digi...My online, crafty friend Janna (aka snuffermus) from Papiersalat creates her own digis, which she is sharing for free. So, head on over and check out her beautiful blog and leave her some love. And don't forget to link back to her if you use her digis!
In addition, the current Papertrey Princess challenge is hosted by amazing Diane. The theme is to create something Merry and Bright. So I pulled out one of my first embellish loves - Stickles. They are my second embellish acquisitions to my stash, after ribbons, because I was introduced to them at the Stamping Around PA retreat. Thanks, Korin, for using them in your class!
Coloring with Stickles is actually kind of fun. To give the card more dimension, I really piled on the blue onto the mailbox to give it some 3D effect. My interpretation on the sketch is kind of loose - larger square and a border for the strip. But hey - creative license, right?
A lastly, for my buddy Janna, up-close look on the digi - which is really fun and easy to color.
So what do you think? Is it "Merry & Bright" worthy? Hope you are having a great Tuesday...
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I have a special post coming up for that later today. But in the meantime - Yep - you read right. I wrapped the first Christmas present already. But I have good reason! I'm heading out on a business trip soon, and I wanted my newly-addicted-to-stamps friend to get a little gift. In fact, you may have heard me mention Sandra in a previous post. She placed her first SU! order and will be crafting with her MIL. How awesome is that?! Heehee...Nicole and I successfully converted her to the dark side ;)
When I saw this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, I was snickering to myself. Last week I had made a card for the WMS #23 Challenge as well as for the WMS Blog Hop and thought I had added my link. Evidently, I didn't...so in theory, I have never missed a WMS Sketch challenge. But in practice...silly, forgetful brain! Surely, I'm not the only one?
For this sketch, I pulled out a few of my Waltzingmouse Stamps to create a gift wrap for Sandra's gift.
The snowflakes were actually stamped in both the Versamark and Chai Tea Dye Duo to give it different color gradient effect. The picture below shows it better in detail.
The crisper darker one on the left is Versamark; the snowflake below the label that is a little more yellow, is the Tea Dye. Sorry for the horrible pictures, but it would not take in the evening light!
Perhaps I should wish for a light box this Christmas ;) What's one thing you are hoping that Santa will bring you?
I was in such a rush for my last business trip that I have forgotten to share some exciting, crafty news. I am a Princess! Better stated, I'm part of a great blog group called the Papertrey Princess. See the right margin of my blog for links to the other gals amazing crafty blogs. They have some amazing creations and I am incredibly excited and blessed to be part of this group. So thanks for having me! Plus, "Princess Ren-Yi" doesn't sound half bad, right? ;)
The Princesses take turns hosting a challenge and Bethie is currently hosting. Well better said - was hosting - because by the time I finish this post, it will be past due.
Her challenge is Red/White or Cream/Brown, and an added twist is to recycle something. My last blog post actually was about a bag I saved and wanted to refurbish into a wine gift bag; however, my colors were a tad off ;) So here is my second attempt...
My second attempt is also wine related. In fact, I have been testing out my home-made Christmas gift ideas this past week (which explains the long, long silence from the blog). A few of you may know Glühwein - a kind of mulled wine popular in Germany around this time of the year. It brings back many childhood memories, because I use to poke around the Christmas market (or Christkindlesmarkt) with my Mom, looking at all the wonderful hand-crafted items. Usually, it would be so cold that could see my own breath in the air. The Christkindlesmarkt would have this amazing aroma of cinnamon, cardamon, orange peels, anis, as well as roasted nuts and Lebkuchen. If anyone has experienced a walk-through these markets, maybe you can relate that walking through one of these markets makes Christmas tangible - it's just around the corner!
So my attempt is to make my own Glühwein. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll post it up in a separate post.
And like any good home-made gift, it should come with a home-made label, right?
I pulled out my trusty Waltzigmouse Rescue Remedies and went to town. I started re-using some old brown paper wrapping that I had lying around and created a newsprint.
Add an embossed little vintage, cream label and a decadent, shiny red ribbon and I call it done.
Speaking of the colors chosen, Mona's hosting her own challenges. And I have been meaning to play along to show my support! When I happened to see that these were her colors this week, I did a little happy dance!
It felt like getting a two-fer deal. Mona, next time I will check out the color challenge before making a project ;)
In case anyone is interested in the supply list, it is attached below. Have you guys figured out your Christmas to-make and to-buy list?
I missed the last Embellish Challenge and vowed to play along on this next one. The theme is Bags! Here the cute poster to sum it up:
Isn't the babe on the picture just too cute? I had saved this William Sonoma bag from a purchase since its form factor was so unique.
Slender, tall - perfect for a wine bottle. I also tend to save things and want to refurbish it and never get around to it ;) Also known as pack rat behavior. So this challenge was the perfect motivator. So with the color combo poster, I went to town. Thanks, Embellish!
Here an up-close look of the bag's label. Don't you love Waltzingmouse StampsRescue Remedies? The "Syrup of Kindness" makes the perfect label for a wine bottle.
The wine gift bag would make a good hostess gift and not so much of a host ;) I must say, I'm loving my current pink binge...Do you have a current color obsession?
I'm still alive & kickin'! I arrived home at around 1a Saturday morning, since my plane was delayed on Friday. Don't you love business trips in the fall and winter, when weather becomes more or less unpredictable? However, I am relieved that I was not stuck overnight at the airport - sure didn't want to experience an abbreviated version of Tom Hank's The Terminal. So this weekend I was recuperating and catching up on much needed household chores, and seeing family and girl friends for meals.
However, November 17th was creeping up and the next installment of the Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz was coming up! The theme is Christmas and the perfect excuse to get my crafting back into gear. But since my crafting mojo is still fighting my sleep-deprived brain, I thought to combine it with this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.
Stamps: Very Vintage Christmas (Waltzingmouse Stamps) Paper: Paper Basics Card Stock - Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink); Basic Card Stock - White (Recollections) Ink: Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink) Embellishments: Stamp 'n Stuff Embossing Powder - White Opaque (Stampendous!); Vintage Buttons - White & Cream Mix, Spring Mix (Papertrey Ink); Rustic Button Cream Twine (Papertrey Ink); Spool 'o Ribbon - Green (Michaels)
The sentiment was actually masked onto the ribbon and then heat embossed. I was actually really scared trying this, since the ribbon was made of some sort of polyester mix. I had visions of the ribbon blazing up into flames and was glancing nervously over to my cup 'o tea that was in grab-able distance. You know, just in case ;)
The torn paper was suppose to be a lil snow hill and the snow flakes and buttons a cute way to "snow" onto the card. So, that's my take on a little non-traditional Christmas card. Cannot wait to see what the other gals have up their sleeves!
I wanted to share some exciting news. Korin from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps featured a card of mine on their challenge blog. I never had anyone say "Hi Ren-Yi! Love your card! How creative :)! In fact, I love it so much, I featured it in our Sweet Stop post today" out of the blue. I was tickled! Ok - so little things make me happy ;)
I mentioned how November is Crazy Birthday Month! I thought I would pull out my Elzybells out and give them some inky love. A real shocker, right? It's not a Waltzingmouse Stamp ;)
I remember reading that wee Memories was having a Birthday-theme challenge this week. And here the proof that my memory isn't failing me:
The cute birdie in Elzybells and the hot craze for tweets really inspired this card:
Stamps: Little Birdie Told Me (Elzybells) Paper: Paper Basics Card Stock - True Black (Papertrey Ink); Oasis (SEI); Basic Card Stock - White (Recollections) Ink: Pigment - Black (Colorbox); Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Terra Cotta (Papertrey Ink) Embellishments: Soft-core Color Pencils (Prismacolor); Jewel (Memory Box)
I dared to add a lil bit of gems to the center of the flowers for a boy card. I hope I am forgiven. Here an up close look of the party animals:
Thought keeping the sheep a lil grey and plain and making everything around it dazzle color was the way to go. And a big happy birthday shout out to wee Memories!
November 9, 2010, marks the big THREE for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. So, Happy Birthday, SnSS, and congrats to such a successful run, Korin! And I wish you many many more years of success.
I met Korin last year at the Pennsylvania Stamping Around event. I was the non-crafter that showed up, cause a certain crafty (and yes, I mean that on both definition counts: hand-made and sly) chica managed to enable me to come. I mean with an offer such as "Just show up - we can share my tools" who wouldn't, right? So, I made a huge adhesive run, packed my color pencils and came. We were such good students, we even sat in the first row - I didn't want to miss any steps and was already intimidated as is ;)
Everyone was so sweet and Korin had a wonderful little stand set up in the lobby. I immediately checked out these things called acrylic, clear stamps. It was all alien to me (at that time an avid knitting and crocheter - so anything yarn made sense, but acrylic, clear stamps? come again?)
My great enabler friend pulled out Baked With Love and mention how perfect they were to go along with my cookie baking hiatus. Cookies were after all the home-made Christmas project of 2009! Korin had such wonderful prices offered for that weekend, and I ended up leaving with Trendy Girl and Doodle Flower for Sentiments as well. I had no idea what I was going to create, but I figured, I'd hit a Michael's on the way home and buy an ink pad. After all, that's how the paper crafting addiction starts, right?
Check out my first card ever, made with Trendy Girl! I never posted my Christmas Cookie Tags (notice how crazy I went?)
Stamps: Baked With Love (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps); Tag Treats (Taylored Expressions) Paper: Basic Card Stock - White (Recollections); various pattern paper (Basic Grey) Ink: Pigment - Black (Colorbox) Embellishments: 1/8" Circle Eyelets Multipack - Various Colors (Making Memories)
And found some color inspiration from this week's DeNami Color Challenge (my first time playing along - yay!)
A good cup of coffee is always a great way to say "Thanks a Latte." I had fun playing around with the colors, and decided to offset the cup color and the stamped image. The cups are also adhered with dimensional adhesive at different levels to give it some interest factor (the next picture shows this better).
Stamps: Warm Up (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps) Paper: Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink) Ink: Earth Elements - Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stamping Up!); Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Orange Zest, Tea Dye Duo - Chamomile (Papertrey Ink) Embellishments: Soft-core Color Pencils (Prismacolor); Nestabilities - Fancy Tags (Spellbinders); Ribbon - Petals & Paisley Key Ingredient Kit (Taylored Expressions); Paper-Piercing Tool & Mat Stack (Stamping Up!); Fine Point - Black (Sharpie)
A little bit of Tea Dye ink to vintage up the fancy label and stringing the tag onto a cute polka-dotted ribbon - and I call it done.
The 'lil steam swirls are paper pierced and faux stitched. Can you tell that the yellow cup is popped a tad higher? So - what's your perfect latte? I fancy a nice Pumpkin Spice right around now...
