[Paperplay Challenge] Week 38 - White + One

Note: If you are looking for DYSU challenge - please keep scrolling :)

The apartment feels so different after our house guest Martin has left. Actually, it's just went back to boring. It was a great excuse to wake up and make elaborate breakfasts when the time allowed for it. The fun, spontaneous trip to the Grand Canyon was also inspired by Martin's visit. Anyhoo, in his departure I decide to make a little card as a memory of his visit...

Here is my card inspiration using our latest PaperPlay challenge theme: White & One. So, ok, I cheated, it's more like White + Two, unless I can convince you that beige and brown are just shades of the same brown family. Will you let me have it? ;)


Stamps: (Back in the Saddle, Way out West) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Jenni Bowlin No.10 - Malted Milk, No. 11 - Brown Sugar) Ranger
Embellishments: (Baker's Twine - Dark Chocolate; Vintage Button - Dark Chocolate) Papertrey Ink

Anyways, Martin thought the card was awesome, which is all my little ears need to hear. It's certain manly enough, so I'm glad I pulled that off.


The mountains in the background are stamped multiple times using the background silhouette from Way out West. It's a combination of stamping it right now and a stamping first off and then on. A little bit of bakers twine and a button never hurt, and I called this little CSA card done. In fact, it almost made it as a one layer card, but could not resist popping off the sentiment after all. Hope it tickles...

Go check out the rest of the Paperplay Challenge Design Team and join us on our White + One challenge, won't ya?

Our sponsors this week:

• Bunny Zoe Crafts

[DYSU] Challenge #39 - Swirls

It is definitely the onset of fall, because the leaves are turning and are slowly falling off the trees. When I was in my elementary school, I use to have a favorite corner in the school playground, because the wind would manage to gather up all the leaves and make them swirl into a cyclonic pattern pretty high off the ground. I was amazed and fascinated by this whole phenomenon. So til today, when I see the word Swirls I can't help but think of that memory. How is this theme going to inspire you?

This week I got to play with a fantastic silhouette image by Stitchy Bear. Silhouette have become quite popular and in, so I was delighted to do something this cute little one.


Stamps: (Summer Fun 3) Stitchy Bear; (Flourishes - Scallops & Dots) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White, True Black) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollection
Ink: (Versamark) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Embossing Powder - White) Stampendous!; (Pretty Pearls - Black) amuse; (Decorative Washi Tape Set #2 - Floral) Hambly Screen Prints

When I was cutting out this adorable image, I was thinking of the song "Bicycle" from Queen. I'm sure you have heard this classic before! The black and white of this whole card kinda just happened. Did not really plan for it...but I think it works :)



For good measure I added a few black pearls to the center of the wheels. This is my first time putting down some washi tape, and I must say I likey a lot. Hambly Screen Prints is what i have been seeing a bunch on other people's blog, so I picked one up at my local area scrapbooking store. I think I want to go pick up the other set now too ;)

Anyways, enough chatter. Go hop along and see what the other creative girls on the DYSU blog have been up to. Play along and check back next week, because we will reveal who has joined our DYSU DT group. I am already excited to be working with these new girls!

Our sponsors this week:

Crafty Individuals Prize Pack

Dearie Dolls Dearie Digi Paper Doll & 4 Outfit Pages for Different Holidays and Everyday

Sitchy Bear $10 Gift Voucher for Stitchy Stamps, Panda Bear Designs, and/or Kelley’s Kids

[Scrap Our Stash] September Grid Challenge

This month at our Scrap Our Stash's September Challenge we are creating with the theme Grid.

When I think grid, I think of playing the game Dots & Boxes, graph paper, and Tic-Tac-Toe. And since I am always short of cards that I need, I was going to create an anniversary card (for the parents):


Stamps: (Victorian Alphabet; Big Day - Additions) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollections; (Heat Wave) American Crafts
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Jenni Bowlin - No. 2 Cough Syrup) Ranger
Embellishments: (Stickles - Diamond) Ranger; (1" Square Punch) EK Success; (Corner Chomper) We R Memory Keepers

I decided a fun play on X's and O'x to say "XO, XO, XO" would be cute. Does it come across?



Some people think that it's too much of a stretch. That someone is also a boy ;) In case it does not, here is the sentiment to spell out it's suppose to be a love-y, dove-y card.



So I hope you have a chance to enter our grid challenge...Check out the Scrap Our Stash's September Challenge. You have until the end of the month to finish up something with grids, so don't forget to enter!

[Mami Doodles] Challenge #34 - Sketch

Hello everyone - it's Friday! ::doing happy dance:: What are your plans? Any crafting planned? How about applying to the Mami Doodle DT? Yep, you heard right. We're looking for two to three new gals to join the team. Go read about it here.

Aside from looking forward to who might be joining this team, I'm also planning on baking a chocolate mousse cake for my mum's belated big birthday celebration. This should be a fun experiment ;)

On a less risky note, there is also a Mami Doodle challenge set by Jackie. She created a fab sketch to get us creative. Isn't it fun?

I decided to continue on my "Party Animal" addiction, and pulled out the cute little cat to play.


Stamps: (Party Animals) Mami Doodles
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Smokey Shadow, Raspberry Fizz) Papertrey Ink; (Soiree) Pink Paislee; (Scrap Pack) Recollections
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin No. 4 - Lemon Drop) Ranger
Embellishments:(Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Soiree - Dimensional Stickers) Pink Paislee; (Trim Band) Prima; (Stickles - Red) Ranger; (Gel Pen) Sakura; (Border Punch - Apron Lace, Scalloped Sentiment) Fiskars; (Gossgrain Ribbon - Pink) Stash

Aside from the missing tiger stripes on my digi cat, it almost looks like Jojo. She has that cute, little up to no good sheepish look that says "It wasn't me." Here an unclose look on the kitty.



There is always some glitter needed for birthdays and present, right? I sponged the oval with some yellow ink to match the Soiree pattern paper better. And nothing says like lots of fun & birthday party bash like a nice glittery sentiment backed by a huge & fantastic fabric flower ...



Anyways, please go check out the rest of the DT's inspiration and their interpretation of the sketch and feel free to leave a little love. Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Friday!

[DYSU] Challenge #38 - Seeing Double

If you're on a red eye flight coming from the west coast, and you're pulling directly into work and haven't gotten much sleep in the last few days, some symptoms might occur, including Seeing Double - our theme of this week
I had a great time out west. We saw an abbreviated version of Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Zion, as well as half a day of Las Vegas. Actually the only thing I really did want to do in Las Vegas was stand in front of the Bellagio and watch the fountain. But shall we get on to our card for this week?

My card showcases a fun, whimsy bird from none other than our own, talented Alison from Stretch 'n Bubbles. I hope I did it justice :) 


Stamps: (Shae Bird) Stretch 'n Bubbles; (Mega Mixed Messages) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Fresh Linen, Ripe Avocado) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollection; (Out of Print) Basic Grey
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin No. 6 - Stick Candy) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Point 88) Stabilo; (Multi-colored Tiny Twinkles) Taylored Expressions; (Rustic Jute Button Twine; Impression Plate - Linen) Papertrey Ink; (Border Punch - Upper Crest) Fiskars

The birds are just too cute. I thought they were perfect for fluttering by and saying "Hi there." They made me smile and I hope the recipient will too...Here an unclose look at my terrible fancy cutting. I kept thinking that I will accidentally amputate the back feathers. In fact, we started discussing what the best scissors are among us DYSU gals, but I have to catch up on the discussion since I was away. I will let you know what the consensus is ;)



I wanted the fun detailed design to stick out, so I went over the details with my Stabilo markers. The piece of Fresh Linen card stock is impressed with some Linen texture and wrapped with a little bit of Jute twine to give it an interesting, but subtle, asymmetry. The asymmetry so goes against my grain, but I am glad I didn't wrap the other side. I kinda like it...what do you think?



Anyways, here is wishing you a Happy Thursday. I hope to see you play along this week. Hop over to the DYSU blog to see some of their amazing DT work on doubles

Our sponsors this week:

JLJ Designs $10 Gift Certificate

Stretch 'n Bubbles Winner’s Choice of 4 Images

My Divine Inspiration Winner’s Choice of 5 Digis

[Mami Doodles] Challenge #33 - All Creatures Great & Small

Hello everyone! I missed posting on time with the rest of the crew for our latest Mami Doodle challenge. Internet issues, but I already gave you my sob stories a few posts back, so I will spare you ;) We're working on cards with the theme All Creatures Great & Small. Thank you, Trinh, for setting our challenge.

I picked this little cutie pie...


Stamps: (Party Animals) Mami Doodles; (Free Spirit Sentiments) Waltzingmouse Stamps; (Say Cheese) Lawn Fawn
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Blueberry Sky) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollection
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor

Who can resist when something is named "Party Animals," right? Alas - this cute little piggie is for a friend's birthday and I decided to create a CAS card with it.



I picked up this cute Lawn Fawn stamp set at my Archiver's trip earlier this summer (while on a business trip... you know, a little retail therapy ;) I'm so happy I finally found the perfect way to put it to good use. My first ever Lawn Fawn stamping experience...!

The back of the card has the same polaroid frame with "say cheese" as the sentiment and a hand written note from me telling Swen "-> insert picture from birthday party here."

I always get super excited when I get to mix stamp companies and they look like they were meant to go together. Why not, right? Anyways, go check out the rest of the DT's inspiration - they put together their version of their favorite creatures and come play along. After all, Mami Doodle Digis are at stake here!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Friday!

[Paperplay Challenge] Week 37 - Punches & Dies

Note: If you are looking for DYSU challenge - please keep scrolling :)

Good day, everyone! I'm so excited that this week is coming to a close. I am flying out to Las Vegas in a few days, where I will try to get Las Vegas, Zion & Grand Canyon all under 3.5 days in. Yep - that's what happens if you have a house guest, good flight prices, and the sheer determination to show said houseguest a big natural hole on earth ;) It's a huge gaping canyon with amazing formations that has taken millions or billions of years. Hm, time to check Wikipedia...

I remember being in awe of all the red rock when I arrived and saw the vicinity for the first time. I took so many people pictures that my first day's trip was just red rock pictures. By the second day, the red rock got old. I was then taken in awe by gray rock at Bryce Canyon and took a bunch of gray rock pictures. My parents weren't very impressed with the avalanche of rock picture I made them sat through...

But we're not here to chat about rock color trends. Today's Paper Play challenge theme is Punches & Dies. I'm sure you're free to interpret this as dusting off your punches and/or dies, but for good measure I put both into my project :) Better safe than sorry, right?


Stamps: (Large Doily, Roses in Bloom, Frame-It) Waltzingmouse Stamps; (Signature Series: Cupcakes) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist; Pattern Paper - Damask Design) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Versamark) Tsukineko; (Jenni Bowlin No. 11 - Brown Sugar) Ranger
Embellishments: (Die - Signature Series: Cupcakes) Papertrey Ink; (Embossing Powder - Gold; Perfect Pearls - Perfect Gold) Ranger; (Nestability - Classic Scalloped Circles Small) Spellbinders

Mum's birthday needed some special elegance and I decided to go with some gold. It's warm, luscious and pairs well with brown. It almost has an Orient feeling to it, doesn't it?



I've been recently obsessed thinking of Aqua Mist - my standard go to color for weddings. I decided it was time to break the trend and go Aqua Mist for birthdays! The scalloped die cut circle has a doily stamped on with Versamark, to match the pattern paper that I created on the brown card stock. The cupcake is embossed with gold, after die cutting it using the matching Papertrey Ink Cupcake die.

I absolutely love sprinkling these Signature Series stamps with embossing powder and see the sentiment appear as the heat gun work its magic... :)



This card is a special creation and I had fun taking my time to get every detail right on this one :) After all, it's for the most important female person in my life... duh :) (I'll let you guess who the most important male person in my life is ;)

Go check out the rest of the Paperplay Challenge Design Team on how they punched out and cut out shapes! You're in for a treat! After that, come join us, won't ya?

Our sponsors this week:

• Whiff of Joy : 1 Stamp

[DYSU] Challenge #37 - Silver

I am so sorry that I missed posting my project for DYSU last week. It was on the challenge site, since I was a good girl and uploaded my project before my internet went down. Things like that never has a space in life's lil plan, does it? 

Anyways, I'm back. Keep your fingers crossed that my internet is not sporadically going to disappear. I've seen so many Comcast guys that I feel like I know all the service dudes along my route. Did you know there is an "outside crew" that deals with the cable box and the poles? And they are different from the "inside crew" that check your wifi and cable signal. Who knew, right? But you're not here to here me blab about Comcast business processes ;)

It's almost fall, and it's really time to think about Christmas. You'll love our calling this week: Silver. Yep, start thinking of all your things silver: embossing powders, Stickles, glitter, shiny sheer ribbon, metal embellishments...it all counts :)

My card showcases a fun lil whimsy tree from Robyn's Fetish. I hope you like it :)


Stamps: (Ye Ole Christmas Tree) Robyn's Fetish; (Twas the Night Before Christmas, Very Vintage Labels No. 10 ) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - True Black) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollection
Ink: (Versamark) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Stickles - Silver) Ranger; (Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder - Silver) Ranger

I just couldn't color the Christmas tree in silver. I had thought of making a "modern" Christmas tree with silver and maybe pink baubles. But for me, Christmas trees are green - a nice rich pine green, or forest green. Heck, I'll even settled for dried out pine green! But it has to be green...



What Christmas time traditions do you have? Are there some "musts" that you have to have? Leave a note in the comments field if you feel inclined to share :) I hope to see you play along this week. Hop over to the DYSU blog to see some of their creative Silver projects.

Our sponsors this week:

Robyn's Fetish Winner’s Choice of EITHER 5 digital stamps OR 4 digital stamps and 1 paper pack

Digi Darla Digital Stamp Club One Month’s Membership

My Divine Inspiration Prize Package

Miranda 2 Digital Images

[Paperplay Challenge] Week 35 - Make Your Own Flowers

Note: If you are looking for DYSU challenge - please keep scrolling :)

Good day, everyone! Can you believe it is already September? Here is a little update on what I have been up to: I had a grand time in Europe and am finally home. I even manage a short, spontaneous three-day stop through Venice. The architecture and history is amazing! Unfortunately time was limited and the sun was brutal, so I didn't have a chance to see as many museums and churches as I would have liked. However, I did get to enjoy the big typical Venice sights: the food, the famous bridges, the varpettos (water boats), St. Mark's Square (including the Basilica and Doge's Palace). I also spent a lot of time walking through Murano, where the heavenly glass is manufactured, and Burano, known for its small, cute and colorful houses. 

I would love to go back and visit many of the museums that are now on my list :) The rest of my trip was also amazing, since I had a chance to catch up with old and new friends, attend a wedding, and spend some quality family time. 

But let'd get down to business, shall we? Today's Paper Play challenge theme is Make your own flowers. My inspiration for you is a quick and simple card. I apologize for horrible photography in advance, since my usual photo corner is currently not accessible.


Stamps: (Say It Loud, Dainty Doilies 2) Waltzingmouse Stamps;
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream, Ripe Avocado) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Vintage Cream, Spring Moss) Papertrey Ink
Embellishments: (Prima Flowers - Honeydew) Prima; (Designer Brads - Claire) SEI

I had intended to crochet my own flowers, but ran out of time. I decided stacking my many, many leftover flowers counts...I have to learn how to give it more dimension, or stack better. Maybe I should go scout a few tutorials this weekend to watch...if you have any suggestions, feel free to point me into the right direction.



This doily set from Waltzingmouse is such a darling little small set. I tried to create a "flower" by stamping the doily and then extending the doily with the little add-on. The little add-on is also re-stamped in Vintage Cream on the sentiment to give the sentiment a little bit of an anchor. I think it looks like a lil flower petal, don't you think? This little add-on also makes a great lace border.

Sorry for the quick card. If you need some creative ideas how to create your own flowers, you can check out some of my older cards: crochet flowers are a nice personal touch, or think outside the box with a balloon die... Better yet, go check out what the amazing Paperplay Challenge Design Team has up their sleeves this week :)

Our sponsors this week:

• Simon Says Stamp : $15 Voucher

[DYSU] Challenge #35 - Friendly Critters

I can't believe it's already September. The summer has just flown by and fall and winter holiday are just peeking around the corner. This next Do You Stack Up (DYSU) challenge helped me put me in the right mood, but you can interpret it however you want. As long as you add a Friendly Critter to your card, you're golden :) Check our our inspiration picture for this week...

Di's Digi Downloads, among others, is sponsoring this round and I was lucky enough to play with one of their cute bears called Loving this White Stuff.


Stamps: (Loving this White Stuff) Di's Digi Downloads; (Free Spirit Sentiment) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollection; (Snow Day Collection) Crate Paper
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Sugar Spun) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Stickles - Red) Ranger

When I was coloring this cute bear, I was thinking of Tatty Teddy. He has an irresistible gray, blue-ish fur. I wanted to create a fun snow day, but no matter when it snows, it's always dreary and pretty gray. A great way to brighten everything up, is to give this cute lil bear a ridiculously colorful scarf. A bit of sparkly and polka-dotting never hurts, right?



I added a little bit of pink distressing to give the card a little glow. Had to match his cute lil ears and paws. A tad of fun pattern paper from Crate Paper, and I call it done :)

I hope to see you play along this week. Hop over to the DYSU blog to see some of their creative way the DT has interpreted this theme for this week.

Our sponsors this week:

Copic Marker Scrapbooking 6 copic ciao marker (North/South America) Martha Stewart punch (rest of the world)

Di's Digi Downloads 5 Digi Images

Boni Bleaux Designs 10$ Gift certificate for Digi Images