[Music Saves My Soul] Youth Lagoon - Afternoon

Hello there - it's the weekend and all we've done done here in Maryland is eat, shop, eat & play ;) But the good news is, we won in Pandemic and the world is safe another day.

I was on a major hunt to replace my old winter coat, whose lining was ripped, shredded and literally falling apart. I tried every tailor in the area, and they kept telling me to go buy another coat, cause the lining would be $200+. I was so heart-broken when they told me this, cause my coat fits so great, and the idea of having to shop and try so many different ones on to find a perfectly nice one terrified me. 

But thanks to a great shopping buddy and great sales at Macy's, I found two great coats for 180$. A super steal for a Nautica and an Anne Klein. If ever I find pics of what I  bought I will have to post it up...!



Off I go to hang out with my brother and great friends...maybe we actually get to work off some calories.

[Mami Doodles] Challenge # 42 - For a Loved One

Hello everyone! I am so happy that today is Friday and in a few hours I get to see my brother. It will be a time where we get to catch up on Christmas, my Birthday, and his promotion. If things go well I get to even swing by my uncle and aunt's place, since they are just a "few" miles down the road from him.

If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, we're putting you to work at Mami Doodles. This week we are setting you in the mood for Valentine's Day by asking you to create something For a Loved One. I could not resist this cutie that Elisa had drawn up, and immediately went to work...


Stamps: (She loves me, She loves me not...) Mami Doodles; (Frame-It, Say It Loud) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin No.11 Brown Sugar) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Impression Plate - Woodgrain; 5/8" Satin Ribbon - Dark Chocolate) Papertrey Ink; (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Fine Point) Sharpie

Isn't she a fun little beauty? I was so inspired by the entries in our last White on White that this cutie came quickly together. I love how the brown pops of the page so easily, but I wanted to share a few tips about stretching your Mami Doodles digis.

1. I gave Ginger here some stripes by coloring in some orange accents and blending the brown in. This is a great way to give any time you work with this kitty a unique new look. This orange-striped kitty is really similar to my Jojo (except that Jojo is grey-tigered). I might try black and white "spots" to see if I can pull a Simmi (my other cat).
2. Since my printer's black toner has been acting up, I like to outline the digis again with a black fine point Sharpie. I like this look a lot because it gives it that clean, "stamped" look. Another plus is, if the fuzzy cutting was not done so clean, the black liner helps cover up any hurried cuts.
3. Sometimes cutting out a digi poses a problem, especially the whiskers areas and the continued stem of the flower. No worries, just pen them right onto you background card stock for continuation. You might have noticed but the blue flower is also "sketched back in." Don't tell Elisa it's not her original ;)

I hope that some of the pointers help with stretching your digis...Hop on over to the talented DT to see how they are expressing their love & care for their loved ones...And maybe you will get inspired to play along? I hear one can win digis ;)

[DYSU] Challenge #56 - Ribbon

Hello everyone! It's Thursday, one day closer to the end of the week! I can't wait for this weekend, since I will be meeting up with my brother and spending some quality time. Also, I have a scrapping date with one of my girl friends and I will be mass producing my "Thanks So Much" mini cards for Project 30. I'll post pics when they are done.

In the meantime, this week at DYSU we are encouraging you to use your Ribbon stash. I'm one of those guilty ones that loves buying it and then I forget to use them in cards. So I went all out and picked out the pretty reds and pinks to use on a Valentine's card. I hope it tickles!

The stamps for the background are from my favorite company Waltzingmouse Stamps


Stamps: (Dainty Doilies, Seasons of Love - Tags) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Creme) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen) Ranger; (Versamark) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Nestabilities - Classic Hearts) Spellbinders; (Perfect Pearls - Perfect Gold) Ranger; (Ribbon 'O Spool - Red) Offray; (Basic Basic - Red) Celebrate It; (Trim - Pink with Hearts) Recollections; (5/8" Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon - Pure Poppy) Papertrey Ink

This took me a couple of tries to figure the ribbon weaving out, because I'm a neat freak. I need everything to be nicely glued down and aligned. My first step was to pick out ribbon with fun textures and designs; then test them next to each other to see how it looks. Then I cut out the window on my card with the heart; traced the heart onto a scrap card stock that would become the backing to my window. The good thing about tracing the heart is that every inch of that part should be covered with ribbon. I started cutting strips to size and glueing one end of the ribbon down.



Then I played around with different kinds of ribbon to weave. I didn't like the look  of weaving the 5/8" ribbon in, so I pulled out some 1/8" pink ribbon. I like how it segments the ribbon into many different parts, so I stuck with this look. With care, I wove in the ribbon and made sure to glue down each top and bottom of my 1/8" ribbon as I went. Weaving is significantly easier if you only glue down one side of the ribbon, allowing me to lift the bigger ribbons and scoot the 1/8" band into position. Surprisingly, it still looks like an ugly duckling, but once the heart window is positioned over it, no one has to know ;)



Here is what it looks like after you cover it up and and glue the window into place. Nifty, right?



If I had enough foresight I would have added the distress ink and the perfect pearls before glueing the top part on. But I often find myself "done" and then wondering what else is missing and whipping out another round of supplies...Anyone else craft like that?

After a round of watermarked doilies and perfect pearls to dust on and another round of careful sponging around the edges with Antique Linen, I call it done.



What nifty ideas do you have for your ribbon? If you need more inspiration make sure to check out the DTs samples.

Our sponsors this week:

Crafty Sentiments Winner's Choice of 4 images

The Stamping Boutique Winner's Choice of 5 images

Dearie Dolls Winner's Choice of 4 images

The Stamping Boutique 10£ Gift Voucher

[Scrap Our Stash] January New Challenge

This month at Scrap our Stash we're doing something New for January. For the details hop over to this post. This year I did something completely new, I threw myself a huge birthday party. With all this Project 30 talk on my blog, I want to share something new I did - party favors.



Since Project 30 was very food centric, I was trying to find the perfect party favor, when I stumbled upon this Bambu Pot Scraper at Crate & Barrel. I bought one and tested it at home and have been in love with it. I use it on all my pots & pans, or pyrex dishes, and it works like magic. It doesn't scratch anything up, so it's the perfect kitchen must-have tool.


Stamps: (Mega Mixed Messages) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (Botanical Paper Pad) Martha Stewart
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Embellishments:  (Border Edge Punch - Upper Crest) Fiskars

At $1 a piece, it's quite the thrifty party favor too. I added a fun little wrap around it. Cut each pattern paper down to, border punched with Upper Crest and stamped on "thank so much."



Easy peasy, lemon squeezy...

Check out the Scrap Our Stash's January Challenge. You have until the end of the month to get your inspirations in. What new things have you been up to?

[Ideas & Inspiration] Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! What does this mean? We get to pig out on more delicious food, especially in all things Chinese and delicious! Florian and I had our fair share of pigging out Swen & Ailin's when they invited us for a delicious hot pot this past weekend.

[Photo Credit: lemongraphic.sg]

There are a few things I want to change for 2012 on this blog. And that is to showcase and share some ideas & inspiration. It's a similar concept to Marcea's Music Saves My Soul - except for the eye, rather than the ears. It is also a place where I can brag about some beautiful cards that some of my dear friends have sent to me, or something that I might pull from someone's blog. So, look out, friends, I might just "tag & feature" you here ;) Other times I might just put up a really cool pic, like this one:

[Photo Credit: muji.com]

Isn't that a cool dragon? It makes a great gift for someone who loves dragons! Thought it was appropriate to share since this is Year of the Dragon for the Chinese. In the meantime, as we say in Chinese: Gong Xi Fa Cai. May you all have a prosperous and abundant year!

[Music Saves My Soul] Emma Louise - Jungle

Hello there - it's the weekend! And we had our first snow fall for this year - it's nothing huge, just a 3 to 5 inches, but it's finally winter!

This weekend is also Chinese New Year, so we've been celebrating with friends over hot pot. Way too much pigging out, but it was delicious! It was the sort of right thing to do after a really exhausting week at work.



In the meantime, here is a song that I heard a while back. I really love the modern vintage look that the whole music video has. Great music video shoot...don't you think? Anyway, here is hoping for a good week for you and me :)

[Paperplay Challenge] Week No. 3 - Ribbon Every Which Way

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

Hello again! Trying to squeak in my second post of the day. This time at PaperPlay Challenge we have a fun challenge: Ribbon Every Which Way.

When I saw this challenge I knew exactly what I wanted to create. I've been wanting to try Vera's Ribbon Fish (that she had made for one of the Gallery Idol entries in 2010).


Stamps: -
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Blueberry Sky) Papertrey Ink
Ink: -
Embellishments:  (Vintage Button - Pure Poppy; Classic Grosgrain Ribbon - Pure Poppy) Papertrey Ink; (Tiny Type) Cosmo Cricket; (A2 Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - D'Vine Swirls) Provocraft; (Artists' Color Acrylic Series 1 - Titanium White) Utrecht; (Wackelaugen - oval) Rico Design

I decided I wanted to make an ocean waves by embossing the swirls directly on my card. To give my card stock base more dimension, I added some white acrylic to simulate the waves crashing...



I found these lil googley eyes in Germany when I was browsing through a craft store. I finally found a reason to open the package. If I use these googley eyes one at a time to make a fish, I will be able to fill a five gallon aquarium from top to bottom just with fabric fish ;)



And since I can't resist a good punny sentiment and wanted to break in my new Tiny Type, I had to add a "best fishes" sentiment. Check out what the other PPC girls have prepared for this challenge and hope to see you link up your exciting project.

Our sponsors this week:

• The Ribbon Girl

[DYSU] Challenge #55 - Pattern Paper

Good morning everyone! What a crazy week. It has flown by so quickly that I almost forgot to post this entry. I've been tied up running & hosting a Requirements Engineering workshop with 23 participants. It's quite a handful, but I am enjoying the discussions that are coming out of this.

This week at DYSU, we have a challenge to use your Patterned Paper. If you're a paper addict like myself and can't help buying pretty paper, raise your hand! I am definitely guilty of hoarding the pretty paper, so this is a great challenge to enable me to use my stuff...more justification to buy other pretty things ;)

This week we got some amazing physical product from My Little Shoebox. The collection is called Pretty Little Things, and I love it!


Stamps: -
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Creme) Papertrey Ink; (Pretty Little Things) My Little Shoebox
Ink: -
Embellishments: (Pretty Little Things Collection - Cardstock Stickers, 3D Roll Up Flowers, Glitter Alphabet Sticker) My Little Shoebox

I love how everything matches in this paper collection. I decided to make a lil "scene" cards, especially after I saw the cute little clouds. And every sky with clouds needs a great sun...



Yep - my sun is actually a rolled flower from the 3D Roll-up Flower sheet. It's easy peasy to use. I also am a big fan of the alphas. Great size & enough sparkle to give the card a lil extra special bling.

Well,  here is keeping this short, because I have to finish up another post ;)  Check out the rest of the DTs samples. There are some owl-tastic creations among them as well as other inspirations on using that pattern paper. I hope you consider playing along. If you don't have any pattern paper to play with, leave me a comment. I might just pick someone to send a little stash of 6x6 paper...

And our sponsors this week:

Copic Marker Scrapbooking 6 Copic Ciao Markers (North/South America) Martha Stewart punch (rest of the world)

My Little Shoebox Physical Product, check the DYSU site

[Music Saves My Soul] Big Star - Thank You Friends

This song is dedicated to my wonderful friends who made yesterday the best Birthday Bash ever! My Project 30 has officially kicked of locally. I had the most lovely day with friends, sharing good eats, good recipes, good talks, good fun...good everything all around.

I was trying to think of a way to say "Thank You" to my wonderful friends, and was looking for a song online. I have never heard of this song, but the words pretty much say it all :)



Special thank you's go out to Jessica & Sueyi for being my extra hands yesterday. And a big thank you to Florian for helping me prep days in advance as well as being a great host.

I have about 23 recipes in my cool, new recipe box. Some of my friends banded together to get this perfect gift to help make Project 30 even more perfect. Thank you, Swen, Ailin, Oswin and especially Richard for being organizer and crazy fast initiator.


[Picture Credit: riflepaperco.com]

So time to roll up my sleeves and get goin'...To my global friends, who have said yes to helping out with Project 30, I just received my 4"x6" envelopes a couple of days ago, so I'll send them of soon! I look forward to receiving those...

[Mami Doodles] Challenge #41 - White on White

Happy Happy Friday! I can't wait for this week to be over! Probably because tomorrow is my big Project 30 Kickoff, and I'm super excited to see what kind of recipe cards are coming back. Of course I will be serving up some good eats, and have my whole list of food dishes that I am prepping ready to go. I started even making the soup today. For those of you who are still expecting a recipe card, I just received the envelops and will be starting to send them out after this weekend.

Today we are welcoming you back to join in on the next Mami Doodle challenge: White on White. I hope you enjoyed the little break we had over Christmas and New Years, because I sure did ;) Yep - DTers get worn out creating too...! So I am super grateful that Elisa gave us a little mini break to recharge our creative mojos.


Stamps: (Bea the Butterfly) Mami Doodles; (Signature Series - Dress Form) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Impression Plate - Polka Dot Basics II) Papertrey Ink; (Liquid Pearls - White Opal) Ranger; (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Gelly Roll - Metallic) Sakura; (Point 88) Stabilo

This card is suppose to be a fun take on patterns. I really wanted to play with the the white dots on red mushroom, and the red dots on white polka dotted background. It's hard to tell in the above picture, but the card stock base has an actual impression for texture. Maybe it's clearer in the next picture?



The rest of Bea is colored using a mixture of black color pencil, black Stabilo ink pen, and black charcoal and Gamsol for blending.

I hope you enjoyed this quick card and that you'll consider playing along. Say hi to the rest of the DT - i'm sure to they'll be happy to hear you're back too! Have a fabulous weekend. I know I will :)

[DYSU] Challenge #54 - Pink

Good morning & happy Thursday. Thursday means two days away from my huge Project 30 Birthday Bash / Kick-off Party. I'm a little worried, because the time I wanted to spend to prepare by making a few food items ahead of time, package up my party favors and such, got sucked up by work.

It's really Murphy's Law at play. I spent about 14 hrs at work yesterday, preceded by 12 hours on Tuesday to catch up from being sick. Key people at work went on vacation or are on a business trip, and my computer decided now is a good time to flake out on me. All before the next Requirements Foundation course that we're teaching. Oooops! I rely on connecting in from home, so that I can finish a few things, but my wifi is bewitched. Even my local IT guy can't explain the flickering in and out of my wifi, except that I have a faulty network card. They are hopefully going to fix it, cause I am teaching next Tuesday through Thursday, and my laptop has to go over without a hitch.

They are sending in a Dell support guy on site, and he's going to replace my entire motherboard. In other words, my work laptop is going under major  surgery...it better make it out a live.

You'd think that cheering my laptop on would help. I keep talking to it, coaxing it to cooperate, but it's been stubborn. Perhaps I can coax and cheer you on to participate in our Pink challenge. It's a nice break from all the cold and winter, don't you agree?

My card uses The {Stamps} of Life trees2build. It's really a cute set that Stephanie Barnard has created. The clear acrylic stamps are a fun to stamp with, and the bird is easily customizable. I was trying to really make this stamp set shine, and worked in all sorts of angles...


Stamps: (trees2build) The Stamps of Life
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush) Papertrey Ink; (Boxer)
Ink: (Mememto - Tuxedo Black, London Fog) Tsukineko; (Jenni Bowlin - No. 1 Chewing Gum) Ranger
Embellishments: (Rainbow Classic Felt - Baby Pink) Kunin Group; (Pearl Strip - Pink Champagne) Kaisercraft; (Corner Rounder) EKSuccess

The bird has a wing made out of felt. I stamped the wing with some Tuxedo Black, but the results were not so stellar. It still adheres well and fits to the over all card. I also chose to extend the tree branch by masking off the branch and just extending the main trunk. 



The background paper is created by stamping the grid oval in overlapping repeating patterns with a some Chewing Gum ink. I kind of like that graphic look, what about you? The "Tweet" sentiment is just to die for, it was way too adorable not to use, so I decided to make the bird look like it was chirping something, and building layers with the gray and one black...



I finished off the card with a little teaser sentiment on the card. In case anyone wonders, the inside says "Happy Birthday." Never too early to start stocking up on those cards, right? ;)

Well, I'm off to go check on my poor little computer. Check out the rest of the DTs samples. They will knock you over with their pink inspiration! You have until next Wednesday to enter, and I hope to see a card by you :) In the meantime, if you could cross your fingers and toes for my laptop and I'll post how the Project 30 party went. For those in the area, I expect to see you soon!
And our sponsors this week:

The Stamps of Life Winner's choice of 2 stamps sets

[Music Saves My Soul] Selena Gomez & The Scene - I Love You Like A Love Song

It's the first couple of weeks in January and it is time to get back into the swing of things. I am trying to plan out as much of my Project 30 Birthday Launch Party as possible, so that I can take next week to prepare...

My first batch of recipe cards went out to the local people and I am still waiting on my 4x6 envelopes to come in to ship them off. My plan is to host an open-house style event, where people come by whenever they have a moment, to enjoy some food and beverage. I'll have warm and cold bites on the fly...just have to figure out what those are! Any suggestions? Please post them in the comment field :)



In the meantime, this song has been playing lots in the radio and puts me in a cheery, bobbin mood. It's perfect for a fun party, right? In the meantime, time to get planning...

[Paperplay Challenges] Week 1 - New Year

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

Hello again! Yep, second blog post for today. Are you feeling creative? How about a new PaperPlay Challenge? We are startling on our Week 1, and we are celebrating the New Year.

I have a card for you that's quite a big stretch. I was looking for fun ways to make fireworks, or a sentiment that said "auld lang syne" or "happy new year" but my stash didn't want to cooperate. In the last few weeks, I have also been hearing news of friends either expecting or have just given birth to their first kid. So lots of new lifestyle changes, new adventures, and new memories were lying ahead of them. It seems that these were sentences I was repeating in my Christmas & Happy New Year wishes. So I thought, why not make some baby cards?



Stamps: (Sewing Box Hugs) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Lemon Tart, Smokey Shadow; Vellum) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Memento - London Fog) Tsukineko; (Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Fresh Snow) Papertrey Ink
Embellishments:  (Multi-colored Tiny Twinkles) Taylored Expressins; (Vintage Button - White & Cream Mix) Papertrey Ink; (Soiree Collection - Twine; Expressions Cushies Alphabet - Meringue ) Pink Paislee

I have not pulled out my favorite Waltzingmouse Stamps in a long time, so it was past overdue. In addition, I had bought a pack of vellum when I saw a few lovely cards in blog-land, but never opened the pack. Quite embarrassing how my stash is growing but not being used. Time to use what's home...



Here is hoping that this project fulfills the New Year. I guess we all get inspired in many different ways.

Please check out what the other PPC girls have prepared for this challenge. And welcome back :) We are looking forward to an exciting year!

Our sponsors this week:

• Simon Says Stamps

[DYSU] Challenge #53 - Let It Snow

Good morning DYSU fans! If you're new, let me tell you we have an exciting year ahead of us at DYSU, because I got to peek at the challenge list for 2012 and the sponsors. Oooo la la!  Now that the rush is over with Christmas and New Years and I am back from my travels, I can hit the reset button. Just kidding ;) I am full blast underway with my Project 30, and am already planning my Project 30 Kick-off Party for January 14. For those of you afar, I still invite you heartily to participate. If you haven't heard about it this, you can read all about it here.

In the meanwhile, you're dying to start the year off with some creativity right? This week we're al about Let it Snow. It's perfect, because the temperatures has been unbearably frigid in New Jersey. The kind that stings the face when there is a hint of a little wind. I keep asking myself "Where is the snow?"

Here's a card made with a Meljen's Design. One of my first projects for a DT that I had applied to, actually was with a Meljen's Designs. So I am quite familiar with Melissa's work and products. I love how easy they are to print off and use!


Stamps: (Cozy Star) Meljen's Designs; (Join Us) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Spring Rain) Papertrey Ink; (Boxer) Basic Grey; (Red card stock) Scraps
Ink: (Versamark) Tsukineko; (Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Fresh Snow) Papertrey Ink
Embellishments: (Border Punch - Upper Crust) Fiskars; (Artists' Color Acrylic Series - Brilliant White) Utrecht; (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Sharpie Pen - Fine Point) Sharpie; (Stella Rose Gertie Collection - "Little One" Label Stickers) My Mind's Eye; (Stickers - rund, schwarz, tr, gelb) Artoz

The card base has snowflakes stamped on with Versamark, then a thin layer of acrylic paint over it. I find that acrylic paint adds dimension without adding physical layers to the card. A neat trick that I am starting to grow more fond. The beautiful Cozy Star is colored with my good old Primacolors and traced over with a black Sharpie to make it look crisper.



I find it quite adorable like this. I tried to find a "Twinkle Twinkle" sentiment, but no luck. Instead I stumbled into this fun little Stella Rose label, which I thought fit the card's overall look. It's a fun, round yellow hue with a lovely cheery sentiment. And who doesn't like some bling, right?



Well, there you go. I hope you liked this little fella. Check out the rest of the DTs samples. They will knock your winter woolly socks right off! You have until next Wednesday to enter, and I hope a card by you :) In the meantime, happy new year and lots of creative mojo wishes to you ...

And our sponsors this week:

Meljen's Designs Winner Choice of 4 Images

Robyn's Fetish Winner's Choice of either 5 digital stamps or 4 digital stamps and 1 paper pack

The Crafter's Companion The Boxer and Envelobox Creator Bundle with Advanced Techniques DVD

[Project 30] On Turning 30

Dear Family & Friends, it is true, I am turning another year older (or younger at heart) and it's a big milestone. It's a great time to reflect how blessed I have been to be surrounded by so many great people, who have been patient, kind, and sharing throughout so many years.

To remember this milestone I want to put together a special project for myself that I can share with my family & friends, who live near & afar. It's also the one time where family & friends from different spheres all come together, from high school to college, from work to crafting, from near to afar.

I am combining my two big loves in the kitchen and in the craft room to pull together a special recipe box.

Project 30: Recipe Box
Project 30 will be a collection of favorite recipes of my family & friends. My goal is to cook through these recipes before January 3, 2013, and capture these dishes in a little scrapbooking album and blog those pages on my little blog. @Elke, you'll teach me how to bind an album, right? :D

I would like to dearly invite you to send me your favorite dish's recipe. It can be anything: a cold dish, a salad, a dessert, a main dish, a dish that comforts you or invokes childhood memories. It can be a simple or complex dish. It is a way for you to share with me why it is special to you and why it has become special to me.

How does it work:
I'll send you a recipe card (similar to the one below) with a self-addressed envelope. All you have to do is pop it back into the mail with your favorite recipe. For domestic mailing, I will also post-mark the envelop. For international, I have not figured out a good way how to do this for you. Please respond by Jan 10, 2012, if you would like me to send you a recipe card. You can leave me a message in the comments field, or send me an email at renyi.lo [at] gmail.com with your physical mailing address. Thanks a bunch!



[Picture Credit: Anthroplogie.com]

I hope you will help me along with my project and I look forward to reading and trying out your favorite dishes. Cheers!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I ran across this picture thanks to a friend that included it in her Happy New Year greetings. It was too good not to upload here. Here is to a great year filled with health, happiness, wealth, and lots of inspiration!