Sunshine...Just For You

You know what love abut spring? The sun peeking out and the temperature getting warmer. Warm enough to wear a skirt or a dress! So when this month's Scrap Our Stash's April challenge was to incorporate sunshine into our craft, I was super excited.

So here is my creation using some old pattern paper in my stash, and some fun new stamps that I have acquired...


Stamps: (Bitty Banners) Waltzingmouse Stamps; (Little Frieda Daisies) The Craft's Meow; (Just For You) Claire Brennan Images
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink; (Paperie Poolside & Greenhouse) Making Memories
Ink: (Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Orange Zest); (Jenni Bowlin - No.4 Lemon Drops, No.2 Cough Syrup)
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor 

The sun's rays are made using the Bitty Banner stamp set, and the fun radiating circle is the flourish flower from The Craft's Meow. Isn't it great to stretch those stamps?



And a fun close-up of Little Frieda. A wonderful stamp created by The Craft's Meow. She is so sweet, don't you think? I love how she shyly looks over her shoulder...I think the sentiment "Just for You" is the perfect compliment.



So here is hoping that you are enjoying the fun, warm weather & sun like Little Frieda. If you would look like to play along, Scrap Our Stash's April challenge is running until April 31. So hurry and bring on your Sunshine project! 

Think Outside the Card...

I am so excited about this week's PaperPlay Challenge, because my favorite stamp set company is sponsoring. Yep, you guessed it, Waltzingmouse Stamps! To win a fabulous stamp set of your choice (and oh - this would be so tough for me to choose!) you'll have to take on this week's challenge with PaperPlay: use an object not intended to craft with. Are you ready?

For my project I decided to use a glassine bag and wrap up a CD case as a gift.


Stamps: (Rescue Remedies, Rescue Remedies Additions) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Basic Card Stock - Scrap Pack) Recollections
Ink: (Memento - London Fog; Brilliance - Pearlescent Orange, Pearlescent Sky Blue) Tsukineko;
Embellishments: (Vintage Button - Autumn Mix; Rustic Jute Button Twine) Papertrey Ink; (Round Paper Doily - Style 1; glassine bag) Dudley & Tyler; (Cuttlebug A2 Embossing Folders - D'Vine Swirls) Provocraft

A little close-up on the simple label...



This challenge is perfect to think outside the card, or outside the layout. And it makes it a perfect opportunity to recycle something in your household. Hope you play along with us this week and you never know - you may win a Waltzingmouse Stamp Set.

[Music Saves My Soul] Michelle Featherstone - I'm There Too

I'm late, I'm late - to share a music inspiration with you. But I am sharing a beautiful piece of music that I heard recently on a TV shows. Amazing what gems you can find by just listening a little more carefully, and watching less (my usual crafting setup...)



Hope your week is productive and wonderful. Go enjoy that sunshine - it is finally here!

Happy Easter

I woke up today to realize that I sent my dad yesterday to the airport and that my mom was also still traveling. My brother lives in VA now, so I was all by my lone-some self for Easter. No family feast, no family stories. So when I woke up this Easter Sunday morning, I thought to myself "I know what I am going to do today!" (much like Phineas & Ferb, if you know which *awesome* TV show I am referring to ;)



I decided to dye some eggs - a fun childhood activity that I haven't done in a while. Except, let me just tell you, don't forget to add the vinegar. It's an integral part to making sure the egg shells can absorb color. Otherwise, the whole dyeing is kind of moot. I speak from experience...or rather from the lack of years of experience.



Anyways - so here is wishing you an egg-tra (*heehee*) special Easter. Hope it is colorful and fun. Methinks I will be having egg salad for the next few days...Wanna join em? :)

Won't You Come Join Me?

I have met some amazing people during me short crafting community time online - some of which I have stayed constantly in contact. So, when one of my favorite fun crafting chicks (Janna Werner, aka Papiersalat) asked me to be part of her Creativity Unites project, I jumped at the opportunity.  Check this little write up to learn more about the project.

In the meantime, I would like to invite you over to Janna's blog to kill some time, have a good laugh, or a combination of both :)

And if that does not convince you, what do all these different people and companies have in common? Belinda Chang, Waltzingmouse Stamps, Claire Brennan, the WMS DT, Scrap Our Stash, Swapping Sisters, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Embellish Magazine, PaperCrafts, a bunch of well-known talented ladies...? Well, for the answer you have to hop on over and find out :) Hope you enjoy it.

Janna, thank you so much for letting me be part of your amazing project!

[Music Saves My Soul] Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

2011.04.18: Thanks to Janna for pointing out my wrong title in my blog post. It's "Chasing Cars" and not "Crashing Cars" - although my subconscious must have been extrapolating this song's title into something more creative to describe my last few work weeks ;)

2011.04.16: I know I shared this last week but there was no Music Saves My Soul hosted last week. And I really wanted to share this one with the gals. Have a wonderful weekend. If I am lucky, I can let work rest for a bit and actually hit the crafting table this weekend. Wish me luck! :)

I can't believe how fast the week has flown by. I had intended to craft up a storm to actually not procrastinate on my looming deadlines, but to no avail. I'm on a new project at work and it has required 12+ hr workdays out of me. So after I get home, I have this rather dazed and dumb look on my head and there is no ounce of creativity left. So after this madness passes and my big deadline on Tuesday passes, I hope to be able to return to a more normal work schedule and get some crafting in! So thanks for being hanging in there with me!

On a more random note, anyone else watch the Grey's Anatomy musical episode? If so, then you know how I came to be inspired to share this piece of music with you :)



This song is an old favorite and whenever I stumble across it, I don't mind listening to it. I don't see the inlink on Marcea's site up yet, but if you care to share a video with the rest of us Music Saves My Soul addicts, then pop on over there to leave a link!


I hope your week is wonderful!

April Showers, Bring May Flowers...Part 2

Remember this little card from a couple of Mami Doodle challenges ago? It was inspired by the saying "April Showers, Bring May Flowers" But if you look at that card, you'll see the rain theme coming through. I thought it would be fun to create a second card with focus on the flower theme :)

So here is my "Bring May Flowers" card...



Except this week's Mami Doodles Challenge is Kraft. Ooops!  But the beauty with this card is that it is so fast and simple, I just created a kraft one.


Stamps: (Happy Blooms) Mami Doodles; (Frame-It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Kraft) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollections
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 3 Chili Powder) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor;

I actually adhered the image layer onto the card base but found it too plain. So a quick fix was to distress the edge by using an X-acto knife, a thumb nail, or anything else available. I think it gives is a little more dimension without having to do really do much. What do you think?



Anyways, here is hoping that you feel inspired to play along in our Mami Doodle challenge. Don't forget to use Kraft, or else you will have to make two cards ;) Have a fun weekend!

Papertrey Princess Challenge - Get your Stripes On

This is so exciting because it is my first time setting a challenge for the rest of my Papertrey Princess sisterhood. I've been absolutely smitten by this year's stripes fashion - never mind the fact that they aren't very slimming, but stripes are hot now! So taking a queue from the fashion industry, I challenge my fellow Papertrey Princesses to use stripes in some form or fashion.


Stamps: (Frame-It, Itty Bitty Banners, Text-It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy) Papertrey Ink; (TCM's Portrait Collection Paper Pack B) Crate Paper
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 11 Brown Sugar) Ranger
Embellishments: (Multi-colored Tiny Twinkles) Taylored Expressions; (Steel Dies - Up, Up and Away, Baker's Twine - Pure Poppy; Vintage Buttons - Pure Poppy) Papertrey Ink;

I spied someone ordering this wonderful chocolate milkshake the other day - topped with whipped cream and a wee little cherry. After going home and kicking myself for not ordering one, I decided to put that craving into a card and use the color inspiration from it.



My flower is created by using the balloon die from Papertrey Ink. I inked up each balloon / petals with a text font to give a tad bit of visual interest and curled each balloon / petal upward for some dimension. I'm always looking for ways to stretch my bang for a buck in my dies and stamps. So here are balloons acting as flower petals :)



Here an up-close look on the center - it's filled with more Papertrey goodness: Baker's Twine wrapped carefully onto a circle of card stock (which reminded me of a big lollipop wheel of peppermint!) and a nice big ol' button to finish off the center of my flower.



A quick birthday sentiment for the card, using my newly acquired Itty Bitty Banners from Waltzingmouse. 

And since this challenge is about stripes - my pattern paper is from the latest Crate Portrait collection, which I snagged from The Craft's Meow. I actually bought a few kits from The Craft's Meow to try them out and was really excited by what it included: buttons, accent stickers, chipboard, brads from the same collection, as well as little doo-dads like a piece of felt, burlap, some tulle (although I'm not sure if they were included in the Portrait collection or my Graphic 45 Kit) And if a kit isn't incentive enough, the store is ran by the sweet & lovely Lisa Hjulberg. So go check out the store, if you haven't heard of it :)

And because I'm not the only gal that loves me some Twine, I would like to enter this in this week's Wee Memories challenge, who is also a big fan of twine.

Don't you love the word play on the challenge title "Tangled Up"? Too cute...

And because Moxie Fab Cath has put up a challenge to "incorporates a hot air balloon(s) in an innovative way" and I'd like to think that my flower counts! Here is to my first Moxie Fab entry ever...Check out Cath's My Beautiful Balloon Challenge - you never know, you might be the next Moxie Fab chick...

Glam Gang Goodness

I can't help myself when an alliteration pops into my head. This week with PaperPlay Challenge, we had the honor to play with Kenny K digis. I didn't know much about this company beforehand, but on their About Kenny K page is a cute little summary about the people behind this company. KennyK has been so wonderful and generous by allowing each DT gal to pick the image of her choice! Cool or what?

This week's challenge is a photo inspiration...


...and it just screams GLAM to me :) Right? So if this fun, fashion-tastic picture isn't enough inspiration, 5 digis of his or her choosing are at stake for the winner! And to make things even more fun, the Top 3 this week will each receive 2 digis of their choosing. So there are four chances in winning - all you have to do is make card inspired by this picture!

In the meantime, if you need a little mojo jogger, I have a little tag to share with you using the All That Glam Gang digi.


Stamps:(All That) Kenny K; (Very Vintage Christmas) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - Cream) Recollections
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Vintage Photo) Ranger; (Perfect Match Pigment Ink - Plum Pudding) Papertrey Ink
Embellishments: (Stickles - Golden Rod) Ranger; (Gelly Roll Metallic) Sakura; (Celebrate It Ribbon - Brown) Michael's; (Jute Packaging Twine) Westim Crafts; (Soft-core Colorpencils) Prismacolor; (Cuttlebug A2 Embossing Folders - Spots 'n Dots) Provocraft

If you look carefully, you can tell that my Glam Gal was inspired by the rock chick on the far left in the picture.  I was really mesmerized by how red her hair looked...



So that's all I have for you today...I hope you play along with us this week. It's a fun excuse to bust out the bright and bold colors and the bling!

Thank You Shout Out's

I realize that two weeks have whizzed by when a new PaperPlay Challenge is coming out and it is our Team A's turn to inspire the players. Ooops! I was unable to touch my craft table for ten straight days and it has been driving me insane. Partly because I have new toys (yay my Waltzingmouse Stamps order came in and my Cutterpillar was dying to cut into some new paper) and partly because crafting is my work de-compressing mechanism.

However, even though I was not actively crafting, the crafting community was still there for me. I received some nods of approval from two of my all-time favorite challenge sites which sent me over the moon.

My little, whimsy plane card earned a Top Four. A big thank you to Jenny and the Wee Memories DT. They left such sweet comments!

And if that was not enough, I got a message from my crafting friend Laurie that said "Congrats on your Embellish spot" I was confused. A quick peek onto the Embellish Magazine's blog explained the mystery.

I always feel so humbled when throwing a card into the midst. Have you seen the many, amazing creations the rest of the participants bring? It's truly an honor to have been picked! Thanks to Ashley and the rest of the Embellish crew for making my week!

[Music Saves My Soul] Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Creep

I was driving to work and NPR was doing a segment on this group called Scala & Kolacny Brothers. It is a girls choir that sings Rock. The brothers arrange the music so that it can be sung by a choir. During performance one plays the piano, the other directs. It is quite an neat concept - I have sung in many choirs, but never done songs that have covered the rock, metal, alternative spectrum. The gals also seem to have a ton of fun, according to the interview.

In case you have seen the movie "The Social Network" then you were in luck and probably have heard them already. "Creep" - a Radiohead song that was arranged and sung ala Scala & Kolacny - was playing in one of the important scenes of "The Social Network."



It sends quite a series of chills, doesn't it? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this as much as I have and if you want to share a song this week, hop on over to Music Saves My Soul. Great inspirations sitting out there!

For A New Mommy

I was looking forward to pulling out my fun punches for this, except I stashed many of them in a box and totally forgot about them for this week's Mami Doodle Challenge. How terrible of me!

Instead I have a card to share with you that uses my corner rounder punch, a little bit of a cop-out, but when I finished this card yesterday around midnight, I was too tired to re-do another card. I recycled, does that count?


Stamps: (Mama-to-be)Mami Doodles; (Mega Mixed Messages) Papertrey Ink
Paper: (evelope) Recyclables; (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink)
Ink: (Memento - London Fog) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Pencil); (Soft-core Color Pencils, Double-ended Art Markers) Prismacolor;

Regarding the recycling aspect, I recycled an envelope from a card that I received. The inside had this beautiful, cheery polka-dotted yellow paper.



I fell in love with the polka-dotted pattern and knew I had to incorporated it somehow. The yellow/gray color scheme have recently been on my mind, so this card finally gave me an excuse to put this color combo into action.



I decided to find a bunch of baby-related sentiments and stamped them off on this pattern paper. I wanted to give it a layering effect, so the typography is build by creating a full base, but tapering off to the top & left. Just enough room to plant the beautiful mommy-to-be into the card.



She was an absolute joy to color. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy? Appropriate saying, since there is so much yellow on this card ;)

Hope to see you play along. Don't be like me, and remember to use a Punch!