Cup Full of Flowers

Things are back to normal here after preparing for and waiting out todays tsunami.  Didn't get much sleep Friday night, as I was glued to the TV coverage and also doing laundry and things I would want done in case we lost power and water.  Luckily the big waves bypassed Hawaii and at about 1:30 p.m., the warning was cancelled.

I needed to de-stress tonight so after my son and husband went to bed, I hit my crafting table and came up with this card.  This was a fun card to make and relatively simple, too.  I used Hero Arts "big cup" cling... colored it and cut it out.  Then I adhered it to the yellow DP and built my bouquet of Prima flowers.  I also added pearl and button embellishments to the flower centers.  For the sentiment, I took a toothpick and wrapped a 1/4" strip of white cardstock around it, adhered it together with double stick tape and used a glue dot on the fold so it would stick to the toothpick.  I hand wrote the sentiment and snipped the ends at a "V."  Touches of Stickles and dew drops were added at the end.  Easy peasy!

RAKs from Valentine's

My fellow Island Scrapbooking girls Jenny and Donna made some of the cutest Valentine's gifts.  They were waiting for me at the store but I didn't have a chance to pick them up until after the 14th.   Though it's post "heart day," I wanted to share what they created.







This is Donna's sweet hanging
of Valentine's sentiments and punches.

This is Jenny's cute 3D mailbox.  It was filled with yummy chocolates and cute star shaped soaps.  I couldn't take a photo of the goodies because I ate them :)

Thanks girls!  I appreciate your creativity and thoughtfulness!

Bee Happy

Happy Wednesday!  Just realized February is coming to an end and there's so much I need do for March.  So this will be a quick post.  I used one of the bees and a flower from the Hero Arts "Bee Happy" set.  Combined it with Cosmo Cricket's "girl friday" DP and Doodlebug's "bumblebee swiss dot" DP on some kraft CS.  Used red Stickles for the darker parts of the flower and dragged it out to blend with crystal Stickles which I used towards the lighter part of the flower.  Used yellow Stickles for the center of the flower and the bee.  Used eucalyptus Stickles for the leaves.  Lots of Stickling!

Hope you enjoyed this project!

Mojo Monday Challenge 127 (It's Hip to be Square)

For this week's Mojo Monday Challenge, we could choose from a square or circle pattern.  I went with the square and used GF's Ebony digi.  I changed her up just a little by covering up the skull on her t-shirt to match the DP.  And speaking of the DP, I'm loving this new paper pack from K&Co.!  Great colors and great prints!

Supplies:

• Stamp: GF Ebony digi
• DP: K&Co. Carolyn Gavin paper pack
• Copics
• Cardstock: Bazzil
• Ribbon
• Stickles: Crystal
• Buttons: PTI
• Black Pearls: Kaiser Craft

ATS Challenge #18 (Untraditional Bride)

Inspiration comes in all places and at all times, right?  Well, inspiration for this card came as I sat at the bar of a nice restaurant eating dinner and starring at the beautiful liquor bottles lined up on the shelf.  Don't ask me why, but that's where I got the idea to use ATS's bride image from the Spring Kit and make her an untraditional bride.  So here she is in PINK!

For this challenge, we had to follow the recipe below.  I paper-pieced her dress and hair bow and although the dress may not be traditional, I gave her a traditional strand of pearls.  Not sure if you can really tell that she has some bling on her dress, but I used Stickles to add some shimmer that perhaps sequins would create on a real dress.  I love the colors of green and yellow cymbidium orchids and that was my inspiration for her bouquet.  I have to admit the recipe was harder than I thought it would be, but it was a fun challenge.

Here's the recipe:
1 image - cc designs bride from Spring Kit
3 papers - My Mind's Eye ooh la la "sweet surprise" side one,  My Mind's Eye ooh la la "sweet surprise" side two, My Mind's Eye bloom & grow "bloom" eye candy
2 colors - pink and teal
4 embellishments - flowers, ribbon, pearls, silver leaves

Flutter by Butterfly

I hope you're having a great weekend.  I did the Heart Walk for American Heart Association this morning and it got me up a little earlier than normal.  But after a quick nap this afternoon, my creativity got flowing and I'll have lots to share with you in the upcoming week.  In the meantime, here's the card I mentioned yesterday.  It features one of the butterfly stamps from a Hero Arts cling set.  I used this same set as background stamps in yesterdays project.  Today, it's the focus of my card and I kept the background simple to really showcase this butterfly.

Funny thing about the background.  Sometimes great things come from mistakes.  Well that's what happened here. I stamped the floral flourish in Versa Color white and it was too light.  So then I tried stamping over it using Versa Color bamboo.  It was better but still too light.  I stamped it in bamboo a again and the result made the image look 3D. Not sure if you can see it here, but it even looked like it had been flocked.  I'll definitely be using this color combo again.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly-Hero Arts cling-Butterflies (3 images), Flourish-Hero Arts-Stencil Art
DP: Basic Grey-Hot Stone
Copics
Stickles: Eucalyptus, Crystal
Ribbon
Cardstock

Saturday's Quote for the Day

Are you enjoying your weekend?  I hope you have fun plans, or maybe just relaxing?  I'll be doing the Heart Walk this morning (bright and early) with my friend Ann and we'll take my son along in his stroller as we do the walk.  Other than that, I hope to put a couple craft ideas to work.

Speaking of crafts, my card today features the second quote from Unity Stamps Quote Bundle Pack.  Like yesterday's card, I made some of the words pop simply by going over them with a Copic marker and then using Stickles.  Very simple, but eye-catching.  The butterflies stamped on the teal cardstock are from a Hero Arts cling set.  Notice how I use it as a background stamp.  Tomorrow I'll show you how I use one of the stamps as the focal point of the card.  Lovin' this set more than I thought I would...very pretty and versatile.  Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Stamps: Unity Stamps Quote Bundle Pack, Hero Arts Clings-Butterflies (3 images)
DP:  Doodlebug-cupcake swiss dots
Punches: MS border-traditional eyelet, EK Success-small butterfly, McGill-Fern
Spellbinders: Label Four
Flowers: Prima (large),  All Natural Accents (small)
Cardstock: Bazzil
Copics
Stickles: Crystal, Pink
Ribbon

Quote for the Day

Unity Stamps has a neat Quote Bundle Pack and Michele, owner of Island Scrapbooking brought in a set to see.  I've had fun playing with them and the quotes are nice and big.  For this quote, I chose a DP from Fancy Pants Designs and it set the style for the vintage look of this card.  This paper is one of my new favorites.  I'll be sharing more cards using the other quotes in this bundle but if you want to see all them, you can check it out at Unity Stamps.  If you're here in Hilo, Island Scrapbooking can order this for you.

Supplies:

• Stamp: Unity Stamps-Quote Bundle Pack
• DP: Fancy Pants Designs-Baby's Breath
• Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Desert Sand
• Punch: EK Success-Swirl Flourish
• Flowers: Prima
• Buttons: PTI
• Linen Thread: SU
• Copics
• Cardstock
• Pearls
• Stickles: Crystal
• Ribbon

Mojo Monday Challenge 126 (Joy Bugg)

Hope everyone had a nice long holiday weekend. I did a few crafty things and I am loving the Mojo Monday challenges. It forces me to stretch my imagination and it pushes me to do different things. The focal point of this card is a digi called Joy Bugg from Tiddyinks. She's adorable and she was fun to color. And I have to say, the DP with white flowers is to die for. Just gorgeous paper from Best Creations Inc. I'll be getting more of that. I also used my background stamps from Verve for the first time and was very happy with the look. This was great fun!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Joy Bugg - Tiddyinks, Background - Verve Bountiful Backgrounds, "You're Special" - Hero Arts Robots
• DP: Best Creation Inc - Mr. & Mrs., Black paper with with flourish - I think it's a Doodlebug
• Punches: SU Scallop Trim Border, Marvy Uchida - 1-1/2" circle, SU - 1-3/4" circle
• Pearls
• Copics
• Stickles - Crystal
• Cardstock: SU, Bazzil
• Lace

Sweet Little One

I hope you're enjoying the President's Day holiday and doing something fun (maybe some crafting or hitting the store sales?). I have a few things to get in the mail so that's what I'm working on today. One of the things I need to package is a baby gift for a friend who had her fourth child. It's finally a boy after having three girls!

This is the card I made for the happy occasion. I adore this SU "Fox & Friends" stamp set and had fun playing with them. I also used SU's new Scallop Trim Border. L-o-o-o-v-e this punch. Just makes the scallop border a bit more elegant. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:

• Stamps: SU Fox & Friends, SU Sweet One
• Inks: Versa Color bamboo, SU ballet blue, Memento rich cocoa
• DP: I don't know where this paper is from
• Cardstock: Bazzil, SU
• Border Punch: SU scallop trim border
• Spellbinders: circles, scalloped circles

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! My husband and I spent the day with our son and took him to get a red balloon (his favorite color), then to the beach and then to get some shave ice. Shave ice is a special occasion treat for him and he loved it. After posting this card, I'll be in the kitchen cooking up some steaks, baked potatoes and asparagus for our Valentine's dinner.

So I'll get on with today's project. I made three versions of this card: one for my husband and two for my son's grandparents. I used cc designs stamps for the front cover (new spring collection) and the Valentine's sentiments are a Hero Arts stamp. For the pop-up on the inside I used the Sizzix 3-D heart die. I really liked how it worked and I think I can use this for a lot more than Valentine's projects. Gotta get cookin' so I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Happy Heart Day!

PTI Asian Fusion Challenge (Origami)

As I finished up some Valentine's cards today, I went to Papertrey Ink's blog and realized they were doing a challenge using origami. It made me think about all the origami I did as a kid and I decided to make a project. This is the first dog I've folded and it was pretty simple...he's so cute. This sparked new creativity and my brain is on overload as I think about all the things I can do with origami. So don't be surprised if there are more origami projects in the near future.

Valentine Treats

This box idea has been around for awhile, but it seemed so appropriate for Valentine's Day and the conversation heart boxes. I played around with different papers and even cut lace backings for the hearts using Spellbinders. To cover the boxes, I just cut the paper wide enough and long enough to wrap around the boxes. Then I punched holes on both sides of this "jacket," about 3/4" from the top. I cut ribbon about 20" long and ran it through the holes from the inside. Then I placed the candy box in this "jacket" and tied a bow. The hearts were cut with Spellbinders. For the arrows, I just typed different Valentine's words, printed them on cardstock and cut them out in the shape of arrows. I tied gold twine or linen thread through the buttons and knotted them. That's about it.

I had a lot of fun making these...so much so that I went back to the store, bought more candy and made about 20 more!

Happy Heart Day

It's been a LONG day so this post is going to be quick. I recently made this Valentine's card for a card swap. It's on a single panel and the scalloped heart is the actual card. I'm loving this new Sugarplum "balloon Emma" digi...how cute is she? As soon as I sat her on the bench I knew I needed to give her a little friend for company (bird from Hero Arts). More Valentine's projects to come so stay tuned!

Sesame Street Valentine's

You've probably seen these Sesame Street characters made from punches before. I think they're so cute and I've always wanted to try them. I needed something to top the Valentine's gifts I put together for a few kids so I decided to make lollipop jackets and try Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster. They were a blast to make. I used the Box #3 die from Sizzix and it's great for something like this where I wanted to include small toys and snacks. Tip: when doing projects with punches, QuicKutz's Quicker-Poker-Picker-Upper is a time saver. It helps pick up the small punches and place them where you want them...easier than tweezers. I love the conversation heart stickers I found at Wal-Mart and had to somehow incorporate them into this project. I have a few more Valentine's projects so come back tomorrow.

Thank You Jenny

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago when I gave this card to my friend Jenny. She lives here in Hilo and she's the one who inspired and encouraged me to start this blog. We both teach classes at Island Scrapbooking and we get together occasionally (like today...yes during Super Bowl) to "play." We exchange ideas, share our stamps, dies, etc. and try new things. She's been stamping and making cards much longer than me so I learn a lot from her. I really appreciate her friendship and creativity! You can check out her blog at crazyforpaper.blogspot.com.

Supplies:

• Stamp - Soft Pencil Digi "Flowers for You", Sentiment from Hero Arts, Flowers from Eat Cake Graphics
• DP - Stampin' Up Specialty Designer Series
• Cardstock
• Copics
• Ribbon
• Stickles - Crystal

Also, if you're into knitting, my sister-in-law's sister (Shannon) has a great blog. Check it out at alittleloopy.blogspot.com. They make some of the cutest things. She made these booties and the hat for my son when he was born.

Mojo Monday Challenge 124

This is the first challenge I've ever entered and I think I might already be addicted. I love this sketch and had so much fun with it. I just got the Sugarplum spring kit and this Emma and swing stamps were the first ones I inked up. The floral design at the bottom was inspired by the floral DP above. I used the MS Lace Heart Edger punch and layered some floral ribbon at the top. I have got to have some bling on my projects so I used crystal Stickles on the flourish punches and pink Stickles on the edges of the dark pink Prima flower. Oh and the bluebird is also Stickled in crystal. I printed the sentiment on the computer and cut each letter out. This was tons of fun!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Girl & Swing- cc designs spring kit, Bird - Hero Arts Whoo Loves You
• DP: Floral-Bo Bunny Love Bandit Whoo Loves U, Dots - Little Sprout Baby's Breath, Stripes - Imaginisce Lucy Bird Daisy May
• Punches: MS Lace Heart Edger, McGill Fern, Paper Shapers Flourish, EK Success Small Butterfly
• Flowers: Prima and All Natural Accents
• Font: Jazz Let
• Rhinestones & Pearls
• Stickles: Crystal & Pink
• Copics
• Ribbon
• Cardstock - Bazzil

Robots on the Wall

I saw this robots paper and thought it would be cute as a wall hanging in my son's room. It was super easy and fast to do. All I did was get an 8" x 10" blank framed canvas and staple the paper to the back of the canvas. Then I applied Mod Podge with a sponge applicator all over the paper (as you would do if decoupaging). I let it dry overnight. Then I added the cut outs and personalized it with my son's name...popped up with pop dots. Lastly, I stapled the ribbon to the back of the frame and tied it in a bow.....fast, easy and inexpensive!

And, you can change it pretty easily, too. I reused this canvas which used to have a floral paper and was hanging in our guest bathroom.

Supplies:

• DP - K & Co. Kazoo Robots & Hearts
• Spellbinders - Circles and Scalloped Circles
• Alphabet - Sizzix Round-a-bout
• Cardstock - Bazzil
• Ribbon - Ribbon by the yard at Wal-Mart

It's Ka-Zoo Time

I bought this paper yesterday and couldn't wait to make something with it! The characters are irresistibly cute! I just cut out the images and popped them up on layers of different paper. Also bought the MS heart punch set yesterday and had to put it to use right away, too. Happy happy joy joy, happy joy joy!!

Supplies:

• DP - K & Company Ka-Zoo Animal Toss,
• Pink polka dot glitter - Doodlebug
• Heart Punch - MS
• Cardstock - Bazzil

Singing Happy Birthday To You

I'm back from our family vacation to L.A. and we had an awesome time! Best of all, our 14-month-old son was a great traveler (phew!) Caught up with family and old friends and my mom and I had fun at the Super Craft Show. We took the Copics workshop and learned a lot. It was so fun checking out all the booths...just not enough time to see everything. I was inspired by all the creativity and my brain has been on overload since. Above is the first project I did since returning.

I was introduced to Sparkly Fluff from Our Craft Lounge and LOVE it! It adds texture and some bling and we even learned to use it for shading in the Copics class (makes areas darker). I got a couple colors at the show and loved it so much, I just placed an order for additional colors. I usually Stickles everything to add bling...now I'll Sparkly Fluff everything! I used the Coffee Bean Sparkly Fluff on the dog's spots to add texture.

Supplies:

Stamp - Shirley's 2 Girls "Joyful cat & Dog"

DP - Doodlebug polka dot paper (pink, multi-color)

Cardstock - Bazzil

Stars - Spellbinders

Inside Sentiment - Snell Roundhand, Spellbinders Labels Four

Stickles - Crystal

Sparkly Fluff - Coffee Bean Brown

Copics

Ribbon