Create Your Own Journey

I'm in Distress Ink Heaven!! Ok- this may not be the best of my creations, but its my first distress ink card, so you'll have to bare with me. I guess you can tell I had some issues with blending for this card, but now I'm much more comfortable on how to use the blending tool. I know they also react with water, but can't seem to find my spritzer that I bought, so I haven't tried that technique yet. Decided to try using mica powders over the distress background. I think you can see on the card that I stamped the Hero Arts kanji background stamp then used the mica powders over it. Almost forgot to heat set the background first before doing the mica powder. Otherwise it would have been a huge gold mess! I think the best thing about this technique is that even if your mica powders don't clean up that nicely, its OK because its distress!! I then spritzed it with some gold shimmer mist that I mixed using the shimmer paint and alcohol. After I finished the background.. it took me a long time to figure out which stamp to use as my focal point. I decided to pull out one of my favorite images- a Hero Arts butterfly with hearts in the wing design. I also used the Create Your Own Journey sentiment by Hero Arts. I guess Hero Arts makes some stamps that go great with distress projects! I'll be posting more of my distress projects soon. Thanks for your sweet comments while I was in my crafting funk! I think I'm getting out of it now- thanks to Distress! Supplies:

• Distress inks- Ranger (Tim Holtz)
• Shimmer paint- Tsukineko
• Buttefly image- Hero Arts
• sentiment- Hero Arts
• kanji stamp- Hero Arts
• mica powder

Slowly But Surely

Yes! I finally made a card! Woo Hoo! This card just evolved on its own- it started with the new DP I got from Island Scrapbooking by Jillybean. The prints were so sweet that I couldn't resist. I've also been meaning to use this CC's image, so I thought I'd try a more 3-D look by cutting out the fence and mounting it on the middle step of this side step card. The butterflies were mounted on the back panel so that it looks like its behind her. Since she looked like she was in deep thought (hence the closed eyes), I found this really long and lean sentiment that fit on the side panel perfectly and matched her expression.

I think what got me almost back to normal is playing with my new distress inks! Can't wait to finish up my creations - right now its about 1/2 complete. They are so addicting! Like playing with large copics!!

Supplies:

Nora Swiss Pixie- CC's Designs

Fence- CC's designs

Sentiment- Hero Arts

Butterflies- MS Crafts

Pearls- Kaisercraft

DP- Jillybean

Cardstock- Bazzil

I Know It's Here Somewhere!

Yes, its true... I haven't been posting because I've lost my mojo. I've been crafting, but find myself staring at my supplies and coming up with nothing.. nada... zip.... I've struggled to make samples for an upcoming make 'n take at Island Scrapbooking next week- it took me one night to make one card- and the card was rather simple!!! I've also been making some stuff for end of the year for my daughter... We made some goodies for her teachers... it was so ugly that I didn't even take a photo! I have also been working on leis for her to give to her ballet class since their recital is this weekend. Nothing great... so probably won't post that either.

OK- enough complaining right??? Found this card that I forgot to post when I posted about Michele's birthday last week, so thought I'd post it now since I don't have anything I'm currently working on to share... This is a Cami Tri Fold card. You can find the instructions on Splitcoast Stampers. Its pretty easy to make and I love the way it came out. I just adjusted the measurements so that it was a regular sized card.

I guess I didn't realize how large Fleur Anya was, she doesn't quite fit through the oval I chose.. see what I mean??? Nothing going right.. oh well, had to give it since I ran out of time. The funny part was when I gave it to Michele and saw Tracy's card.. looked similar to mine!! We both chose Fleur Anya and colored her in orange (Michele's favorite color). Guess we are on the same wavelength!

Supplies:

Fleur Anya- TGF

DP- October Afternoon

CS- Bazzil

Oval & scallop oval spellbinder

floursh punch- EK success

ribbon

flowers- prima

Start Each Day With A Whee!!

When I saw this card on Confessions of a Ribbon Addict, I couldn't resist buying this Pure Innocence stamp from Cute Stuff (Thanks Lianne!). You can find the tutorial on how to make this card here... I'm pretty certain I didn't follow her exact instructions, but the end result is that it worked.

The tree was cut free hand and the top was made using the blossom die from Spellbinders. If you look at the original card, there is a whole lotta punching going on that I just did not have the time or patience for, so I cheated.

Since Lianne was so nice to ship me the stamp, I decided to give her this card she could use as a sample for her store. The sentiment that I used on the tree came with the girl stamp. Aren't these Pure Innocence stamps cute? Shirley uses them a lot on her cards and I've been eyeing them for awhile.

Now for the fun part.... See how she swings back...

And forth... Hope you like it Lianne!

Supplies:

Girl on swing & sentiment- Pure Innocence/My Favorite Things

Fence punch- MS Crafts

Grass punch- MS Crafts

Flowers- Island Scrapbooking laser cuts

Cardstock- Bazzil

DP- Doodlebug

Blossom Die- Spellbinders

Happy Birthday Michele!

Just wanted to wish my friend Michele at Island Scrapbooking a Happy Birthday! Made this cupcake gift card holder for her, but I'm pretty sure she will display it in the shop. Saw the video tutorial for this on the fabulously artsy blog. 1LuvnMama made one and posted the link to the instructions. It seems like a lot of work, but it wasn't that bad. I think designing the cupcake took the longest.

Decided to go with orange and yellow. I think orange is Michele's favorite color, but I could be wrong. Hope the bead stays on! It kept popping off, so I had to use my E6000 glue. Hope she likes it!

April OCS from Joy

Hi Everyone!

Just got back from Akemi's May Day program. It was really cute. She was so excited this morning that she got out of bed really early. I decided to take the day off since she gets off soon.

I received my April OCS card from Joy of Tamiko's yesterday. Its sooo cute! I'm sure you know by now that I love Fleur Anya, so I was happy to see her image on my card! Thanks Joy! She also sent me some goodies that I can't wait to use.

Here's a close up of Fleur...

Better go work on my May OCS!

Cuddle Anya

What a cutie! She's giving Snuggle and Fleur Anya some competition! I think she's actually supposed to be Snuggle's friend- what do you think? I'm really loving her hat! Reminds me of one that Akemi had when she was a baby. I found the perfect sentiment to go with this image... its by Stampendous and I initially bought it to match the Snuggle stamp. Here's a close up of Cuddle Anya.. Supplies:

• Cuddle Anya- TGF
• Sentiment- Stampendous
• DP- Doodlebug
• Circle and scallop circle punch- Marvy

Heidi Among Flowers

Island Scrapbooking recently started bringing in CC's Design stamps. Along with all the new releases, some of the older designs were brought in, which made me happy since I didn't have them yet. This Heidi stamp caught my eye since she was sitting among daisies. I'm still trying to train myself on using more pastels in my projects, so I decided to ty these colors with this image. Earlier, I had won a blog candy from Amy (A thousand sheets of paper) and she sent me these pretty flowers. I added in some Kaisercraft pearls for more accents. All I can say is that its a good thing I bought her when I did, cause she's all gone! Supplies:

• Heidi stamp- CC's designs
• DP- Doodlebug
• Cardstock- Bazzil
• Ribbon
• Stickles
• Flowers- Prima
• Pearls- Kaisercraft
• Swiss dot embossing folder- Cuttlebug

More Fleur

TGIF! Its been a pretty crazy week at work! I feel like I can't catch my breath!! I'm sooooo happy its Friday! My friend Les is flying in to see the lava flow and get some photos, so we are sure to have fun on that adventure!

Well, I finally made a tent card that I'm happy with! Ever since I got a tent card from 1luvnmama, I knew I wanted to make one! My first one was a flop, so I'm not even going to post it...Here's my second attempt at it...

Busted out my new paper by K& Co. This paper is really sweet, so naturally I paired it with my new favorite- Fleur Anya! Used kraft cardstock for the card base. The original instructions I found was to make a 6x6 card, but I decided to make it smaller so that it could fit into a regular A2 envelope. Used my frame nesties to cut out the place where my image would hang from. I copied mama's technique of using jump rings to dangle my image from and there you have it!

Here's a better look at Fleur Anya.

Have a great weekend!

Supplies:

• Fleur Anya- TGF
• Stickles
• cardstock- Bazzil
• DP- K&Co.
• Flowers- Prima
• Brad- American Crafts
• Pearl- Kaisercraft
• Butterfly punch- MS Crafts
• Ribbon
• Jump rings
• Frame nesties- Spellbinder

Shhhh, Don't Tell Snuggle...

I think I might have a new favorite Anya stamp! I think Snuggle will always hold a special place in my heart because she reminds me of Akemi, but Fleur Anya is quickly becoming my favorite Anya! I just love her dress and flowers in her hair- I can't stop inking her up and coloring her in all different colors!

Decided to make a few samples for Island Scrapbooking, but no sooner did I make them... they sold out! Luckily another order was placed quickly and the new shipment has arrived! This first card is more like a tag... I used the wide scallop circle die as the base and just popped up Fleur Anya on top. Easy Peasy..

After failing at my first attempt at a tent card, I decided to switch it up and make a shadowbox card. I'm thinking it might be too much flowers.

Here's a close up of Fleur...

Supplies:

• Fleur Anya- TGF
• DP- Doodlebug, Bo Bunny
• Flowers- All Natural Accents
• Swirl Punch- EK Success
• Stickles
• Scallop circle, circle and oval dies- Spellbinders
• Ribbon

Deja Vu?

Hi Everyone! Does this look familiar? A few months ago I made a very similar gift bag, and Lianne from Cute Stuff saw it on my blog. Recently, she sent me this cute desk tidy using the same paper and color scheme! I love it! I haven't made one of these desk tidys yet, so this will serve as a great sample for me. Thanks Lianne for thinking of me!

Here's a close up of Balloon Emma...

And here's the side view... the back of the tidy holds a post its.

Large Tote Bag Tutorial

Hi Everyone! By special request, I'm posting the instructions/measurements for the Large Tote Bag. Its based on the original design on the Scor-Pal website for the mini tote bag. I just adjusted the size so that it uses 2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock instead of 2 sheets of 6x6 cardstock. It looks like the size of a regular gift bag you can get in the store... only you can choose what DP you want to use! I guess you can consider this my Mother's Day present to you! Supplies:

• 2 sheets 12x12 cardstock (same print)
• Ribbon 2 strips of 18"

Tools:

• Scoreboard
• Paper trimmer
• hole punch

Directions:

1. Score each sheet at 1/2", 2 1/2", and 4 1/2". Make sure if your paper has a right/wrong direction that your paper is facing right side up at this first step. Note, if you need a wider bag, you'll have to adjust the space in between each score.
2. Turn paper 90 degrees to the left, and score at 2 1/2". This will be the bottom of your bag.
3. Turn your paper so that the bottom of the bag is at the bottom. Cut out corner scored rectangle from lower left corner.

4. Cut on 4 1/2" score line from bottom of bag to the 2 1/2" score line that you made in #2. These will be the flaps for the bottom of your bag.

5. Now score the top of your bag at 1/2". Fold on score line and adhere down.

6. Line up the bag as shown. Punch holes for handles approximately 2" in from the edge of the bag and about 1 1/2" down from the top of your bag. Make sure the paper is aligned with the two tops and two bottoms together.

Punched holes at top of bag. I used my yellow crop-a-dile since it has a far reach. You could also measure and pierce it with your paper piercer.

7. Adhere sides of bag together to form bag. Close bottom of bag using double stick tape.

Bottom of the bag... 8. Tie a knot in your ribbon so that it won't pass through the hole. Insert ribbon from inside of bag and trim off excess. Insert ribbon back into bag through other hole and determine how long you want the handle to be. Tie off knot and trim excess. Repeat on the other side. Stick ribbon back in the other hole... Measure handles so that they are the same length before you tie the knot on the inside. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Let me know if you have any questions

Happy Mother's Day!

As you already know, my mom EXPECTS HOMEMADE gifts whenever I give her something... Don't get me wrong, she doesn't expect anything, but if we do give her something, she wants it to be homemade... after all, she only has "one body", and her house is full of "junks", so she doesn't want "stuff". Do you feel the pressure??? Anyway, when I first made the Tri-Shutter album I knew I could use it to make a mini album for mom for Mother's day. I love this Bo Bunny paper and decided to use it for her album. I didn't know what to put on the front of the album and wanted it to stay closed, so I added a belly band (used velcro dot closure) and decorated it with a flower that was cut from a Sizzix die. Here is what the card looks like when its open. I decided to use photos from my sister's recent trip home. We got some nice shots of my daughter and Aunty Denise. Also included photos from my Aunty's surprise birthday party. Here's some close ups of the album... On the right side, I had Akemi write "Happy Mother's Day". Its really weird how the white ink on the purple cardstock turned to pink and the white ink on the DP stayed white. I'll have to make a mental note of that in case I have her do this again. Do you like how she made the curly Q's on the letters? She felt they were so fancy. Too bad we couldn't wrap up Akemi and send her with the card- Grandma would have loved that present! To all you crafty moms out there... Happy Mother's Day! Supplies: Cardstock- DCWV DP- Bo Bunny Flower- Sizzix Brad- American Crafts

Busy Saturday!

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to remind all you Hilo folks out there that if you don't already have plans for today... you might want to check out the FCE Craft Fair at Aunty Sally's (7 seas) this morning. All the Hilo FCE clubs will be there with handmade crafts, baked goods and other fun stuff. You will also want to check out Island Scrapbooking today for their National Scrapbooking Day sale that is one day only. All solid cardstock will be on sale among other good deals!

Origami Box

I decided to make a matching origami box to the origami card I posted earlier... Here's what I came up with. I guess I didn't want it to be too matchy matchy.. Since I made the belly band red, I didn't want to make the flower the same color, so I went with yellow insead since some of the flowers on the DP are yellow.

I also wanted to make a flower for the top of the box. Initially I was going to make the flower using the same flower dies I used on the card, but ended up using the large scallop circle dies instead. Since I didn't spritz it, I was able to use less cardstock to make the flower full. Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Cardstock- Bazzil

DP- October Afternoon

Large scallp circle die- Spellbinders

Pearl brad- American Crafts

More Memo Pad Holders..

Just thought I'd share more memo pad holders I made for the FCE Fair coming up this Saturday in Hilo. Since I had bought the 12 pack of memo pads, thought I'd use up the rest of them by making more holders. If you know me, you know I get bored pretty easily when it comes to crafting, so I have a hard time making the same thing over and over. Besides, isn't it more fun to get an original? Here's some of my favorites...

I love this project since it's pretty fast to make and it allows me to stamp and use my punches! :) Just got that daisy chain punch by EK Success and am loving it!