More Mimi...

I think this is the last of my Valentine's Day cards. I really wanted to use the new My Mind's Eye paper that came in at Island Scrapbooking. I love that they have a lot of small prints- perfect for cardmakers! Used my new Penny black stamp again of Mimi holding a heart. Isn't she cute?

XOXO!

OK- how many of you out there watch Gossip Girl? Yes, its my guilty pleasure that drive's my DH insane! He can't stand that show and always makes fun of the tag line- "X-O-X-O" whenever I'm watching it. All I can say is that he's very lucky we don't have digital cable in our office, so I have to watch it in the living room. Back to the card... so while making this card for Island Scrapbooking, I ran across an old Hero Arts Valentine's Day set that had the sentiment "XOXO". I couldn't help myself and decided to use this stamp as my sentiment. This Anya girl kinda looks like she would live on the upper east side, so I thought it was a perfect match! When I showed it to my DH, I told him that this was going to be his Valentine's Day card! Ha ha ha ha ha! Well, it just wouldn't be Gossip Girl without a little bling bling, so I added crystals as an accent along with some roses by Wild Orchid Crafts and Prima. The heart background is just a doily- perfect for Valentine's Day. Hope you had a great Valentine's day! I'm off to Kona for a few days of interviews, but have some pre-scheduled posts, so stop by tomorrow to see the other projects I've been working on!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wowee! What a crazy crazy week this has been! I've been so busy making Valentine's Day goodies, treats for my club's annual dinner, more calendars, not to mention my regular job! Anyway, just wanted to share some treats I made for the girls at Island Scrapbooking. Didn't have a whole lot of time, so I just just used my Sizzix bag die for the goodie bags. I had gotten a book of K&Co. paper and MS Paper all in Valentine's Day themes that I wanted to use. Plus Island Scrapbooking got in a whole bunch of new Penny Black rubber stamps featuring my favorite little Penny Black Girl named Mimi (and her friends). She's so cute yah? I had Debi in mind for this one.. her favorite images are little critters.. This cutie is by Dandelion Designs. More Penny Black Mimi stamps... For Michele's one, I was sure to use some paper she just got in the store by Bo Bunny. Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day and a great week! DH and I decided to buy each other a new coffee pot since our's was really old.

You Hold The Key To My Heart

Here's another new stamp I got by CC's Designs called Violet with Key. Since she's holding a key, I knew my new key punch would make the perfect accent for the inside of the card. I followed Debi's lead on this card by using some heart shaped doilies. It really gave the card a Valentine's Day touch. Instead of using Valentine's themed paper, I went with a Sizzix embossing folder for some texture without being too busy on the eyes since the doily would clash with most of the printed paper I had. Finished it off with some roses (yes, more roses) since they remind me most of Valentine's day. Here's a peek at the inside of the card. Used the CC's sentiment stamp set that coordinates with Violet. It also comes with two other key shaped stamps. Supplies:

• Violet with Key- CC's Designs
• Key punch- MS Crafts
• Sentiment- CC's Designs
• Red mirrored Cardstock- Bazzil
• CS- Bazzil
• Embossing folder- Sizzix
• Heart shaped Doily
• Roses- Wild Orchid Crafts
• Stickles

Friends Are Special Treasures

Here's another Greeting Farm stamp that I finally had time to ink up... Flirty Anya! Wow- I think she was released several moons ago, but I still like her just the same. Since she's a bit flirty, I thought this old Doodlebug heart paper was just the perfect background to use for her. The sentiment is from a new Hero Arts set that I am crazy about! It has a bunch of sentiments in these funky styles that are fun and flirty just like Flirty Anya. To accent the sentiment, I just used my red stickles and made a heart since I didn't have any heart stickers... go figure? Supplies:

• Flirty Anya- TGF
• DP- Doodlebug
• CS- Bazzil
• Stickles
• Sentiment- Hero Arts
• Heart- Spellbinders

Be My Valentine

See how much I like Sweetheart Birgitta? I don't know how they did it but she' somehow much cuter than their other Swiss Pixies, even though she still looks like them. I think her face is fuller. Anyway, I promised you that I would show you a totally different look using the same background stamp right? Well, here I embossed the image using white embossing powder this time and then used Spun Sugar Distress ink over it. Love how this came out too. Gotta remember to do this more often with my background stamps. At first I wasn't going to put Sweetheart Birgitta on this card, but it was a little too plain, even for my hubby's taste... and believe me, he likes things simple. So I added her in as an afterthought and I'm glad I did. She really brightened up the card! Don't laugh, but I was actually supposed to color her blue for the other card I made using her... but I spazzed out and started coloring her pink, so rather than throw her away, I used her on this card. Supplies:

• Sweetheart Birgitta- CC's Designs
• Background stamp- Hero Arts
• Embossing Powder- Zing
• Ribbon
• Sentiment- Hero arts
• Roses- Prima
• Stickles

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

I couldn't wait for this new Hero Arts cling stamp to come in. Ever since I saw Donna Mikasa use it, I knew I had to have it (thanks for the inspiration Donna!). I had some difficulty using it with my distress inks as she did- will have to try again later. Instead I decided to try embossing it and then using my distress inks over it in an emboss resist technique. Went with gold embossing powder (Queen's gold- my favorite!) and then Red Barn distress ink over it. I love the results- looks very fancy schmancy. Since it was so fancy looking, decided to keep it simple and just layer my new nesties over it and accent with some crystals. I did one more card using this background stamp that I will share with you soon. Totally different look just by using different colors! Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to! Have a great week! Supplies:

• Sentiment: Denami Designs
• Background stamp- Hero Arts
• Queen's Gold- Ranger
• Crystals- Kaisercraft
• Distress ink- Ranger
• Labels nestiblilities- Spellbinders

Fancy Anya Valentine's

Here's the newest Anya to arrive at The Greeting Farm... isn't she cute? Fancy Anya is perfect for valentine's day- she looks so sweet in her little dress. Had to use her with the new Imaginisce Garden Party papers. Layered some lace too to give it a sweet look. Finished it off with some roses and I was done.. Gotta share that the roses were totally inspired by watching the Golden Globes red carpet the other night. Seems like lots of gowns had rose accents on them in some form or another, so I decided to add them to my card. Must be watching too much E! I can feel my husband's eyes rolling as I type this. This one didn't take me as long to figure out as some of the other cards I worked on recently. Isn't it strange how sometimes it just comes together so easily and sometimes it a painful process. Well, I'm happy to share all my newest creations with you... I'm pre-posting this but by the time you read it I will be well into the start of my 3 day weekend. Aaaaaah! Supplies:

• Fancy Anya- TGF
• Sentiment- Hero Arts
• Circle and lacey circle nestibilities- Spellbinders
• Lace- Walmart (sorry no company)
• DP- Imaginisce
• Roses- Wild Orchid Crafts

You've Got Mail!

Here's more Valentine's Day projects that I found photos of. Made these "Happy Mail"boxes for the girls at Island Scrapbooking. I think I've mentioned it before, but I got this template from My Time Made Easy. Its really cute and not that hard to put together. Decorated them with heart punches since it was for Valentine's Day. Supplies: Happy Mail template- My Time Made Easy Heart punch- Marvy Lace Doily heart punch- MS Crafts Cardstock- Bazzil Pearl accents- Kaisercraft DP- Bo Bunny, Stampin Up

Two Scoops Rice Challenge- Altered Item

Hi Everyone!

Back with another Two Scoops Rice Challenge! This time Stephanie is our hostess and the challenge is to use an TSR image on an altered item! I chose to decorate one of the mailboxes I got from Oriental Trading Company. Just covered the mailbox with some DP from SU and chose to use one of the cute fairies from the Garden Fairies set. Since the DP was floral, I thought the fairies would match perfectly.

Here's a close up of the green fairy.

I also decorated the cover... Decided to use a variety of flowers to cover the front.

Here's the other side of the mailbox... Since this was a gift for Valentine's Day, I added the heart on the flag.

Check out the Two Scoops Rice Blog for more information on how to enter this challenge. You have two weeks to submit your entry (by February 27) and the prize is any 2 single stamps of your choice! I just got in some new Two Scoops Rice stamps in the mail, so I'll be posting more samples soon. Plus my blogging friend and fellow DT member, Enjoli gave me a couple of TSR stamps that I can't wait to ink up and make some cards with (Thanks Enoli!). Can't wait to see all the entries!

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Happy Valentine's Day and Kung Hee Fat Choy! I'm probably spelling that wrong... sorry I'm bad at spelling... Anyway, that's what we say for Chinese New Year. I have been searching high and low for a cute tiger image that I could use for Chinese New Year. I settled on Rintoo, who is the Tiger from Ni Hao Kailan. My nices in L.A. love Ni Hao Kailan, so I thought it would be awesome to combine their Valentine's Day gift with a Tiger for Chinese New Year (they are Chinese). I've heard so much about these little tin mailboxes that everyone got last year at Target, but I guess Target decided not to bring them in this year? At least not the Hawaii ones. My Aunty and Enjoli both tried looking for me (we have no Target in Hilo), without success. I ended up ordering a few on Oriental Trading. I later ordered the Happy Mail Template from My Time Made Easy (by Lauren Meader) which is really cute and a good replacement if you can't get these mailboxes. Happy Valentine's Day Sara and Haley! Hope you get the package soon- sorry its late! Supplies: Rintoo image- clip art from internet Heart punch- Paper shapers Scallop Heart punch- ek success DP- Best Creations and Maiboxes- Oriental Trading company

RAKs from Aunty

Aunty Jan sent Akemi some Valentine's Day goodies... Here's the cute card she made... I asked Akemi if I could have it and she said no! I snuck in photo while she was sleeping so I could show you how cute the card was.

She sent me this cute Chinese New Year card-She's so thoughtful! Thanks Aunty!

Nutty Nutshells Challenge #9- Valentine's Card

Hi Everyone!

You guessed it! Time for another Nutty Nutshell's Challenge. I was happy to be asked to stay on for another month as a Guest Designer for Nutshell's Challenge Blog. Did you get a chance to enter into the last challenge? Hope so!

This week, the challenge is to make a Valentine's Day card using any stamp or image available at Nutcrafters. They have a great selection of stamps to choose from and you can also purchase a digi so you can play right away! I know everyone's been busy making Valentine's Day cards, so this one should be of no extra effort at all to you!

Here's what I came up with... I really like this image. It was supposed to be for New Years as the girl was in a champagne glass. I just cut her out and put her on a heart instead. To create a pretty border, I used my new Martha Stewart heart punches. I just love her punch around the page corner and border punches. Its so nice to have punches that coordinate.

Here's a close up of the image...

For more information on the Challenge, click here. All you have to do is make a Valentine's Day card using a Nutcrafter's stamp or image and post a comment on the Challenge blog. Good Luck!

Supplies:

Girl- Nutshells digi

Heart punches- Martha Stewart

Ribbon

Cardstock- Bazzil

Stickles

Another Buddy Valentine

Can't seem to get enough of this cute Fhiona and her Buddy stamp by Your Next Stamp! Decided to keep it simple again by not using any DP. Since the goal here was to use the heart deco strip (which I love!), I didn't want to use any DP that would make it look too busy or take the focus away from the hearts. To add a little bling, I used some crystals to accent the hearts.

Supplies:

Fhiona and her Buddy stamp- YNS

Be My Valentine sentiment- Hero Arts

Heart deco strip- Sizzix

Crystals- Hero Arts

Markers- Copics

Cardstock-Bazzil

Cris Cross Bree

Not sure where I saw this idea, but I love using Bree to deliver Valentine's! It must've been on the Club Anya and Friends blog or Splendid Stamping with the Greeting Farm blog. They are a great source of inspiration!

Since this Cris Cross card reminds me of an envelope, I decided to use it with Bree. Looks like she's delivering the Valentine's yah?

And did you notice??? I FINALLY got my MS Loopy border punch (and corner punch too)!!! Whoopie! I thought I missed the boat on that one since wherever I looked they were sold out and didn't expect a shipment in. Now I see that everywhere is getting their shipments in... I don't care, it was totally worth it!

Supplies:

Bree- TGF

Cardstock- Bazzil

Ribbon

DP- Imaginisce

Loopy punch- MS Crafts

Markers- Copics

Box Turned Bag

I'm always looking for new ways of using my Sizzix dies. This is one of my favorite boxes that was released last year. The size is pretty big and can hold quite a bit of goodies. Decided to use my nesties and cut a labels #9 out of the cover and cover w/acetate. Love this Megan stamp, so I decided to use her on the box.

Here's the fun part, all I did was punch holes on one side and inserted ribbon for the handle! Yay, the box is now a bag!

Supplies:

Megan- TGF

DP- Bo Bunny

Cardstock- Bazzil

Labels 9- Spellbinders

Markers- Copics

Ribbon

My Buddy Valentine

Fhiona and her Buddy (now named Fhinn) are so cute together! Perfect for Valentine's day, don'tcha think? This card was a challenge for me.. not sure why but I struggled to complete it. It took me one night to finish it up, this includes taking breaks inbetween because I had crafter's block. I think the MS heart border punch is what stumped me. Once I punched that out, I had a hard time figuring out what to do with the rest of the card.

Got these flowers from a Prima flower mix- perfect match!

Supplies:

My Buddy stamp- YNS

Heart border punch- Martha Stewart Crafts

Flowers- Prima

Flourish punches- EK Success

Pearl accents- Kaisercrafts

Markers- Copics

Ribbon

Heart die- Spellbinders

Love is Sweet sentiment- Hero Arts

Cardstock- Bazzil

My First Zutter Project

I'll admit, I've been really bad about buying some stuff and not using them... For example, I bought the Zutter tool and did not use it for over a year (or at least close to it). I know, what a waste yah? Wish I tried it earlier because it was pretty darn easy to use! Kelli totally inspired me when she made a 4x4 album in less than an hour. After watching her use the machine, I felt more comfortable... it didn't look that difficult to use, so I vowed that one of my first craft projects of the new year would be to use my Zutter.

What was I thinking? I should have unpacked this baby a long time ago. Oh well, live and learn right?

I wanted to use my favorite Love Bandit paper again. For some reason, I like how the Miss Anya looks with this paper, so I decided to use her on this project. Since it was my first Zutter project, I kept it very simple. Didn't know how many layers of cardstock and chipboard it could cut through, so I didn't want to chance it- bumbye I get discouraged and not use it! :)

Hmmmm, now I think I need to get the Dream Cuts Machine!!!

Supplies:

Miss Anya Stamp- TGF

Markers- Copics

DP- Bo Bunny

Ribbon

Chipboard

Wire & Zutter machine- Zutter

Playing Along

I'm finally feeling better and hit the blogs today, only to find that The Greeting Farm is hosting a digi relay where you can get free digis if you play along! I'm all about getting free stuff nowadays, so here's what I came up with... had to use MerIan as he was the free digi for today. Isn't he the perfect match to Mermaid Anya? I thought so, and colored them the same... they are a perfect match! Still in the mood for Valentine's day too, so thought I'd make it into a Valentine's day card. Hopefully I'll make the deadline so I can get the next digi! Supplies: Mer Ian & Mermaid Anya- TGF Loopy border punch- MS Crafts DP- MS Crafts Heart die- Spellbinders Cardstock- Bazzil

Miss Anya Valentine Treat Bag

Here's the matching treat bag to that Miss Anya Valentine card I posted earlier. I decided to keep this one simple and not use any DP. Boy was that hard! This project was pretty easy to put together since the bag was a Sizzix XL die. This bag is so versatile that you can use it for just about anything.. I think its the perfect size to give away Valentine's Day treats. Maybe I'll use this bag for my daughter's class.

Supplies:

Miss Anya stamp- TGF

XOXO stamp- Hero Arts

Heart and Scallop Heart dies- Spellbinders

Markers- Copics

Ribbon

Bag die- Sizzix

Cardstock- Bazzil