Easter Cards

Happy Spring, everyone! It's official, the first day of spring was a week ago, March 20th. I confess, I am not fond of spring and summer. I can give you many reasons why, but I will not bore you with those. How about I give you the top 3? So here it goes: 1) My allergies flare up severely around this time of the year and nothing seems to ever help. 2) My monthly electric bill during the summer cost as much as an in-season Cole Haan purse due to the non-stop use of the A/C. 3) The heat usually brings out people who dress-up inappropriately - and I don't like having to see too much skin. I love fall and winter when people are too cold so they cover themselves up with turtle necks, sweaters, hats, scarves, shawls, gloves, boots and tights. Hahaha! I am pretty relieved that it has been raining, thus postponing the heat to arrive. I know, I know, I am living in the wrong place.Oh well.

I would like to share the Easter cards we made in class two weeks ago. We did a lot of coloring with the Aqua Painters and Classic Stampin' pads.

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Flower Fest (Wood 122278 Clear 122280), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Pretty in Pink, Calypso Coral and Whisper White card stocks
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pretty in Pink, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pads
Accessories: Brads in Soft Subtles (119738), Aqua Painter (103954), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Punches: Modern Label (119849) and Word Window (119857), Paper Snips (103579) to cut-out the butterfly.

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Everybunny (Wood 122705 Clear 122707)
Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB), Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla card stocks
Ink: Calypso Coral, Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede and Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pads
Accessories: Aqua Painter (103954), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Eyelet Border punch (119853), Modern Label punch (119849), 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon in Pool Party (125582).

Have a good week, everyone! I am going to enjoy the cool weather while it's still here.

Big Shot

It has been pretty cold and gloomy here in Northern California, perfect excuse to stay in my pajamas all weekend long. I have been busy playing with my Sizzix Big Shot Cutting Machine. I just LOVE the Bigz XL Die in Designer Rosette (125594) and the Large Sizzlits Die in Paper Doily (125592) - both are in the Occasions Mini Catalog which will end April 30, 2012. I really hope they carry over these two items to the new catalog that will launch in June.

I just love how this shadow box frame turned out. (Although taking a photo of it was quite tricky). This will be an awesome Mother's Day or friendship gift, don't you think? I am bummed that the Everyday Enchantment DSP and Brad pack will go away end of this month.

I also have been busy making this beautiful broach/pin using the Flirtatious Designer Fabric and Antique Brads and of course the Bigz L Die in Fun Flowers (121812).

I am offering a special Big Shot class next Saturday, March 31, 2012 featuring the projects above. You can RSVP by going to My Store.

Gotta go!

Love Life ...

I often find it difficult to measure how much I am willing to share right here in my Blog. There are so many things I want to write, but I hold back because I feel it's just too open and I fear exposing myself too much will damage me deeply in the end. Although, I must acknowledge that I find sharing a little bit of my uneventful life sort of therapeutic, even healing at times. I do realize though that I have to be careful about sharing too much too often as it might make me appear whiny and pathetic. Smile.

It has been a rainy week and call me odd, but I do LOVE the rain. I always have. I find it purifying and refreshing. Each and every time, the rain brings me childhood memories of when I used to listen to the pitter-patter of the rain fall on our tin roof. To this day, I find tranquility in the sprinkling and the gloominess of it all. The sound of the rain sloshing down calms my nerves and relaxes my soul. There were times especially during typhoon seasons when it almost felt like the rain drops were falling right through my grandparents' tin roof and onto my face. Perhaps I was not imagining that because I clearly remember we had plenty of buckets all over the floor to catch the roof leaks. Now that I am an adult, a mild roof leak concerns me that it would lead to dry rot and mold. Back then, I thought it was fascinating, even fun. How I remember just sitting there with a book or how I busied myself looking out the window watching the water fall from the sky to cleanse the earth. We also often ran in the narrow flooded streets playing in the rain. No one cared about diseases or dirty water from the clogged-up sewer lines. We just played in the rain and stayed out until our lips turned purple and our skin wrinkly. Typhoons back home meant black-outs, often for days. We had to find ways to entertain ourselves, be it making paper boats, playing in the puddle, telling scary stories or listening to soap operas via the battery operated transistor radio. There were no ipods, cell phones, video games and obviously, no internet. But we loved life just the same...and looking back now - life loved us back. Lately, I find myself feeling homesick. Not exactly homesick for the Philippines, more so homesick and longing for my youth. I remember being a kid and feeling very impatient about not growing-up fast enough. Now I feel like I got old-er much too soon. I feel as if life just happened to me instead of the other way around. I know I find comfort in saying I have no regrets, however, recently I catch myself playing the futile "what if" game. I hope there are other forty-something people out there who also feel this way. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Materials: Kindness Matters and Cottage Garden Stamp Sets, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine (113439), Bigz XL Die Designer Rosette (125594), Bigz L Die Fun Flowers (121812), Large Sizzlits Die Paper Doily (125592), Large Pearl Basic Jewels (125577), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Sticky Sheets (114300), Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755).

One of the reasons why I love the rain is that I have an excuse not to leave the house. I spent the weekend playing with my Big Shot. I have been wanting to try this since I saw Kay Kalthoff's video on SCS. It took me a few tries with the Sizzlits Die Large Paper Doily (125592). I am still getting the hang of it. I am glad I opted to use retired paper to experiment with, since I did waste a few sheets. It was sort of tedious, but I really like the finished products. I think I might even do a Big Shot class featuring this project. It will be pretty on my desk at work - it will never wilt. If I only had a sentiment that says, "Love your job and it will love you back". Ha! Oh, how I wish.

That's it for today. The forecast this coming week is more rain. I guess I should be careful what I wish for. Smile.

PS: I phoned my father yesterday and it felt good because he sounded really happy to hear my voice. I should do that more often and stop coming up with excuses not to. It doesn't matter who calls first or who called last - no one is keeping score. One of the many things I am thankful for about getting older is that, I have learned to be more forgiving. I've realized how unpredictable life truly is and that every little bit of kindness do matter - and right now, I'd much rather give it than wait for it to come my way.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I have been trying to come up with an idea for a Saint Patrick's Day card, then I realized I didn't own any Stampin' Up! stamps to use other than Every Little Bit (Wood 117096 Clear 120558). Thank goodness to other clever Stampin' Up! demonstrators from Stampin' Connection Site I was able to draw some inspiration.

Clearly, my heritage does not celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. However, one of the fine prints about having a Paper Crafting Blog means I have to pretty much celebrate most holidays - as an excuse to create and share. I also like a few Irish actors/celebrities, if that counts. Also, I remember reading somewhere (probably a bumper sticker) that "Everybody's Irish on March 17", so here I am with a couple of greeting cards. Luckily it fell on a Saturday this year, which is a good reason to celebrate with a good drink or drinks, right? Both of the cards are in my opinion Clean and Simple. I think they turned out okay considering they're my first attempt to create Saint Patty's Day cards. I got the sentiment stamps from the $1 bin at a local craft store. I will be more prepared next year.

I used the Small Heart punch (117193) on the shamrock above plus Brights Glimmer Brads (121006) in Old Olive. Green Shimmer paper - non Stampin' Up! Garden Green and Whisper White card stocks. Also Garden Green Classic Stampin' pad for the ink.

Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: Every Little Bit (Wood 117096 Clear 120558)
Paper: Whisper White and Basic Black card stock, Patterns DSP Brights Collection (117155)
Ink: Old Olive Classic Stampin' pad (102277)
Accesories: Punches in: 1 3/8" (119877) and 1 1/4" Square (119865), 1 1/4" (119861)and 1 3/8" Circle (119860) and 1 3/4 Scallop Circle (119854), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Stamping Sponges (101610)

That's it for today. See you soon! 

"May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks. May your heart be as light as a song. May each day bring you bright, happy hours. That stay with you all the year long."

Spring Forward

I am not a big fan of Spring Forward Daylight Savings Time. Just like today, the clock showed that I slept in an extra hour, yet I feel like I got robbed an hour, does that make sense? Anyway, it will take at least a couple of weeks before my body gets used to it, for now I am an hour behind in all my chores.

Only three (3) weeks left before Sale-a-Bration ends. I am going to miss the Everyday Enchantment DSP and coordinating Brads pack. I have an illness, I find it hard to control myself from hoarding things I like. This always seem to happen with Limited Edition / Seasonal papers, ribbons and other paper crafting embellishments. I would like to share with you three (3) cards using items from the SAB catalog.

 

Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: Fresh Vintage Stamp Set - SAB, P.S. I love you

Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (126154), Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party and Very Vanilla card stocks

Ink:  Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad

Accessories: Postage Stamp Punch (122344), Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882), Stampin' Dimensionals

Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370), Triple Treat Flower Single Stamp (127725) SAB

Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (126154) and Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack (127279) - SAB, Cajun Craze and Very Vanilla card stocks

Ink:  Cajun Craze and Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pads

Accessories: Punches in : Fancy Flower (118073), 5-Petal Flower (119880), Modern Label (119849) and Word Window (119857), Stampin' Dimensionals

Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: Kindness Matters - SAB

Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (126154), Cameo Coral, Lucky Limeade, Textured Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card stocks

Ink:  Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pads

Accessories: Punches in: Small Oval (120908), Large Oval (119855), Extra Large Oval (119859) and Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Designer Frames Embossing folders (127709) - SAB, 3/8" Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbons (122977), 5/16" Neutrals Brads (112534).

That's it for this Sunday's post. I am contemplating whether I should make a St. Patrick's Day card. I have not made one...ever. I guess, you'll have to check back next week to see if I made one. Thanks for stopping by!

Please check out the Sale-a-Bration promotion before it ends on March 31st, 2012. Remember that every $50.00 order gives you an opportunity to get one freebie from the SAB catalog. Click the link below for more information!

Sale-a-Bration 2012

Friendship

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to read my blog post last week, "Stars in the Sky". I appreciate the comments I received. It just hit me the other day that blogging might actually help me fulfill two of my greatest passions: paper crafting and writing. I've always considered myself a writer ever since second grade when I bought my very first Hello Kitty diary. Writing has been my saving grace all of these many years. When I'm hurting and nothing seems to help, I write all my feelings down and somehow seeing them on paper frees me; as if I am no longer bound by the pain. After sometime when I go back to read them...it's as if I am reading someone else's life. Writing my feelings down gives me an avenue to put it out there; it's like letting go of something I can't control. It's been my therapy and although, it has always been my dream to write a book blogging will have to do for now.

My eleven year old daughter changes BFFs at least once a month. I find it a tad amusing that it is so easy for kids to make friends and then move on to the next. Sadly for me, I have not really made one true girlfriend since high school. Surely I have friends whose company I genuinely enjoy, but it's nothing like my friends from high school. Even then I didn't have very many. I have been told to have trust issues. I suppose, becoming an adult made me suspicious of people. Isn't that sad? I've always had this unwavering belief that if one knew me and loved me back when I was a complete mess, he/she is my friend for life. As adults we've learned to put up facades and we've gotten so good at being superficial. We've complicated life by thinking that showing vulnerability makes us unlikeable. We've stopped making friends. It saddens me every single day that all of my best friends are back home and we rarely communicate anymore other than those occasional greetings and hollers via Facebook. We're all busy with our own lives. Life is hectic, I get it. It still doesn't stop me from wishing I had one girlfriend close by whom I can "hang with". To all my BFFs...you know who you are - please know that I am missing you.

This stamp set is called,  Language of Friendship and it's one of the Sale-a-Bration freebies. We made it in class last week. The language of Friendship is not words, but meanings. - Henry David Thoreau

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Language of Friendship
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade and Whisper White card stocks.
Inks: Lucky (115657) and Wisteria Wonder (122936) Classic Stampin' Pads
Accessories: Scallop Trim Corner (118870) and Bird Builder (117191) punches, Impressions Folder in Elegant Bouquet (115964), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

This was one of the Make & Takes from Stampin' Up Convention last year. Hahaha, I just got around to finishing it. I so love how it turned out. I altered it a little bit plus I sprayed the finished card with Smooch Spritz in Vanilla Shimmer.

 Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Best Friends Forever (Wood 122805 and Clear 122807)
Paper: DSP Timeless Portrait (122352), More Mustard, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade and Basic Black and Very Vanilla card stocks.
Inks: Lucky Limeade (122935) and Cherry Cobbler (119669) Classic Stampin' pads
Accessories: Decorative Label (120907), Extra Large Oval (119859) and Lace Ribbon Border (122362) punches, Basic Rhinestones (119246), Smooch Spritz Vanilla Shimmer (118772), Paper Snips (103579) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

That's it for today's post. Have a wonderful Sunday! Thanks for stopping by.