Happy Holidays ...

Ho Ho Ho!!  Hope you all had a great Christmas!

We went to my mom's for dinner Christmas eve and attended the usual Christmas day dim sum with the family ... then enjoyed a quiet evening at home.  We don't have a tree, but Aunt T made a great suggestion for a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree".  Aunt T, is this what you had in mind?  Strangely enough, I didn't have any difficulty figuring out what to use as decorations :)  The difficult part was taking the picture ... I was moving the antenna as hubbie was watching TV.



New Penny Black Inc. stamps ...

Here are the distractions from Penny Black Inc. that interrupted my playing time with my asian stamp sets from Dove of the East.  They're illustated by Mo Manning; I've seen her work from a stamping company called Stampingbella in the past ... however, for some reason these ones called out to me ... especially the 1st 2 :)



I started by stamping little elf Finn with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on solar white Neenah cardstock and colouring him with Copics markers, which was for me the quickest way to colour.

Plan was to use the Spellbinder Blossom Two Nestabilities below to have a shape in the background.  I had seen this video on YouTube showing you how to use these dies even if the image is bigger than the die.

I made a border with the next larger size in bronze metallic paper.  The rest of the image was "colour" with scrapbook paper ... basically, stamp the part of the image on the paper, cut and glued it.  Lastly, I put some white Fun Flock on the hat and top ... I don't know if you could see it well in the close up.

It's not finished yet as I still have to figure out what to do with the Christmas ornament ... I'd like to put a sentiment in there.

Card with Dove of the East stamps ...

After creating a background with my Papertrey Ink stamps, I thought doing the same with some of my many asian stamps would make nice cards.  I used a couple of stamps from one of my Dove of the East stamp sets.  Like the other cards, it started with a piece of white cardstock ... I ended up using some Distress inks since I found it too white ... so basically I stamped in red, then brown and then blended some colour into the background.

I'll need to get some cream colour envelopes since I don't want to colour the white envelopes I have :)  Besides, I don't think the colour will blend as easily on the envelopes.  I intend to make some more with other stamps, but I've been distracted by some new Penny Black Inc. stamps I got last weekend.  Then on Friday, I received my order from Papertrey Ink ... so many stamps, so little time ;)

BTW, when I woke up this morning, I sat on the couch and noticed this ... according to hubbie, FOX comes in a lot better :)

Hubbie's project ...

Last weekend, hubbie was working in the garage on a little project.  Using some hangers, a 2x4, copper wire, washers, etc ... he came up with this ... no, it's not some kind of art sculpture :)  Are you ready for this ... it's an antenna!  And you know what, it actually works :)  We're able to pick up a few more channels ... who needs cable ;) 

Being safety conscious, I didn't like that the ends of the wire were not covered.  I show hubbie that I could cover it ... came out of The Paper Room with a piece of black fun foam and glue dot ... here's a close up.  However, hubbie's going to buy some plastic covers to put at the end of the wire.  

BTW, this is a prototype, hubbie said the real one will look better.  I'll post a picture when he completes it.

Daydreamer stamp set ...

Got to play on the weekend with one of my Papertrey Ink stamp sets ... it's called Daydreamer.

I created a background using a few of the stamps from the set and Colorbox Chalk inks ... love these inks.  As you can see, I basically covered a white sheet of paper in a random pattern.

Then mounted the white cardstock on colour cardstock ... added a sentiment and there you have it.  I made a similar one with a different flower.  What do you think?  I think I'll make a bunch of these and make a card set.

Last team card for the year ...

Well, here's the last birthday card for the team ... my co-worker likes to bike, so I thought this stamp was appropriate.  Too bad he wasn't wearing a helmet ... that would have made it perfect ... HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) is important in our company.

I stamp the birthday background with Versamark ink ... I love this ink ... it basically makes what you stamp look like a watermark ... looks great on dark paper.  Here's a closer look at it ...



Another team birthday card ...

Finally got to use the Hero Arts Music Background stamp that came out in their 2010 Holiday Catalog.  I figured it would also work for birthdays too :)  Also, I really like the Papertrey Ink die from the Half & Half Die Collection ... it's really versatile and I'm having fun with them.  You'll probably be seeing them in more of my cards in the future.

Here's the card I came up with ...

Coffee time ...

Sorry for going MIA ... my boss was in town the last 2 weeks, so it's been rather busy.  I meant to share this last weekend but ... well, better late than never!

Hubbie and I went into Starbucks to pick up a coffee.  No, I haven't started drinking coffee ... hubbie got the coffee ... I got an empty coffee cup.  I got this idea to alter the coffee cup while we were in there for a friend's birthday.  I thought I could make it into a card somehow or something ... had not figured it all out at the time.  Here's the before and after pics ...

I ended up filling it up with Lindor Coffee Truffles ... hubbie loves these ... I didn't use all of it, so hubbie got a few :)

Now for the card ... I decided to base it on the bill for the coffee.  I also made a loyalty card where a full card would entitle my friend to a free lunch ... hubbie wanted to start getting his coffee at that place :)  Here's a picture of all 3 things.  What do you think?

Birthday wishes ...

Just a quick post to send some birthday wishes to a friend ...

Happy Birthday CHG!!

Wishing you a great day filled with lots of gifts, cake, and everything that you like ... pizza ... coffee :)

Hedgehog inspiration ...

Took a couple of days off ... and Monday's a holiday ... so nice long weekend :)  Here's a card for a co-worker ... thought of putting the birthday wishes in circles ... then thought I could somehow make the circles look like bubbles and use part of this Penny Black stamp. 

 

Then figure it would be easier to look for an image of bubbles and put the text in the bubble and print ... found quite a few images but decided to go with this colourful and feastive one.  Amazing what one can find on the internet!

After cutting the printed image to size to fit the card, I could see that it would have been better if the Happy Birthday was at the bottom instead ... oh well, it still looks ok.

Here's the inside of the card.  I spent more time with the inside of the card ... tweaking the bubbles, so they would be large enough to put birthday wishes in them.  I added the birthday wishes I received via email from co-workers.  I think I like the inside better.

Matching CD cover ...

Finally transferred the picture's from Mei Mei's wedding from my camera to a CD for her ... it only took a little over a month :)  Since I was playing in The Paper Room, I decided to make a CD cover for it ...

This resulted in a little clean up since hubbie had to connect his old laptop (now mine) to the printer.  I got rid of the really old tube monitor and the computer under my desk ... it made some room and actually looks cleaner ... and love that I have more room :)

Another birthday card ...

Here's a quick birthday card I put together ... sorry, it's not the best picture.  I took it quickly and didn't notice I was at an angle ... didn't feel like retaking it ... ok, was too lazy to retake it ;)

 

The plan was to use my Papertrey Ink die and I had the perfect sentiment ... just the right shape :)  I also got to use a stamp from an asian stamp set I got a few months ago.  I love asian stamps ... I'm always on the look out for new and different ones.

 

Another card for the team ...

Lucky for me, it seems to be 2 birthdays each month for my team ... which is good ... not sure I could manage more ... especially since I still have a few wedding things to complete.  However, I'm still waiting for the pictures before proceeding, so having a little break ... well sort of ... making bday cards :)

So here's the 2nd September birthday card for my team ...

Yup, using scrapbooking paper yet again!  Don't worry, unlike origami where I would make a box in every colour combination, I won't be making a card with every scrapbooking paper I have.  However, I should start thinking about the October birthdays before I end up using more scrapbooking paper ;) 

Oh and I got to use a stamp from one of my new Papertrey Ink stamp sets and die on this card ... I really love Papertrey Ink stamps and dies!  I've been thinking of placing another order :)

Posting for a year now ...

It's already been a year since I've started this blog!!  I can't believe it ... I guess what they say is true ... time goes by quickly when you're having fun :)

Of course another reason to celebrate last weekend ... it was Mei Mei's birthday!  Happy Birthday again Mei Mei :)  Here's the 1st card I made for her ... yup still playing with scrapbooking paper.  I liked the idea of the flowers on the bottom; however, the flowers were very large.  Therefore, this card turned out to be 9" x 12"!

I didn't really like it, so back to the drawing board.  Anyone need a big card :)  After going through my paper, I found the perfect paper with smaller flowers ... and dah dum ... a normal size card (6" x 6")!

 

Yup, using scrapbooking paper continues to inspire me.  However, finding the right one isn't always that easy ... but when you do, everything just falls into place :)

Quick and simple card ...

Needed a quick card to send out on Monday, so I put together something quick and simple last weekend.  All you need is a scrapbook sheet with a nice pattern ...

a suitable sentiment ...

and of course some stickles (I love stickles) ...

et voilà ... a card!

The thing about this card ... it's actually for my co-worker who is the one that gave me the pad of scrapbook paper that I'm using for this card ... I wonder if she'll recognize it :)

Another recycled card idea ...

Here's the 2nd card for one of my co-workers ... yup, it's a "she" :)  Again, I used a previous card idea; however, I did get to use one of the new sentiment stamps that I purchased from Papertrey Ink.  Stamped it on vellum paper, so that the image can still be seen through.  I must confess I also didn't want to muck up my image if I stamped it direcly on.  I actually like it this way ... also it means I could colour a bunch of the Delicate Blossom image and add to sentiment later depending on the occasion ... emergency cards :)  Hmmm, I guess I should figure out a "less feminine" one too ;)

So, that is the last one for the August birthdays ... good thing there were only 2!  Going to work on cards for the September birthdays.  Have a great day!

Here we go again ...

Well, I decided to make birthday cards for my team.  I did that in my previous teams and stopped since ... well, let's just say it was time to stop.  I hoping this will help make us all feel more like a team even though there's quite a distance between us ... also, I guess it's a sign that I'm feeling like me now ... at least enough to do this.  So, here we go again ... in hindsight, I think I should have started this after Mei Mei's wedding :) 

Oh and since most of my team are male, it will be a challenge for me to come up with cards for guys!  Here's the 1st card I made ... stuck with Stampscapes :)  Wha?!  It's my 1st one and was still working on wedding stuff ... however, I did add some mountains in the back ... that's new :)

Tiffany's blog ...

Guess what!?  Tiffany created a blog to show her artwork!!  I'm looking forward to seeing the progression of her work over the years.  Check it out:  http://www.artinchinatown.blogspot.com/

Now, you can all see what I was referring to when I said she can draw :)  She put some of the drawings she did when she was a "young girl" ... I think I really felt my age after reading that ... to me she's still a young girl!

The creativity continues ...

Wah Biu Goo sent us a couple of pictures of some origami Tiffany did.  Isn't this cool!  I gotta try this :)  It would make great decorations for a party or wedding ;)

Actually, Tiffany's creative side is already known, so it's not a surprise to see creativity from her.   She's a real artist ... unlike me, she can draw and has worked with various mediums.  I use rubber stamps to create my images ... I guess we make due with what we have :)

Hey, just think if I could find a way to make it big enough, a pair could be made for a wedding and the fortune inside could be like a sign-in book with the wishes from all the guests to the happy couple.  Or it could be the bonboniere with the chocolates or sweets inside.  Now, I just gotta figure out how to do this ...

Not quite done yet ...

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of the preparations for Mei Mei's wedding.  There were the table numbers, menus, place cards, coupons, flowers, tags ...

 

 

 

Oh and here's a pic of the production line and completed bonbonières ... BTW, no chocolates went missing during this process ... that's probably  because Mei Mei and I were handling this ... hubbie was outside battling the weeds :)

To be honest, I had no clue how we were going to set things up except for 2 menus at opposite end of the table and the place card in front of each place.  Mei Mei, my mom and I arrived at the Maple Pavillion a couple of hours before the ceremony to set up.  Initially, we did not know where the bonbonières were, and the stands for the table numbers were missing.  However, things always workout somehow ... even if there are some early arrivals as you try to set up the place :)

Dah dum ... all done!  Not quite ... still have the thank you cards to do for both weddings!  I've made samples for my brother's thank you card and mini album for my grandparents and great aunt since they could not attend the wedding.  Got the ok to go from Holly ... just waiting for the final count and pictures then I could start the production line :)