crafting this and that

Hi again!  So excited to start previews for All That Scraps October release !  This release is so incredibly cute.  I don't know how you'll resist these cute stamps!  These little guys are called Meoples and this set is called No Peeking.  Aren't they super cute!  I love the Gingerbread Man and the reindeer especially.  They are the perfect size to make little to/from tags for Christmas!  Don't they look so happy?  They make me smile.  The sentiment is just one of many in the Scripted Greetings Fanciful Christmas set which is also being released in October.  There are so many wonderful sentiments in this set that can be used alone or to complement an image. Please check out the ATS blog for more cuteness!  Trust me, you'll want to see the other cute images being previewed today! Thanks for reading!

Hello!  Happy Sunday!  It is time for our 4th challenge over at Yumi & Fumi Handmade Crafts .  The challenge is to use dry or wet embossing. I decided to make a shaped card for Fumi Panda.  Isn't she cute?  My sentiment has been heat embossed and is from PTI's Tiny Treats Halloween stamp set.  I love to emboss sentiments these days.  It's not a messy as I thought it would be and one container sure last a long time. Please hop on over to Yumi & Fumi Handmade Crafts blog to see more cute inspiration from the DT.  The Top 3 has also been selected so check them out as well.  We love visiting and seeing everyone's wonderful creations!  Just remember that to qualify for a chance to win or to make the Top 3, you must use a stamp from Yumi & Fumi Handmade, Sister Stamps, La-La Land or The Greeting Farm.  Please click HERE for complete challenge rules. Thanks for reading!

Hi!  Well, seems like most of you are leading a double, secret life hiding your blogs and obsessive stamping/card making behavior.  Haha!  Yeah, I'm always cautious who I tell and I always think twice before I tell anyone about my hobby. Anyway, it is time for The Greeting Farm's FFF .  This week Peggy is challenging us to use PINK on our cards.  Easy right? Here is my card featuring Bright Bean with pink hair.  I think The Beans always look great with fun, colorful hair.  I made her a bit Christmas-y. Added some pink and green rhinestones and Stickles. Please check out the rest of the team's PINK creations and join in on the challenge! Thanks for reading!  

Hello!  I was wondering do you tell people you meet that you like to make cards and stamp and blog as well?  Or do you try to keep that private?  I think for the most part, Chery and I started this blog to share our creations but wanted to keep our lives private.  Ha, I guess it's kind of too late for me.  Have you ever Googled your name?  Too much info!  I don't generally tell people that I have this big hobby.  In fact, I only recently told my mom about my blog.  I don't even think she understands entirely why I make cards.  She just wants me to sell them.  Always the entrepreneur.  Anyway, a few weeks ago our local Ben Franklin Crafts had a card contest .  We could only use stamps from 3 local companies.  I had my boys enter too but we all didn't win.  My older boy already had something in mind to buy if he won.  Such an optimist.  This was for Sister Stamps category.  Love Miyoko!  ...

Hi!  I'm back with a review for All That Scraps -- Sweet November Stamps . I've used Lil Boo and Larry again.  They were stamped on vellum and heat embossed.  I just colored Larry in with Copics straight on the vellum.  I added some banners from the mini banners die.  This was a fast and simple card.  Perfect when you don't have as much time. Well, this is a short post!  Thanks for reading!

Hi!  So yesterday instead of staying home and doing my usual Sunday chores like laundry, I went out for lunch with my hubby while our kiddies were in Sunday school.  Those couple of hours were fun cause I got to eat yummy and spicy ramen.  Though it wasn't that spicy but they call it spicy.  Anyway, now I feel like I have ton of stuff to do today including laundry!  Not to mention there was a ton of traffic coming home this morning after dropping my kids off because of an accident, AGAIN.  I spent some time at our local drug store trying to wait out the traffic and bought Halloween candy to give away and probably eat too.  So much yummy candy! Well, I have a Make it Monday post up over at All That Scraps blog .  Please check it out.  I don't think I'll be posting it here.  Well, here's a peek.  This is my simple version of the cups I made in a previous post.  I thought these might be cute to give to my kiddies' classmates...

Hi!  So this is the one part of being on TGF's Showcase DT I was afraid of -- making a sketch!  Never done one before!  But it was pretty painless though I had a hard time following my own sketch!  Ha!  Next time I'm keeping it simple.  Anyway, my sketch is up on TGF's forum over on SCS .  Please go check it out and play along! This is my card featuring one of the lovely girls from Miss Anya Scarves set.  I actually love how this card turned out.  I'm almost reluctant to give this one away.  Maybe gotta pry it out of my hands.  Lots of layers!  The round sentiment is from TGF's Clear Christmas set. The snowflakes are also from the Clear Christmas set and were heat embossed.  Added some stickles to the snowflakes too. Here's my sketch! All the rules and details are HERE .  Can't wait to see what you come up with! Thanks for reading!

Hello!!  Exciting news to share today as Yumi & Fumi Handmade have yet another cute release called Kigurumi Kids!!  Not sure what that is?  Here is a little description: What Is Kigurumi?  (Key-gu-ru-mee) A type of cosplay that employs a full body suit, similar to a fur suit. It is most commonly used with animal costumes but can also be worn to emulate people, mechs, mascots, etc. Kigurumi are dressed in character from head to toe. They usually wear masks that encompass their entire head rather than just their face. Characters like Mickey Mouse from Disneyland and Barney from Barney the Dinosaur are referred to as Kigurumi in Japan. Kigurumi is a part of Japanese culture, which represents performing people who dress up like popular cartoon characters. The word is actually a combination of the Japanese words kiru (to wear) and nuigurumi (stuffed toy). Often seen in places like anime conventions, theme parks and even shopping malls, a kig...

Hi!  Is it Friday yet??  Geez, long week.  I've been waking up every morning wondering if it's Friday yet.  So today I took the time to actually nap.  And maybe that's what I needed.  I didn't sleep too soundly though but feel a bit more refreshed.  And now it's pouring here as I write this post.  Hate to pick up the kids in this kind of weather.  Hopefully the rain will ease up by then. Well, it's finally time for a new Farm Fresh Friday!  This week Shaela has a Birthday Recipe for us.  She is challenging us to create a project with: a birthday theme, use a boy TGF image, and the colors orange, turquoise/aqua & silver.  Got it?  Not too bad, right?  We all need extra bday cards handy. I chose Oliver from Surprise.  It's the first time I have stamped him and this set was still untrimmed.  Oh boy.  I am trying not to buy too many new stamps since I still seem to find ones that I haven't trimmed...

Hi all!  Today is Tuesday but I feel like it should be Friday already!  It's one of those weeks, you know?  Anyway, I'm here to share my Mashi's Muffins card for All That Scraps September Review . This is Farmer Fran with that adorable little piggy again.  The sentiment is from Down on the Farm Sayings.  I used ATS grass border die, flower border die and the triangles from the mini banners die to create the sun.  The triangles, grass and flower petals were cut from PTI felt. Love those little chicks in the background.  The paper is from Prima Marketing Jack n Jill collection.   Short post today.  I've got lots of crafting to do! Thanks for reading!

Hi! Wow, the days go by really quickly, don't they?  It's already Yumi & Fumi Handmade Crafts 3rd challenge !  Just seems like we had the first one!  The next challenge theme is Anything But a Card! I used Yumi with Bookbag and Fumi with Messenger Bag on some alterable photo frames from Kaisercraft.  It actually came in a set of 4 or 5 (I can't quite remember) that folded accordion style but I've been using a page here and there for other projects as well.  The sentiments are ATC style from 7Gypsies that I've been saving for a project like this.  I made this for my daughter to keep in her room.  A reminder to do her best otherwise she has me to deal with.  Hahaha.  I know the ATCs are a bit more distressed looking but I didn't want to make the whole project distressed since my daughter is not into that style.  She likes the pinks and purples and all the shiny glittery stuff. If you've been playing along with the challen...

Hi!  Wow, another week has flown by!  It's already time for another Farm Fresh Friday with The Greeting Farm .  Sara is hosting this week and she wants us to use lace to create a vintage style card. I used Latte Anya!  Isn't she adorable?  I rarely ever do much distressing but I got out some distress inks and inked up the edges of the papers and the main image.  I'm happy I got to use some of my pretty lace ribbon that I had bought a little while ago.  I used my Perfect Layers rulers to mat the main image too.  I seem to always mat at 1/16th of an inch. I stamped Anya on watercolor paper and used watercolor pencils to color her in.  I hand wrote the sentiment and added a little flower button and rhinestone. Please head over to TGF's blog to check out the rest of the DT's creations and join in on the challenge. Thanks for reading!

Please scroll down or click HERE for TGF's September Retro-fresh Challenge. *****************   Hi!  Back again for a review of All That Scraps September Release of CC Designs stamps . This is Cow and Pig.  I made them more Halloween-y by using Halloween colors.  I thought they could be wearing cute little farm animal masks/costumes.  And I wanted to make a Halloween treat that was simple but still cute.  I bought simple cups from Walmart for really cheap.  They have so many different colors in the party section.  You could really dress up or down these cups depending on your time.  Cow is paper pieced just a bit.  I think she has such a sweet face! Pig's dress is also paper pieced a bit.  She's sweet too! I made these little banners using the new mini banner dies.  They are hanging on some twine and attached to skewers that I wrapped in orange washi tape. I added some orange beads and purple rhinesto...

Hello!  A new retro-fresh challenge premieres today over at The Greeting Farm !  The theme for September is Jumping in the Leaves -- just use leaves on your project, a TGF stamp/digi that is at least 6 months old, and you have a whole month to enter this challenge. Here's my little owl from Hoo Loves You.  I stamped him on watercolor paper and colored him with watercolor pencils.  Really old watercolor pencils but they still work okay.  I added him onto my felt leaves/branch diecut from PTI.  The sentiment also comes with the set and it was heat embossed.  Did a little bit of distressing around the edges of my paper and added brads in the corners. After stamping on watercolor paper and coloring him in, I usually go back and trace the image again just to define the lines a bit more.  I usually do this with eyes.  I like the eyes to stand out so I go back and color them in. Please head over to see all the challenge details HER...