Card: Enjoy Your Day

My younger brother's birthday is coming up in another 2 weeks' time. And it's high time I prepared something for his 24th birthday. He's been studying everyday right now, having his final exams soon and then he'll be a doctor. Ain't easy path, but he'll do well I believe.

Inspired by this lovely photo.
Theme: Shabby Shutters
Project / Card: Navy Blue + Neutrals + Distressed Element

Seriously, I thought it would be a good time to try a new color - blue. Yes, I like doraemon very much, but still it didn't influence me in my craft making. I did spend an hour searching for that 1 piece of navy blue pp that I had stashed somewhere. I was about to head for my storeroom already, and there it is! That's the one!

Enjoy Your Day

Decided on a card set, since it was really rare that I made use of a color so deep. The box is a 8-sided hexagonal box, made from the very same pp of the card. The gears went through distressing and crackle paint for an aged effect. Cards for guys just ain't easy to manage!



Added a pop up message inside the card. When card is opened, the message slides up to display "It's your birthday! Distressed a scalloped oval tag to include message to the receiver.







Here's the hexagonal box up-close. Made it simple to hold some treats or gift. Honestly, I haven't decided on his present yet. It'll either be some cute little chocs to help keep him awake while studying or this ornament for his desk. Either way, they'll fit in this box.

Products:
[Little Yellow Bicycle]
Twig "Petaled"
[7Gypsies]
Global Collection "Greco"

Stamp:
[Magnolia] Edwin 
[TGF] Grandpa + Grandma Set

Entering this for the following challenge:
[The Shabby Tea Room] Week #103 Shabby Shutters


Also, special thanks to The Shabby Tea Room for once again choosing my project as a terrific top 3 winner! Woot! A big THANK YOU!

Here's the link for the project.

I'm having so much fun each week joining The Shabby Tea Room, and it's always giving me much inspiration to create. Do hop over and have a look for yourselves, because I think they've the best DTs around! :)

Card: Smiles




One of my dream jobs was to be an air stewardess, because of their friendly smiles and great services on Singapore Airlines. I have numerous friends who became air stewardess / air stewards, and this card is meant for one of my close friends.

Smiles


Products:
[7Gypsies]
Avigon Paper "Annonce"
Global Collection "Greco"

Stamp:
[TGF] Travel Anya
[Hero Arts] Sending Smiles Message

Entering this for the following challenge:

[TGF] SCS Saturday Sketch Challenge #5 {TGFSC5}

I had great fun with this sketch! Love the alignments of the items very much. So many possibilities.. Great sketch!



Card: Party Time + Naomi Giveaway

I've been a Gemini and always had a wilder side of me. And this week I wanted to go back in time to be wild! Ok, I have never had pink hair, though I really wished for it. and only through cards can I really fulfill my wishes! This time round, I did a slightly different card feel. At least on the hair color!



Products:
[October Afternoon] Fly a Kite "Strawberry Jam"
Schoolhouse "Flashcards"

Stamps:
[TGF] Tuesday
[AC] Birthday

Entering this for the following challenge:
[Anyone for Anya] Sketchy Sunday
Wonderful sketch!
On another note, you will want to pop over to Naomi's blog. She's having a fabulous giveaway till the end of Feb and really you MUST go over like RIGHT NOW. :)

I'm going down to the Art Republic to prepare for classes later on. It's going to be another work day for me. How about you? Enjoy this peaceful Sunday and hope you have fun with crafting.

Card: Happy Birthday to You

And I know this is my second post of the night. I just had some sinful late night supper after the previous post. How evil that is, but I'm too hungry to bother. 

There is a little girl, whose birthday is coming soon, and then I remembered Fancy Anya, for her closed eyes and pretty smile. So won't it be good to use her on this week's Friday Spy Day Challenge?

Here's what was "spied". Amazing colors by Yaya, really makes summer yummy. Not that I have any seasons here in Singapore, but looking at the card I felt like surfing. :)


I decided to make things a little different. I think Yaya has used an easel card there. I've chosen a pop-up-with-a-little-pull kind of card.


Here is the card when it is closed for posting - it's flat so it can be sent via snail mail and not get crushed. I've used the same layout as Yaya. See that little semi-circle? So you pull that little flap...


Card opens to display the message and Fancy Anya gets a "pop up". Isn't she sweet? I just love her sweetness.


Here's a side top view. oh, and I used 2 buttons to stop the card from sliding down. :) Really, I'm hoping she'll like it! I have not used this color combination for a long time. Good to dress Fancy Anya in yellow - that's a first!

Products:
[Pink Paislee] Sweetness 6x6" Paper Pad

Stamp:
[TGF] Fancy Anya
[Hero Arts] Sending Smiles Message
[American Craft] Birthday

Entering this card for the following challenge:

And I have 2 pieces of good news to share as well. 

Special thanks to TGF for hosting such great challenges! Never have expected to be chosen and it's bringing smiles non stop today! (Even at the TCM where I can only tell you that the pain is unbearable!) Link to here and here.

Another round of thanks to TGF because I happen to be the lucky one selected for TGF's new release Glimmer Bean! I can't believe it! And if you haven't went over, do pop by because there is something special brewing for the second release of Shimmer Bean

I think I'll sleep with happy smiles (maybe Miss Anya can hug me tonight) Will have to go to rest now for an early morning "car wash" event. Good night!

Card: Thinking of You

I wanted to try out 3 of my stamps today, and thought that this combination could be quite interesting. Thinking of a great pal who is in Indonesia right now, and nowadays I don't get to see him much because I no longer travel to Indonesia. 

Thinking of you


Products:
[October Afternoon] Detours "Picnic Basket"
[DCWV] The Garden Party MatStack

Stamps:
[Magnolia]
[Art Impression] "Fronts-n-Backs UMM1500"
[Hero Arts] "Wishing You Were Here 4x6"

Punches:
[Carl Crafts] "Small Butterfly"

Entering this card for the following challenges:
Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 205 Winged Things
Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog - Color Challenge Blue & Brown
Tuesday Morning Sketches - Sketch Challenge #134
Wonderful inspirations from all the DTs and I do enjoy going through their blogs as well. Makes me use my stamps in many ways possible and allowing me to create different cards for different moods / season.

I'm on a light mood today. Car wash didn't happen as planned, because there was a SIM open house today and Dad had a wedding to go to. Hence, we decided on tomorrow. Working on another card now, and have some good news to share later. See ya soon~



Box + Card: Hugs for You (made from scratch)

It must be my engineering background that is forcing me to create projects instead of altering them. I have had some talks with other designers, who felt that altering makes the whole process much easier. How true. But I just never had the heart to alter anything. In fact I like to change the dimensions to the dimensions that I need so that they fit to my requirements. But it's a whole load of extra work. Imagine the preparation work before fitting the pieces together. Haha. I have to go through some technical drawing before I finalize the project. Not that easy, but it's always what I love to do.

This project was inspired by The Shabby Tea Room Week #102 High Tea Challenge.
 Cindy asks that you create a card or project inspired by the COLORS IN THE PHOTO AND USE A DOILIE!

Here's what I see : Circles, Main Shade- Turquoise, Sub Shade- Beige, Bits of gold + pink, doilie.
Here's what I came up with:


Oops bear not included as part of the challenge! Haha. But it sits there really nicely. It's just found a home. In fact, I just bought it at The Art Republic and out of all the bears that sat there in the box, this one spoke to me. Really! Literally looking at me and telling me that I just have to bring it home! So I did. :P So if you are keen, pop over to AR now and see which one speaks to you! :) (P/S: Jean was so amused with me looking and talking to the bears that she told to a customer who was looking at the bears... I hope she doesn't find me weird!)

I made up the box all from scratch for this one. Just wanted a small box for some small gifts, and thought it might be good to have one handy. I used some gold doilies inside the box to provide some linings. If you look at the inspirational photo, you'll realize the gold trimmings - that was what inspired me to put the gold doilies inside the box! 

Then I thought. Since so, why not complement it with a card? So I did another round card.





This card sits nicely into the box, and can be opened up to display 3 different layers. I added some twine to the first layer, so the recipient can hang it up if she likes. :) Pretty much a set that is ready to go. I was thinking of getting my good friend some tea leaves. She has been asking for some good peppermint tea. You think it'll go well with this gift box and card?

Products: 
[Kaisercraft] 
Lil' Primrose "6.5" Paper Pad"
Lil' Primrose "Fancy Dress"
Sweet Nothings "Cupids Arrow"
[Cosmo Cricket]
Togetherness "Reunion"
[My Mind's Eye]
Follow Your Heart "Be Happy Twine"


Stamps: 
[AC] "Blue Skies"

Die-cuts / Punches:
[Lifestyle Crafts] Nesting Eyelet Circles

Entering this for the challenge:
The Shabby Tea Room Week #102 High Tea Challenge

On another note, I am honored to be chosen as THE SHABBY TEA ROOM TEA TIME TERRIFIC TOP THREE WINNERS! Thank you so much! This is the best news of the week! :) Link to the project here.

Been such a great week! Now I'll retire to my lala land and smile in my dreams. It's marketing day tomorrow, meaning I'll have to be up early to accompany my parents. :) Have a great weekend ahead! :)

Card: For You

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. For those who know me, bright colors are quite a taboo for me. Reason? Well, I guess I don't have kids so I really haven't learnt my primary colors yet. LOL. School times were far far away and long long time ago. And the fact that my art work was a teacher's nightmare. Enough said, I know it's bad.

When I saw TGF's color challenge this week, I knew it's time to challenge myself. Hence, tada~ 

For You

 

When I saw primary colors as challenge theme, the first that came to my mind - Cupcake Anya! Basically I had to! Yummy cupcakes and yummy colors!

Products:
[Cosmo Cricket] Garden Variety "Elements", Togetherness "Reunion", Togetherness "Birds of a feather"
[My Mind's Eye] Follow Your Heart "Be Happy" Twine
[Bo Bunny] "Butterfly Dreams" Candy Jewels

Stamp:
[TGF] "Cupcake Anya"
[Hero Arts] "Sending Smiles Message"

Die-cut / Punches:
[EK Success] Small Flower Punch
[Martha Steward] Scallop Punch
[Lifestyle Crafts] Nesting Eyelet Circles DC

Participating in the following challenge:
TGF Monday Funday #21 - Primary Colors Challenge

Hope you like it! Now I'm working on decorating the 12x12 album for The Art Republic, and should be done in another few weeks. Glad how it turned out so far, but a lot of work to be done still.

Till then seeya!

Kaisercraft Sat Sketch #2 Feb - Unforgetable Love With You

Oh bother.. I must have clicked something. Or have done something extremely wrong! That's how my post for Kaisercraft #2 Feb Challenge went missing! And luckily I'm detecting this mistake, so I'll have to re-post. Honestly, I can't remember what I've written in my previous post, so I'm doing this from scratch again... Do bear with me. I'm such a muddle-head!

I started working on this LO because of the papers actually. Because I love the sweetness and the princess feel to it. More of my thoughts were to capture the papers rather than the photo. Haha. I especially loved the tag that says "The perfect shoes can change your life - Cinderella" and it was from the 6.5" paper pad. I really love Kaisercraft's paper pad. It really makes a whole lot of sense to include some tags for use, either on LO or for cards. In fact, I'm using this collection on a card right as I speak.

In any case, I don't take much photos except when there is an occasion. And now that my hard disk is throwing a tantrum with a faulty power cable, I'll have to make do with the photos that are currently in my computer.

Kaisercraft Saturday Sketch #2 Feb - Unforgetable Love with you



Entering this LO for the following challenge~



It's amazing how "unsharpened" I am right now. The cutting of the pp took me 2 hours to sit and slice. Haha. No wonder they said practice makes perfect. I've been too lazy with my LOs! :)

Products:
[Kaisercraft Lil Primose Collection]
"Fabulous" PP (2 pieces), 6.5" paper pad
[Others]
7Gypsies "Unique" Word Stickers, October Afternoon "Thrift Shop" Word Stickers


Kaisercraft Sat Sketch #1 Feb - Lucky

Do you have a song that you keep repeating in your mind? I've been humming this song ever since last week and I still can't get it out of my mind. Heard this on the car in my CD. So I did a LO for it.

Jason Mraz - Lucky

Lyrics here.

I'm really lucky. I guess I've found a friend, a soulmate and maybe a partner in life to confide in or to turn to. I might have scrapped this photo many times, but it was the photo that came along into my mind when I hummed this song. So memorable a photo. Well, I might as well say this is the only photo that I didnt have to go like "DD, can you please seriously smile? No cheeky faces!"



Included a tag to journal my feelings..


This was created with Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings collection, and it was fun to handle the embellishments because they were so easy to use! The additional bonus came from the inspiring sketch challenge at Kaisercraft. Love the final effects of the LO.

Entering this LO for the following challenge~

Kaisercraft #1 Feb Sketch Challenge - Isn't this sketch amazing?

Products:
[Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings Collection]
Sticker Sheet, Die-cut Collectables, Sincerely PP, Dozen Roses PP
[Kaisercraft Madamn Boutique Collection]
Alphas Sticker Sheet
[Kaisercraft Wood Flourishes]
Bird Cages
[Others]
ZVA Creative Crystals, Cosmo Cricket High Noon Adhesive Chipboard


Think I'm about to get back to the hang of LO. Been such a long time away from creating LO, and it's good that I'm back. :)

[Long Post] of Cards!

[Long Post] 

Now don't say I didn't warn you. I've been tied to my table since 12pm this afternoon hence the number. Ok, there is 1 I meant to post few days back but I forgot to bring back my camera, so it's a day late. Anyway today I didn't feel like going anywhere. Hence, crafting is the only way I can keep my sanity while at home. :)

One of my friend, Isabelle, was very kind to have loaned me her brand-new-and-wrapped color wax pastels to try out. I'm so very grateful because this is a huge investment and I really needed to confirm my preference. So this or copic markers? Actually I have yet to determine, but I do think that the wax pastels are really easy to use. Of course, I'm far far away in terms of skills but it really takes practice before I can get slightly better. Any suggestions - copic or wax pastels? Which do you use?

It's your Birthday!


Remember the earlier project where I made a picnic box? I decided not to waste the bits of pages, big enough for me to keep as scraps, but not big enough for a regular card. I thrilled upon the color challenge, because it fits the papers that I have on hand. Yay! But I'll have to ban my sweetest Miss Anya stamp set for the next few challenges, because I've been neglecting my other TGF stamps! I shan't do favoritism! Hehe...

I've always love gardens, and any scene with flowers in them. Guess it's a girls' thing yah? 

Entering this card for the following challenge (s):
Cute Card Thursday: Challenge #204 "Flower Power"

Thank you



This card was inspired by the simplicity yet powerful card by Lori Craig and I just had to case her! My choice of blue was by erm "accident"? Haha, just so happened that I wanted to go for a different color tone from my usual. And that you will see more "accidents" down this post. Very adventurous this week~ By the way, all the papers unless noted, are mostly from scraps. I feel more space for new nice pp soon! yay!

Entering this card for the following challenge (s):
TGF Fresh Farm Challenge: "Friday Spy Day #20: Case-Lori Craig"


See this amazing card by Lori Craig? Clever isn't she? :)
Happy Birthday - Melvin Sng



Tags! I love tags so much I buy them every country when I see one, and acquire all the die-cuts that I can possibly have. And I like that it can be so lady-like on one hand, while masculine on the other. Just so many possibilities of using them in cards and in LOs. or just simply a tag on the presents. So happy that I dressed up so many of them, all kept for future use. This time, I wanted to produce something simple, something masculine. This card is meant for my cousin, whose birthday was 3 hours ago. :P I can be such a nutcase when it comes to passing them presents / cards BEFORE their birthdays. hahaha. But what are cousins for? :P Now that my sewing machine is back to my possession, I'm suspecting you will be seeing more stitches.This card was also a different color scheme from my usual, and I think it might just be another color scheme I will go for more often now. Edwin's looking super handsome! :)

Entering this card for the following challenge (s):
Just Magnolia: Challenge #144 "Tags"

YOU are my sunshine, my only sunshine


Ever think of your friends during Valentines' Day? I do. oh well, it really isn't all about lovers right? This card is already sent out to one of my best-est friend cum mentor cum teacher. In life, our parents can really teach us a lot, but there are obstacles out there that we have to get over on our own. In each of our paths, we meet different people. He was always there for me when I needed a helping hand or simply being a good example which I can follow. Guided me through the darkest periods of my life, and on Valentines' Day, I thought of him. So this card is dedicated to Hock Chuan, thank you for being my sunshine. :) This card has already been posted. :)

Cut some hearts out free hand in different sizes and sewed the middle. Lifted the sides with foam dots to make the heart look "3D".

Products:
[My Mind's Eye] 
Lime Twist: Out of the Blue "Boy" Accessories Sheet
Alphabet Soup: Girl "Flower Patch"
Alphabet Soup: Boy "Twinkle Twinkle"
Lush: "Brown Houndstooth"
Lost and Found: Madison Avenue "Happily Ever After"

Others:
Pearls - Stash collection
Sizzix: Thank You Embossing Folder

Entering this card for the following challenge (s):
Fabulous Sketch by Anam Stubbington

Yay! We are at the end of the post. Phew. Time for sleep before going to AR tomorrow. C'iao blog world~