Happy Halloween ... from our HOME to yours!

This one's a long post so bear with me...



Our home is pretty small right now. About 900 square feet. Someone once described it as cozy. Not much room for a growing family, not to mention the increasing supplies and toys for our baby (& my expanding collection of stamps!!!). Now that I'm back to work, DH & I hope to soon make our dream come true -- buy a new house!

But really, we are very blessed to have/own our condo in the first place. And when it comes down to it, home is really where ever my boys are. :)

Made this lay-out for the Home Challenge at the Farm Blog. The goal was to make a creation that reminds you of home. So fun! Also tried popping the baby's hat and Ian's shirt:



Supplies:
Bazzill- CS.
My Little Shoebox- PP (clothes hanging), small letter stickers.
Love, Elsie- Frame
Fancy Pants Design- PP (scalloped trim)
Hambly- PP (wood), journal sticker
American Crafts- cloud/fence scene sticker, brad
7 gypsies- tiny tag sticker
Basic Grey- colorful brads
Ian , The Greeting Farm- stamps (Mom & Dad and Oh Baby)
Copics- markers

Anyway, Happy Halloween!!! I didn't really make any Halloween cards but here are pics of my baby's costumes!





He's an astronaut AND the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz! He had two because I already bought one & then got invited to do this themed pic and party! So cute! But just FYI, studio pics of four kids under the age of 3? DISASTER!

And then, how perfect is this for Hollow's Eve?? I won some blog candy from the TTIC Blog Hop. I won at Randi's blog and if you haven't seen her Edward creations, click here. They are so inspirational and beautiful. Call me a nerd but I'm planning on making some Twilight-inspired cards for my friends when we go see the movie and one of my prizes is perfect! *AHEM* Team Edward!

On a last note: I want to add these to my Christmas ornament collection (I know, I know...I have a LOT of collections!!):





They're from Anthropologie! I LOVE me some non-traditional ornaments! (do you see a trend here?) :) Have a great weekend and Halloween!

Whimsical holiday card - DDSC8

This card is quite simple for me - no patterned paper *GASPS*!! I'm very inspired by Sandra V's simple but whimsical style, and I was channeling her thru this creation.

This card is also for Whimsical Wednesdays'
The Diedrich Dare. The sketch was drawn by a 9-yr-old...I see a future stamper :)! There was also a fun quiz linked on the blog. If you don't know me personally, I LOVE filling out surveys but it was a bit challengeing. Look for it at the end of this blog, he he!

So you're probably asking, hmmm, this is a Holiday card?? There's no snow, no Santa Claus. See, I live in California so we never have white Christmases (although I just came from Lake Tahoe and the white scene was sooo beautiful!). Plus, I enjoy using non-traditional colors for Xmas cards.

The CS is Bazzill. The clear sticker is from Hambly. The tags are from Martha Stewart. The brads & trees sticker (don't they look like Christmas tree lights?) are from American Crafts. The ribbons are from KI Memories. The flower stickers are from Prima & remind me of colorful snowflakes. Other supplies - Copics, Gina K CS, Alice in Wonderland Anya, twine.

Ok, onto the quiz: (Answer using only one word--yikes!)

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging.

2. Your hair? Tied.

3. Your mother? Home.

4. Your father? Work.

5. Your favorite food? Asian.

6. Your dream last night? Nice.

7. Your favorite drink? Water.

8. Your dream/goal? Home-owner. (a house, not a condo. Speaking of, did you see the house reveal at the Farm blog?

9. What room are you in? Dining room/ Office (see, doesn't 8 make sense now?).

10. Your hobby? Lots.

11. Your fear? Ghosts.

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Mother (of 3) :).

13. Where were you last night? Crafting.

14. Something that you aren’t? Blonde.

15. Muffins? Nah.

16. Wish list item? House.

17. Where did you grow up? Philippines, Bay Area.

18. Last thing you did? Typed.

19. What are you wearing? Pants.

20. Your TV? DVD.

21. Your pets? None.

22. Friends? Sweet.

23. Your life? Bliss.

24. Your mood? Eh.

25. Missing someone? Friends.

26. Vehicle? Sedan.

27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes.

28. Your favorite store? Many.

29. Your favorite color? Lots.

30. When was the last time you laughed? Afternoon.

31. Last time you cried? Watched (TLC's A Baby Story").

32. Your best friend? Hubby.

33. One place that I go to over and over? Target.

34. One person who emails me regularly? Facebook.

35. Favorite place to eat? Ruth's Chris.

Why don't you play along? I'd love to get to know you more. Pls comment and let me know if you do the survey! TGIF!

Be (your own) Bliss...

Just a (really) quickie post today. I try to go for a walk with my baby on my days off, & we're running a bit later than usual.

Made this card for the Anyone for Anya?'s Sketch # 3. Another not-your-typical-variety Christmas card :).

Used TGF's Merry Merry papers. CS & brads are from American Crafts. The ribbon is from KI Memories. And the cool, graffiti-looking paper and art flakes (snow on Anya's hair) are from kol laj. See below:



Have a great Thursday, lovelies & gentlemen!

Up, Up, and Away!!

Another great stamped image from my bff, Jo (thanks, hon!). This gorguss girl is Sugar Nellie's Up Up & Away.

This card is for ICSketch # 40. I thought it to be a very versatile sketch. My interpretation of it is a bit 'topsy turvy.'

Made my own nestability to mimick the clouds on the My Little Shoebox patterned paper. I also drew the stitching on the border to copy the one on the Neverland sticker from Love, Elsie. The rainbow sticker is from American Crafts. The black paper with swirls is from 7 gypsies. Wanted to use the kol laj art flakes again - this time in blue/turquoise. I think I went a bit crazy :)...he he! The ribbon charms are from Making memories, though I covered them with buttons because they are squares. Gotta go with the rounded theme afterall! The sentiment is hand-written.

Can you tell I'm a bit of a dreamer? :)

Here's a close-up of the art flakes I'm enjoying so much:



Toodles!!!!

Gorguss Little Star

Made this card for the All That Scraps' Tall Card Challenge. I'm a bit late though :(. Last night, I saw that today was the last day to post and now I can't find the link on their blog. Was confused when they said Tuesday, should've posted the picture I took last night(although it wasn't that great in the lamp light). Had fun anyway!

This design is a bit linear for me. If you know my style, it's usually pretty random and lots of layering. I'm very happy with it though. Sometimes, I like to play with different lay-outs and techniques hoping it'll make me more well rounded. So today is "simple," another day will be more artsy. And I wanted to use different colors for a Holiday card.. the purple and yellow turned out cool!

Used the Gorguss Sugar Nellie's Little Star I got from Jo. My bff stamped me her fave images. How lucky am I? :)

This gorguss is so darling! The CS is from Bazzill. The PP is American Crafts. The flower is from Prima. The fabric and painted paper are from Traci Bautista. I wanted to embellish more so I added some kol laj art flakes from her line as well. I think they are my new favorite thing!! Here's a close-up pic of them.



Gotta run! It's my hubby's birthday! And so excited for tonight's SYTYCD!! Did you all see the special top 20 episode? I'm already picking favorites!

ARRRRgggHHHHH!!!

..that's my pirate impression! :)

Hi everyone! Today's card is meeting three challenges! I had a wonderful time doing this and it was easier than I thought!!

The first is for the FFF's Punch Drunk challenge at TGF. We are to use two different punches. I used a border punch from Martha Stewart-- it is white & to the right of the paper with the whale. The second is the scalloped punch behind pirate Anya!

The second is for the Diedrich Dare # 6. The goal was to use a pirate treasure map for inspiration! I saw Randi's takes on the dares and I LOVE all of them. She is such a genius and so very unique!

The card is also for the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge # 88. What a cute sketch, huh!

Supplies-
CS: Bazzill, American Crafts
PP: Sassafras
Mini Coasters: S.E.I.
Punches: Martha Stewart Border, EK Success' scalloped circle
Stamp: The Greeting Farm
Markers: Copics
Sentiment: Handwritten.

Have a fabulous Sunday, folks!!

Birthday boy and Preggo girl

I really hope DH doesn't decide to check my blog out now that I have his birthday card up! :)

Made this cutie for my handsome Scorpio man. I also did it for two challenges (ok, that was FUN!). The first challenge is for the ICS # 39 at Inspirational Sketches. The second one is for AFA's Autumn colors challenge.

The supplies are mostly from my stash. The CS is Bazzill. The main orange PP is from Kailani designs. The felt buttons are Jenni Bowlin. Pearls are from K&Company. Miscellaneous- thread, Love Elsie stickers, Memento Ink, Copics. "Mahal" means love or to love in Tagalog. At first, i placed stickers that spelled out 'Daddy'-- you can see them underneath the Mahal cut-out. Have decided to leave them in for the fall colors/ layering effect. It's also a hidden message :).

I love that preggo Anya. And before the rumor mill gets started...I am NOT pregnant! I used the new parents stamp because:

1. I LOVED being pregnant.
2. There's finally a preggo stamp.
3. I still have some baby weight to lose. :) LOL!

Anyway, I'm so glad they came up with that stamp so I can stop altering. I was never quite satisfied with the Birthday Anya with child that I drew. And let me share with you a VERY rough draft that I made for the Design a Sprout contest.


Buwahahahaha!!! Preggie sprout didn't look like a Wild Sprout!! But I think it was kinda funny how she has that "awkward" stance that most expecting moms have towards the end of their term.

And I might as well share with you my other creation: Touring Camille Sprout.



She has to have a camera! And a cute, feminine outfit is in order for taking in the sights and hopefully doing some major shopping!! :) Notice how both of them have short to medium hair. My hair was shorter back then, & I wanted a stamp to relate to..LOL!

Ok, back to the card. I hope DH likes it. I think it's so cute and realistic that the Ian stamp has tousled hair -- ha ha! That is really what new daddies look like! Since I went back to work, I'm not able to make as many cards. But I really wanted to update my blog so I posted this card early. I've never done three images on a card before. Am THRILLED that I got to 'craft' my little family for the G.

Let me tell you...my DH has been so helpful lately. He wakes up earlier now that I've gone back to my full time job. He gets our babe ready, feeds him, and drops him off and picks him up at his parents'. We've had our bickering in the beginning the way new, stressed-out parents normally argue. But I've realized how lucky I really am and am more in-love with him than ever!

His big day is early next week and I still haven't figured out where to take him for his birthday. I'm hoping to hear from Gary Danko (the namesake and chef has been featured in the Food Network!). But I made the reservation too late. :( Gotta find a 'shi-shi' place for my hubb's special occasion. We love to indulge our culinary taste buds when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries!

Thanks for visiting and leaving comments that make my day!!

Basic Grey

When I saw Kim-paperbabe's post on the Basic Grey Challenge, I was really inspired to join in as well. Her card was so wonderful...and I want that stamp Sheperd Boy so badly! And Basic Grey is one of my fave lines!

The Basic Grey Challenge this week is a color combo of red, green, and blue. I have other colors on there as well. Hope that is ok as I am not quite sure about all the rules. The patterned papers are from TGF's Merry Merry collection. The cardstock are American Crafts (except the main red one - that one is a scrap). And of course, the brads are from Basic Grey. Other supplies used are the ribbon, hand-written sentiment, Copics, and Gina K (white CS).

And I'm so happy because I'm finally making Christmas cards!!!

Robots

Just a quick and simple one today.

Have been using other stamps besides Anya and I've noticed that my cards are getting smaller and smaller...LOL!

This robot is from Stamping Up! The CS is from Bazzill. The PP is Rouge de Garance. Brads are from American Crafts. The rest of the supplies are from my stash so not quite sure what they are.

And I really should've used a stamping pad to add dimensions to the borders...not my Copics. See how they bled? Oh well! Lesson learned!

I went shopping yesterday for my DH's birthday present. While at the mall, I kinda panicked. I am the type to start Christmas shopping in July. But this year, I've done NOTHING! No cards, no shopping.....AaaahhhhHHH! *sighs* Hope that the internet will be kind...am probably gonna be relying on it a lot this season. At least I have some ideas for presents already! And I won't be killing myself over making cards for EVERY one like I did for a couple of years.

Anyway, hope your to-do list for the holidays is not as long as mine :). Toot-a-loo!!

Fall is upon us...

i LOVE all seasons...I do.

i was born in the spring so naturally, i enjoy it. the blossoms, the blooms, the beginning of things.

summer...carefree days and warm nights. lemonade. dragonflies. swinging in the trees and swimming. childhood memories for me.

there's winter. Christmas is my favorite holiday (besides my birthday). caroling. get-togethers. family and friends. food!!

then, fall. the colors of yellow, orange, browns and red. the leaves on the ground. the fun of costumes. pumpkin this and pumpkin that.

i am so fond of the colors on this card! the gold with the purple. the green with the red. add a bit of blue....and VOILA! magic!

Used Madeline Ketto stamp. Bazzill for the CS. Martha Stewart for the tag and border punch. PP is Fiskars, Heidi Grace. Am not sure about the ribbons but the clear one with the trees are my fave!!

Another cool thing about fall? Amy's fairy line will come out!!! Am so excited! I love her creations!!!

Thanks for stopping by! What's your favorite season?

Rock On!

Made this card for this week's Farm Fresh Friday -- sans frills. It was a lil hard for me as we weren't supposed to use any ribbons, flowers, or lace. Decided to do a card for a boy and boom...I got it! :)

This is late but this card is also for Club Anya's You're a Star challenge.

Definitely missed my flowers and ribbons but HECK, it was only for one card! Used Bazzill for the CS and brads; Scenic Route for the white/blue DSP; Hambly for the turquoise transparency and clear sticker; Prima for the yellow/orange DSP; Stickers were from Sassafras and American Crafts. Sentiment was hand-written and markers used were Copics. Added black ink to add dimension.

Have a fabulous Sunday, everyone!! XX!

Wickedly Grateful

I don't normally give out Halloween cards. But I bought this Spooktacular set from TGF to scrap with, and I'm so glad I did. This witch Anya is especially cute and she is perfect for a thank you card for a dear friend.

My dear friend, MJ, was the charge nurse the day I went back to work. Not only was she ultra supportive on the floor, she also stopped by my house at the end of the day to drop off something muy importante' that I forgot in our workroom. Hints: my baby needed it, I worked hard for it, and instead of eating a full meal, i took my breaks to "make" it.

Anyway, MJ LOVES Wicked!!! So do I! If you have a chance to see it, I'd recommend it! It is truly a wonderful take on the original story of the Wizard of OZ. The songs are amazing and the friendship tale is one of a kind.

In fact, I love it so much that I bought two Halloween costumes for Mattie! We are going to a party with JoAnn & her fam. And the kiddies are dressing up as Wizard of Oz characters!!! :). M is going to be the Tin Man. We're even taking studio pics! he he! I am so excited! Am still deciding what to dress up as though. Elpheba and Glinda and Dorothy are taken :(.

Supplies-
CS & Brads- Bazzill
PP- Rouge de Garance
Transparency- Colorbok
Witch Sticker- Making Memories
Flower- Prima
Markers- Copics.
Other- Pearls, hand-written sentiment.

I will survive...oh, as long as I know how to love...

I SURVIVED!!! Yes! It was hard leaving my baby to go back to work for the first week but I believe it'll get easier now. On my facebook status, I put "it's like riding a bike and it's like I never left." And it's true. You somehow learn to manage your career and family life. Women really are super people! :)

I did another lay-out of Mattie. This was when he was first born and I wanted to remember his stats (aka height and weight). And just his newborn appearance with the vernix still on his skin and his long nails (which sounds gross but I felt them while he was in utero!).

A lot of the patterned paper were in my stash-- I believe the one with the bird was from an old Label Tulip kit. The teal one is from Hambly. The CS is Bazzill. The letter stickers are from s.e.i. & the square alphas are from MLS. The baby themed stickers are from EK Success. The yellow square is from KI Memories.

Anyway, I better go as I hear my babe calling (crying). Oh, and who spent lots at TGF today????? I did, I did!!!!

my Stamping Idols.

(Sorry again for the poor pic...my hubby had the big camera)...



I finally got to create with my new Maisy Ketto stamp. I loved seeing Amy use Kettos on craft papers and find the simply-drawn stamps refreshing!

But Maisy, of course, is not simple :). Used Bazzill for CS; Crate Paper, Hambly, & KI memories for PP; Sassafras for stickers; and American Crafts and Basic Grey for the brads.

It takes a lot for me to buy new stamps (unless they're from TGF, which I'm addicted to! LOL!). I have tons of stamps in storage that I haven't even touched. They are tucked away in a box at my parents-in-law's weekend home. I did some spring cleaning this year and thought that they weren't as important as my other supplies :(. And now with the baby, there just isn't room for my "old" new stamps.

You see, I'm a pretty novice stamper (started in July of this year). And although, I've been making cards for ages, I rarely used stamps to craft them. In fact, my favorite supplies were your typical scrapbooking paper and photos. I love the effect of photos on cards-- they make them so personal and they look like mini scrapping pages!

But now, I adore stamping for cards. Never knew all the different things one can do...paper piercing, altering, masking, glittering, etc. I have to credit Jo when she introduced me to Hula Anya. I remembered that the Singing H&G also pierced this now-addicted heart! My BFF is always in tune with whatever's trendy in the paper-crafting world..thanks hon!

And of course, I have to give much love to Amy, who's beautiful work inspires me daily. It is through her that I learned how to alter and was encouraged to paper pierce. And now, I must get a light box...LOL!

And Randi's art is wonderful! I LOVE unique things...and looking at her "outside-of-the-box" creativeness makes me want to try new things! Like glimmer misting!

My next goal is to probably make 3D projects like Sunghee. She is always popping out mind boggling and wonderful things! I don't know why she does not just title her blog "creativity is here." Buwahahahaha! I hope to create half the stuff she does for her kids!

Anyway, I have more faves but they top my list. Thank you also for your support!

Where was I? I digress...Oh yeah...

So I was holding out on buying Christmas stamps. I make cards every year but I never had a baby until this year :). But these are calling my name (first seen at Sunghee's!)



And these new releases are SHOUTING my name! Head over to Club Anya.

Toot-a-loo!!!

Birth..Your Story

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. I had forgotten that my dear hubby needed our "big" camera for work today.

I made this lay-out for Club Anya's New Beginnings Challenge. The goal was to pick an Anya or Ian to depict what symbolizes or reminds you of a new beginning.

I finally scrapped a page featuring my son, Mattie. How ironic since today is my last day of maternity leave :(.

This page describes his birth story and the note on the left summarizes how I felt when I first met him. How I heard his cry first because it was a C-section. That I thought he looked like me when I first saw him. And how his skin was the softest and smoothest and most wonderful thing that I've ever felt. I think it is so important for every mother to document the first time they meet their child. It was my first time falling in love with him! :)

I chose Birthday Anya for this. I altered her by giving her a "preggo" belly. Doesn't she look like a goddess being pregnant? The birthday cake headband is also symbolizing my anticipation for my son's arrival...his birth day.

Here's a close up of her and Oh-Baby Ian (which I also used):



Used Bazzill for the CS. The patterned papers are from 3 bugs in a rug and Prima. The plaid and the green one - I'm not quite sure as they are scraps. The letters are from American Crafts. Stickers are from Love, Elsie & Sassafras. The tag is from 7 gypsies. The other stamp is from Studio G. Notice that there are basketball-themed stickers on the bottom right corner--when we were admitted to the hospital, we were watching some Lebron action. LOL!!

Thanks so much for looking! I hope to still continue creating and visiting your blogs even with my full time job.

Dance - Anyone for Anya

Created this card for the Anyone for Anya? challenge this week. We're supposed to choose the Anya or a friend that resembles our personality or looks like us the most. I chose Wild Sprout Savannah-- the one who dances of course!

Ever since I can remember, I've LOVED to dance. And although I haven't had any real formal training, I have entered multiple dance contests with my relatives during childhood and won first place several times. I've performed at high school assemblies. I've had hip-hop classes in college and a hula/tahitian class just a couple of years ago. And I always dance in my living room! One of my favorite shows is SYTYCD!

Anyway, this Wild Sprout is doing more of a ball room dancing sort of deal but I am drawn to the feather in her hair. I wore one for my wedding, you see :). I just think it is so elegant and classic! I colored her hair red because I am dying to color my hair right now (maybe not red, but something new and different!).

I used products from kol laj -- Traci B's line. There's the fabric and the textured "stage." I love textures!! You can see them better here.



I also used American Crafts for the CS; Sonburn for the the red flowered pattern paper; Basic Grey for the pink one behind it. The brads are from Basic Grey and Doodlebug design Inc. You can kinda see a trend in my supplies as I try to always use from my stash.

Anyway, thanks for visiting! I have four and a half whole days of maternity leave and I am quite sad it's ending. I hope to have more cards for you, and a lay-out or two when I go back to work. Have a great Friday! Bye peeps!

...Goodness...

Happy Saturday everybody! Thought I'd make a card using a different stamp. Used Sake Ketto from Stamping Bella. Ketto stamps are sooo simple and cute! Patterned paper used is from Junkitz. Used a piece of Hambly, Basic Grey brad, American Crafts sticker, and the pom-pom ribbon is from a SOML kit from last year. Sake is colored with Copics and the flowers are from Prima.

My favorite part of this card (aside from the Korean or Japanese-looking Ketto) is the pom-pom ribbon! Too fun! Here's a pic of it more close up!

Anyway, thought I'd like hand cut stamps better but because the Ketto stamps are so tiny, I find my fingers full of ink and the stamped image messy. Maybe using tweezers would help?? Some advice for this novice stamper would be greatly appreciated!

And on another note: if you like music from my *loovverr* Jason Mraz, check this out:



Have a great weekend!

So Much LOVE!

My BFF, Jo, will be celebrating her fifth year wedding anniversary with C this month!!! They have been together since 1995 and are still very much in love! Wanted to craft a card depicting how they looked back then. Chose to use 80's Anya and I altered Ian by using Hello Ian's body & Cute Troop Ian's head. C never had long hair :) so I thought the cap was more appropriate. And Jo's hair is straight, not curly, but she had looooonng black hair.

And for some reason, the images also remind me of them:

Must be Pam's hair! Can't wait to see them get married!! My favorite TV couple! Yay for awkward love and friends before lovers :).

And am also super excited to craft with these!

Bought them off of the talented Tina's Etsy shop. Even the envelope and packaging were artsy! LOVE!!!

Here are some of my favorite memories from our vacation to Lake Tahoe. We were lucky enough to be there for Oktoberfest and the first snowfall of the season!

Mattie, taking so much of the sights in!

The road leads to the Lake...still blue and unfrozen.

Snowman fun with snowdoggie (can you see it?)

Pinecone goodness!

Whip it...GIRL Power!

This is my second post for today. Just saw this movie and wanted to create Babe Ruthless' (Ellen Paige) Anya character.






Wanted to make the card more "urban." Instantly thought of Traci Bautista's "kol laj" papers. Ellen's team in roller derby is called the Hurl Scouts. Altered 80's Anya by pairing her head with Troop Anya's body. Learned this through the wonderful Amy. I'm better at altering via the cutting way instead of the erasing the ink version....i blame it on my stubby, clumsy fingers. I really wanted to make the Scout uniform much sexier. :) Drew the stockings and roller blades in but didn't want to cover her lovely hair with a helmet..he he! Kids, this is during down time!

The other supplies used are Elsie's stickers from her Red Velvet Art store. I got them for free...aren't I lucky? The brads are from American Crafts. And the sentiments are drawn with Copics and Bic (I couldn't find my Micron pens).

And guess what Ellen Paige's real name in the movie is? BLISS! I hope to name my future daughter this someday. So happy for confirming my inspiration! She's such a great actress. But my favorite has always been Drew Barrymore...and may I say, she did a terrific job at her directorial debut!

Anyway, it's SYTYCD and Glee tonight! Can't wait!! Thanks for visiting (again).

Home Sweet Home!

Just got back from a mini vacay and I sure missed my blog... and yours! For the most part, my phone didn't have service and so, I am still catching up on my Google Reader and my fave blogs.



Today's card is for my friends, R & E, who just got married and bought a house. R just loves being a wifey and doing housework with her hubby. So I thought this Hope & Grace Laundry was perfect! Used Bazzill for the CS. Basic Grey and My Little Shoebox for the PP. The die-cut house is from Fancy Pants Design Inc. I handwrote "Home" in the decorative font I've used since highschool :). I also used a punch from Martha Stewart.

It's good to be home! Happy Hump day!