Traveling Best Friends

Happy Hump Day, folks!

I just love making cards out of non-traditional ephemera. I was at Borders' the other day and found the cutest print. Girlfriends traveling together in lots of different places. Reminds me of when I'd go on vacation with my friends.

I used one of the tags to make this card. Used the ruffle from Sunghee and cut out the scalloped edge from a Taylored Expressions invoice.

Hope you have a wonderful one!

Summer Days

hello ladies & gents,

summer days have blessed my family with tons of fun activities. but they haven't left me with much crafting time.

this weekend, though, i got to make a couple of simple cards.

here's one made out of my Taylored Expressions kits scraps. (which i renewed btw! -- i realized that i use it a lot!).

Red, White, & Blue at LCOM

Happy Monday, everyone!

Over at LCOM, we have a color challenge for ya. Make a card with red, white, and blue on it!

Here's my creation:



I don't really pass out 4th of July cards, but I think the colors are very summer-like anyway.

Come play along! You have till Saturday noon AST to post it on LCOM. You could win some cute stuff and post these on your blog!




Check out the rest of the CDT's work:

Jerusha Borden
Danielle Casello
Anita Mulcahey
Corinne R. Mercado <----You are here :)
JJ Sobey
Emily Thompson
Melissa Wright
Sandi Johnson (CDT Coordinator)

Have a fantabulous day!

Girls' Night..

A couple of months ago, I made it into a design team for a challenge blog that unfortunately, did not make it into fruitition. :(

This was a l.o. I made for the first post. It was during my birthday in April and it featured lots of Basic Grey and Dear Lizzy.

TGIF!

TE Customer Blog Hop Part Deux

Good morning, and welcome to Taylored Expressions' Blast from the Past Customer Bloghop. This is actually my second time participating, and it's so much fun!



I chose this stamped image from their Cuppie Love Scenes. Seems like a lot of my friends have been welcomed with blessings ... new love, engagement, a bun in the oven :). So I thought my hand-written sentiment would be fitting!

I kept it pretty simple and used CS, PP, and ribbon from a Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kit. The sticker tags are from October Afternoon.

Hope you visit the rest of the players!



Love,

Cheers!

**STAMPED IMAGE COLORED BY SUNGHEE***

Happy Monday everybody!

Ah, alas, it is my day to work already. Weekends just seem to zip by!

Hope you had a great one as I did! My sis, Kate, is an official 'doctor' as she graduated from her Anasthesia residency on Saturday. So proud of her! Not only because of this, but because she, along with the other co-chief resident, put together such a memorable reception!

And there were also lots of family bonding time as it was Father's Day and all. Some of the highlights were sushi, a toy car big enough to ride in, a slide big enough to slide down on, and lots of fun in the sun!

My altered gatefold card features stamps from TGF, CS & PP from Taylored Expressions, and an October Afternoon sticker tag.

Whew! My schedule is so crazy busy lately. I could barely produce cards, much less simple ones. What are your secrets to balancing it all?

On a more positive note, I'm hoping I have some good news to share in a few weeks!!!

XO,

Father's Day and two LCOM challenges.

Happy Sunday to you all! Happy Father's Day!

This week at LCOM, we've got TWO challenges for you this week. You can make one card with both challenges or two different cards. And if your card is numero uno, you can post this on your blog!



We also choose other favorites, and those get badges as well! We all like TOOTs, don't we?



I picked the first challenge, and it's monochromatic. Make a card that has shades of one color. The second challenge is JJ's. Make a card with a transparent element to it -- a window, a see-through border, etc.

I did one card for both. The monochromatic tone is gray. The buttons on the top right are transparent.

I used Soldier Ian and a bunch of DCWV PP. This card is dedicated to all of the fathers serving in the military.

My DH was a soldier at one point. It was before the war so he never served. But he did live in another country for one year, and even listed in the National Guard after his Army days. I always found this part of his life very mysterious (it was before we dated) and his uniform very sexy (LOL!). It's my first time coloring Soldier Ian even though I've had him for a while.

Aside from being in the military, my DH is a hero because of what he does for our family. Can I tell you I am very lucky? He does most of the dishes and the laundry in our household! I need to tell him how much he's appreciated more often!

Anyway, hope you get to visit the other Card DTs' work:

Jerusha Borden
Danielle Casello
Anita Mulcahey
Corinne R. Mercado <----You are here :)
JJ Sobey
Emily Thompson
Melissa Wright
Sandi Johnson (CDT Coordinator)

Have a great day!

A Card for Daddy-O

My father is a simple man.

His goals are to provide for his family and better our future.

He is the most hard-working and intelligent man I know.

Sometimes I wish I knew what he was thinking more.

I hope he knows how much I appreciate and love him.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Nutty Birthday!

TGIF, peeps!

I am getting ready for work so I apologize if there are no links on this post. I've got exactly three minutes to get this done while breakfast is cooking!

Today's card features a stamp from PWCO that Sheena had given me (thank you, S!). Isn't she cute? I used papers from an add-on Taylored Expressions KI kit.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and I'll see you back here manana!!!

Love,

Trendy Babies

Another simple card today. The duckies are colored by Sunghee for the carnival creations she gave me. I recycled the ducks when the merry-go-around got torn apart. :(

Sunghee gave me the go ahead, so here's the card. I just love how she colored them. I think they're watercolors?

The CS are from previous Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kits. The PP is from EK Success (Baby Collection).



Speaking of babies, I wanted to share one of my favorite gifts for Mattie:



Cute, quirky COW shoes!!! O. M. G.!! The brand actually translates to wacky or crazy in French, hehe! Perfect for moi!

Not sure if it's appropriate for the summer but we'll make it work! Love these! My friend, Jerico, got them from Aldea Ninos, which I'm hoping to visit soon. I'm always on the look-out for unique baby stores.

See you later, gators!

Vintage Circus Time!

Some of my favorite pics and details from Mattie's Vintage Circus Birthday party. It's a bit busy so bear with me.




1. popcorn centerpiece. 2. vintage tall man poster. 3. birthday cake. 4. lion vs. tamer poster. 5. personalized banner and gifts. 6. candy bar with Sunghee's ferris wheel. 7. bunting. 8. balloons. 9. Ringleader's outfit :). 10. goody bags for kids. 11. more banners. 12. such cute gifts.

I couldn't fit all the pics into one mosaic so there are two more! Hee hee!



1. main clown outfit. 2. Daddy & son. 3. 1st bday studio pics. 4. mustached poster (all posters made by my sis!). 5. cotton candy machine. 6. second outfit (look familiar?).



1. candy bar! 2. bouncy house. 3. photo booth. 4. make a wish! 5. the circus masterminds! 6. afterparty. 7. Sunghee's candy bar creation for adults! 8. balloon twister. 9. watch me grow poster. 10. 'smoosh' cake. 11. pictures taken by moi. 12. having fun!

What I learned from this party planning:

1. There is such a thing as too much cake.

2. When you start off the party fighting with your DH, it is NOT fun. Making up in the middle of it and even bonding in the end are wonderful.

3. Make sure the party hall's air conditioner is really turned on.

4. Tip the vendor who delivered the delicious food on time, NOT the bouncy house company that was 45 minutes late.

5. If you want all the detailed shots or even a family picture, hire a photographer. It is nearly impossible to do it yourself when you're greeting guests and certainly unattainable to ask these of your friends.

6. All the hard work and planning are worth it seeing the kids' eyes light up with excitement... especially when it's your own's.

7. It is nice to get to know old friends as parents.

8. My family is my rock, and the party couldn't have been without them.

9. That said, do not solely rely on others to help set up. Next time, decorate slowly and rent the hall space 2 - 2.5 hours in advance if necessary.

10. We are really blessed to have celebrated MK's party with amazing people, bright colors, and lots of sunshine and happiness to go around!

I'm FREEEEEEEEE......

All I gotta say is "WHEW!"

The whirlwind of a weekend is done, and my DS's 1st birthday party was a success!! Mostly, anyway...but I'll tell you that story later :).

For favors, we had a candy bar. It was a hit! Of course, I added Sunghee's creations to decorate, and those made it even more stellar! I can't get over what Sunghee sent me. All of our guests loved her projects.

When it was time to pack, I was sad to see that not every creation survived the party. Most of these paper lovelies had to be thrown away, but I couldn't bear to part away with perfectly good colored images. So I asked Sunghee if she minded that I make cards/ projects out of them. I'm a big fan of upcycling and Sunghee gave me the green light.

This actually helped me a lot. I've been dying to make a card but just couldn't find the time. This little cutie card was created in less than five minutes this afternoon. Thank you again, Sunghee, for allowing me to make a card around your previously colored image (awesome coloring btw!).

The card elements were totally from scraps. Thought I'd do something different by photographing it outside. I usually crop my pics but since the card was so narrow, I left the photo wide, dried bushes and all! :)

Hope you have a wonderful Monday! Stay tuned for some Circus pics!!

LCOM Love Challenge

It's Sunday, and that means it's time for a card challenge over at LCOM! This week, you are to create an anniversary, love, or wedding card. Make sure you add it to Mr. Linky over LCOM by Saturday Noon ADT.

That following Sunday, we'll let you know who got these awards .... you can post them on your blogs!

Hope to see you play along! Here are the rest of the DTs' cards:

Jerusha Borden
Danielle Casello
Anita Mulcahey
Corinne R. Mercado<----You are here :)
JJ Sobey
Emily Thompson
Melissa Wright
Sandi Johnson (CDT Coordinator)

My card features Summer and Dylan from the Roll Call kit stamps over at TGF. This card is for my special friend, J, who just recently got engaged to R. They are a young, hip couple that I love hanging out with so I wanted to make them a fun, bright card!

Supplies-
PP: My Little Shoebox
Stickers: Sassafras (bunting), Basic Grey (chipboard).

Homemade goodies

As luck would have it, my procrastination won over.

I waited till the last full day to make my DS's birthday shirt.

See, I'm no good at sewing. So I bought a bunch of transfer characters at Michael's and thought I'd design part of his outfit for tomorrow's party.

This is about as far as I got. Only the elephant. The letters wouldn't tack on. It was supposed to say "Mattie is One."



Now, i got a defective set. At least I refuse to admit I did anything wrong :). There are blue fuzzy lint on the shirt. Do you see them?

Imperfect or not, I think I'll still use it. It'll bring some laughter when I look back at pictures.

This is the shirt that Mattie will wear when he attacks his birthday cake. The bakery called it a 'smoosh' cake. Too cute!

I can't wait!

And here is the opposite of disaster.



My custom bib necklace arrived from Second
Sister .

I love me some polka dots and primary color goodness and those beautiful graphic buttons!

And my favorite parts are the charms -- the dancer, elephant, and tear drop!

I'm so excited for the circus tomorrow!

Cool couples

A good friend asked me to make her hubby a card. It's to thank him for being a wonderful hubby especially now that she's a bit hormonal (they are expecting). She chose characters from the Roll Call kit at TGF to represent her and her hubby. I'm not sure if you can see it but I did some highlighting on Odette's belly for that little bump.

It's nice to be making another sale :).

Speaking of cool couples, I just adore them (& their kids). But what I really ADORE are the bikes!

from Child Mode



They are Taga bikes-- three-wheeled stroller bikes. I think it'll be so fun for both the parent and the child!! Aaaacccck!!! I want one!!! I better start saving soon because they cost almost $1500!

I think it's worth it though. I bought a bike about six-seven years ago and it was around $900. This one is much safer and convenient than those tent-like things you put on the back of your bike to carry the little tykes behind you (or even the little seat you place on the front).

Lemme see if my DH will go for it....hee hee hee!

Love,




P.S. Supplies -

CS, PP, Rub-on: Taylored Expressions May Key Ingredients kit. (Pebbles Treehouse)
Scrappers Floss: Close to my Heart.
Chipboard sentiments: Basic Grey.
Misc: buttons, Copics, Gina K CS.

Little birdies

Good Tuesday morning to you all!

I decided to finally break into my May Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kit. Everything from the card is from this kit, with the exception of the twine, bird bead, and decorative tape (which are from Etsy packaging and the bird cage tape is from Torendi).

This TE kit features Pebbles Treehouse items, which are all very cute. The little birdies are actually rub-ons. Adorable, aren't they?

I had to make the hard decision of not renewing my subscription. I had to choose between TE and Studio Calico. I just feel that I could do more with SC as it'll have enough for both scrapbook lay-outs and cards. Plus, their Design Team always leave me in AWE of what they create with the kit!

I sure will miss TE though! Their products are always so well-presented and organized!

I'm Proud to Be a Geek!

**Hello! This is my second post of the day! Please go here for my first one!***

Just wanted to add a quick note to please, please vote for my friend, Sheena's 'Your Anya' at the TGF blog. Her Geek Girl Anya is so cute and represents sweet, geeky girls like me! LOL!

You can vote for her here in the next five hours.



When I was growing up, I was called a nerd, dork, geek...you name it. I had braces and glasses. I skipped the fifth grade. I got straight A's. It bothered me then. But it doesn't bother me now. Having been teased has left me really empathetic and kind towards others. I almost always root for the underdogs. And you know what, most of those 'geeks' in high school or middle school are the most successful and beautiful people now.

And plus, if you don't know me by now, well you should know that I'm proud to be geeky. I feel wonderful having graduated with honors from college, having a thorough knowledge in math & science, knowing a bit about art! Geeks are now chic!

Sheena's Geek Girl would make an amazing Anya! Hope you vote!

Love,

Asian girls

It's Monday, and I hope you're having a good morning so far!

I've chosen Manga girl Coffee Time from Sugar Nellie for my card today. I was experimenting with my colorless blender copic for her hair so that is why it looks a bit off :). The PP are scraps from previous Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kits. The flowers, brads, and mesh are from Gauche Alchemy.

And because Manga is Asian, here's a picture of some lovely Asian ladies at one of my BFF's bridal shower :).



She's the one with the orange lei. And there's me in the green shirt. I was wearing false eyelashes (for the bachelorette portion of the evening) and they made it difficult for me to open my eyes all the way, ha ha!

BTW, the favors were a hit! :)

My first DT!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to write a quick post to make an announcement!!

I've made it to my first ever Design Team!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

I just got a Card Design Team spot at Let's Capture Our Memories!



LCOM is an online community/ store/ gallery/ blog that has different challenges, both scrapbooking and card-making alike. We will have a card challenge every week, and I hope you play along with me and the rest of the CDT.

I'm really so happy about this -- I have wanted to shout it out from the rooftops ever since I've found out!!

This week, the challenge is simple -- make a birthday-themed card & link it by noon ADT next Saturday. The birthday bash card challenge goes along with our whole Birthday Bash Blog hop this week to honor the fabulous Tanya aka Tinkerbell.



We'll pick favorites and you'll get to post these award badges on your blog:




It was super cool that they allowed one of our DT application cards as our sample this week! You could see a familiar birthday card from me on the blog.

Now, meet the rest of the CDT:

Jerusha Borden
Danielle Casello
Anita Mulcahey
Corinne R. Mercado <----You are here :)
JJ Sobey
Emily Thompson
Melissa Wright
Sandi Johnson (CDT Coordinator)

Thanks for visiting!