SOG's current challenge

Hi everyone!!

Just a quick post to let ya know what's going on at the Some Odd Girl Ning Community. There's a super cute Critter Challenge going on right now:




And in a couple of weeks, there'll be --



Isn't she cute? I hope Kristy makes her into a stamp! And her coloring skills are so amazing, right?

And speaking of Idol, are you all watching American Idol? Who's your favorite so far? I'm so glad the girls are kicking a$$ since the winners in the past few years have been guys!

See you soon!

Chin Up, Buttercup!

Hello everyone!!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Saturday evening.  I've spent the whole day trying to potty train our 3-year-old.  And it hasn't been going well.  I'm really trying to be patient and not get mad, but this is harder than I thought.   

I knew that it would be trying, but I thought if my other friends could do it, so could I.  I just cherish my weekends off so it's a little maddening that we can't really go anywhere on such beautiful days.  Oh well!  Just a bit of a sacrifice when you are a parent.  I know the end result would be so worth it!  Diaper-free days!  Leave a comment if you've got tips for me please. 

On the "brighter" side of things, Time for Tea Designs has new releases. This is Chin Up, Buttercup, and she is so very lovely!



I had just watched the Oscars and was very enamored by Jessica Chastain's beauty and vivrant red hair. I wanted to do a different hair color, and she turned out quite pretty, if I do say so myself. I wanted to keep her feminine characteristics and colored her ensemble pink. And when I was looking for papers, this colorful city scape turned up and I immediately wanted to use it as the whole scene was channeling Sex and the City.

Loved that show! Especially Miss Carrie Bradshaw! The papers and embellishments are from my stash, including that crinkly ribbon at the bottom (care of Amy Young).

I'll have another card showcasing a new release tomorrow afternoon! Thanks for visiting!



Smooches,

Miniatures

Hi everybody,

Today's post features Charlotte at Paper Airplane. Isn't she so cute? What attracted me to her the most was her sense of uninhibition..I mean, look at that wide, toothy smile! :)

When I was at the tender age of 13, I tried to only smile with my lips closed together. I was self conscious of my crooked teeth and then later on, my braces. One of my BFFs, M, told me to smile showing my teeth, and I got a lot of compliments for it. It definitely helped me get through that awkward stage better.

And doesn't this particular Milk Coffee Stamp remind you of the popular '80s cartoon, The Littles? Yup, that's another thing I used to do when I was younger. I used to pretend that my miniature toys were little people :). If you haven't yet seen the movie "The Secret World of Arriety," you must! It's a wonderful movie -- it's like the Anime version of The Littles.

Ok, gotta go now! Have a fab day!

On The 1st Week of Christmas... & lots of TV shows!

Good Thursday morning, everyone!

Hope you're all doing well! So who's got their Fall TV show line-up? I sure do! With Project Runway, Parenthood, Glee, The Sing-Off, X factor, The Real World, Rachel Zoe Project, Jersey Shore..... um, yeah, my DVR is full!

I am just a sucker for all those Reality Shows. And I know I am probably losing brain cells when I watch The Jersey Shore, but I just can't help it! It's hilarious!!! :):):)

For today's post, I have a tag for the first week at SOG's 12 Weeks of Christmas Holiday Challenge on FlickR. The goal was to make a Holiday tag. Simple enough, eh?

I finally got to color up and use Tiny Baby. Isn't he just darling?

And for some reason, sometimes when I color up stamp images, a few of them remind me of certain people. Like Tiny Baby somehow reminds me of a baby version of Mark from So You Think You Can Dance. He's now one of Lady Gaga's back-up dancers. Maybe because of the mohawk he is now sporting looks very similar to TB's little sprout of hair? Hehehe! Could it be that my eyes are getting worst? Oh no!

And speaking of babies, I got to see Up All Night too, and I must say that I am enjoying Christina Applegate as a mother. She is too cute!

For the tag, I used:
CS- American Crafts. Neenah Solar White.
PP- Prima.
Die-cuts and buttons - Bo Bunny.
Ribbon- Queen & Co. (red), Misc (blue).
Letters- Authentique (black and cream). Misc (blue).
Others- Copics. Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

I hope you all have a lovely day. I'd love to hear some of your favorite TV shows.

Favorite Shows this Summer.

Hello, everyone! Happy Hump Day!

Wednesdays usually mean 'So You Think You Can Dance' for me. I look forward to seeing this show as it's one of my faves. And although the winner in the end was the one I had been rooting for, I'm still sad that the season is over.

Then, there's also 'The Challenge: Rivals', which I'm also addicted to. Lots of drama, lots of fighting, but it's really one of the last shows that I watch on MTV.

And speaking of favorite TV shows, I took Mattie to a concert version of his fave the other day. But more on that later as I have a card to showcase.

Today, I'm playing along with Deconstructed Sketch # 14. Jen's sketches are really awesome -- they are very detailed and linear. It's always challenging for me because even though I like to layer, I don't always use a lot of paper (does that make sense?). Using a lot of patterned paper just adds so much dimension. Here's my take on this week's sketch:

Supplies:
Stamp- TGF's Oliver Ahoy. Sentiment- Paper Smooches' Word Up.
CS- Bazzill. Neenah.
PP- Jillibean Soup.
Ribbon- Bo Bunny.
Misc- Colorbok ink. Memento ink. Copics.

So as soon I was cleared to drive by my doc, I took Mattie to see The Wiggles. They're a group from Australia who sing and dance, and they have their own TV show.

I only brought my point and shoot camera so pardon the poor pictures. Mattie had so much fun. It's always nice seeing things through your children's eyes :). So glad we got to go. I had only bought the tickets a few days before and everything worked out with babysitting for the baby (my hubby) and pretty good seats for the price. It was nice being able to take him out, just the two of us, especially since the new baby arrived.

Take care,

A Week in Rinne's Life - Day 4.

Oh boy, was I slacking yesterday...

For my fourth day (7/29) of A Week in the Life, I barely took pictures. It was a hot and lazy day.

The day consisted of playing with the neighborhood kids, watching Project Runway season 9, eating left-overs, and taking over the living room to craft.

See you back here tomorrow!

Blushing Bride & Handsome Groom

It's that time of the year, folks! At least for the peeps around my neck of the woods. Seems just like yesterday I was making tons of baby-mama cards (LOL!). And now, it's....

WEDDING SEASON!!!!

I have a couple of cards I've been working on. I finally got around to coloring this sweet I Do couple from TGF.

I also made this card for the current Royally-Good-Time challenge over at the TGF blog.

Materials used were from the wedding line from Pebbles, misc. gold mesh ribbon, Copics, spica pen.

This is the wedding card that goes along with my friend's bridal shower card (the one whose colors are royal blue/ raspberry).

Speaking of lovely weddings, here's one of my current favorite shows:



(image from hulu.com)

I just love their style and aesthetics. I think the weddings they plan are magical! :)

See you soon!

Love Blossomed

A super quick lay-out of a pic I found recently. It's about 5-6 years old!

In other news, so sad she's gone from AI :(.



Have a great Saturday!

Sorry so short! I'm off to bed to take a nap. Had a bout of insomnia and I didn't sleep till 3:30 am :(.

Tag Swap

Wow! Can you believe I actually have something to post today? :)

Thanks for hanging in there with me! I hope to be less busy after the next couple of weeks but right now, I just have to much in my plate -- my bro's wedding, one of my best friend's wedding, vacation to Hawaii, decorating for a friend's baby shower, getting our old condo renovated, and relatives staying at our place. Whew!

For this project, I did my first tag swap. It's not your typical tag -- there's no hole/ eyelet on top with yarn or ribbon. The only specifications were it had to include a flower and the color pink.

I glimmer misted a piece of cardstock, stuck some Hambly overlay, lace and ribbon. I made the flower using a piece of painted paper towel from a kol laj kit. Added some collage pauge, button, and metal flower embellishment.

Made it while watching last week's Project Runway episode. All of that designing and sewing always inspire me. I liked how my tag finally came together in the end ... it even looks like I did some sewing with that cinched ribbon :).

Speaking of, did you see last night's episode?? LOVED it! Poor Valerie though. And I am so proud of Mondo!!

P.S. Any advice on how to store Copics on a plane ride? I wanted to see if I could get some crafting done but am worried about how to deal with all the pressure?

Glee

Just a quick post!

Can't wait till tonight for GLEE! Here's a sneak peek at one of the guest stars:

Charice, who is from the Philippines and who has been featured on Oprah!!!



If the video isn't working, click here and go to the video!

Here she was on Oprah a few years back.

Charice on Oprah - Part 3 - Click here for more amazing videos

Now, I love Charice, don't get me wrong. But I love Rachel more!!! It 'd be soo interesting to see the two battle it out. :)

And I love Rachel's bangs!!!!

Spotlight

We've started moving :). After Monday next week, I probably won't blog for about a week with all there is to do and the transferring of phones and computers, etc. I'll soon play catch-up with my fave blogs once we get settled.

Squeezed in this quickie card last night. I missed the premier of Project Runway because of SYTYCD. But I got to watch some info on the contestants on Comcast. Love this group!

Traci Bautista is offering a free downloadable journal making kit here. The cut-out flower is from there. The stamps are from TGF. Then I did some glitter magic! :)

Sometimes, a girl just wants to mix patterns....

Have you ever watched 9 by Design? It's about this young, hip couple who are interior designers living in NYC with 9 kids.


source

Now, I admit, I watch a lot of TV. But the quality of the TV shows I watch have improved. Granted, it's still a reality show but I'm learning so much about decorating. I think this type of design also applies to paper-crafting.

Bob & Courtney have a contemporary style and are never afraid to mix old & new & patterns that would not normally mix together. They somehow make it work.

That's the inspiration for my card today. Used the papers from past Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kits. Flowers are from Prima. The cute Darby & Penelope stamp is from ATS. It was a gift from the lovely Amy!

Such an adorable group of girls. I tried giving Darby curly hair, and as you can see I have some practicing to do. So glad that there's Color Me Copic, a new tutorial blog by some of my most fave bloggers and blenders! :)

It's been so hard finding a Copic Certification class around here!

Have an amazing weekend!

Picture Perfect

Before Glee came along, my Wednesday night line-up consisted of watching America's Next Top Model. I loved watching the plain girls get transformed into glamourous beings! My hubby would always peek and say, "Why'd they pick her? She's not that pretty." I told him he was wrong and that although the contestant was not conventionally beautiful, she has that special look. I'd tell him to check back in 20 minutes and see the gorgeous photos and photos and look from that same person.

Sparkle Thistleweed reminds me of a fairy model. Created by Amy, she is confident, sassy, and has that special ooomph! That one-of-a-kind *spark*. I colored her with rich and dark tones. She is going out for the night and has on her glittery outfit :). I gave her dark wings to make her stand out even more among all the other fairies.

I used a lot of kol laj products (the PP, the fabric). I wanted the card to have a more of an artsy feel -- Here, Sparkle is a couture model ...he he he...and not the commercial type (for you ANTM fans, you know that Tyra Banks always says this!).

And although models are all about symmetry, this is not the case here. I purposely made sure the fabric pieces didn't match on either side of her. The stickers behind the button do not either. The fabric edges are left rugged and rough (ok, remember that I don't know how to sew, ok? :) LOL).

Afterall, the most beautiful of creatures is not just about the looks. You've got to have to have character, be unique, and hold others' interest. And as corny and cliche'-ish as it may sound, that is the lesson of my sentiment/ card here. :)

Other supplies-
CS- TE's Valentine Key Ingredients
Stickers- Daisy D's
Button- Inkspelled
White pen- Inkssentials
Scrapper's Floss- Karen Foster

Happy Monday!

Stitching

Too bad the sun was being a poopoo head and didn't come out. Sorry for the poor picture. But as you can see..I ACTUALLY stitched!!!

Have been super JEALOUS of Sparkle's stitching. I've always wanted to sew on my scrapbook pages and cards! But, alas, I do not know how to use a sewing machine. And to the dismay of my mother (who used to make us stuffed animals and clothes), I still come to her to hem my pants! *sigh* *sigh* *sigh*

It is quite crooked and unperfect. But as you know, I am not one to critique imperfections. I think it gives the card a more whimsical feel.

I came across this fairy stamp at Gina K when I was buying cardstock. I altered her eyes and wings a bit here. Love her big anime-like eyes! I used PP from Basic Grey & s.e.i. Also used some Japanese masking tape and pearls. The sentiment is from Imagination Project. Besides the stitching, I also LOVE the BG stitched brads! And I've been using lots of Martha Stewart punches.

Anyway, back to the subject of stitching... I'm very much into fashion and wish I could make my own clothes! I love watching Project Runway and see the folks make magic with fabric! And she is my current favorite! Love her feminine creations!

Have a great Friday, everyone! Am so glad for three days off! Work has been super busy and I'm thankful for time to play with my baby, catch up on my shows, and of course, craft!

Toodles,

You Bless My Life

Good Monday morning, everybody! It's still my 'weekend' and so I am in a good mood :).

On Valentine's Day, I mentioned here that I will be working. There's still a chance that I'd get the day off-- but to make working a holiday much more fun, I recommended having a pot-luck to my co-workers. I volunteered to decorate the break room with these homemade cards I made, copied & enlarged years ago. I'll make sure to take pics on Sunday!

I also suggested exchanging those cute V-day cards you buy at the store. You know.. the ones you gave out in elementary school or even junior high? Except mine will be homemade. Pictured above is one of them. Not your typical hearts & cupid card but you know me... sometimes I like to challenge the rules! And I must be channeling the Monday Mania challenge at Club Anya. The goal is not to use red or pink on a V-day card. Too bad I used a stamp that didn't qualify.

I knew I'd use this Wendy stamp from TGF's Peter Pan set. I also wanted to use the sentiment (sticker) and tree PP (bothfrom Cosmo Cricket). The notes PP is Love, Elsie. The polka-dotted flower is Prima and the LOVE one is Heidi Grace designs.

<---------Some random stuff--------->

Anyway, looking at how much my stamping hobby has grown, I realize that I must go on a stamping diet! And what I mean by diet is less shopping for new stamps and papers!! I certainly could and should use a stamp more than a couple of times for my cards, don't ya think?? *sighs* But the new releases at TGF and All That Scraps always call my name!! They are all sooooo cute!! Good thing I still have some funds left over from my gift certificates! And then of course, I see some new Anime-inspired ones from Lysa. LOVE!!!

Which brings me to my next topic...one of my goals this year is to become Copic certified. So I am sooo excited that a certification class may be coming in July! Yipppeeeee!!!

Oh, and I wanted to share with you my new current TV obsession! While I'm waiting for Glee to come back on in April, I love watching My Life as Liz. Totally a revenge of the nerds sort of thing. I almost always root for the underdogs! And Liz is so cute and nerdy and loveable and cool and unique!



Okay, see you manana! *hugs*

Bling

Hello, all! This post will be super short. I've been working the past two days (12 hr shifts) and have lots to do for the next couple nights.

This card is for the Basic Grey Challenge Week 8. The goal is to have bling and glitz! Thought I'd put 'Christmas lights' on the trees :).

Supplies-
My Mind's Eye- PP, tree cut-outs.
Basic Grey- Stitched brads.
American Crafts- CS.
Bo Bunny- Jewels.
Martha Stewart- Labels.
Stamp- C.C. Designs Swiss Pixie Heidi with Ornament.
Misc- Gina K, Copics, Mesh Ribbon.

I just love those big, fat stitched brads!



Anyway, tonight I'll be missing SYTYCD and Glee. But that's because I'll be watching the LIVE show of Season 5 with a bunch of my BFFs! And this one's my favorite dance....about addiction. Watch Kuppono (the guy) portray addiction so well!

Watch Lyrical Dance videos and dance lessons at DanceJam.com

Spectacular Glee

A quick post, everyone! A card made from Tinkering Ink (red & green) PP, Scenic Route Rd stickers, and Marcella K pearls.

Started out coloring this Gorguss girl image I got from my BFF. She was supposed to be for a Christmas card, but I found these stickers & made this instead. :)

The bright colors, the red and yellow kind of match this:



A MUST buy for GLEE lovers! Such great songs. I especially loved the 'Diva off' from last night's episode! Have a great Thursday, everyone!!