Guest Design And A Challenge for YOU!

I’m absolutely delighted to be be sharing my projects with you today. When I got the invite from Yvonne Yam (Do more with Less) to be her guest designer for her blog, I had little idea what I like to share. So instead of focusing on stamping techniques and styles, I though it will be fun to share my projects from the inspiration that I got from shopping! Yes, window-shopping!! It’s FUN and it’s FREE! Stationary and life style stores are my all time favorite places to visit.
I am presenting you...

Virginia’s Shop-Inspiration

Let’s start shopping for inspiration....

Inspiration #1

Are these bags gorgeous? I took the inspiring design and decorated a paper bag! 

 

Creative prompt-Kraft paper, ribbons, nature theme, simple layered stamping

note: for the flowers, I stamped in two shades (bright yellow light brown). That way the flowers will look even fuller in bloom.

Inspiration #2 

You see all the trendy colors and patterns in these photos. I took a few small stamps and created three thank –you cards

Creative Prompt: create background with a small stamp, emboss, resist emboss, repeated stamping

Inspiration #3

 The colors are so simple, yet the patterns and textured background make the design a stand out. I decided to stamp on sticky back canvas and made two cards.
 
 
Creative prompt: textured background, distressing, monograms, stamping on canvas
 

I hope you can join the challenge with me and Yvonne. You can use the above creative prompts to make any projects that strike your fancy. I am offering a gift certificate of $15 from The Crop Stop to the winner of this challenge. I can’t wait to see what inspires you!! Lastly, thank you, Yvonne, for this opportunity to host a challenge with you! It definitely gives me a push to be extra creative!!

Please link up your project to Do More with Less. You have plenty of time to create. the challenge close on May 18!  I can't wait to see your take!  

Tuesday Trigger (take 2)

Again....I was inspired by this delicious dress from Moxie Fab World's Watercolor Butterflies 
 

Here is my "light" version of the trigger. You can see the first take in my previous post here.

I had fun creating the droplets of colors with distress inks and water. This trigger has so many excellent entries. Have fun checking them out!

My card reminds me of the flowering almond photo that I took two weeks ago. Can you spy a few butterflies? Sadly all the blooms are almost gone! I'm glad that I had captured this fleeting moment.

I will be back next with a guest design post! Can't wait to share! 

Wishing You Well

I don't know why...I am quite drawn to silhouette images. I made this "wishing you well" card a while ago and never posted in the blog. Now I dig it out for the last-minute entry over Paper Crafts' April Gallery Challenge (details here)

Card stock: Bazzill Basics, kraft (Recollections)
Stamp: Spring Dream by Hero Arts
Ink: Versamark Watermark, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Faded Jeans, Broken China, Bundled Sage, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo) by Ranger
Embossing powder: Zing (pink) by American Craft
Accessories: SRM Press (sentiment), gems by Hero Arts

Fibers: May Arts Ribbons

edited: Thanks to Colleen Dietrich's tip, I am linking up this card to Blockheads Paper Arts Blog (for emboss resist technique). Thank you, Colleen! There is a lot of time to enter! Do check it out if you like emboss resist! I am also linking this up to Simon Says Stamps (anything goes). 

I went to the local Farmer's market again yesterday. I love visiting the stalls and shops. Here are the scenes...

 I am going to make an apple pie...And...I am looking forward to Sunday night as I am quite mad about "Mad Man" and "Desperate Housewives" (going to end soon...!!) and last but not least, Masterpiece Theater's Birdsong.  Enjoy your weekend! 

PS: There will be more alcohol ink posts coming soon.

CAS-ual Fridays #50

Our sponsor: SRM Stickers  

  Challenge:  Flowers

Are you liking the new  CAS-ual Fridays blog banners? It's so perfect for this time of the year! And guess what? The theme for this week is all about flowers and trees! YAY!

For those who enter the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge on a regular basis, I thank you for taking the time to make cards for this challenge. Please know that EVERY entry is a winner in my book! There are simply so many fabulous entries week after week, we DT have a hard time to pick favorites. I know I say this often, but I feel compelled to say it again (because....trust me...I had been there!). If you did not win the (or any) challenge, you know you have had a good PRACTICE. And during this creating process, it just makes you and I a MUCH better card-maker! Hope that gives you a little boost of confidence and I do hope that you have FUN in creating!
edited: Here are some invaluable tips and insights from Paper Crafts Trend editor Cath. Her advice on how to create a winning Challenge project are spot on. And so it happens that she use one of my coffee flower card as an example!!

Here is my take with flowers and SRM Stickers! For the supplies for this card, please click on the photo and it will take you to my Flickr photo stream. You can see the details there!

So what do you think? ANYONE can make a card with flowers!! Please link up your project by Wednesday, May 4th, Midnight Eastern Time over CAS-ual Fridays! I can't wait to see your flower/tree project!

Silhouette Flower

Another share about alcohol inks today.
The background was created with the "dabbing" motion.The fun thing about these inky background is that you really have little idea how the inks and alcohol are going to interact. Thus, it creates these artsy kind of background.

I made this card based on the sketch over Hero Arts Blog (see here ). And I want you to know that I just ordered some new Spring Seasonal Distress Inks! There is a video of Tim Holtz showing off the new Spring ink colors! Aren't they gorgeous!? I absolutely love that teal color! While I ordered those distress inks from Simon Says Stamps, I also added two more bottle of alcohol inks!
Oh happy inky days!!

RIC #10...and "Promposal"!

The latest Runway Inspired Challenge has inspired me---again. 

Yup, resistance is futile!

I used the Lawn Fawn stamp you've got mail for this design. I did some masking with the Cosmic Spray mist (gold) for that strip of golden shimmer. I would have NEVER thought of doing a design like this if it weren't for the inspiration photo. Love that about these super creative challenges!
edited: this card was featured in the Lawn Fawn Blog (see here).

Lastly, a little fun share about my son David's "promposal".For those who do not know what a promposal is...it's like a marriage proposal except this is all about asking a girl to the prom. I am fairly new to this. Apparently it is a big deal nowadays!In my dinosaur days back when I was growing up in Taiwan, there was no prom, let alone promposal! I was born in the wrong era (LOL)!

 David "proposed" to Lily in the middle of the French class (with the teacher's consent) and she happily said "yes"! David, being the new genius baker in our house, made the pizza-size cookie!  Well, the dress card was MY work and the icing part was from Stephanie! It truly was a little joint effort! 

 When the French teacher Miss B. asked if David made the giant cookie...and David promptly replied:" Yes! Oui !". The most enthusiastic Miss B.quickly declared in front of the class: " Forget about the prom, just marry him!!" This really cracked me up! Isn't it grand to be young?
Hope you are having a great day! 

Another Take on Alcohol Inks

In my previous post (see here and here), I said that I was addicted to alcohol inks, well, here I go again! I am trying to find ways to use the colors for the stamped images. So far, I found that the rich and vibrant colors from the alcohol inks are quite the ideal backdrop for silhouette images. 

Here is  my latest creations from experimenting with alcohol inks. I must say that I had so much fun as this card was not created for any specific challenge in mind. It's just pure.fun.

 
When I created the background, I "swiped" the ink pad across the glossy paper. Voila! The sentiment was embossed in white and the image was stamped with Hero Arts Tuxedo Black. So what do you think? I need to get more colors, that's for sure! Yup, I'm definitely addicted! 

Happy Birthday, Michele!

 
 Today is our CAS-Firdays' Girl (the uber talented and super organized founder/coordinator ) Michele Gross 's birthday!  Some of us girl Fridays are doing a little blog hop to celebrate Michele's birthday. I hope Michele will like this little pretty and chic card as she is one super FABULOUS lady! 

Here I combined the Pom Pom Flowers, (embossed in white) chevron and the smallest butterfly from Antique Flowers and Butterflies. The sentiment is from SRM Stickers. This card is based on the

 Embellish Magazine's latest  Chevron Color Trends Challenge. 

I hope you can join the hop to help celebrate Michele's birthday! Here is the hop order:
Karen
Dana
Stephanie
Karolyn
Angie
Debby
Lorena
Suzanne
Kimberly
Jenny
Virginia  <-------you are here
Julie Ranae
Christina
Laurie
 Lisa
Deb
Gayatri

Here is one of the photos that was pinned under Michele's Pinterest (under mid life crisis board-I don't think she has one!)!

Isn't that/Michele inspiring!? Wish you the BEST day ever, Michele! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Addicted to Alcohol....

Tuesday Trigger (take one!)

Perhaps I should join the Alcohol Ink Anonymous? I am addicted now to alcohol inks! Ever since I bought my first pack of alcohol inks, I want to get all available colors (still working on getting the 50% off coupon from Michael's!).

I was so inspired by this photo form Tuesday Trigger. My first take of the colors may have been a tad strong, but that's how the ideas and design came out.

Well,  this is my first take....I have another take on the same trigger and will post it later this week.

 Lastly, I want to share an interesting dinner conversation overheard in my house over the weekend:

Weight training for Dummies

Virginia: So how much weight do you lift? 
David: Umm, I dunno, like 10 pounds.
Dr. John: What?! You should be starting with half your body weight.
David: What?!
Stephanie: What  you're doing now is considered toning. Little weight, many reps. It's  what women like to do because they don't want to bulk up.
Virginia: Yeah, think Hercules!
Stephanie: Not Hunchback.
Virginia: Well, we don't expect you to be like, Terminator size.
Stephanie: Just build strength. It's good for you.
Dr. John: I just don't want you to get blown away by the wind.

Family time is the best, isn't it? 

PDCC 128

 I can't remember when was the last time I played Play Date Cafe Challenge !!? I think once a long time ago? Anyhow this week's colors really spiked my interest. Since I am color-challenged, this vibrant and "ymmilicious" (if there is such a word) photo kind of gives me a little push.
 

I used the Zig Zag (chevron) stamp from Hero Arts and washi tape for this design ( the pink lines under the stamped Chevron). The washi tape were kindly sent to me from HA Flick friend Janet W.  Janet found out that we do not have Target stores here in Canada and offered to send the washi tape to me that she bought from Target! Isn't that something!!? When I received the washi tape, I was so happy, as you can just imagine! Here I embossed the butterflies in white over the colored paper (which I created with Distress Inks-Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick).

I have been making cards with lots of butterflies lately. There will be more to come! Hope you are not tired of them! 

Virginia's View Challenge #4

If you come for CAS-ual Friday's post, please see the link under the blog banners (this is my 2nd post for the day).

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Hi all, welcome to Lily Pad Card's Virginia's View Challenge #4 (details here ).  Our generous sponsor is Letraset  who provided us DT markers for this project. How timely that we have this colorful photo to inspire us! Hope you like the photo as much as I do! I love the shades of colors and light in this photo. I think that's what makes the Poppy flowers so spectacular! 


Based on the inspiration photo, I chose to stamp some flowers of my own even though I have 2 sets of Poppy flower stamps. With some masking and brush water-coloring, this card came together rather easily! Letraset markers are alcohol-based and they blended really easily. The 12 markers sell for 22 British Pound (equivalent to $35 US). The price is quite reasonable!

It is a bittersweet time to say that this will be the last Virginia's View Challenge over Lily Pad as I simply have too much on my plate. I will, however, keep this challenge concept in mind and perhaps host a challenge or two in my own blog just for fun. So it's definitely not over on my part!

I hope you get creative and come play with us! You can make a card or project based on the colors, the design or the garden theme....anything your heart desires! This is a two week challenge, so there is plenty of time! I can't wait to see what you create! 

Happy Stamping! 

CAS-ual Fridays #49

Hello Friday! Are you ready to play CAS-ual Fridays? This week's challenge--a SKETCH! It is super fun! As you can see, we also have a new blog banner designed by the talented Karen Baker. For last week's winners and new happenings, please check it out here .

 Sponsor: Gina K's Theresa Momber

Since it is always more of a challenge to make masculine cards, I took up the chance to make one with the sketch! The stamps I used here are from Hero Arts' Past Time .

EVERYTHING is stamped except the fine grid paper (from Basic Grey) that I used for the card stock.  Please link up your CAS project to CAS-ual Fridays by Wednesday Apr. 25, Midnight Eastern Time! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

I'll be back with Virginia's View Challenge #4 later today! Thanks for stopping by!

bloom and grow

 Today I am sharing a card with the Spring theme in mind.

I felt that I have been neglecting this stamp Spring Dream for a while. Thanks to CREATE Blog challenge calling for Spring cards, I jumped at the chance to make one! 
 
 If you look closely, you can see the Crackled Accent on the kids and dogs. After making the card, I find it too flat and a tad boring, so I decided to add some Crackled Accent on the main images. It was scary to put the glue-like stuff over the images, BUT I kind of like it! 

Supplies: Newspaper Background, Spring Dream by Hero Arts, SRM Sticker, Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Antique Linen,Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo), Spellbinders, Crackled Accents (by Ranger).


 And speaking of bloom and grow, I thought it is perfect to share the Sound of Music's "Edelweiss"!

I have always loved this song when growing up. I wish that all things in your life are blooming and growing. No matter what you do, whether it's your family, your passion for hobbies, faith, .....or the people around you.

 And here is what's blooming and growing in my front yard. I took these photos on Monday. Our Flowering Almond tree were the breeding grounds for butterflies.....

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Create a Layout with Scallops

As you know, I've caught the scrapbooking bug lately. This week's Basic Grey's Weekly Challenge (Creating a Project with Scallops) gives me another chance to make one to my heart's content. 

I decided to make a page from David's 2011 Latin class trip to Italy. These two photos have been printed out a long while ago. I often struggle with the ideas as to how to present them in a meaningful way...so I never did till today.

Lessons that I learned from making this layout:

1. You can still make a floral page for a guy! Even though I used the floral pattern from Basic Grey's Piccadilly, the page still looks fitting to the theme. (David did say that it's still "girly"--gah! I don't think so--and I insist!)
2. Scallops are not just for girls. Here I utilize the scallops as a border and keep the photos in focus. 
3. Red and green do not have to be limited for Christmas projects only.  Thankfully the colors of the Italian flags are green, white and red. I think the colors are perfect for this layout.
4. You don't have to have scallop border punch to make scallops. I used my circle punch to create the scalloped borders (see half circles on top of the photos).

 All the sentiment from this layout are from SRM Stickers. They really make the creating part a cinch! I also used a bit of Japanese washi tape for the photo corners.  The scalloped oval is a stamp from Hero Arts' Sweet Threads Labels . I stamped it over Basic Grey paper and cut it out. The title "Italy" are stickers from Basic Grey's "Indie bloom" collection. I also stamped the text with  Newspaper Eiffel Tower and distressed the edges. 

Thanks so much for your well wishes on Dr. John's birthday yesterday. He lives vicariously through my blog and your sweet comments really make him smile!