Magic trick?

You probably think I pulled the disappearing act once again, but I've just been busy with finishing a circle journal amongst other things. No worries though, I will have that finished tonight and post photos tomorrow. :)

I am halfway caught up with blurfing and will be finishing my blog roll later tonight. You have all been so busy with numerous projects! Thanks for keeping up with me. Toodles for now.

Some more In Colours with Fella

I've had this post sitting in my draft box the whole weekend, completely forgot to post it! These cards were made for a Bella swap I participated in at the Shack. Even though it was particularily for Bella's, I asked if I could instead make a Fella card. The main reason behind that is I think that there are enough feminine cards around... yet we rarely make enough masculine cards, or have a stash lying around. KWIM? The best part about these cards is the fact that I used up the last bit of my Piggy Tales scraps! lol... yes, the ladies in the swap are getting scraps ;)

Yeah, a little on the simple side - but I've been telling myself that I am the "Becky Higgens of cardmaking" ---> "keep it simple." Oh, because this is a relevant Bella post, did you hear about the Stampin Cruise that Emily, Nichole, and GinaK are hosting next year? I think it would be really neat to go on a cruise and spend the nights with people who share the love of stamping, but with four weddings and one taking place in Mexico, I definitely won't be attending the cruise. ;)

Supplies: Stamps: Fixafella from Stamping Bella, sentiments from TAC and Inkadinkado. Paper: Piggy Tales pp, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky cs from SU, Accessories: grosgrain ribbon from a share, Prismacolor pencils blended with OMS. Ink: Basic Black from SU, Olive green from Versacolor.

Playing with SU's In Colours

Woohooo - I got my SU In Colour inkpads finally. I'm so smart (note sarcasm), I originally ordered the paper first... but had no inkpads to play together. The first card is one I made for a swap. I know it's rather simple, but I wanted to keep these on the non embellished side and little colouring. Still pretty darn cute. I was rolling stuff through the Cuttlebug like a mad woman for the embossing template background as well as the circles that the fish are stamped on.

Stamps: Fishy Friends, "Hello" from Hedgehog Happiness by Stampin Up. Paper: Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou, Sky Blue by SU. Accessories: Spots and Dots Embossing folder, Cuttlebug. Ink: Groovy Guava, SU.

I am just not in the mood to colour lately, as you can clearly see from this card as well! I also wanted to use the new Garden Whimsy set, so I thought it was perfect to add colour without actually colouring. ;) *nudge, nudge* I started by stamping the set on a "one sheet wonder" type of way and then trimmed the the paper to 8 different pieces of 5.5" x 2." The butterfly in the middle is up on dimensionals and then I also layered an extra butterfly on top to give it that 3-D look. AKA as my friend described "it has bendy wings!"

Stamps: Garden Whimsy by Stampin Up, "Happy Birthday" sentiment from Wordsworth. Paper: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Sky Blue by SU. Accessories: Cuttlebug D'vine Embossing folder from Provocraft, $1 store brads, grosgrain ribbon share, paper piercer. Ink: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Blue Sky, Wild Wasabi from SU.

We interrupt the backdated posts for a challenge.

I just had to post this one card right now because I think it is SO yummy! Literally. I have been itching to make a pink/white/brown card for awhile and am now satisfied. :)

I killed two birds with one stone by making this card when earlier this week, Ashley posted a challenge work with an old stamp set and use it on a project. At the Stamp Shack, my good friend Ethel, posted up a sketch challenge that I followed. This was the original sketch:


Here is my final product:

Simple, but I love the colour scheme and the stamp set!
Supplies: Bazzill cs, Stampin Up's "Oh So Sweet" and heart from "Monkey Business," SU's Chocolate Chip and Versacolor pink inks, Making Memories brads. grosgrain ribbon is from a ribbon share, Paper Shaper punches used for circles, Fiskars corner punch.

Basic Grey Papers

Woohoo! I finally got some use out of my BG papers!!! It definitely wasn't easy; I sat at my desk for a good couple of hours coming up with these cards. I made these a few weeks ago - I'm still posting backdated cards.

The idea for the first one came from a LSS. I did case the original because I needed to get some ideas flowing! Gimme a break ;) That is a Heidi Swapp flower you see, cut in half and layered on top of each other.
Supplies: Hero Arts sentiment stamp, Basic Grey pp, Bazzill cs, Heidi Swapp flower, SU ink.

This was my first attempt at a tent topper card. I used the new Cookie Cutter Flowers from Quickutz for my scalloped circle. The die cut dragonfly is also from QK. Very simple, but I think the BG pp is busy enough that it evens out the card.
Supplies: Quickutz Cookie Cutter flowers and dragonfly, Hero Arts sentiment stamp, BG pp, Bazzill cs, paper piercer.

I love the romantic feel of this paper. I wanted to keep it soft and flowy and figured that adding more flourishes would do the trick. I'm trying to decide if the black is too much of a contrast and that I should use a light/beige brown if I replicate the card.
Supplies: CTMH sentiment stamp, Rhonna Farrer swirls set, BG pp, Bazzill cs, Prima and CTMH flowers, grosgrain ribbon is froma ribbon share, paper piercer, Doodlebug brads.

Hedgie and Deer Cards

I told ya there would be a creative post! I never got to posting this card, but I made it a few months back for a "Hedgehog card swap" over at the Shack. My goal was to make it a kiddie and unisex card. I think the colours I used are a teeny bit on the masculine side, but hey - Im not sexist! This is one of my fav of all time cards! I think something lies behind the fact that it was my first card using the Cuttlebug and Hedgehog stamps.

This next card is one I duplicated from a "thinking of you" one I did previously. It was for someone I knew that will be going under radiation treatments for cancer. We are hopeful, as that is all you can be, but I know it is a stage III. I definitely do not like making these kinds of cards, so I had to change the next card's sentiment to happy birthday... it works, no? I do not have this set, but the images were sent to me from a Shack swap. Love the fact that we do these! It's almost like getting new stamps. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:
Hedgie card - Stamps: Hedgehog Happines - SU, Happy Birthday Cuttlebug embossing folder, misc. and SU cs, Prismacolor pencils blended with OMS, SU basic black ink.

Deer card - Stamps: Noble Deer - SU, Inkadinkado sentiment, Bazzill and SU cs, ribbon is from a ribbon share, and $1 store brads.

Life update pt. 2

For those of you wondering about my dad, he is doing great! Or at least, as great as can be from recovering a surgery. Apparently he has a 12" long scar spanning across his back to show from the surgery. I am still scratching my head at why they made such a long incision. I know that a specialist will be contacting him soon to discuss what might have happened to cause the infection in his lungs. I think it's ludicrous that they still don't know, but am grateful that my dad is doing much better! I plan on visiting my parents over the (CDN) Thanksgiving weekend or the weekend after that. Thanks again for your well wishes.

The lover and I went and visited the sea life at the Vancouver Aquarium while he was here. This was one of my favourite photos! This was my first time ever seeing jellyfish in person (good thing, right? lol). The way they move and their electrifying stings are so fascinating to me. One big accomplishment that we both tackled was the Grouse Grind AKA Mother Nature's Stairmaster. My friend, lover and I all hiked up 2.9km... for a total of 2,800ft up!!! It is one of the most gruesome and unenjoyable experiences I have ever had to face. However, arriving at the top was so satisfying.

Click on the photo to get a closer look! I took this photo when I arrived at the top. You can see the people arriving at the top of the mountain. If you look at the very top of the photo, you can see the horizon of the land below.... Thats how far up we hiked!!! Yikes!

In this photo, I was suppose to give my cheesiest tourist pose... do you think it hit the spot? That's all for now. Next post will be a card posting, promise!

Oops... I did it again...

Oh crap. I figured it was about time I updated since my last post was dated August 18th... almost a month ago! Speaking of Britney Spears (used her song title in my subject heading...), in response to Julie's post, I think she absolutely flopped on stage that night of her 2007 VMA's performance. I guess I was sort of rooting for her too, though I'm a Christina fan all the way, but she could not lip sync, dance nor move across that stage to save her life. Oh my. I hope her overall performance does improve within time, but I personally think that it is safe to say "R.I.P Britney!"

Not to leave you hanging from the last post, I never did end up meeting Kelly that day I went to Seattle because.........*drum roll*.............. lol she fell asleep!!! No, I'm not posting this to embarass you, babe, but I just thought it was so darn cute. I knew right away as soon as you didn't answer the phone that you were off in slumber land. ;)

A big thank you to all who sent me cards and went out of their way to wish me a happy birthday on August 29th! In all honesty, my birthday surpassed without a flinch. I was dreading the day I turned 24, but was trying to convince myself that it was simply a day that acknowledged that I became one year wiser. Sigh, I know I am such a "baby" and have yet much to learn, but this aging thing is really starting to bother me. LOL I spent the day working hard at the office, though I was interrupted often with birthday texts and phone calls. Not that I really minded that! I had plans with friends to go to a restaurant that evening, but was clueless as to where we were going. We ended up in Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant and I got treated to lobster, crab and shrimp for appies! The entrée dishes were really good as well. Over the next couple of days, I did several different dinners with different groups of friends. Nothing too major.

My mom and the lover arrived at my home three days after my birthday. We spent a good couple of days going "Asian shopping." My parents live in my hometown about 4hrs away where the grocery selection is not as culturally diverse so when ma comes, she gets in as much food shopping as she can. The visit with mom was short, but the lover ended up staying for about 1.5 weeks.

To keep this post on the shorter side, I am going to continue updating later today or tomorrow. You can hold me to that as I have uploaded and edited a lot of photos to be posted. Mmm... speaking of photos, were you curious as to what crafting items I received for my birthday?!

TA DA, yes, we've already established the fact that I am spoiled. :)

I was given birthday money from the lover to buy anything I wished. I am super excited to ink up that Max the Mouse stamp from Stampendous!!! See that "happy birthday" sentiment -- that is just the perfect size for most of my birthday cards, I have been wanting one that size foreveeerrrrr. Toodles for now.