Perfect Pennants die

Good morning, friends...

Popping in to share a quick tag from last week's demonstration. A few different products and tools were in action: Perfect Pennants die (that will be in the new IB&C... hold your breath, only 1 more day :) that have this pretty doily shape, Delicate Doilies stamp set, Melon Mambo Embossing Powder, Chantilly lace trim, and then topped off with a pearl.

Enjoy...

Hugs,

Liza

Sneak Peek: DSP Pocketful of Posies

Good morning, crafting friends...

Aren't these colorful papers pretty? Looking at these baskets lined up like this makes me happy :) These are from a new DSP called Pocketful of Posies that will be in the new Idea Book & Catalog on July 1.

Today is a charity bake sale at the place where I work and these candy baskets would be my contribution :) I have made these before here back in April 2011. Reminding you of your childhood origami lessons at school, doesn't it?

I had found these candies from my childhood a while back in a Chinatown shop, so it was not hard to decide what would go into the baskets.

This basket looks best done in a double sided paper.

Making it pretty with a stamped tag, button, twine and a scrap of lace trim.

Happy stamping! Thank you for stopping by.

Every Little Bit

Good morning, crafting friends...

It was a Hannah and me time (which she calls "card making lessons") so we set out to make a card for Daddy. She picked out these images from the Every Little Bit stamp set, the brads, cranked the Big Shot machine for the Polka Dot background and chose the card stock colors.

And then we mounted them all up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Fun morning...

Thanks for peeking.

Liza

Summer Splash

Hello there, crafting friends...

I have gotten this Summer Splash stamp set for a while now (from the Summer Mini catalog)... I have always liked beach themed stuff so this one is definitely going into my collection.

My first thought with this set is to ink up the surf boards with multiple colored markers: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise and More Mustard. Yummy, isn't it? And it works as a masculine card, too. Very summery feel...

Stamped this shell images and punched out into an oval.

Finished off with Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon and a panel of Rich Razzleberry DSP from the Brights DSP Stack. Sentiment is from a tiny set called: (of course :)) Live, Laugh, Love.

Here is another take on the surf boards- an Americana theme. (Note to self: I need to start building a collection of Americana themed cards... ). This one feels nautical, don't you think?

Surf boards were colored with markers: Night of Navy and Poppy Parade. Mounted up on a banner shaped Naturals Ivory panel that had been stamped with the shell images again (in Crumb Cake).

Finished off with sentiment and my last sliver of Poppy Parade ribbon that exactly was enough to tie this bow! Perfect end of my roll of ribbon.

Ah... enjoy your summer, everyone.

Happy stamping,

Liza

Sneak Peek: DSP Just Add Cake

Hello there, crafting friends...

This new DSP called Just Add Cake will be available starting July 1, 2011 when the new IB&C goes live. I really love the crisp colorful designs of stripes and polka dots and I thought it would be nice to showcase this pretty paper by making a set of thank you cards with its matching folder.

I am going to give it to a colleague who is going to have a baby girl, hence the Blushing Bride pink scallop circle punch behind the sentiment. I thought: it is baby girly enough but if his wife would like to use it as a general thank you card, that will work, too.

I am following Marlene's idea here for the heartfelt sentiment (from the Hodgepodge Happiness stamp set).

Card base and folder is Naturals White card stock. Here is the folder, with an Eyelet Border punch edge.

and dressed up with a tag and 1 1/4" Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon. That is a new hostess stamp set that will be in the new catalog as well: Posy Punch- that I had used as a tag.

Thanks for peeking in today...

Hugs,

Liza

Introducing: Delicate Doilies

Good morning!!

What is one of the most exciting part of being a demonstrator? Getting sneak peeks and playing with them!! Oh my goodness!! It is always a crazy day when a sneak peek box (or two) arrives from Stampin' Up! (this year: it comes with a complimentary Idea Book & Catalog 2011-2012)!!

And that particular day was a super busy one, but of course, I had to break away and take a peek and let out a few screams looking through the pages (yep, that crazy!) and then put the catalog down to get on with my day. Madness, I know! Anybody relate with that?

A few nights ago, I was playing with this Delicate Doilies stamp set that came in my sneak peek box! Oh dear... how pretty! This big one was stamped in Whisper White ink (remember, I had been meaning to use the Whisper Whiter ink more often?) on a piece of Night of Navy card stock. And guess what? It fit the 2 1/2" circle punch!! Woohoo... I love those kind of coordination.

Here is the card: pieces of left over scraps thrown together on a piece of Soft Suede card base. Talking about hoarding every single piece of paper :) Sentiment is from (yes!!!) a new Hostess set that will be in the upcoming IB&C called Perfect Words.

Black button is from Neutrals Designer buttons pack- tied with Early Espresso/Whisper White twine.

Next up is another quick card, a demo it kind of card, that I did when family friends came over to visit. They made a stop in my craft room, so I quickly whipped this one up with ingredients still lying around my work table.

I used that strip of Island Indigo again, a new In Color that will be available starting July 1.

And here's me and Ceci, a fellow demonstrator, saying good bye for now on her last Sunday at church. Ceci will attend Convention 2011 - oh dear... I hope my time will come soon (going to Convention) :) and maybe we can go together, Ceci!! (*wink wink...)

Happy stamping to you,

Liza

Petite Pennants Builder Punch

Hello there, crafting friends...

That is a sneak peek item of a new punch called Petite Pennants Builder Punch, that will be available starting July 1, 2011. Love it!! My little Hannah and me, we punched a bunch of these in different colors out of a stack of scraps. Good way to use up those scraps.

And matching stamp set called Pennant Parade, where I had stamped the asterisk image on those pennants in Versamark.

And then, I finished off with Early Espresso/ Whisper White twine and Crystal Effects dots.

The patterned paper is a new DSP called Just Add Cake.

Thank you for peeking...

Liza

Sail Away...

Hello there, crafting friends...

Here is the quickest Father's Day card that my friend Indrawaty and me made when she came visit on Friday. We each made one for our hubbies :) so that we can say: Father's Day card for hubby. Check.

I was showing her the result of tone on tone stamping with Versamark ink... hence, this card.

Sneak peek: that is a new Stampin' Up! In Color 2011-2013 called Island Indigo on the main panel. Yummy!!

Hope you have a wonderful day celebrating Father's Day today.

Hugs,

Liza

Perfect Punches and Flower Fest

Hi there, crafting friends...

How has your weekend and summer been? The kids are officially a week off school now and it has been relaxing at home just pottering about and playing or reading together. Always followed by snack time, of course!! :) Constantly making snack here in our kitchen: cookies, cakes, ice cream, granola... endless baking.

There is a stamp set in the Summer Mini called Flower Fest. It has that crayon drawn look when you stamp it. Pretty cool. I have seen other ideas from the blog-o-world with that stamp set which I also love and goes into my to do list :)

My first thought with an image stamp set is usually to make DIY patterned paper. Something to do with me being drawn to patterns and colors... Maybe? :) I am a patterned paper junkie.

Now, why the envelope you ask? In Asia/ Asian cultures, people give money for special occasions like birthdays, weddings, or graduations. I figured the money can go into that little cute envelope and the envelope itself is part of the card design. Why not, right?

The envelope is die cut with the Scallop Envelope die in Rich Razzleberry patterned paper (from the Brights DSP Stack). Now, originally I made these cards as a set in a few other different colored envelopes- but of course, they were gone before I found a moment to shoot a picture :) But if you can imagine this one as a set of cards, this makes a great gift idea.

Sentiment is from Perfect Punches stamp set. Stamped in Rich Razzleberry and punched with the Modern Label punch.

Thanks for peeking.

Liza

Fabulous Florets

Hello there, crafting friends...

When Herly came over to play, we were playing with this Fabulous Florets stamp set as well. It just is a fool proof stamp set in my opinion, you can not go wrong with this one. Anything will turn out beautiful.

Citrus colors are her favorite colors so I picked out this color combo of: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight.

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Randomly stamping the main panel of Naturals Ivory card stock. I stamped the big leaf image twice without reinking.

Sentiment is from Thoughts & Prayers. I plan to always have a stack of "praying for you" cards on hand so I can deploy them quickly as needed. (Staying on top of things and being organized and all that :) )

I layered the sentiment with 2 punches: Wide Oval punch and 1 3/4" scallop circle punch. Popped them both up with Stampin' Dimensionals. These punches get endless use from me, I keep coming up with different ways to layer them and I think it is super fun when I do.

And then, of course I had to add the pearls. They never leave my work desk, I need them all the time :)

Thank you for popping in today!! Enjoy the rest of your day.

Liza

Bold Blossoms

Good morning, crafting friends... Finally!! (I know...)

A scrap page :) Woo hoo!! How long have I been meaning to do that? Forever!! :)

I snapped this picture of my daughter who suddenly fell asleep on the chair one evening, too tired playing.

Lots of neutrals and lots of "white space": Naturals White, Crumb Cake with a pop of Melon Mambo and Not Quite Navy.

Playing with several different stamp sets: Notably Ornate for the lined frame image, Bold Blossoms for the flower, butterfly and stem, and Broadsheet Alphabet. I love the sentiment: Thank you for being you. That comes with the Bold Blossoms stamp set.

A border of Pink Pirouette scallops made from the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch decorate either side of the main panel. A left over Not Quite Navy punched flowers that did not make it into a past project comes into this one.

I was playing with Melon Mambo Embossing Powder that is currently in the Summer Mini Catalog and it will go over to the new Idea Book & Catalog 2011-2012. The butterfly was stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed with the Melon Mambo Embossing Powder. Really girlie!! :)

A bit of pearl, a bit of bling, and a brad for the flower center are the little finishing details.

Finished size is 8.5 x 8.5".

Thank you for taking time in your day today to visit me.

Happy stamping,

Liza

Creative Spaces

Hello there, crafting friends...

Just want to share what came in the mail today!! Exciting!!

It is my own copy of this beautiful publication above that takes you on a tour of some very inspiring craft rooms!! You can get it here.

I first read it on Shelli Gardner's blog post here and ordered it right away upon reading about it, but it had been backordered. I guess it must be popular!!

Well, enjoy the rest of your day. I am going to curl up with it a bit later :)

Liza

Love & Care

Hello there, crafting friends... Have you tried rock and roll stamping?

I was showing this particular one to my friend Herly, who came over to play last week. It works with a large round image like this flower from the Love & Care stamp set (which is a level 2 hostess set). You rock and roll the stamp in 2 different ink colors. Starting with the lightest color first. Then stamp. You will then get an image with 2 ink colors. (Note: click on the photo to make it bigger for a closer look). Pretty cool.

And then just finished off the card by adding more images to make my own DIY patterned paper. Love this particular combo of Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, Baja Breeze and Pear Pizzazz. Chic and shabby.

A scrap of Chantilly lace trim and Basic Pearls adorned the sentiment. And then, finished off with the Early Espresso/ Whisper White twine.

Here is another one, same rock and roll technique but with a Soft Suede card base. Love how it changes the look just by swapping card base color.

And here's more of the wooden birdie that Ariani had brought over from her travels. I perched it up on a punched oval. Stamped the oval with the words from Strength & Hope set so as to give it a subtle background. Sentiment is from Fabulous Phrases stamp set. I like the font.

These days, I ink every edge with a sponge dauber and Soft Suede ink!! :) Even the wooden birdie got a sponge treatment :) And really love the effect it produces.

Thank you for stopping by.

Liza

Shabbyblogs.com

Hi there...

Feel like changing up some background on the blog-o. If you are interested in doing the same for your blog, hop on over to shabbyblogs.com where they have got pretty stuff.

Hope you like it.

Happy stamping,

Liza

Just Believe

Hello there, crafting friends...

How about making something that is not so cutesy :) So I picked out this Just Believe stamp set. It has pretty botanical images there. Works for both masculine and feminine cards, just swap the color scheme.

The largest image on the set is this plant image. For some reason, I like bigger stamp images. Helps you make a card more quickly, in my opinion :)

Just stamped it twice at different heights and you're done. Sentiment is from Word Play set.

Finishing touches: Poppy Parade 1/2" stitched ribbon, Basic Pearls (everything looks nicer with these :) ) and a little border of the Pinking Heart punch.

Enjoy your week and thank you for peeking in today.

Here's Hannah...

Good morning!!

Oh, I haven't shared this picture!! Here's Hannah with her first sewing project!! She sewed around the card. With the help of aunty Marlene :)

She is so proud!! My little crafter...

Liza

Funky Four

Happy Saturday morning, crafting friends...

When Marlene and Sheerah were here, we were playing with this stamp set. What I had done here is a technique called "off stamping".

I stamped 3 images from the same set and made a little scenery. I stamped off some of the images to give dimension.

Finished off the project with: sentiment from Fabulous Phrases, Early Espresso/ Whisper White twine (available in the Summer Mini catalog) and it is hard to see on the photo (note: click on the photo to make it bigger) I have applied Crystal Effects on the tree as a finishing touch. It gives a dimensional, lacquered look to the tree. I love to touch it :) Really cool.

Happy stamping to you,

Liza

Tags Along

Good morning, crafting friends...

Here are more tags that I had made to adorn the baked goodies that our cook, Pak Medi made. These particular ones are super yummy: double choco pound cake and blueberry pound cake. All 100% home made from scratch :) and these were for my uncle and aunt in Singapore (my husband went there last week).

I am not so much into the baking, but happy to decorate the goodies :) These ones used 1 1/4" striped grosgrain ribbons: Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip and Tags Along stamp set.

Here is a quick card that I had made the other day when my friend Desy came to visit, playing with unusual color combo: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz. She picked the color combo :)

I thought these colors give the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder a fresh look. Love that!

Happy creating to you,

Liza

A gift from another land

Hello there, crafting friends...

On Sunday, my friend Ariani surprised me with these tiny little wooden birds that she brought back from her recent travels to Denmark. Aren't these lovely?

So... coming home from church that day, I couldn't wait to see what I could make out of these :)

Here they are. One of these says "Take Care" to give back to Ariani, which is really appropriate. She is moving soon :( I am just thinking what a sad time this time of year is, I am saying several good byes already and there is more coming!! My friend Ceci and fellow SU! demo is also moving. (Good bye, Ceci... until I see you again... wish you lived closer so we could play more often).

"With Love" is using Love & Care hostess level 2 stamp set from the Summer Mini catalog. Textured Soft Suede card stock stamped with the flower images in Whisper White and Soft Suede. I really like the look of Whisper White ink on darker colored card stock (note to self: use it more often).

A strip of First Edition Specialty DSP, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, and embellished the birdie with Basic Pearls. I think these tiny little pearls add so much to anything :)

"Take Care" is using the really sweet color combo of Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, and Crumb Cake. Did you see the rock and roll technique I used on the largest flower? It was first stamped in Baja Breeze then rolled in Regal Rose, but it left a mark on my Regal Rose ink pad... (even though it will not affect the ink pad color, I am not sure if I like to have a less than pristine ink pad now :) - but I really like it... talk about torn :)

Oh and the gold chocolate I used on the prop is also from Ariani... ha ha!! Kids haven't eaten them yet :)

Thank you for the pretty gift, Ariani and wishing you all the best!!

Happy stamping,

Liza