My Top 10 Favorite Cards in 2013

Happy 2014 (almost), dear friends!  

I am thrilled that you stop by as I am going to share my top 10 favorite cards in 2013. If you like to look at the cards in details, just click on the photo. The Flickr photo will take you to my original blog post. The cards are listed in chronological order.
Card #1 True Friends 

 
 Card #2 you brighten my day

Card #3 Thinking of You 

Card #4 laugh giggle be silly

Card #5 You are so loved

Card #6 You're pretty amazing

Card #7  Make Some noise (interactive)

Card #8 The world is full of beautiful things like you

Card #9 

Card #10

Now here is the trip down the memory lane.

This blog of mine has certainly given me a very fun and creative outlet. I feel so privileged and honored that you care so much that you spent a part of your 2013 to comment and encourage. I hope that I can continue to share what I love/create with you in this little blog!
Wish you all the best in 2014!

Fresh Squeezed Stamps (Monday's Post)

 

Hello! It's my turn to share Fresh Squeezed Stamps project! Today I am sharing a baby card with you.

This card is super simple to make. For all the details and supplies, please visit Fresh Squeezed Stamps. The comment feature in this post has been turned off. Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow to share my Top 10 Cards of 2013!

Holiday Baking!

 Dear friends! How was your Christmas? I hope Santa was good to you (wink)! Since I am taking a blog break , there is no card to share. However, if you feel like baking, here is a recipe of Lime Flowers from Martha Stewart. For this recipe, I substituted Lemons (instead of lime) and followed exactly with the recipe. they works like a charm!

 "When life gives me lemons, I make lemon cookies!"

Here is another one of my favorite videos from The Piano Guys

 

 The music really lifts the spirit up....it's so good for the soul :)

I will be back for Fresh Squeezed Stamps (Monday's post) next! Thanks for stopping by!

Crepes!

Hello! Hope your had a beautiful Christmas time with family and friends! Are you cooking up anything yummy lately? Today I am here to share some crepe photos/recipe with you! 

Crepe is such a fun and easy food to make. When my family toured Paris in 2008, we basically had crepes every day. It is such a common street food in Paris! The fillings that you find most are lemon, Nutella and chocolate!

I had an olde recipe for crepes, but this time I used Maratha Stewart's crepe recipe. Here is Crepe 101. And here is the Basic Crepe recipe I used. I quite like this one!

I made the crepes a day ahead. Be sure to let the mixed batter rest for 2 hours at least before you make them in skillet.
After finished with the assembling, bake in the preheat oven 350 F for 15 min.

For the fillings, mine was white fish (Tilapia or cod will do) with mixed vegetables ( carrots, beans, potatoes ,celery). In my view, the most important ingredients for a tasty crepes are the herbs (use fresh if you can, I used herbes de Provence) and cheese (use the BEST Swiss cheese you can find. I used Gruyere ).

It is easy and yummy! And I think they look impressive, too!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a scrumptious day!

SRM Tube--a Gift Idea

 Today is Christmas Eve! I am sure you have lots of last-minute things to do...
Here is a small gift idea with a handmade tag.

Paper: Kraft paper by Hero Arts
Pattern paper: Aspen Frost by Basic Grey
Wooden stamp: children at Table by Hero Arts
Ink: Cup O’ Joe Mid tone Shadow Ink by Hero Arts
Accessories: SRM Stickers, The Twinery (Platinum), SRM Tube
Tools: Martha Stewart Scallop Circle punch (EK Success), Circle punch (Staples), Spellbinders (Oval)

.    Make card from card stock, Cut a triangle off at bottom
.    Stamp Children At Table and apply sentiment
.    Make die cut, make tag
.    Adhere small kraft circle , punch a hole
.    Tie the tag and make a bow with twines

I am keeping the post short and sweet.  Gotta dash!

Santa will be here before you know it:)
Yes, Virginia...there is a Santa Clause
I hope you enjoy the warmth and love with your loved ones on this special time of the year!
Thanks for stopping by!

Fresh Squeezed Stamps (Monday's Post)

 Happy Monday! A very quick post for you today! Yes, the crunch time is approaching... Christmas is almost here! In case you need some quick tags for the last minute presents, here are some  
tags that you can make in a hurry!
 

This set Tag Along and A Wee Christmas are perfect sets for the job!

For more details, please visit Fresh Squeezed Stamps! I will appreciate it if you can leave me your feedback there. The comment feature has been turned off in this post.   
(photo credit: Stephanie Lu)

Wish you and family a very Merry Christmas! 

CAS-ual Friday's Stamp Blog Feature

Hello! Today is my blog day over CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. I have two projects to share.
First, it's this colorful card...

I took the rainbow idea and did some Emboss Resist. It's such a fun and easy thing to do.
I also made some quick tags!

 
   The comment feature has been turned off in this post.
For all the details and instructions, please visit CAS-ual Friday Stamps.
I will really appreciate it if you can leave me your feedback here.
Thank you so much for stopping by!

Another Runway Inspired Card

Hello gorgeous!

I am sharing another card by this same runway photo (seen here)

This runway photo is so inspiring, I decided to make another....

The flower images are gorgeous Hope Seed Co.  (from Wplus9 ) and I didn't think I need to do too much. I merely stamped the background and cut out the main image and adhere it as the focus. I did add Crackle Accents over the flower and added a touch of Stickles.

.
Do you like my previous one? Or the card I share today?
 There is plenty of time to play this Runway Inspired Challenge. 
Deadline is Friday, January 3rd at 11:59pm ET

Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with More Paint Chips!

 

Hello! I am popping in to share a paint chip card. Remember? It's my latest obsession!

I used two Pantone paint chips to make the background. Then I white-embossed the background with Leafy Vines (Hero Arts). To my dismay, the embossing was a bit messy...(gr...) and I don't have any more paint chips to work with (grrrr...). The fun part was making the diecut of butterflies (Antique Engraving by Hero Arts). The sentiment is from SRM Stickers.

 My heartfelt thanks to you for stopping by!

Quick Set of Christmas Cards!

You know you are addicted to card-making when....

you watch a random TV show and the program's theme colors prompt you to do something!

Well, that is exactly what happened to me when I watched Bethenny! I actually do not watch this show much at all. It happened just when I was channel-surfing (after much baking for party of 8) and needed some mindless TV...I was really drawn into the bright colors of her setting. How weird is that? And then...Stephanie asked me to see if I can make some cards for her friends...

Bingo!

I love how easy this set of cards came together. I ended up with making 6 of them! This card is perfect for mailing as it is one layer! I had used three colors ( Ocean Dye Ink, Pale Tomato from Hero Arts; Lemon Squeeze and Mustard Seed Distress Ink), three images and three tiny embellishments.

 Stamps: Heavens Rejoice (sentiment), Skyline by Hero Arts

By the way, the party for 7 college kids on Monday went splendidly....even I had a lot of fun watching them playing Foosball and Pictionary (remember those?)! I managed to take a quick shot (sorry for the poor photo) of the desserts!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Runway Inspired Challenge # 50

Hello gorgeous!

 

Matthew Williamson Spring 2014

 Welcome to Runway Inspired challenge! Our sponsor is Ellen Huston.

The colors and style in this runway photo are so elegant and gorgeous. The small flowers on the jacket are intricate and dainty. The card stock I used has a gold sheen on it.

I tried to capture a bit of that in my design. I embossed the the flowers in white on vellum. The Thank You sentiment is from Simon Say Stamps. 

I hope you join the fun with us at Runway Inspired Challenge. Do check out what our DT have created for you and be inspired! You have an extra week to play this challenge!

  Guest Designer -Elena Roussakis 

Tasnim - Cards & Bookmarks

Virginia (Yes, Virginia...)--- you are here

Joni - Papell with Love

Pamela - miao

Aga - Just Made From Paper
 Jennifer - Our Change of Art

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Winner of the MF World Giveaway

 A HUGE thank-you to all who commented in my Moxie Fab World's post's giveaway.
(121 comments in total)

Here is the random winner.

Drum roll please..... #27

conil said...

Virginia, you are so inspirational and this interview is so impactful. I forget often to learn from every rejection. Thanks so much for sharing and for that beautiful card.

December 12, 2013 at 11:33 AM

Congrats, Conil, Please e-mail me your postal address, so I can send out the prize to you! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Fresh Squeezed Stamps (Monday's Post)

Happy Monday! I have a fun post to share over Fresh Squeezed Stamps ! Recently I bought the Envelope Punch Board and I have been inspired to create a gift card insert for cards. Here's what I came up with. 

After making the small envelope for the gift card (measures 2 1/2" x 3"), I adhered it to my stamped design. Here is the fun twist. I stamped inside of the paper and when you open the gift card, here is what you see...

 

Ta-da! 

This card was made for our pastor who has been so kind and generous as he provides his spiritual guidance and support to my family. The penguin on the outside is supposed to be my daughter Stephanie and the penguin on the inside is supposed to be my son David! My little ideas!

For all the details, please visit Fresh Squeezed Stamps. I would love to have your feedback there! The comment feature in this post has been turned off.

Lastly, the winner of the Moxie Fab World post will be announced later today at 6pm Eastern Time. Thanks for stopping by!

Gold and White

 

I am quite intrigued about the gold and white challenge over Little Tangles
Here is my take...

 My golden touches? Gold glitter paper, two types of gold embossing powder (fine and coarse), white embossing powder and white sequins

Stamps: Across the Card and Fresh Blooms 

I am busy preparing food for a feast of 8! This coming Monday, David invited his college crowd. It's a celebration of final exams. The best thing about college kids is that they sure appreciate home cooked meals and shouldn't be too picky :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Publication Share

Just popping in to share a card published in Card Creations for Him. My card is featured on p. 59.

Here is the original card I made for the submission

I was asked to remove the 3 gems after the card was accepted for the publication. It makes most sense since it's a manly card! I was MOST happy to do just that before I mailed the card in for publication.

There is a giveaway over Moxie Fab World right now...

If you would like to win a copy of this issue (and some crafting goodies), please head over and leave a comment there.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Colorful.... Moxie Fab World

Hello, hello!  I am super excited to share the card that I made for my guest blogging over Moxie Fab World. I was kind of stumped as to what to share....As you can imagine, I was overwhelmed and bewildered for the first few days after getting the guest blog invitation. Finally, I looked into Pinterest and found this photo very inspiring. A few of you asked me how I made this card.
All I can say is ...it really is easier than you think (wink)!

We do live in a colorful world and what better way to capture that in a card? 

First I started with the white embossing of this stamp (Map of America), then I stamped the continent with tiny stamps ( a heart and a star stamp, to be exact) in assorted colors. After I finished stamping the continents, I applied distress inks (Broken China and Tumbled Glass) carefully along the continent's borders! I then gold-embossed the sentiment in vellum and did some layering. Add the star and sequins. And that's it!

I have to admit, my first attempt was a "fail". After feeling quite proud and pleased with the result, I then noticed that I accidentally colored the Hudson Bay (see card below)!!! I tried to fix the color, so I add more colors. Before you know it, it then turned GREEN (it's near the upper star sequin)! Grrrr...!

Well, I am glad that I made a re-do (plus, I think I added way too many sequin stars!).

I hope that you check out Moxie Fab World's post and leave a comment because there is a giveaway (see below)!  Please comment by Sunday, Midnight Eastern Time.

 

Now that the guest post is out...I am quite relieved. And I miss Cath!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Guesting over....Moxie Fab World!

  Dear friends! Today is a big day in my little blog world....

I am guesting over Moxie Fab World today (I know....crazy shocking, huh!?)

    Can you please stop by and check it out? Here is a sneak peek of my project! 

Yes, I made a little card and shared it over there.

I hope that you will find it fun and inspiring...would love to have your feedback and comment.
I know there is a giveaway also.....please visit here!
The comment features has been turned off in this post.
 Thanks so much for stopping by!