December 30, 2014

Bloomin' Thanks

I think this is the last of my September cards... I promise to share some more recent creations soon.


DEEtails:
Using the giant dahlia stamp makes card making a breeze, as it just lends itself to a quick and easy layout. Here I added a strip of patterned paper from the Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, edged with a bit of Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine. I stamped the sentiment from Oh Hello and added my big bloom stamped in Real Red with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Paper: Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, Real Red card stock
Stamps: Oh Hello, Regarding Dahlias
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Embellishments: Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine
Tools: Stampin' Dimensionals

December 29, 2014

Water Colored Thanks

I found a few more cards from back in September to share with you... For this one, I brought out some watercolors!


DEEtails:
This lovely stamp from So Very Grateful was stamped in VersaMark ink and embossed in white on some watercolor paper. The embossing makes it quite easy to paint and I did so with a simple set of Crayola watercolors - these were actually a set from my brother's grade school days. I mounted the watercolored piece onto some more watercolor paper and added the stamped sentiment underneath. (I trimmed the edges with the banner punch.) Everything was adhered to a fabulous piece of Baked Brown Sugar patterned DSP. I'm loving the color and the polka dots and hope you do too!

Paper: Baked Brown Sugar card stock, Baked Brown Sugar patterned DSP, watercolor paper
Stamps: So Very Grateful
Ink: Basic Black, VersaMark
Tools: watercolors, White Stampin' Emboss

December 24, 2014

A Little More Merry


As promised, I'm sharing a few new decorating updates... First up Merry banner. This area usually looks just like this, with a plain chalkboard banner, that I just haven't gotten around to lettering yet. I decided to jazz it up a bit with some polka dot letters and some fun pom pom yarn. I tossed up a few of my favorite holiday cards on that pretty birdcage display that my mom got me a few years ago. I feel like it needs some tinsel or something... What do you think?


Right below is a little drop zone area where I set up a couple of my favorite decorations. I love looking for cute little holiday decorations at craft fairs and have picked up a few over the years. The wooden reindeer is one that I got last year and I'm not gonna lie, he stayed up nearly all year. I only just put him away in August... And now he's back out. I love his little face, like he's unsure about this snow! *Giggle* 


I found this awesome chalkboard charger at the Target dollar spot (anyone else love that section as much as me?!) Since I stole the tray that usually sits on our coffee table for all my wrapping paraphernalia,  I needed something else to coral the table must haves - a yummy candle (Yankee Candle Jack Frost is my favorite scent!) a fun stacking jar from Anthropologie (okay, that's really a candle too...) A bowl of Andes mints and some coasters.


This little corner may be my new favorite... I made my first pompoms last night and threw them around the lamp next to the TV. I'm totally addicted now. I want to pompom the whole house. Haha! Then I found this cardboard house that I bought from SU! last year. I had planned to cover it with patterned paper and maybe decorate it a bit, but I love white houses, so I decided to leave it plain. I may add some sparkle to it later... Ooh! And that festive little tree! It's so cute! 

We usually corral our recyclables in a large planter in this corner, but I decided to re-purpose it for now as a wrapping station. I love my wrapping paper this year - lots of metallics! And that tray that I stole from the coffee table rests right on there with all the tape, scissors, ribbons and tags (you really didn't need to see that mess).


Our tree is filling up! It's getting harder and harder to walk into the kitchen! Just kidding... there's still lots of room. But it's impossible for anyone to sit in that chair now... It's kind of funny that it's Christmas Eve and I'm still decorating... haha! Hope you enjoyed the updates! Merry Christmas all! :)

December 23, 2014

Festive Flurry

One last holiday card to share with you...


DEEtails:

The small snowflakes from Festive Flurry are perfect to stack and create a little holiday "ribbon." Here, I stacked several fun patterned papers from the Season of Style and Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stacks along with the Subtles DSP. I layered some Whisper White card stock embossed with dots and some pretty snowflakes from the Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack and added a strip of Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon. A quick sentiment from Endless Wishes is the perfect final touch. Here's an "un-fancified" photo...


Paper: Crumb Cake Cardstock, Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stacks, Season of Style Designer Series Paper Stacks, Subtles DSP, Whisper White Cardstock, Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stacks
Stamps: Endless Wishes, Festive Flurry
Ink: Illuminate, Whisper White
Embellishments: Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon
Tools: Festive Flurry Framelits Die

December 22, 2014

A Jar of Jolly

Hi there! Hope you're all ready for Christmas to come. I can't believe it's just a few days away! Just popping in for a few minutes today to share a card with you that I created a couple of weeks ago...


Have you caught on to the snowglobe jar craze? I haven't made one yet, but I'm dying to! I just haven't found quite the right little decorations to stick inside. So, I decided to make a card instead... :)

DEEtails:

I started with stamping the jar image from Perfectly Preserved onto some Whisper White cardstock and cut it out. I stamped the image a second time then tore the bottom portion of the jar. I dipped it into some Whisper White and Illuminate ink to give it a snowy look. I apologize, but it is near impossible to photograph! I cut my "snow" along the inside of the jar line and glued it down. Then I added my little embellishments - a snowman and tree from the Holiday Home stamp set. Then I sprinkled some snowflakes (also from Holiday Home) in Whisper White and Illuminate inks. I tied some Silver Metallic Baker's Twine around the mouth of my jar to finish the look. My card base is a simple Real Red card with a big of Basic Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon around it. I trimmed the end with my pinking shears - I love this look. Then I added a strip of Crumb Cake cardstock, stamped with the sentiment from Endless Wishes, stamped in Whisper White ink. Then added some Frosted sequins for a little extra sparkle. Hope you like it!


Paper: Crumb Cake Cardstock, Real Red Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock
Stamps: Endless Wishes, Holiday Home, Perfectly Preserved
Ink: Basic Black, Illuminate, Whisper White, Stampin' Write Markers - Basic Black, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Real Red
Embellishments: Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Frosted Sequins, Silver Metallic Baker's Twine
Tools: pinking shears

December 19, 2014

Friday Favorite: Line Camera

You may have noticed that I've ditched the FIVE in my Friday Favorites posts... I'm not good with adhering to the five rule anyway, always trying to sneak in a few extras or combining several items into one... So without the restriction, I can now write about how ever many favorites I please. And today, it's just the one.

Enter Line Camera.


Now I don't normally do this type of post. And quite honestly, I probably shouldn't because I'm always so behind the times. My apologies now if you already use Line App and Line Camera and are huge fans. But I must blog about it today because it has certainly become a favorite recently!

You may have noticed a few changes to the photographs here on the blog. First off, I'm working on adding more props to my photos. Secondly, I'm fancifying my pics on Line Camera. Notice the vintage frames, the cute sparkles, the light filters, and the new watermark with date stamp! Let me know if you love them or hate them, because that'll certainly determine how much effort I put into these pictures.

First of all, let me tell you that Line Camera is a FREE app for iPhone and Android. Don't you love it when we can all get along like that? :) I haven't used any other photo editing apps on my phone, other than what my iPhone offers by itself, so I'm no expert at these types of apps, but let me tell you that the ease of editing my photos on a smart phone (as opposed to the complex photo editing software on my computer, that still has me stumped on a regular basis) has changed the way I look at my photos, for sure!

The app does a great job of brightening and sharpening photos and does so with ease. There are lots of fabulous filters to add extra lighting, brightening, or even giving your photos a bit of a vintage look. Some filters include snow, flowers, or hearts bokeh as well, which adds an extra bit of fun. I like to layer my filters (add a filter, save, then open the saved image to add an additional filter). Plus there are tons of frames, like the film frames I enjoy, as well as simple ones, and lots of fun doodle and color frames too. And there are hundreds, no, maybe thousands, of fabulous stamps that you can add to your photos. I love the sparkle stamps to add a fun little flair to my photos and I've been enjoying adding a date stamp to my photos recently, which is a cool way to chronicle your memories. You can also draw or add text right on your photos, like the watermark that I add to mine. There is so much that you can do! And, if you want more choices, there are in app purchases for even more frames and stamps!

The app has lots of other features too that I haven't used yet, including beautification features, in app camera, collages, and more! I've only been playing with it for a couple of weeks, so I'm still tinkering a bit. But, if you're looking for a fun and easy photo app with LOTS of fun add-ons, I would totally recommend Line Camera. Plus, did I mention that it's FREE?!? Get it, quick! And do share your newly fancified photos with me! :)

Please note that all these opinions are my own. I'm not receiving any compensation for sharing this app with you (although I wouldn't mind some free frames and stamps in the app!). I'm just a HUGE fan! :)

December 17, 2014

Joy to the World



DEEtails:

Today's card is a fun one that I made using some of my new Metallic Gold Encore ink, which I love, by the way - Thanks Naki! :) I stamped some Music Notes onto some Whisper White Cardstock and part of the sentiment from Joy to the World. I layered that onto some polka dot kraft paper from the Season of Style Designer Seriese Paper Stack and a Crumb Cake card. Then I stamped my stag head from Remembering Christmas with VersaMark ink onto Crumb Cake Cardstock and cut him out. I mounted him on the card and added the lovely gold foil Joy that I die cut using the Wonderful Wreath Framelits. I'm liking this combination of white, kraft, and GOLD! Yum! :)


Paper: Crumb Cake Cardstock, Gold Foil Sheets, Season of Style Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White Cardstock
Stamps: Joy to the World, Music Notes Stampin' Wheel, Remembering Christmas
Ink: Basic Black, Metallic Gold Encore, VersaMark
Tools: Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies

December 16, 2014

A Little Noel

Woohoo! The first holiday card of the year! That's something to celebrate! :)


DEEtails:

I still love this dear little deer bust from Remembering Christmas and had to use it. I stamped it on some Basic Black cardstock with VersaMark Ink and embossed it with White powder. I like how there are a few white flecks here and there. I actually wish there were a bit more, but I know I couldn't do that on purpose! I trimmed the image down and used the Angled Tag Topper Punch on the top - this tool is totally worth it. I used to make tags by hand (what crazy does that?!) and this makes tag making such a breeze! I strung through some lovely Gold Metallic Baker's Twine, which by the way, I've been using on some of my Christmas presents this year - Love it! I set my tag aside as I embellished my card, starting with some striped paper from the Season of Style Designer Paper Stack. I actually cut the sheet at an angle so that I can get more diagonal stripes. Then I added some Vellum snowflakes, die cut with the Festive Flurries Framelits, and piled on the sequins (from the Gold Sequin Trim and Frosted Sequins). I tucked a couple of festive ribbons behind my tag, added a few more sequins, and topped it all with a big gold foil Noel. I love the sentiment from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits! Hope you like it!


Paper: Basic Black Cardstock, Cherry Cobbler Cardstock, Gold Foil Sheets, Season of Style Designer Series Paper Stack, White Vellum Cardstock
Stamps: Remembering Christmas
Ink: VersaMark
Embellishments: Basic Black 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edged Grosgrain Ribbon, Frosted Sequins, Gold Metallic Baker's Twine, Gold Sequin Trim
Tools: Angled Tag Topper Punch, Festive Flurry Framelits Dies, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies

December 15, 2014

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas...


My family has always decorated for Christmas on Thanksgiving Day. While my mom was in the kitchen prepping the turkey and other delicious dishes, my brothers would lug up the boxes of decorations from the basement... My dad would put up our tree and I would be on light duty, wrapping strand after strand of lights on the tree. Between dishes, my mom would decorate around the house, switching out linens in the bathroom and kitchen, fluffing the pillows on the couch... Once the turkey was stuffed and put in the oven, we would all take turns hanging our favorite ornaments on the tree.

When I moved away, things changed a bit. It's expected, but I still miss old traditions. Hubby's birthday is in the beginning of December, so for his sake, I try to hold off on Christmas décor until we have the opportunity to fully celebrate his day. But sometimes we skip decorating all together... For one thing, our apartment is teensy, so it's hard to put up (or store) a lot of decorations. Finding space for a tree and other decorative pieces can be challenge. And for another, decorating the place is sometimes quite fruitless since we usually travel back home for Christmas as soon as winter break starts for me.

This year, we aren't traveling home. Instead, my father will be visiting us from Japan! Again, the décor vs. space dilemma came up... How do we make the place festive and put a tree up while having another body in the house. We would need enough room to pull out the sofa bed and pull out our dining table to seat three (we keep our dining table pushed against the wall since it only needs to seat two on a normal day). Plus my dad would likely bring a large suitcase that would take up some additional floor space. There were all space issues that we had to consider while deciding on if we should put up the tree... But obviously, the tree won. :)


We opted to position the tree in the little space between our dining table and kitchen. The tree is not huge - four and a half feet tall -  so it fit pretty perfectly in there. Plus, the basket on the middle shelf behind the tree is perfect for holding the pup's presents so she doesn't get into them early! I'm not quite sure what we plan to do with the dining situation, but we'll figure that out when the time comes, I'm sure. Our tree is from Target - a finwood cashmere pine - and I love the fluffiness of the branches. When I was much younger and lived in Hawaii, we used to get live Christmas trees. Although I adore the look and smell of a fresh cut tree, the convenience of our cashmere pine works well for us. 

I like a lot of lights, probably from being on light duty on our family's Christmas tree for so many years - I think I usually put 12 strands of light on the seven foot tree... I put four strands on this one. The tree came prelit with two strands of mini lights, which helped to make the lighting job a bit easier. I also added two strands of pearl lights from Target. Although you really can't tell in the photo, I used the kind that has three styles of bulbs - sugar frosted, faceted, and pearl. I love the look. The beautiful beaded garland is from our wedding. We bought them from Smith and Hawken (before Target bought them) to add to our greenery. My sweet mother-in-law spent an afternoon untangling about ten strands of this stuff out of giant boxwood wreaths. That was six years ago and this is the first year that I thought to put them on our tree. I can't believe it took me so long! I love it! The other garland is from, you guessed it, Target!

 

I've been collecting peace dove ornaments since I was in high school and have quite a large selection now. It's a nice variety of glass, paper, metal, wood, fabric and other materials. In fact, out tree topper (scroll up to see) isn't a tree topper at all... it's a felted wool ornament that hubby found for me several years ago. I can't keep it too much lower on the tree because the dog thinks it should belong in her toy basket, so I wrapped the hanging string to the top branch and perched the bird upon it. It works well because the wool felt kind of sticks to the bristly branch. Shown in this close up of the tree are several LeBien glass ornaments from Pier One, along with a wood dove that I found at one of those handcrafted shops. The pretty blue painted Styrofoam one towards the bottom of the photo is from Target a couple of years ago. And of course, one of my favorites - a spray painted pasta ornament that my baby brother made in grade school. He's seventeen now...!

I've only added a few other decorations around the house for now... A small tree that my hubby made a few years ago in the corner, a scarf around my cardboard deer, some bulbs in a vase (pictured behind the Christmas tree) and some bulbs hung from a picture frame. That was such a happy accident! Hubby usually hangs them in kitchen overlook, but when I picked up a bunch of them by the ribbons to ask him if he wanted to hang them up, I stopped and said, "No wait! I love this!" He seemed happy enough that he didn't have more work to do. :) I added them to a frame in the living room as well. The rest of the garland and festivity are the usual décor. I like that this space always feels a little like a party. :)

 

I'm still deciding on what other decorations should go up... I'll be sure to share more photos if I do more decorating, but for now, I have some wrapping to do! Thanks for stopping by today!

December 12, 2014

Five Friday Favorites: Shopping Steals

Hi there! I'm here today sharing some of my recent purchases. Obviously, the sales right now are a bit different, but perhaps this post will give you a few new ideas for gifts to give loved ones, or maybe even a few things to add to your own holiday wish list...?


#1 favorite dvds


Downton Abbey! Hubby got the first four seasons for me on Black Friday because I've been talking about how much I want to see it... (You can also get a boxed set on DVD or Blu-ray). I'm so excited to watch these and hope they're as good as everyone says!

#2 cute clothes

J. Crew Factory has the cutest intarsia sweaters. This dalmation one was love at first site! And then my mom found this cute polka dot popover to pair with it. Adorbs!

#3 fun accessories

Desk accessories like these Kate Spade paper clips are just so much fun. Of course I had to snag the expletive ones too! And the little jewelry pouch is perfect for tucking in some of my fun day planner goodies and having them on the go. Or carrying jewelry, of course!

#4 crafty goodies

I've been on a bit of a metallic kick lately and my sweet friend Naki ordered me a few stamping goodies during SU's big sale! The Metallic Silver and Metallic Gold Encore stamp pads are just gorgeous and the Alphabet Rotary Stamp is just plain fun! I can't wait to try them out!

#5 something for the boys

Hubby's been wanting to brew his own beer for a while, but it's a bit of a challenge since we're still living in a tiny apartment... I came across this beer making kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop and gave it to him for his birthday earlier this week. It was quite a hit! You can also buy the pieces separately.

So how did you make out during the biggest shopping days of the year? I'd love to hear your favorite purchases, as I'm still working on my wishlist too... :)


December 10, 2014

Currently...

Happy December! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed some time with family, had some yummy eats, and maybe did some shopping too!? :)

My mom came to visit the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and stayed with us through the following week. We didn't get to do our annual Black Friday shopping cause I wasn't quite ready for something so strenuous... plus my mom and hubby were a little nervous about crazy shoppers bumping into me. Yes, we're some of those crazy people who like to go out in the wee hours of the morning for a good deal! And shopping is serious stuff for my mom and me. Hubby calls her the Queen of Shopping! LOL! I guess that makes me Princess? Haha! Anyway, good thing there are so many online deals these days. We did get to do quite a bit of shopping from the comfort of our home and I'll admit to cheerfully calling "see you tomorrow!" to our dear UPS guy who carried many large boxes to our home several days in a row... Of course now that I've taken a break from shopping, I was able to pull together this month's edition of "Currently..."

WATCHING: some holiday movies... My favorite is Elf! What's yours?

LISTENING: to the new Pentatonix Album! 
I'm loving the cover of Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal and their original song, That's Christmas to Me. And of course I can't get enough of Let It Go! :) I have it on random replay mixed in with their old Christmas album. Hubby keeps asking when we get to listen to something else... After Christmas, my dear... 

EATING: lots of yummies that my mom brought for us.

DRINKING: A little bit of water again. I'm finally off the meds that make things taste like minerals! YEAH! But... I have this memory that the water tastes like rocks, so I still THINK that does. It's odd... so I'm on a lemonade kick now...

WEARING: still wearing comfy duds. 
One of my sweet students wrote a letter to me that said, "I know you are probably wearing sweatpants and a tee-shirt since you are sick, which is fine, but remember to always wear a smile, it's the prettiest thing you can wear!" Too cute! :)

MAKING: my day planner all cute. I caught the Filofax bug while I've been home. I don't have an actual Filofax, but my Kate Spade is pretty darn cute. I'm sure I'll be sharing photos with you soon... 
(unfortunately, KS doesn't sell these anymore :( I'm so sorry!

PLANNING: to return to work next week... Is it time already?

TRYING: to get the house decorated for Christmas.

WANTING: to put up our Christmas tree... But I'm worried we don't have the space for it when my dad comes to stay with us in a couple of weeks... Oh the troubles of tiny apartment living! SIGH!

FEELING: a bit anxious about going back to work. In so many ways I'm ready, yet really not at all...

ENJOYING: a new app that Naki and I recently downloaded - LINE APP! It allows you to message each other using tons of fun emojis and stickers You can also make free phone calls and video messaging with friends - although I haven't tried those features yet!