Sneak peek into the Man's den..

Ooooo.... my MAN's quite sentimental.

Of course I had to share the table with mints and chewing gums, but oh well, it could be worse!

At least the projects to commemerate our 14th Anniversary, plus the girls' Fathers' Day gifts, all laid proudly on the table :)

I made this flip around frame to show the BeFORE and After ... 

This is where we are NOW.... 

(a contemporary classic feel to accompany it)

AND this was us YONKS ago !!! gosh... how i've aged !!!

(thus a dye-stained, distressed look !!)

Used Tim Holtz's alpha masks here to set the background look,  then inked all around them...

Loads of rub-ons to complete the effect...
Sorry didn't manage to quite get the bronze medallion which has 'Cherish' etched on it...

haha... i'm on a roll posting... gotta keep it up from my 2x a month posts... yea, i'm working on it...

Welcome home Papi !!

Papa was away for a week and we had to keep ourselves really busy ! Gosh, it is so tough being a SINGLE mum !!! Yet, the kids enjoyed the novelty of keeping the house as 'untidy' as they liked cos' Papa's not home. But he was sorely missed certainly... as seen from these handmade cards they made with my stamps and which they coloured using their own LePlume markers....

Here's my contribution... and a short tutorial if you gals wanna scraplift this...

Love this cutey racoon that i coloured in using a brush dipped in my tea dye, antique linen and walnut stain distress inks, mixed up with some Ranger's glimmer pearls for shine, stamped on a white tag. Inked the sides, tied some twine (doubled), added cocoa pearls and he's complete !

 

As you can tell, I have not gotten over using my embossed texture dies :)

So here's a sky blue notecard that i ran through the Big Shot using one of Tim Holtz's texture dies, sanded the embossed portion like crazy, and added distressed ink over the top for visibility and a worn feel. Added strips of Scenic Route paper from long long ago and a sentiment and DONE !

Oh yes, those lovely hearts !! Used my new EK success double heart punch (not sure why i didn't discover it earlier), stomped distress inks all over them in Tumbled Glass and Marigold, then spritzed them with pearlized water for shine. (Nb to Self: must check out if Michaels has more of these double punches !). You can notice some of the shine in the picture, but in real life - it is really lovely.

Lastly, i attached foam dots behind the small hearts so they 'POP' and a layer of Glossy Accents for an almost 'acrylic' feel to the center hearts. Love this - you will certainly see more of these hearts in upcoming projects !!

AND a 'POP UP' sentiment inside....

thanks for dropping by !

Cards

Haven't really been much of a card maker, but this is certainly an addiction coming along ! It's quick, fun to do, and wonderful for trying new techniques and stamps

The first one here has a more vintage-gy old feel, and love how the Perfect Pearls accentuate the stamped image. Stamped first with distress ink then pulsed it with the shimmer of the pearls. Misted at the end to seal the pearls so it bonds with the paper...

Love this 'silly' over the top peacock from Hero Arts. Coloured with Copics and adhered to background that i had run through my Big Shot using one of Tim Holtz's embossed folders.

 

Of course, couldn't spare the bling at the end with Ranger's stickles...

Crafty goodies...

Hey ALL !
Sorry for the silence as we've been on a ROAD trip all around CA !! It's amazing - the Big Sur coast, Monterey Bay, cutting across the High Sierras via Tioga Pass to Mammoth Lakes, and down past the Mojave Desert. Spellbinding stuff....

But here's some crafty goodness I managed to squeeze time for !!

Played with lots of inks and white paint here. Stamped image all over the frame with white paint and then wiped off excess with some pearlized spritz using Ranger's mini mister and distress inks !

Love the softness that resulted and the meld of colours, and the sparkle under the light ! Totally pretty.  Used copic colours for the flowers and of course can't resist those butterflies and ladybug for some textured effect.

 

Another quick layout that allowed me to experiment with different ways of using Perfect Pearls, Tim Holtz's masks and distress inks.

Celebrating 14 years.... time flies...