Hi there! 

Have you seen the new stuff for February from Technique Tuesday? A couple of cute things to colour this month, some cool new dies - it makes me happy!!

Thanks for stopping by!! 

Over the holidays (when I went home to Canada) I picked up a whole bunch of mixed media supplies with the intention of getting busy in the new year. I feel like art journaling has really been pushed to the back-burner and WHY? I mean, I really like it, I have tonnes of stuff, I just feel like I go through these phases and it's hard for me to do everything.  (Card-making, art journaling, scrapbooking...ha!) 

But anyway. One of the things I purchased was a Dyan Reveley BLACK journal.. I was kind of scared to get started but once I slapped some gesso on the paper the ideas started flowing! 

Before doing anything I slapped a coat of clear gesso onto the paper just to give it some strength (I felt it was a little thin) and then I got down to business. I sprayed it with Dylusions mists then scraped white gesso all over. The gesso kind of sucks up the inks to give some subtle colouring. 

Then I sketched the flowers with the Stabilo "all" pencil and painted the petals in. The rainbow colours are Gelatos! I applied them straight from the tube, then rubbed them with my fingers, then I sprayed them with water. I LOVE how the colours faded away... 

The stamp (Stampendous!), and the dotty stencil (TCW Stencils) completed the piece and I was happy! 

It's almost vacation #2 time (3 weeks holiday for Chinese New Years!) and my weekend has been pretty boring... 

I have come to realize that I loathe not being busy! During the week when I'm at school 10 hours a day I long for the quiet warmth of my living room, but when the weekend comes I'm stir-crazy by lunchtime on Saturday! 

The only thing that helps is challenging myself (or tasking myself) with projects that give me purpose. 

Today's card is for this week's MFT card sketch, and I used previously unused stamps and die cuts, so yay me!

Fun colours, fun image... It's a happy card! 

When I see a black silhouette (whether it's a stamp or a die cut) I cannot resist creating a colorful background. 

It couldn't be easier, and the results are (if I do it well) stunning.

I created the backgrounds with Dylusions mists and water and let them dry naturally (as opposed to drying with a heat tool) and the colours swirled and mixed together and all I had to do was cut it out! 

Thanks for dropping by! 

Supplies:

Stamps- Technique Tuesday I am Thankful, and Thank You Banners

Die Cuts- Memory Box

Ink- Archival 

Pearls- Zva Creative 

This month's Greenhouse Society stamp set is a stunner. 

Maybe it's just that I have a soft-spot for crocuses, but nah.. It's a beautiful stamp. 

Check it out: 

I used the no-line technique and stamped the flowers in a pale brown so the colouring would stand out more. Additionally, after I was done colouring I added shadows and light with chalk pencils to enhance the colours. 

Oh! And that butterfly? I was determined to use it. It had been taking up valuable real-estate on my desk and it needed to get coloured and go live on a card. Operation: Tobi use your stuff was a total success. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Technique Tuesday came out with some really cute stamps at CHA and of course I decided to play with the ones I could colour! 

This is from the set called Favorite Human featuring a couple robots and some silly sentiments to match! 

This is pretty standard Copic colouring, but I did the background with Distress Inks. 

Before colouring the robot I cut out a mask and placed it over the image so I could sponge on some pretty pink and red inks (Festive Berries, and Victorian Velvet). 

Thanks for popping in! 

I yearn for the company of others because it inspires me. 

I take classes whenever I can because learning inspires me. 

I love teaching because my kids inspire me. 

And... The Internet. That time-suck of an invention that steals hours away from us by teasing us with pretty pictures. One such picture was a shot by Kristina Werner at CHA and she was sharing a project she made for Tim Holtz. BAM! Inspiration... "

Her canvas was incredible and I have no idea how she did it, but it was the inspiration I needed to start the cover page of my black Dylusions journal. 

I used Gansai Tambi watercolours and light modeling paste for the stencil. Pretty simple, but a pretty great start to a new journal. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

When I arrived in China a couple years ago the first thing I looked for was a cardmaking/scrapbooking ladies group. I looked on local expat websites and Facebook groups, but I didn't come up with anything. I really enjoy the social aspect of our craft and when I lived in Canada I would get together with "the girls" monthly to hang out and "crop" and I knew I would miss it. And I did... Being "alone" here with no one to talk to about products, techniques and just STUFF gets boring and I was craving camaraderie. 

Enter in a lovely choir student and her mom. I got a Christmas card from them and noticed some very familiar products and my student connected her mom and I on WeChat. (Chinese Facebook) This weekend  there was a get-together with a bunch of her crafty friends and they invited me to join!  YES! 

It was very cramped because their usual space was booked, but everyone just made-do and worked it out. 

What amazed me was that besides a few small differences, we all use the same stuff! 

The crop was at a sweet little coffee shop and they made us handmade donuts and jam... Yummy! 

Unlike other crops I've been to, these ladies work with a theme each  month. This month's theme was: Chinese Zodiac shaker cards. This card features a little tiger from a Hero Arts set. 

And from the same set, a rat (mouse)! 

Thank you for inviting me, ladies! 

I'm looking forward to next month already! 

Supplies: 

Hero Arts Playful Animals, Taylored Expressions Sentiment

Patterned Paper: Echo Park, Simple Stories

Cardstock, Bazzill Cardshoppe

Die Cut: MFT

Whew! That went quickly, didn't it? No matter how hard I try, the Christmas festivities always go too fast and before I have a second to appreciate it I'm packing for home. I was so happy to spend the holidays with my son who is loving Vancouver but I miss him terribly. I don't even want to think about Friday when I have to leave him. This next stretch is going to be tough - 6 months, but I think we've both dealt with it well and it will be ok.. Let me tell you, I am so grateful for FaceTime! 

Confession time: I love the gift-giving!! 

I love finding treasures for my family that makes them smile and I also really like opening up the presents that my hubby and son get for me. They are both so thoughtful and know me so well!! I got a whole slew of tea (when I quit coffee I moved on to high-end loose-leaf tea... I love it), candles, a gorgeous bag and lots of Pandora jewelry! 

So what do we do after we receive a gift? Well Emily Post might not suggest we send Thank You cards to everyone (children, brother, husband etc..) but if you received a gift unexpectedly or from someone outside your family you might want to send a quick thank you! 

Enter, today's card:

This was a really quick card to pull together and by keeping the card CAS it makes it versatile and unisex. I'm able to keep a couple of these handy for when I need to jot a quick note and not be worried about it being appropriate... 

I used the little snowflake from HoHoHo and stamped/embossed it onto some whitewashed blue card stock. 

It's a really subtle but tactile treat for the receiver! 

So that's all for now. Two days until I fly back to China.. 

Happy New Year! 

Hello from Canada!! 

My husband and I flew to Vancouver the other day to hang out with our son and visit friends and family and it is so good to be back! Fresh air, good food, fun shopping... We're having a lot of fun and I am loving seeing my boy again!

Today I'm sharing a card  I made with a planner set from Technique Tuesday (Planner - Christmas) but in a non-planner way.

This die cut is probably my favourite die cut of all-time. I have taught countless classes with it, and I've made hundreds of Christmas cards with it too! 

I don't what it is about poinsettias, but when I use them on a card - whether it's die-cut or stamp form - I love how they turn out... The mojo just flows with them. And the funny thing? I'm not a plant person so it's just beyond me why I feel so fondly towards them.. 

This stamp is from Stampendous! and the great thing about it is it has matching dies!!

I stamped two of the stamps on Copic paper and coloured them, THEN cut them out. 

A little washi tape was used to keep the dies in place. 

The background was fun. I used a stencil and modeling paste and scraped the product through the stencil on the left side of the card, gradually tapering it out. 

Then I sprayed the cars with green Dylusions mists (various) and let it dry overnight. 

And that's it. A simple, one layer-ish Christmas card! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Hi there! I had a great weekend of card making and got so many things done! I have about 30 cards to make and so far, I'm at 20 so I really gotta get moving... Or, gluing... Or... Cutting... 

Anyway, I played along with the current MFT colour challenge and created a little scene: 

Once again I pulled out my MFT London Mouse set and made it Christmasy.. What a little glitter can do, right? 

I made a mask for each of the three houses and strategically stamped the houses on top of each other. It's so much fun when you lift the mask! 

I used Gansai Tambi watercolours to messily colour them in and added glitter. I love it! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

One of my favorite things about watercolours is that leftovers are so pretty! 

A long time ago I made this card and I mopped up the extra colours with watercolour paper and voilà, I have the makings of a whole new card! 

For the sentiment I stamped the words in Versamark ink and embossed it with white embossing powder. 

This stamp is now gone but there are lots of other great deals at Technique Tuesday's Progressive Sale, where retiring stamps are now 60% off!

Happy shopping! 

Don't you love husbands? 

They give such helpful and constructive comments.

When asked about today's card husband said "Intense." 

....thanks. 

Ok. There's a lot of stuff on it, but I was playing with this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch and I couldn't stop! 

Most of the products are Simple Stories except for the deer which is a Tim Holtz stamp I love to use. 

Anyway. I'm decorating my sad little Chinese Christmas tree tonight and longing for hugs from my son... Only three weeks till I get to go home!!

(Sad little Christmas tree...) 

Thanks for stopping by! 

   

 The Platinum Shimmer Twine was the perfect accent to pair with the glitter patterned paper and the sequins in the snowglobe. Just for fun, here's a side-view of the snow-globe. It's so fun to create shaker cards, isn't it?! 

   

Thanks for stopping by today! 

I played along with Virginia Lu's current challenge: All About Texture!

Check out this card... I've been wanting to make this stamp set Christmasy since I saw it: 

The texture (liquid appliqué) is the best part of this card! The mice with the snow on top of their hats are so cute. 

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Stamp sets: MFT London Mouse, Lawn Fawn Joy To The Woods

Just popping in to share a card that took me WAY too much time to execute considering I had a plan before I started, lol... I guess I was just being to finicky with the details. Anyway, I saw this die cut and I wanted to try to make it a shaker card, it worked out well, I think! 

The colour combo was from a MFT challenge and at the end of it all I realized I didn't use any MFT! I'm such an idiot sometimes... 

But I hope you like it! I have a couple more ideas for this die...

Hi there! I'm so happy about today's blog post because I'm playing along with Tracey McNeely and the Technique Tuesday DT for Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags. 

I am a lover of Christmas tags and I already have a bunch made for this year's gifts, so today's post was a most welcome assignment!

Here's my tag: 

It's time for another challenge with my girls at the Naughty or Nice challenge, and this month's theme is "Monochromatic Thanks". 

When I started making this card I was like, ok, monochromatic.. I can do this, and I grabbed my stamps, my copics, and then promptly forgot the monochromatic part, hahaha.. That's so like me. 

So the image doesn't 100% follow the rules, but I think that's okay. 

So this card isn't exactly Naughty, but I think using Bird Crazy images gets a few points... They are just so funny-looking that you can't take them seriously.. 

Here's the sentiment on the inside: