Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

The first card I made is using a Magnolia stamp from the Butterfly Kisses range.  I coloured her in with my copics and used some Atyou Spica pens on her wings and the ruffles on her dress.  I then cut out the image using a Spellbinders die.

The floral patterned paper was punched out with the Martha Stewarts corner and border punches.  I can't seem to remember the name of it!  The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment is from a Papertrey Ink stamp set called Inside and Out : Birthday.

I used flowers from iamroses as embellishments to match the colours on the pattern paper and also a polka dot ribbon from my stash.

This next card was envisioned in my head and I am very happy with the physical result. The main graphic sentiment stamp is from Taylored Expressions from their graphic greeting line of stamps.  This one was called Birthday I believe.  I then stamped the sentiment another two times in Hero Arts Bubble Gum and Tide Pool ink and randomly cut out two sentiments to be popped up on dimensional adhesive.

The banner was die cut using a die from La-la Land Crafts.  This is my new favorite die.  Cuts so nicely and loving the stitched border around it. 

I die cut the window to fit the sentiment using my Silhouette Cameo.  The pink frame is also die cut using my Silhouette cameo.  Lurve that I have the option to cut it whatever size and shape I want. 

That's all from me today.  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Have a great week!

The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Friday Challenge - Anya-licious & Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes Challenge

This is my entry for this week's challenge at the TGF and SSS blog, both with a focus on Anya stamps.

I just realised that I do not have a lot of Anya stamps even though I have alot of Greeting Farm stamps.  LOL...But Fancy Anya is definitely one of my favorites so here is the card I made.

The pattern paper is from a very old patterned paper pack from SEI called Moonrise.  The paper is so beautiful that I really did not want to embellish too much and instead let the paper and the Anya image be the focal points.

Anya is coloured in with Copics and the die cut behind the image is from Memory Box called Hopemeadow. Love it. So intricate.  I paper pieced her dress from one of the pattern papers in the paper pack and put stickles on her hair pins and her belt. The sentiment is from Signature Style Greetings stamp set by Papertrey Ink.

On the inside of the card, I used the same die cut to create some form of continuity.

Hope you like it.  Thanks for visiting my blog!

The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Friday - Anything Goes

This is my entry for The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Friday Challenge. I am making this card also to be given as a wedding card to a friend who will be getting married soon.  At first, it was just going to be an ordinary greeting card but I looked at the sentiment that says "Enjoy This Day" and I thought, hey, it could be a wedding card.  Why not?? :p

The image is Shimmer Bean by TGF and image is cut out using Lacey Squares Spellbinders dies.  I used patterned papers from My Mind's Eye and mulberry flowers from I Am Roses.  I absolutely love their paper roses.  I got the pearl spray off a store on Etsy.  I finally got the filigree corner die by La-La Land Crafts and as you can see, I am absolutely in love with it! Used it inside AND outside.  Haha.  The sentiment on the inside of the card is from Papertrey Ink and it is Heart-to-Heart #9 stamp set.

Thank you for visiting my blog and have a great week ahead!

Hello Sweet Baby

A friend of mine recently had a new baby boy and I made this card for his 100th day celebrations.  I decided to try out this new colour combo and like how it turned out.  

The hexagons are from the Happy Hexagon stamp set and the hexagon cover plate from Papertrey Ink. I stamped the hexagons with Hawaiian Shores ink from PTI, Butter Bar Mid Tone Shadow Ink from Hero Arts and I think the Latte chalk ink from Hero Arts.  There are so many things that you can do with this die and I have had it for such a long time but only playing with it now.  Hehe.

The little elephant is from the Sweet Baby stamp set by PTI.  The hanging heart die cuts are by Memory Box called Precious Hearts.  I simply adore this die.  Memory Box now has a similar one but using stars instead of hearts.

The sentiment is from an Ali Edwards stamp set by Technique Tuesday also called Sweet Baby.  Love that sentiment too.

Hope you enjoyed the card and thanks for visiting my blog! Have a great week ahead!

Card and Haul from Taylored Expressions

Recently, I made my first purchase from Taylored Expressions.  I bought some stamps, dies and their Magnetic Binder Box for die storage.  Here is the video of my haul :

Absolutely loving the quality of their stamps and dies and also the new die storage system.  The only shortfall of the binder box is that it is small and wouldn't fit spellbinder border dies.  But other than that, it's working out perfect for me and I probably need to get more.

Here is the card that I made using the products I just bought. 

I coloured her up with some Copic markers and Atyou Spica Glitter pens.  I am so in love with the Ray of Sunshine cutting plate.  I might just use it on every card.  Hahaha. I made this card for a gal pal who will be travelling to Paris soon. Hope she likes it!

If you want to take a closer look at the card, here is a short video I made showing the card.

Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great weekend!

TGF Farm Fresh Friday Challenge - Cheeky Geeky

I have not participated in challenges for a long time and just came across this challenge for The Greeting Farm which requires the use of lace and pearls in the card creation.  Here is what I came up with :

It is a fairly simple card but I like how it turned out.  I coloured TGF's Cheeky Geeky with my copics and adhered her to a scalloped circle cut out using my nestabilities. I tried to use colours that were on the patterned paper I was going to use to make it match a little more.  I love TGF's Cheeky series. They are just too cute.

I used some frilly lace from my stash and glued on some ribbon sliders which I already affixed pearl centers to.  The purple cardstock I believe is from PTI in the Plum Pudding colour.  The "happy birthday" sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Greetings : Inside and Out stamp set.  The patterned paper is from Echo Park's Spring Time collection.

The purple theme is definitely one of my favorites.  Thank you for visiting my blog and have a great week ahead!

Have a Super Birthday - Lala Land Cupcake Marci

With a sudden surge of energy, I managed to make this card the other day.  Just a note that these photos are my own but watermarked as Serenity Gemz as I also sell my cards online.

I loved how this card turned out using colours that I normally wouldn't use. All the patterned papers are from the My Mind's Eye, Fine and Dandy - Tickled Pink collection.  The die cut is I think called Romantic Rectangles from Spellbinders.  The white layer on the inside of the card was cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  The card measures 5 3/8" x 5 3/8".

I cracked my head for a while thinking up a suitable birthday sentiment since she looks like a cupcake super hero.  I know the end result is a bit corny but I think it works! Haha.

This is definitely one of my favorite cards so far.  The layout of the card was inspired by a sketch I saw online (sorry, but I can't remember which).

Thank you for visiting my blog and have a great weekend!

Robot 1st Birthday

I took a few precious moments to whip up a quick card for a friend's son's 1st birthday.  Well, actually it was a belated birthday card but I'm glad to have been able to use my copic markers after such a long time. 

I stamped the robot image from Market Street Stamps on Neenah White Solar card stock.  I used to stamp all my images on cryogen card stock for copic colouring.  I must say, I prefer the cryogen to the neenah for this purpose.  I find that the colours don't blend as well together.  Or maybe my colouring just isn't that good after so long.  Hehe...

On the inside of the card, I stamped gear images from a Technique Tuesday  stamp set called 'Get it in gear'.

I die cut the alphabets from the Igloo Die-versions die. I use this font quite a bit.  The number '1' though was cut out using the Score Die-versions die.

As always forgive the poor quality photos as they were taken with my phone.  

Thank you for visiting!

Welcome Sweet Babies

The year 2012 saw many many babies being born including ours.  :) So recently I made two baby cards, one for a close friend who had a baby boy and one for my cousin who had a baby girl.

Both cards were made with stamps from The Greeting Farm, the Build a Onesie, Boy and Girl version.

The first one is the boy version.  The 'Welcome Sweet Baby' sentiment is from the Ali Edwards, Sweet Baby stamp set.

I stamped the tie on a piece of kraft card stock and coloured it with Copic markers.  The onesie is matted on a romantic rectangle die cut on neenah white card stock.

I stamped another sentiment from the Sweet Baby stamp set inside and I love this sentiment.

The one below is the girl version. I matted the onesie on another Spellbinder die cut called Butterfly Circles.  It doesn't really show up on the photo but I added Star Dust stickles on the outline of the onesie.

I really love how both cards turned out although I've had to steal a little time here and there to make the cards. 

Thanks for visiting my blog and Happy New Year! Many blessings of joy and happiness to all!

More Thank You Cards

Here are another two 'Thank You' cards I was able to make with my limited supplies.  Seriously having colouring withdrawal symptoms.  My Copic markers have all been packed away in storage and I won't be able to access it for another 4 months!

The above is a super simple card using Labels 23 from Spellbinders and patterned paper from the Simple Stories' Fabulous collection.  The sentiment is from PTI's Over Under Easy stamp set and I really love this set because it comes with all the flourishes that fit with the sentiments separately.  The little punched out heart at the side is actually to cover up a boo boo and I put glossy accents on it.  

The card above is a 4.5" x 4.5" square card and I used the Spellbinders Asian Motifs to cut out Neenah White cardstock and PTI's Aqua Mist card stock.  The sentiment is from Just Rite stamps.

Due to lack of time nowadays, the pictures above were taken with my phone.  Hehe.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thank You Card

After many months and not having my full set of supplies with me, I have managed to churn out a simple 'Thank You' card.

The card base is using PTI card stock in the colour Winter Wisteria. Love this colour. I embossed the white card stock with the M-bossibility folder from Spellbinders called Garden Delight.  Love the imprint that the M-bossibilities produce.

I then used PTI's clear stamp set called Heart-to-Heart #3 and stamped the hearts and 'Thank You' in both Winter Wisteria and Plum Pudding ink.  The 'Thank You' is stamped on a cut out using Spellbinders Fancy Tags Number 2 and the flourish underneath is from the Over Under Easy stamp set.

I apologise for the bad picture.  It was taken using my phone and the lighting was bad plus I don't have my photo editing software with me...Grr...

Hope you all have a nice weekend. 

Thanks be to God

I just wanted to write a short post today about how the Lord works in mysterious ways.  Isabelle always had trouble being bottle fed (either with expressed breast milk or formula milk).  We would only be able to bottle feed her if she was asleep or what we call during a dream feed.  Although I know that breast milk is best for a baby, I was very stressed during the first few months as I did not feel that my supply was sufficient for her needs.  It really got me down because I knew that if I did not produce enough milk for Isabelle, she would have nothing else to drink since she did not take formula milk.

Then suddenly the most miraculous thing happened.  About 2 weeks ago, I felt she had not fed enough from me and I prepared a bottle with expressed breast milk.  I fed it to her myself and she drank every last drop while she was AWAKE (although it was only 2 ounces).  I could not believe it.  After, I tried giving her formula milk just to see if she would take it and she DID.  I was just in shock.  Although she does take formula milk, I still endeavour to provide her with breast milk.  But at least now, I can enjoy being her mother and not stress about my milk supply.

The Lord works in mysterious ways because if she had taken to the bottle or formula milk earlier, I probably would not have persevered in completely breastfeeding her.

Happy 6 Months Old to my beloved Isabelle

Today my beloved Isabelle turns 6 months old.  How time really flies.  It has been a trying but blissfully happy 6 months with this little someone I never thought I'd get to meet.  I look at her everyday and wonder how the Lord chose me to be the mother to this beautiful being.  

I want to thank the Lord for keeping Isabelle in good health except for the cold that she is having right now.  I hope it does not take a turn for the worse but am thankful that she has not had any major illnesses or complications and is in reasonably good health.  She is a very happy child and does not fuss very much (except when I am trying to feed her).  Can you imagine?  She fusses when there IS milk and I am trying to give it to her.  I have only heard of babies who fuss because there is no more milk coming out from their mother's breasts!  Isabelle loves to play and is at the stage where she is most curious about everything new. 

She loves to go out and I feel she knows we are about to go out of the house when she sees me wearing different clothes or carrying her diaper bag.  Her level of understanding really amazes me sometimes.

I am now trying to start planning for her 1st birthday party much to the chagrin of her Papa.  Hehe.  I am hoping to make it an afternoon to remember.  She will have to remember it via photos of course when she gets bigger.  Hopefully I get around to making a scrapbook album for her.

I also want to say that as always I believe all things happen for a reason.  My husband and I are at a point where we've sold our old house and awaiting to move into a new one.  There were some complications getting the keys to our new place and during this time, we have been staying with my parents and I must say, it has been great having my mom to help me out especially during her night feed.  Not sure what I would have done without my mom.  

I have not been able to get any craft done yet but I am still hoping to find time to make some 'Thank You' cards very soon.  Will post them up when and if I have the time.

Thank you all for visiting today.  Have a great weekend ahead!

My Precious Darling Isabelle

I have not been able to blog since my last post as I delivered my darling baby girl on 2nd May 2012.  She arrived via an emergency C-section because I had originally wanted to have a normal delivery.  However, baby girl decided she was not going to come out the normal way and so we had to have the c-sect to get her out.

Her name is Isabelle Jade Sim and how time has flown by.  She is now approximately two months old. During these two months, it has been an emotional roller coaster, from being deliriously happy, to being upset and to feeling guilty and so forth.  I am thankful though that she seems to be a relatively easy to understand child.  Isabelle does not cry for no reason (or rather not for reasons we do not understand) and I would say is a happy and contented child.  The only time she gets pretty impatient (and you would know that she is impatient with you) is when it is eating time.  

The role of motherhood is not an easy one which I have found out.  Another thing I've realised, I think breastfeeding is harder than the actual labour! I had sore and bleeding nipples pretty much for the first 2-3 weeks and thankfully it is better now.  I only wish that I had an oversupply of breast milk for my little one so that I know for sure that she is always getting enough.  I stress about whether she eats enough and currently, she is under the 50th percentile when it comes to weight gain.  Another point to worry for me.  I've realised that as a parent, there is always something to worry about day after day.  Does she have enough to eat, why is her poop this colour, why is she soooo sleepy, why won't she sleep in her bed and so forth.

For all the difficult times, I truly forget with every smile she gives me.  Isabelle is now able to lift her own neck (started way before she turned two months), sucks on her thumb, coos, laughs and even has conversations with those talking to her.  It is the most amazing thing.  

It took my hubby and I a long time to be blessed with her presence and now that she's here, I couldn't and wouldn't ever want a life without her. Cliche I know, but true.

Till next time......

Altered Wood Photo Frame

This is a project that I just finished and I wanted to put a picture of my parents in it because I realised that there are no pictures of them in their house. They have pictures of their kids and grandkids but not of themselves together so I thought it would be nice to just make them a small altered frame, although probably my mom would appreciate it more seeing that it's so girly. Haha. I really like how it turned out and hope you think so too!

I first painted the wood frame with Jo Sonja acrylic paint in Warm White. Then I spread a layer of Folk Art Crackle Medium over it and let dry. After that, I spread on a layer of Martha Stewart's Multi Surface Acrylic Craft paint in the colour Ballet Slipper. The crackle is there but because I did not use contrasting colours, the effect is subtle. I had initially wanted to paint the top coat a brown colour but changed my mind. I then sprayed Lindy Stamp Gang's Creme Brulee Creme Starburst Spray over the frame to give it a subtle shimmer.

The items I used to embellish this frame is mainly from I Am Roses except for the laser cut chipboard butterfly which is from Dusty Attic.

I embossed this laser chipboard cutout from Dusty Attic using Lindy Stamp Gang's embossing powder in the colour Twilight Slate Bronze. Love the effect. Just added some Kaisercraft pearls to embellish it.

The top flower started off as just gardenia petals which I sprayed with different sprays from Tattered Angels and Lindy Stamp Gang. I love the flower centers which I made from supplies bought off Ebay and Etsy. I learned to make these flower centers from some YouTube gurus. LOVE THEM.... I am also loving the sprays from I Am Roses. Only used one so far from the new stuff I got from them but already wanting more. Haha.

A last look at the frame. I am really pleased at how it turned out. Contemplated adding some aluminium flowers as well but decided not to crowd the frame too much.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and let me know what you think of the frame and if there is anything I can improve on.

Have a great weekend everyone!

This is a card I made for a friend whose pregnancy is just little bit more far along then mine. We couldn't make it to her baby shower so we bought her a gift and I included this card.

Initially I wanted to make this card for MFT's Wednesday Stamp Challenge but it didn't really turn out according to the sketch so I have to give this week's challenge a miss.

The elephant stamp and die cut is from PTI's Sweet Baby stamp and die collection set. I embossed the blue cardstock with a Cuttlebug die and the border on the strip of patterned paper was die cut from an MFT die. The pattern paper is from the Fancy Pants' Baby Mine collection. The brads are from Making Memories. Hmm, I'm also running out of those silver brads, need to get more of those.

Anyhow, this was just a simple card but hope that you all like it. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great week ahead.

Lawnscaping Challenge #31 - Coloring

This is the card that I am submitting for the coloring challenge over at the Lawnscaping Challenge blog. I would say it is a pretty clean and simple card that can be given to either gender for their birthdays.

The ice cream image is from Lawn Fawn's Admit One stamp set. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured it in with my Copics. I then applied glossy accents on just the cone part of the image. The sentiment 'happy birthday' is from Lawn Fawn's Sophie's Sentiments stamp set.

The wood grain patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Life of the Party collection. I distressed the edges with my Tim Holtz distressing tool and inked the edges with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo distress ink. I added four glam studs from i-rock to give it a little bit more interest.

For the inside of the card, I used the same wood grain patterned paper and inked the edges with the same distress inks.

Thank you for visiting my blog! Have a nice day ahead!