Simple Treat Bags

Hi again!

Today is the last day of work before Christmas, and I finally got the chance to make these treat bags for my coworkers.

These treat bags are smaller than the ones I made for my husband's coworkers, because I ran out of the bigger cello bags (I used the bags to package my cards and envelopes for the craft sale).

These are what's inside the bag:

Turtles chocolate

Lindt Lindor truffles

Almond Roca

Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix

I made a topper for each bag using my Cricut (took the photo without flash).

Dark blue cardstock is from The Paper Company (cut at 4 inches x 2 inches).

Snowflake patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View (DCWV) Christmas Stack (cut at 1 3/4 inches by 3 3/4 inches).

White cardstock is from Papertrey Ink.

Penguin stamp is from Inkadinkadoo.

Sentiment stamp is from My Pink Stamper.

Black ink is from Memento (Tuxedo Black).

The circle was cut with Cricut using Mini Monograms cartridge (2 inches).

The tag for the sentiment was cut using EK Success punch (I forgot the name, sorry).

Assembly was really quick.  After I filled the bags, I stapled the bag closed and attached the topper I put together with double-sided tape.  I then attached the hot chocolate packet on the back of each treat bag using double-sided tape.

Ta-da!  The finished treat bags:

I hope my coworkers enjoy them!

Thanks for reading, and happy holidays to everyone! :)

Cards for the Craft Sale

As I mentioned several weeks ago, the oncology department at the hospital where I work is holding a craft sale to benefit patients who have to stay for extended periods in the hospital.  They invited all crafters to donate a few items for the sale.

I decided to make some greeting cards (actually, 33 of them) and matching envelopes.

Here are a few of them:

I made several more, but I like these ones the best, that's why I'm sharing them. :)

Unfortunately, I did not get to see my cards at the sale, because the craft sale was held at the day of our holiday party.  I hope they were sold and that I was able to contribute something to help the patients.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Holiday Treat Bags

I made these treat bags for my husband's coworkers.  I actually wanted to make some for my coworkers, too, but because my husband needed his today, I made theirs first.
The treat bag contains two Turtles chocolates, two Almond Rocas, two Lindt Lindor chocolate truffles, and a Swiss Miss hot chocolate packet.  Yummy!

The finished treat bag with flash

The finished treat bag without flash

Attached to the back of the treat bag is another treat! (with flash)

Without flash

A close up view of the tag (without flash).

The sentiment and holly stamps are from Fiskars.  I got it at Jo-ann's last year.

Images are stamped with Memento ink.

The ribbon is from AC Moore.

White cardstock is from PaperTrey Ink.

Red and green cardstock is from The Paper Company.

The striped paper is from Die Cuts with a View (DCWV).

The scallop and scalloped circle is from Cricut's Mini Monograms cartridge.

The tag is punched with an EK Success punch (I forgot the name, sorry!).

I will be making the bags for my coworkers in the next few days, and I can't wait!

Thanks for looking!

Craft Sale Update

I spoke to the lady in charge of the craft sale last Wednesday, and I showed her a few sample cards.  She loved them, and they're going to be in the craft sale!!!  Yaay! :D

I've been going crazy ordering some stuff to package the cards (I really could not just give her cards and envelopes without any form of packaging, right?), and I hope I get my order in time.  The sale is going to be on Dec. 20.

I'm so excited!!!

Cards for a Cause

I have finally found an excuse to craft again! :)

I work in a hospital, and my work is sponsoring a fundraiser to help patients who have to stay in the hospital for long periods.  They are hosting a craft show, and all employees are invited to donate creations to sell for charity.  I plan to make some handmade cards to donate.  This is my first time to actually make cards for sale, and I'm very excited (and also very nervous).

The craft show will be held on Dec. 20 (which is a little over 3 weeks away), so I better get started with these cards!

Christmas Came Early!

I was still really disappointed over not being able to get the Cricut Imagine, but I'm feeling slightly better.

My husband felt a little sorry for me, too, so he gamely came with me to various Michael's last Friday and Saturday, since they were selling some Cricut cartridges for $24.99.  I bought a few:

I had been away from Cricut-ing for a while, and I have not been able to stay updated on the cartridges that Cricut released this year.  I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but unless the price drops to around $10 a pop (like they early this year), I think I will have to buy the ones that I really love first. :)  There were still a lot of other cartridges in my Michael's, but as I said, I just picked out the ones I loved.  Yes, sometimes, I can excercise restraint. :p  It was hard, though.

Walmart's Cricut Imagine

I first heard about the Walmart Black Friday ad on the Splitcoaststamper forum.  Walmart will be selling the Cricut Imagine plus 2 bonus cartridges for $187.00.

I checked the actual ad, just to make sure I didn't imagine it (every pun intended. :p).  Sure enough, there it was!

I was so excited, I dragged my hubby to 2 Walmart's in our area, just to get the Imagine.  And to my disappointment, both of these Walmarts have everything on the ad, except the Imagine.  Boo! :(

I was really, really, really disappointed. :(

My Pink Stamper Stamps - October 2011

I finally gave in and bought myself the October 2011 release of My Pink Stamper.   Since my hiatus, Robyn of My Pink Stamper has launched several new stamp sets, and I have a long way to go before I can catch up with all the released sets.

(with flash)

(without flash)



The October 2011 release is a set of 8 stamp sets:
1.  Lunchbox Thoughts - perfect for a thoughtful note/card on hubby's lunch box
2.  Sympathy and Comfort - perfect for times when it's hard to find the right words to say, but want to make friends or loved ones feel better, or know that I'm thinking of them during their sad times
3.  Flowers and Friendships - perfect for my BFF's and awesome friends
4.  Itty Bitty-Licious - perfect for small note cards
5.  That's Punny-licious - perfect for Cricut cuts!
6.  More Fabulous Phrases - perfect for all-occasion or just-because cards
7.  From the Heart - perfect for big cards, or for messages inside cards
8.  Biggie Family Sentiments - perfect for family cards, or scrapbook pages

I ordered them from Pumpkin Spice.  It was my first time to order, and I'm super-impressed with their customer service.  Quick reply, quick shipping.  I'm glad I stumbled upon the online store. :D

I'm so happy and excited to have these stamps, and I can't wait to use them.  With the 4-day break coming up, I hope to "carve" out some time to craft. ;)

How Do You Read Blogs?

I've been sick with the flu (yuck!) despite the flu shot, and that had put my plans to play in my craft room on hold for a while.

Instead, I've been using my time to catch up on my favorite Cricut and cardmaking/scrapbooking blogs, as well as watching videos on YouTube.  I can't do either for an extended period of time, because of eye strain and fatigue, but I'm still happy for the chance to catch up.

I discovered new blogs that I liked, and I found that I like starting with the first post, and then moving up until I get to the newest post.  It's a lot of reading, especially with established blogs which span years of posting, but I think it's interesting to see how the blog started, and how the projects and the crafts develop over time. :)

What about you?  How do you read blogs?

News and Updates

It's been 7 months since I last posted on this blog.  I can't believe that I haven't been documenting my crafting for that long.  I know I promised myself that I will be crafting more over the summer, but I had to keep driving home to Canada every weekend over summer, since my parents were there for a visit.  Weekends were usually my only time to craft.  It was worth it, though, because I got to spend some time with two of the best people in the world! :)

I also developed other interests.  I guess I should say, I went back to my other interests, since these hobbies were not totally new.  Aside from paper crafts, I also love baking, friendship bracelets, and nail polish.  I guess I should mention that I used to cross-stitch as well, because I found myself wanting to cross-stitch again lately.

Other interests does not mean I would totally neglect this blog.  In fact, it was around this time last year that I decided to seriously pursue my interest in papercrafting by investing in some materials/tools.  Yes, it was November last year that I got my Cricut Expression, and cartridges, and Gypsy.  After the equipment followed papers, stamps, ink pads.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Also, I have just found out that there will be another reason why I should scrapbook, make cards, and do more papercrafts soon.  :)  I will share with you my news as soon as I am able.

Until then, thank you for your patience, and I will be papercrafting soon!

I'm Back!

There had been several changes in my life since my last post (most of them had been good). :)

As we roll into spring (I am hoping that the weather will get better here in upstate -- we've only seen a little bit of spring sunshine!), birthdays and special occasions in my family's lives have also been rolling in.  And I can't believe that I've had so many opportunities to make and give them handmade cards, but I did not!  Not for anything else, but from sheer lack of time.  Shame, shame.  

In my defense, I've been trying harder to go home more often (home is three hours by car) on weekends so I can spend more time with my family.

I walked into my Cricut room today, and I can almost here my Cricut machine say, "Come!  Make a card!  Make a scrapbook page.  Craft, craft, craft!!!."

Well, don't worry, Cricut machine.  I promise to make time so I can "craft, craft, craft" again.

Busy, busy, busy

I feel like the past two weeks have been sooo busy, and the next few weeks are even going to be busier.  Work has been really demanding lately, and all my Cricut projects have been put on hold. :(

I.  Need.  To.  Cricut.  Soon.

Pink Valentine Cards

Here are two of the cards I completed during my first Michael's crop night this weekend.

 The card base is Georgia Pacific white cardstock (from Walmart).

The light and dark pink cardstock is from The Paper Company.

The die cuts are from Sweethearts Cricut cartridge (cut at 1 inch).

The edges of the pink blocks were punched with a Fiskars punch.

Ribbon is from Michael's.

 The card base and the white square with the lip is Georgia-Pacific white cardstock (from Walmart).

The pink cardstock is from The Paper Company.

The lip stamp is from Inkadinkado (stamped on pink cardstock).

Ink is Memento's Rose Bud.

The lip die cut is from Tie the Knot Cricut cartridge (cut at 1 inch), with Stickles.

Heart mini-brads is from Recollections (Michael's).
XOXO Stamp is from Hero Arts.

I actually made another card, but I used Stickles on it and unfortunately, messed it up (I touched it before the Stickles had enough time to dry).  I will have to recreate that card later.

I also completed a few scrapbook pages, but I will share them later, when I've finished completing the book.  

I really enjoyed making these projects, and I had a great time at crop night!  I met a lot of nice ladies, and saw an awesome card (I forgot to ask one of the ladies the name of the card, so I can learn how to make it -- but I'm hoping that she won't mind showing me next time).

Thanks for looking!

Excited for Crop Night!

While we were at Michael's last weekend, my husband saw the poster for crop night, and asked, "Why don't you go?"

Hmmm...why not?  It will be a fun way to meet other crafters, learn new techniques, and get some projects done.  So I signed up for the full 6 hours.

Since I'm new to crop nights, I bought a rolling tote (Crop in Style Nanavigator) and a caddy for my tools/adhesives from my local Jo-Ann's.

The hardest part was figuring out what to bring.  I wanted to make a few Valentine cards and complete some scrapbook pages.

Here are photos of the things I packed (as you can tell, I did not fill the whole tote):

Crop in Style Nanavigator and Pink Caddy (I don't know the brand -- from Jo-ann's)

I took adhesives, photos, my Cricut Tool Kit, a few Tsukineko DewDrops, and some punches.

I took my new Martha Stewart Score Board and Envelope Tool (finally decided to get it after watching a lot of tutorials at CardzTV.  Lol.)

Also brought a stack of 8.5 x 11 card stock in different colors, and 3 12x12 paper stacks with basic patterns (all of which are from Hobby Lobby).  I figured, with the patters and the solids, I should pretty much be covered.

Also, a Fiskars punch on the side there.

I took my Cricut paper cutter and the W R Memories Tool Kit for embellishments (mostly brads).

I also took 3 sets of clear stamps:  2 from Inkadinkado and 1 from Hero Arts (they are in the pocket).

And of course, my new book, Scrapbook Page Maps by Becky Fleck.  It's a cool book, it has the sketches, the actual layouts, and the sketches in little cards that you can pull out (even the box to hold the cards was included in the book), so if you want, you can just take the little box with the cards to crops.  Very, very cool.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything.  I was tempted to bring several more paper, but I thought the stacks I took didn't have what I needed, I can always get some more at the store (lol).

Wish me luck!  I'll share what I've made later!

Tri-Shutter Birthday Card

My husband's birthday was a few days ago, and I got him a present that I knew he wanted, and made him this card. 

I stumbled upon Mary's blog, Cardz TV, last week, and I loved her tri-shutter card tutorial.    I followed her tutorial, which can be found here.

The finished card was 4 inches x 5 inches in size, which fit a 4.375 inch x 5.75 inch (A2) vellum envelope which I got at Joann's.

The navy blue card base was from DCWV's premium Christmas cardstock stack.

The paper on the front and back was from DCWV's All About Boys stack.

The inside paper (polka dots) was leftover paper from a scrapbook kit that I got years ago.

The orange ribbon is from Michael's.

White cardstock was Georgia-Pacific from Walmart.

Stamps used were from Stampendous.

Ink was Memento's Tuxedo Black.

I didn't use my Cricut Expression for this card at all (surprise!).  I enjoyed making this card, and I loved how it turned out.  My husband liked it, too. :)

Thanks for looking!

It's Christmas Again!

At least, at Michael's Arts and Crafts, it is. :)

I stopped by my local Michael's today, and found -- Cricut cartridges on clearance!!!  $9.99 each! Yipppeee!

I got a few:

I can't wait to use these.

I hope you guys find the same great deals/steals at your local Michael's!

The Start...

My love for paper started when in fourth grade, when my mom bought my sister and me origami books to play with.  The books came with several sheets of paper, and pretty soon we used them all up.  My dad also got me and my sister stamp sets.  I got an alphabet one, and my sister got a cartoon/animals one.  I remember spelling my name and stamping it on any paper I could find.    

As I got older, I bought more of the origami books (with their beautiful colored paper), and this time, I saved all the paper.  To this day, I still have my origami books with all the paper, and my alphabet stamp set, but now the ink pad has dried up. :)

Several years ago, I came across scrapbooking while surfing the Internet.  Then my local bookstore (in the Philippines, where I grew up) started carrying a few scrapbooking supplies.  I discovered craft stores when I moved to the US.  I started buying supplies, a little bit at a time.

So, my thing with papercrafting is a lifetime in the making, and the funny thing is, except for the first origami papers and my first stamp sets, I never used the stuff I bought.  It seemed there was always something going on, I didn't have enough time/space/supplies/photos to scrapbook, et cetera.

A few months ago, I bought a Cricut Expression and a Gypsy, and as an early Christmas present, I got a Cuttlebug, too.  After looking at a few sites on the Internet, I was hooked and determined to make the most out of these new "toys."

And so this year, I made these resolutions:
1.  Start actually enjoying the creative aspect of this hobby. :)
2.  Take more photos to have stuff to scrapbook.  Lol.

Happy New Year!