Sent With Love with Sparkle Pens

I'm back with another card I created for Crafter's Companion CHA! I was not able to share this until after CHA so here it is! If you haven't check out this stamp set yet I encourage you to, HERE! It doesn't just have the cute deer stamp I used to make the Spring-theme card and THIS but also this super adorable fox stamp I used to make this fall card. 

Love, love, love the Sparkle Pens, it makes your project stands out because it sparkles! Besides, like I mentioned in my previous posts, it only takes one pen to create different shadings all you have to do is add water! How easy and fun! 

Supplies:

- Crafter's Companion Watercolor Paper
- Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens (Harvest Moon, Smoked Quartz, Clear Overlay)
- Die'sire Decorative Dies - Chantilly Lace Stamping Frame
- Crafter's Companion EZMount Stamp Set - Forest Friends
- Sentimentals EZMount Stamp Set - Memories are made

I hope my card inspires you to create! Happy Creating!

Thanks DEER (Dear)!

Here is the Fall-theme card I was talking about in my previous post! Using Crafter's Companion Stamp Set and Sparkle Pens. If you see it in person (or really up-close in this picture) you can see that the colored images are sparkling. 

The cool thing about the Sparkle Pens is that it's water-based so you can mix it with water to create a softer tone of color. Such as the colored image below, I only used one color pen on the deer to create the shadow and the light source areas. Isn't that amazing?!? 

Supplies:

-  Spectrum Noir Watercolor Paper

- Crafter's Companion EZMount Stamp Set - Forest Friends

- Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens (Moonlight, Holly Leaf, Olive Jade, Smoked Quartz, Harvest Moon, Crystal Clear, Aquamarine)

- Bebunni Floral Metal Dies - Cottage Lace

What do you think about this card? I would love to hear from you! Thank you so much for taking time to check out my post and have a crafty weekend! 

DIY Red Packets for CNY!

Hello all! I'm back today with another CNY project, red packet/envelope! They are usually given out during Chinese New Year (by married couples) to friends and family who come to visit or when we visit them (only to those who are still single). My mom used to give them out to all of us right after CNY eve dinner. Money will be put in the red packet and it carries the meaning "money warding off evil spirits".

So here it is! Check out the tutorial below to make these. 

Supplies:
- Craftwell Cut 'n' Boss Machine
- Craftwell Teresa Collins A4 Embossing Folder - Bella Rose
- Craftwell Teresa Collins Die Collection - Girl's Best Friend Collection
- Floral Patterned Paper
- 6 x 6.5" Red Card Stock (to make one red packet)
- Scoring Board

Directions:

Step 1: Place 6 x 6.5" red card stock on the scoring board (portrait) and score at 1/2" and 5", rotate card stock 90 degree to the left and score at 1/2" and 6".

Step 2: Trim the scored card stock to the following shape.

Step 3: Round the opening/closing flap for the packet with corner punch (optional)

Step 4: Emboss the red card stock with a floral design embossing folder and prepare flower die-cuts. 

Tips: Always secure your metal dies with a piece of tape especially if you are using multiple dies at one time. This is to avoid the dies shift position and accidentally overlay your other die while cutting or shifting away from the cut area).

Step 5: Fold along the scored lines and glue the red card stock to form a packet. Finally, embellish the red packets with the flower cut-outs. 

That's it! I hope you enjoy the tutorial and will have fun making these. They are so cute and I can't wait to give them out on Chinese New Year day. 

Have a great day! - Alexia

Spring is in the Air (No, it's not)

The snow came late this winter, we had the first snow here in NY yesterday! I'm not a fan of the cold so I'll entertain myself with this Spring-theme card and hope Spring will come visit us sooner this year. :)

Made this card for Crafter's Companion CHA with their amazing Sparkle Pens! Check out the stamp sets that are perfect to color with the Sparkle Pens HERE! Among all the stamp sets this is my favorite!

Supplies:

-  Crafter's Companion EZMount Stamp Set - Forest Friends

- Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens (Moonlight, Harvest Moon, Clear Overlay, Emerald Green, Smoked Quartz, Blue Topaz)

- Die'sire Sentimentals EZMount Stamp Set - Nature

I hope you like this card! Will be back to share more, I have also created one Fall-theme card with exactly the same stamp I used for this card. So come back to check it out! Have a great day!!

Chinese New Year Banner with Tutorial!

Hello! I don't know how many of you celebrate Chinese New Year but I'm for one very looking forward to this day. It's the year of Monkey and this year it falls on the 8th of February (yep, it's different each year depending on the lunar calendar). When I was young the celebration was huge, everyone would come home for the Chinese New Year Eve dinner - reunion dinner. But ever since I got married (especially when I'm so far away from home) I don't feel that kind of excitement anymore. There is no "reunion dinner" because I will not be around my mom and siblings. 

However, this year I want to change it up a little bit, I want my children to know what part of their culture is - being half Chinese. So we will be taking them to see the parade this year (if the weather permits!) and get involved in other CNY activities. My first project was to create this banner so I can decorate the living room, bring on the festivity! The characters "万事如意" means: Wish you the best of everything or hope everything goes your way. 

Supplies:
- Craftwell Cut 'n' Boss Machine
- Laser Printer
- Laminator / MINC Machine
- Four 8 x 6 red card stocks
- Four 8 x 5.5" patterned card stocks 
- White card stocks (for making the doilies)
- Gold Foil Transfer Sheet
- Doilies Die
- Circle Die 
- Flower Embossing Folder
- Red Ribbon
- Bows

Step 1: Use your laser printer,print the Chinese characters on a red card stock (make sure to leave some space between each characters). Please see attachments for template.

Step 2: Cut squares of gold foil and layer it on top of each characters, make sure to cover the entire print area. If you prefer, secure the gold foil with a piece of tape to keep it in place. 

Insert the red card stock with goil foil (one at a time) into a folded A4 paper (like a sandwich!)

Step 3: Run the A4 sandwich through the laminator.

Here is what you will get...sparkly! Remember to cut each character out in circle shape (use circle die if you have one!)

Step 4: Make the doilies die-cuts with Cut 'n' Boss and emboss the patterned papers

Step 5: Adhere the embossed patterned papers on top of the red card stocks, then cut fish tail shape on each of them.

Step 5: Adhere the characters to the doilies. Then apply double-sided foam tapes on the back of the doilies and adhere it to the patterned paper. Finally, punch holes on the each banner piece and string the ribbon through the punched holes. 

That's it! I hope you like the project! 

Altered Project - Accessory Box

Check out my latest altered project for Crafter's Companion! Created this using an old battery storage case and turned it into an accessory box. I sent this to CHA Show together with my few other cards. I enjoy transforming old items in my house into something new/different and use it again! I haven't been able to do any paper crafts recently due to my kids being sick and myself as well. It took about two weeks for all of us to feel completely well - yep, TWO WEEKS!

Anyway, lucky I managed to get this one done before the virus spread. :D

I hope you like the project and I will get another altered project done this week so I can share with you soon! Stay tuned...
Supplies:
- Sheena's A Little Bit Floral EZMount Stamp Set - Iris

- Sheena's A Little Bit Floral EZMount Stamp Set - Lily
- Spectrum Noir Markers (PL6, PL5, PL3, PL2, GB10, GB8, GB6, GB4, GB2, GB1, LG5, LG3)
- Edge'ables Fancy Borders - Floral Dance
- Die'sire Essentials Dies
 - Scalloped Rectangles
- Sponge Dauber 

Love You To The Moon & Back! Happy New Year!

Hello everyone! Happy New Year to you and welcome 2016! My new year's (or all time) resolution is to be grateful with what you have, do good, speak good and think good about things/people around you. Take action to do good, don't wait for good thing to come to you. I have been taught to be grateful since I was born (love my mom!), it's not one's duty to treat you kind. So if you received kindness, appreciate and repay them. 

What's your new year resolution?

I'm back today with a brand new layout I created for Crafter's Companion (well, actually it's my first layout for this DT! wow...I can't believe it myself, when was the last time I scrapbooked?!). 

This picture of my daughter was taken during a visit to a friend's house for early Christmas celebration party. Danny, her husband is an excellent photographer and I'm lucky to have all this pretty pictures to scrapbook with! Thank you, Danny! Next time when I need a professional photo I'll know where to go! lol~ 

I use mainly Crafter's Companion's products to create this layout, supplies are listed below.

Supplies:
- Crafter's Companion Shimmering Cardstock (Rose Pearl)
- Die'sire Essentials Dies - Scalloped Rectangles
- Die'sire Decorative Dies - Chantilly Lace Stamping Frame
- Bebunni Floral Metal Dies - Cottage Lace
- Die'sire Decorative Dies - Butterflies
- Die'sire Classiques 3D Flower - Delicate Flower
- Sentimentals EZMount Stamp Set - Love is all you need
- Kimono EZMount™ Stamp Set - Lotus Flower
- Spectrum Noir Markers (PP6, PP5, PP4, PP3, PP2, PP1, TB7, TB5, TB4, TB3, FS5, FS2, GB7, GB5, GB4, GB3, LG3, DR3, DR4)
- Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens (Moonlight, Harvest Moon)

Let me know what you think about this layout! Would love to hear from you. Thank you for taking time to visit my blog and I hope you have a fantastic day! <3 p="">