be yourself...

first off... thanks so much everyone for all your help yesterday! really surprise to see how many of you signed up... thank you thank you thank you!!! and lets keep our fingers cross.

and now for one lucky person... here's a little something from me (everything is new and unopened)...

and the random generator says ...

congrats ANN!!! please send me you address details.



and now... for some scrappy inspirations... although I'm not over the dear lizzy collection and also loving the vintage contrast against the bright and fun colors. Here's this month assignment from MWL - working with fabric, canvas and sewing/stitching. I'm still stitching here as I haven't figured out how to use the sewing machine yet, but at least it's out of the box and now sitting on my table, right?.



and don't you just love what you can do with a bit of fabric... also used the latest tim holtz sizzix die for the keyhole there with a bit of distress embossing powder...



one of the things I like most about working with fabric or canvas, is the little details... on the edges of the canvas I pulled out some strands and vola... you have that cute fray look... I also misted, painted and added some distress stickles to the canvas ...



and on the sides here... I actually cut rectangle pieces of the fabric (fabric paper from dear lizzy collection - removed the adhesive thou) and glued each piece behind the border strip. I know it's a lot of work, but really like the effect especially since it's fabric...


supplies used include:
cardstock: american crafts; pattern paper: american crafts (dear lizzy collection); canvas: prima, paint: making memories (white); mist: maya road (sunflower); stickles: distress stickles (vintage photo); fabric paper: american crafts; brads: american crafts; die: sizzix tim holtz; embossing powder: tim holtz distress powder (vintage photo); alphabet stickers: basic grey; pins: maya road; flowers: prima

as I was making this layout... I kept thinking back to some conversations that I had been having lately with various people about scrapbooking and what my style is. the funny thing is that I don't know what my style is... I just enjoy working with the papers and as each brand is different, I just adapt to the papers and the style of brand... does that kinda make sense? it's just funny sometimes when people saying ... why don't you scrap like what you used too... well to be honest, I don't know what I used to scrap like... I just know what I currently enjoy doing... and hope that some of it might be inspiring for you. :)

thanks again for stopping by and hoped everyone had a great weekend!!!

Need your help...

was wondering if anyone would be interested in winning some studio calico kits (if you're not fimilar with their kits - it's definitley something you don't want to miss and super duper yummy - not from me but from studio calico themselves)... well, they are having a giveaway to one of their members and the member's friend.

In short, if you are NEW to the studio calico forum (don't currently have a user there) and wouldn't mind doing me a BIG favor (before this sunday night)... could you hope on over to the studio calico website (here)

1. sign up/register as a new user (here)
2. please also leave a comment on this thread (here) saying hi and that I (piradee) had sent you there (then both of us might be lucky to winning some kits)
3. please also leave a comment on this post letting me know once you're done... as I will be giving one lucky person a small RAK as a thank you for your help

Thanks guys for your help, what can I say, the little things that we do sometimes :)

MWL Lift Me Challenge #5

Happy Scrapbook Day!!!

Just quick a note to let you know that I just posted the latest "Lift Me" Challenge on the MWL forum... (running till May 15th). This time around, the challenge is to include fabric (this can be fabric, fabric paper, canvas, fabric flowers... anything that has fabric) and some stitching or sewing. Also a small twist... is that you need to include at least one handmade flower... and I know everyone has been experimenting with these lately :) Stop by the MWL forum for more details on the challenge.

And here's my take on the challenge... and also experimenting with mixing papers. At the moment, I'm just loving the mix of the vintage browns against the bright colors of the dear lizzy collections (or any other colorful collections)... what do you think?



and here's a close up on my handmade flower using the dear lizzy fabric papers...



and still can't get enough of these doily rub-ons from hambly (yeap, super crazy about these that I recently bought 4 packs of them... lol)...



and just love the contrast between the alpha stickers and their negatives and also it's a great way to subsitute for missing letters...


supplies used include:
cardstock: american crafts; pattern paper: basic grey and american crafts; fabric paper: american crafts; stickers: basic grey; mist: maya road; punch: martha stewart; alpha stickers: studio calico; brad: american crafts; flowers: prima; rub-ons: hambly and american crafts; envelop: maya road.

and can't wait to see you take on the challenge, remember you have till May 15th to upload your layout to the gallery and there's a small RAK for one lucky person too. thanks for stopping by.

hellllooooo sunshine...

here's another layout that I did using the Hello Sunshine collection from Lily Bee... I just can't get enough of the fun and bright colors in this collection... and this time around, I paired it was a black and white photo.



and using another stamp from Stamping Bella for the type writter and also the saying on the page there...



and the super yummy rub-ons from the collection... I really love all the saying on these rub-ons and they're so versatile... and make the perfect titles too


supplies used include:
cardstock: american crafts; pattern paper: lily bee (hello sunshine); mist: maya road (sunflower); chipboard element: american crafts; stamp: stamping bella (type writter) and technique tuesday (everyday stamp); rub-on: lily bee (hello sunshine)

thanks again for stopping and all the wonderfull comments.

sneaks from Magpie Club May Kit

this definitely is another kit from magpie club that you don't want to miss... there's yummy goodies from studio calico, american crafts, lily bee, prima and much much more! and just in case you haven't had a chance to grab the april kits, the credit crunch kit is still available with just as yummy goodies as the main kit.

and just to give you a few more reasons for getting the May main kit...









thanks for stopping by!!!

a bit of sunshine...

I'm back... I'm back... after a fun weekend in KL, Malaysia with an awesome group of ladies. Thank you Thank you ladies... I had a really great weekend teaching the classes and scrapping a bit with you all and a big thanks to Sharon & Scrappingville for having me there!

and now... for some yummy yummy Lily Bee... you should have seen me when I got my box of goodies... just like christmas.



I just love the colors in the hello sunshine collection, the bright and bold with a vintage touch. Love it!



and isn't that flower gorgeous... the perfect touch of texture...



yeap, still not over the banner craze... although this time around I added these cute white brads from american crafts...



oh yeah! this is what I look forward to every morning... especially since I started working again... (already missing my time off).
supplies used include:
cardstock: american crafts, pattern papers: lily bee - sunshine collection, flower: lily bee, mist: maya road (sunshine and brown), brads: american crafts, alphas: american crafts (apartment thickers)

Thanks again for stopping by and have tons more to share... more lily bees, some magpie club may kit sneaks and stamping bella goodies.

Also a big big thanks to everyone for adding this layout to your favorites on Studio Calico... can't believe my layout made the "layout of the week". THANK YOU!!

giving teaching a try...

well just had my last class for the mini album at MWL today and wanted to thank everyone for coming and hoped you guys enjoyed the class and had fun working with all the yummy vintage goodies (iIknow I did). and as for me... well, 3 more classes to go... one at MWL for the american crafts layouts and two more over the weekend at Scrappingville in KL.

Days of Our Lives @MWL on Sunday 25th (here's a peak at one of four layouts/2 calendars)


My Gypsy Journey @ Scrappingville


The Vintage Mailbox @ Scrappingville


i really wanted to give this a try and am so thankful that I had the chance... it has definitely been an experience, a super fun one and also a wonderful opportunity to finally get a chance to meet everyone. I was really lucky that for the past 2.5 months... I had the time to do all these, but going forward, I'm not really sure as working is starting up again and looks as thou there might be few late nights here and there and also a few trip to europe again. I guess we can only see... but thanks everyone for your support!

getting my SC kit out...

it's been a while since I got a chance to work with all the yummy goodies in the SC kit (I have just been hoarding them, what can I say - it's just tooo yummy to use). these are from the march kit... a little something to reflect that last month... i'm a year older and yes, I'm that old...lol



I had finished this a few days ago already, but felt as thou there was something missing... was thinking about adding a small banner to the top right corner, but then - would that be too much... and then do I need more journaling... and the list goes on. So.. didn't do anything, but do let me know what you think.



I think this is the first time that I used chipboards as-is, no misting, no ink .. nada. and it looks pretty cool (i think) especially layered against a misted one.


supplies used include:
studio calico (march kit): cardstock: american crafts, pattern paper: studio calico, american crafts, sassafras, ribbon: may arts, chipboard: maya road, american crafts, mist: maya road

thanks for looking & I think... I'm probably gonna add a bit more to this layout :)

AC blog assignment...

hi everyone,

just wanted to share that my AC assignment for this month is up on the American Crafts Blog and I think I have found another tradition to follow in the coming months (in addition to the calendars)... lol



Please do check out the American Crafts Blog for the full project details...

I really like these page protectors from AC, normally I use the 12x12 for the albums to store all pages and although I know that these are suppose to be used for the 4x6 photos. I just couldn't help making these 4x6 ATC cards with all the scraps that I had laying around my table. And it's also a great way to capture all the events that had happened in the month - each card is for a certain event or activity that happened.

ps. have you tried using the fabric papers from the Dear Lizzy collection... they're really great to work with and the adhesive is super duper strong. The little flower there didn't need any additional glue to hold it together.

Thanks for stopping by :)

something a little different...

although I usually scrap layouts, every now and then I like to experiment with cards. just the other day, I went crazy and bought a few stamp sets - mostly ones with "happy birthday" and "thank you". lately I have been creating a few of those cards, as they are really handy and hopefully the people receving them would like the handmade touch.

and here's a card I recently finished with a little vintage look (included a wax seal also)... experimenting with distress ink (distress ink and water for the background) and using the new tim holtz sizzix die (and trying out the distress embossing powders, wow... these are really different from the american craft ones).


supplies used include:
cardstock: bazzill basic; sizzix die: tim holtz; ink: distress ink - vintage photo; embossing powder: tim holtz - vintage photo; rub-ons: hambly - gold; pin: maya road; brads: american crafts; alpha stickers: making memories

thanks for stopping and all the wonderful comments... just love reading them :)

and a little mini album

for this month assignment for MWL - we got to work with clear mini albums and I have to admit, this is my first time making one of these.... so wasn't really sure, but figured if I kept it clear... it should be ok?



also we got these wonderful hambly transparencies to play with (love the turquoise color) and of course, adding in abit of those hambly dollie rub-ons (I'm so so addicted to these!)



and as you can probably tell, I'm not over my yellow addiction just yet... and putting these left over pictures from my previous project to some good use...



also tried abit of stamping (using stazon ink)... and playing with some of the new tim holtz dies (yay!)
supplies used:
cardstock: american crafts, mist: maya road (sunflower), sizzix dies: tim holtz, rub-ons: hambly (dollies) and october afternoon (words), transparency: hambly, ornament plate: tim holtz, flower: prima, paint: making memories (white), stamp: purple onion (script), other: yellow twine

thanks for stopping by!

a little bit of love...

i know... it has been a bit quite here this week, I've busy cleaning up my place, especially re-organizing my scrapping area (finally bought a clip up and it's already packed full with goodies and for some I had no idea I even had it). I definitely agree with the saying... that if you don't see it, you won't use it. Also been busy working on some projects... unfortunately I can't share those now, but hopefully soon... (so excited!)

also a BIG THANK YOU to everyone and all the comments from the American Crafts Blog Hop! Hoped you had fun, cause I sure did. I really enjoyed visiting all the blogs and the inspirations - wow!

and here's something I quickly put together... still experimenting with the 8.5" x 11" layouts and putting these gorgeous pattern papers from "The Girls' Paperie" to good use... i think.



and still in the banner craze... I just can't get enough to them...



and another addiction... these hambly dollie rub-ons...



and using the new technique tuesday stamps that I got... a definitely must have for me... and finally got out my glossy accents...


supplies used include:
cardstock: american crafts, pattern paper: the girls paperie, rub-ons: hambly, mist: maya road (brown), twine: shabby green door, button: jenni bowlin, chipboard letters: maya road, frame: american crafts, butterfly: maya road

Thanks again for stopping by and all the wonderful comments, they truly mean alot!

ps. just in case you are interested... added a few more goodies to the "goodies for sale" list **wink**

American Crafts Blog Hop!!!

hi everyone and welcome to the first American Crafts Blog Hop of the year - featuring the ever so yummy Abode collection!

first off... my monthly tradition of calendars...





and a sneak into my scrapping space... which is truly a sanctuary for me, especially after the long hours at work... and if you notice on the layout I had purposely packed the shelves full of goodies to reflect the over flowing stash that I have (the normal pattern has more empty shelves).



and one last project... something I've been meaning to do for awhile now for a dear friend who recently got their own place... (ooops forgot to add the pins)




(supplies used inc lude:
cardstock - white, pattern paper - abode collection, thickers - apartment and tenant phrases, chipboard embellishments - abode collection, felt embellishments - abode collection, puffy embellishments - abode collection)

and for even more inspirations... hop on over to the other design team member's blogs and get ready to be amazed by their wonderful creations...

Kim Arnold
Moon Ko
Kathy Thompson
Katrina Simeck
melanie louette
Loredana Bucaria
Martha Bonneau
Nichole Duenke
Shannon Zickel
Beth Proudfoot
Paige Evans
Wendy Sue Anderson
Doris Sander
Mary Jo Johnston
Elizabeth Carney
Dusti Nakamura
Kim Watson
Holly Hanks
Danielle Layton
Kelly Purkey
Amy Tan

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully we have inspired you to get out your stash of abode!