How Warm is you Christmas?

Christmas is coming..Christmas is coming..and so is.......the winter season in some parts of the World.
I read that the winter weather blasts Europe with its snow and bitter cold temperature.
Australia, which normally has a warm summer December, this year has been mocked by the strange weather that swaps the warm summer Christmas to cold winter Christmas. I hope the people have prepared themselves with some heat max hand warmers to cut the chill factor.
Winter and snow could be wonderful, or.....dreadful if not prepared.
Some fun and wonderful things I could relate with winter and snow are snowball throwing between friends *love this* :-D, making snowman, and skiing. I never make snowman yet and I regret that I didn't take the offer of a friend who invited me to join him skiing in his village in Trieste when I actually had the chance.

Here in my part of the world, winter never ever comes, and so no snow ever shows up during Christmas. We have a much warmer Christmas than people in the USA, Europe and with exception, Australia this year.
Still, Christmas in our country is usually marked by a cooler weather than the usual. This is because we have a lot of rain and strong wind during December. At home, old people like my parents whose feet get cold easily during night time, are usually looking for foot warmer.

However, regardless the cold weather that anyone may experience during this season, I know the spirit of Christmas will always keep us warm..........in heart :)

Meanwhile...here is another drawing that I make for my Christmas digi-stamp project :))

 

A cuter Mrs. Santa Claus!!...I will make a card with it later or tomorrow :)
Hope you all like her...ehmm...I mean...my drawing  :)

Here comes Mrs. Santa Clause...are you naughty or nice?

Here's another confession, and I hope it won't upset many people :))
I don't like Santa Claus.
He's stolen Christmas day from the Holy Baby, Jesus :))
But yes, it's easier to draw Santa Claus' image and to use the image on a card than to draw Jesus.
Still, cause I don't like the popularity of Santa Claus....
I decide to use Mrs. Santa Claus' image :-D
It's the first digi made from my Christmas project.
Ooh...but don't you think she's too young to be Mrs. Santa Claus? -you might think so.
Well, this is her look when she was young :-D

I enter her to these following challenges..
Challenge #45 Christmas Punches on TotallyPaperCrafts
Challenge #108 Christmas Cuties on OneStopCraftChallenge
Tip #12 Anything Goes Challenge on TopTipTuesday

Here's the recipe....
Stamps:
Digi stamp by Ouli
Snowflakes by HeroArts
Punch:
Doily lace Martha Stewart border punch
Die Cuts:
Decorative Flourishes set by Sizzix
Baby Face font set by Cuttlebug
Paper:
Patterned Paper by DCWV

Hope I won't offend Mr Santa Claus if he read this :))

The Smell of Christmas

What is the smell of Christmas to you?

I smell rain, cause we always likely to have shower from the skies :)
I smell cookies, cause we always prepare some jars full of cookies to keep our guests merry :-D
I smell plastic Christmas tree, cause since more than ten years ago we've stop using real tree.
I smell Joy, cause that is what Christmas all about....the Joy to the World :)  ...I hope people who are affected by the current natural disasters in my country - Wasior flood, Mentawai Tsunami and the eruption of Merapi Volcano - will find their Joy again soon too. Pray for them please.

But why does the card that I make depict a girl wearing winter cloth standing on a snow covered land? Well, because Joy is also there :-D.

The card uses stamps set of Asian Frames CL275 and of Three Christmas Dolls LP156 from Hero Arts, Baby Face Die Cuts from CuttleBug, Essentials #9 Prima Marketing, Doily Paper from Royal Lace, washi paper, and a thick paper. Colours are with copic markers and Bright Blending Chalks from Inkandikado.

Anyway, I enter this card for these following challenges:
Anything Goes of Dottie's World
Holiday Die Cuts of Caardvarks
Christmas Tradition of Sir Stampalot Challenge

So, what is the smell of Christmas to you?

I Won A Name Challenge

My first post in Novembre is a good news, cause last late October I finally won something from ❤craft world❤ :))

DaisyDoodlesStamps was looking for the right name for its new set of stamps. The set looks adorable, and so I joined the challenge.

I named it TravelBugs, I thought it sounds cute and would fit the cuteness of the doodles in the set.
And I won!! :))
I received the set as soon as I sent my email to Jules.

Here's my creation using one of the Travel Bugs, I use the airplane as my first creation with the set.
The printer in use almost ran out of ink, hence I had to trace the outline with pen, that's why the line is a bit messy, sorry Jules.

Recipe:
Travel Bugs Digi Stamps: DaisyDoodlesStamps
Sentiment Stamps: CL387 Hero Arts
Die cut: Architecture by Sizzix
Cardstock: Velentine by K&Co
Colours: Copic markers, Blending Chalk Inkadinkado, & Martha Stewart 'tear' Inkpad.

Anything Goes

Kinda starting to enjoy my card making experience :) and yesterday I found a challenge with no specific requirement........anything goes! So I think it's perfect for me since I'm not yet used with sketch or anything 'technical' in card making :)  ..yes....been less or more than a year and I still feel that I'm at beginner level :-D

I now own some set of stamps, and I'd been wanting to make something with this set of clear stamps from HeroArts particularly, but like most of  my other set of stamps, this set had just lied in the box since the day I bought it, almost a year ago :)

I also use my favourite punch from Martha Stewart, it's the embossed button punch. I like it, because with it I can make buttons with various patterns or colours, including using any stamps to make pattern on button. Here I use the tree stamp from Hello Tree set.
For information, I don't use thread for the button but I use paper, I got the idea from Cardcreationsbylorraine youtube video.

Hope everyone like my entry for the Anything Goes Challenge held by Top Tip Tuesday :)

Supply:
HeroArts CL315
Embossed Button Punch Martha Stewart
Fancy Pants paper
Copic Markers, Karisma Berol Coloured Pencils
Scrap tulle ribbon
Metal embellishment

Double Happiness Card

Once again Charmed Cards & Crafts is giving away a set of 72 Copic Markers as its blog candy!!
I never win any blog candy so far, and I can't wait to win my first one :-D
If I can win this, it will be wonderful, because I only have 11 copic markers so far, and that's including the blender.

I make this following card as a requirement for participating CharmedCraft's blog candy.
The good thing is the winner will be picked randomly by Mr. Linky's widget.....crossing my fingers now, and  to anyone who come across this posting, wish me good luck please ;-)

The Chinese writing means Double Happiness, and I dedicate this card to Leet and Ed who are part of my special ones ;) Wishing you guys a double happiness forever.

Card recipe:
All stamps are from Hero Arts
Coloured with Copic Markers, AtYou Spica pens, and Gold Poster Color by Sakura
Papers in use including Japanese Washi Papers for lining and for clothes
Corners die Cuts by Sizzix
Punch (for lantern) is Double Loops Corner punch from Martha Stewart
Embellishment

Bear with Me

Bear with me cause I've been slacking off here :)
Bear is with me, cause for the first time I'm joining Caardvarks challenge, and I'm using clear stamp of the cute little bear with little bird that was sent by a kind new friend in England.

This is the first time I really use this little bear for a card project. I can say it makes a cute card, right? ;-)

Oh, forgot to mention, that the challenge is to make a monochromatic card.
I hope my card is monochromatic enough :-D
I use some shades of purple.
Why purple? Cause I found out I have some spares of purple and purple-like papers, and because the little bear wears a crown, and purple is majestic.

Here's what I use for this card:
- Forever Friends clear stamps, Hallmark Cards PLC
- Violet flowery paper from DCWV
- Light purple paper is unknown  brand
- Textured purple paper is unknown brand
- Blank cardstock
- Coloured with Berol Karisma coloured pencils
- Sparkled with Glitter glue
- Button punch from Martha Stewart
- Floral vine punch from Martha Stewart

Whatever you think, bear with me, I'll improve my card-making skills :-D

Un biglietto per mia mamma

I made this card as a requirement for Fika's "MINI JUICY CONTEST". The contest theme is about making a card or a scrapbook for someone very special and with some bit story why the person is special.
By default parents are normally always special someones to their children, my Dad is also a special someone for me, but my Mom needs some encouragement because she really had some troubling moments since October last year that made her have to be in and out some hospitals, and from January til early May she almost spent the whole months lay in the hospital bed.

Glad that she made it through, but during that period of time I came to realise how much I missed her and how much it stressed me to see her in that painful situation. Painful as literally being cut without anaesthetic, this was because Mom is very sensitive to anaesthetic agent. Previously in January, she almost lost her life after her bad-toe amputation operation, the operation went well, but after she was back in her room for just about 30 minutes, she started to pant and gasp like she could no longer have power to inhale. She even told us that she couldn't make it anymore, there was only me, my auntie -my Mom's elder sister and my uncle-my Mom's younger brother in the room, all the other have gone home. My auntie and uncle then tried to calm her  and to keep her conscious while I nervously ran for help since the bell wouldn't get the nurses' attention as fast as we want and because the nurse station was just in front of my Mom's room. So in that one day she came out from the operation and landed at the ICU. It was because of that later when she needed another surgery for her sole of foot in March, the doctor that operated her seemed reluctant to do it, it seemed that Mom would be in big risk for that 'small' operation because of Mom's susceptibility to anaesthetic. The chief doctor of the team who's also my Mom's Internist Endocrinologist then took over the operation procedure by himself but without anaesthetic. I don't want to tell the horror here cause it's not nice at all, but just imagine the pain  every time some muscles being cut.

I'm just happy Jesus gave Mom strength  and power during that time, and that her healing process goes so well. I thank also to my friends who prayed for her health, especially to Michele who lit a candle at Church for her cure. I'm happy with this contest too.

My 1st Card Making Experience

Finally, my first card creation :-) and it's all because of copic markers! I've never tried one, but I've seen the results are amazing. One of my contacts who have some beautiful card creations told me that copics really give great result even though she told me that she's actually not good at colouring. Probably she's just playing humble, but I would be happy if it were true, since I don't have a good colouring technique at all, so I really need copic!! :))

Too bad it's very expensive. I think 72 colours cost almost US$500 here in my country, that's why I'm very happy to find Blog Candy from CharmedCrafts. However, the participant must do other thing than just link the blog candy badge. All participants must present one of their card creations, and I have never made even one card!! :-\

Anyway I'm trying it, and am glad that an inspiration for my first card came in smoothly :))
Thanks also to some card-makers who include step-by-step card-making instructions of of their creations on their blogs, they really help me to start.
I don't know if my card is eligible, because it's not a stamped one nor it's used downloaded image. I create the images by myself, with the persons' images inspired by some illustrations from my Dad's old English lesson book, eheh..I've loved those big nosed cartoon characters there since the first time I lied my eyes :-P.


Back to my card making process, after I created the sketch, I scanned it, made some correction and beautified it with Photoshop programme. Some parts of the images, I coloured them in photoshop.
All the images then were glued to the card, more or less resembling what I've designed on the sketch. Green coloured light cardboard is for the card base. Image backgrounds and frames use two double-sided Korean origami papers. Fancy ribbon is used to highlight and contras the images from the paper. I punched the leftovers of the cardboard and origami papers to make flowers embellishment. Glued some bling bling here and there.


I'm so absorbed with the front side of the card and almost forgot that I hadn't done the inside. Kinda had a bit problem finding the right material that I would use as the cable connection. I was very happy when I found a nice narrow lace ribbon from Scrapking, to me it looks like a cable that would be used in fairyland :-)))


At first I would like to draw a world globe, but the it would make the design too noisy so a simple but powerful one word would do the magic. I then wrote the word love with the lace, and, probably because this is my first time experience, I always felt something-must-be-added. I continued by making a sketch of a bird with the thought that probably the bird could add some cuteness there ;-P. After the bird, suddenly I called up a story about a bird who likes to steal jewelery and thought it would be nice to see a bird brings something with its beak.

Finally, this is the inside..........