Wonderful Washi Tape

If you have a passion for paper-crafting you have probably heard about the latest craze - washi tape!  And perhaps it's already part of your crafting "stash."  I purchased some of this wonderful tape back in December, and added a few additional rolls to my collection since then, but until now, I haven't used it! Like many paper-crafters, I tend to hoard my supplies.  But really, now, what is the fun in doing that?!  My paper-crafting goodies are just too cute and should be shared with everyone!  Not only is it fun to brighten someone's day with a handmade card, but when I use up my supplies, it means I have more room for new supplies.  A win-win all around.

After seeing some fabulous projects created with washi tape during recent visits to some of my favorite paper-crafting blog, I decided that it was indeed time to dive into my own stash and create something.

I decided to play along with the Tape Color Trends Challenge posted recently on the Embellish Magazine blog.  This photo above served as inspiration for my card design.  I don't think I could come up with a better color palette for spring!

Perhaps because it is spring, I find myself reaching for my flower stamps and dies, which is what I used for the focal point on this card.  I love using my dies to create felt flowers and paper leaves, which is a nice texture combination.  And of course,  adding some "bling" to the center of flower is an absolute must!  I rounded out the overall design by adding three strips of washi tape and a sentiment. Wouldn't this make a wonderful Mother's Day card, or perhaps a "just because" card for someone?  Just by changing out the sentiment, it can be customized for any occasion.  Heck, you could even create a set of cards as a gift for someone and include different color flowers and a variety of sentiments.  

I definitely foresee including washi tape on future cards and other paper-crafting projects.  I guess that means I better allot some storage space in my studio since I'll be adding more of it to my collection!

By the way, in addition to it being Cinco de Mayo, tomorrow is also National Scrapbooking Day (always the first Saturday in May).  I think that might call for a frosty margarita while I "scrap" the day away!  How will you celebrate?

I came across the following quote which ties in perfectly with the sentiment that I included on my card:

"It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones."
-Jean Webster

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop - March 25, 2012

It's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop time again and this gives me the perfect opportunity to post a blog entry today, and hopefully continue to do so on a regular basis. It's been quite awhile since my last post and a lot has happened, but I'll save that story for another time. Onto the inspirational photo for today's Blog Hop.



This is what Nichole Heady of Papertrey Ink had to say about the photo:
For the month of March we wanted to focus on sunshine and the upcoming spring season. What better way to do so than with a fresh color scheme of aqua & yellow. Use the inspiration piece as a jumping point for your color scheme, pattern combinations, overall design or whatever else inspires your creativity.

I immediately liked the color combination when I saw the photo, particularly because I don't think it is a combination that I would have thought of on my own. Because pink is my favorite color, it tends to be the main color in many of my card designs, especially in the spring and summer. However, I like to think outside the box so I searched my stash of crafting goodies to see what I could come up with and here is the result:



This is a list of supplies that I used to create the card. All supplies are from Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted. Stamps (Rosie Posie; sentiment is from Ordinary Days by Ali Edwards - Technique Tuesday); Ribbon (Aqua Mist Satin Ribbon - 1/2 inch); Inks (Memento Dew Drop by Tsukineko - Cottage Ivy; Bamboo Leaves; Dandelion); Dies (Rosie Posie); Cardstock (White - Papertrey Ink; Daffodil Delight - Stampin' Up!); Punch (Ticket Corner - Stampin' Up!)

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today, whether you are stopping by as part of the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop or you currently follow my blog. I am happy to have you here.

Wishing you a wonderful day and I hope that the week ahead is good one for you!

"Joy is a flower that blooms when you do."
-Unknown

Happy New Year - 2012!

Although it's almost the end of January, since this is my first blog post for 2012 I can still say "Happy New Year!" I hope that the first month of 2012 has been going well for you.


Lobby at Hotel Monaco - Portland, Oregon

As I promised in my last post, I am following up with details about my holiday travels. I enjoyed spending Christmas in Portland, Oregon with my parents. I arrived in Portland on Christmas Eve and met up with my parents on Christmas Day. Although we didn't do a lot of major sightseeing during our stay, we did visit some wonderful parts of downtown Portland including the Pearl District and the Alphabet District (also known as Northwest). It's amazing how "walkable" Portland is, not to mention the fact that the dining and shopping opportunities are outstanding. I could certainly spend a lot of time in Portland - it's a great city and I am happy that I was able to spend part of my vacation there and visit with my parents. Another highlight of the trip was a visit to the Nike Employee Store in Beaverton. I don't think I have seen so much Nike apparel in one place before! Needless to say, I ended up with some nice items including shoes and hoodies. Sending a big thank you to my dad for making arrangements to visit the store during my visit. I am only including a few photos from my trip in this blog post, but feel free to view the entire photo album on my SmugMug site.


Christmas Dinner at Portland Prime


My Dinner Entree


The Nike Employee Store in Beaverton, Oregon

January has certainly been a busy month for me. In an effort to gain additional experience in the fields of graphic design and photography, I am taking a Photoshop class at Skyline College in San Bruno. I am discovering that Photoshop is fun and interesting, yet challenging too. I am also learning how to crochet. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you already know that I enjoy knitting. When I learned how to knit several years ago, I also learned the basics of crochet, but for some reason I ended up focusing on knitting. I've decided to give crochet a go, and so far I am really enjoying it. Of course I don't plan to give up knitting, but it will be nice to know how to do both, especially since I have come across some wonderful patterns for crochet.



Being the avid sports fan that I am, it's been a great month! The Patriots made it to the playoffs and they are going to the Super Bowl. I am excited! I am looking forward to watching the game on Sunday, February 5, and you can bet that I'll be wearing all of my Patriots gear. Go Pats!



One other project that I am working on for this year is taking one photo each day for the entire year. I'm uploading my photos to Shuttercal so that I can easily track my progress. The nice thing about Shuttercal is that it allows you to upload photos even after the date has passed. I take a photo each day and then I usually upload a week's worth of photos over the weekend. And it's no surprise that Shuttercal has an app for the iPhone so you can snap a photo and upload it on the go. How easy is that?!

As always, I'll wrap up with a quote. This quote in particular seems very appropriate for this time of the year when many people have made resolutions to change certain things in their life.

"If you always do what you always did - you'll always get what you always got!"
-Unknown