Taylored Expression Cupcake Challenge #39 and BRAKs

I've been debating what image to you use when I saw Taylor's Cupcake Challenge couple of days ago. And you just wanted to use any cupcake image when you see or hear Taylor's name...LOL! I had my cupcakes stamped and colored already when I started this card this morning but thought why not use these cute critters for this sketch challenge!?

Having a Ball and Santa's Little Helper is from House-Mouse Design. Maxwell and Mudpie are stamped on Whisper White card stock and layered with black card stock using SU circle punch and layered with coordinating colors as the panels with Stampin' Up scallop punch. The patterned paper is from Stampin' Up Cutie Pie DSP. Their Santa's hat are covered with liquid applique and crystal stickles and the Christmas ball are covered with crystal effects.

Stamps: Having a Ball and Santa's Little Helper is from House-Mouse Design

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Certain Celery, Ruby Red, So Saffron card stock and Cutie Pie DSP from Stampin' Up

Ink: StāzOn Jet Black and SU re-inkers

Accessories: Cuttle Bug, Swiss Dot CB embossing folder, Liquid Applique, Crystal Stickles, Crystal Effects, Circle Template, SU scallop Punch, Stamping Dimensional, Certain Celery, Rose Red and Bashful Blue gross grain ribbon

And on to my Birthday Cards and gifts from my wonderful blogger friends :)

This is from Enjoli of Stamping Under the Sun.

She made these ensemble, all for me and there's no way I'll be using any of these, they're staying on that plastic forever...LOL!

Thank you so much Enjoli!

And this is from Amy of Tsuruta Designs. [sue-roo-ta]
And she posted this card on her blog, I secretly hoping it was for me and this card with the matching crown key chain was waiting for me the same day she posted it. This was engrave inside..."Never underestimate the power of a Princess"

Thank you, Amy!

This is from Lee of My Reality...It's all Good!
Her zebra is colored beautifully and the card is just gorgeous and the brads are just adorable.

She included an acrylic stamp set and some gorgeous patterned papers.

Thank you, Lee!

This is from Leesa Berry.

I don't have a blog for her but she sent me this card from SCS BRAK. Isn't this owl so cute? The patterned paper that she use is so pretty IRL.

Thank you, Leesa!

This adorable card is from Holly of Hog Wild About Stamping.

I actually rec'd this card the same day as my birthday and what a nice surprise coming home on your birthday not only receiving bunch of birthday coupons, but a beautiful card from a friend.

Thanks, Holly!

And this is from Sankari of Sunny Sankari.
I was awed when she posted this card on her blog couple of weeks ago, and when I opened her package to see this card, I was smiling from ear to ear, the details on her cards are just amazing. She even sent a Halloween package for my daughter, Toni (btw, the gummi bears are all gone!). And, can you see the beautifully wrapped gift, it's a clear stamps from Martha Stewart. I didn't even want to open it because it's wrapped so pretty with a huge gross grain ribbon..LOL!
Thank you so much, Sankari!

Dream Come True

Here's my card for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I have several....okay tons of stamp that would be perfect for this sketch but I haven't been playing with my House-Mouse stamps and I know for sure that Amanda and Mudpie would like to play along.

Aren't they adorable? Image is from House-Mouse Design called Playing Dress Up. I don't have any wedding cards and not that I needed it but it would be nice to add to my collection just in case the occasion comes along. You can't tell on the picture but Amanda's wedding dress is all sparkly, it's water colored using Pearlescent watercolor.

The base of the card is a Whisper White card stock measured 7" x 8 1/2" folded in half. The background was run through Cuttlebug with Textile embossing folder. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up Cute Converse set and was stamped on Whisper White card stock and layered it with Real Red and Basic Black card stock and finished the card with red velvet ribbon.

Stamps: Playing Dress Up by House-Mouse Design and sentiment from Cute Converse set by Stampin' Up

Paper: Whisper White and Basic Black card stock from Stampin' Up

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pearlescent watercolor and Stampin' Up re-inkers

Accessories: 1 1/4, 1 1/2 circle punch, Scallop punch, Red Velvet Ribbon, Cuttlebug, Textile CB embossing folder

Have a MICE day!

Are you having a MICE day? I hope so. I was home alone yesterday and friends were asking what will I do this weekend and I tell them that I'll be celebrating World Card Making Day ... they just had this puzzled look on their face, so I had to explain it to them...LOL!

Tomorrow will be another House Mouse Monday Challenge and I thought I would do this weeks challenge first and this weeks challenge is to make TAGS. Nicole had posted these Knock, Knock Joke Book and I thought this would be perfect for my daughter Toni. She loves to read jokes to her friends and I thought this would be a nice to put on her lunch box to share it with her friends.

I got the mouse jokes from this website. I printed the jokes on a 8 1/2" by 11" white card stock, punched different size of circle punch to create a cheese background just like what Monica's holding. I hand wrote the sentiment and I think Toni will get a kick out of this one.

Here's the sample of one of the jokes.

Stamps: Monica's Gift by House-Mouse Design

Paper: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock from Stampin' Up

Ink: Jet Black Staz-on Ink and SU re-inkers

Accessories: 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 circle punch, Certain Celery gross grain ribbon and corner rounder punch

3 cards

It's my weekend to be alone... again!

I usually look forward for my alone time. Oh! don't get me wrong I love being with my daughter but working 5 days/40 hours a week and tons of things to do when you get home, being alone on a weekend to do anything (or nothing at all) by myself is something I look forward too. And, when her dad pick her up last night, I browse through blogs and find some sketches/challenges to do. These are the cards I made last night.

I'm still playing with Taylor's stamps and how could you not use these cute cupcake for her own Cupcake Challenge?!

This time I used my Sweet Celebration set matching with Key Ingredients Birthday Boy package. And it's been awhile since the last time I made shaker cards and thought that the sketch is just perfect for this technique. I was going to put real sprinkles inside but I don't have the right color so I used my 1/8" punch to match the card.

Stamp: Sweet Celebration from Taylored Expression

Paper: Birthday Boy set from Taylored Expression

Ink: Black Staz-on Ink and SU re-inkers

Accessories: Marvy Scallop Oval Punch and Marvy Oval Punch, acetate sheet, 1/4 punch for confetti and stamping dimensional

Here's my card for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. Main image is from Stampin' Up Frosty set, colored it with SU re-inkers, I thought it was too plain when I was assembling the card and I remember a technique that Charmaine of Oodabug Alley posted on SCS. I used the Dryer Sheet Technique to cover the main image, I really like how it looks but it's a shame that you can't see that my snowman are dressed on Pink Pirouette and Wild Wasabi.

Stamp: Frosty from Stampin' Up

Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red and Wild Wasabi from Stampin' Up

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black and SU re-inkers

Accessories: Dryer sheet, Dazzling Diamonds, Cuttlebug, Snowflake CB folder, Pretty in Pink gross grain ribbon and stamping dimensional

And last but not the least. It's last week's sketch by Jen at I {heart} 2 Stamp. This is one of the first House Mouse stamp that I ever bought and can you believe that this has never been inked before?!

I was trying to create a sky background by using my cloud template with Stampin' Pastels but you can barely see in the picture, I guess I should have used a classic ink but I want a more softer look.... oh well, maybe next time. And make sure to visit Jen's blog today, she has a Bella-riffic Sketch For You To Try.

TTFN! Off to create more cards, I have 27 more hours of my alone time.

Stamp: Butterfly Express by House Mouse Design and sentiment from Stampin' Up

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Bashful blue and Lovely Lilac from Stampin' Up

Ink: Black Staz-on Ink and SU re-inkers

Accessories: Marvy Scallop Oval Punch and Marvy Oval Punch, Crystal Stickles, Cuttlebug, Flower DB folder and stamping dimensional

Mouse on a Budget!

This week's House Mouse Challenge is "On A Budget", to make anything that would cost less than $2.00, not counting the stamps and inks. I didn't even own this cute stamp! Carolyn Bounds of P.M.S. etc was nice to send me some House Mouse images... thanks Carolyn! So, for the next House Mouse Challenges, I'll be using the images that she sent me. Make sure to visit her blog, she's one of the House Mouse Challenge Design Team and you'll sure love her and all her creations.

Can you tell that my mice are on a budget? They can't even afford a Halloween Costume, so Mom made this costume for them but Mom was color blind, so they ended up with White, Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red, but they are actually pretty happy with it.

And, not only I was able to make a card for less than $2.00, I was able to make a little something to match my card for my daughter. When I was shopping for school clothes for her a couple of weeks ago before school started, she wanted to stop at Jelly Belly store and they have this candy corn on sale for .25 cents for a 9 ounce bag. I was debating if I should get it because they're not the typical Halloween candy corns and I wouldn't be able to use them for Halloween but it's PERFECT for this challenge! (just glad that I didn't gobble them up when I first got them).

And now, the fun part of the challenge... you have to work out the cost for everything you used.

Stamps: Sweet Find by House Mouse Design ~ Excluded

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, SU re-inkers ~ Excluded

Paper: They're $4.50/24 = .18/sheet (Chocolate Chip = .09 cents, Whisper White = .09 cents, Pink Pierouette = .04 cents and Riding Hood Red = .04 cents)

Accessories: Chocolate Chip gross grain ribbon ($1.99 / 18 feet = .11 cents/feet), Pink brads ($1.99/50 = $.03 x 2 = .06 cents), plastic bag ($2.99/50 = .02 cents), Fruit punch stickles ($1.99/bottle = .05 cents) and Candy Corn for .25 cents.

Card Total = .09 + .09 + .04 + .04 + .11 + .06 + .02 + .05 + .25 = .75 cents

My time figuring this out..... $20.00!

Sharing this card with you... PRICELESS!

Trick-or-Cheese!

I struggled with last week's House Mouse weekly challenge, which is "Lace it Up" (to use lace on any project that you created), I had so many ideas but just cannot make something that I envisioned. This card was supposed to be for last week's challenge, and again, after struggling, I just gave up and waited for this week's challenge.

And this week's challenge is a Sketch Challenge...phew! I'm pretty happy with the card except for the 3 purple party sprinkles on the right. I wanted it to be candy corns and I was pretty sure I had candy corn brads that I bought last year (Halloween after-sale) but you know how it goes, you see something on-sale and think that it's a great deal and it'll be perfect for a card next year, you'll place it somewhere that you know you'll remember the following year where you put it but when you need it... it's nowhere to be found!


This is Monika and yes, she knows that it's only September but she just wanted to make sure that this costume fits her. The background was supposed to be a patterned paper but I thought it would be better with a big block of cheese with a pumpkin just like her costume. I used my 1/4 circle hand-held punch, 1/2 and 3/4 circle punch to create the cheese on Barely Banana card stock. The pumpkin is a template that I found on the Internet, printed on Pumpkin Pie card stock cut and scored.

Stamps: Trick or Cheese by House-Mouse Design and sentiment from Fright Night set by MFT

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Barely Banana and Whisper White card stock from Stampin' Up

Ink: Timber Brown Staz-on Ink and SU re-inkers

Accessories: 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 circle punch, Chocolate Chip gross grain ribbon, pumpkin template and slit punch

Taylored Expression Cupcake Challenge #31

No cupcake this week for me for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge . But these love birds, (okay they're not birds) are back and wants show their love. Main image is from House Mouse Design, I Give You My Heart. And can you see Amanda's pearls? Mudpie gave that to her last year for their Anniversary.

Stamps: I Give You my Heart by House-Mouse Design and sentiment from Faux Ribbon set by Papertrey Ink

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette and Very Vanilla card stock from Stampin' Up and DSP by Elsie (Betty Love Dot)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, and SU re-inkers

Accessories: 5/8 Cholocate Chip satin ribbon, Small and Large Oval punch, Cystal Effects and Beaded Pearls

There are mice in the house!

Well... not literally! Just found 2 more blogs over the weekend when I was home alone with weekly challenges and why not join in with everyone?!

Here's my creation for Penny Black Saturday Challenge and the challenge is NO CARDS ALLOWED. A friend from work loves to go to the movies every weekend and Costco has this great deal for 2 movie tickets for $14 but the envelope was just too plain! I didn't just want to insert the movie tickets on a card so I made my own movie ticket holder....I know the challenge asked for no cards allowed but really it's not...LOL! (I just forgot to take a picture of what it looks like inside.)


And here's my card for last week's challenge at House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge. For their first challenge they want to see anything based on something "NEW", a great way to start a challenge with a brand new blog. I was a little late posting this but I thought I'd share what I created.


I can't find the right sentiment to put on this card but just looking at these two, it seems like they're celebrating their new found love!

Stamps: Critter Party by Penny Black and Wreath Love by House-Mouse Design

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Real Red card stock from Stampin' Up and DSP by American Crafts

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, and SU re-inkers

Accessories: Chocolate Chip gross grain ribbon, Oval and Circle Scallop punch, Liquid Applique and Crystal Effects

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #25

I know I said on my last blog post that I'll be posting another suspension card but I just wanted to share this one first. Every Friday, Taylor of Taylored Expressions post a cupcake challenge, this is actually her 25th challenge already and it'll be my first and I'll make sure to go back and check her previous challenges and try it.

Here's my card for this weeks cupcake sketch challenge. I was struggling with what color combination should I use for this card but I know what image I wanted to use. So I went through with piles of patterned paper and right away, I was inspired with this horizontal patterned paper by Stacy Claire Boyd that I recently bought from our LSS that's closing. I wished I bought more of this paper.... maybe, I can stop by later and see if they have more.

The main image Make a Wish is from one of

my neglected stamps from

House-Mouse Designs and was stamped on a whisper a white cardstock using black Staz-On Ink and colored using Prismacolor Colored Pencils and matted with bashful blue and chocolate chip cardstock. The cupcake is covered with Liquid Applique and topped with punched 1/4" circles. Sentiment is from Penny Black, Bubbly set.

I'm back...

Yes, it's been awhile. And yes! I'm still alive. I've been suffering with lost MOJO and back pain but I'm here and ready to share my creations... AGAIN! Hopefully, I'll suffer more sleepless night so I can create more... we'll see.

I have to thank Kristina Werner a.k.a starofmay on SCS (make sure to check out her blog) for having my MOJO back. She's been posting a weekly color inspiration and then pick ten randomly selected entries and ten of her favorites, which will be posted on her blog. This week's challenge comes from marthstewart.com. Aren't those baby booties adorable?

Anyway, luckily I have all the colors for this challenge but I did have a hard time picking what image I should use. So while I was browsing through my drawers of stamps (Eeeksss!!! Yes, I have drawers of stamps! They're more organized than my shoes and clothes!!!), this cute little mouse from House-Mouse Design just screaming to be inked (Oh yes again! I have drawers of stamps that haven't been inked!) But again, I'm back and ready to use them.

I grabbed this sketch from this week's sketch challenge at SCS (That's right, I'm doing 2 challenges in 1!) This cute little mouse is stamped on very vanilla card stock with timber brown stazon, water-colored using pumpkin pie, close to cocoa and soft sky stampin' up classic ink. For a glossy effect, the water is covered with crystal effects and raised the main image with stampin' dimensional. I really like how this card came out. The only thing is I wish I added a sentiment but I just didn't have enough space... oh well!

Clearly...It's Spooky!

Well, not really, they're actually cute...don't you think so? This was the Technique Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers last week. The challenge was to make an Acetate Card. I was able to make these over the weekend and share it here.

These cards will be for someone special in the family from my daughter Toni ... hence, "from your favorite little pumpkin". Love this saying, and that is one of the reasons why I bought this
from Papertrey Ink.

Both main images, Cater-Mouse and Trick or Cheese are from House-Mouse Designs and are stamped on Staz-On Ink. The bats background from the Cater-Mouse card is from Fright Night by MFT (My Favorite Things). The bats background from the Trick or Cheese is from Spooky Sweets by Papertrey Ink.

Both images are colored using Prismacolor Colored Pencils. For the Trick or Cheese card, I punched holes to look like Cheese... I did not like it at first but my daughter thought it was cute. And of course, finished it with some ribbon.

Stamps: Cater-Mouse and Trick or Cheese from House-Mouse Designs, Bats from Fright Night by MFT and sentiment from Spooky Sweets by Papertrey Ink.

Paper: Green Galore, Basic Black, Whisper White on Cater-Mouse card, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Yoyo Yellow and Whisper White on Trick or Cheese card.

Ink: StāzOn Jet Timber Brown and StāzOn Jet Black

Accessories: 1/4" circle and 1/2" circle punch, acetate, orange and basic black ribbon.

And I wanted to share my Birthday Cake, well, I mean show you the picture of my birthday cake. Nothing special but I've always loved this cake growing up from Goldilocks back home (Philippines) ... doesn't it look Yummy? It is and I still have some at home =)

By the way, thanks Mom!

Library Card

That's right, it's a library card or you can call it file folder card. Beate from Fresh and Fun had this tutorial on how to make these cards and I just had to try it. These are really fun to make and would be great for gift card holders.

I had this stamp from House-Mouse for over a year now (I bought this for myself as a birthday present) and can't believe I have not inked her for a long time. I have couple more just sitting at home and I'm planning on using them...soon.

Stamps: Monica Romances by House-Mouse Design and sentiment from So Many Sayings by Stampin' Up

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink from Stampin' Up, Designer PaperMarcella by K.

Ink: StāzOn Timber Brown

Accessories: Ribbons from Making Memories, Distressing Tool, Round Tab Punch

Eeeekkk, 3 more weeks until Halloween!

I need to start my Halloween cards and goodies for my daughters teachers.

Make sure to come back, I'll be posting Halloween cards starting tomorrow.