Sunny Yummy!

When I sat at my desk this weekend, I really didn't know what direction to take. It was a beautiful day. Warm, birds singing, squirrels chasing each other from one tree to another. I though, hmmm, what a great day to find inspiration.

But after breaking my brain for a while, I thought... maybe not!

So I left it for a minute and started reading my friend's blog and saw the cutest picture of her new week old baby girl that she had named "Delicious" (the picture, not the baby).
Then, I heard the recognizable music of an ice cream truck in the park across the street.

Don't ask me how those different elements started blending into my mind, but this little Tear Bear below is what came out of it.

And since I was on a roll, I thought I might as well make the boy version and... why not, the puppy version too.

My own garden

Today's birthday card was inspired by those cute glittery blue and purple flowers. Neither colors are my favorite separately but for some reason, together they are one of my favorite color combination.

I wanted them to look like wild flowers, the way you might see them in a garden. Both my mom and grandmother have green thumbs. Their gardens are always gorgeous with so many colorful flowers. But because I don't seem to have much of a green thumb myself (lucky if I remember to water flowers), instead, I make my own little garden on my cards. And I don't have to remember to water them.

A little Winter warmth

This weekend was a little challenging. I was sick but that didn't stop me from making a couple items. It just took me a little longer to put my thoughts together and figure out what I wanted to do.

But finding myself cozy at home and seeing out the window a somewhat cold day, my thoughts gravitated towards a winter feel. All I was missing was a hot cup of coco.

I decided to make a Tear Bear. And that's what I came up with! A little ice-skater. I had to have a winner so I gave her a gold medal.

Yesterday's creations

I'm happy. Yesterday after work, I managed to do a little home stuff and create 2 new items . A nice full, fruitful day. I started my fisherman Tear Bear this weekend so it did take me a few days to finish it. Why did I think of doing a fisherman? I don't know... Summer coming up, Father's Day just passed.

BTW, Papa, I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day. I miss you!

As for the birthday card, some of the supplies I got from the convention inspired me. The papers especially.

1st Tear Bears on my blog

My 1st Tear Bear posted on my blog. Now! If anyone tells me those are not cute, I don't know what is.
Those are so much fun to do. Granted, they use a lot of my imaginative juices, because I don't use any templates. Like a painter, I guess. You look at your blank canvas and think "ok! where do I go from here?".

I kind of like the results. Alright, I'm lying, I really like the results. But there is always room for improvement - you should see the very 1st Tear Bears I've ever made. I wouldn't even dare show them.
Those 3 are the latest of their kind that I made.

I can't resist the puppies. They are so adorable. My husband must think I am crazy every time I hold one up and say "Oh! you are so cute!!". Either that or he thinks I'm talking to him and then realizes I'm not.

1st handmade card on my blog

Here is the latest handmade card I made this weekend. I'll be posting it on eBay in the next few days, which is a lot of fun, I must say. There are no better feedback than letting people decide how much my cards are worth. Of course, I do need to put a basic rate just to make up for the supplies bought. But beyond that, it's up to them to decide.

My cards are usually 8.5"x5.5", so pretty big. And just to go the extra mile, inside is as pretty as the outside (well almost).

Lately, I've been adding a pocket on the inside, big enough to fit a picture or gift card. Who hasn't received or sent a greeting card with either a gift card or money bills floating in the card?

So, several layers of colorful papers, cardstock, embellishments, brads and ribbons and, voila!

For this one, the papers I used where my initial inspiration. I call it my "Doodle card". I hope it makes someone happy. It made my happy doing it.

1st day blogging

And there you have it! I fought long and hard but the blogging bug finally caught me (and not the other way around, I didn't catch it). Give me a couple more years and maybe I'll start twittering. But one step at a time...
Where do I start? Well how about sharing some of my scrapbooking stuff. And what better time to do it than right after attending the CKC Pasadena scrapbooking convention.

The 1st scrapbooking convention near me. What a treat that was. I went with my friend Alex, who is fully responsible for introducing me to scrapbooking a few years back and getting me hooked on it. We had such fun that day, like 2 little girls in the biggest candy store you can imagine.

And since my work place was literally 5min away, we couldn't resist popping in and showing off what we bought (yeeeesss, I did take a day off for that).

My favorite part of scrapbooking (aside from shopping for supplies) is to make greeting cards and little Tear Bears. For those who don't know what Tear Bears are, they are little fluffy characters made out of mulberry paper. They are quite popular, it seems.

Ok, let's just be honest here, scrapbooking is no longer a hobby, it's become a full blown addiction. To the point where I'm about to throw something away, stop and think to myself "hmmm?! Maybe I can use this for something?". Even my husband, sometimes, will give me something and say "look, I found this, thought you could use it somewhere".

But really, I got that from Mom. She is amazing when it comes to making good use of little things others would throw away. I love it when I go home and see so many things nicely organized. Things you initially think "when are we ever going to use this?" but without fail, one day it does come in handy.

One typical conversation would be "Mom, you wouldn't happen to have a ..., by chance?" "Yes, Choupette (that's what she calls me - my little sister is "Choupinette", no matter how old my sister and I get), you can find one on the 2nd shelf of the 3rd cabinet, next to the 1st drawer" "Okay... thanks!... can you translate that for me?" "Oh, yes, it's in a box with a red sticker on it".

So I guess Mom had a lot to do with my attraction to scrapbooking. Having tones of nice little things, to create something beautiful (hopefully!), all nicely tucked away in a neatly organized corner. And only you know where to find something!