Pink Cat Studio Day #2 Sneak Peeks and Cocoa Packet Pocket Card

Hi Friends! Today is the second day of Pink Cat Studio's "Itty Bitty Christmas" stamp set!! Yay! I've got more Christmas projects and cards for you today. . .including a tutorial for a Pocket Card for a cocoa packet or treat bag! I had so much fun creating with this stamp set. . .there's so many different possibilities!! Be sure to stop by the Pink Cat Studio blog to view the other cards and projects created by the design team.

This is a matching tag for the pocket card I created. The tag was cut from a Sizzix die. Do you see the icicles. . .it's a border punch by EK Success. I colored Billy with my Copic Markers. . .as always. . .:)Be sure to scroll down to check out my tutorial.

Tag and card Details:

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio Itty Bitty Christmas
Paper: SU DSP, SU Real Red, Old Olive
Ink: Copic Markers
Accessories: Nestabilities, SU Grosgrain Ribbons, EK Success Border Punch, Liquid Applique, SU 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, SU Jumbo Eyelets, Round Corner Punch, CB Embossing Folder




Okay. . .this is a pocket card for a Cocoa Packet but you can use it for treats or even a card insert! I created the tutorial specifically for a Cocoa Packet. If you want, instead of folding the right and left flap at the front, you can fold it on the inside of the card base rather than on the outside but I think it's more fun on the outside. Don't you think?

When the flaps are opened up, it reveals the card base.



When you open the card base, there is a pocket that holds your cocoa packet. This card is basically a variation of the "multi-flap pocket card" tutorial I created a week ago.

Anyway. . .I'm just trying to come up with different card designs. . .it's fun to open up a card to reveal a pocket with some goodies in it! LOL! It's like a double treat, huh!

Hope you'll try out the tutorial. If you do, tell me what you think of it!

Hope you all have a beautiful day!!

Just to let you know, the tutorial was uploaded through Scribd.com and if you want to download or print the tutorial, you may need to register with Scribd. Scribd is just a site that allows you to upload Word and pdf. documents which you can't do directly on Blogger so I have to use another source to upload the tutorials rather than posting it directly on Blogger. You can find other crafters who post templates and tutorials on Scribd as well so it's a good idea to register. There's no obligation. It's a free site.

To view the tutorial directly from my blog, just scroll down using the scroll bar to the right of the tutorial. You can also enlarge the document by clicking the plus sign or magnifying glass. You have other options on the "more" drop down menu. Check it out!


Cocoa Packet Pocket Card

Pink Cat Studio Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set Sneak Peek Day #1

Hi Friends! This is my second post of the day! Scroll down to the previous post for the Christmas Stampin All Year Long Challenge card I made.

Wow, I've been busy! LOL! Well today is the first day of sneak peeks of "Itty Bitty Christmas" stamp set. Yay! This month we have two guest designers: Mackenzie Bruckler and Tracey Cuccia

I decided for my firs sample to create a pink Christmas! I think pink and brown is a nice color for Christmas? Don't you think so? It's really feminine and soft looking!!

For this first set, I decided to create a gift box and a card. The box is a Kraft box that I've had for a while now. I finally decided to use it. I've been discovering stuff that I bought a while ago stored in a container in the garage! How fun to re-discover things that I have forgotten I had bought!



Here is the box. Nothing is inside of it yet. . .maybe, I'll put some homemade cookies when it's time to give it out. What do you think? Cookies sound good?

Do you see the puffy white stuff on the cap? I created it using Liquid Applique. When heated with a heating tool, it puffs up so it looks like cotton. You can find it in the fabric ipaint aisle at your local craft store.













This project is a clear pillow box. Do you know where I got it? It's actually a Basic Grey ribbon container. It's amazing how pretty and reusable a packaging can be. . LOL! Don't throw away your craft containers or packages, it can be reused for a project.

This is a card I created. . .

Just to let you know. . .all of my images were colored with my Copic Markers and the shapes were cut using my Nestability dies.

Anyway. . .stop by the Pink Cat Studio blog to check out all the fabulous creations that the design team created.

Stop by tomorrow for Day #2 of the Pink Cat Studio sneak peeks of "Itty Bitty Christmas"!!

Have a great day, Friends!

Christmas Stampin All Year Long Challenge #38

Hello Friends! It's Monday! Today is Christmas Stampin All Year Long Challenge time again! This week I'm hosting the challenge and my challenge is a simple one. . .it's a sketch challenge. Stop by the challenge site and check out the sketch. Hope you'll play along this week!

I decided to use my Stampin Up stamp set "Serene Snowflakes" as my primary image. I stamped my card on the Soft Sky card stock using Night of Navy ink and stamped the same image on to the Blue Bayou card stock. I then heat embossed the image with white embossing powder, cut out the image and remounted it over the first stamped image using foam tape. That's about it!

Gosh, what does this week have in store for me? I hope something fun! LOL! I rarely ever plan my week. . .I like having spontaneity in my life. My husband is a PLANNER! I'm serious. I wrote it in capital because he seriously plans everything. He'll research things before he buys anything, even check traffic reports before we drive anywhere that may remotely have heavy traffic. We are polar opposites when it comes to this.

My husband gets up the same time every morning. He exercises the same time every day. He plans basically everything. It's his thing. I try to plan things but it never works out. I have like 4 different organizers and to do list but never follow them. I'm terrible.

But. . .the difference between me and my husband is that when things don't work out as planned. . .I just go with the flow and my husband gets bent out of shape. I rarely get stressed out about anything because I don't spend my time thinking about what is coming my way. LOL! I have my husband to do that for me. It works out best that way!

Anyway. . .stop by later today. I'll have another post. . .some fun stuff to show you!

Okay, I'll end it here. . .

Hope y'all have a wonderful Monday!

Card Details:

Stamps: SU Serene Snowflakes, Christmas Punch
Paper: SU Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, SU Ski Slope DSP
Ink: Versamark, Night of Navy, Glossy White
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, SU Filigree Designer brad, JoAnn Rhinestone brads, CB Embossing Folder, Nestabilites

Dutch Dare Challenge and Exercise

Happy Sunday, Friends! Hey, thank you for your nice comments regarding my past two posts regarding going back in time. Well, thank you for all the comments, period. I always appreciate any comment. I've been a bad at commenting my blog friends lately. ..I'm really sorry about that. I'll tell you the reason why but let me tell you about my card first. Do you like to participate in challenges. . .I do but I always forget about all the challenges out there when I'm in the process of making a card. Well, I remembered this time around. This card was created for the Dutch Dare Challenges.

The challenge is to create a card with:

2 different colours of cardstock
2 different pieces of Patterned Paper
2 flowers
2 brads
2 gemstones/buttons

I colored my image with my Copic Markers. The image was sent to me by Diane of "ddnjoys2stamp". She is such a darling to send me a bunch of cute images (I posted them a few months ago).

Stop by Dutch Dare Challenges and check out the cute cards created by the DT and the prize to be given out!!

Card Details:

Stamps: Oops, Diane sent me a list of the companies but don't know where I put the paper
Paper: DCWV DP, SU Real Red, So Saffron
Ink: Copic Markers
Accessories: Prima, Fiskar Border Punch, Nestabilities JoAnn Brads, Darice Rhinestones




Okay. . .now to the reason why I haven't been commenting your blogs as often as I used to. It's not that I don't want to but the past 2 months I started on a fitness journey. . .basically, I've been exercising and eating and cooking healthy food. Initially, my goal was to lose weight but it changed with time to focus more on becoming a fit and healthier person.

If you've been visiting my blog for a while now, you'll notice a surge of card/project posts on my blog for the past month and a half. Well, about a year ago up until a month or so ago. . .I've been feeling extremely TIRED. I lacked so much energy that even crafting was exhausting. I was beginning to feel my mojo for crafting was disappearing but that wasn't the case. I was still wanting to craft but I was so tired all the time.

One of the problems I was also beginning to experience was back pains from sitting down in front of my computer, blogging, commenting, blurfing, etc. Even standing in one place when I'm crafting (I stand when I craft) was killing me. I was 35 lbs overweight and slowly climbing. For a short person like me (5 ft). . .trust me that's like 50 lbs to a taller person.

Well, I started exercising . . .first, walking for 15 to 20 min 3x a week then increasing my speed to a brisk walk. I then added aerobic workouts like Zumba Fitness and Hip Hop Abs to 3x to 4x a week. About 3 weeks into my regimen, I added dumbbell and resistance training. I also began preparing and cooking my own meals and reduced eating out to once or twice a week. I prepared "clean meals" meaning food high in protein, low in calories and fat, snacked on fruits, added more veggies to my meals and paid attention to nutrition labels. I also began drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

I always read about experts saying that exercising gives you more energy but I never really believed it. I've exercised in the past but after the first few weeks, I would slow down because initially, it would exhaust me. My body was just not accustomed to it and I would give up before I could reach a point when I could actually feel energized from it. Well this time around, I stuck it out and made a true commitment to becoming healthier. In a month and 1 week, I lost 10 lbs and I'm excited to continue on in the process.

I feel sooooooooooooo much more energized. . .I now run up my steps to my craft room upstairs rather than walk slowly, I can catch up to my husband whenever we walk somewhere (he walks fast), and I feel happier because I have more energy. It also has contributed to my increased desire to want to be more creative as well!

Okay. . .now, to my excuse for not commenting. . .honestly, I don't like to sit down in front of my computer for too long because it still causes me back ache. Sitting here typing this post is too long already. Also, the time I spend exercising and preparing and cooking my meals has cut down on my time to do the sedentary stuff I used to do. Once I can become more efficient in that area, I think I'll be able to squeeze in more time to blurf and comment as well. Right now, it's all sort of new and I haven't really had a good schedule to fit in everything that I want to do. So, please be patient with me.

Anyway. . .sorry. . this post is long again. I started a FB Fan Page called Fitness Towards Healthiness (located on my left side bar) and is planning to add a blog that supports that site but I haven't had a chance to start it up yet. I really want to keep this up because it has brought me a sense of wellness that I haven't felt in a long time.

That's it.

I hope y'all have a beautiful Sunday!!

Gift Ensemble and More Yapping. . .

Happy Saturday, Friends! How are ya' all doing? Hope your day is starting off nicely. I woke up early this morning. . .4:30 to be exact! I'm not really a morning person but I don't like sleeping. I just feel there's so many things in life to enjoy that I don't like wasting it on sleep! LOL! Gosh, most mornings I wake up with the optimism of what life has to offer that I go to bed sometimes excited thinking of what I can do the next day! I'm serious!

It's not like I do anything exciting but I don't know. . .I just feel like there's so many things I want to do that I cannot wait to have the opportunity to do them. It can be as simple as just hanging out on a Saturday with my family or watching a favorite show. It's nothing extraordinary. . .but I still look forward to them.


Let me talk about my projects before I start yapping away again. I had bought a "Me and My Big Ideas" stamp set that was on sale at Michaels a week ago. As I was about to put it away, I decided to use it rather than throwing it in a bin and not use it until 6 months later! LOL!

I used SU Craft ink to ink the images using a sponge dauber so I can have the multi-color and shading effect, heat embossed it with clear embossing powder then applied Scribbles Iridescent paint to parts of the image.

I decided to create a gift set ensemble rather than just a card. Scroll down for the other projects. . .




About 2 years ago, I bought a box of tins from Ebay. . .the goal was to alter the tins. They're actually vintage cigarette tins . . .I can't believe cigarettes were packaged in these tins. The tins were perfect for altering and creating a post it note holder. The post-it note fits so nicely in the tin. Well, like anything that I buy. . .the tins sat in storage but I'm so glad I kept them now that I'm in the mood to alter them! LOL!

Here is the inside of the tin. . .I added a mini calendar and a post it note. Below is a Kraft box. . .again, another purchase I made a while ago and I happen to stumble across it looking through a container. I love opening containers and discovering things that I've long forgotten about. I think that's the reason why I never sell or throw any of my stuff away. I always find them handy even if it's years later! I basically designed the box with the a similar design of the card and altered tin.

Card and Project Details:

Stamps: Me and My Big Idea, SU Upsy Daisy
Paper: SU DSP, Blue Bayou, So Saffron, Bliss Blue
Ink: SU Craft Ink. . Night of Navy, Bliss Blue, Yo-Yo Yellow (I think), Old Olive, Hunte Green, Scribbles Iridiscent Paint
Accessories: SU ribbons, SU Designer Label Punch, Dew Drops, Nestabilities, SU Word Window Punch

Anyway. .. if you read my post yesterday, I discussed what I would change if I could go back in time to my 20s. Wanting to change things doesn't mean I have regrets. It's common for people to say they wouldn't change a thing because then they wouldn't have their husband or children, etc. Wanting to change things doesn't mean erasing your family and everything else present in your life or it denotes regret or unhappiness in your present life.

When people say that they don't want to change a thing. . .I think "really?". . .I mean, "come on. . .really?" When I asked my husband this question. . .my husband says he wouldn't change a thing. I'm like. . ."I don't believe you"! LOL! I'm like. . ."you mean, you would marry that psycho ex-wife of yours again?" Well, I told him that I wish he was my first and only husband. . .but it doesn't mean I don't want my daughter because her father is my ex-husband. It's not about erasing my present life. It's more about lessons learned that I wish I could have applied when I was younger. . .as the saying goes. . ." hindsight is 20/20" ...

Yesterday, I wrote a few things that I would change if I could go back to my 20s. . .well, I have more but I won't write all of them. .to be honest, the list could get really long! LOL!

Here's a few more:

1. I would travel more. I lived in Hawaii all my life and really did not travel out of the state too often until I turned 30. Gosh, there's so much to see in this world. . .luckily, I'm traveling more than I did back then. I don't want to be in my 60s or 70s to start traveling, you know. . .when I'm too old to walk or travel very far.
2. I would have finished college before I had my child. Although I started college when I was 18 and was in college for a few years, instead of finishing college, I got married and had a child and took a break. I returned to college when my daughter was 3 years old. . . at that time I was already 26 years old. It would have been much easier if I finished before having a child.
3. I would change my major. I would instead choose a career that I was passionate about. . .maybe in the arts. Although I'm happy that I have a Bachelors in Nursing. . .I chose that major for practical purposes and it was the right major at that time but still, an arts degree would have been nice.
4. I would sky-dive at least once. LOL! I always wanted to try it but I don't have the guts or the bones to handle a sky dive now. I actually had an opportunity to do it back in my 20s but I chickened out.
5. I would move to a city. . .like Boston or San Francisco. I love the city life. . .the idea that I can walk out of my home and be able to stop by a cafe or see different things without having to drive there. My husband hates the city life so I know I'll never be able to live in one unless I divorce him! LOL!
6. There's more but I'll end it here with my last change. . .I would hug my grandparents (I was adopted by them) and tell them more often how grateful I am to have had them in my life and for being wonderful parents. I would tell them how much I love them more often than I did. This. . .if anything in life, the only regret that I have. . .that I didn't tell them more often than I should have.

Anyway. . .that's it with the yapping! Hope y'all have a wonderful Saturday!

Little C's Digital Stamps/Sentiments Release Day and SCS WCMD Submission

Hi Friends! Before I start to chat away, let me talk about my card first. Do you see the cute, cute image? Well, Little C's is releasing their new digital stamps and you can win a set of sentiments and a bunch of digital images! Stop by Little C's Stamp n' Scrap Hawaii and check out the challenge! Hope you'll play along!!!

The cutie on my card is one of the digital stamps that Little C's is releasing!! Her name is "Bubbles Noelani"! Now, isn't she adorable? The sentiments are actually one sentiment that I had cut up to make two sentiment tags. . .well, there's a set of digital sentiments that you can find at Little C's. I colored Noelani with my Copic Markers and the rest of the card is basically layering and adding a few embellishments! Be sure to stop by Little C's Stamp n' Scrap Hawaii and check out what is happening there and the other cards the DT created!!!!

Card Details:

Stamps: Little C's Bubble Noelani and Scatter Joy
Paper: DCWV designer paper, SU Soft Sky, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery
Ink: Copic Markers
Accessories: Stickles Glitter, SU Ribbon, Hemp cord, Darice Rhinestones, CB embossing folder, Nestabilities


Okay. . .I made this card for the SCS World Card Making Day Challenge on Sunday. . .I couldn't post it until now because I had other things to post that were priority. Just a quick info about my card. How did I create the flowers? Well, I stamped the image 3x. . .2 on card stock and one on vellum. I colored the image with Copic Markers and used pastels for the image that I stamped on vellum. I then cut the images, layered them with foam tape and applied Stickles to parts of the image. That's it.

Hey. . .have you ever looked back on your life and wish you could change things about it? Well, I was thinking about it today . . .I wish I could go back and change my attitude about myself and life in general. If I could be 20 again. . .here are a few things I would change:

1. I would be happy with my weight. I was rather thin back in my 20s and I thought I wasn't thin enough. Ugggh! I wasted all that time wondering about it when I should have been celebrating it.
2. I would date men who already are at their potential rather than ones with potential! It would have saved me the misery of waiting for the potential to manifest itself and sadly, never materialized. (I was previously divorced). I got smart the second time around.
3. I would start exercising, eating right and taking care of my body so it wouldn't be so hard now. Although it's never too late to start, it would be nice if being fit is a part of my life now rather than striving to get there at my age.
4. I would have pursued my dreams and not worry so much if some of them were out of reach. In my 20s, I wanted to do a lot of things but felt that others would find it silly. How silly is that? LOL!
5. I would listen to my parents more because they gave me good advise. Ugggh! Let me tell ya' . . .if I had listened to half of what they've told me, I would have gotten to a happier place in life much sooner.
6. I would be more authentic. . .be true to myself. I was more the artistic eclectic sort. . .a bit quirky to some degree but well, it wasn't cool so I sort of minimized that part of me. I would have dressed more eclectic, pursued different things. . .I could go on and on.
7. I would be less materialistic. There's freedom in not wanting too many things.
8. I would learn to sew. If I learned to sew back then. . .I could have made my own clothes.
9. I would choose friends that actually liked me rather than trying to get them to like me. I would strive for quality rather than quantity. Let me tell ya'. . .I had friends that only called me, not because they wanted to spend time with me, but for various other reasons. It would have been best to have weeded them out sooner.

I have lots more. . .but I'll save it for tomorrow. LOL! It's not that I'm unhappy with my life. . .as a matter of fact, I'm very happy but I think it took YEARS, even a decade to be at a place that I can actually truly feel it. I could have gotten here sooner if I didn't waste my time back then trying to figure it out. I want my daughter to know these things so she don't waste her time like I did. She's been pretty good with #5 on my list. . .you know, the "listening to her parents" part so I think she has a great head start on life.

Anyway. . this post is rather long so I'll end it here. Answer this. . .if you could go back to your 20s, what would you change about yourself, in attitude or about your life?

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

Card Details:

Stamps: SU Fifth Avenue Floral, Oval All
Paper: K&Co Designer Paper, SU chocolate chip, Close to Cocoa, Cameo Coral, Clear Vellum
Ink: Copic Markers, SU Pastel
Accessories: SU Large oval punch, Stickles Glitter, CB Embossing Folder

Pink Cat Studio October 8th Digital Stamps Release

Hi Friends! It's Thursday and the release of the Pink Cat Studio digital stamps! Yay! How fun is that? Well, this week. . .the release is full of Turkey. . .LOL! Lots of them! They're perfect for Thanksgiving cards and projects!!

On my first project, I decided to create a tag to match the card. For all the cards and projects I made, I colored the images with my Copic Markers. The beauty of digital images is that you can adjust the size!

Card Details:

Stamps: PCS digi image (Itty Bitty Betty - Turkey Costume and Turkey Ride)
Paper: SU Blue Bayou, Creamy CaramalAutumn Meadows DSP
Ink: Copic Markers
Accessories: Grosgrain Ribbon, Nestabilities, SU 1 3/8 circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Fiskar Scallop Scissors, CB Embossing Folder

For this card I used "Itty Bitty Betty - Baked a Pie". I decided to create a "Vellum Jacket" for the card. I created a tutorial for this jacket. You may scroll down to the previous post or Click Here for the tutorial.

I did change up the jacket on this card a little bit from the tutorial by adhering the jacket to the card.

If you adhere the jacket to the card, to open the card you'll need to untie the bow. With the tutorial sample, you just slide the jacket off the card.

Card Details:

Stamps: PCS Itty Bitty Betty - Baked a Pie Paper: SU Autumn Vine DSP, Really Rust, Blue Bayou, More Mustard
Ink: Copic Markers
Accessories: Vellum, SU Satin ribbon, hemp cord, Fiskar border punch, Nestabilities, CB embossing folder, Deja View brads, SU Key Tag Punch

With this card, I used "Itty Bitty Betty - Turkey Costume". This is a "Recipe Pocket Card" I created with a recipe insert. I also created a tutorial for this project in the past. If you want to create this pocket card: Click Here for the tutorial.




Be sure to stop by the other DT's sites and check out what they created for the release:

Alicia Weiman
Emily Leiphart
Inge Groot
Kerry Donovan-Casey
Kristen Catalano
MacKenzie Bruckler
Maria Bell
Suzanne J Dean
Tracey Cuccia
Tori Hemmingway
Vicki Garrett









Okay, Friends! Be sure to stop by the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store and check out all the FABULOUS digital images. . .there's lots to choose from!!

Anyway, hope you all have a beautiful Thursday!

Card Details:

Stamps: PCS Itty Bitty Betty - Turkey Costume
Paper: SU Autumn Meadows, SU Really Rust, More Mustard, Vellum
Ink: Copic Markers
Accessories: EK Success Border Punch, Round Corner Punch, SU Satin Ribbon

Vellum Jacket Tutorial

Hi Friends! I created and posted this card last year but I wanted to transfer the tutorial from an old website to Scribd so I'm re-posting it.

This tutorial is for a Vellum Jacket that wraps around a 5.5" square card. It's just a fun way to pretty up your card. I love the presentation of cards that have different design features. Don't you?

Try out the tutorial.

Card Details:

Stamp set: Season of Friendship (Holiday Mini)Paper: Autumn Vine designer paper (Holiday Mini Catalog), Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, White Vellum Sheet
Ink: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, More Mustard, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/4" More Mustard Grosgrain Ribbon, Jumbo Eyelets (Pewter)


Just to let you know, the tutorial was uploaded through Scribd.com and if you want to download or print the tutorial, you may need to register with Scribd. Scribd is just a site that allows you to upload Word and pdf. documents which you can't do directly on Blogger so I have to use another source to upload the tutorials rather than posting it directly on Blogger. You can find other crafters who post templates and tutorials on Scribd as well so it's a good idea to register. There's no obligation. It's a free site.

To view the tutorial directly from my blog, just scroll down using the scroll bar to the right of the tutorial. You can also enlarge the document by clicking the plus sign or magnifying glass. You have other options on the "more" drop down menu. Check it out!

Vellum Jacket