The one with a lot of frames...

So I might have gone overboard with the number of frames used here on this layout...

But I really wanted to showcase the different expressions on littlest nephew and niece's faces on both photos. The first photo was when they zoned out and looked away from the camera and the second was when I said something funny to them. All in a matter of seconds. :)

As always, a mish mash of paper scraps [Echo Park, Bo Bunny, American Crafts, Basic Grey, Jillibean Soup], buttons and trims.

Playing along with The Studio Challenges.

The smile of happiness

While decluttering my space, I found some old Hello Kitty stuffed toys [McDonald's collectibles I reckon..*winks*] that I knew my niece S would love. :)

You should have seen her face when I presented them to her....her eyes lit up and she flashed the smile of pure happiness [which she re-enacted for the photos of course...*LOL*]

Isn't her smile just delightful? I went with bright and happy colours to really convey how happy she was with those Hello Kitty toys!

Perfect for the challenge over at More Than Words this month where the word is "smile" and there is also a fun sketch to use. 

The overdone card

Meet my super overdone card. Yep...it was one of those days when Murphy's Law was in play and everything I tried was a bad idea....*LOL*

So I had to keep adding stuff to "cover up" my mistakes...

And very soon, there wasn't any more space to add stuff! *insert laughter*

Playing along with The Mixed Media Card Challenge.

Someone had an ice-cream birthday cake...*winks*

Last month we celebrated my father's birthday with an ice-cream cake. Can you tell that he was pretty excited about eating the ice-cream cake? *winks*

But you know I've my folks "trained" for photo-taking before eating so......*LOL*

I had a lot of fun putting bits and pieces of patterned paper together on this layout. :)

The papers were assembled and glued down [so I don't change my mind and start fiddling]...then I added textural elements to soften hard edges and provide visual interest.

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

Another altered mooncake box...a tutorial

So the recent decluttering process unearthed a few more mooncake boxes for me to alter...like this one. :)

Here is the box before I threw black stuff on it...*LOL*

I started by adhering wrapping tissue to the whole box for base texture.

Next, I adhered chipboard on the cover, then covered the whole box with a coat of black gesso.

Then I went over the box with a silver glaze...a little shimmer and depth.

After that comes the super fun part - embellishing! I started by decorating the edges of the cover.

Then I went a little crazy with flowers, leaves and bling.

The paper flowers were white so I misted them to match the satin blooms.

It doesn't photograph every well because of the shimmery and glossy finish but it does look better than the original unaltered box, eh? *winks*

The allure of chocolate chip cookies....*winks*

It's been a little more challenging to get decent photos of the nephews + niece of late. They are quick to block aunt paparazzi with their arm or hand. Or wax lyrical about their rights NOT to have their photos taken. *LOL*

Well, extreme times call for extreme measures right? So I pulled out my trump card- a box of chocolate chip cookies! If I get at least ONE nice photo, they get to eat the chocolate chip cookies. *winks*

It was still hard to get a decent shot because most of them were like these....

A super quick layout using fussy-cut bits from my scrap pile. :)

Playing along with Stuck?! Sketches.

When I used a reference photo...*winks*

So I finally used a reference photo for drawing. Apparently drawing girls out of imagination just results in sad/pensive faces. Of course, the nephews were quick to point out that I wasn't very good at "copying" because I missed out on the strands of hair across her forehead and also clothes! *LOL*

I started with a lightly drawn graphite pencil sketch on hot pressed watercolour paper. I like using a mechanical pencil with HB lead so that I don't need a pencil sharpener. *ahem...lazy bones*

Then I went in with watercolours. 

And finished with coloured pencils for depth...[and to cover up mistakes] and a Posca paint marker for white highlights.

Another mish mash card from my scrap pile...:)

Yes friends, the process of using up the paper scraps from my scrap pile has been an uphill and ongoing task....but I recently rediscovered my love for cardmaking so I'm "attacking" that scrap pile at greater velocity. I made 4 cards yesterday while watching a DVD movie! [Yay! Go me! *high fives all around*].

It's nice to build up a stash of spare projects to share again. :)

Anyway, here are the cute birds again! Apparently, I had a fussy-cutting phase because I found lots of fussy-cut elements in packed and organized bags in my stash. Probably done back when I had lots more patience! *LOL*

There you have it...another mish mash card from my scrap pile. 

Super quick place card holders...

I recently "rediscovered" these large wood clothespins in my stash during a recent decluttering session and thought they would make lovely place card holders.

I got a sheet of neutral patterned paper from my scrap pile and picked out coordinating embellishments from my Maya Road stash. You won't believe how quick this project was...*winks*

So I decided to decorate a coordinating envelope. I have a few of these receipt envelopes from a French restaurant I frequent. 

There you have it, super quick place card holders...perfect for sweet notes for your loved ones. :)