I apologize.... my relatives are in Japan, and I lost my crafting mojo right now...

It's been 3 days since the catastrophic Japanese earthquake and I've been having a hard time getting back in to my crafting mode.  Just as a background - my mom is Japanese and my dad is Vietnamese.  So, all my relatives on my mom's side lives in Japan.  My mom was actually having a chat with my aunt in Japan discussing how my aunt was going to go catch a movie.  Then she said that there's an earthquake... a big one...  and then they disconnected.  We then could not connect to anyone there...  I remember turning on the TV Thursday night (we have a Japanese channel at home), and couldn't believe what I was seeing.  All that tsunami coming in, wiping away all the farmlands, houses and buildings, cars and trains and boats...  You hear about these natural occurrences from time to time, and you see these scenes in the movies, but you never really fully connect with it, until it happens to your loves ones.

I was awake all night, watching TV and doing Facebook, trying to get a hold of my family.  I didn't want to miss anything, if anything ever did happen while I was asleep.  I slept on the couch, with the TV on, iPad by my side and a phone, just in case.  I think I had about 2 hours of sleep...  Close to 5am in the morning, I got a message saying that my family was fine...  that was a great relief. 

Anyway, since then, the number of deaths and unaccounted people has increased dramatically, the threat of radioactive leak from nuclear power plant failure/explosion, and Japan Meterological Society released a report that another big quake is 70% likely to happen in the next 3 days.  I am so worried, and that is all I am able to think about right now.  I wish that I could just fly all of them here to be with me, right now.

I did receive messages and pictures from my family  - and can't believe what they are going through.  My cousin's house had holes in the walls, the bedframe was broken, things scattered everywhere...  took over 4 hours to walk home...  In the supermarkets and convenience stores (yes, the Japanese convenience stores are really convenient - they have heat up lunch boxes, ready-to-go meals that take up literally half of the store!) they have no rice, no bread... not even toilet paper.  There's no water bottles, and the automobile gas supply is hard to find.  There's still millions without electricity right now and there's thousands without a home. 

Anyway, I'm sure you're all aware of these things, but I just wanted to let you know that my mind is on my family right now and have hard time getting inspired....  I take some tools and paper out, and I just end up staring at it or going back to trying to find the latest news online...  crafting may have to just wait....and I hope that you all understand :)

Take care, and be grateful for what you have as things may suddenly change <3
- Thienly

Superstar Kid Card and SVGCuts latest free gift release!

For this week's SVGCuts free gift collection (with purchase of $9.98 or more!), our design team decided to put together some cards to show you how adorable they are.  The collection is perfect for any boys in your family - it has various "boy" occupations, as well as additional elements like a plane, a rocket and a power shovel and even a tire!  I've decided to take on the super hero one and make a card out of it!

I love all that glitter and foil paper I used on this guy!  I stamped it and embossed it with red glitter powder, too!  I hope that you like it! 

For more info on how to make this, please go to the SVGCuts blog - click here.

While you're there in the craft zone, check out Mary and Tamara's card as well.  Super Cute!

Aren't they all cute?  Everything that you need in order to make these cards are in this collection, except for the cowboy boots - which is a retired freebie file (can get it at the SVGCuts store). 

and, don't forget about the freebie download for today, too - race flags!  Too cute!

Anyway, that's it for today! Catch you all later!

Thienly

I would like to thank my blog followers, now my friends and for some blog awards.

I have been terrible at getting back to some people and especially noting in my blog about blog awards.  Each one of you mean so much to me, and I really love getting comments!  Sometimes life gets the best of me, and by the time I remember to do something, months passes by. 

Flamenco92627 (4 Goofballs), I believe has given me 2 blog awards last fall...  How terrible is this?  She is a wonderful girl and always leaves me with sweet comments.  Thank you!  And, just recently I was given a blog award from Butterfly Gypsy Designs and I wanted to thank you both for choosing me before months passes by again!

I received these awards:

So - to keep tradition with receiving these awards,

I'm to share 8 things about myself:1.  I've collected many things in the past - postcards, erasers and pencils, cookbooks...  now I'm all about crafting supplies. When I start collecting, I want them all!!!!
2.  I have been keeping a diary since I was 12.
3.  It took me over a week to answer "yes" to my husband's proposal - after dating him for 7 years! Sorry!
4.  I have a degree in Cell and Developmental Biology.
5.  I moved to Canada from Japan when I was 7 years old - I only knew how to say "sit" and "stand" and the alphabet back then in English.  In case you ever pick up odd grammatical errors - that's why - English is not my first language.

I'm to say 5 reasons why I like crafting:
1. Gives me reasons to avoid housework - "oh, I really have to finish this project before the end of the night..."
2. Gives me a reason to spend more money - "oh, I really need this for my cardmaking - I can make cooler cards if I had this"

Okay, not really - these are the 3 true reasons:
3.  Gives me a challenge - something to work towards, and something to feel good about when it's done
4.  I love creating things and giving to people - especially Christmas cards.  It's number one stress factor during Christmas season, but I just love getting comments and how they appreciated the effort and the creativity that went into making the card.
5.  Because I am crafting, I was able to meet so many wonderful creative talented friends - some of you are truly special (you know who you are!) and I'm blessed to be friends with you.

Okay, I'm going to be bad, and break the blog award chain here.  I really don't want to pick 5 bloggers (or 15 I guess, from 3 blog awards) as they are all creative and special to me.

So - changing the topic - I've created something super cute for the SVGCuts Collection release tomorrow.  Oh, you girls are going to like this!  Stay tuned, and I'll post it here tomorrow!

... and the winners of my Cutie Patootie Blog Hop giveaway are.........

Of course, I'm not going to tell you just yet!  I wanted to thank everyone of you for coming out to "hop" this event and I thought that is was very successful!  I've got exactly 50 new stalkers from this event!  It was my first one that I've ever done, and now I think that I'm going to get addicted to this!  Who wants to do another blog hop with me??? Hahaha....  Anyway, big thanks to JustYolie for hosting this event, and another big thanks to Mary and Leo for donating me a gift card to giveaway. 

I got a feedback that my bee stripes were not correct....  Hmmmm... I admit that I have never really paid attention to how the strips should be... however, pointed out to me, I can see that it may have looked awkward to those bee experts out there!  So - I had to whip up a super quick card today for my son's preschool friend as she's become a big sister and attending a party later today.  So - I attempted to make another bee, this time using a bee from the Birthday Bash cart!  I didn't do my "out of the box" thinking on this - just cut and paste and that's the only time I had.  But I think that it's darn cute and not bad for my 10 min job!

Anyway.... I'm sure that you all want to know if you have been chosen.  I made my picks totally fair - I did the random org thing and I counted it a few times to make sure!  Now, I really did check... the winners had to do my requirements.  One of the winners that I had picked was NOT my follower! So... I repicked it!

So....  scroll down....



and more....
   






The lucky stalkers are:

An SVGCuts Collection giveaway:

72...Christina said...

I love your work. I have been following you for a while now. I did just add you as blog to follow through google. I already have your site as one of my favorites. I also follow svg cuts on facebook and their newsletter. I just liked the Pumpkin Cart Crafts on facebook.

If I win I would like the The Robins Return svg collection. Thanks for a chance to win.   Christina  hermonscrappin@aol.com

19..... Tammy D said...

Well I've been a fan of SVGcuts from the very beginning! I love the stuff you have been doing with their files. I don't have the waterfall or the new Bird house collections yet. They are looking pretty doggone fun!









and ..... drum roll please....

the big $20 Pumpkin Craft Carts Giveaway goes to...

March 5, 2011 10:29 AM


36... Paula said...

WOW - Beautiful bag (i wish I had seen this on Thursday, just gave a girlfriend so garden seeds and this would have been perfect!!!)

I'm following you and "liking" SVGCuts and Pumpkin Cart Crafts! Looking forward to more of your creations...oh and I'd love the Cliff's Clubhouse Cards SVG Kit if I won!!
 
 
Congratulations ladies!!!!
 
I will be contacting you ladies shortly!!! (probably tonight as I need to head out to this party thing now....or feel free to express your excitement and message me at thienly.azim@gmail.com)
 
Thanks again for making my blog hop a fun one!
Thienly

Welcome to the Cutie Patootie Blog Hop!!!!

Hello everyone!  Hope that you guys are having a fabulous weekend so far!  Thanks for taking time on your precious weekend to join us in this blog hop!  I am excited to be a part of this with 11 amazingly talented woman (Thank you Yolie for inviting me to be a part of it :) ), to share the love for CUTE SVGs, and I can't wait to share my little project with you all!

If you happened to just come by my blog, you are actually coming to my first ever blog hop hosted by Just Yolie, Just Create.  (Thanks Yolie for hosting!)  So go to Yolie's blog, and start your fun over there and I'll see you again in a bit!  If you are coming from Tammy's blog (OBX Stamping and Crafting), then you've got it correct... keep on hoppin'!

Of course for my project, being on the SVGCuts design team, I'm going to share how CUTE SVGCuts collections are!  I've created this CUTE bag, perfect to put in a little something to show your friend that you care!  This size is perfect to put in some candies, or tea bags, or even some flower seeds if your girlfriend is a garden lover :)

The pretty green paper is from Cosmo Cricket - Garden Variety collection.

Ohhhh, the bee!!!  Too cute!  I added a jewelry wire behing the bee to make it look like it's buzzing! 

Love this cute sentiment!

Cute 3D flowers embellished with buttons and twine!

The cute embossed fence attached to the bag with foam tape - makes it look dimensional!

Here are the collections, the file names and the sizes that I used in case anyone would like to make this :) (All cuts are proportional in dimension, unless I state otherwise!)

Betty's Bags and Boxes II  SVG Collection

shopping_bag_short.svg   11.4" wide

Easter Morning Egg Hunt SVG Collection

grass2.svg   5.5" wide (this welded to the top of the short_bag.svg above)

 

My Happy Garden Getaway SVG Collection

sign_base.svg   1.7" wide by 3.7" high

3D Flowers SVG Kit Part II (just used the petals layers)

windflower.svg   3.95" wide

gerber daisy.svg   3.9" wide

bachelor's button   3.9" wide

Chamomile Friendship Cards SVG Kit

bee.bot.svg   1.00" wide

bee.mid.svg 0.70" wide

bee.top.svg   0.70" wide

gate.svg   3.75" wide

Double Layer Tags SVG Collection

Pawn

scalloped_base.svg   2.3" wide

The stamp is Flower Garden Sentiments from Papertrey ink (they have the most beautiful stamps ever!), the embossing for the fence is Sizzix/Tim Holtz Woodgrain folder and the twine is from The Twinery.

Now, I hope that all of you have SCAL2...  This is the software you need to cut all the CUTE CUTE CUTE stuff shown in this blog hop.  If you don't, then Pumpkin Cart Crafts has the best deal ever for SCAL2.  Use the coupon code "SCAL2" to get $20 off your $74.95 SCAL2 purchase (and get a $10 SVGCuts gift card)!  Better yet, this SCAL2/SVGCuts $100 Gift Card is even more amazing of a deal - it's only $124.99! So go there right now, and get this so you can join in the fun!

To celebrate my first blog hop, I'm giving away a SVGCuts Collection of your choice to 2 lucky people!!! 

REQUIREMENTS FOR GIVEAWAY:
1) You MUST be my follower (so go ahead and click on that stalker button to the right) 
2) You MUST "like" SVGCuts on Facebook , and go to the SVGCuts store, and pick out a collection that you'd love to have!  Then,
2) leave me your love here, and tell me which collection you would like if you win!

ONE MORE GIVEAWAY added!!!  Leo and Mary from Pumpkin Cart Crafts (PPC)  (and owners of SVGCuts) has generously donated one $20 PPC Gift Card to one lucky winner! (Did you know that there's a facebook page for PPC, too? If you haven't joined, make sure that you "like" here!) 

THAT MEANS I'LL BE PICKING 3 LUCKY WINNERS TOMORROW!!!! Good luck  :)

Oh, by the way, have you seen the new free SVGCuts Collection of the week  - Spring Birdhouses SVG Kit (with purchase of $9.98 or more)?  It's super SUPER cute and includes a milk carton style box!   It's a must have, for sure!!!!

Hope that you enjoyed my project and now, you're off to see Patricia's project, 'Lil Bit Creations.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Thienly


Cutie Patootie Blog Hop

Yolie, http://www.justyolie.com/

Elin, http://www.papercraftingworld.com/

Tricia, http://lshdesigns.blogspot.com/

Diane, http://diannesscrappycreations.blogspot.com/

Celeste, http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
Staci, http://preciousmem.blogspot.com/
Gaby, http://www.gabycreates.com/
Tammy, http://tammyjennings.blogspot.com/
Thienly, http://modpaperie.blogspot.com/
Patricia, http://lilbitcreations.blogspot.com/
Angie, http://angie-scrappinmemories.blogspot.com/

Cely, http://creatingincarolina.blogspot.com/

Okay, I'll take my first review back.... my second attempt at the Stamp Maker.

So, after writing my review of the Stamp Maker a couple of days ago, I decided that I was going to give it another try. 

This time:

1.  I made the images larger.
2.  After I put the image template and the photopolymer pack inside a clamp, I pressed it hard to make the surface uniform and even.
2.  I let very warm soapy water run on the stamp for a LONG time, and cleaned it much, MUCH better.

The result?

TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE!

Having the uniform surface seem to take on the ink much better and cleaning them throughly made the edges of the letters sharper thus creating a sharper image!
Here are some pics!

I must say, I'm much happier with this set and that I really enjoy designing stamps! 

My first Teresa Collins Stamp Maker attempt and MY FIRST EVER BLOG HOP!

I have been very overwhelmed by how many things I brought back from US, and I think that I waste too much time looking at all the pretty things and trying to organize my crafting area.

However, last night - I told myself - I'm going to touch my Stamp Maker and that is all I'm going to do.  And, having that priority worked as I was able to try my new machine.

I designed some modern looking "mod paperie" stamps along with some cute sentiments.  I had to do a negative image of it, such that the written portion stays white (clear) and the rest is printed black.    I was freaked out about using the UV light as it comes with a note saying "may cause injury to eyes and skin, such as skin aging and eventually skin cancer."  Am I a chicken or is it normal to be freaked out when you read something like this?  Come on, it's only a crafting machine!  Do I really need to risk my life?  Anyway, I got over the first anxiety and decided to go for it. 

The process itself wasn't all that hard - except when you cut the photopolymer packets, I had no idea how sticky and gooey this stuff may be.  It is a pain to clean all the gel residue around the "stamp image" and to get it off your hands and your sink.  After few washes (use liquid detergent and warm to hot water), my images became clear. 

I couldn't wait to try doing the stamps.  Here's what they look like:

My thoughts???  Well, it's really neat to be able to design your own stamps.  I think that I'm having a lot of fun finally getting to use all the cool fonts that I have on my computer (over 800!) which until now, just slowed down my SCAL2 speed, but now I can make a use for these. 

However, from my first attempt, I'm not quite sure how I like this for a number of reasons:
1.  The small letters doesn't seem to show up very well - can't seem to do tiny details.
2.  The stamp doesn't seem to absorb or take the ink well like the other stamp companies (definitely nowhere near my fave company ones - Technique Tuesday and Papertrey ink)
3.  It's hard to tell if all the gel residue has been washed off or not, which can result in "unclean (jagged) edge".
4.  You need to push the clamp down and make sure that it's completely flat as even a tiny slant can make a difference in how uniformly it stamps onto the page.
5.  It's messy to wash the photopolymer pack and...
6.  I really don't want to die from skin cancer!!!

Anyway, I'm not going to give up.  I made up more and I decided to make the ones that I had made a little larger.  This should make it easier to clean the gel in between.  Here are some of my new corrected images:  (I had to delete what's in the black area as it was my address stamp!)  I will be trying them again tonight!

My next big news is that I'm going to be a part of a blog hop this upcoming Saturday.  I've been invited by Just Yolie, Just Create and I've been really excited about this! It's the Cutie Patootie Blog Hop and I will be a part of 12 talented individuals to show you all the CUTE things we can make with SCAL2.  Of course, my project will be featuring files from SVGCuts, so make sure you come visit me on Saturday!  I am thinking of having a giveaway as well!

A couple more things that I want to mention here:

1.  My friend Bee (Bee's Hive O'Drama). whom I saw during my vacation, has written the most absolutely the SWEETEST blog post about our day together.  Please go check it out and leave her some love - she has truly become a great friend.

2.  And, lastly, but not least, in case you forgot or haven't seen the free SVGCollection of the week (with $9.98 purchase or more) - here it is!!!!  It's the Waterfall Cards Kit - they look amazing!!!! 

Anyway, that's it girls for today! Catch up with you all soon :)