Korin has some blog candy

Korin of Sweet and Sassy Stamps has some goodies to give away:

~(2) Stamping Bella unmounted rubber stamps
~(2) Rachelle Anne Miller unmounted rubber Lola stamps
~ an assortment of sets by Firecracker Designs by Pamela (unmounted rubber)
~(1) Paper Salon unmounted rubber stamp set
~(2) Retired CTMH wood mounted rubber stamp sets
~(1) Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps clear unmounted stamp set
~(1) Memento Rich Cocoa ink pad
~(1) Palette Stamp & Stick Gluepad

Go to her blog for more info.

My Tutorials

Mass Producing Quilted Cards

String Art Butterfly Card - learn how to make a unique card using string art.

Lining up stamps without a stamp positioner - a quick tutorial on how to ensure straight stamping without a Stampamajig or similar gadgets.

Gable box - template and tutorial for a gable box for little treats.

Desk Calendar - perfect for Christmas gifts

15- minute gift box - to package those beautiful cards.

Cards for a Worthy Cause

Jen Tapler, a very talented paper crafter, is giving a HUGE blog candy to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. I wasn't going to participate because it would take a long time to get the cards mailed from Croatia to the US. But, this cause is so close to home. I had a Grandma who suffered from this condition and I know how devastating it is for both the patient and his/her family. So, here's my humble attempt to help in this worthy cause. Go to Jen's post to find more info.

I used my new stamp designs called Tweeterpated from There She Goes this card. I've had so much fun with this little chick. It's so easy to paper piece and so cute, too. I will be sending this with some other ones to Jen for her cause.

Stamps: Tweeterpated and Special Delivery (TSG)
Ink: Black
Paper: SAB DSP, Imagine That Cardstock Collection, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron
Acc: Pink gingham ribbon, Curly label punch

More TSG05 CASE Cards

I am having so much fun CASE-ing for the Going Away Party at the There She Goes blog. Here are some more of my submissions. Not only are they fun to do, but I have a chance to win one of the stamp sets they're giving away.

First, this is inspired by a card by Bev. I used some left over Love and Happiness Rubons from last year's SAB.

Supplies for Orange Thank You:
Stamps: Thank You Kindly (SU)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Gray, Rob&Bob Studios Paper Pack
Acc: L&H Rubons, ribbon, button, flower brad, Word punch, CU Swiss dots EF

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This next one, I was initially inspired by Jessica's card, but found out that she cased Denise's card. I just love Jessica's color combo and that chick (I'm still waiting for mine to arrive) image is just cute altogether in this card.

Supplies for 3trees Thank you:
Stamps: Trendy Trees (SU)
Paper: So Saffron, White, Patterned Paper from Michael's
Ink: Old Olive, Basic Brown
Accessories: CB Argyle EF, Olive Stitched Ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbons), corner punch

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I cased Wendy's card for this one. I didn't have any good silhouette stamps, so I used patterned paper instead. This paper was sent to me by a wonderful friend and fellow crafter, Doris. I just love it. I used some more SAB rubons and SU's new fleurettes, which was given to me by another generous new friend and fellow stamper, Lisa. I love the lace with them.


Supplies for Fleurettes Thinking of You:
Stamps: Trendy Treest
Paper: Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, Cream
Ink: Ruby Red
Acc: L&H Rubons, Lace, SU Fleurettes, Brad (Making Memories), Word punch

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This card is a CASE of Stephanie's card. Again, I used patterned paper, instead of a silhouette stamped image. I just love those pearls on the butterfly. They were given to me again by Doris. Since I can't get them here, I'm trying to use them sparingly, but they make any card so elegant. I'll just have to ask my mom to send some more :-).


Supplies for Pearl Butterfly card:
Paper: Ruby Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Lace, Olive ribbon, MS butterfly punch and pearls

Thank you for stopping by.

Blog Candies from the Paper Garden Projects

I just found the The Paper Garden Projects Store and they are having a sale right now on Copics, stamps, embellies and lots of others goodies. They are also having 4 birthday bash challenges that end on Monday. I know it's very soon, but I just found the site and there's still time to play :-).

Here are the challenges:
Week 1: Birthday Card Challenge
Week 2: Add a Flower Challenge
Week 3: Just Say Thanks Challenge
Week 4: Its in the Background Challenge

The winners will get a stamp kit loaded with papers, stamps and embellishments. I like that they are a kit, so I don't have to try to match things. They've done that part for you. :-)

The Sneak Peeks are out!!!

Jessica from There She Goes is doing sneak peeks of my stamp designs at her blog. The cards she made are so beautiful. Make sure you hop out to the other Trendsetters' blogs to see what they came up with. They're all so talented.

I initially drew these images for my girls to color. Never did I imagine that they will be made into stamps someday.

I don't want to sound like an Oscar recipient :-), but I just want to take this time to thank:

• God for the awesome opportunity and I hope more will come in the near future
• Kris for supporting me through all this and being my #1 cheerleader.
• my beautiful, sweet girls who kept asking me to draw some more and are in many ways, more excited than I am these stamps are released. After seeing the cards made with the stamps, they said, "I colored those first."
• my mom (and dad, too) who share this hobby with me and supply with me lots of goodies and endless encouragement.
• my mother-in-law (and father-in-law too) who doesn't share my hobby, but ALWAYS sends me supplies "just because" and for loving me as a daughter.
• my crafting friends who generously contributed to my hobby over the years and for inspiring me with their own card creations.
• for Jessica from There She Goes for buying my illustrations and making them into stamps.

That's it for now. Thanks for letting me share.

TSG05 Challenges

Here are my submissions for There She Goes Going Away Party. I don't have any TSG stamps yet, but they're on their way, including my own designs!!! And tomorrow the sneak peeks begin. I can't wait to see what fabulous cards the Trendsetters are going to come up with.

A CASE of Wendy's card. More info here.

A CASE of Stephanie's card, more info here.

A CASE of Denise's card, more info here.

A CASE of Bev's card, more info here.


Have a good weekend.

Spring is here!

Just a quick post to send some spring love to everyone. These croci (crocuses?) are coming out from my wee, little garden. The daffodils are about to bloom, too.

Gaby came home from school with this in her hand. Isn't that sweet? Do you notice that little front tooth sticking out? The permanent one is about to come out and this baby one just wouldn't let go. She wouldn't let me pull it out. I don't blame her. :-)

Gracie picked these white flowers (the name in English escapes me) for me from our yard. Aren't I blessed to have such thoughtful girls?

His Holy Name Challenge and Scripture Challenge Projects

Here are my entries to the His Holy Name Challenge for RIGHTEOUS and for the Scripture Challenge for GRACE:


This pink/black paper was designed by me. I've been trying to make some pretty damask patterned papers. This is my first attempt. More details here.


A quick project I'm making with the young girls from our church. More details here.

His Holy Name Challenge

I just joined a paper craft challenge at SCS called His Holy Name where the challenge leader gives us one of God's marvelous attributes to study and create something that relates to that. I came in late, but they've been doing it since the beginning of the year. The latest study/challenge is God being our Creator. Here's the card I posted. I made it a couple of years ago, but it's appropriate for this theme:

Psalm 115:15 in Croatian that says, "The Lord bless you who created heaven and earth." You can find the details here.

Here's what I share in the forum about this attribute:

God being my Creator has been the one attribute that I've clung to all my life. I graduated with a Biology degree from a very secular university and was bombarded with evolution everywhere. By God's grace, I held on to the truth of His being my Creator and allowed me to see the intricacies of His creation in my studies and increased my awe of Him. I can never look at a feather again without marveling at His ingenuity in the design that allows birds to fly. And my favorite class of all - Immunology. There's just something about these little parts of our bodies (amino acids, genes, etc.) that work perfectly together (without being told) so we can function and live. It's amazing when you look at molecules that are perfect fit to others in order to fight off diseases or make new cells. Fascinating indeed!

I had a professor who would cry when she would share her findings on the crow. She marveled at how well natural selection worked to produce a crow. I remember thinking, "If you only knew the Creator who made them." I am thankful God has opened my eyes to know Him and to appreciate His beautiful creation more deeply than many scientists, who spend a lifetime studying, do.

StampTV Sketch Challenge

I've been enjoying getting involved with GinaK Designs' new venture, StampTV. It's a forum to highlight GinaK Stamps and her weekly episodes of StampTV. Every weekday, they have a challenge. You don't need to use Gina's stamps to participate. They just want everybody to have fun. The following week, they pick a random winner who gets free stamps at her store. I've been trying to do as much of the challenges as possible. Here is my latest submission to Thursday's sketch challenge. Come join us!

Stamps: Stampin' Up Toile Blossoms, All Year Cheer
Paper: Anna Griffin, SU Old Olive, Eggplant Envy
Ink: Eggplant Envy, Black, SU Watercolor pencils
Other: Ricrac, Ornate Corner slot punch

Welcome to my new blog!

I've been keeping a family blog for a few years now. This new blog is to highlight my hobby of paper crafting. I've been an avid crafter, specifically, card making and stamping since I was a little girl. I didn't discover the stamping industry until 10 years ago when a friend gave me a bunch of stamping supplies as a going away gift when my husband and I moved to Croatia from Los Angeles to become full-time missionaries. That box of supplies kept me entertained during the cold, winter months in our new home. As missionaries, we send out a lot of correspondence all year. This has encouraged me to keep making cards.

I introduced some Croatian and Bosnian friends to stamping and they were immediately hooked. With no Hallmark stores around, cardmaking is even more necessary here. I've learned to be resourceful since there are no Joanns nearby. One of my frustrations is not having Croatian sentiments to stamp on the cards we make. So, I started making fancy sentiments on Word to print out on cards. This prompted me to illustrate some images that I could also use on my stamps.

In November 2008, I downloaded an open-source illustrator program called Inkscape. I taught myself to draw on the computer. After a few hand-drawn sketches and creating digital versions of them, I thought why not submit them to stamp companies and maybe they'll be interested in making them into stamps. Little did I expect that the majority of the companies who saw samples my drawings were interested in purchasing my art. I sold my first sets in January 2008.

Now, I start my new life as a stamp illustrator. I will post info here as my stamps become available.