[Handmade Tags] Father's Day Necktie Tags

Hello folks!  Before we bring the month of June to a close, let me share with you these Necktie tags which I made for Father's Day but may be used for any special occasion,  These tags are so small and very cute.

Materials:

Base paper, 2 x 3.5" , I used craft paper here

Blue paper, 2 x 1.5"

Printed paper, 1 x 1"

Glue

Ruler

Cutter

Instructions:

1.  For the collared base shirt, take your 2 x 1.5" colored paper and cut a slit measuring a few centimeters on each side, and about 1/2 cm from the top.  Fold toward the center.

2.  Take the printed 1x1" sheet of paper.  Fold diagonally then open flaps.  Follow the photographs below.

3.  Once the necktie is done, apply a dab of glue and stick it on the center of the shirt.

Oh yes, it was totally cool.  I made 55 tags which we gave to the Fathers in our church together with some other goodies.

See you again next year, June.

♥ michelle

[Paper] B&B Wedding Wishes

It's been quite some time since I made a Wedding card.

This is for B&B.

Handmade Wedding Card

This is a folded 5x7 inch ivory cardstock.  I printed their photo and added a mat using kraft paper.  The background is teal that I dry embossed using my Sizzix folder.  Then I used Denami Sparklets ultra fine glitter.  The sentiment is a sticker from Stampendous that was placed on a bright pink banner.

The inside of the card also has a sticker saying "Best Wishes."

It's a simple card but I like how personalized it is.

Such a fun and loving couple.

May God bless your union forever and ever.

Love to all from

♥ michelle ♥

[Jewelry] Polymer Clay Faux Turquoise Necklace

Polymer Clay Faux Turquoise

I.  Am.  Back!  How are you?

One of our dear friends celebrated her 50th birthday and we gave her a surprise celebration!  Whew!  The 3 weeks of preparation, secret meetings and close encounters was fun and we're glad it turned out to be a wonderful celebration.  The theme of the party was "High Heels" since she loved wearing them and we used the colors:  black, gold and white.  

This was the necklace that I made for her.  The pendant is faux turquoise made from polymer clay.  To complete the necklace, I added mother of pearl square spacers, red and black crystals and ceramic beads all wired and attached to a chain.  It drapes the neck nicely and is very elegant.

So, how are you?  Have you been doing a lot of projects lately?

Have a blessed day!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Cards] Botanical Birthday Cards

Welcome back!

We have several loved ones who are celebrating their birthdays this month of January.  Here are a few of the "feminine" cards - lots of leaves and flowers.  Lovely, huh?

Botanical Birthday Cards

May your day be blessed!

♥  michelle  ♥

Materials:

Kraft cardstock

Recollections Floral and Leaf Embellishments

Hampton Art Stamp:  PS00337 Botanicabella Background

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Fiskar's rotary cutter

Tombow mono multi liquid glue

[Flashback] August & September 2013: Cakes and Bakes

We are looking back at August and September 2013.  

Wow... these 2 months were filled with baking and sweets - lots of it!  

I've always wanted to learn new skills and techniques so I joined a Wilton class at my local craft store.  I enjoyed every bit of it and was able to apply what I learned thereafter.

Isn't the hydrangea cake beautiful?  I bought a small round icing tip and tried my hand in making dainty "lace."

The rose cupcakes were for my little friends' tea party.  It's caramel cake with light butter icing.

The green cake on the bottom is Pandan chiffon cake that I made for a sweet 16 birthday celebrant.  The topper is handmade from polymer clay.

These are some of the handmade cards I made: for an infant, a girl, and an adult lady.  I'm running our of ideas, here.  LOL.  The heart pendant is for one of the girls at church whom we find so friendly, kind and sweet.  She always greets and chats with us after the service.  Oh, she won an award this year for having the most "stickers" in class.

It was in September when the Houston polymer clay guild hosted the Lone Star Retreat.  Wow, I had fun meeting and being in one room with creative polymer clay folks.  My beaded polymer clay pendant necklace won 3rd place in the "Friends and Faux challenge."

[Flashback] February 2013: Firsts of Many

February 2013 brought many "Firsts" for us.  

♥  My dear husband was chosen to be one of the godfathers of this cute little baby.  ♥

♥  Tried out Joe's Crab Shack on Valentine's Day.   Yummy to the tummy.  ♥

♥  I won 1st Place in our Department's Chili Cook-off.  Yay!  ♥

♥  Well, I made a several cards for family and friends this month (which is also a first).  ♥

♥  I also tried making an Origami heart card for my husband for Valentine's day.  ♥

♥  My necklace was featured in Art Bead Scene's monthly Challenge tour.  ♥

ArtBeadScene

Hmmmm.... I'd like to join more challenges in 2014.  That would be another "First" for me.  LOL.

[Celebration] Happy Thanksgiving!

This week, America is celebrating Thanksgiving.  This is my 4th year to celebrate Thanksgiving in the US, the 2nd in TX.  

I remember my First Thanksgiving in 2010 in Chicago.  

On my Second Thanksgiving, I made chocolate dipped cookies.  

Our first thanksgiving in TX was spent with our dear friends who helped us transition during our move.  I baked "Canonigo" for the first time that day.  

I made several "firsts" on this years thanksgiving season.  This was the handmade card that I sent my in-laws.  It was my first time to use Ranger alcohol inks to make the background, then stamped a maple leaf using Staz-on ink.

Thanksgiving Card and Fall Sugar Cookie inspired by SweetAmbs

I also made sugar cookies for the first time using a leaf cookie cutter and painted it using SweetAmbs' tutorial.  I super love her videos and the neatness of her work.  

SweetAmbs Fall Leaves

Well, it was also my first time to go to a liquor store to buy a small bottle of vodka, for arts' sake.  LOL. Oh boy, it didn't taste good at all.

Everyday is a day to Give Thanks.

What are you thankful for?  Do share it with me.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Packaging Ideas] Cookies in Burlap

Welcome back!  A few weeks ago, I shared with you about baking Pinipig Cookies.

Well, my husband and I sent some of it to Chicago as a birthday present to our cousin.

We placed the cookies in a plastic container and then wrapped it in burlap and tied an orange ribbon.  The cookies fit well in the container but my guess is that it crumbled during shipping.

What do you think about her birthday card?  

I stamped the image using Hero Arts Clings CG315 and added Colorbox pigment inks and embossed it with Judikins clear detail embossing powder.  I like how it turned out... the colors, dimension, gloss and all.

The sentiment is from the Hero Arts CL488 clear stamp set.

I'm into "orange" recently as seen in my projects.  

Remember the orange tulips in my mosaic challenge?

"Orange you glad we're halfway through the week?"

I am.

See you soon!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Focus on Life] Week 28: Pretty Patterns

It's the weekend again, time for Ms. Sally Russick's Focus on Life.  

It's Week 28 and its all about Pretty Patterns.

Let me share with you the card that I made for a friends special birthday.  My friend has a nice garden with different kinds of roses, hibiscus, and fruit bearing trees that her mom planted when she visited from the Philippines a few years ago.  It's her birthday and I wanted to make her a card full of flowers.

What do you think of this card?  Isn't it pretty?  I used a from Hero Arts rubber stamp H5481 Classic Bloom that I bought during last week's trip to the craft store.  I stamped the image using Versafine in Onyx Black several times on a piece of yellow cardstock to make a pretty pattern of happy flowers.  

Hero Arts H5481 Classic Bloom Rubber Stamp

I colored the petals with a combination of yellow and orange colored pencils and the center with shades of brown.  The sentiment is from TPC Studio's "Everday Greetings Stamp" that I heat embossed using Versamark and Judikins black opaque embossing powder.  

Finally, I added Mod Podge Dimensional magic on 2 of the flowers to add a little interest.  I love the gloss!

Did you notice the chevron pattern on the background of the photo?  

Can you guess what that is?

It's the car seat cover.  We were running late for our birthday surprise so I took a last minute shot of it.  Pretty pattern, right?

Thanks for stopping by to see my pretty patterns.  Let's head over to The Studio Sublime and check out other pretty patterns.

Have a wonderful weekend ya'll!  

See you soon!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Focus on Life Week 27] Texture

Hello there!  It's Week 27 over at Ms. Sally Russick's Focus on Life and it's all about Texture.

" From the course to the soft and fluffy, textures are always at our fingertips but we tend to be too busy to notice. Textures surround us at any given time, we sometimes just need to slow down a little and give them a little attention. Run your fingers down the hem of a quilt or pick up that dried leaf and focus on what your finger tips feel."

I like adding texture in my crafts such as this card - done with textured paper and accented with paper flowers.
A few days ago, I also shared a tutorial using dimensional adhesive.

I also use texture in my jewelry such as in this necklace where I added an embossed a Vintaj blank.  

This necklace was featured HERE.

Texture may also be applied to food and this homemade mango crab salad is full of it!  I combined lettuce, imitation crab and fresh, sweet mangoes.  The dressing was a combination of creamy garlic and Bragg's Hawaiian dressing - it tasted perfect!

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  It's time to head over to Ms. Sally's site to check on different textures.  Have fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Celebration] Cinco de Mayo and Mi Esposo Cumpleaños

Welcome back!

Today is Cinco de Mayo which is celebrated in the United States by Mexican-American communities and in Mexico to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American civil war.   These days, it is also a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

For my husband and I, we are celebrating his birthday plus other things.  

We were pretty busy last week when we helped our friend who was admitted at the hospital while her husband was in the Philippines.  We just thank God for His strength, wisdom, protection and for answered prayers.  She was back home yesterday and her husband (our Pastor) was able to change his flight and arrived this morning.

So, in light of Cinco de Mayo and my husband's birthday, we had a Mexican inspired party.




Tamales, Fajitas, Tres leches, Canonigo and Bolillo

 

We made chicken tortilla soup topped with onions, cilantro, sour cream and avocado,  It was delicious, so they say.  The  yummy and reasonably priced $6.50/12 pcs. pork and chicken tamales and bolillo bread were from Aranda's bakery.  

One of our friends brought Chicken fajitas from La Michoacana Meat Market. 

it came with a "green salsa" which was delicately spiced.

For dessert, I made Canonigo decorated with mango balls.  Perfect!

His birthday cake was Tres Leches topped with slices of mango.  In lieu of a handmade birthday card, I made a mini bunting 

and stamped embossed his name...  simple, not too sweet, yummy and you-know-me, colorful.

How was your weekend?

Now that we're back home and sleeping on our own beds, I'm not too eager to clean and keep up with house duties.   

Now that would be another story.

Have a blessed week!

♥  Michelle ♥

[Origami Heart Card] Valentine's Day 2013

It's Valentine's Day and I made this Origami Heart Card for my dear one.

Origami Heart

I layered it on a mat embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder. 

Origami Heart
Sizzix embossing folder

I stamped the sentiment and added a few hearts inside the card.

I am so glad that he is my valentine today and always.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND!

YOU ARE LOVED!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Jewelry] Candy sprinkles pendant

Instead of "What's in a name" I think the more appropriate title for this post is "What in these names?"

Bright colored Candy Sprinkles... lots of them!

Do you prefer a particular COLOR palette?  I love bright colors because it makes me really happy.  

I made these personalized pendants using resin and candy sprinkles.

This first one is for a birthday girl.

Personalized resin candy sprinkle pendant

This one is for a special lady - it had a horizontal layout which turned out nice too.

  

These pendants came with a leather and /or ball chain necklace and a handmade card.

Enjoy your day!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Gift] For Shon

A dear friend of mine is having a grand celebration this weekend: 

 her and her husband's birthday and their wedding anniversary - such a lovely couple.

May God bless you as you continue to enjoy your journey together.

I gave her a leather bracelet with a focal piece that I modified by adding color using PC.

The handmade card was made using Cuttlebug embossing folders, Hero Arts cupcake stamps and 

Stampendous Birthday sentiment.

Have fun!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Cards] Twice Embossed Card

I wanted to take my mind off from working with clay and decided to make  card.

There were a couple of Sizzix folders on my table and this particular one was given to me last Christmas.

It had a floral motif - perfect for my mom in Manila who I miss so much.  I used my Tombow ABT markers and finally embossed it with clear powder.

I love the different embossed textures of the card.

Hope to get into the groove of making special handmade cards again.

Happy crafting!

♥  Michelle  ♥

Valentine's Day 2012

It's that time of year when we celebrate Valentine's Day.

For most people, it's just another ordinary day but to others, it's a special day to be with someone you love.  It's that time of year when men flock to the card section to buy their wife or lovedone a nice card to accompany their boquet of flowers.  My husband was one of them... and I truly appreciate him for all his effort.

I had a hunch that he bought me flowers last night and kept it somewhere.  I teased him about it and he didn't seem to react differently.   He leaves for work at 5 am and when I woke up to bid him goodbye, caramba! - there was a pink card and a boquet of flowers on my craft table.

The card reads:

"To my wife on Valentine's Day...

I think we're kind of llike the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

We belong together...

And putting our different pieces together is a lot of fun." 

Oh, I had a good laugh and I have to give credit to him for always choosing the right card.

I made him this handmade card. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the background, rubber stamps, distress inks and paper.

The heart wreath was embossed with clear detail though it doesn't show it's beauty in the photo.

There were no special expensive dinner dates for us but we are happy just to be together.

Cheesy.. I know.

I hope your day was filled with the warmth and love of family and friends.

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

♥  Michelle  ♥

My Bead Soup for Melissa [Bead Soup Blog Party 2012]

Hello all and welcome back to The Cabby Crafter!

A few blogs ago, I shared with you the good news that I was randomly chosen to be part of
Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party.  Yay!

 

I sent out my bead soup for my dear partner Melissa just in time last Jan. 31 and the USPS certified mail today confirmed that it has arrived its destination.

This was my bead soup for her.  TADA!

Lori, the diva of the Bead Soup Party, required us to send a focal bead and a special clasp. 

I gave Melissa one of my polymer clay floral pendants that was set on a brass filigree.  I tried to make an original wire wrapped clasp but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to be and instead, I sent her 2 brass toggle clasps.  I also included coordinating cloissone beads, red beads, german crystals and brass bead spacers.

She will be receiving a special handmade card as well.  I am glad to have found a new friend who is a

very talented artist.

I can't wait to find out what she'll make out of these.

Visit The Cabby Crafter again to see what her bead soup was for me... I'm so eager to find out too.

Have a great weekend!

♥  Michelle  ♥

The Heart of my ♥ [for Mr. Cabby Crafter]

My husband and I are celebrating our 3rd Year Wedding Anniversary today.  It feels just like yesterday when we had the wedding ceremony and since then, we have discovered more things about each other.

He is my bestfriend and ever supportive craft sponsor.  Doesn't it feel good to have someone

criticize your work with love?  Ahahaha.

This card is for him:  The ♥ of my ♥.  Super corny, huh?  Bear with me. 

I thought of forming a heartshape in the middle and build around it to form a bigger heart.  I used several pieces of white quilling paper 1.5 inches long to complete the artform.  This was placed on a slightly distressed red mat that was then layered on a dry embossed heart white shiny paper and a floral designer paper.

I stamped the word "LOVE" in gold and embossed it with clear embossing powder.

There you go....

Three years past and a lifetime to go! 

Our wedding bands are etched with the following phrase:

Deus nos iunxit

("God has joined us together.")

Material

Quilled creations quilling paper:  white

Coredinations paper

Floral rose designer paper

Reflections white cardstock

Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Punch

Versamagic pigment ink:  Gold

Judikins clear detail embossing powder

Letter stamps

Happy Everything! [Hero Arts Birthday Card]

This card is for my sister-in-law's birthday.  She loves the color yellow so I used that as the mat background.  The stamped flowers and sentiment were from Hero Arts Thinking of You clear stamp collection.

I colored the flowers with markers.  I did a little experiment by adding Versamark ink using a fantastix pen and clear embossing powder - I think my little experient worked because I like how glossy and plump the flowers looks.

The sentiment was clear embossed as well. 

I like how dainty and elegant the card looks especially with the dry embossed distressed background.

This card is ready to fly to OZ!

Sending you Happy Everything, my friend!

Materials:

Hero Arts CL146 Clear Design Thinking of You

Cuttlebug D'Vine Embossing Folder

Coredinations Textured Paaper

Reflections Paper: yellow and white

Ranger Distress Inks:  Vintage photo, Walnut distress

Clorbox cat's eye pigment ink:  Midnight

Versamark watermark ink

Tsukineko Fantastix

Judikins Clear Detail Embossing Powder

Tombow ABT markers

Tombow Mono Adhesive

January Birthday Card

I've been making handmade cards for quite sometime now and I thought it would be nice to incorporate the birthmonth color motif in them.  The birthstone for January is Garnet hence this card RED, lots and lots of red!

For the red background paper, I dry embossed and sanded the paper to distress it.

Then, I layered a stamped image and sentiment that was heat embossed with clear powder.

To add more red, I added two different kinds of ribbon.

Finally, several red blings were randomly added to finish the piece.

Oh, how I love the different textures!

Happy crafting!

♥ Michelle ♥

Materials & Tools:

Coredinations Cardstock in VC Ruby

Reflections White cardstock

Cuttlebug embossing folder 37-1142 D'vine Swirls

Inkadinkado stamp 97635 Round frames

Colorbox catseye pigment ink in Scarlet

Judikins Clear detail embossing powder

Celebrations Ribbon

Metallic detail in Red

Tombow monoadhesive

Dimesional Adhesive

Sizzix BigKick Machine