loopycrafter

Time to Change

2017-12-20T09:36:00.003+08:00

After two years of not being into planners, I've decided to change my online moniker from PlannerBug to LoopyCrafter, which I think is more apt for me these days. I'm not just a one-trick pony obsessed with traveler's notebooks and journaling, but I am also obsessed over many other crafts, such as knitting, crochet, art journaling, scrapbooking and card making. And I sometimes bake too.

I've been meaning to include many different areas of interest in my blog and social media feed but each time I do, I see the numbers drop and people disengaging with me. I can't blame them as they did initially follow me because of planners and journals. But I have to be true to myself and do things I love doing, rather than do things others would like see me doing.

So I guess I'm saying I'm a multi-trick crafty pony and have many different interests in my life that doesn't revolve around traveler's notebooks alone. It was time to discard the name I've hung onto since 2014.

Thank you for continuing with me on this journey and for anyone new, welcome.

You can find me on my updated social media links here (and on the sidebar):

Knit - Same Thing Only Different

2017-12-18T10:08:00.000+08:00

That's what the pattern is called... Same Thing Only Different (ravelry link). I came across this pattern at Imagiknit, a yarn store in San Francisco, two years ago. I saw the wrap on a mannequin and fell in love with its simplicity. It's a basic stockinette wrap but seamed in such a way that it turns into an asymmetrical poncho/wrap combo. The store owner recommended I try Elizabeth Lavold's Hempathy, which is a cotton, hemp and viscose blend.

The yarn feels a little stiff on the fingers but it knits up to a lovely soft drape. The fabric feels quite cool and I think it's perfect for tropical weather. The pattern is really basic too, just stockinette all the way, so it's a really fantastic project to work on when sitting in front of the telly or when traveling.

I have two more balls to finish up. Although I started this project in 2015, I had frogged it halfway through and turned it into a crochet wrap. And then frog it again. But my second attempt at frogging wasn't entirely successful because I somehow managed to tangle quite a bit of the yarn into such a mess that I couldn't untangle it. So almost half a ball is unusable. That's okay though. The yarn is very drapey so it does elongate a bit and I think I have more than enough to finish the project.

Anyway, I can't wait to get this off my needles. I should have a finished object by January next year.

Crochet - Basket Case

2017-12-14T18:30:00.000+08:00

I haven't picked up my needles, either knit or crochet ones, in a rather long time so I'm not sure what possessed me to suddenly dig out a 5mm crochet hook and some jute yarn to make small baskets. But now that I've made one (or two), I can't stop and I want to make more. I still have quite a bit of that brown yarn left.

I pretty much searched the internet for "crochet basket pattern" and came across a Simple Crochet Mini Basket. I followed most of the pattern except I made the sides a little taller than the shorter version and eliminated the handles. It's quite an easy pattern to follow and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

Both baskets were made with jute yarn from Daiso. I wish I had bought more of the cream and grey colours because these yarns can sometimes be hard to find at different Daiso stores. Jute yarn is rather unpleasant to handle though. But it has a stiffness that makes it suitable for such household accessories.

Bitty Bears Christmas Card

2017-12-09T11:52:00.000+08:00

Seriously, who can resist these cute lil' bears? I'm a huge fan of We Bare Bears on Cartoon Network and the My Favorite Things Bitty Bears stamp set reminds me so much of the three lovable cartoon bears, especially when they were babies. I didn't really get around to playing with these bears because I've been trying to get all the "no colouring" Christmas cards out of the way first.

This card is for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #362, which you can see here.

I used the Waffle Flower Lacy Rectangles die to cut out the main frame and a scallop circle die by Kaisercraft to cut out the two holes. The Bitty Bears were coloured with Prismacolor pencils on bristol paper and I added a few cute dots on their accessories with a white gel pen. The sentiment was from the same stamp set and stamped with Versamark ink and then heat embossed with Ranger Fine White Embossing Powder on black cardstock. I also splattered a tiny bit of Dylusions Mica spray in Turquoise but it's quite a light colour.

Even my husband agrees that the bears are really cute :-)

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely day!

Little Drummer Boy Christmas Card

2017-12-05T20:40:00.000+08:00

This has to be my most involved card. And by most involved, I mean, most layers.

The main focal image, sentiment and background are from a discontinued Graphics45 patterned paper that I got as a gift with purchase from a local scrapbook store. I layered a snowflake and a few doily diecuts from My Favorite Things. The gold foam stars were cut out from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die. I also added a few fabric pieces and tucked a couple of stitched fall leaves from a Lawn Fawn die behind the focal image. I love how the different layers and textures came together.

Challenge:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Take 5 Art Journal Collaboration - Joy

2017-12-01T09:58:00.000+08:00

I'm back with another fun #take5art collaboration with the lovely and talented bunch of ladies on YouTube. You can find links to their channels in the video description.

Our prompts for November were:
- tissue paper
- post it notes
- stencil
- stamping
- stickers

And yes, you read that correctly... we had to use post its or sticky notes in our journal. I don't use post its regularly and had to dig through a couple of drawers and found these flower shaped ones. I don't even remember getting it but I thought the shape would be a bit more interesting than the regular squares.

I also did something a little different with this page. I usually use a Moleskine sketchbook for my art journaling but that thing was getting quite chunky and hard to close although I've only used 10 pages. I've been meaning to use more layers and I knew my notebook wouldn't cut it. So I finally unearthed a Project Life 6x8 folder that I got in the US during a sale. I don't do Project Life and used the folder to house my art journal instead.

I like the 6x8 size too. And I love that I can do more layering without worrying about the notebook not closing. I will definitely experiment with more dimensional elements in the future. And oh, the post its were quite well disguised I think. In the end, the page turned out all right :-)

YouTube Channel: PlannerBug

Direct link to video: Take 5 Art Collaboration - Joy

Starry Gold Christmas Card

2017-11-30T17:28:00.000+08:00

I'm really putting this deer die from a Maggie Holmes set through its paces this holiday season. I just love how interesting it looks on a card especially against an interesting background. I'm entering both the Simon Says Stamp challenges again (links below).

I achieved the background by sponging gold acrylic paint through a Tim Holtz stencil on a black cardstock. I think I have to do more of this because I love the effect of gold against a dark background. I also splattered a tiny bit of gold Heidi Swapp Color Shine.

The gold foam stars were cut out from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die. I layered a torn up bit from a doily and some twine on the back of the deer.

Challenges:

Got Cake Birthday Card

2017-11-28T12:26:00.001+08:00

The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge has the theme "Food and/or Drink" and I thought of creating a birthday card with a cute bear eating a slice of cake. I guess this can also be entered into the new Monday Challenge that has the theme "Star Light Star Bright" since I included a starry background.

The bear is from a Brutus Monroe stamp set and it has the cutest little birthday themed bear images. Both the sentiments are from the same set. I got the star background die cut from Aliexpress. I matted the pink stripe paper with a shimmery peach. I also splattered some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Peach. I coloured the bear with Copic markers and shaded some areas with Prismacolor pencils.

Overall, it's a cute and simple looking card but quite a bit of effort did go into colouring and putting the elements together.

Tear It Up Snowflake Card

2017-11-27T16:04:00.000+08:00

I really like participating in card or journaling challenges because it forces me to use my supplies differently. And usually, no two projects are exactly alike. So there's always variety and I don't have to think of prompts because I'm pretty bad at coming up with them.

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge has a "Tear It Up" theme. Now I love using torn up bits in my journaling but I don't really use them on my cards. So I whipped out my scrap papers and pretty much stuck them down on top of each other. The snowflake is from a MFT Die-namics die that may be discontinued. I didn't include a sentiment on the cover but I may stamp a Christmas greeting on the inside.

This is a really great way to use up those scraps.

Little Deer and Friend Christmas Card

2017-11-22T15:48:00.002+08:00

I am still not done with Christmas cards and made another one with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge in mind. We have "Furry Friends" as a theme and I thought why not add a fawn and his rabbit friend.

Both critters were from a free stamp set that I got with a papercraft magazine last year. The tree was cut from a Kaisercraft die with kraft cardstock. I can't really remember where the blue patterned paper came from. I've used it in a few projects and only had a small rectangle remaining.

I'm starting to enjoy adding twine or thread on my cards. I think they add a bit of interest in quite an organic way.

Faux Stitching Reindeer Card

2017-11-14T18:07:00.000+08:00

I was actually working on this card and just so happen to see the latest Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge titled "It's a Stitch Up". Although I do not have any hand or machine stitching on my card, there are faux stitches achieved through stamps and dies.

I used my usual stitched rectangle die to cut out the main base. Then I stamped a stitched circle from Carabelle Studios with Encore Champagne ink, which is a rather subtle gold champagne. I laid a couple of scrap papers and a piece of lace trim. The reindeer was stamped on kraft paper and fussy cut out. I added a little bit of gold DMC thread behind it. The sentiment is from a Kelly Purkey stamp set. Of course I had to add some gold splatters with Heidi Swapp Color Shine. Oh and that tiny gold foam star was a negative shape from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die. All pieces were shaded with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo around the edges.

I think this is my new favourite card to date. I love how all the little elements came together and would definitely try machine stitching some pieces on my next card. I just find the sewing machine a little intimidating sometimes.

Thank You Fall Butterfly Card

2017-11-13T16:33:00.001+08:00

This card is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the theme "Thanks/Thanksgiving" and I'm oh so late with my submission (there's only 4 hours left as I type this).

Quite honestly, I was a little disappointed with how this card turned out. I'm happy enough with the background, the fall leaves embossed on the gold cardstock with very subtle shimmer is actually quite lovely. But something about that butterfly die bugs me. I think it's the feelers or antennae sticking out of its head. It's a funny shape. I love the delicate wing design though, and that's one of the reasons I got it but the feelers are really strange. I've tried snipping it off before but it looked even weirder. The die is by Concord and 9th and it comes with a gorgeous flower die as part of the Floral and Flutter set. I'm just not the biggest fan of the "flutter" bit.

Another thing I don't like is the sentiment. I wish I had stuck one of the Tim Holtz tiny word stickers instead. The font doesn't quite go together with the card. I will probably replace it after this.

So there you have it. Sometimes a project can be a tad bit underwhelming.

Noel Reindeer Postcards

2017-11-12T10:25:00.000+08:00

This is probably my favourite holiday season project so far. I wanted to create a set of postcards and had some leftover music script patterned paper. Each postcard is backed with kraft paper to make it more solid. I'll be sending each without an envelope, so it needs to survive the distance.

I used a stitched postage stamp die to cut out the main base. There are 4 in the patterned paper and 4 in kraft. The reindeer head is from a Maggie Holmes Open Book set and the word "noel" was heat embossed with a glittery gold Nuvo embossing powder. The stamp is by Kelly Purkey. I also stamped some gold and copper words and patterns behind the reindeer and they are all from various Kelly Purkey Christmas stamp sets. Then I darkened the edges of everything with Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge.

I couldn't do anything too dimensional because it's supposed to be a postcard form so it needs to be as flat as possible. I also used very strong glue (Tombow Multi Liquid Glue) to adhere everything. I don't want to risk anything falling apart in the mail.

I can't wait to send these off!

Silver Snowflake Card

2017-11-11T16:25:00.000+08:00

For the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, we have the theme "Snow White". Immediately, I thought of embossing snowflakes onto a plain white linen card and sticking a glittery silver snowflake on it.

The snowy embossing folder is by Darice and the silver snowflake is an old MFT die (probably discontinued). The sentiment is from the Kelly Purkey S'no Problem stamp set. I added a light silver foil washi tape along the edges of the base card to create a slim silvery border. The effect is quite subtle.

This simple card is perfect if you're looking to mass produce because it's relatively easy to put together.

Colourful Joy Christmas Card

2017-11-07T10:00:00.000+08:00

I was feeling a little experimental and thought of creating my own Christmas patterned paper with Distress Oxide inks. I punched out a couple of snowflake and tree shapes and basically just used the negative space as stencils. I wanted a fun and colourful background so I pretty much used nearly every colour of the rainbow.

I also added subtle gold stencilled stars and irregular yellow splotches. The word "joy" and sentiment are from the Hero Arts Joy Stamp and Cut set that I got from JoAnn's when I visited the States in April. This card measures 3.5 x 4.75 inches, which seems to be my new favourite size. It's quite a bit smaller than the standard A2 card size.

I will continue to churn out more holiday themed cards until I start sending them out next week. This is by far my favourite season to make cards and tags :-)

Celebrate Christmas Tag

2017-11-06T15:56:00.000+08:00

I've been a little preoccupied with making Christmas cards and tags for the upcoming holiday season. I decided to play along the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the theme "Christmas Gift Tag".

The background was achieved with sparkly Dylusion mica and Heidi Swapp Color Shine sprays over a Tim Holtz stencil called Holiday Knit. I also splattered some gold Color Shine and stamped a Christmassy sentiment by Kaisercraft in gold ink. The tree is a Kaisercraft die and the word "celebrate" is from a Waffle Flower die. I layered the word three times to make it thicker. The stars were snipped off from the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars die and were diecut with glitter gold fun foam.

You can see more of the shimmery background from this photo.

Have you started on your Christmas cards yet?

Somebunny Is Thinking of You Card

2017-11-02T11:20:00.000+08:00

I haven't made a card for the Simon Says Stamp challenges in a while and when I saw Monday's Challenge theme "All Creatures Great and Small", I knew I had to use the latest addition to my stamp collection. This Birdie Brown Somebunny set by My Favorite Things (MFT) is quite possible one of the cutest stamps I own. The images are so darling!

I created the background by smooshing some watercolours on a small piece of cardstock and cut out with a stitched rectangle die. I created the sun rays peeking out behind the bunny with some Distress Ink in Wild Honey using a mini blending tool through a stencil. The bunny was watercoloured with Prima's Pastel Dreams set and the sentiment stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink. The two tiny hearts are from Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts die set.

I really like how this card turned out. I love combining mixed media in my card making and think the end results are always a little more unique. I will be creating a bunch of Christmas cards next because I have to get them ready to send out.

I hope you enjoyed this little project. Thanks for popping by.

Take 5 Art Journal Collaboration - Boo

2017-10-31T18:00:00.000+08:00

Hello, everyone! I'm back with another #take5art journal challenge with a group of fantastic ladies on YouTube and this month, I've gone with a Halloween theme. Just because it's the 31st of October. I know it's a little unoriginal but Halloween is always such a fun theme :-)

Our prompts are:
- Add white marker / pen
- Add paint without a brush
- Add dots
- Use Distress Ink
- Add a Project Life card

List of products used:
- Tim Holtz stencils - Crackle, Dot Fade
- Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley - BASICALLY SQUARE - DYZ48381 Stamp & Stencil set
- Simon Says Stamp Die - Stacked Stars
- Distress Paint - Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Picket Fence
- Distress Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, Abandoned Coral, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo
- Memento Ink - Tangelo
- Uni Posca Pen - White (fine tip)
- Ranger Texture Paste
- Liquitex Gesso
- Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
- Aalene's Tacky Glue
- Moleskine Sketchbook (Large)

I hope you enjoyed the video and thank you so much for watching! Do check out the video description for links to the rest of the collaboration gang.

YouTube Channel: PlannerBug
Direct link to video: Take 5 Art Journal Collaboration - Boo

Welcome Again

2017-10-04T10:00:00.000+08:00

Hello, hello! I've been thinking about moving into Blogger for some time as it was getting a little expensive maintaining a domain and server space. It also looks like Blogger has enhanced its functions since the last time I used it. So all in all, it's a pretty good move.

I could only transfer 40+ blog posts over because the xml import/export between platforms does not seem to work as well. So I had to manually repost each post, which is a right pain in the butt. I have to pretty much archive most of the older articles in an xml format until I can figure out how to move them over to Blogger.

That's just some of the technical difficulties. I also had to transfer my photos from my previous web space to Google's photo directory so that wasn't fun. I spent a good part of yesterday just working out all the kinks.

Coming back to Blogger seems familiar. After all, I did start with Blogger... well, not exactly. Truth be told, I started with Livejournal. Anyone still remember that? And I think I even had a Salon blog for a while. I've tried most blogging platforms, even dabbled in Open Diary and a bit of the free Wordpress (before moving into the fully paid service). But I've had Blogger blogs for the longest time. I have a knitting blog, which has not been updated in yonks, and a beauty blog. Embarrassingly enough, you can still find them on the internets.

I guess this post is not so much an introduction into this blog. If you have been following my blog, this will just seem like a transition. It's nothing particularly new. In fact, I kept the look and feel pretty much the same. If you'd like to subscribe (or resubscribe), please hit the RSS button on the right sidebar or subscribe via email.

Thank you so much for your support and I sincerely hope you enjoy going through the blog. Do let me know if you have any suggestions or topics you'd like to discuss and I'll do my best. You can leave them in the comments below or ping me at one of my many social media platforms.

Take 5 Art Journal Collaboration - Learning to Fly

2017-10-04T01:00:00.002+08:00

I'm back with another #take5art journal challenge with the ladies (links to their channels can be found in the video description) and this time around, we basically had free reign over what we want to use as long as they are the oldest or old supplies from our stash.

Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching. Please be sure to use the hashtag #take5art and tag me on YouTube or Instagram to notify me that you're participating as well. It would be so much fun if more people joined in :-)

Traveler's Notebook Process - Silly Selfie

2017-10-04T01:00:00.001+08:00

I do not usually take selfies but I was feeling rather bored last Valentine's and decided to play with a few Snapchat face filters. And took this shot. I knew I had to put it into my traveler's notebook someday. I need to be brave enough to take more selfies and include them into my memory keeping.

Hope you enjoy this video featuring a rather silly selfie :-)

Take 5 Art Journal Collaboration - Nothing Is Impossible

2017-10-04T01:00:00.000+08:00

I've really enjoyed participating in the #take5art challenge / collaboration on YouTube and it's been a blast coming up with different pages based on the prompts given by Kyra.

Prompts for August:
- text paper (paper containing text or fonts)
- napkins
- use packaging to apply media
- white
- yellow

I hope you enjoy watching the video and let me know should you have any feedback or suggestions.

Celebrate Stars Card

2017-09-16T01:00:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since I participated in a Simon Says Stamp challenge and this card is for both the Monday and Wednesday challenge. I used the Simon Says Stamp Stacked Stars and the Waffle Flower Celebrate dies along with a stitched rectangular die. I layered a few of the celebrate word so that it pops up a bit. It's a simple card but I do prefer the look of clean and simple cards most of the time.

Mixed Media Crazy Bird Birthday Card

2017-08-12T01:00:00.002+08:00

One of my favourite crafty things to do is to play with Distress Paints and today I thought of incorporating the card I've made for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge into a mixed media series that I'm doing on my channel. Do check out the video at the end of this post.

I'm really pleased with how the card turned out and all the different techniques I applied to the Distress Paints. I especially love the mixed media backgrounds I worked on and the Tim Holtz Crazy Birds stamp set was pretty cute too. I only have 3 of those birds in my set. It was one of those "made for Michaels" (or was it JoAnns?) sets that came with the coordinating dies too.

This is probably one of the cutest cards I've made :-)

Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching!

Channel: PlannerBug
Direct link to video: Distress Paints Birthday Card | Mixed Media Techniques

Traveler's Notebook Process - Cameron Highlands

2017-08-12T01:00:00.001+08:00

My husband and I took a mini vacation and went up Cameron Highlands to enjoy the cool weather, beautiful scenery and food. Of course I had to journal about the trip in my traveler's notebook, especially after a friend printed out an Instax photo on her printer. I think I need an Instax printer too!

Hope you enjoyed the video and thanks so much for watching!

Channel: PlannerBug
Direct link to video: Traveler's Notebook Process - Cameron Highlands