IT's SO NICE TO HAVE FRIENDS

HELLO THERE :)

I got the nicest thing in the mail today from my good friend and swap partner Becky. She sent me the sweetest card AND this amazing little gadget called the "Quick Stik".  Looks like a pen but does some amazing things for CRICUT lovers like us. 

Check out her YOU TUBE VIDEO HERE 

where she does a little show and tell on this little gem of a tool. You're gonna want to get one, hehe :)

Thank You So Much BECKY ! You're THE BEST !

I can't wait to use it :)

BLOG HOP WINNER

WOW ! What a surprise when I found 140 entries submitted for my recent Blog Hop Give Away !

I love Give Aways ! 

So without further ado....

The Random.org WINNER for the soon to be released 

Fruit & Veggie Puns" from My Pink Stamper IS....

gabyangel said...

"Thanks Alex! you must have been under medication!! because you sounded good!! Thanks for the tip, your doll came out adorable!! "

Hehe Gaby! Congratulations! Your comment was hysterical given my recent gallbladder fiasco! The I'm so happy for you ! I will be contacting you soon to get you your prize ! Thanks Everyone for participating in the Blog Hop:) I hope you had fun and learned some new tricks along the way :) And last but not least, much thanks goes out to the host of the Blog Hop, the wonderful Nicole at Canadian Nickel Scrapin'

NOW ON TO SOME MORE CRAFTING...

I had a wedding to attend recently so I made up this card for the happy couple. I decided to try and incorporate the couples' wedding colors which where yellow and steal grey. Wedding colors are so different now a days, but I really like the new direction wedding decor had taken lately. It's so fun and creative ! This is one of my favorite cuts for the Tie the Knot cartridge and I decided to stray from the normal A2 size and size up the card at 5 inches square. I have the Martha Stewart Score Board, so it was a cinch to make up a classy matching envelope :) Hope you like it :)

CNS BLOG HOP

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE ! 

and welcome to our...

"LEARN A TECHNIQUES"  BLOG HOP

If you've arrived here, then you must have just visited the fabulous Nicole at Canadian Nickel Scrapin She's the host of our BLOG HOP today and I'm sure you've come away having learned a nifty new trick from her!

Now it's my turn to share a little "some-in, some-in" that I love to do when creating cards. So, pull up a chair and take a peek at my video tutorial...

Did you learn something new? I hope you enjoyed it !

Thank you SO MUCH for hopping along with us 

and stopping by my blog !

I have some BLOG CANDY for you !
I'll be giving away one of the new 
My Pink Stamper sets "Fruit and Veggie Puns" because I love fruity cards :) They are on preorder so it might be a week or so before you get your prize, but you'll be one of the firsts to have it !

 So just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick the Random.org winner Monday morning June 28. And don't forget to leave a way for me to get a hold of you!

Next on the BLOG HOPPING ROAD is the very talented EULINDA at Cards, Cards and More Cards 

I know you're gonna love it there too !

If by any chance you get lost, below are the links

to the rest of our featured bloggers ! And remember our host has an awesome GRAND PRIZE TO GIVE AWAY so make sure you end up at Canadian Nickle Scrapin when you are done hopping !

 HAVE FUN AND HAPPY HOPPING ! 

3.      Eulanda  http://eulandasilvey.blogspot.com/

4.      Jessica  http://www.kinderstampo.com/

5.      Liz  http://lizspaperloft.blogspot.com/

6.      Mari  http://madebymomo.blogspot.com/

7.      Meighen  http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/

8.      Melanie  http://scrappymel.blogspot.com/

9.      Shelly http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/

LOVE BUGS AND DON'T FORGET THE BLOG HOP

Hi Friends :)

Here's my entry for
Paper Playtimes Challenge # 4!

The theme this week was Bugs, Bees, Ants and Lady Bugs and our host Queen is the wonderful Sue at Sue's Sentiments. If you haven't checked out this fun Challenge Blog yet, you should :)

I had this cute little bug stamp set from Stampin Up which worked out perfectly. I'll be honest though, it's not my favorite card of all the cards I've made, but then again I am on pain meds right now, so I think I wasn't seeing colors very clearly! LOL! 

Speaking of meds, most of you know I will probably be having gall bladder surgery this weekend so I'll be out of it for a few days. Luckily I pre-scheduled some posts for the next few days.

The most important one being tomorrow's 

"LEARN A TECHNIQUE BLOG HOP" 

hosted by the wonderful Nicole at Canadian Nickle Scrapin. 

So don't miss out on all the fun! Get ready to hop along, have some fun, learn something new and maybe pick up some blog candy along the way !

They tell me that gallbladder surgery is a cinch, so hopefully, I'll be back amongst my dear Crafty Blog and Face Book friends soon :) !

Send me some blog love (I could really use it ) and I would love to hear all the fun news on how the blog went and how you enjoyed it!

GRANDMA's SWEETS

HELLO FRIENDS :)

The patterned paper I used in this card reminded me of old wallpaper that your grandma might have had in her vintage kitchen. 

You know how grandma's always had a piece of pie or cake ready and waiting for you when you came by for a visit ? It my case, if my grandmother didn't have any sweets on hand she would always give me a dollar and say " Go get some ice cream!"  Instead I would run to the bakery for my favorite treat ! CUPCAKES ! Maybe that's why my gall bladder is a mess ! LOL !

 Recipe :

Base Card Natural Cardstock 5.5 x 4.25

Patterned Paper  4 x 5.25 and punched on one side with EK Success Punch

Torquise Paper 3 x 5.25 punched on both sides with EK Success Punch

Light Bue Paper 1.5 x 5.25 and embossed with Swiss Dots

White Ribbon,Button and String

Cupcake from Sweet Treats with Stickles ( thanks to my swap partener Becky)

Sentiment from My Pink Stampers Simple Sweet Occasions

SHARING TIME

Hello Wednesday Everyone !

I was doing some blog hopping the other day and found this awesome video from Cindy over at her blog  Crazy for Crafting. 

I have searched around and found several ways to unmount your wood block stamps and convert them to Clear Mount and I find her method to be on of the best I've seen.  I tried it today and it works GREAT! Thanks Cindy for sharing!  

Very timely too, because I am working on a challenge card and I really needed a particular set of my stamps to be clear mounted for the project. I'll post it soon :)

Here's a picture of my remounting attempts using her techinque and below that is Cindy's video !

A BLOG HOP !!!

Hello Friends !

This is so exciting ! I can hardly contain myself ! 

My good friend Nicole over at

CANADIAN NICKEL SCRAP'N 

is hosting a BLOG HOP and she invited me to be one of the 9 bloggers featured ! And I am so flattered because the other ladies are so talented!  The theme for this Hop will be "TECHNIQUES" in paper crafting and there will be blog candy sprinkled 

here and there and a grand prize !

So mark your calendars for what will surely be

"a hopping good time " !

I know, I know...a little corny, but I had to say it :)

Date : Saturday, June 26th

Time : 12:00 am - 2:30am PST

Host and Start Location : Canadian Nickel Scrapin'

*check out her blog for more details 

A FAIRY PRINCESS AND A BUTTON

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE !

HAPPY FATHER'S 

TO ALL THOSE WONDERFUL DADS OUT THERE!

My last post was Father's Day related, but I am posting twice today because I might not be able to post for a couple of days. Some of you know that I haven't been feeling too well, and I actually ending up in the ER last night!  I thought I was having a heart attack, but looks like my ticker's ok and it might be my gallbladder, have to follow up with my doc tomorrow and probably 
have some tests done to figure it out  ! 

 Anyways..back to my post !

I HAVE A NEW BLOG BUTTON ! 

Thanks to Leelou Blogs! I'm so excited, I've never had a blog button before :) Check it out on my sidebar:)

 Also , I wanted to share my entry for 

Emma's Throw Back Thursday Challenge.  

The challenge was to use Paper Doll Dress Up and it be a 3-D project, so I decided to do these cute little gift backs that I am filling with goodies and giving them to 2 twin girls that I know through church, who just graduated high school !   I love how the fairy princess is ready to grant them good wishes for their future!

FATHER KNOWS BEST

HI! 

Today is Father's Day ! I sneaked away this morning to get all of my DH's gifts and card ready for him when he comes down the stairs :) !

I'm so excited, I hope he likes everything !

I wanted to share the SHADOW BOX that I made for him. I've never done any scrapbooking before, so this was a first for me :)

It was really fun, especially because of the subject matter, my family, who I love so much, and because it was a perfect opportunity to make a nice gift for my hubby who is such a wonderful man :)

I am also entering it in the Peachy Keen Shadow box Challenge !

8x8 Patterned Paper from DCWV Stack # 6

Font and window from Plantin School Book Cart 

Gypsy to alter and weld letters

Doodling with white and black Sakura Pens 

Stampin Up Corner and Hearts Punch 

Picture frame from Michaels

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

HI THERE ! 

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm hugely Patriotic ! I can't help but cry every time I hear the Star Spangle Banner! Maybe because I'm a third generation Cuban and I know what my parents sacrificed to leave a dictatorship to live in a free country ! I will be forever grateful to them :) So when the opportunity came to make a Red White and Blue Card for

PAPER PLAYTIME'S CHALLENGE # 3 

I couldn't resist getting all 4th of Julyish :) 
Isn't this little guy sooo cute ? 

Details :
Base Card 5.5 x 4.25 Natural Cardstock
Whisper White Layer from Stampin Up 5.25 x 4
Patterned Paper 5 x 3.75 DCWV Stack #6
Boy and all layers cut at 3 inches, I chalked each piece for dimension andI hand cut the hatband
Ribbon from Michael's, Buttons from Joann's
I made up the sentiment and printed on my computer and punched it out with
Modern Window Punch from Stampin Up

SUMMER STICKLES

HELLO AGAIN!

Have I mentioned that I love challenges ?  
Well, I do !!!

Here a card that I made for one that I am entering at Nicole's Canadian Nickel Scrap'n Blog and the theme was anything summer! I think most of you know I'm a California girl, so this is my little take on my home state! I wanted to come up with something that looked like a vintage postcard. I went a little crazy on the Stickles, so maybe it's more Vegas like ?... but hey... who doesn't like Stickles ! I am also entering it in Mary's Cricut Cardz Challenge # 29

Details :

Base Card Whisper White from Stampin Up 5.5 x 4.25

Pattern Paper? with Natural Cardstock from Michael's

Scallop Punch from Stampin Up

All cuts from Life's A Beach Cart at appr 3 inches and customized with my Gyspy

Face Stamp on Sun from Peachy Keen Everyday Faces

Lots of Diamond Stickles

HOW NICE :)

Guess what I found in my Inbox today ?

2 BLOG AWARDS ! 

That is so nice !!!!

I received them from Melanie over at 
Scrappy Gifts . 

Thank you Melanie! I will proudly post them on my side bar :)

And now I get to spread the love by choosing 10 blogs to pass this award to! How will I choose, I love so many of them ?!

SUNDAY ANYONE ?

GOOD MORNING !

I must have dessert on the brain ! Here's another sugary sweet card,but this time I made it for Emma's Throw Back Thursday Challenge .I didn't have the Stretch Your Imagination Cart, so I used a cut that my sweet friend Becky sent me when we did our recent swap ! They had the perfect colors ! Thanks Becky ! 

The challenge was to use blue, brown and red in your design and WOW ! Do I love those colors together ! Thanks Emma for the challenge, you really did help me "stretch my imagination " :) :) :)

Details :

Base Card Natural Card Stock 5.5 x 4.25 opening lengthwise

Brown Layer 5.25 x 4 

Blue Layer 5 x 3.75 with Martha Stewart Corner Punch (love it!)

Ice Cream Sunday cut at 3" from Sweet Treats Cart

Sentiment from Stampin Up, Ink Tempting Turquoise from Stampin Up

Sentiment Circle and Scallop Circle from Stampin Up

Ribbon from Michaels

I LOVE CUPCAKES !

HAPPY SATURDAY !

I've had my kids and grand babies here visiting with me for the last 2 weeks and it's been a blast ! There's nothing more fun or rewarding than having your family gathered around you ! But I must say, being an empty nester has it's rewards too ! For me, it's spending quality time with the hubs AND more crafting time ! Today I made this super cute cupcake card ! I'm trying really hard to stay away from the sugary treats, it's seems they are having an ill effect on my health, according to my doctor, so this card is a great way for me to still enjoy the beauty and perfection of a cupcake :)

Details :

Base Natural Card Stock 5.5 x 4.25

Layer 1 Turquoise Paper 5.25 x 4.00

Patterned Paper 5.00 x 3.75

Scalloped Ovals cut from Forever Young Cart at 3 inches & 2.75 then layered and 2 eyelets , then ribbon laced behind and thru the front then add small ribbon.

Cupcake cuts and all layers from Once Upon A Princess custom sized and cut using 

the Gyspy at apprx 3 x 2.25 inches

Sentiment from  MPS Simple Sweet Occasions, using Tempting Turquoise Ink from SU and 

window punches from SU. 

Small small bling as sprinkles :)

HI EVERYONE !

I'm so flattered that some of you have mentioned to me that you would be interested in purchasing my cards ! 

What a nice compliment ! 

So I've decided to start an ETSY SHOP :) 

When I began this blogging adventure, it never crossed my mind that it could be a way to earn a little extra money !

It's a nice surprise :) Well, if anyone does decide to purchase anything, I'm sure I'll be rolling whatever I might 

earn right back in to making more cards ! 
Here's a little project  I made a few days ago 
that I hadn't posted yet.
Isn't it sooo cute :)
So sorry I don't have a video or anything on it. I made it at the monthly Stampin Up Club that I attend and I don't own the die cuts you need for the box or flowers but it has inspired me to maybe try and come up with my own design using my Cricut ! Anyone else up for the challenge too ? :)

 

ANOTHER FUN GIVE AWAY

Hello !

My friend Shelly over at her blog  Heart Strings is offering a really fun giveaway ! The prize is the Independence Day Cartridge from 

Provo Craft ! Whoo-Whoo ! I love all things patriotic ! So I wanted to pass it along ! Click on the button or link for more information on how to enter and good luck !!!

HERE COMES THE SUN

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE :)

Today I wanted to share the card I made for

Paper Playtime's 2nd Challenge.  

This week's Paper Queen is none other than 

Mary from Cardz TV ! 

Seriously, Mary is one of my card making idols !

The theme was " In Thy Face I See Truth, Honor and Loyalty"  what an inspirational saying ! My mind went to so many things, the military, my family, my faith. But the thing that kept coming to mind the most was my faith in God. So this card depicts how I feel about my Heavenly Father above, always looking down on me, always smiling, like the sun, always shining light on me when things seem dark, forever loyal, forever truthful :)

Details :

Base Card is Natural Card Stock from Michael's cut at 5.5 x 4.25

The blue layers are pieces of scraps about 2 inches and I used Stampin Up's Scalloped punch on one edge and layered them from darkest to lightest.

The sun is from The Wild Cad Cart cut at 3", real dial size. I used my gypsy to make it a 2 layer shape and I glittered the rays. I used the Peachy Keen Everyday Faces Stamp for the face and colored the whites of the eyes with a Sakura white gel pen.

The sentiment is from Stamp Up's Teeny Tiny Sayings.

AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS

HELLO ! 

Ironically I almost forgot that today was the deadline for 

Emma's Throw Back Thursday Challenge!!! 

Luckily I remembered, so here's my take on the Animal Kingdom Theme you had to use. I don't have the aforementioned cartridge, so I made this little guy using Create A Critter and believe it or not, one of the stamps from the Peachy Keen Princess Face Assortment !!! 

I found that many of the stamps included in this set would work for animals because the eyes are wide set, very versatile :) Have I mentioned that I love those stamps :) Also, as luck would have it, this is actually the stamp set that I purchased using the gift certificate that I won a couple of weeks ago on none other than Emma's Blog ! I love give aways ! The sentiment is something I came up with and printed on my computer and punched out using Stampin Up's Modern Window Punch. I really like that punch too :)

JUST FOR YOU

HAPPY SATURDAY !

I just wanted to take a moment and thank all of you for being my friend on FaceBook and also for following me here on my blog,

AND ALL the wonderful comments you share :) 

This has truly been one of the most enjoyable things I done in a long time and the best part is getting to know all of you and seeing your amazing creativity ! How often can you say you have 100' s of friends that all share your love of crafting and that you get to interact with them practically everyday ? ! :) 

I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside guys...

makes me want to do a give away ! 

Let's see what I can come up with :)

Please enjoy this thank you card made especially for you :) 

MY PAPER PLAYTIME FIRSTS CHALLENGE ENTRY !

HELLO EVERYONE !

I almost forgot to post the card I made for 

PAPER PLAY TIME's FIRST CHALLENGE. 

The theme is "GROOVY" and go figure, I went with orange again !

It must be because every time I use the color orange it reminds me of the rather large velvet orange couch my mom purchased in 1972 ! As soon as the furniture was delivered it was promptly upholstered in a plastic overlay ! GROOVY MAN, GROOVY !!!  LOL !!! 

Remember, there will be a challenge every week and

hopefully some prizes too !!!

CIRCUS ! CIRCUS !

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY :)

I had a bit of insomnia last night and this card idea popped into my head! So of course, I had to make it...there's something about staying up late when everyone else is asleep that is so peaceful, so quiet, a super time to create :) I tried not to make too much noise with my Cricut ! Luckily no one is complaining this morning, haha !
I also tried something new and that is to come up with my own sentiment and print it on my computer. 
I think it came out really cute :)

Details :

Base Card 4.25 x 5.5

Card Layer 4 x 5.25

Seal is from the Create a Critter Cart cut at 1.75 inches.

Face is Peachy Keen Stamps Critter Faces

Back Round Decorative Oval is from Forever Young Cart cut at 3 inches (nrd)

Little Black Hat is from the Paper Dolls Dress Up Cart cut at 2 inches (nrd

Extras : buttons, thread, tiny bling for hat, stampin up punch, stickles, doodling, dimensionals 

* nrd = nor real dial size

GUESS WHAT ? I'M A PAPER QUEEN !

HI EVERYONE !

I'm so excited to announce that I'll be joining the 

PAPER PLAYTIME WEEKLY CHALLENGE  

as a guest host on occasion ! 

So if you're in the need of a little motivation to get your creative MOJO back, or just want to join the fun ! Come on over ! The very first challenge is already going on and Janis is this week's host,  so check it out :) So sorry I didn't post this sooner, but no worries if you miss this challenge there will be a new one EVERY WEEK !

Say Hi to the 2010 Paper Queens...click on their name to visit their blogs for more inspiration !

ALEX (that's me)

JANIS

LISA

MARIA

MARY

PAM

SANDRA

STEPHANIE

SUE

Episode 12: CAMERA CARD.wmv

HELLO AGAIN :)

Here's a video of how I made the camera card. 

Hope you like it :)

PICTURE THIS...

HAPPY TUESDAY EVERYONE !!!

Wow !...It's the first day of June already ! 

The year is going by so fast ! 

I finally got around to making my hubbie's Father's Day Card. 

I wanted to come up with the perfect card for my DH who is such a super husband, father and grandpa :) I think I was successful ! He really likes photography and one day would like to have an awesome camera, I'm hoping I might be able to get him one 

this year but they are really expensive!

Using my Gypsy and the Create A Critter cart, I made a camera shaped card. To make it look a bit more authentic, I used a silver marker and acetate to give the illusion of a real lens, some chalking for depth, brads and the sentiment to look like the camera brand and the power button. The whole thing reminded me of a vintage camera so I added some stitching all around since cameras back in the day used to be covered in leather and sewed on. I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but it says..

"Wishing you a "picture perfect" Father's Day!"

Wish me luck on that camera shopping :) Oh ! and I still had enough time to enter it in the MPS Father's Day Card Challenge !
Whew! I just made it, only 22 minutes left til the deadline!