Rainy Day Projects

As I mentioned in my previous blog earlier today, it's been pouring rain here in So. Cal since last Friday!!! I'm not kidding!! Crazy rain storm! I can't begin to tell you the traffic nightmare this rain is creating. Lucky for me, my daughter is on Winter Break (today is her first day woo-hoo!!!) for the next two weeks, so I can avoid any unnecessary driving....until Wednesday that is, since I'm planning on grocery shopping for the Christmas Eve dinner.

This weekend I was working on a mini album for my daughter & a card for the Card Cupids Challenge
The mini album tutorial I came across a few weeks ago on Momo's Blog. She has some amazing projects and I follow her blog religiously hahaha
This project does take a while to cut out all the pieces and assemble, but the end results are so worth the xtra effort. My daughter loves the Create a Critter cartridge, so I used it for all my images....it turned out so darn adorable!!

Materials I used:
chipboard sheets cut at a height of 4" and I just stretched out the rectangle as I added the images, make sure you weld the image to the rectangle!! (I was able to cut using my std. cricut blade, since I don't own the deep blade)
pattern paper (when you cut the paper to cover the back of the chipboard, place pattern side down on the cutting mat)
Create a Critter cartridge (images cut at 3.38", I did the layout on my gypsy. don't forget to cut the shadow of each critter!!)
tombo mono aqua glue (a little goes a loooong way)
Crop a Dile (to punch the holes)
2 binding rings

And my other rainy day project was for Card Cupids. Every Monday we feature a new challenge and I love being one of their designers.
This weeks' challenge is sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps and one lucky participant will receive 7 Bugaboo Stamps of their choice. Yep, 7 FREE digi's!!!

The stamps at Bugaboo are so adorable! You are going to have a tough time deciding which ones you want! So what do you have to do to win these awesome stamps? It's super simple! Just create a card using your favorite tool! Your favorite tool might be a die cutting machine, an eyelet setter or anything your little heart can imagine. The card can be any type of card so let your creative mind run free!!!

Here's my card, don't you just love this digi?? I told you Bugaboo Stamps are awesome!!
For this project my favorite tools were stickles, some bling & a white gelly roll pen.

So what are you waiting for???? Get creative and post your card over at Card Cupids!!!

Christmas Challenge

Today I entered a card to the Christmas Challenge over at Paper Playtime.
I acually just discovered Paper Playtime last night through one of my followers. Thanks Elaine :o)
I also entered the Craft Your Passion Challenges & My Pink Stamper 12 Days of Christmas
This weeks' challenge is to make ANYTHING CHRISTMAS!

This super cute card I made using the adorable ornament from Simply Charmed.

It's been raining non stop since Friday (very unusual for sunny So. Cal), which gave me the opprotunity to get a lot of crafting done. I will post some of my rainy day projects later on today.

Jolly Snowman

Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner? It's next Saturday!! OMG!!
This year has gone by so darn quickly! I can't believe it!
I thought I was pooped with making X-Mas cards (since I made soooo many), but I was in a jolly mood today, so why not share a cute snowman card. I LOVE anything with a snowman on it!

Isn't he cute??????

Card measures 4.25"x5.5" using the card/tag feature on the Birthday Bash cartridge
(super cute cartridge fyi)
Circle is cut at 2.25"
pattern paper: Cloud9 Design - Seasonal collection
chipboard sticker: K&Company (Merry Christmas)
ribbon from Michaels
snowflake brad & pearl stickers (by Recollections)
white gelly pen (by Sakura)

New Challenge Sunday #3

Welcome to another edition of New Challenge Sunday at Card Cupids.
This week our challenge is sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.
Sweet 'n Sassy stamps is a Christian clear stamp & digi stamp company offering a wide variety of hand drawn designs and sentiments, perfect for any stamper or scrapbooker.
Check them out at http://sweetnsassystamps.com

 




The winner of this weeks' challenge will receive 3 digital stamps of their choice from Sweet 'n Sassy.
So what is this week's challenge you ask? This week, we are asking you to use a sketch provided to us by Becky Fleck at Page Maps.
To link your card please CLICK HERE
Here is the sketch:






 
 
 

 

 

For some added inspiration, here's the card I created for this challenge. What do you think?? I even added some flock to make his ears fuzzy :)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Christmas Share

I have been working on decorating my home for Christmas!!! For anyone who knows me, it's my MOST favorite holiday!! I love the return of eggnog, the smell of Christmas trees, the streets are festive and the warm feeling you get when the family, including folks you haven't seen in a loooooooong time, gets together to celebrate with food, stories and laughter. We usually have Christmas Eve dinner at our home (I love to entertain!!!), on Christmas Day we open presents around 9 a.m (we are not morning people!) and head to the movies. It's been a tradition for as long as I can remember.
I am so lucky to have been blessed with an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter & the best sisters & brother in law. When we get together it's always a joyful event.

I wanted to share some pics of my home during the holidays:



Thanks for stopping by and visiting :)

MPS Birthday Challenge

Good morning!!!
I thought it would be fun to participate in the My Pink Stamper Challenge
The challenge was to create a birthday project.
I decided to enter this card I made for my daughter's friend for her 13th birthday....and if I do say so myself, I think it turned out so adorable :)

Trip Around the World

Today I thought it would be fun to join Momo on her "Trip around the World".
She's asking everyone to post the temperature where you live and a picture that was taken within the last few days.

Below are some pictures I took this morning while my daughter was getting ready for school, and one of our ride to school. It was pouring rain last night, so the streets were still wet this morning.
It was a breezy 38 degrees in the San Gabriel Valley at 6:30 a.m....that's waaaaaaaaay too cold!
But it's suppose to be in the 80's this weekend....weird!!

Taken from the balcony at 6:30 a.m.


Ohhhhhh......I see snow!!

On the way to school at 7:15 am...my girl took the pic :o)

Card Cupids Challenge #1

Greetings!!! So.....how was everyones' weekend? I was busy decorating my home for Christmas. It's truly my most favorite time of year!!! My husband claims I go crazy with decorations, but I don't think so!! I just like a festive home!!

Today I wanted to share a card I made for our new weekly challenge over at Card Cupids.
We not only want to spread joy but to also inspire those who help make Card Cupids possible.
For this reason we are happy to introduce a new series over at Card Cupids called New Challenge Sunday.
Each Sunday we will issue a new challenge and offer up a great prize to someone who participates in the challenge and submits a card by the following Sunday at 11:59pm.

Last week (I know....I'm a bit late on this post) the sketch challenge was sponsored by Some Odd Girl Digital Stamps

And the sketch was provided by Becky Fleck at Page Maps

 

Here's the card I made for the challenge....I even drew in the sidewalk!!

Please check out www.cardcupids.org for our weekly challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Cupids X-Mas Cheer Blog Hop

Hi everyone!!!
First, I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family & friends.

Now for the fun stuff!!!
I am super excited to be part of the X-Mas Cheer Blog Hop, hosted by Card Cupids.
You should have started at the Card Cupids blog. If you are following the blog order, you have arrived here from Heather's Blog. If you happened to bump into my blog today, Click Here to go to Card Cupids and start from the beginning.
Below is the list of all your stops for today!

Card Cupids - http://www.cardcupids.org/
Steph - http://bzbcreates.blogspot.com/
Christy - http://hobbyhopping.blogspot.com/
Jade - http://www.thescrapyardrose.com/
Luisa - http://www.creativedesignsbyluisa.com/
Janel - http://thescrappylifeofmine.blogspot.com/
Angela - http://pumpkinbutts.blogspot.com/
Heather - http://franklintngirl.blogspot.com/
Janet - http://paperhoot.blogspot.com/  <----- That’s me :o)
Radwa - http://stepstowalk.blogspot.com/

As some of you may know, I am a design team member for Card Cupids.
The mission of Card Cupids is to collect and send a bundle of cards with words of encouragement to needy children for their birthdays, holidays or in a time of need. We are currently working with The Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland, OR as well as other individual children.
Our mission is simple but important; to brighten the day of a needy child. For me, knowing I can make a child smile just by making a card is priceless. Please consider donating a card, it’s for a great cause!
For more information please Click Here

Ok, back to the Card Cupids X-Mas Cheer Blog Hop.
There are many amazing ladies that are part of this hop & I am very excited to see what everyone comes up with! For this hop we had to make a holiday card.
Here’s mine:

Card Base: Standard A2 card
Reynolds aluminum foil (heavy duty) cut @ 5 1/4"x4". I embossed it using cuttlebug snowflake folder
rectangle: 4 3/4"x1 1/4" DCWV Citrus stack
rectangle: 4 1/4"x1" (cream color, I inked the edges with Distress Ink-vintage photo)
Sentiment: Heard from the Heart (Stampin' UP!)
chipboard stickers: K&Company
Stampin' Up! ink: always artichoke

So now on to the blog candy! All visitors to the hop are eligible for an amazing grand prize of a collection of goodies each Card Cupids team member donated. By visiting each stop on the blog hop you can see everything that is included in the grand prize. This is what you will be getting from me:

Here’s how to enter:
1. You must be a follower of Card Cupids
2. You must leave a comment on the Blog Hop post on Card Cupids
    That’s it!

You can earn more chances by doing the following:
1. You will receive 1 additional chance for each blog you follow on the blog hop (that’s 9 more chances!)
2. You will receive 1 additional chance for commenting on each blog on the blog hop (another 9 chances!)
3. You can receive 1 additional chance for posting on your blog about the Card Cupids blog hop (just leave a comment on cardcupids.org with a link to your post to receive credit)

The winner will be picked by random draw and announced on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 on the Card Cupids site.

Your next stop on the blog hop is Radwa's Blog.
Have fun and if you get lost along the way come back for the list of blogs you should be visiting.

Happy Hopping!

Hooray!!! My 1st Blog Award!!!!

What a great way to start my Sunday morning!!!! I was thrilled to discover that I was given my first Blog Award from Georgiana at http://carsonscricutcreations.blogspot.com/. Thank you so very much!!
If you guys haven't done so already, check out Georgiana's blog for some great ideas :)


So, by accepting this lovely award I must:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded me
2. Share 8 things about myself
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that I have recently discovered
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards


Well, here's some random info about myself:
1. I have a beautiful daughter who is 13. She is my sunshine!
2. I met my husband when I was 17 years old (omg, where does the time go???)
3. I have 2 dogs, a cat and a hamster (all pets my daughter promised she would be responsible for......guess who has been taking care of them....)
4. I LOVE shopping (especially for crafting supplies )
5. My favorite movie is Cadillac Records
6. I am an organization freak!!
7. My husband claims I am the best cook and I should open a restaurant
8. I volunteer at my daughter's middle school and I am a member of the PTA (we call it Community Club)


Now for some fabulous blogs that you should check out!! Soooo inspiring!
http://madebymomo.blogspot.com/
http://pumpkinbutts.blogspot.com/
http://bzbcreates.blogspot.com/
http://kellysbay.blogspot.com/
http://scrappymel.blogspot.com/
http://www.thescrapyardrose.com/
http://4craftyangels.blogspot.com/
http://girliascards.blogspot.com/
Please make sure to check out these crafty ladies :)

Thanks again everyone for being a follower & I hope you picked up an idea or two from my blog.

A card share

Hi everyone :) Hope you all had a lovely week. Now it's time to enjoy the weekend and spend some quality time with the family.

I'm working on two cards, one for a Card Cupids challenge and the other for a friend who asked me to make some Christmas cards (I lost count on how many I've done so far!!).

So here is the Christmas card, it's beyond super simple!
(The other card I will share after the challenge)

Card Base: A2 card (Stampin' UP! Always Artichoke)

pattern paper: 5 1/4"x4" Cloud9 Design (Seasonal collection)

Stampin' UP! stamp set: Song in Your Heart

Sentiment: Stampin' UP! Christmas cards verses (1997)

ribbon: from Michaels (holiday section) 

Sakura gelly roll pen: white

Stampin' UP! ink pads: always artichoke, cherry cobbler, basic gray

 

Hope you likey :)

a card for Kayla

I wanted to quickly share a card I made for Kayla, a sweet young lady who has overcome so much at such a young age. Please take a moment and visit Card Cupids to read more about darling Kayla and get to know the wonderful team that is Card Cupids.

Here's the card I made for Kayla:

If you guys can, please consider contributing a card for these adorable children who have gone through such difficulties too early in their young lives.

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle". -- Albert Einstein

a special card for a special boy

I am having a productive blog day today :)

This evening I was busy creating a special card for a very special boy named Eddie.
Eddie was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia(ALL) at the age of 2. Until recently, he was an active 5 year old, attending school and playing sports. However, shortly after 2 years of  being in remission the cancer returned.
Please visit Card Cupids for more information about Eddie and the other adorable children this wonderful charity is collecting cards for.
For me personally, knowing I can make a child smile just by making a card is priceless.

Here's what I made for Eddie, isn't it cheerful?

Take care everyone, and thank you for the new followers who joined my blog today. I am a happy girl :)

My Craft Space

Good morning everyone!!!!
It's another beautiful sunny day in Southern California :o)

Today I thought I'd share my craft space. My husband and I share an office so I face one wall, and he's behind me facing the other wall.

This is my part of the office. Everything I need is within arms' reach.

My husband bought me the ladder shelf for my birthday in July and it's perfect for holding my Expression ,other crafting essentials, and of course family memories :)

I absolutely LOVE this bin. I got it at Target a few months ago on sale for less than 10$!!! I have so much stuff in there, with room for more!!
The cutter I use is CARL rotary trimmer I purchased from Staples. I really like it. You can clearly see where you are cutting and I have yet to replace the blade (I've had it for about 4-5 months)
Another essential is my Martha Stewart Score board, it's a must have for any crafter, in my opinion :)



So here are all my stacks of paper, Cricut cartridges, inks, buttons, eyelets, brads and other small nik naks. I store all my ribbons in the super cute orange box ;)

That's my 'show & tell' for today (^..^)

Wishing everyone a great week.

Oh, I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week!!! I am sooooo excited :)

ThanksGiving Card

Oh my gosh...being sick SUCKS!!! I've been battling a cold for the past couple of days, but I'm trying to remain in positive spirits. Hopefully the teas, immune boosters & throat spary will help me win this battle!!
But I'm not a person who can sit around and do nothing (yes, even while being sick), so I wanted to share a super cute Turkey Day card I worked on this lovely & sunny afternoon....I can't believe it's 80 degrees in November!

Card Base: A2 card

Orange pattern paper: 4"x5 1/4" amber autumn stack (Fall collection)
Leaf pattern paper: 3 3/4"x4 1/2" Cloud9 Design (Seasonal collection)

turkey: 3 1/4" Create a Critter

Sentiment: 1" Create a Critter

mini brads: Recollections (metallic collection)

Peachy Keen Stamps: Critter Faces (medium)

Sakura gelly roll pens

Wishing everyone a great week :)

I also entered this card for Momo's Tuesday Challenge #16

more cards for Cupids

Hi everyone :)
I can't believe the weekend is just around the corner...my goodness, this week is just zooming by...

As some of you may know, I am a design team member for Card Cupids. 
The mission of Card Cupids is to collect and send a bundle of cards with words of encouragement to needy children for their birthday or in a time of need.
Our mission is simple but important; to brighten the day of a needy child.

Today I wanted to share 2 cards I made for The Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.

Card Base: A2 card

Pattern paper: K i Memories (classic prints)

orange scrap paper

Distress Ink in Vintage Photo

scarecrow: 3 1/2" Simply Charmed

Sentiment: 1 1/2" Simply Charmed

Twine rope from Michaels

eyelets: Making Memories 

Sakura gelly roll pen

Today I made an early post because I'll be heading to the South Pasadena Farmers Market within the next hour with the family.

I try to get my produce and breads at the local Farmers Market whenever possible.
Support your local growers!!!

Have a great afternoon :)

It's here!!!

Oh Happy Day!!! The cozy for my cricut Expression has arrived.
I'm in love with the pattern!!!

Many thanks to Kathy. Her sewing & quilting skills are just amazing!!!

2 easy peasy cards

Hello bloggy friends :)
I just wanted to quickly share 2 Christmas cards I made last night.

Card base: Standard A2/ STAMPIN' UP! paper in crumb cake (round top corners)

Pattern Paper: 4"x5 1/4" Seasonal paper pad by Cloud9 Design

Cardstock: 4"x3 1/4" green cardstock embossed using D'vine Swirl folder from cuttlebug

Patter Paper: 4"x3/4" Seasonal paper pad by Cloud9 Design (punch w/ Fiskars scallop border punch)

Sentiment: Michaels (from Christmas section)

Embellishments: K&Company chipboard

Eyelets for each rounded corner.

And here's the second card

Card base: Standard A2/ STAMPIN' UP! paper in crumb cake

Cardstock: 4"x5 1/4" green cardstock embossed using Snowflakes folder from cuttlebug

Pattern Paper: 4"x3 1/4" Seasonal paper pad by Cloud9 Design

Patter Paper: 4"x2 1/4" Seasonal paper pad by Cloud9 Design

Scallop circle: 3" from Storybook

Circle: 2 1/2" punch 

Sentiment: Christmas clear stamps by Recollections

Embellishments: K&Company chipboard

Sakura gelly roll pen: white & green star

Pearl stickers by Recollections

Hope you guys like the cards :)



Card Progress

Here's my progress on the Christmas cards my darling friend Diane asked me to design for her.

This is what I have...so far....

I am currently working on additional cards, but I wanted to share what I accomplished this weekend.

I wish I could just sit at my desk and craft ALL day, but I will end up with a dirty house, huge piles of laundry and a hungry family lol

Wishing everyone a blessed week :)

Hooray for Friday

Happy Friday!!! I thought the weekend will never come!
First, I'd like to thank Stephanie at Card Cupids for making me a member on her design team.
I'm very grateful to be a part of such a wonderful charity.

Second, my good friend Diane, asked me to make Christmas cards for her to send out for the holidays!!! Hooray :) I have 4 done so far (out of 25). 
I am also planning to work on a few cards for the children's charity.
But all that will have to wait until I get home tomorrow evening.
My sis-in-law, my daughter Ashley, & I will be heading out for a day of shopping at the Outlets & I'll see if I can sneak a trip to Joanns :)
I will be a busy bee this weekend.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who joined my blog, it's so wonderful to meet new friends with creative passion. You guys have amazing blogs filled with great ideas!!!

Have a GREAT Weekend everyone!

another Card for Cupids

Good morning :)
I was on a roll last night, creating cards for a great charity, Card Cupids.
If you haven't done so already, check them out!

Card Base: A2 card

Pattern paper: K & Company (Carolyn Gavin)

Koala bear: 3" Create a Critter

Sentiment: 1" Simply Charmed

Button: Stampin' UP!

I absolutly adore the way this card turned out :)

Card Cupids

Today I happened to come across a blog I thought we could all contribute to.
Its for a great cause; bringing smiles and good wishes to children who are battling illnesses.
The folks at Card Cupids are doing such an amazing job!
Their mission is to spread cheer and comfort to needy and ill children.
As a mother, I can't begin to imagine the difficult road these young kids & their families are battling, and I'm sure that a card, even from a complete stranger, will help brighten their day.

With that in mind, I just had to make a card.

This little squirrel is for a 3 year old named Christina. She has been diagnosed with Muenke Syndrome, Bicoronal Craniosynostosis, Developmental Delays, hearing loss & narrow brain ventricles.

I hope this will bring some joy to Christina. I truly enjoyed making this card for a very special girl :)

Momo's Tuesday Challenge

Momo is having another Tuesday Challenge :) Yay!
This weeks' theme is to make a card with some kind of embossing. It can be heat embossing or using your cuttlebug.
Here is my entry:

What do you think?
I was feeling festive, and Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday :)

Kathy's Cozies

Hello everyone
Today I purchased a cozie from the very talented Kathy :)

I was introduced to Kathy & her lovely cozies thru Made By Momo on one of her blog hops.
CLICK HERE to check out Kathy's work and maybe even purchase your very own cozie.

It's taking me a little while to get my blog going...it can be very time consuming, especially after a long day at work, prep dinner, tidy up the house & keeping up to date with my teenage girl ;)

Thanks for stopping by :o)

Janet

Blog Status

Ok, so I'm working on setting up my blog page, it is time consuming but I am really enjoying the process.
I hope by the weekend to have some pictures of the cards I have been working on.
Also on my to-do list is to set up my Etsy Shop.
One task at a time.....

My very first blog

Oh wow, I have ventured into the blogging world :)
I enjoy reading other people's blogs (crafting & card making),
so I thought "hmmmmm why not give this a try"....
Let's see how it goes....