A Day In My Life

Cut Card Stock Giveaway

2011-01-12T19:06:00.004-06:00

CUTCARDSTOCK is
GIVING AWAY 3 Gift Certificates for product from CutCardStock.com

Winners of the drawing will receive the following:

1st Place: $30, 2nd Place: $20, and 3rd Place: $15

No purchase necessary! Just enter by leaving a comment or two!

Randomly drawing on Tuesday, January 18, 2011.

Playing catch up late 2009

2010-12-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Late! I'm Late! I'm very, very, late! Story of my life! LOL
Going through my pics I thought I throw up some cards created in late 2009. I don't have the info on them anymore so not much description is available, I just thought they'd be cute to share. :)

I was asked to make this condolence card for a mother who had just lost her newborn baby to SIDS. This is a picture of mommy & baby's hand.

These were made for a friend who had just joined Mary Kay. She's using them as Thank You's for her hostess's.

Here are my pain's *errghh children* October 2009
:)

Our Pumpkin creations for 2009

Class treats October 2009

Cards using a technique I picked up somewhere using plastic wrap and decorative hand towels. (Sorry this is one I'm at a loss for!)

Baby Shower invites I was asked to create using
the baby's actual ultrasound picture.

Card made for my brother- in- law

Card made for my BFF

Christmas cards for 2009
*I got a chance to use the new airbrush compressor my hubby had gotten me*

Designs used for Christmas cards (2009)
I can't believe I sent out 75 cards!

So there you have the late part of 2009. Now I get to dig out my early 2010 creations and start posting away. :-)

Happy Hump Day!

2010-12-22T12:01:00.023-06:00

So did I leave you wondering how my room turned out? :) Here's another pic of the MESS! Sadly, I can't blame anyone else because this is all my junk *ergghh* stuff. :)
This is just one section, imagine 3 out of the 4 corners looking like this AND the closet?? I couldn't walk in or get anything in OR out.) Sad, I know! Mark said I need an CA program (Crafters Anonymous) LMAO!
Here's Mark working away, BTW... Repainting over dark colors STINKS!!!!! Mark had to prime it 3 times to get rid of the dark red paint. Boyeee, he was not a happy camper. *love you honey!

Finally, painting is done and tape is being removed!Now it's time to begin organizing or in my case REorganizing

Yes, I parted with 3 boxes full of goodies! Though it broke my heart to say goodbye, I'm happy to say that our local Nursing home LOVED everything. :)

Slowly coming along....

Here's my room! TA-DA!

Funny, how I've never really paid attention to the color Orange until my middle child Ian came along. He LOVES the color Orange and insists everything he wears has some kind of Orange color. I guess it grew on me. LOL
I love my main work station, everything is within reach! Though I'm already contemplating on new ideas and possibly repainting the drawers to either white or brown. What do you think? I love suggestions!

My paper section, this is some of the card stock I have the rest I had to pack into boxes. I still have 2 more wire racks in the basement unfortunately, I don't have the space for them up here. Yes, have 2 clip it up's, that was the nice part of working at a small stamp store. Whatever the owner didn't carry he let us use his wholesale account to order for ourselves.

The far side of the pic has by Bazzill Bling Card Stock. I picked up the packs of 50 at 50% off a few years ago through Joann.com. I LOVE my deals! The other side (pic above) contains my metallic card stock line, I order these from Envelopemall.com and Paperandmore.com. Great prices and in BULK! This is what I use the most for my invitations.

My cutting table has a shelf with all my trimmers while my industrial cutter and my Sizzix Big Shot Express. Mark also made me French Board that coordinates beautifully!

My Copic collection, some Copic refills any my Marvy & Kodomo markers.

My dad made me the acrylic rests, I designed it so it holds the original Copic boxes but the markers are a slight angle for easy reading and it has a nice size lip at the bottom to hold my currently used ink pads and stamps.

Some of my fav pics.

Some more of my favorite things.

I'm still not done! Is anyone really ever done? I just ordered a dust cover for my Cricut Expression and I'm having some vinyl words done for my walls. I'll have to retake pics once they've arrived and Mark puts them up for me. :)
It's an addiction I swear! I still have SOO much stuff in the basement but at least the frequently used things are up here. I need to take a better picture of the closet and then I'll post it up also.

Hope you enjoyed my little Orange studio! Ian LOVES it but Miranda is upset because it's a "Girls room" and it should've been Pink (her favorite color) LOL

Hello Again!

2010-12-21T23:51:00.007-06:00

WOW! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I've been slacking in my creative world. It seems anything that "can" happen "has" happened. Do I even make sense? LOL
Life happens right? The past 1 1/2 yrs have been really busy, my little boy is now in Kindergarten. You'd think 2 kids in school would give me more time to indulge in my craft right? WRONG!! My youngest daughter is still with me so my time consumed with spending quality time with her and concentrating on homework and after school activities with the boys.
My "once" organized craft room totally became a "catch-all" for everyone barely leaving me room to come in sit and surf on the web. What about card creations? HA! I had to dig out what I needed and my dining room table became my craft table.
Did all the clutter prevent me shopping though? HECK NO! So add that to the mix and what do you get? A MESS!!

I decided enough was enough this past spring so I ever so slowly began taking out "non-craft" related items then life happened again and we were in a car accident. Thank goodness other than some bumps and bruises my children were okay, unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky so that put "EVERYTHING" on hold in my life. :(
I'm very limited on what I can do now though, I went from Ms. On-the-go to moving around like a turtle with the flexibility of a stick!

My hubby's attempt to get my out of my funk did re-ignite my passion for crafting though! For my bday he repainted my craft room and designed a functional closet system. It became a family affair when my two sisters came over to help him while I sat & laid down wishing I could partake in the fun.
Here are some pictures of their work in progress.

Mark worked day and night throughout the weekend and he didn't stop there. Because of my limited mobility/ flexibility he built me a cutting table customized to my height so I won't have to bend when using my cutters.

So how did it turn out?
More to continue.....................

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

We're getting ready to leave to the Dell's on our mini-vacation.

The kids are so excited to go see Yogi Bear. I've got to admit of all the campsites we've stayed at over the years Yogi Bear is by far the coolest, CLEANEST camp resort around.

This year I decided to order some of Mark's favorite spices and sauce from our favorite BBQ joint, Iron Works in Austin, Texas.

The brisket is to die for.....

For those who know Mark, you'll understand the card I made for him this year. For those who don't know, once the warm weather arrives 80 - 90% of our meals are cooked on the grill. Mark loves and I mean LOVES grilling! He makes everything from your traditional BBQ meats to grilled banana's, pineapples, veggies, etc....

The man even made an omelet just for the heck of saying he did it! LOL

Here's his card along with some of Iron Works products. I need to package it all so its ready for the kids to give to him Sunday morning.

Happy Father's Day!

Apron and Chef stamps are from too much fun rubber stamps

to make it more realistic I stamped the apron on white linen cloth and I also stuffed the top of the chefs hat. The sentiment is foiled in red.

Last day of school at Six Flags Great America

2009-06-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

What a way to celebrate the beginning of summer vacation! SAC celebrated by taking the kids to Six Flags in Gurnee, IL.
It had been years since Mark and I went so we decided to tag as chaperone's. Let me tell you though, we were the "COOL" parents. Why? Because we were the only two not only getting on every roller coaster with our kids but we dragged them to the first seats of the first cart on every ride! The kids were a bit nervous at the beginning but we told them the only to get over there fear was to get on the scariest ride first and face their fears. They did it and boyeee did we convert them into roller coaster junkies!! LOL
The school left around 3pm but lucky our kids got permission from their parents to stick around with us until it closed at 9pm. Around 8:30 we were quite a site to see, all of us were dragging our bodies across the park on the way back to the car.
We indulged in day of roller coasters, Italian lemonades, burgers, funnel cake and more.....

What a great way to start off the summer!

Malik, Abraham & Zack getting ready to go on the Superman coaster

My hubby and me waiting in line for the Superman coaster

So how were we the next day????
......yeah......
35 years of roller coasters, bungee jumping all came back to haunt us the following morning. Sports creme and Motrin did absolutely NOTHING to alleviate the soreness in our backs! OUCHIE!!!

.....but the boys had a blast and that made it all worth while!

Welcome Warm Weather!!

2009-06-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

I just had to show off my prized Peonies. These are from Asian Peony tree that grows 3' - 4', the flowers it blooms are "MAMMOTH" size, the picture below shows a close up, the largest Peony it blooms this year had a 10" diameter!

Malik's lounging around with our neighbor Christian after an afternoon of swimming.

Lunch Break for my munchkins!

After playing with the sprinklers Ian, Miranda and our other little neighbor Alex are chilling inside their clubhouse and big brother Malik watches over them.

Hello again!

2009-06-16T16:26:00.006-05:00

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted anything on here.
For starters Malik is finally out of school, yippee!!
He got all A's and a B+ in social studies.
We're getting ready for a couple camping trips this summer, the first will be this weekend for Father's day. It'll just be our little family but it'll be so much fun and relaxing!!
Then we're going to the Dells for the 4th of July in a big group of 14! We've got our sites all reserved it's going to be sooo much fun I can't wait for this trip.
The card/ invitations has been going very well also, I've had a steady amount of orders ranging from wedding, graduations, Luau's and birthdays.
Here are some previews of my orders:

(This is for my friend's hubby's Graduation/ Birthday party)

(This is an order for a 50's party)

(This is a completed wedding order)

(This is an order for a student at Malik's school)

365 Cards

2009-04-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been wondering if it's "ever" going to get warm in Chicago again. The weather has been rather cold and rainy creating many stuffy noses within my family.
What started with one child ended up almost 3 weeks later with everyone having shared the lovely flu bug.

Now that I'm the last to entertain this pesky bug I'm really hoping warm weather is right around the corner so we can open the windows and air everything out. :)

Getting back to my papercrafts...

I joined 365 cards as a guest designer and my date finally arrived (yeah) :)
My challenge was to create a card using some kind of fruit. While I do have a few fruit stamps, I've got to admit I've only used them once so this truly was a challenge for me. I created my card using the peaches stamp from Lockhart stamps. I colored them using a super soft water soluable pencils from Caran D'Ache. These pencils are totally unlike any watercolor pencils in the market, I love the way you can blend colors flawlessly. I kept my layers simple with Bazzill textured cardstock and kept it clean by adding some additional texture using my Scor-it.

Tea Please

2009-03-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I fell in love with this stamp set from MFT when we received their catalog at the store. I knew it was one I had to have in my life. After I designed the cards for class I couldn't wait to take my set home with me and begin playing with it.
I've been on a "pink" kick lately so I decided to make a little gift for my good friend Selvi, she'll be receiving this later on this morning. :)
The card is made using Prism card stock and Pebbles pattern paper. I stamped the image on Quartz card stock, I colored the image w/ Copic markers and added white flock to the bunny with my glue pen. Of course I couldn't pass up the chance to further embellish him by added a pom-pom for his tail and black glass beads for his eyes.

I made the box using my scoreboard from Crafter's Companion, I embellished the box with Azalea Stardream Card stock, Pebbles pattern paper, grosgrain ribbon and I printed the sentiment and used my oval and scallop oval punch from Marvy.

Now comes the goodies.....

I absolutely LOVE Cherry Blossoms, so when I ran across an online tea store that sells 100% Cherry Blossom tea I jumped and order a few packs of tea and some French pink sugar.
I know Selvi would enjoy it also so I wrapped up a few of them and created little labels for them.
You can also eat the actual Cherry Blossoms once they been soaked in your cup, they also provided some Youji Sticks for this purpose.

I really enjoyed making this for her, I hope she enjoys it. :)

Commencement Invitations

2009-03-26T13:25:00.005-05:00

Wow! Time sure flies by... I didn't realize so much time had passed since my last post.

The weather is "finally" getting warming in Chicago but boyeee is it living up to it's nickname, "The Windy City":)

I've been running around as usually not knowing whether I'm coming or going, unfortunately, it's left me little time to sit and create until this week.

I've been commissioned by my son's school to design their commencement announcements and a parent and very good friend asked me to create a personalize announcement for her son Adem who will be graduating from 8th grade.

I want Adem's cards to be unique so I started googling templates I could use as a reference point, boy, did I find a lot of them! I decided to use this a template I found on SCS. My pockets are an A6 however, I may enlarge them to an A7 once I get Adem's photo and adhere it to the side of the announcement.

I the patterned paper, "Hats off" and "Graduation" by Reminisce, these papers retail at $2/sheet, I got REALLY lucky because I only paid $.10/per sheet on clearance! Woo-Hoo!!!!

I made the tassel. OMG! Talk about tedious work! I used metallic embroidery thread, each tassel will be about 2". They took time to make but WOW, I think they came out pretty good especially for it being my first time making a tassel!

Here's a my sample:

Once I get wallet size pics of Adem in his cap & gown it will be placed right next to the announcement. I conveniently covered that half right now so it wouldn't look lonely in the photographs.

Just for fun - perfect the bachelor in your life!

2009-03-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

After a long conversation about "strippers" with one of my "single" friends I decided to make him a card just for fun. Squigglefly provided the PERFECT gal for the job, the Disco Daze image was dressed up with plenty of bling and I added a pole to fit the occasion.

While this card is on the "wild side" it's perfect for bachelors. LOL

Onyx & Jupiter Stardream Cardstock was used for the main card and base. Silver reflective cardstock embossed with my trusty cuttlebug provided the "disco environment".

Image was colored with copic markers and spica markers. I traced and cut out her clothes using Onyx Stardream cardstock and applied adhesive and glitter, her shoes were enhanced using 3D crystal laquer. I used a skewer for the pole and spray painted in Copper using Crafter's Metallic Spray by Krylon. Last but definitely not the least I added some bling.

I computer generated the inside and created the envelope using Jupiter Stardream Cardstock.

I've been MIA

2009-03-02T04:13:00.003-06:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post, shame on me...

So much has been happening in "Vianney's world". Through the lovely world wide web I've reunited with quite a few old high school & college friends. As you can imagine my time has been spent on the phone, emailing and meeting up with long lost friends catching up on 10 - 15 + yrs.

I haven't stopped my designs though... on top of working on a wedding in Canada I've also made a few cards for some of my friends. Here are a couple cards I've made:

This card is for my friend Irene, she threw her husband a birthday party two weeks ago and their home. What fun actually hanging out and having drinks with friends! I'm not much of a "hard liquor" person and I don't like Tequila at all but after a few shots, I forgot why I didn't like it. LOL

Unfortunately, I remembered the following day as I prayed to the porcelain Gods. hee! hee!

It's a simple but a adorable little card featuring a little Asian doll by Hero Arts and an intricate paper lace background by Kodomo Inc.

This card was made for one of my re-found friends Lucy. I used a digi stamp by squigglefly, I absolutely love them! She made me dinner last Tuesday and OMG can she cook! She makes my cooking skills look like Chef Boyardee! lol

It was such a great night chatting with her and another friend Irene. No kids, no whining just 3 gals hanging out at home.

Drum Roll Please.......

2009-02-17T00:00:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in Cut Card Stock's Blog Hop Giveaway.

I had so much fun reading everyone's comments.

I was amazed at how many of you enjoy the silence when creating. I tried that Friday night and I've got to admit it drove me crazy :) I think it's because I'm so used the the kids running around all day so when it's quiet I crave for some kind of noise to keep me on my toes. LOL

Anyhow, I'm sure your interested in knowing who is the winner from my blog so here it is:

Here are your random numbers:26
Timestamp: 2009-02-17 00:12:30 UTC

Congratulations to Elizabeth, you were the 26th person to leave a comment.

Please email me at cuamor@gmail.com so we can send you your prize package.

This is what you will be getting:

(Brown Bag Hand Tinted & Kraft Assortment Pack 12 Sheets 8.5x11)

(Basis Cardstock Sample Pack 20 Sheets 8.5x11)

(Kraft Brown Bag Envelopes 25 pack in a A7 sz )

Have a terrific day!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T14:36:00.005-06:00

Today was also a big day for my daughter Miranda. We dropped off the boys at grandma's and had an official, "SPOIL ME DAY" just for her. She went to get her hair cut for the first time at Kids Snips then she got to pick out some patterned paper at a local scrapbook shop and then she got her ears pierced! OMG, did she cry! Thank goodness it once her adrenaline kicked in all she wanted to do was shop at Claires. LOL (Just like a girl)

Daddy bought her a bunch of necklaces and hair clips, a hello kitty purse and some pretty nail polish and flavored lipstick. She won't let me take her picture today because she says her ears hurt so as soon as she lets me I'll post some pictures of my big girl.

In the mean time, here's the card I gave to Mark, it's on the "wild" side! I used a stamp set I ordered just for this occasion from Pink Papery Studio. I have to admit she did take a long time to make but it's because I used several layer of glossy accents to give the glass a true dimensional look, in between layers I also dabbled some of PPS shimmer it paint. Just the right touch gave it the illusion of Champagne. I tried to capture the effects as best as I could but this is definitely something I am going to have to work on. In the meantime enjoy your day with your sweetie and for all the single ladies go shopping and spoil yourself silly today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Card Making Day at School!

2009-02-11T00:00:00.002-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to teach 5th - 7th grade girls at Malik's school an intro to rubber stamping and how use them to create greeting cards. Eight out of the nine girls were completely new to the "stamping" world, I have to admit these girls blew me away! Every single one of their cards were phenomenal below are pictures of them hard at work unfortunately, because we were running out of time and we had the bus drivers waiting for them I forgot to take pictures of their finished work. I've asked the principal to take some pictures for me so hopefully I'll have that on tomorrow's post.

(Here are the cards I designed for the girls. Easy stamping, with lots of coloring and detail cutting and dimension)

(These are our 7th graders listening to me give the instructions for their 1st card)

(Our 6th graders focusing on their card)

(Our 5th graders in action)

(Manka, (the one on the right) is my little stamping sidekick)

I think I converted Selvi (Manka's mom & my good friend) into a stamper! Woo-Hooo!

Even the boys wanted a shot at stamping, we had to kick them out this time.

I think the next class will have to be a co-ed stamp class. LOL

P.S. If you're looking for the sign up for Cut Card Stocks' Blog Hop click here! Remember it ends 2/14/09 so follow my blog for a chance at some cool prizes!

My name is Chilly Willy, I'm frozen through and through! My head is hot, my feet are cold... HA HEEEE ACHOOOOO!

2009-02-10T08:32:00.007-06:00

Well the weather has finally started warming up in Chicago and of course now I've got a cold!

Miranda is doing much better however, because she loves us so much she shared her germs with Ian and with me. Now it's our turn to mope around the house with sneezie, watery eyes. JOY!

I haven't had a chance to finish my next card and this afternoon I'll be teaching at Malik's school the joys of card making to 5th - 7th grade girls. It should be fun. Stay tuned for the outcome :)

Have a great day!

(REMEMBER YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO SIGN UP FOR CUT CARD STOCK'S BLOG HOP GOING ON RIGHT NOW! CLICK HERE!)

Sneezie, Wheezie, Little Girl

2009-02-07T11:01:00.002-06:00

The joys of motherhood, waking up in the middle of the night to crying 2 yr old!

My baby came down with a cold and her stuffy nose kept her and I up half the night. Of course, by the time she finally fell asleep at 6:30 this morning Mark and Malik were waking up to get ready for their Klondike event for the Boys Scouts. There goes my sleep!

Well, they finally left, Miranda is finally sleeping comfortably and Ian should be getting up shortly.

In tribute to my sneezie daughter I put this little card together, it seems to fit the moment just right. hee! hee!

Don't forget to check out our current Blog Hop at cutcardstock.com, for more info click here!

It's a Valentine's Day Blog Hop Party!!

2009-02-06T02:00:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone,

Have you heard of Cut Card Stock? They are an amazing online store that carries a wide variety of cardstock including my personal favorites the “Stardream” collection and Green Grocer’s Brown Bag products.

Cut Card Stock is having a blog hop party February 6th- 14th.

Here are the super easy ways you can WIN:
Add Cut Card Stock as a reader thru feedblitz or blogger. Then you can blog over to our 7 participating sites. “Subscribe" to each blog and leave comments at each blog you follow.

You have the opportunity to WIN up to 7 different prize packages including a $30 Cut Card Stock gift card!

Here’s a sneak peek at what you can WIN from my blog:

(Basis Cardstock Sample Pack 20 Sheets 8.5x11)

(Brown Bag Hand Tinted & Kraft Assortment Pack 12 Sheets 8.5x11)

(Kraft Brown Bag Envelopes 25 pack in a A7 sz )**Remember every blog will offer different prize packages so head over to these other blogs to increase your chance of WINNING! **

Danielle

If you want a chance to WIN - Just leave me a comment and tell us what you listen to while your stamping, scrapbooking or creating your cards…

I enjoy listening to songs from the 80’s!

How about you.....

(Winner will be chosen by random generator and posted on my blog so remember to check in)

Want to see what you can create with Green Grocer's products? Check out my previous post.

Watercoloring Technique

2009-02-05T12:49:00.001-06:00

I've tried water coloring with stamps several time however, I was never satisfied with the results SO I decided to take a class a local stamp store to see what I was missing in my technique.

WATER! That was the mistake I kept making, I didn't dilute my colors enough causing them to fight for 1st place with one another and creating a "muddy" appearance. (Can you picture these colors fighting? hee hee)

I've got to admit, I was very happy with 4 out of the 3 cards! *The 4th card needs to go back to the drawing board :)

The stamps used were English Countryside set 1 and set 2 from Art Impressions.

(These are the 4 cards I made)

(These are the 3 cards I liked the best)

I used Marvy Markers to stamp the main image (huffing technique), I also used this same technique to stamp on the leaves & branches however I stamped off first to create a 2nd generation image, I soften my lines with a damp fine tooth brush. I also used a fine tooth brush and a wide brush for adding color to the background and to blend in the foliage. It's handy to have a palette to mix your colors and plenty of paper towels to blot off excess water from your brush and to stamp off images to produce 2nd & 3rd generation images. Remember, watercolor paper works the best for this technique because it absorbs the colors and allows them to blend.

Now I just have to keep on practicing.....

I've gone Digi Stamp!

2009-02-05T12:25:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I've tried my very first one!

I've been reading and seeing cards designed with Digi stamps however, I was a bit apprehensive about trying it. After all, I'm a stamper, I like having the option of selecting my different types of inks and colors. However, after seeing more and more beautiful cards designed using Digi stamps I decided, "What the heck!"

OMG! I love them!

I tried out Alice Anya DS from The Greeting Farm, it took all but a few seconds to receive my download with this adorable image. I was able to play with sizing and if your the computer savvy kind you can even color the image right on your desktop. I printed it on my laser and my ink jet printer using various types of card stocks to see what effects I liked and didn't like. My fav by far was the option of printing on Quartz Stardream. Inkjet printers don't dry very fast on stardream card stock giving you the option of throwing on some embossing powder for a raised effect. I love it!

Here's a quick little card I threw together to send to a friend.

I'll always be behind you

2009-02-04T02:00:00.000-06:00

After exploring and joining several groups on PCP I decided to enter in my first challenge.

Pink Cat Studio is having their 1st DT Challenge for 2009.

Here are the details:

Challenge Description

Since Valentine's Day is coming up fast, I have a LOVE themed Challenge for you! But this isn't any old love themed challenge, this is a special one! My challenge for you is to create a card or project with at least four elements (you can have more if you would like), but four of your elements have to spell LOVE. For example, you can use Layers, Ovals, Violet, and Embellishments; see spells love. Or you could use Lily, Owls, Very pretty sequins and Emerald brads. Spells love. The possibilities are endless and yes, V can stand for very! Just remember that four of your elements must spell LOVE. Have Fun, can't wait to see what you come up with!

Date the challenge ends:Tuesday February 10th, 5 pm EST

Requirements:

A Pink Cat Studio stamp must be used as the main stamp on the card or project. It is okay to use stamps from other companies as well. Your entry can be a card or any type of 3D project.

To be eligible for the prize you must upload your card before the deadline to your PaperCraftPlanet gallery and include the tag PCSDTC1. You may enter only 1 project for this challenge.If you have questions about this challenge, please post them in this discussion thread.

Prize:

On February 11th, a winner will be chosen by a random draw from all of the challenge participants. The winner will receive a grab bag of Pink Cat Studio stamps. The winner will be announced in the PCP challenge discussion thread and on the Pink Cat Studio blog. Some cards from the challenge will be displayed on the PCS blog and all entries will go into the PCP gallery.

I got creative using the elements of, "LOVE"

L - Long Walks L - Lots of Layers

O - Open Heart O - Olive Chalk

V - Very best friends V - Velvet (Doodlebug Crushed Velvet flock)

E - Essence of Rose E - Embossing

Lily & Billy stamps (Pink Cat Studio), Cherry Blossom (Rubber Stampede) Grass (Stampscapes), Ink (Versafine), Embossing (Clearsnap), Flock (Doodlebug), Markers (Copic), Chalk (Pebbles), Quartz Stardream Cardstock , Blue & Brown (DCWV), Rose scent (card-scents)
I "love" versafine because of its detail it produces however, it doesn't dry very well on stardream since its a coated cardstock so I found a way to make it work to my advantage, just sprinkle some clear embossing powder and Taa-Daa! Crisp detail with embossed detailing!

Paper Craft Planet

2009-02-03T12:35:00.000-06:00

Last week I fell in love with the the, "Lily & Billy Sweethearts Stamps" from Pink Cat Studio, so of course I purchased them. After receiving my confirmation I received a thank you from P.C.S and they suggested I join PaperCraftPlanet.com to join on challenges and contests. OMG!! I can't believe I had never heard of this site before!! I LOVE IT!
This site has it all for all you stamp/ paper craft lovers.
I won't go into details, I'll let you discover it for yourself just trust me you'll love this site. If you do join stop by my site and add me a friend, http://www.papercraftplanet.com/profile/Vianney

Ciao!

Kids Class

2009-01-30T02:00:00.000-06:00

I've been a little under the weather this week. :(

I'm pretty sure its a stomach bug but I'm also sneezy and achy. I've been on the couch most of the week, too weak to eat much less create.

Enough about my germs :)

my son's school asked me to teach a cardmaking class for about 10 girls (5th-7th grades).

I've always been a technique kind of person so to switch my way of thinking and come up with designs for beginners has been a challenge especially since all but one girl are new to the stamping world. I eliminated heat embossing , piercing and other lengthy techniques and came up with these 3 cards last night:

(Stamps from SU)

(Stamps from Cat's Pajamas & MFT)

(Stamps from MFT)

All three of these cards consist of dye inks and lots & lots of cutting. I'll be putting together class kits of 3 for 10 girls so I guess I'll have a lot of preparing ahead of me too. :)

My Haven!

2009-01-26T06:00:00.001-06:00

Wow, I just realized I have not posted anything since last Wednesday, shame on me!

I haven't had a chance to create any new cards since my last post so instead I thought I would show some pictures of my little corner of paradise. It's not very much (for now), its a small 12'x12' spare room and believe me when I say it's filled to the rim with every tool, marker, cardstock and electronic device you can imagine. Once the basement is finished I'll have more room with plenty of wall units and counter space so I can create my little heart out.

For now though, I'm content with what I have:

(My designing table with everything I need within reach)

(Wall Decor, once I get my new room I'll be able to put up shelves to show off my work) (My cutting station)

(I got these drafting credenza from Mark's old office. They were going to toss it out!)

(This baby holds many stamps, embellishments and cardstock collections)

(I love this piece of furniture from Bestscrapbookshelf)(My trusty printer and computer, I can NOT live without them)

(A better shot of my desk. Yes, those are more stamps hanging in 3 tiers!)I'm also a Smallville fan, can you tell? :)

Wedding Bells are ringing....

2009-01-21T10:35:00.000-06:00

Here are some wedding cards I worked on last night to put up on my Etsy store.
Spring weddings are right around the corner and these beauties are sure to bring a smile to newly wed couple.

Sweet 16 Invitations (picture retake)

2009-01-19T15:11:00.000-06:00

These are definitely a lot better! Natural sunlight is the best source of lighting for my cards.
As I had mentioned in my previous post I'm designing invitations for an extended relative, she chose her layout already but I was on full throttle putting together different layouts and colors using her information. I've got to admit the chocolate and blue invitation is my new favorite!

All of my designs can also be customized in any color for weddings or other special events. These cards used... you guessed it Stardream metallic cardstock! Inks from Tsukineko & SU, Bazzill Bling Cardstock, Bling from Mark Richards & Kaiser and stamps from Fancy Pants and SU

(Elegant)

(Shabby Chic)

(Simple & Clean)

(Delicate & Sweet! Perfect for a Sweet 16)

(Embossed text)

Sweet 16 Invitations

2009-01-16T02:00:00.000-06:00

Recently a relative asked me if I would design some sweet 16 invitations for a friend of the family. Everyone agreed the colors would be pink and silver so I put together several samples using pink and silver, in the end they chose the card from my princess collection.

While I was putting together some designs I took the opportunity to make samples using other popular colors and took pictures so I can post them on my Etsy store. I do have to confess that the lighting in my house stinks so I will have to retake the shots again during the day. For now I'll give ya a sneak peek...

(This is another one I'll definitely have to retake in morning, even though I used my lightbox it just doesn't compliment the metallic qualities of the cardstock properly. Nothing like good 'ole fashion natural daylight to remedy this problem!)

(I love the card below, though I will have to retake the picture so it can capture the embossed text properly)

All of my designs can also be customized in any color for weddings or other special events. These cards used... you guessed it Stardream metallic cardstock! Inks from Tsukineko & SU, Bazzill Bling Cardstock, Bling from Mark Richards & Kaiser and stamps from Fancy Pants and SU

Coffee anyone?

2009-01-15T02:00:00.000-06:00

My inspiration for these cards came last night as I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee trying to stay warm in this -30 degree temperature.

The main ingredients in all of these cards are the new Greengrocer's Brown Bag Cardstock available through CutCardstock.com. The sentiments were printed on my Epson printer and the stamps came from Inque Boutique & Impression Obsession, and Gel-A-Tins. I picked up the stamp that looks like a Starbuck coffee cup with the three little boxes some years ago at a going out of business craft store, unfortunately I can't make out the manufacturer :(

I couldn't find a background I liked for the card above so I designed one for myself using reasons "Why coffee is better than a man". LOL (amazing what you can find on the Internet!)

I printed them on GreenGrocer's text weight cardstock and VOILA instant custom pattern cardstock!

I'm currently waiting for an order to arrive from Card-scents, they've got these amazing specially formulated scents just for cardstock! HOW COOL IS THAT? I'll add a little to my cards and I'll truly have a "scent"-ational card for my friends.

Of course they've got just about every imaginable scent so I've ordered a few to test the waters. I can't wait!

After all this coffee talk I think its time for another coffee break.

Just in case you're wondering about the coffee cans pictured above, if you love strong coffee and I mean you LOVE and can handle STRONG coffee then I totally recommend Mehmet Efendi Turkish Coffee, I pick it up at a local store Istanbul Market and they do have online shopping! You can prepare it the American way using your coffee machine but if you want to truly indulge in the tradition you can prepare in a Cezve (Turkish coffeepot). Another favorite is New Orleans very own Cafe DuMonde Coffee, enjoy a cup with some of their Beignet mix and you'll feel as your in the French Quarters. :)

Now it's really time for COFFEE!

A little "ME" time to create and play!

2009-01-12T10:46:00.000-06:00

After the crew left yesterday I found myself with some free time (the first time in weeks). My hands had been itching for messy designing so I busted out the shaving cream, ink bottles, alcohol inks and paints for some marbling fun!

A Marbling technique was used on for the background using Galactic Blue Pearlescent liquid acrylic paints and shaving cream. Snow Garden (Kodomo) was stamped in Onyx Black (Versafine) on Quartz (Stardream Cardstock) **note Versafine is an instant dry pigment ink however it does not dry instantly on stardream cardstock due to the special coating added to the cardstock, this buys you some time to throw some clear embossing powder and get superfine detailed embossing.** I colored the image with copic markers and accented with White Flocking powder, Nirvana and White Satin Glitter (Art Glitter Institute), sentiment from Happy Harmony set (SU), images were matted on Black Tie and Blue Eyes (Bazzill Bling)

This is also a marbling technique using reinkers, the colors are bolder than the liquid acrylic inks, Quartz (Stardream Cardstock) was also used. I used So Saffron (SU), Chrome Yellow (Nick Bantock Ranger Collection) and Almond (source unknown). Cherry Branch was stamped with Onyx Black (Versafine) and embossed, image was then colored with Copic Markers. Sentiment from Words of Wisdom (Kodomo) stamped with Versafine and embossed. Images were mounted on Onyx (Stardream Cardstock)

I used my favorite technique for this card, Alcohol inks . I colored the image with copic markers and used the copic colorless marker to blend the colors from the background into the flower colors. I used the same sentiment as the card above and matted them on black textured cardstock.

Let the Demolition Begin!!

2009-01-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

After a week of feeling as we were sleeping outside the sanitation crew finished demolishing the walls and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected all the concrete walls and floors. Even better they finished removing all the turbo fans yesterday morning. YEAH! Today the plumbers arrived and they've begun the jack hammering the floor to get to the sewer line.

After the first 15 minutes I decided if I was going to endure the noise the entire day I needed to retreat to my room plug in my headphones and raise the volume as loud as it goes! Unfortunately, the jack hammering still sounds as if it were being done right next to me. LOL

I'm also envisioning what my future studio will look like hoping this will make the time go by faster.

Here's a picture of our plumber friend working away.

All that noise and there's barely a dent in the floor!

This is part of our BIG problem, this portion of the sewer was shattered and waste's scattered around. YUCK-O!

Hmmm!

I'm scared to know how much this is going to run us!!

Time to start selling more cards, by helping hubby I'll help myself so I can get my new studio sooner!!

More Snow!!!

2009-01-10T17:16:00.003-06:00

Yes, more snow hit Chicago yesterday and most of today.

The kids had fun outside until Ian fell and got snow inside his gloves then it wasn't fun for him anymore and he wanted to go in and drink hot cocoa.

(Ian before he fell)

(My snow bunny)
(Say cheese.....)

(They wanted to help Daddy shovel the snow)

(Smile now, in a few years daddy will be watching both of you shoveling the snow from inside the house) (That's A LOT of snow!)(It had been snow plowed earlier in the day)

How much longer do we have to endure the bitterness of the winter season???

I'm ready for warmth, sunshine, flowers, gardening, BBQ's and lazy days in the pool!

CutCardStock Designs pt. 2

2009-01-07T16:24:00.000-06:00

Here are two more cards designed using Cut Cardstock products.

Other than using metallic cardstock I love working with Asian stamps, papers, etc...

This card features Swimming Carps (Kodomo Inc.) stamped with Ancient Page ink (clearsnap) onto Quartz Stardream Cardstock, a watercolor technique was used using Marvy markers and accented with Nirvana Glitter (Art Institue Glitter), image was further accented by carefully popping up parts of the Carps with 3D tape, final image was then layered onto silver reflective cardstock and matted onto Bluesteel Curious Metallic Cardstock.

This card was created for a special friend, the sentiment was computer generated and printed onto Crystal Stardream Cardstock, image was stamped with Ancient Page ink onto watercolor paper, a watercolor technique was applied using Marvy markers and accented with sugarcoated bubblegum glitter (doodlebug), image was stamped and colored twice. The first image was cut and adhered to the sentiment using my trusty Xyron. I then cut out two flowers and a leaf from the second image and placed over first image with popup tape. Completed card was layered onto Rose Quartz Stardream Cardstock and matted onto a precut and scored A2 Coral Stardream Cardstock

CutCardstock Designing

2009-01-05T14:24:00.000-06:00

As you may have had previously read, I was honored when my card was chosen in a contest CutCardstock.com was having at the beginning of the month. Part of my prize included a package filled with goodies from CutCardstock but my real prize was getting the opportunity to design for them during the month of January. Here are two of my designs thus far:

For those of you familiar with my work you know I love anything metallic! I love the elegance it brings to invitations and cards, that's why I choose to create an invitation.

CutCardstock has these Gatefold Invitations in various colors. They carry them in 3 sizes, the one I used is a 5"x7" in Ruby. The insert is Silver Stardream and the gold is a reflective cardstock I picked up at a local store. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it online. The stamp used came from Bella Brush made by Fancy Pants, ink Pale Plum came from SU and the text was computer generated on my handy dandy Epson.

This design is perfect for weddings because the band holds everything together just tuck in the RSVP and envelope inside and mail away.

I'll be posting other cards I designed next week :)

Basement Demolition Begins!!

2009-01-05T14:18:00.000-06:00

After a week long of sorting, trashing, storing and moving we got the basement cleared enough for the Sanitizing crew to come in and begin clean up. Below are a few pictures of what my basement looked liked before and after the walls were torn down. I also had the opportunity to pretend to be one of those people on HGTV, I grabbed a mallet and began pounding away at the drywall. (They wouldn't let me use a sledge hammer though) sniff! sniff!

(Doorway from laundry area)

(Small storage room)

After the demo they sprayed special sanitizers to clean and remove and mold that may begin forming. They also brought in 14 turbo fans to help speed up the drying time, unfortunately, that process also knocked down the temperature 7o degrees to 50 + degrees this morning. Brrrrr!!!

The kids and I will be staying at my mom's the rest of the week and hubby is going to tough it out and work around the house.

(Same Doorway)

(No more walls)

(I'm pretending to be Bob Villa)

(Being Goofy)

The plumbing crew arrives next Monday to begin opening up a portion of my basement floor so they can begin repairs on the sewer. That should be interesting.....

Flooding in Chicago in December???!!!

2008-12-29T18:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, this picture is from our area! I can't believe how crazy the weather has been in Chicago. The first few weeks in December brought us more snow than we've seen in quite a few years, along with the snow we had record low temperatures. The snowfall caused schools and businesses to close the week before Christmas and just when you think it can't possibly snow anymore the temperatures then jumped overnight to 62 degrees a record breaking event for temperature in Chicago "in" December since the mid 1900's. Along with the warm weather came a downpour 1.5" of rain water, add that to almost 20+" of snow accumulation on the ground. What does that equal? Flooding throughout the Chicago area!!

Flooding in Chicago is normal during the late spring and early summer season but in December??

So why am I blogging about this? Because in almost 10yrs I've been at my house other than seepage I've never dealt with flooding UNTIL NOW! It was only a few inches but a few inches throughout the ENTIRE basement and it was sewer water that just sat there for 16 hours before we realized it had flooded. We lost a lot of items we stored in the basement but worse was the mucky cleanup we had to handle after the plumber left. We are now waiting for our insurance to determine what and how much they are going to cover. Our walls look lovely! I can't wait to knock them down. YUCK!
We've lost a lot of items including 3 machines I use for my cards, paper I also use, Mark's prized comics, 2 mattresses but my personal biggest loss was an outdoor fridge I had given Mark for father's day this past summer. I saved up so much to be able to buy it for him since he loves grilling and being outdoors in the summer that hurts me the most! Hopefully, it will be something I'll be able to recover and replace.

Mucky Sewer Water, yuck!

After the water was drained out, the wood panels wall are totally warped!
The epoxy paint came off the floors (I didn't know that could happen)

My rolls of vellum, a total loss!

Mark's comic collection this is one of 3 boxes (they were white boxes)

My little studio is now a temporary storage room for my tools and things I stored in the basement.

A blast from the past!

2008-12-22T15:22:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun this past weekend reuniting with some good friends I haven't seen in about 15 yrs. I can't believe how fast time flies, it seems like just yesterday we were hanging out in front of school. We met up with Jessica (birthday girl) at the Filthy Libertine in Chicago. I had not seen Jessica since graduation (1992), the girl hasn't changed a bit! Two old friends Jackie and Mireya were also there, what a great time!! The club closed at 1:30am so from there Cesar took us (Mark, Jackie and yours truly) to one of his cop hangouts. After a couple hours of laughing and catching up on the years we went to grab a bite to eat and finally Mark & I got home at almost 5:30 am!!!

OMG! I can't remember the last time I came home so late, needless to say we weren't drunk but were we TIRED!!!! Thank goodness the kids we at grandma's house because we slept until 11:30! LOL

(Jessica, Jackie, Mireya, me)

(Jackie, me & Mireya)

This is harder than it looks...

2008-12-16T15:13:00.001-06:00

Okay, I'm still getting used to this blogger thingy. Of course I would decide to start something new right before the holidays and of course as my luck would have it I'm running around like mad woman! LOL

We bought our Christmas tree a 1 1/2 wks ago, I love the smell of it!! The kids surprisingly have been really good about not picking off the needles. Here's a cute pic I took of the 3 of them:

Of course it only took me 15 shot before I got a 1/2 decent pic. LOL

Aside from our tree we've been busy shopping for presents for family, friends and teachers and in the evenings I've been working on my Xmas cards and tags. Last weekend the boys (Mark & Malik) took off to Wisconsin for their Boyscout weekend, Ian slept over grandma's house on Friday night and Nanda and I enjoyed a quiet girls night. Saturday both kids went to grandma's and I enjoyed our yearly Xmas dinner with my dear friends Cesar, Margaret, Mark, Alex, Erin and Vlad. Our yearly Xmas celebration is held at Cafe Lucci in Glenview, IL. We wined and dined our little hearts out and enjoyed catching up.

The boys: Vlad, Alex & Cesar

Margaret & Mark
Alex & Erin

Cesar -aka- the brother I never had

Happy Friday

2008-12-05T22:26:00.000-06:00

What a hectic day!

Going Xmas shopping at the mall is a workout in itself!

Now that the kids are in bed and I've put away the presents I was able to finish my prize give-away.

This is part of a 6 pack that Meghan will be receiving. The card is made out of Cappuccino Metallic Cardstock and the embossed background is made out of Rose Quartz cardstock. The monogram was printed on Opal cardstock in a matching brown tone.

I've got a hectic weekend ahead, a birthday party, more shopping and I'm hoping to start designing for CutCardstock. Wish me luck, I'll be living off these all day tomorrow:

For those of you celebrating Eid on Monday. May you have a Happy Blessed Eid!

And the Winner is.....

2008-12-03T08:03:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Meghan from Meghan's Mindless Muttering.

Meghan has won a personalized stationery set from last weeks Black Friday give-away.

As soon as Meghan picks out her colors I'll post samples of what her cards look like.

Keep an eye out and make sure to follow my blog another give-away will be coming up soon.

Wow! What a way to start the day!

2008-12-02T11:39:00.000-06:00

The main reason I had started this blog was so I could enter a contest through one of my favorite online stores cutcardstock.com. The contest didn't require a blog but I thought having a blog made it more personal/professional. Imagine how I reacted when I read the email that I had won!

WOW!! I will be their guest designer for the month of January but the news doesn't stop there. They will also be sending me merchandise from their store so I can design some more cards for them to showcase during the month of January.

What a way to start off the New Year, right!

Thanks Norma and Cutcardstock! I can't wait to begin designing!

Here's my winning card:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-01T15:53:00.000-06:00

We had our first official snowfall this season. It's not much but it definitely makes it feel a lot like Christmas. I can't wait til we go get our Christmas tree this week, I love the smell frest cut pine!
We skipped the tree thing last year because Ian and Miranda were too young and I didn't want them ripping off all the ornaments. :)

I've been working away today on my Christmas cards for my family and friends.

I've got to admit I did cheat this year, I went digital. I took a picture of the kids and added a holiday border along with our sentiment. I did layer in onto a coordinating scalloped cardstock though :) Why did I cheat? I have A LOT of cards to send out this year and I ran short of time.

I've also been working on a set of Christmas cards and matching gift tags for my shop.

Well, I'm off to begin dinner. Tonight it's a peppered roast with pasta and asparagus. YUM-O!

Back to business

2008-11-29T12:02:00.000-06:00

Attached are some cards I just added to my shop. Don't forget to enter my giveaway, just follow my blog or leave me a comment. Winner will be announced on my blog 12/3 and I'll contact you for mailing information.
I'm also have a holiday sale in my shop, check it out.

Miranda's Birthday

2008-11-29T11:43:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to share some pictures from my baby's birthday.

We had Miranda's cake made by a local bakery called, "Beautiful Cakes".

The bakery formerly known as, "Cake by Colleen" has over 20 yrs experience serving the Chicago & surrounding suburbs. We picked this year a chocolate cake with raspberry mousse and raspberry preserves. OMG! It was soo delicious! Mark and I also had our wedding cake made there. If you're in the Chicago area and are looking for cake to celebrate a special event please check them out. :)

Make a wish Miranda!!

Cutting the first piece with daddy.

We took about 10 pictures of my 3 goofballs and this is the closet we got to having them all look in the same direction. :)

Look! I'm finally in a picture! :)

Happy Birthday Princess!

A wonderful Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T11:24:00.000-06:00

So I'm a little late posting about Thanksgiving, I know. We had such a great time at my in-laws this Thanksgiving. My parents and sister also went with us and we celebrated Miranda's 2nd birthday. We feasted on Turkey, Ham, Potato Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Sauteed Mushrooms, and of course you can't forget the Puerto Rican rice! I mean come'on what kind of holiday would it be without Arroz con Gandules!!

This year as every year I'm thankful for my wonderful family. I'm very fortunate to have the most wonderful man in the world as my husband and 3 wonderful children. I'm so happy we were able to spend this Thanksgiving with both sides of our family. We conversed, played on the Wii (that game system is made for people of ALL ages) and we enjoyed each others company.

After dinner we enjoyed my signature holiday drink, Coquito. It's a Puerto Rican Style Eggnog with a nice KICK! It's a secret recipe that I refuse to share with anyone. :)

The even funnier part is that I'm not Puerto Rican, it's a secret recipe my girlfriends family shared with me years ago. This drink is usually only made for Christmas but I make it for Thanksgiving since it's the only holiday where all of our family is together.

Black Friday Sale!!!!

2008-11-27T11:10:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has a plentiful Thanksgiving.

For those of you waking up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of door busters and early morning sales. MORE POWER TO YOU!

Mark and I will also be out at 5am picking up gifts and stuff.

For those of you shopping on the net I invite you to visit my shop and take advantage of a black friday sale.

Friday 11/28 - Sunday 11/30 everything in my store is 20% off (sorry customized items are not included)

Just mention "Gobble-Gobble" during checkout and I'll issue you a refund.

If you'd like a specific number of Christmas cards please mention this during checkout and I will send you a revised paypal invoice reflecting the correct amount and 20% discount.

It gets better!!! Follow me on my blog and enter a chance to win a 6pk of monogrammed notecards. Cards can be monogrammed with an initial or a name, I have several colors to choose from.

Don't let these sale go by, stock up on your christmas greeting cards now!

Sneak Attack Today at 3pm (central)

2008-11-26T15:35:00.000-06:00

Sneak Attack Happening NOW!!! (through the rest of the day)
Shops: GoodWitchCreations

Product type: JewelryPrice Range: $7 - $17.50 (note: ships everywhere!)Sponsor: Galacards

What's a Sneak Attack? Three days a week at an appointed time, an Etsy shop with few or no sales is announce on this site. As many people as possible then buy items from that shop, resulting in a frenzy of surprise business to the unsuspecting shop! Want to join in? I bet you do! Read on...
Below is the current Sneak Attack schedule. To participate, show up on this site at or soon after the time of the next attack and you'll see the chosen shop name. Then go to that shop and purchase an item, making sure to include the words "Sneak Attack" in the "message to seller". The shop owner will also be informed of what is happening so they know just what is going on. Think you're too late for today's attack? Wrong! If the shop name is still up below, please go and make a purchase!
NEW: Send an email to SAlist [at] michaelphipps.net with the title "Sign me up" to be put on the Sneak Attack mailing list. You'll be contacted a few hours before each Sneak Attack with a friendly reminder.

Sniff! Sniff! Cough! Cough!

2008-11-25T13:21:00.000-06:00

I'm surrounded by sniffling, coughing toddlers! Of course it would happen right before Thanksgiving. Nanda's got a mild ear infection and a cold and Ian has a cold with that hacking cough. Our doctor says no-no to over the counter medication though so I turned to my mom for a home remedy she used to give us when we were young.

2 Lemons

2 Garlic cloves

4 tsp of honey

Fresh Ginger (small nickel size piece)

Squeeze out the lemon juice into a small saute pan and add the rest of the ingridients. Stir over low flame, as soon as it starts to bubble take off heat.

From this syrupy mix drink a tablespoon every two hours, it must be warm when taken.

Miranda is really good about taking medicine however, Ian is a different story!

Here's another one I got from a fellow twitter:

Very similar as above but it's a tea. Surprisingly, Mr. Ian actually like this one alot!

Lemon

Water

Fresh Ginger

Honey

I squeezed the lemon into water and added some lemon peel for more taste along with a nickel sized piece of ginger. Once it boiled I strained it and added honey.

It's delicious and it soothes your throat from coughing so much.

Thanks Herbanlifestyle!!

Miranda's 2nd Birthday

2008-11-23T22:35:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my baby Miranda!!

We're celebrating her birthday on Thanksgiving with all the grandparents but we couldn't let her special day go by without her opening her big presents.

My parents took Ian and Miranda for a couple hours so we could clear the mess they had in the living room. Malik's best friend Muhammad came over so we put them to work by sorting out the toys while we built her kitchen set.

Before the little ones came back these two "10 yrs olds" decided to try out the kitchen set.

Mark and I laughed our butts off watching them "cook". LOL

Miranda LOVED her new kitchen center, she wasted no time making me coffee and hot dogs.

I can't believe my baby is 2yrs old. Happy Birthday Nandita!

Winter is officially here in Chicago!

2008-11-20T15:42:00.000-06:00

Brrrr! The cold weather hit with force last night, I can't wait til spring!
In the meantime, I'll continue playing with my Blog, there's so much I want to add to it if I can just figure out how to put it all together. :)
Here's two cards I'm entering in a contest. Winner gets to be a guest designer for the month of January and a runner up will win a $20.00 merchandise gift card. As much as I would love to take 1st place, I don't think my blog is interesting enough "yet" so I'm hoping to be a runner up so I can get more goodies to design with.
Wish me luck!
I 'LOVE' this card! It's an A6 and I used patterned paper from scrapperdashery, Jupiter Stardream cardstock, Marvy's Xtra Giga Punch, Sentiment by Penny Black , Cardinal Image by Serendipity Stamps and holiday flourish by Inkadinkado Images were colored with Copic Markers, Ink from SU and glitter from Art Institute Glitter These are A2's using Sapphire Stardream cardstock, the snowflakes were embossed using my trusty cuttlebug on Crystal Stardream cardstock and accented with silver mirri cardstock scalloped with my create-a-cut trimmer, Marvy oval and scallop punches were used for the sentiment and ribbon from May Arts and a little bling from Mark Richards. Sentiment stamp is from Hero Arts, silver ink from colorbox and clear embossing powder from Coloriser

Crazy Weekend!

2008-11-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

Thank goodness our craft fair was a success thing past weekend.
We had the awesome vendors and the food we had was BEYOND words!
Our Turkish parents made the best of everything, Gezleme, Baklava, Manti and so many other dishes. I can't pronounce them much less attempt to spell them all but trust me every single dish was beyond delicious! :)
After our fair Mark, the kids and I headed over to our friends Vince's house for a bday party.
Vince turned 37 yrs old, we had a blast reminiscing on the high school days. Ian and Miranda were also on their best behavior, I'm surprised they were still awake at 11:30pm when we left.
Today, I'm taking it easy. I'm so NOT in the mood to do anything, so here I sit attempting to figure out how to enhance my blogspot. Though I have to admit I'm not catching on so I'm going to lean and beg my good friend David to do his techie, geeky magic. :)
You know I luv ya right!

In case you're wondering these adorable snowpeople belong to one of our vendors Dottie. If you're interested in one please let me know so I can give you Dottie's information. I swear they are even more adorable up close. My sister-in-law is going to love the one we bought her, he's wearing a Chicago Bears outfit. I'm sure it'll bring a little bit of home to her new home in Texas.

Contest Entry

2008-11-13T16:06:00.000-06:00

Hmmm!! My first official post! I'm still testing the waters with the blogging world so please bear with me. Here's a pic I'm considering for a contest I'm entering, I'm still undecided whether this one will be one of two entries.