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Sunday, December 27, 2009

PPA 22 Happy New Year


This week PPA is hosting a Simple Sketch Challenge.

  • The sketch is designed by Margaret Moody.  

This is my interpretation.


As I had told you before, my crafting area was through major remodeling.  I had my things all over the place in boxes and desks.  Well now is finally finished.  I have a lot of work placing my things where they belong but when I finished I will be a very happy crafter.  My cozy, crafty corner is a reality, hurray!!!

I have still so much work to do and so many boxes to unpack.  I have found a lot of things I did not even know I had and a lot of old Stampin' up paper, boxes, catalogs, stamps!!! I will need to make some blog candy soon!!
Stay in touch...Happy everything!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Nativity and Three Kings Day Cards

I wanted to share two very special Christmas cards I made for two of my sisters ( I have four sisters and three brothers!). These two sisters lives outside Puerto Rico and I wanted to make a card close to our traditions so the Nativity and the Three Kings adorn my cards for today.  I got the inspiration for the Nativity card blog-hopping. (I am sorry but I forgot to bookmark the page so I cannot give proper credit to the original creator). (Update: Nativity card inspiration in this site: http://danasdabblingstudio.blogspot.com/2009/10/flower-petal-card-tutorial.html)



Friday, December 11, 2009

PPA Color Challenge part 2


I found my cardstock!  As I wrote in my first post for this week's PPA challenge, I could not find where I put my cardstock ( in the right colors).  I looked some more and found them!  I hope my wall unit for my craft space be finished soon, I am going crazy anytime I need something and I cannot find it.
For my second post, I am using Soft Suede card base  and a Crushed Curry layer.  I stamped using Old Olive ink for the weeds and Crushed Curry ink for the sun.  The stamp set is   "Inspirado por la Naturaleza" and the sentiment is a preview of the new SAB set "Whimsical Words" in Spanish.  I hope you like it.


Thursday, December 10, 2009

PPA 20 Color challege

Hello, welcome to my blog!  This week the PPA Challege is to create using the Stampin'Up colors:  Soft Suede, Crushed Curry and Old Olive.  My creation is a digital card made with MDS.  I really want to make a classic card but I cannot find my colors!! I am re-doing my craft area and now everything is in boxes all over the house. I know I have my In Color cardstock somewhere, I know I will find them but why wait if I have all the right colors in my MDS?  Here is my latest creation:


 
I will keep on looking, and later I will post a classic card (if I find my cardstock).  Bye now!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

PPA 19 Vintage inspired

This week's challenge is a Holiday Photo Inspiration Challenge. We could use the colors, the look, or anything in the photo to get inspired.



This is my interpretation:


I hope you like it!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Pals Christmas/Winter Hop



Welcome to the Christmas/Winter Holiday Hop!  I am so exited to have you here! If you've arrived from Gina's blog (Cards by Gina), I am the last stop in the Hop. You have seen all the creations of this group of talented ladies and get inspiration with their creativity but if you have not visited us all, you can Hop all around the circle from here, using the links at the end of the page or the buttons "next"  and  "previous" .  Don't miss anything!  There is a lot of inspiration here from all of us.  As I told you, I am the last but not least, I have several projects to inspire you in this Holidays Seasons.  My first project is a Scrapbook Page using My Digital Studio, from Stampin'Up  and the digital download Christmas Cocoa II digital kit (120880).



 This page portraits my dear daughter Maralisi and her dear friend Chanon.  Although the picture was taken back in 2008, the holiday spirit shows allover.
She was so happy while she was studying and working in a research laboratory in Chapel Hill, NC that she decided to go back and is planning to go live in Raleigh, NC at the end of this year. Her mom will miss her so, so much!!  At least I will have these page and others to remind me of her big smile and sweet face.  I used to have my photos sleeping for months in my hard disk, waiting for me to chose the ones I would develop to make my scrapbook pages.  Now, with My Digital Studio from Stampin'Up, I can play with my photos as soon as I get them.  No need to wait anymore!

My second project is an easy gift you can prepare in no time.  I bought an inexpensive candle with a clear glass container.  The candle smell is Christmas Pine Tree and and I love it but the container alone did not said to much to me so I embellished it using paper from the Simply Scrapin' set Christmas Jingle (115696).  I cannot believe how many things I've done so far with this kit.  I covered the for sides of the glass container individually because the size and shape of the candle is somewhat irregular.  I used a strip of coordinating paper all around the bottom.  I made some flowers and leaves using the Stampin' Up exclusive Sizzix die cuts Birds and Blooms (113485) ,  Little Leaves (114511) and a Spanish sentiment from a retired Stampin'Up set. The centers of the flowers are clear rhinestone brads.  Now I have a pleasing smelling and beautiful looking candle for a special gift.



For the Holiday Hop I wanted to make some Christmas cards more related to how I celebrate Christmas here in Puerto Rico.  Christmas here is all about the Nativity and the the visit of the Three Kings.  Santa Claus is welcome too but "Jesus is the reason for the Season." The cards I made incorporate the Nativity theme as well as the Three Kings, holiday we celebrate on January 6th.



The Cards again, were made using papers and cardstock from Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' set, the stamps ar from the set "Nacimiento" (112935) in Spanish,  The flowers were made with the Scallop Circle punch.  I used to punched shapes for the larger flower and one for the smaller ones.  The centers are embellished with rhinestones brads.








For this card I get inspiration in a tag set Andrea Waldorf showed in her blog. In my card I used the Top Note die (113463) exclusive to Stampin' Up and the Bird with leave die (113465) and papers from Christmas Jingle.

I want to wish you Happy Holidays whichever you celebrate, and wish you a new year fill with peace, health and prosperity for you, your family and your country.  Thanks for visiting!

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HOLIDAY HOP LINE-UP
Click on any of the sites listed below to begin the Holiday Hop.  We're thrilled to have you visit and excited to hear what you think of our hop.  Feel free to leave as many comments as you'd like along the way!


1.  Kris Kilcoyne (Kween Bee Kreations)
2.  Carla Bazhenow (Carla's Scraps)
3.  Linda Callahan (Stampin' Seasons)
4.  Melanie Collins (Oops a Daisy)
5.  Mary Fish (Stampin' Pretty)
6.  Tricia Gillam (Soul Stamper)
7.  Jill Gregory (Stamping Heart)
8.  Kim Lampone (Stamp, Scrap, Get Kreative)
9.  Kalshelia Lloyd (Stampin' Fabulousity)
10.  Regina Mangum (The Stampin' Bean)
11.  Margaret Moody (Margaret Moody)
12.  Debbie Pierce (Stampin' Sunshine)
13.  Ann Schach (The Stampin' Schach)
14.  Gina Shaw (Cards by Gina)
15.  Lourdes Torres (Cozy Crafty Corner)




           






Saturday, November 28, 2009

Simply Vainilla PPA 18 Kiss

Hello!  This week the PPA is all about simplicity. KISS stands for Keep it Simple Sweetie!  And boy, I kept it simple...A Very Vainilla card base, an embossing folder and 3 stickers was all it took to make this card in a snap.  I hope you like it!

Coming Soon: Christmas/Winter Hop


I want to invite you all for this Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 5:00 AM CST as a group of talented ladies from the Pretty Pals group showcase all that Stampin' Up! has to offer - from Digital Scrpabooking, rubber stamps, designer paper, embellishments, and much more!  Mark your calendar now! 

HOLIDAY HOP LINE-UP



1.  Kris Kilcoyne (Kween Bee Kreations)
2.  Carla Bazhenow (Carla's Scraps)
3.  Linda Callahan (Stampin' Seasons)
4.  Melanie Collins (Oops a Daisy)
5.  Mary Fish (Stampin' Pretty)
6.  Tricia Gillam (Soul Stamper)
7.  Jill Gregory (Stamping Heart)
8.  Kim Lampone (Stamp, Scrap, Get Kreative)
9.  Kalshelia Lloyd (Stampin' Fabulousity)
10.  Regina Mangum (The Stampin' Bean)
11.  Margaret Moody (Margaret Moody)
12.  Debbie Pierce (Stampin' Sunshine)
13.  Ann Schach (The Stampin' Schach)
14.  Gina Shaw (Cards by Gina)
15.  Lourdes Torres (Cozy Crafty Corner)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

"Jibaro" Page

Hello friends! It's been a while since my last post to my blog. I have been through a lot of activity and stress lately but I am back to what I like the most! I wanted to share with you a Scrapbook page I did using MDS. I am also sharing some of my culture here. This last week,my little grand-nephew Diego had to represent in his school how our puertorican ancestor, the "Jibaro" dressed for the special occasions. He looked so charming in his costume! Christmas in Puerto Rico, specially in the inner parts of the island, is often celebrated like the "Jibaro" and his family used to celebrate it, with the same dances, songs and food. Christmas in Puerto Rico is a very lively season and a long one too. We begin just after Thanksgiving and end it with the Three Kings Day in January 6th. I love Christmas and I am already feeling it in the air!! Remember to tune in for our next Holiday Hop on December 1st. We are bringing more Season's inspiration to all our friends. For now, here is the most handsome "jibarito" ever, Diego Jose Bodden.




Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Pals Holiday Hop for Fall is here!




Like last month with our Halloween Hop a group of talented Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators are ready to show off their paper crafting skills giving you some ideas for your projects for this Fall season.
If you came directly to this blog, you can still visit our Holiday Hop full circle.  Move with the "previous"  or "next" buttons below the projects and see all we have for our guests.  Feel free to return anytime.  Please, leave your comments, they mean a lot to us!  Mark your calendar for our next Holiday Hop:
  • Christmas/Winter – December 1, 2009
For this Hop again, I wanted to make three projects, a card, a 3D Project and a scrapbook page using My Digital Studio.  I have been using MSD very frequently these days.  As a first time digital scrapbooker I really thought it would take much more time to feel at ease with the software but it is really not hard.  But like they say:  "Practice makes perfect".  While I continue practicing to someday make close to  perfect pages I want to share with you this one I made with the Thanksgiving theme in mind.  I was in a trip across the mountains of my beautiful country Puerto Rico.  The sights were splendorous and majestic.  I remembered how lucky I am and how much I must give thanks for.  My page is entitled:  "Dios, te doy gracias"( God, I thank you for..."




My second project is a Thanksgiving card.  I used the Autumn Meadows DSP paper using both sides of the designs.  I made my base with very Vanilla and also use Dusty Durango and Tempting Turquoise for layering.  The birds and the branches were cut with the Birds with leaves and flowers die (113465) and the greeting was punched with the scallop oval  punch (114889) and the large oval punch (107305). The greeting set is "Todos Ovalados".






My last project is a Sachet Envelope.  I used the Autumn DPS from our mini catalog (118769).  I actually cut my envelope using a regular Stampin'up envelope which I opened and used as a template.  I prepared the envelope and poke several holes   with my mat pack (105826) and my piercing tool(116631).  The holes are needed so the fragance of the sachet crystals can flow out.  I embelished the sachet using the flowers from Blossom Party (115971) using the die with the BigShot is a breeze.  I used  Crushed Cury, Tempting Turquoise and Dusty Durango card stock.  I cut the leaves with the exclusive Sizzix die "Little Leaves" (114511) and I attached the Round Tap punch out shape in the top of the sachet in the event the receiver wants to hang it. (108340).  I used a little raffia bow and Alpine ribbon layering the belt made of paper.  I added the  sentiment in Spanish "Gracias por tu amistad" (Thank you for your friendship). I found the project very pretty and the crystals can be purchase individually for close to a buck or buy them in bulk if you plan to do several.   This could be  a wonderfully fragant and pretty give for a special friend during the holidays.







I hope you liked my projects and could take some ideas for your own projects this Fall.  Now, If you came all the way from Kris blog and came here from Gina's this is your last stop.  If not, you can Hop all the way around using the buttons below.  Thanks for visiting and I hope to have you again very soon.  






















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HOLIDAY HOPPER LINE-UP     


1.  Kris (Kween Bee Kreations)
2.  Carla (Carla's Scraps)
3.  Linda (Stampin' Seasons)
4.  Mary (Stampin' Pretty)
5.  Trish (Soul Stamper)
6.  Jill (Stamping Heart) 
7.  Liz (DIY Paper Creations) 
8.  Kim (Stamp, Scrap, Get Kreative) 
9.  Kalshelia (Stampin' Fabulousity) 
10.  Regina (The Stampin' Bean) 
11.  Margaret (Margaret Moody) 
12.  Debbie (Stampin' Sunshine) 
13.  Ann (The Stampin' Schach) 
14.  Gina (Cards by Gina) 
15.  Lourdes (Cozy Crafty Corner)

       




                                                                                                                                                                      

  K

Monday, November 9, 2009

Mojo Monday 112 Para Ti


P1000628

This is the card I made for Mojo Monday 112.  I used papers from the Stampin'Up Hostess collection in Night of Navy.  The rest of the tools and materials are also from Stampin’up unless noted.  I used the scallop circle punch to make the background for the flower which I punched in Whisper White Cardstock,The base of the card is in Old Olive cardstock, the knot was made with White Taffeta Ribbon  tied around a piece of hardware from the Hodge podge collectin.  The green and blue flower with the crystal brad is form K and Company.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Coming Soon!!!


Hello friends!  We are letting our imagination run to bring you lovely ideas for your Fall projects.  Don't miss The Pals Holiday Hop for Fall, this November 10, 2009.  I am preparing 3 surprise projects and I am sure the rest of the pals are preparing wonderful surprises for you all.  Mark your calendars!

Special Thanks to Kris Kilcoyne who is coordinating this Hop in spite of all hard times she is dealing with these days.  Thanks Kris you are an amazing Pal!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

PPA15 Forever


This week the Pals are playing with an exciting color combination:  Ruby Red, Taken with Teal and Basic Gray.  I made several versions of the card I had in mind but finally I chose this card that include all three colors with a base of Whisper White.  It was made in MDS which is becoming one of my favorite daily activities.






Tuesday, November 3, 2009

When I grow up...


Last Friday, the day before Halloween, Jezer's teacher asked the children  to come dressed personifying who they wanted to be when they grow up.  Of course, he wanted to be a Firefighter!  He looked gorgeous among the other nurses, doctors, policemen and  teachers in the classroom.  Here, some pictures of that day, memories immortalized in a scrapbook page made by his Grandma (ME)  who loves him with all her heart!

Cleopatra


Halloween this year was full of fun and characters.  The birthday of my grandson was on the 30th so we celebrated on Halloween's style.  My nephew and his wife also celebrated with her beautiful daughter Ana Victoria of whom I am Godmother.  They sent these photos ideal for a new MDS scrapbook page.  I will be posting some more later showcasing my grandson's costumes.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

PPA 14 With a little help from my friends

This week PPA are "In the Pink" for Breast Cancer Awareness. We are paying a tribute to all the people who fight with courage and hope for a cure.  Until then, we will continue " to get by with a little help from our friends". 


Monday, October 26, 2009

PPA13 Anything but a card


Recently, my big sister who lives outside of Puerto Rico, sent me to digital pictures of her with her family.  The pictures were beautiful, colorful, clear and that smile in everyone's faces make perfect pictures for a Digital Scrapbook page from MDS!  I love so much my sister and her family and I really miss them everyday. With this page I wanted to tell them not only how much they are loved and missed but that they can count on me always.  I sent her the page first to see if she agreed for me to put it in my blog and she said a big YES!! She loved the page so I wanted to share it with you.  All elements are from MDS.

Monday, October 19, 2009

I am thakful for you





Hi friends, I am recounting my blessings and trying to illustrate them in scrapbook pages for my MDS album.  Frankly, I will need to find another theme for my album because my blessings are so many that 99 pages would not be enough.  God has blessed me greatly and I thank him everyday for good things and bad things that happens in my life because I have learned with all of these events to be stronger, wiser, and my faith had grown.  Today I will portrait one of my big blessings, Jezer Adrian, my grandson.  He makes me laugh, with his curiosity and intelligence. Those grandmas out there know what I am talking about.  So, I make this digital scrapbook page giving thanks for him.  After I posted it, I found that little mouse sitting at the bottom of the page, I do not have any idea what he does there!  But I chose to leave it just like that, like my grandson, it only brings another smile to my face.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

PPA 12 Sketch Challenge





Hello bloggers! The funny thing with this sketch is that I love it from the start and had so many ideas that I could not pick one.  I have not to cut a single piece of paper that would end up in the trash can if I would not be happy with it as I did many times. I used my MDS!  I tried many things and when I was happy, I saved it and share it.  Now, I plan to make it on paper, knowing my steps already and I will not waste a piece of  my beloved papers.  I know I need to practice and practice and practice to become proficient in this amazing program.  I will.  And you will be seeing my baby steps.  And please, do not be shy to comment in how can I improve.  I have never gone digital before and it is likely you know some things I don't.  The important thing is that I am open to improvement and to learn.  And for those that have not began making their baby steps yet, let me tell you, you will love it.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Thanks!

Yesterday, I had record number of visitors to my Blog.  You cannot imagine what this means to me. I am so happy and so grateful for all the comments and emails I have received from people who liked what I had to share.  I want to thank you all for taking the time to send an email or write a little comment, because that is what keeps me moving, knowing that what I do inspire or give ideas to other people to do their projects.  Since I began with this blog on July I have learned so much from all of you, bloggers that happily share what they know, what they found somewhere, what they created from their talent, formal education of plain ability that I really want to do the same to the extent of my ability.  Thank you again, FRIENDS!



Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Pals Holiday Hop is here!






Welcome to the Holiday Hop!


A group of talented Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators are ready to show off their paper crafting skills.


We will provide inspiration using Stampin’ Up! product for 3 quickly approaching holidays.


Halloween – October 13, 2009 (Today)


Thanksgiving/Fall – November 10, 2009


Christmas/Winter – December 1, 2009


Join us today as we showcase all that Stampin’ Up! has to offer – from rubber stamps, designer paper, embellishments, and much more. TIP: Save the date on your calendar for our next hops. You won’t want to miss out!


Welcome to my blog! If you came all the way here from Kween Bee Kreations up to Cards by Gina:  You are now completing the full circle!  If not, and you happened to be here first, don't  miss all the other creations made the Pretty Pals group!




 I wanted to create 3 Halloween projects to share with you. One card, one 3-D project and a digital scrapbook page.


Here my first project: "Vamos a Celebrar" Card.  (Let's Celebrate) I used the base in Pumkin Pie, the first layer in black cardstock embossed with an embossing plate.  Then I added a sticker from guess where? The Pirate's party set.(116213)  I bought it for my grandson's birthday but lately I had to "borrow a thing of two". The images are very well suited for a Halloween party! The Skull sticker is doubled matted with Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Cards stock and 3 small brads from the Hodge Podge Hardware set (111325)  keep it in place.  The greeting is from a retired Stamp up set in Spanish. I used a piece of the Scallop oval punch and another brad to embellish it (114889).





My second Project is a Box in a Bag. I took the idea from Dina Gibbs tutorial (Link here) . This bag is easy to make and very elegant looking. It can be tailored to many different Holidays and occasions.  For my bag I used the beautiful hound tooth paper from the Autumn Meadows DSP (116769), celery cardstock, round scallop punch (109042) scallop edge punch (112091, circle punches 1 1/4 (104403) and 1 3/8 (104401), Round Tab punch(108340) and Sticky Strip104294. After stamping the image on Whisper White card stock I punch the circles with the smaller one the mat with the bigger and finally formed the flower with the scallop round, The set is Twick or Tweet (116497).  Some final touches were done with the Uni-ball Signo pen in White (105021). The bag turned to be funny enough for Halloween but classy enough to give it with some goodies to a neighbor, co-worker or any adult friend.









My third and last project is a scrapbook page featuring my one and only grandson: Jezer Adrian. He was one year and one day old when we first attempted to dressed him in a Halloween costume.  October is Puerto Rico is as hot as July or August and although he looked adorable in his doggy costume he was not happy at all.  He stood still for one or two photos and began to cry.  So, we decided to keep him in his " baby" costume and let him enjoy the night.  That is the reason for the title "Not so Happy Halloween".  You can do pretty easy pages with MDS.











I hope you have enjoyed my projects as i enjoyed sharing them with you.  Don't forget to mark your calendars for 11/10/2009 for our next Holiday Hop featuring Thanksgiving Ideas.




Hoppy Holidays to all!
Lourdes




Previous Blog




                                                                                                    
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And if you miss any page in the HOP here the complete line up:

HOLIDAY HOPPER LINE-UP


1.  Kris (Kween Bee Kreations)
2.  Carla (Carla's Scraps)
3.  Linda (Stampin' Seasons)
4.  Melanie (Oops a Daisy)
5.  Mary (Stampin' Pretty)
6.  Trish (Soul Stamper)
7.  Jill (Stamping Heart)
8.  Liz (DIY Paper Creations)
9.  Kim (Stamp, Scrap, Get Kreative)
10.  Kalshelia (Stampin' Fabulousity) 
11.  Regina (The Stampin' Bean)

12.  Margaret (Margaret Moody)

13.  Debbie (Stampin' Sunshine)
14.  Ann (The Stampin' Schach)
15.  Gina (Cards by Gina)
16.  Lourdes (Cozy Crafty Corner)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Hello, It's Me!

Wow!  I think I am getting hooked with MDS.  I began yesterday trying to make something worth saving and I think I am finding my way through.  When the program first came out for demonstrators I bought it at once.  But I did never used before the digital format for my scrapbooks so, I felt a bit lost.  I began taking the webminars but I had not had time until this week-end to experiment and put into use what I had learned.  It is a formidable program, easy to use, and compatible with other digital images, papers and embellishments I already had but never used.  I think you will seeing many more pages soon.  Thanks for looking and please leave your comments, I always learn from you all.