Giveaway WINNER!

Good morning everyone!

I'm back with the winner of my little giveaway. It's....

Probably you wonder "What is this?" It's the mirror image of the name Christina. So, the winner is:

Christina at Sea Glass & Sentiments

Congratulations, Christina! Please contact me by email with your address so I can send you the prize. 

I'd like to thank everyone that took precious crafting time to comment on blog! *smile*

Today is my second Blogoversary!

August the 4th.

In 1693, Dom Perignon invents Champagne {Cheers!}. In 1830, the plans of the city of Chicago laid out. In 1862, the US Government collects its first income tax. 

In 2008, I made MY FIRST CARD. Here it is!

It's been an amazing journey so far. Card making has helped me in ways I have never expected. 

I have always struggle with noticing details. They could be right in front of me and I would miss them. I am more of a bigger picture person. After two years of making cards (where, let's be honest, the battle is won in the little details), I could literally sit down for a couple of hours working on a details of a project with no pain. The emphasis is on no pain. Because I've been dealing with a lot of details before in my life, but it's been always painful. I remember the first time I had to write a scientific article in grad school, I got sick. For real! My body fought it as an illness. 

I have met some incredibly talented ladies in the blogosphere. Ladies that inspired me with their stories of their family, their children, their own journey though life. They taught me that no matter how hard life gets, there is always a little bit of energy and creativity to make a card!

That's why, for everyone out there who stumbles (or comes on purpose!) on my blog today, I'm offering my absolute favorite stamp set so far, Papertreyink's Guide Lines 2. 

Please leave a comment to this post until next Wednesday, August 11th 2010, 11.59 pm, about the first card you made, if you remember, about how you decided to start making cards or a memorable moment in your card making journey...anything that had to do with card making. 

The winner will be chosen randomly. {Unfortunately, this contest is open only to U.S. residents, as the cost of shipping outside of the U.S. is too much for my budget right now.}

I am looking forward for many more years of browsing beautiful cards on line and making some myself. I'm actually very curious how this is going to "evolve" from now on!

THANKS for stopping by and I'll see you soon! 

Embellish Magazine Color Challenge {featuring Birds}

Hi everyone!

I'm back with a card with birds! First, I thought I had no stamps with birds, but I dug in my rubber stamps drawer and I found this cute Hero Arts stamp. I was more than happy to put it to use. {By the way, I think everyone should have a stamp with birds}.

Here it is:

Recipe for {Thank You for Caring} Card 4 x 5 1/2 in

~ Cardstock: Papertreyink {Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream, Raspberry Fizz};

~ Paper: Papertreyink {Dotty Biscotti};

~ Stamps: Hero Arts {Thank You Card};

~ Ink: Stampabilities {Brown};

~ Button: Papertreyink {Vintage Spring Moss}.

I really love ledger borders in general, but because I wanted to be true to my promise of taking ordering new crafting stuff a little easier, I decided to make my own! Here's how: with the help of a ruler, I marked a few dots at equal intervals on the left border of the paper. I punched a little circle for every dot. Then I took the "line" puncher and punched a line from the side until it met the circle. Pretty easy, isn't it? I bet it looks even better with a smaller circle punch.

So, this is my card for today. But don't forget to stop by tomorrow, 4th of August, as it's my second Blogoversary! A little giveaway will be waiting for you!

Embellish Magazine Color Challenge {with Ric-Rac}

Hello again!

How is everything going? 

I'm back with another card. I realized that, if I wanted to keep up with card making and not letting it slip through the cracks of everyday dish washing, laundry, feeding, diaper changing, I needed to take a different approach. The bank hold-up approach: in and out in 5 minutes. No second guessing or shaky hands. Have an idea, get the materials and get it done. Otherwise, it's becoming obsessive. Maybe for those who are not into making cards, it sounds a little much to have layout and colors flying through your brain, but I'm sure that the card makers understand.

So, with this card, I just let if flow. I also chose some cardstock and an older stamp that I haven't used in a long time. My husband and I made some future plans that require some serious savings and realized how much stuff for making cards I already have. It's going to be very hard to not make long lists with my favorite new stamps and accessories, but I'd like to see how it goes for a while, using all that I already have on hand.  

Recipe for {hey friend} card 4 x 5 1/2 in

~ Cardstock: Papertreyink {Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate}, Paper Studio;

~ Paper: Papertreyink {Dotty Biscotti};

~ Stamp: Practicing Creativity {Key to my Heart}, Stampabilities {Antique Time Piece};

~ Ink: Papertreyink {Hawaiian Shores}; Stampabilities {Brown};

~ Ribbon: Making Memories;

~ Buttons: Papertreyink {Vintage Ocean Tides}.

I'd like to share some tips that helped me finish this card...without making several previous attempts. I frayed the ends of the ribbon on purpose, because it wouldn't cut clean and I didn't want it to look sloppy. The buttons were a little bit of an afterthought, because I tried to adhere the ribbon with an adhesive that showed. 

One tip NOT to follow: don't delete the Downloads folder in bulk. You might delete your watermark. Shoot! Oh, I still have the Trash folder...not anymore, because I got a computer cleaning wave and emptied the trash, too. 

Have you also realized that sometimes you can find stuff better before you clean the desk?   

By the way, I made this card for the latest Embellish Color Challenge {with Ric Rac}.

In a couple of days it's gonna be my second Blogoversary! It's been two years since I made my first card. I'm planning a little giveaway to celebrate, so come back by on the 4th of August!

  

Wplus9 Color Cue Challenge #6

Hello everyone!

So good to be back in the blogland with another card. About looking at cards online, I do that every single day! {So much talent out there.} But I don't get to post as often as I'd like.

Today's card is for the latest Wplus9 Color Cue Challenge. Pretty nice combination! I have had this layout in my head for quite a while, but now I have found the right colors for it.

Recipe for {Just Because} card 4 x 5 1/2 in 

~ Cardstock: Papertreyink {Vintage Cream, Kraft};

~ Stamps: Wplus9 Studio {Woodgrain Silhouettes}, Papertreyink {Damask Design};

~ Ink: Papertreyink {Melon Berry}, Stampabilities {Brown};

~ Buttons: Papertreyink {Vintage Melon Berry};

Can you believe it's getting to be the end of July?! Me neither. I love the coming of Fall. With all the holidays and the preparations for the end of the year. But don't let me jump ahead, there is still some summer to be enjoyed! Hope you have a wonderful time!

THANKS for stopping by!

Embellish Magazine Color Challenge {Invitations}

Hello everyone!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9....that's how many mosquito bites I've got. Round, red, burning bites. They are on the roll. They have come with the rain, but while the rain moved on, the mosquitoes decided to stay a while. I hope no one ever comes up with a stamp set with mosquitoes! 

I'm glad I'm on time with my card for the latest Embellish Color Challenge, because the colors are irresistible!  When one throws Kraft in there, anything is possible. 

I grant my husband two things that I had never thought would happen, before we met: reading(and watching) Harry Potter and drinking tea. I got to the point where I would finish a book at 12 at night and James would finally think we're going to bed, but no, I had to start the next one.."just a couple more pages...". 

About the tea, we have now a true ritual. We buy the cream of the crop of Darjeeling and we let it steep just the right time. Then we pour it in a nice tea pot and drink it from our favorite tea cups....it's a love affair we have now with the tea. 

That's why the card today is an invitation for you: 

Recipe for {You're invited to tea} [All product PTI unless otherwise noted]

~ Cardstock: {Kraft, Vintage Cream};

~ Paper: {Dotty Biscotti};

~ Stamp: {Tea for Two, Turning a New Leaf};

~ Ink: {New Leaf, Spring Moss, Scarlet Jewel};

~ Ribbon: {Scarlet Jewel};

~ Button: {Vintage Scarlet Jewel}. 

I hope you have a great day and have time to drink a good cup of tea!

Wplus9 Color Cue Challenge #5

Hello!

How are you this morning?

I have some droopy eyes, as my sweet baby decided to wake up at 4 am and 7 am. While he went back to bed comforted, I couldn't go back to sleep. There is a certain point in the morning when I know that if I hadn't fallen asleep yet, it's not gonna happen. One of the hardest things for me is to sleep in the daytime, so probably I'm looking at a long long day. But it's all right, I've been through these days before and came back to the other side, alive and well.

Besides, we're still smitten with our baby boy. Last night, after he went to bed, we laughed our heads off trying to imitate what he does. I had no idea how funny these things look when an adult does them!

I have some cards today for the latest Wplus9 Color Challenge. I'm slightly embarrassed by one thing: it took me quite a bit of time to realize that I CAN use white or a neutral color in a color challenge. It gives a card a lot of good balance.

Recipe for {Thankful for you} Card 5 1/2 x 4 in [All products PTI unless otherwise noted]

~ Cardstock {Summer Sunrise, Aqua, Vintage Cream};

~ Paper: Stampin'Up!;

~ Stamps: Making Memories {Autumn Splendor}, Wplus9 {Woodgrain Silhouette};

~ Ink: {Ripe Avocado};

~ Gems: ~ Cardstock {Summer Sunrise, Aqua, Vintage Cream};

Recipe for {the Sky is the limit} Card  5 1/2 x 4 in [All products PTI unless otherwise noted]

~ Cardstock {Aqua, Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate, Orange Zest};

~ Paper: {Dotty Biscotti}

~ Stamps: Practicing Creativity {Look up!};

~ Ink: {Simply Chartreuse}, Stampabilities {Brown};

~ Buttons: {Vintage Spring Moss}. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and THANKS for stopping by!