Merry Christmas!

This is a great day!  We are celebrating when Jesus was born!  It is a good reason to celebrate, don't you think?  I admit we, humans, sometimes forget the real meaning of this celebration... It's not that we don't know, it's just part of being imperfect.  So, just in case, take a few moments to thank God for everything you have lived, or whatever you have or don't have... God is good.  Wish Jesus a Happy Birthday today!

I thought it was appropriate for today, to share a mini album made for a class I gave at a local store last month.   It's a class designed for two hours so it was a combination of mixed media and really regular simple scrapbooking so we could finish on time. 

So I am going to share some images with you, since today's Christmas day and the mini album is about this holiday and at the same time you can see some photos and have fun! 

This is the cover/first page.  We used modeling paste with stencils, and cut some poinsettias which we made glow with gold spray.

Here are some of the pages.  I placed photos from different Christmases and other events, 'cause I didn't want the mini album to be just a plain project without life.  I like the students to see how the photos can look in the album or pages I make for them.  The girls in the photos are my neighbors and goddaughter...  They are older now.

The photo at right... I remember we took this photo at one of my neighbor's house. The Xmas tree was beautiful!  And these girls are 9 now.

At left my other neighbor who was just months old... She was kind of scared of me taking pictures while she was lying in a blanket at the beach. Who wouldn't?

This is my dear brother with my niece and nephew.  These are wonderful children.  They live in the States and we don't see them very often, but they are really good children and so loving, caring, and brilliant.  My bro also has an older daughter who is actually going to be a mom next year... God bless her!

Note that this photo is hidden behind a tab?  Well, we actually made some more pages with flaps and tabs so we could accommodate multiple pictures.  It was a very nice project.

My god daughter again...  She was such a little baby here.  The circles here are from a design paper, but we also combined with cardstock circles.  some are flat and some are with dimensional adhesives, so this is a very cool and simple page with lots of movement and life.

My beautiful mom...  Guess that smile is in the family.

This page had flaps at top and at bottom... so you could place photos inside and out... Very clever!

My husband and I.  Love this guy.  We are not a perfect couple... that doesn't exist, but yes... I love him.   And I know he loves me ! :)

This is the backcover of the mini album in which we also used some glass beads/crystals and paint with stencils.  Love the texture we achieved here.  Beautiful!

Being a scrapbooker has brought me nice experiences, and teaching is one of them.  But I wouldn't call it 100% teaching because most scrapbookers know what they are doing; I would say is sharing a project with them and making it together...  It's so cool.  

Now, my mini album is part of a great collection at Creative Time store.

And if you read this post until the end, then I wanna thank you for that.  Have yourself a Merry Christmas!

Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

Hoy es día de dar gracias... Bueno, Día de dar gracias es todos los días, pero a veces es bueno que existan días especiales que recuerden a todos lo importante que es ser agradecido.

Hoy les comparto la portada de un mini álbum muy especial.  Es mi mini álbum de gracias, el cual fue publicado en la Revista Papeles y Más.  Cada página de este mini álbum fue dedicada a diferentes cosas por las cuales yo estoy agradecida de Dios... familia, salud, trabajo, y más...  Está repletito de sellos de Latina Crafter en todas sus páginas.

Si ya tienen la revista (espero que sí), ya lo vieron, pero aquí les cuento un poco del fondo que trabajé para la portada y así pueden verlo en más detalle.

Primero que todo yo estampé la imagen que ven aquí, pero luego la tapé con una máscara, porque quería que cuando la coloreara se viera como parte de la portada misma, y no pegada.

Así que con la máscara protegiendo la imagen, pinté el fondo con diferentes stencils de Latina Crafter.  También incluí pintura en spray y de distressing en los bordes.

Luego pinté la imagen en la portada y como ven sobresale mucho del resto y se ve espectacular porque es parte de la misma base. No es una imagen cortada y pegada encima de un fondo.

También estampé el resto de los mensajes, usé letras de cartón, lentejuelas y flores.

Como les dije, adentro tiene fotos y sellos mostrando todas las cosas por las que estoy agradecida.  

También anadí fibras y un tag con la palabra "Gracias" en los anillos que unen las páginas del álbum.  Este es un die también de Latina Crafter.

Espero les haya gustado y que también les inspire para dedicar un álbum a todas las cosas por las cuales están agradecidas de Dios.

Que tengan un día fabuloso!  Gracias por sus mensajes.

A very unusual Christmas card!

Christmas is a spectacular time of the year.  I love the fact we are celebrating God with this season and I really enjoy how people seem to be ... better.   I know, it is weird!  But I think... (probably I hope)... for people to change for a better way.  It is a great season to think about what you've done or become... and what, if any, you want or need to change.  And it is not only about others... it's also about myself. 

But besides that... I love Christmas colors, glitter, textures... and all the magic of the decorations and materials related to the season.

I bought this beautiful box at Marshall's.  I love it.  I think it has great possibilities...  You can put a present inside so you don't have to wrap it, you can use it for storage, for decoration... and how about using it to showcase a mini album, or even for a special Christmas card?

Well.. I went with the last one... but this card is like a huge card made with different parts... so you can display in the wall if you want to.  Take a look...

You open the box and you see the first part of the "card"...  Grab the ribbon and pull it out...

It has several circles tied to each other with ribbon for a whole vertical piece you will love.

First circle is the angel wishing peace...

Then you have another circle with the reminder of the real Christmas meaning....

Then another peace and joy sentiment...

And finally a little card in an envelope.

In the little card you can just write the message you want, or also even include a gift card.  Size is perfect for that.

Here's a look to the whole 'card'.

I will have to think who the recipient of this will be... It must be someone special... Or maybe I will sell this to someone so I can buy presents...LOL!!!!

Hope you liked my project.  Tks for your comments.  Have I told you how much I enjoy reading them?  It's just great to know you stopped by, read my post, and actually took some time to write me something.  Tks!

Mini Album

Do you like mini albums?  I do.  I admit I don't make them very frequently but when I do, the thing I like most is that they are unique.  I've made trees, school buses, squares, circles... all kind of shaped mini albums...  Some inside cans, with canvas, chipboard or cardstock... so cool.  But as I said, the cool thing is that they are personalized because they are custom made.

I recently made this one for a 1year old baby... (well, for his parents)...  It's like a story told by him about his first year of life.  Let me share some of it with you...

This is the cover... it has hand cut balloons, and big letters with the kid's initials, framed with washi tapes.  I also added a rub on as sub headline.

First page is titled "This is ME"... with the picture of a sonogram...

Another set of pages show the furry friend of his...  it's a dog called Messi.  They love each other so much.

Baptism...

First Thanksgiving and Christmas...

A special message about how happy this kid is and the good times he has with his fun parents...

And these special photos from a contest his father won about "what he loves about being a father..."  So cute!

I even added his favorite song so he can remember when he's older and hopefully takes a look at this album...

And how cool to have tags so his relatives and friends can add messages in his birthday party so the journaling is going to be priceless!

There are lots of more pages... but just wanted to share with you how cool it feels to do something special for somebody...

Hope you liked it... and somehow got inspired...  Go make a mini album now... 

I Love Margaritas!

Hola... You know I love wine... but you should also know wine is not for just "drinking"... You taste wine, you get delight with every sip, you witness its evolution, because it's alive... and you pair it with food, and so on. Wine stands for special moments and not necessarily for party! However, when I want something cold (besides white or sparkling wines)... or maybe when the "ambience" calls for a nice tropical cocktail, one of the alcoholic drinks I definitely like is the MARGARITA! Oh, I love margaritas. So refreshing, full of flavor... the lime, the tequila, the salt... mmmmmmmmmmmmm... So I decided to make a mini album in honor to this delicious cocktail I enjoy when I can... And why not? I declare that my layouts, mini albums and special projects do not have to be only about birthdays, weddings, Christmas and special days. I love to make projects to inmortalize my feelings, my moments, or maybe that special anything on any day... hahahaha... Want to go for it? I collected some pictures to represent the different kind of shapes and styles of margaritas I've tried, and decided to put them in this mini album to always remember and honor its flavor. I will show you my pages and give attention to the journaling I will be reveiwing with each page... "I LOVE MARGARITAS... "... THIS ONE AT MEXICO WAS SURPRISINGLY LITTLE..." "... BUT THIS ONE'S NOT LITTLE AT ALL..." "... THIS ONE WAS MIXED WITH SANGRIA FLAVOR!" "... AND THIS ONE WITH THE CUP ON THE SIDE, OH MY GOD!..." "... DELICIOUS NO MATTER THE SIZE..." "... SHE'S TALL AND BEAUTIFUL, ON THE BORDER STYLE!" "... BUT MY FAVORITE MARGARITA IS THIS HOMEMADE... BY FAR." "... SERVED WITH ALL THE GOOD HOT FOOD THAT I CAN FIND..." Got it? I also included some coasters from places I've had margaritas. They are inserted as pages and surely add some interesting elements to the mini album.

This is how the mini album looks closed...

So, why not make a tribute to something simple in your life? I chose margaritas... Later I'll choose a favorite chair or corner of the house for a layout... or maybe that old table we've had forever deserves to be remembered in a special place...

I hope you liked my mini album... and the margaritas!!!

(chipboard album base, letters and shapes: DCWV, Fancy Pants, Color Bok; patterned paper: DCWV; stickers, borders: K&Co; inks: Color Box, Glossy Accents; pen: Sakura; adhesives: Scotch; miscellaneous: brads, eyelets, Martha Stweart's border punch, ribbons, bling bling, fibers, metal ring)