Spain 2012

Happy Wednesday... 

I so want to have an album with photos of our vacation to Spain last October!  But you know what, I took around 2,000 photos!!!  No way I can scrap all those photos and be able to make any other project in my whole life...

So I picked about 300.  It's still a lot.  

I will use the divided photo sheets with different sized pockets to do this album... and I'm very excited about it.  It's going to take a lot of time because I have to interrupt it with a lot of other projects, but this is one of these projects you have for a while, and when in the mood you add something else and so.  Does that happen to you, scrapper?

I was also thinking... there are friendships just like this.  I have a very best friend that not necessarily are in touch with each other all the time... It's just the routine, the everyday's life, and the different lifestyles we had followed...  However, when we catch up probably twice a year, it's like I always confirm how precious her friendship is and how much we have in common.  It's like a special project to love all the time, but see and relate to just sometimes.  It's the beauty of friendship.

So enough talk.  I just made the cover of that album I'm going to finish in 2014... LOL!

It's a cover, so it's simple and just to communicate the content.

I used the year 2012 to establish the date.

I also used some grungeboard symbols...  a man, a lady, a plane, and arrow, and a wine bottle with glass...

Don't know if you remember, but my trip to Spain was mainly to visit wineries and learn more about wine... so we visited Barcelona and Madrid, of course, but focused more on Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions.  This is why that image with wine is important.

I used the negative of those images and placed them on black cardstock.  The letters are also grungeboard (Tim Holtz').  All the letters, numbers and symbols are painted with distress paints and inks.

Here's the whole page.  I chose one photo of us (there are just a few when we are together), which is in a Madrid famous monument to represent the destination to which the album will be dedicated.

I really like my cover page.

All White CAS

It's Sunday, and as simple as it sounds, I haven't done half of what I planed.  Just household stuff, some diligences on the internet, and little things... but all has got complicated a bit...  No big issue... I leave it to God... I just went with the flow of the day.

And my friends at Outlawz posted a CAS challenge that I found quite interesting.  All White.  Yes... All white... You could color stamped images or sentiments but all cardstock and embellishments must be white.

I was exposed to "all white" idea recently.. when making my anniversary card. Remember?  But it was because of the crystal theme.  They kind of mentioned to be inspired by snow for this challenge.  When I read "white" I thought of purity, simplicity, honesty...  gratefulness...  so I went for a Thank You card.

I embossed the background and added a punched border for different textures.  The circle simulating a flower was made with a strip, scoring multiple times and then shaping it into the circle.  I made a similar one for my 15th Anniversary card I just mentioned.   Have you seen it?  Come on!  You can take a look HERE.

Then with the stamped leaves, I tried first to use them in a different way.  I just wanted to be as white as possible so I cut them thinking they'd look nice with the shape but no lines, using the other side... but did not like it... so I just left them with the black lines from the stamping, but no coloring.  (I bet if colored green they'd look nice too).

I really hope you liked this card and the challenge.  Have a white Sunday!  Thanks for your comments.

Let's unwind, it's Friday!

Oh... I know it sounds repetitive...  But how happy I am it is already Friday!

This week I've been so busy, sick, with lots of things at work and home, and stressed with so many things going on in my mind.

Well, well... but it is Friday already!

I made this CAS card to relieve some stress... just as an excuse to say I made something this week ...  Sometimes, scrapbooking, for me is not just a hobby but a need.

I used these "wine series" stamps from Unity, which I love...  (I loved this one even more when I've got the analogy behind it.  Since English is not my first language I had to look into internet translator to understand the meaning of the sentiment... don't laugh at me...LOL).

I am taking some antibiotics for an acute sinusitis and throat infection I had this week... so I guess I will not have wine today... but Cheers! anyway.

Have a great weekend.

I entered this card for the Sunday CAS at Outlawz Challenges... and also linked to Unity's FWF... Don't forget to leave a comment for the opportunity to win spectacular stamps.

  

Crystal Anniversary!

Hello...

Hope you are having a good weekend.

I told you I was celebrating my wedding anniversary.  It's been 15 years.

Being married is not easy... but it's a blessing.  It's more the good than the "less good" things.  I think love is something very special... but it's not only a feeling... it's a decision.

The tradition says the 15th. anniversary is celebrated with crystal.  Crystals are transparent, very clean... and the more you polish, the more light they radiate.  That's how love is too.

I thank God for the opportunity to have a good husband.

And I made this card.  Tried not to be too girly but still kind of didn't achieve it 100%... LOL.

Hope you like it.

Two Cards for the FWF

So it's Friday again.  When this week started I was so tired just thinking all the work I had in the office... and I was so longing for Friday...  It's finally here!  And it felt sooner than I expected.

I also thought I was not going to be able to post for FWF this week but had the chance last night and even though I am going to bed kind of late, it was worth it.

I made two cards.  For the first one I used three Unity stamps.   The sentiment, the leaves and the flower.

The leaves were stamped three times... two directly on the base, and one separately and cut for dimension.

 The flower was stamped on red cardstock and then I used Glossy Accents and glitter for a really special touch.

I stressed the border and inked the white cardstock to go on top of black cardstock.

I also made another one with embossed and painted background.  I used Distress Stain for this one.  Then stamped the sentiment and added some baker's twine.  The two coupons are also stamped and cut images, in which I also stamped other two messages and applied powder that was heat embossed. I used five Unity stamps in total for this card.

I promise both the flower and the coupons have nice finishing effects that are not really appreciated in the photos... but if you are a scrapbooker, you've got the idea...

I'm linking this to Unity's FWF so don't forget to leave a comment for the opportunity to win great stamps such as the one I used for these cards.

Have a great weekend.

(As a separate note...my husband and I celebrated 15 years of marriage yesterday... pretty awesome, right?  Come back this weekend to see the card I made for the occasion.)

Feeling Blue!

Hello my blogger friends.

Hope you are having a nice "middle of the week".

I just wanted to make a quick stop to show you this layout I made for the Scrapping Everyday Miracles challenge.  The direction is to scrap about something sad.  Not everything is in pink around here, you know... but God is always there to remind us that all these things are part of life.  I always say us humans need the sweet and the bitter, so we can really understand what sweet is and appreciate it when we have it.

So I decided to scrap about my dog-son.  He was sick the other day and he was very weak.  We were very worried and didn't know what to do.  We had taken him to the doctor and he was on medication but still we did not see improvement.

I could not take him out of my mind while working and asked to myself, what are we doing wrong?  I asked God to please help us understand so we can help him.  He is very important for us and has given us so much joy in our lives.

There was one day that he was so weak that we really got scared.  It was a work day and I stayed with him during the morning to watch him.  Then my husband stayed in the afternoon...  He was the one who received the call from the doctor telling him to take our dog for hospitalization because some analysis had came out and he was not good.

Long story short... he was with the Vet 2 nights, he recovered...  but recently got sick again, and we found out it was this virus that stays in and out from the body (it hides) and thus the in and out fevers and so on.  Now he's still taking medication and getting better and better.

The page is titled "Feeling Blue" and I cut the silhouette in the photo and added a white cardstock thin border to provide some "light" to that magic moment when I was trying to cheer my dog up for a photo but all he did was to put his head in my lap and I kissed him, and took the photo.

Journaling will be hidden in the little envelope at left and it says outside:  skies are gray!

When my dog is sick I feel my heart is in pieces.  That's why I covered this chipboard heart with pieces of paper and some outside of the heart to show that.  (I now realize the date is missing in the journaling card in the photo, but it will be there before storing in the album... LOL!)

Well... hope your gray moments are less than the pink ones... but remember they are necessary.

Have a great rest of the week.

Loving You...

It's Friday and you know I love Fridays...

I've been very "scrapbooking-lazy" this week... Have arrived too tired from work and have not touched any paper these weekdays...  But I wanted to share something today for the Unity FWF.

So last night I took my Unity stamps and assembled this Love card for today.  It will be the very first one for St. Valentine's this year.

I used 4 stamps from the November KOM... They are fabulous!  And combined with patterned paper from DCWV, cardstock and washi tapes... ink and a metal accent.

I think it is a good card for a lovely Friday.

Hoping your weekend will be full of memorable moments!

Willow Sketchie Challenge

Hey... how's it going in 2013?  So far, so good?  Good for me...  healthy enough, got a job, a lovely husband, small but beloved family, a dog's love...  and scrapbooking friends... yeah!

A scrapbooker friend invited me to participate in a sketch challenge.  She designed the sketch!!!  She's very talented and is guest in so many blogs and activities...

Her name is Sonia and you can visit her blog HERE.

This is the sketch she created for Willow Sketchie Challenge:

So, we celebrated a local Holiday in Puerto Rico yesterday, it's the Three Kings' Day (to honor the 3 Wise Men who visited baby Jesus).  My husband and I agreed not to exchange presents since we will buy something for the house that will be a present for both... but we always get a little something from each other.  He gave me a new paper trimmer (which is very sophisticated and I will have to learn how to use) and I got him some sandals.

I used Sonia's sketch to make this card for him:

Pure pattern paper with card-stock and stamps, colored with watercolor pencils.  

I placed it in front of a plain gift bag for a different approach.

He liked it a lot...  Hope you do too.  Tks for stopping by.  Enjoy TODAY.

Very first Friday of 2013!

Hey friends!  It's Friday.  First Friday of New Year 2013!  And this is the Three Wise Men's weekend. We celebrate the Three Kings Day on January 6th.  So, it's still Holidays in Puerto Rico... until mid January with a party in San Juan called "Fiestas de la calle San Sebastián".   No wonder we are called the happiest country in the World!  LOL!

For the Unity FWF I want to share this with you.

First of all... I bought these face creams in Costco, and the packaging feature a plastic shape of the product.  One of them is like a bottle of wine.  Since I've been buying this product I've storage some of these for future projects.  I finally made something with one of them.

I cut the same shape in a glitter paper...

And glued the plastic behind...

I stamped in cardstock in a way it can be seen through the bottle shape.  Since this was for a friend's birthday, I also added some details with her name and other things as embellishments.

I then embellished with combined stamped messages for the occasion.  They are all from different kits or itty bitties, as well as the lady inside the bottle.

Some washi tape and punched borders were also added to the party.

The card was very personalized for the birthday party and thought for the birthday girl.  She really liked it a lot.  :)

Hope you liked it too.

Let me tell you I am trying not to be a hoarder this year... It's not quite too serious of a problem...  don't be scared, but I usually storage some stuff thinking I will be using them afterwards in a project, or maybe I'll recycle... or "I'll find a use for it"...  So this means I have packaging, labels, tags, boxes, and articles I see future on them...   But I guess I don't really use them all and don't have the time to do it; so I'll have to really make sure that when I storage something it's because I'll really use it soon.

Do you have the same issues?  Is this part of being a scrapbooker?  What can you tell me about it?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's already 2013!

Thank you for being a great support during 2012. Your comments and your visits to my blog mean a lot to me.  Scrapbooking is not just a hobby but an opportunity to develop creativity, an excuse to have friends, and a "place to escape" when you need to relax, think, and just be imperfect... or maybe even to escape for some reality that needs to be ignored from time to time.  Such is life.

For 2013, I wish you happiness, health, love, and that all your wishes come true* (*only if they are right for you... whatever God thinks is best).  I hope you have more time for scrapbooking without leaving all the rest behind.

I wish we all find reasons to continue doing what we do, knowing that there are people who loves it and feel inspired.

Happy New Year!

Ya es 2013!

Gracias por su gran apoyo durante el 2012. Sus comentarios y sus visitas a mi blog significan mucho para mí. Scrapbooking no es sólo un pasatiempo, sino una oportunidad para desarrollar la creatividad, una excusa para tener amigos y un "lugar para escapar" cuando se necesita relajarse, pensar y ser imperfecto... o tal vez incluso para escapar de alguna realidad que hay que ignorar de vez en cuando. Así es la vida.

Para el 2013, les deseo felicidad, salud, amor, y que todos sus deseos se hagan realidad* (*sólo si son adecuados...lo que Dios piensa que es mejor). Espero que tengan más tiempo para scrapbooking sin dejar el resto de las cosas atrás.

Deseo que todos encontremos razones para continuar haciendo lo que hacemos, sabiendo que hay gente que le gusta y se sienten inspirados por nuestros trabajos.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!