Thank you card

Recently, my husband and I were blessed tremendously by his boss and his wife. We got to attend a special marriage conference in Portland where we got to learn more about one another, and to truly see our spouse as God's gift to us. To thank our friends for this wonderful opportunity, I just had to send them a card!

Supplies:

Sizzix embossing folder
Graphic 45 - Communique paper
Spellbinders Fancy Tags 2 & Labels 8 dies
Stamping Scrapping stamps

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember that Thanksgiving centerpiece I made a little while back? Well, here it is with actual stuff inside of it this time:

And a blurry picture, just for kicks:

Off topic, but if you're looking for a new stuffing recipe to try out next year, I highly recommend this one from Allrecipes.com. If you love things like apples, cranberries, and fresh herbs (we're talking thyme and sage), you will love this recipe!! I made it a couple years ago for a huge group and there were no leftovers! I decided to make it this year and given all the positive reviews from this year's group (my father-in-law who normally doesn't like stuffing loved this one), I think I have a new Thanksgiving tradition! That, and maybe a new name card creation each year.

I had a great time with family today, although it seems like they were here and gone in just minutes! After they left, it felt like I had a hole in my heart ... but I know that feeling will go away when I see them again next month hopefully! We had a great time sharing stories, laughing about silly things, drinking lots and lots of sparkling cider, and playing with the puppy. 

I hope that you, dear reader, are having a blessed Thanksgiving! And if it's not feeling very blessed, I pray you find some hope, encouragement, and inspiration through all the wonderful papercrafting ideas you're finding online. I'll be honest. The past couple of years have been the most trying times in my life ... but God sent me the biggest rainbow in March of this year. I walked into Paper Mermaids on a whim one day (that whim was that I was trying to earn a Foursquare badge - I know, super geeky) and was immediately struck by all the beauty around me. Shelf after shelf of gorgeous scrapbooks, cards, and papercrafting creations that Carol and Lisa created mesmerized me and instilled in me a new reason for keeping my hope alive. I started googling scrapbook designs and discovered What A Beautiful Mess. I have never seen such beautiful scrapbook pages in my life! Lisa's designs captivated me and have been a huge source of inspiration for me. Suddenly, I found something that I wanted to pour all of me into ... and I did, and I haven't looked back. 

Now, papercrafting is one of my main loves in life. It brings me joy and I love how it can bring my loved ones joy. And that is why I do it! 

So thank you ... thank you for checking out my blog and for all your sweet comments! And thank you for inspiring me. God bless you!

-Maria

Christmas tags - part 2

Lately, I've been tinkering with the idea of using butterflies in my Christmas projects ... there's something about whimsical creatures and Christmas! So here are some tags I made with this idea in mind:

I finally got some Rock Candy ... Paper Mermaids had it all this time; I simply didn't look close enough. It creates a soft, gorgeous, and shimmery magical sheen over your projects. My favorite cardmaker uses Rock Candy a lot on her projects -- it's where I got the idea to find some for myself!! If I had a better camera you'd be able to see it better in this photo: 

50th Anniversary Card

Here's a card I made for a friend's parents. Their 50th wedding anniversary is tomorrow and my friend Kris is putting on a tropical theme. :) I've been in a Donna Salazar kind-of-mood lately, so I thought I'd make some pink flowers with her Rose Creations die. I also used a Sizzix leaf and branch die. Makes me feel like sailing away to somewhere warm and sunny ... does such a place exist in November?? :)

Supplies:

Spellbinders - Fancy Tags & Donna Salazar Rose Creations (oops, Circles & Scalloped Circles, too)
Sizzix - Leaves & Branch die
Prima flowers
Broken China distress ink
Tiny Type

Girlie Grunge - November 2011 challenge

I am so excited ... I am officially participating in my first challenge!

Girlie Grunge is a fun website that Donna Salazar created where artists, papercrafters, and all other crafty ladies share their projects, learn cool new techniques, and take classes from designers like Donna herself! Girlie Grunge is putting on their first challenge, which is to create a card or tag using one of Donna's products, handmade flowers, and some corrugated board. I was ecstatic because I already had some leftover corrugated paper from Scott's anniversary card, plus Donna Salazar's Rose Creations Spellbinders die. Here is my submission:

First, I stamped a craft tag with some steampunk stamps, then inked the edges with some Tim Holtz distress ink. Then, I cut out several petals from my Rose Creations die using lime green Bo Bunny paper, cream cardstock, and white cardstock. I inked each petal, crumpled them up a bit, then applied glitter and glimmer glass along the edges.

For the leaves, I used my Rose Creations die to cut out the two biggest leaf patterns. I inked them, stamped them, then crumpled them up as well.

I distressed the corrugated board by ripping the edges with a nail file and my hands (um, Distress-It-All for Christmas if you're reading this, hon?) then applied my favorite crochet ribbon on top. That as well was distressed by ripping the ends of the ribbon.

And this gorgeous ribbon was a little "Thank you" goody I received Etsy ... thank you, Karen from Creative Seconds!!

There you have it, ladies!! Can't wait to see what the other ladies from Girlie Grunge come up with! I'll be gone all weekend (taking some time out with the hub) so you have a wonderful, blessed, crafty weekend!! 

Supplies: 

Craft tag

Donna Salazar Rose Creations die

Tim Holtz distress ink

Glimmer Glass

Corrugated board

Steampunk stamps

Christmas tags - part 1

Christmas cards - part 3

Here is my latest set of Christmas cards.

Sorry for the blurriness on my last picture! The sentiment on the last card reads: "May the spirit of the season put a sweet song in your heart."I think Santa needs to drop off a new camera this year ... in addition to a Zutter Distrezz-It-All ... and a Crop-a-dile ... and Spellbinders Labels 20 die ... and some more JustRite stamps ... and ... :)

Supplies:

Authentique - Wonder paper
Sizzix - Sewing Room die
Spellbinders - Fleur de Lis, Circles, Scalloped Circles, Ovals, & Lacey Ovals dies
JustRite Stampers - Seasoned With Love
Cuttlebug - Script die