Summer of weddings

This has been my summer of weddings! I've had 2 down, and 1 still left to go. Last week I posted the pictures of the gift I made for my friend, who got married in May. This week I finished my cousin's gift, who got married in May (I know--I'm running a little late!). Any time I have to give a gift, my first thought is "what can I make them?" When I make it, it is truly a gift from my heart.

Let me know what you think of this project. I hope the bride and groom love it!




Supplies used:
9x9 My Creations Memory Showcase
Sanding kit
Edge distressor
Key Lime Cardstock
Clover Meadow Cardstock
Vanilla Cream Cardstock
Colonial White Cardstock
Vanilla Cream ink pad
Retired stamp set
Rafia

One project down, a million to go!

I have been through many craft phases. But out of the crocheting, knitting, and cross-stitching, papercrafting has been the longest phase (8-9 years). I just get a kick out of feeling like I have completed a projects--it is a huge sense of accomplishment. And I get that sense of accomplishment alot quicker with papercrafting. Instead of spending weeks finishing a crocheted quilt or knitted sweater, I could whip up a card in a few minutes to hours. Even big projects such as albums, I find a sense of accomplishment after completing each layout. But the true rush is when I close up the album. And here I am now--excited to have finished my friend's album. You have witnessed my journey with this project. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I can't wait to see how the happy couple likes it. What do you think?

Lived-in memories

One challenge I've had with my passion for scrapbooking is that I would sometimes pass up on living life, and creating new memories, just so that I could catch up on my scrapbooking. I've since decided that as much as I love preserving memories, I've got to enjoy creating the memories before I preserve them. Coming to that conclusion makes me so excited--it means I will probably never catch up on my scrapbooking! And that's ok! I will have fun creating the memories, and then have fun preserving them later.

So why am I making this confession? Well, because I've been busy living in the new memories I'm making and have not had a chance to create and post this last week. As I mentioned before, my niece, Alyssa, is spending the summer in Orlando. Last weekend, her parents decided to hop in a car and drive down to spend Fourth of July with us. It was last minute, but such great fun! Tomorrow is my other sister-in-law's birthday, so I will be driving up to Jacksonville to spend the day with her and the kids. I feel truly blessed to have so many pictures to scrap!

But I finally did sit down to start catching up with my projects today. I need to finish my friend's guestbook album. So I worked on that. This is what I came up with for the cover page. Hope you enjoy!

Scrapbooking with a mission

I love scrapbooking and paper crafting! For the past few years, I've had a tugging on my heart to use this passion to reach out to others. I started a scrapbooking group at my church. But as much as I love this fellowship, I have not felt that my need to reach out to others has been filled. So I've decided to start dedicating handmade cards to the church, to use as the leaders see fit. I invite you to join me in this new endeavor. The workshop is free. I will provide you with a list of supplies to bring and I will provide you with cutting guides and talk you through putting everything together. You can make as many cards as you like. I just ask that you donate 4 of the cards made each night to the church with me. The church crop is the 2nd Thursday of the month and I would love for you to join us! These free card workshops will begin starting in August. See the photo for a sampe of the card we will be making in August. Please RSVP so that I could let you know what supplies to bring and email you the cutting guide.


I look forward to seeing you all then!

Happy Father's Day!

I want to wish a very happy father's day to all men--not just the ones with children. I believe that you could be a dad a heart--God bless those, too!

I helped my niece, Alyssa, make a card for her father for father's day this year. I was so proud! She knew exactly what she wanted to do! Check it out!


Alyssa lives in Maryland but is in Orlando for a month during her summer break. I get to play with her on weekends :). How can you come to Orlando and not visit Mickey Mouse and the princesses? I was not prepared when she came last year. So this year, I made sure she had an autograph book to take to the parks with her. What do you think?



I would love to see what kind of artwork you are coming up with this summer! Please email me a picture of your projects for a chance to win a handmade gift from me :). I'm sorry I did not post last week. Please keep me honest--email me if you haven't seen an update in over a week!

Wedding card and chocolate eggs

My cousin got married a few weeks ago. I'm a little late with my gift! Their colors were Clover Meadow green, Bamboo, and Colonial White. I was having a hard time coming up with a card, but I added Taffy and I think I finally like it :). It was a beach wedding so I thought the Taffy would go well. I used the June Stamp of the Month (which I love!). So my challenge to you this week is to come up with a project using the following colors: Clover Meadow, Dessert Sand, Taffy, and Colonial White. I had fun, I hope you do to! Email me your projects for a chance to win a hand made gift!


I spent the last weekend in Miami. I hadn't seen my parents since their accident, so I was looking forward to spending some time with them. My grandparents were also in town from Brasil, so it was nice to see them. My grandmother brought me one of the most original craft ideas I've seen in a long time! It was a chocolate egg. That does not sound original, but I thought it was! What my cousin does is carefully break only a tip off a real egg. She disinfects the shell,
decorates it, then fills it with chocolate. The only downside is that you have to break the beautiful decoration to get to the chocolate :(. But check out these works of art!