A little scrapbooking anyone?

Hi friends. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a nice relaxing weekend to say the least. but I will make up for it in the week to come. Gotta get packing for our trip back home. I can’t wait to see all my family and friends. And I hear Urban Cafe’ calling my name. So yummy in my tummy. Speaking of tummies…

One of my really good friends is expecting. I am so super excited for her and she is happy to begin this new chapter in her life. She is 36 and contemplated motherhood on and off for many years. This is truly a blessing from above and I am over-joyed to share in her happiness. She has asked me if I had any ideas for her pregnancy scrapbook. I have to admit I am a little rusty and dusty in the scrapbooking area of my life. BUT… It just so happens I recently committed to finishing my Son Joshua’s baby album. I don’t have many pregnancy pictures so I decided to lump my pregnancy and his first years all in one album. My Style used here is simple elegance. I love lots of embellies, but felt this page did not need it. We took these photos in my 7th month of pregnancy. I was a bit skeptical at first but it did not take long for me to warm up to the camera. I knew these would be photos I would cherish for a life time. Oh, and can you see the cute lil preggie on the swing? She is Hand stamped and colored with my copics. 

 

I also admit I am a bit old school with my scrapbooking. I don't have the nicest handwriting but I love to include my writing in my albums. I feel it makes it more personal. And when ever he looks at his album in the future he will know my heart is still on the page smiling. My Mother in law passed away when my husband was just a little boy. All the photos that she left behind are great. But it’s the ones that she wrote little captions on, in her very own handwriting that leave an undying trace of her with us forever. Even though I never met Christine, I’ve learned something very invaluable from her. So here’s to you Christine, Thank you for all the beautiful gifts of the things you have touched that now touch our lives forever.

The one thing I will remember to tell my friend is there is no right or wrong style of scrapbooking. Not to be afraid of making her album personal.  Whether it be digital, writing or embellishing. The person receiving it will feel her heart on every page, as long as she puts her heart into it when making it.

I have enjoyed sharing my special memory with you and I hope to share more in the near future. I have allot of fun things coming up to share with you soon. So until then have a wonderful week and hope to see ya soon. ~Angela

Rain or Shine it’s blogging time!

Hello friends. I have been so busy these past few days. whew!  On Friday Tom must have thought I needed a nice lil break, so he took me to Laughlin. We played a little bit of black jack then went and had some yummy sushi. I’m not big on gambling but love virtual black jack, it’s so much fun to play. What a great day it was for sure!! I always love when we can get away by ourselves, even if it’s for a few hours. The kids are getting ready to go on vacation soon,which means it’s time to head back to California for a nice little visit.  I can’t wait to see all my family and friends! As far as crafting goes, I have made a promise to myself to get Joshua’s baby scrapbook finished once and for all. I even stepped out of my comfort zone and went to a crop night this week, at the club house in my community. It was fun and I meet some really nice women.  In the past I never really liked participating in crops because I hate toting my supplies around. And of course you always forget something.. So frustrating!! But if it’s going to help me finish my lil guys album then I’ll do it. I will make sure to post some of my completed pages, once I take some decent photos. Sorry, I’m totally chattering away, and it’s getting late. Tyla’s kitty is pawing at me to feed him. But before I say good night I want to show you this card I made using Whiff of Joy’s “Umbrella Willow” gosh I just love all things girly!!! And she is totally girly.

I made this card using scraps of basic grey paper and SU certainly celery/pretty in pink. I colored the image and made the sidewalk with my copics. I glued little seed beads to make the rain look dimensional and added some glossy accents to make her umbrella look wet. I also packed some goodies inside the card, A small tissue pack, a cough drop and a chapstick. Certainly for someone feeling under the weather, don’t ya think? With all this rain I felt this was an appropriate card to share with you tonight. Have a great week and hope to post something new for you soon. Thanks for stopping by. ~Angela

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines day friends. Sorry but this is going to be a quick and sweet post. I hope your V-day has been a sweet one so far. I woke up early today and made the hubby and kids breakfast. umm-umm! And, Today we are taking the kids to Laughlin. We plan on taking a walk down by the river and who knows where we will end up from there. So today I will show you a cute card I made featuring “Willow with a Bouquet” She is from the Whiff of Joy line. She is drawn by the very talented Elizabeth Bell. I just love her art. I used Basic Grey paper, misc ribbon, Kaiser pearls and copic markers. This card was very quick to make but it definitely has love written all over it. I hope you have a great day and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me. ~Angela

Valentine Mailbox

Have you ever looked down the Dollar spot isle in Target? They have things that are cute but most likely would collect dust.. Except for this find! It’s a tin mailbox, with a lid that opens. I brought a few home with me and knew I could make’em my own. For a buck how could I go wrong? And I also found the valentine stamp you see used in the bottom photo @ the dollar spot, score! I had the cutest vintage cowboy designer paper on hand. I bought this a year ago and it fit perfect for this project. I guess sometimes it’s worth being a  paper hoard. This is one of my first altered projects, and I am pretty satisfied with the way it turned out. Cute ha?

 

And behold, a new place to put all the lovely valentine’s cards rec’d. You can of course decorate this type of mail box for any occasion. I have a couple more on hand so who knows what type of box I will whip up & display.  I guess you’ll just have to keep coming back and see!

To make this cute creation here is what I used:

Target Dollar Spot: Tin Mailbox & Happy V-day Stamp

Paper: Daisy Maybe baby collection “heart throb”

Spellbinders: oval and oval scallop

White ribbon dyed red with copic marker

Heart chipboard dyed with SU Real Red ink , Bella baubles and heart wax seal with gold wax. I made the little letter by hand and sprayed glimmer mist all over the lid. I stuck everything together by using my favorite sticky stuff, It’s called Score Tape by Sookwang.

Hope you all enjoyed my project today. I have to get started on the kids cards while they are at school. I’d be such a bad momma if I did not make something specially for them. Hope to see you tomorrow with another valentines day surprise.  Signing off ~ Your Mother Crafter, Angela

 

Lovely Valentine

Love is in the Air, Can you smell it? I can!! I didn’t always like Valentine’s day  but since having my kids, I like to make it special for them. I will do my best to post as many of my valentine projects this week. I have lots to show you, if I can only find the time.  I am going to start with this card I made for my Mother in law in California. She’s actually Tom’s grandma but she has taken on the role of a mil ever so graciously since day one.  Hopefully she will enjoy this card

 

In a regular card we struggle with space to write our own sentiment, which is why I made this one custom. Giving each of us ample space to write our own love note.    

Can you see the notes hanging on the inside? I bound them with ribbon. (flip book style)

 I added another personal touch by including a couple tea bags at the end. We love to have Tea together when visiting, hopefully this will remind her how much we miss our special times together.  ~Angela

Here are the Ingredients used to make this card:

Stamps: SU Polka dots & Paisley. Hero Arts Coffee pot & cups

Paper: Bo Bunny & 110 lb stock craft paper

Ribbon, Copic Markers for coloring, Spellbinders, Paper Piercer, SU scallop border punch, hole punch, score board. glossy accents, and stickles in icicle. Ink is Momento & SU creamy caramel with sponge dauber.

*score lines are approx 1/2” apart in the middle of stock paper.

Super Bowl Mania

Today as many know it,  is Super Bowl Sunday!! yup, I’m a total football fan.  After being a football widow for 7 years, 4 years ago it finally came to me. If you can’t beat’em then better join’em. Tom taught me the fundamentals of the game and we have been enjoying it together since. He loves how I get in the spirit by cooking up his favorite snacks for the game. Today it will be my famous guacamole with chips to start, then Grandma E’s famous chili beans, she taught me how to make them from scratch. Yum-E!!  Tom’s taking care of the main course on the grill, hotlinks & carne adasa. Hopefully it won’t start raining when he fires up the grill. So cross your fingers for us :)

So today we are rooting for the Saints. We do have a Colts fan in the house. “Tyla” I guess it’s a peaceful way for her to rebel. hee hee. Last night I got  in the spirit by putting this cute easel card together. What do you think? Tom liked it!

I used my Pink Cat Studio “Sporty Billy” stamp set. I just love his little doggie referee! Isn’t he a cutie? I was also in luck because I just happened to have a fleur De Lys wax sealer on hand.

I colored in my Image using my Copic Markers. Colors used for his skin are Eoo, Eo2, E11. For his hair and the dog: E31, E33, E35 His uniform is C3, C5, C7, C9 and C1 for his shoes. I embossed his helmet with Ranger’s Queen’s Gold, and used my  SU bashful blue for the clouds and Mellow moss for the grass. I also thought I should let you know I made the ribbon bunch using Scor-Tape. Thanks for looking and have a great Super Bowl Sunday!!! 

What’s in a name?

This is my first post to my very first blog!  The reason I created this blog is to share my crafting ideas with people who have an interest in what I do. My posts will be geared towards crafty projects and ideas but also other areas that interest me. Like cooking, photography, books, crafting tools, scrapbooking, card making, boy I could go on and on.. I am new to this whole blogging world so I am warning you, things might look a little funky from time to time. I really do hope you enjoy reading what’s to come and if you have any suggestions please let me know.

You may be wondering why I chose Aurora Crafts for my blog name. In short, the name is a dedication. Aurora is my grandmother and the queen of my heart. She made quite a name for herself in her era. Just ask any senior raised in Oxnard, they all remember her. She was an accomplished musician. She played many instruments and she had her own band. She was Oxnard’s first Queen, and rode on a grand float for the Fiestas Patrias Parade. My husband’s grandma Celia says she remembers going to the Plaza Park where the competition was held, and voting for my grandma to win the crown. Not really knowing my grandma personally but going by what everyone said about her and how wonderful and friendly she was. My grandma Aurora was well on her way to stardom when she gave it all up for love. She married and had children. There is so much I could tell you about her. She had the biggest heart, and wow what an incredible smile she had!  My grandma passed away Dec. 26, 2003. I miss her dearly but I know I will see her someday again.  I will end this post today with pictures of her,  in her memory.