Aurora craft

All dogs go to heaven

2012-02-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends. I am so happy to be back (well sort of) I feel like a total visitor to my own blog, how sad is that? But you know the ole saying one must apply themselves while in school.

Unfortunately, a family member of ours had the dreadful task of putting their beloved doggie down. He’s been sick for so long but I can't imagine that would make the decision any easier.

At least they know he is no longer suffering. I went to the card store looking for a suitable card but none seemed special enough, I knew I had to break out the supplies and get busy.

Boy this was harder than I imagined because I hadn't crafted in a while. My coloring has really suffered. My copics seemed mad at me for the neglect and acted out by being down right uncooperative. ugh..

I guess this can only mean I need to pick them up and use them more often

Ok so these are the challenges I’d like to enter:

DTC Pink or red

DP2 Bingo/ Gems. ribbons. flowers (row 1 across)

Stamp is found at mo’s digital pencil, flowers: wild orchid, All paper is SU. Thanks for stopping by.. ~Angela

DO YOU HAVE ACMC?

2011-12-17T21:14:00.001-08:00

I’ll be the first to admit I should not have been nosing around at that virtual craft yard sale on craigslist. But loving all things crafty and the fact that it was in my own neighborhood, how could I resist? I had to take a lookey. Turns out I knew this girl from the school, It’s a Small world after all. To the point this trip was a bitter sweet one. I ended up with a couple prized possessions. Which I made a pretty penny off of selling on e-bay and I still have one more. But I don't quite know what to make of it. It’s vintage and so cool, It’s Art Impressions and I would love to sell it but don’t know what to the set is worth. Take a look and if you think you know, please fill me in:

The bitter part was (and not to sound ungrateful) the girl ended up giving me a bucket –o- stamps, which take up so much precious space, I will never use them and it will be hard to sell. Take a look:

I end up with more stuff than I could possibly ever need. And my dear sweet husband who just stares in amazement at all the stuff I bring in, that piles high well he just puts up with me. His reason is it makes me happy & I must have some reason for this madness. And he’s absolutely 100% right. I have this sickness it’s called ACMC maybe you’ve been diagnosed with it or maybe you or someone else you know noticed the symptoms and diagnosed you! It stands for AVID COLLECTOR MININMAL CRAFTER. If you have this clear out your drawers asap. Sell/ give away some of your goodies to people who will either use them or repeat the same vicious cycle. I wish you all the luck in the world and remember the first step is Admitting you have it! And by the way if you see something listed that you’d like to buy, let me know I ship same day ~ Angela

MAJOR STAMP SALE

2011-12-16T21:32:00.001-08:00

Hi Friends, wanted to give you a heads up on some goodies I have for sale! Super Cheap prices too. All come from a smoke free home and the majority of the stamps are clean with no staining. If you have any questions please ask. I do accept Paypal and I ship super fast, so go ahead and treat your self this Holiday season!! You can always e-mail at mireles4@yahoo.com

Spellbinders Nestabilities twin pack petite circles & scalloped circles $12.00

Whiff of Joy / E. Bell

Pregnant Willow $4.50

Willow reading a story $4.50

Willow Holding a baby $4.50

Medlinda with Bouquet $4.50

Willow W/ Umbrella $5.00

Melinda Blows kisses $4.50

Henry & friend sitting on candy cane $4.50

Henry mouse with large tea cup $4.50

Hello Sunshine $6.00

Special Edition/ 3 french hens $4.50

Giddy Up Horsey $4.00

Gorjuss Girl A little birdie told me $ 5.00

Sugar Nellie Fizz $2.00

Stamping Bella

Party girl a bella $4.50

Imeldabella $3.00

I-deserve-a tip-a-bella $4.00

Mamabella $3.00

Riley & Co

Farmer Riley & Sophie $3.00

Plane Riley $4.00

Pink Cat Studio

Sports Billy $8.00

MFT

Snuggle Bunnies $8.50

Who’s that Grilling Guy $8.50

Maid for you $8.50

Girls day in $9.00

Hanging with my peeps $8.50

Stampendous

Sushi Bowl Party $4.00

Our Craft Lounge

Bubbles $8.50

Mindy’s Zoo $5.00

Inkadinkado

Birds Galore $3.00

Holiday Filigree $4.50

Stampin Up

Define your life $12.00

Home for Christmas $7.00

Tres Chic $5.00

Something Sweet $5.00

Country Morning $5.00

Our Daily Bread

Scripture collection two $15.00

A picture my daughter drew for me

2011-08-27T21:55:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends. I just wanted to take a quick moment to share this really cute picture my daughter made for me. Isn’t she so talented! And she knows her momma, notice the “I love Tilda shirt” and the copics and cards sign on my bag. She even added feather’s in my hair, Sweet. looks like I’m ready to have a rockin day! Hope you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by. ~Angela

Keeping Cool

2011-08-20T20:00:00.001-07:00

Hello blog friends. I made this card late last night. I was in the mood to dig out old things that I haven’t used in a long time. This house mouse stamp is the very first stamp I bought after placing my first stampin up order. It was perfectly themed, at the time we lived Arizona probably the hottest part of Az too, the Mohave Desert. Needless to say our little mouse friend is doing his best to stay cool. I also dug out some of my oldest prima flowers and a paper pack I bought well over a year ago from stampin up. I have to say I don’t get to craft as much as I’d like so I can’t justify buying new supplies often. And my crafting time is going to be cut even shorter, because I start school again on Monday. It was a nice little break. I have a full load of classes this semester. Biology & bio Lab, (2 classes) Chemistry & Chem Lab (2 classes) and a Public Speaking class. Although most who know me, know I don’t have a problem with that. Haa! So hopefully I’ll be back for a few more challenges before the weekend is up. Here’s my card and the challenges I’d like to enter it in:

Midnight Madness sketch Challenge – MMSC117

Copic Creations – BG series copics, I used BG0000, BG10, BG11, BG13, BG15

paper craft start – photo inspiration

Pink Elephant challenge – stitching

Shabby Tea Room – Polk a dots

Bearly mine – Bring on the bling

I used heat and stick with dazzling diamonds and glossy accents over the ice cubes to give a 3D effect. Not coming through that great on the photo.

And this picture is just added in because our dog Roxy wanted to be in the photo. She was jumping all over the table as I was trying to photograph this card. She’s such a ham. I call her our lil muppet.

I also wanted to add I used Copics but I tried a new technique with them. I added prisma colored pencils over it with OMS technique. I think it really made the image pop. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

~Angela

Kicking and pouting is what I did…

2011-08-18T23:43:00.001-07:00

When I realized I gave this card away that I made for the DP2 challenge and my brother, before remembering to photograph it. My sis-n-law was kind enough to take a pic of it for me with her camera phone so please excuse the photo quality. I’ve been making cards on a spur of the moment basis lately and very last minute as well. This card was put together rather quickly, which is good for me cause I always have a hard time making masculine cards. I have 5 of Mo’s digi images so when I saw this challenge over at DP2, on my blog roll, I had to jump on board pronto. The theme is feeling blue, use the color blue in your card. This is the first time playing along at the DP2 but I am sure it won’t be the last.

It reads: Ricky you can kick and pout, but your birthday will surely come without a doubt! –Totally throwing a blog shout out to my bro for his b-day. He’s probably the bro that I fought with least growing up. And he’s about 5 years older then me. Lucky for me I had 2 other brothers who I constantly fought with growing up and they kept me on my toes. LOL

The image is colored with copic markers and all materials used are stampin up. Have a great day.Hope to be back soon. ~ Angela

Vicariously crafting through my 12 year old daughter!

2011-08-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hi blog friends. It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything with real substance in a while. Partly, because I was taking a painfully fast summer class. It was basically cramming an 18 week course into six weeks. It was intense, to say the least. I’ve also been working part-time and taxing the kids around during summer break. One thing I was not able to do was craft at all, so my dearest daughter Tyla who is 12 years old, took up the offer to help me make some cards for various occasions. I am so proud to see that she is liking to my number one hobby and I can see extreme talent here. Then again, That’s no surprise, the girl is a natural at pretty much anything she tries. I guess I am a little bias but what can I say, you’d be too if she was your girl. So without further delay, here’s my gorgeous daughter.

Surfer Tyla & Karate Tyla

Now here is what crafting Tyla made, she even jumped on pile it on challenges to see what she could well, pile on. She’d like to enter her card in these challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday – make it girlie

The play date café PDCC92 – Coral, petal pink, antique gold

The paper shelter – Anything goes

If the shoe fits – Summer

Paper cutz – Under the sea

RRR – Cool it

Stamp something – summer fun something

And Here is Tyla’s wonderful card

And a Closer look at all the great detail.

She used Stampin Up papers/ ribbons and copic inks. The stamp set is stampendous I believe it’s called Sushi. Baubles, seed beads, stickles in various shades including gold. pink. and blue. She added crystal effects as well. I hope you enjoyed her card and I am sure she will enjoy reading every comment left for her! Have a fantastic day. ~Angela and Tyla too!

Precious Moments Stamp Set Starting at 99 cents

2011-07-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hello blog friends. I am in full swing with summer school but hope to be back to crafting soon. I wanted to show you this super cute set I have on Ebay right now!

Stop drooling, Wipe your chin and go Bid!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-set-unused-precious-moments-rubber-stamp-set-/250855419907?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6825f003

Have a great day and happy bidding! ~Angela

Last day of School

2011-06-16T15:08:00.001-07:00

104 days of summer vacation, and school comes along just to end it. Yes, this is the delightful tune my son just won’t stop singing. (from a cartoon called Phineas & Ferb) Today was the last day of school. I wanted to make my son’s teacher a cute card that would remind her of him. He is always reading and she knows of his love for books. I thought this image from coloring page Tuesdays, by Elizabeth O. Dulemba would be perfect. He agreed to let me use flowers on the card but wanted to make sure the worm was a boy. lol, he’s very insistent.

Of course I wanted to make the most of my final crafting days before I start school again, so these are the challenges I’d like to enter this card in:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday – Sketch

The Cupcake Craft Challenge – Boy, oh Boy (masculine card)

Bearlymine Challenge – Anything goes

Going Grey- Anything goes

The Paper Shelter – Punches and dies

Southern Girls – Anything goes

In this second photo you could see the MS branch punch I used on the top and inside of card.

And here is the inside along with a cute poem I saw online by Amy Fuchs. was short on space so could not include it inside.

I colored in the image with copic inks, and used all SU paper’s/ cardstock/ The Punch is MS branch and Spellbinders dies. Flowers are from wild orchid. I popped up the image on some dimensionals and used Sookwang Score-tape and my scotch ATG to stick it all together.

Hope you enjoyed and I will see y’all soon ~ Angela

A totally tubular birthday wish

2011-06-10T11:54:00.001-07:00

Hi friends. I have been having some more fun making cards that I actually needed. My godson’s B-day is tomorrow, he’s turning 3. I got him a really cute outfit to match this card. He’ll look like he is truly loved by some surf addicts when he sports the outfit ;P

So for my card I choose my lil cutie, Sports Billy from pink cat studios. I used Stampin Up Card stock (boy I really to buy some more) I used my spellbinders to shape the card and a cuttlebug folder to emboss the waves. Chipboard for the star & the #3. I inked it up with SU Craft Ink and embossed some fine SU glitter. I colored sports Billy with Copic inks and added some Glossy accents to his board and the #3. It was still wet when I took the photo and that’s why it looks gluey but once it’s dry it will Shine like wet water. I created the sentiment digitally. I hope he will think it’s cute I just love the lil doggie with his toes on the nose! (she looks like my parents Chihuahua Mini Mouse) I would like to enter my card in these challenges:

Truly Scrumptious challenge – Summer sparkle

7 kids challenge – feeling hot hot hot

The ABC Challenge – W is for Wish

ATS Challenge – Aqua Yellow & lime

The Paper Shelter – Celebrate

The paper variety – for the guys

The Pixie cottage – Shape it up

Seems I only have one more week to play along. School starts Monday and I have a heavy load to cover. I’m just so happy when I do have time to join in the challenges. Thanks and be posting again real soon!

Encouragement

2011-06-03T11:19:00.001-07:00

Hi friends. It’s been so great having a little vacay from school. I am so at carefree these days. I have been getting my fill of pleasure reading. Thanks to Gwen ;) If you fancy reading, you should totally check out her blog. It’s amazingly entertaining and you can always find something good to read. Right now I’m reading a book called Vixen. It’s about a rich beautiful & spoiled 1920’s girl who turns rebel right before her nuptials, because she wants to be a flapper. It’s better then reality TV!

Ok so on to my card I wanted to do a couple of challenges. I haven’t inked up any stamps in a really long time. I’m afraid they are feeling so very neglected at this point. DH even mentioned boxing up my rubber/ink for storage. My response was let me think about it, Umm NO! I had to buy something new to get my mojo back. I bought new rubber, wonderful bible versus, so I can make some Christian encouragement cards. Variety is good. Paired up with Tilda praying makes a very encouraging card.

A closer look will reveal the adornment on her hair piece

Here are the challenges I would like to enter this card in:

Magnolia-licious Purple & yellow

Copic creations Color to look like distress (challenging technique)

cute card thursday Embellish your image

Our Daily Bread Use your favorite stamp (Scripture 2)

Thanks for hanging around and I’ll post more soon! ~Angela

Santa Barbara 5K Chardonnay run

2011-05-04T20:21:00.001-07:00

I am preparing for finals this week (whaaa!) So this is just a quick post to ~~share~~ brag about the wine tasting run Tom and I did just a few weeks ago. It was really cool because this was my first run as well as Tom’s. What was really nice, is I had been complaining about not having ~~time~~ motivation to run as much as I’d like to lately. So Tom found this fun run that was along the Santa Barbara coast and signed us up. No time to back out. Just get out there and do our best and set a real PR. It was an awesome day and the weather was perfect. Our time was 32.32 not the greatest but not terrible. And the next run we do hopefully this year, will be at least 5-6 miler. Yeah! Anyway here are the photo’s courtesy of Santabarbarapix.com Sorry for the quality, I rec’d prints in the mail and my scanner didn’t do such a hot job copying them. none the less this is the start line.

Almost there, I’m a little winded but Tom’s all smiles! Harbor behind us.

And Crossing the finish line. What a great feeling.

What a Super fun, and memorable experience. Can’t think of anyone else, I’d want to share this moment with. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and hope to be blogging more over summer break. Have a great night. ~ Ang-E ~

Camera Bliss

2011-04-12T21:31:00.001-07:00

Hiya blogging friends. I know it’s been quite a while since I have posted any projects or entered any challenges, but I wanted to let you know I have not abandoned my blog. The semester is coming to an end and my classes are requiring more work and studying. I hope to take a little break before I start the summer session. whew-wee Between school, work and shuffling the kids around from school to karate, & catechism I have little time for myself these days. But I have found time to end my search, for the perfect camera for me. First I have to say I have been wanting a D-SLR but I know I don’t have the time to invest in learning how to use one. One of the features I needed was a mega-zoom and I wanted a compact that took really good photo’s. Am I asking for too much? Well say hello to my little friend, The Nikon S8100.

I just LOVE this camera It has all the features I’ve been looking for in a ultra sleek compact. Did I mention how fast this little baby can snap away even before I am finished with the first shot it’s already taking the second photo. Plus it’s got a beautiful wide lens, perfect for panoramic shots. It has HD video, although I don’t intend on using this feature often. My boss is a professional photographer, many of his shots end up in magazine spreads. He said it’s a great buy and that made me feel even better about my choice. I decided to show you some un-touched un-edited photo’s I’ve taken. Here you go, Let me know what you think. And thanks for sticking around to read my post ~Angela

Ballerina Girl

2011-02-24T15:16:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone.. I’m home today with my daughter Tyla, She rarely gets sick, she’s had perfect attendance for 2 yrs in a row. Today I had to make a mommy call and tell her she needed to stay home, because she was running a temp of 101. She was so bummed. At least she likes school :) Well, I figured since I have a little time to spare I’d enter in some challenges. This card is so girly. It was really my childhood dream to be a pro ballerina and open my own ballet studio. I danced for about 3 years from the time I was in 4-7th grade. I even went as far as dancing in Pro Toe shoes. I stopped for 2 reasons. I knew money was tight for my single dad who was raising me alone, and also I wanted to try out for cheerleading my 8th grade year. Still for the time I danced, I loved it. And It totally tugs at my heart strings when I see a little girls in tights and tutus.

These are the challenges I am entering in:

Simon says stamp – Coffee & Cream

Magnolia-licious – Brown & Pink

Paperpretties – Glittery challenge (glittery crown)

ResQ – Something that makes you happy (childhood dancer)

Myshericrafts – All about girls

PIO – Childhood dreams

party time tuesdays – anything goes

A Closer look at the image with glitter

Hope you all enjoyed! Till next Time ~ Angela

A set that almost didn’t happen…

2011-02-14T01:13:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone :) Happy valentine’s day. It’s officially V-day and here I am another doing another mid-night challenge. I just cant refuse a good challenge ya know. The reason for my title is that I decided to do the color throw down challenge thinking it’d be a cinch. I’m girly I can totally do Real red, Orchid opulence, Passion pink & black. That is until I started putting my card together, and nothing seemed quite right. I kept thinking of that pink stuff, pepto bismo? (my spelling’s probably wrong) but you get what I’m referring too right? I went all out this time around.I even baked something special to go along with it for the Fussy & Fancy challenge. Here are the challenges I am entering this fun set in:

Fussy & fancy – Something Edible

7 Kids challenge – I Heart you

Color throw down – black, real red, orchid opulence, passion pink

A spoon full of sugar – show some love

Cute card Thursday – Heart’s and flowers

Secret crafter – Flower image stamped on card

Our creative corner- cut it out

Paper piercing on card around image and cutting of the corners on the goodie box.
cupcake inspiration – orchid opulence color and cupcake!

The cupcake box tutorial is from the Scor-pal website. It was easy to make. I accidentally taped the fold wrong.

What’s that you ask? What’s in the box? A closer look is what you’d like? It’s a Mini Oreo cheesecake!

Yummy! I promise to post the recipe soon.

Hope you enjoyed!! See you soon, Until then have a Sweet day.

A ton of love..

2011-02-07T00:24:00.001-08:00

Shhh.. hello. Have you ever felt like a sneaky crafter? I totally feel like a kid who is up way past midnight reading a book under my covers with a flashlight again. lol Blogging & crafting at this hour, really? I’m guilty as charged. The more I say no crafting this week the more I feel the need to do it. So here is my sneaky creation. Allot of love went into this easel card I tell ya. Ribbons, lacing, layers, my favorite wild orchid flowers, copics, doilies, nesties, pearls, My favorite Stampin up DSP, and even my embossing gun & versa mark pen felt loved tonight. That’s some serious crafting. And of course none other then “Secret Tilda” to help top off the sneakiness!

Here are the challenges I am this card in:

Cupcake craft challenge – Seeing Red

Simon says stamp and show – Embossing

Wild orchid – Love is

Just Magnolia – Anything goes (ribbon optional)

Really reasonable ribbon – Red, Pink, & White

Stampin for the weekend- St. Valentine’s day

Secret crafter – Valentine

crafty ho’s – Love theme

Pile it on- Bright & Breezy

All that scraps – Anything goes

Top tip Tuesday – Anything Girly

Belli Challenge – Jewels (pearls)

Clear emboss on the gift bow, and dazzling diamonds adhered with heat & stick on her hair ribbon and clothing trim.

I know it’s so late.. And I have to wake up early in the morning. So till next time. See you later ~ Angela Marie

In Style Challenge

2011-01-31T16:16:00.001-08:00

I’m on a role with these challenges, I tell ya. So much fun and it really keeps my mind thinking. About how I can use what I have in my stash at home. So I decided join in the In style Challenge, because I LOVE anime art. I just don’t own too many of these types of images. But I really like to color them, their features are just so cool, big bobble like heads and wonderful eyes that I can really make stand out with a little bit of glaze. So here are the challenges I am entering my card in in:

In Style Color Challenge – Beautiful Butterfly.

In Style Sketch Challenge – Isssc01

And here is my card featuring Ava. Hope to see you soon!

Best Friend & Sunshine Valentine

2011-01-29T16:22:00.001-08:00

Hi all! My little boy has been sick this week. I’ve been waiting on him hand and foot, and needed some down time before I hit the books. So I decided to look up some challenges and play along. Which is great because I needed to get started on those all important sentimental valentines. I am so blessed to say my valentine is also my BFF (& husband) So this sweet Magnolia image fit perfect. I love the warm colors I was challenged with instead of the typical pink and red love colors. Today was such a beautiful & sunny day, I decided to take my pictures outside. People driving by might have thought what is that strange lady doing taking pictures of a.. a… Card? (doesn’t she have children to photograph?) LOL

These are the challenges I am entering in

Pile it on blog Challenge – Love is in the air

Really Reasonable Ribbon – Heart Theme

Stampin for the weekend – Getting Warmed up (color)

Charisma cardz – Valentine’s or love

Colour create challenge – Lemon,Green, & White

Delightful Challenge – have a Heart

Eat Sleep Stamp – Sketch #115 ESS5115

Paper play challenge – Layer it up

Fussy & Fancy – Valentine with no pink or red

Here you could see glossy accent on shoes & sparkle on her dress

WOW that was fun … See you next time ~ Angela

Think you had allot of laundry before?

2011-01-20T13:48:00.001-08:00

There is nothing more surprising to a new mom, once she finds out just how much more a tiny tot could add. A friend of mine asked me to make a baby card for a co-worker of hers who is expecting. I do have other cute ideas to go with a new baby but laundry seems to be the most realistic. Maybe because I have two kids now, I can’t help but feel like it’s NEVER done. Sorry new moms to be , that’s just the cold hard reality. There are so many other wonderful things to look forward to with your new bundle.. Laundry umm not so much! So here’s my creation

I thought it’d be fun to play along & enter some challenges

I am entering in these card challenges:

Fussy and fancy – Mindy’s sketch

7Kidschallenge – Challenge yourself!

Wild Orchid- Sentiment

Pile it on challenge – Anything goes

Wee memories – Ribbon

Copic Creations – Something new and copics

F&F is Mindy's sketch that I used.

7kids is challenge yourself which I did by using a sketch, which is something a hardly do because it’s so challenging!

Copic creations- Something new is DSP

Supplies used: SU Ribbon, DSP by DCWV, Spellbinders rectangle scallop, and baby carriage die, cuddle bug dots emboss, Sentiment SU and stamp is from close to my heart, baby’s first yr.

Cake Mouse

2011-01-16T21:43:00.001-08:00

Wow I am really out doing myself here, posting 2 days in a row!! But I have to admit my homework hasn’t really gotten as intense as it soon will, which is why I was able to give my lonely blog some attention.

Can I just say how much I love cupcakes. Recently, I’ve gone head over hills for these perfect little treats. I’ve started dabbling in the art of making all sorts of decadent little gourmet cakes. It must be my cake boss alter ego getting the best of me. Anyway this lil guy (cupcake Henry) was stamped for me by my cyber buddy Jan. Thanks Jan, he sure is a cutie.

I cant tell you how much I LOVE brown and pink together. I colored with my copics and made the cupcake look so yummy you’d want to eat it! Here’s a closer look

Used:

Ink: Memento w/ Copics,

Paper: SU Chocolate chip card stock, Basic Grey Bittersweet.

Tools: SU Paper piercing tool, SU border punch, Nesties: Circle and scallop square.

Accessories: Seed beads, Stickles in Icicle, & Glossy accents

I hope you enjoyed my card for today. Have a Wonderful MLK day tomorrow. We’ll be at the beach :) See you soon. ~Angela

For Tyla’s 12th

2011-01-15T19:07:00.001-08:00

Hi friends, Is anyone still here? I know I pretty much abandoned my blog when school started. And I do apologize, bad Angela! I had no choice, it’s tough keeping up with so much to do and so little time. I really miss stamping and being crafty. But my priorities have changed, and school and my family come first. On the upside I got A’s in all 3 classes I was taking. Now there’s something worth celebrating. In addition to that worth cause of celebration, here’s one up on that. My Baby girl, My first born just turned 12. I can hardly believe how time has passed so fast. I long for the days I used to rock her to sleep in my arms.

So here is the card I made for her. It represents my baby growing up. It’s a precious moments image and it’s so sweet just like her.

And a closer look. I colored with copics and used stickles and glossy accents on the mirror and ribbon. All paper is SU and the ribbon was white, I colored it a matching green with my copics. SU punch and Spellbinders dies. If you want specifics e-mail me I’d be happy to share.

I had fun sharing and hope to be back soon! My best for 2011 to all my cyber friends. ~Angela

Ripe for the pick’n

2010-08-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!! So happy I could finally have a little time stop in and say something. I have been so busy with school (both the kids and I started) I have not done any crafting at all. (boo)I know, I really do feel the insanity that comes along with not having time for my creative outlet. It feels like I am either doing homework or helping the kids with theirs. In addition the expense of college books really can add up. I am very savvy at getting good deals on my books but it’s ridiculous. I am reading so much these days, I finally broke down and bought an Ott Lite. Never thought I’d care so much about a good lamp, or that I’d be spending so much one either! lol

So enough of my venting, I want to show you what the kids & did one day while they were on vacay.. We went to a u-pick it farm. The kids loved it. We picked raspberries, strawberries, carrots, and peppers. We had a blast, there was even a little petting zoo and a fun farm show where the farmers talked about the animals and their needs. The kids also got to feed some of the animals. They had a great time but also said how exhausted they were from working all day in the fields. LOL Have a great day and hope to see you around soon.

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This is a must make for moms

2010-08-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

Of kids who have really long summer vacations, and love to fill their days with good ol fashion sibling squabbles! Seems like my kids have hit the prime age for bickering and fighting. My daughter is 11, my son is 6. They are at it non-stop these days. One day while at grandma’s house, they really went at it. So she witnessed the situation first hand. She saw the frustration on my face and made a suggestion.

She said the only thing that really motivates kids these days is money. (That’s no lie, my kids do a pretty good job at collecting/saving/spending it.) She said I should take away money each time they fight. Determine the amount of money by the severity of the fight. So I tried it, starting with a quarter & for the really bad squabs a buck. I would have never believed it but since then some days have been down right pleasant from sun up to down. Three cheers for grandma, after all these years she still knows how to set the youngin’s straight. I thought the coin collected from this should have a proper holding place. So here it is folks, our very first “Bickering Jar”

The lil guy represents Joshua pitching a fit.

And this cute lil grump below is my Tyla

I wanted to add a variety of kids with attitudes, so I added these two to the bunch.

And here is a top view. That’s right folks, If you bicker or holler it’ll cost you some green. (or silver)

I still have to figure out what we should do with the money inside. There is about $8.00 but slowly and most recently very slowly growing. My son suggested in his own words if we “get caught being good” can we earn it back? Just not sure exactly if that will work. I thought maybe if they are really good I could use the money to treat them to something nice or maybe split it 50/50 give it back to them at the end of each quarter. But would that be defeating the purpose, treating them with money I took away for being naughty? A good friend humorously suggested I use the money to hire a babysitter, and treat myself to a spa day. I’m sure I’d be waiting a long time for that to happen. If you have any idea’s on what should be done with the loot let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by~Angela

Materials Used: recycled cookie tin, Score-tape, SU DSP, Laser printer, Digi images are Mo Manning’s at digitalpenciltoo.com, colored with copics. Ink is mixed printer ink along with SU. And a thick coat of mod podge to keep preserve it and keep it in tack.

Oh Baby! My first diaper cake.

2010-07-21T12:27:00.001-07:00

Seems like so many people I know are having babies. It’s not that uncommon with a family as big as mine. Even though I am done having my babies I am sure to get a baby fix at least twice a year, if not more. So this cake is for Baby Gavin, my cousin Gabe’s son. He was born Friday the 16th and is such a cutie. The new parents were delighted with the cake and card. It also gave me a shot at practicing for an even bigger cake that I plan need to make for my girlfriend Juliza’s shower in August.

This cake consists of 100 size 1 pampers brand diapers. I swirled the diapers instead of the familiar roll and rubber band style. I think this way(shown) preserves the diapers better. Also it looks cleaner, in my opinion. To do this type of cake; I swirled the diapers around a big soup can (design on band faced in) which was placed in the middle of a big pizza pan. I rubber banded about 6 of them at a time, then removed each rubber band as I added a new layer. I did this till the fullness I desired was achieved. After the layer was complete I removed the soup can and filled the center with fun bath toys. You can use blankets or other baby supplies. Bottom layer = 50 diapers, Middle = 35, Top = 15

I topped it off with a card featuring Bella holding a baby. Here’s a closer look at the card. Stamp can be found at stamping bella. I used some retired SU DSP. I colored the image with copics & baubles with E49.

So what do you think? At the very least, I hope I inspired you to try something new. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with something different to share. Thanks for sticking around, I know my blog post aren’t consistent but hopefully as we get settled in they will be more frequent. ~Angela

SuperMario Mania

2010-07-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

As promised, I’m back to share the creative side of Joshua’s 6th birthday party. My little guy is so obsessed with anything super Mario bros, so it was no big surprise to me, that he wanted a Mario bros party. For his invites I used paint shop pro and some web images and put this together

I made about 18 Yoshi Loot bags, these Mario & Luigi hats. I handed out Mario mustaches at the door. (ignore the silly girls posing in the photo, Eloise, me, & barbara. The three primas)Thanks to Coolpartyblog.com for the free temps.

We played Pin the mustache on Mario and Yoshi’s Egg toss. For this I made big poster’s. I took the images to my local Rhino Graphics and had them printed super Large, adhered them to some foam board. EZ-PZ! Here is the Yoshi’s egg toss one.

I could not find a theme related piñata, so I bought a regular piñata with balloons on it. Cut and paste a left over mario image and boom, done!

The cake was a bit of a dilemma.. Because this is some what a unique theme I could not just order a cake from a local bakery. I ordered a plain cake. Then ordered a cake topper on e-bay. Toppers are made of 100% frosting. The idea is to peel and stick. But lucky me, we are so close to the beach, we have lots of humidity. This made the design stick to the contact sheet. I had to use a blow dryer to dry it out but at the same time be careful not to melt the design. Eeek! It tore a little but not too noticeable.

So I cheated, everything was not handmade.. I guess this was a semi-handmade party. in coordination with some of my handmade decorations I used birthdaypartyexpress.com. Had to cut myself some slack, I only had 2 weeks to plan this gig. They had the banner up top, table wear and balloons. The Banner now hangs in his room. We went with Italian food, you know Mario loves him some pasta & pizza! With the help of family we made spaghetti & meatballs, garlic bread, green salad and ordered in a few pizza’s. All in all it was a great day. The Birthday boy enjoyed himself thoroughly, and that’s what counts. I am slowly learning to give myself a break here and there. I guess you really can have your cake and eat it too. Till the next time ~ Angela

California means:

2010-07-01T10:37:00.001-07:00

Busy like it was before we ever left. Forget slow paced Arizona because it’s nothing but the fast lane here. Keep running or you will be consumed. You obviously can’t be two places at one time, or can you? (Hermione’s time capsule would sure come in handy right now) Decisions and choices that you are lucky enough to have. Oceans and beaches to rest at when life gets a little too hectic & you need a quick escape. Familiar faces that brighten up your day. Green grass and a cool ocean breeze. Bike rides and 5 mile runs with nothing but scenic beauty that cradles you within.

Moving back home has been wonderfully stressful. we have been busy beyond explanation. I haven’t picked up my copics in weeks and I must say I’m a bit of a wreck over it. Time will help us settle in and hopefully I will be able to blog at least once a week. Sorry to those who were trying to view the video I made. I can’t seem to figure out the Picasa movie software. I will attach some photos to this post so you can see the graduation pics. I hope to be back soon to show you some of the cool pics from Joshua’s b-day party. Have a blessed day and thanks for stopping by. ~Angela

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Congrats Kindergarten Class of 2010

2010-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Family and Friends.. Just a short post to show you today's graduation pictures. There really are no words to express this wonderful feeling of accomplishment I feel today. Seeing my baby graduate from kindergarten is a true bitter sweet moment. And although he is the true graduate, I feel that I too, have graduated. I saw first hand how much he has learned in a year and how truly independent he is. I was fortunate to spend the year volunteering in his class. I had a wonderful time getting to know Mrs. Meyer and the other volunteers, Judy, Carole, & Patti. Thank you ladies for your friendship and company. And to the parents who always greeted me with a smile and conversation I will miss you too. I was also able to get to know and love all the kids in this class. You are all such a joy to be around and I am going to miss each and every one of you so much. It's the end but also a new beginning. I look forward to keeping in touch with so many of you. Be sure to turn up your volume, sit back and enjoy watching our beautiful kids!

Burtonesque Dolls Challenge #3

2010-05-19T09:17:00.001-07:00

Here is my submission for the 3rd challenge.

The Challenge requested the use of Black flowers and Skulls.

I used SU Rockbilly DSP and I dyed a prima flower and white satin ribbon black using copic ink. The image is Sugar Nellie’s “just a girl” colored in with copic markers. I pierced the border with my SU matpack. A button and some bling. There is also a ribbon buckle on the bottom, kind of hard to see.

Sadly this will most likely be my last challenge for a while. I was not going to join in this weeks challenge but I had a very rough day yesterday and needed to go to my happy place. (my craft desk) Plus with the move, all my crafting stuff is getting packed up today and I probably won’t see it for a while. Sniff-Sniff… Don’t worry I am putting those boxes in a special place and as soon as I have time and space I will be back to show you more! See ya around soon~Angela

Yummy Cake and B-day wishes

2010-05-18T18:44:00.001-07:00

I wanted to take a minute to say hello to everyone. I’ve been so busy packing like a mad women & cleaning, but it’s all worth it! I am so happy to be returning home soon :)

Today’s card is for Celia, My Mother In Law. She is a super special lady and very close to my heart.

My favorite colors are browns with pinks and sometimes soft blues. ingredients: SU choc chip & Paper stack. Misc Ribbon, Nestites scallops and Circles, MS lace border, and Close to my heart stamp set which was a gift :) I added Glossy accents on the candles. Image is colored with copic markers. Here’s a closer look.

Hope you liked today’s card. I will be back soon with my submission for The Burtonesque Doll Challenge #3. Have a wonderful day ya’ll ~ Angela

A Beautiful Nightmare

2010-05-12T16:32:00.001-07:00

Here is my submission for the second Burtonesque Dolls Challenge.

Burton Chicks. Really simple; create a card, page layout, or project with a doll, heroine, or chick that you know would belong in a Tim Burton film! Make her crazy, fun, cute, wild, but most importantly make her suitable for a Burton film!

I got a little carried away, but it was SOO much fun to make. It’s my rendition of Tim Burton & coraline meet Sugar Nellie. I know Burton was not the creator of Coraline but both movies shared a producer in common named Henry Selick. so here it is:

This is on a 6X 6 Easel Card. Tim Burton’s Famous Black Spiral Cliff with yellow moon is popped up on dimensionals.

And a closer look at the stars of today’s card. See the button eye’s? look at the snakes in her hair. I personalized it by adding Burtonesque on her shirt, for the dolls! Kitty’s got some bling!

Also added is Coraline’s famous flower garden. If you go to Youtube and search Spiral flowers there are plenty tutorials to teach you how to make these flowers. A closer look:

One more pic for Tami at school adventures, she’s been wanting to see the profile of an easel card. Here you go..

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. I know it’s a totally different side of my creativity then you are used to seeing, but I have to please myself too ;) Oh, & don’t worry, I won’t be sending great aunt Elisa a card like this for her birthday! These are strictly for me~Angela

Burtonesque Dolls Challenge

2010-05-10T17:45:00.001-07:00

So Today I was blog hopping, I came across this REALLY cool one. I was so excited because it seems to consist of everything I was searching for. I needed an outlet to express what I like. I was getting so caught up in buying stamps to make cards that matched everyone else’s taste, not so much my own.

So how appropriate is this?? this is the sites first challenge as well as my own! Yup that’s correct, I have NEVER entered a blog challenge. So today is the first of many great things to come. The Challenge is requesting Stripes. I think it’s pretty stripy.. And it’s got my humor written all over it!

Thanks for Stopping by ~ Angela

Happy Mother’s Day

2010-05-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms and moms-to-be. I did not ask for anything except to be with my family. My husband and kids Took me out to have Sushi yesterday and today they bought some wonderful things for a great breakfast. My favorite breakfast treats are croissants. They are not the healthiest choice but I can’t deny myself the yummy goodness! I had two.

I helped prepare breakfast with my hubby. My daughter said I shouldn’t be helping in the kitchen but to me that’s what a mom does. We don’t stop being a mom because it’s a special day. Of course it’s nice to take it easy but this Mother’s day like many others I will be doing what I love best. Taking care of my family. That means doing Laundry, cooking and cleaning. I feel blessed to have a family to take care of.

Mom’s of every kind are thought of and admired today. In addition to my birth mom, I am also thinking of Elsa my step-mom. I am so glad to have her in my life and I love her very much. The card featured today is for her. She loves carrousel horses. I was lucky enough to have this image stamped for me from one of my on-line swap buddies! Thanks Jan.

What’s Used:

Stamp by: Whimsy Stamps,& SU All Holidays. Colored with copics, DSP SU Sweet Pea Paper stack, SU Ribbon in pretty in pink and Stock Ribbon, Bella baubles, Hat Pin and bling rhinestones. White Gel Pen.

I distressed the paper. Top is pierced using SU Mat Pack. Lots of Stickles. Here’s a closer look I was hoping to get a better photo of the shimmer but this was the best I could get.

I hope you liked my card for today. Have a good day and be kind to yourself :) I have a date with my kids to play Sorry right now so I have to get going. Thanks for Stopping by ~Angela

Look Ma, no training wheels

2010-05-06T21:19:00.001-07:00

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Ok, so today is going to be one of those proud bragging mommy posts. My son Joshua had been telling me for weeks that he does not like the sound of his training wheels hitting the floor when he rides his bike. When I asked the hubby to remove them, he said he did not think the lil guy was ready. I knew he was, I’d take him for rides and could tell he mostly only used them for turns and stops. So today my son refused to go for our walk before dinner, saying he does not like his bike anymore. What’s a mom to do? I break out the hubby’s tool box, search for the thing that loosens bolts..a wrench? (don’t know what it’s called but this chick knows how to use one) and I get to work. The training wheels are off and I take him down the drive way. So scared to let go, but as soon as I do the lil dude takes off. Whew who!!! I prepared him for an accident, told him it would surely happen and might hurt, even had the peroxide handy, But I never needed it. When he stopped he pulled over to the side let his leg down and brakes like a pro. My neighbors who were watching, all swore we put on a show for them.. I mean who rides a bike for the first time with no training wheels and no falls? It could happen but I haven’t seen it. In fact I remember my first fall, yes it hurt that bad. I know I probably stole the hubby’s thunder as this all went down, But I never thought he’d be riding so independently so soon. I thought of it as a mere practice round.

I was not that one who taught our first born to ride her bike, as it took her many times of practice rounds. It was ultimately her cousin Natalie who taught her and got to see her on that first ride. I was a full time working mom at that time. I also never got to see Tyla or Joshua’s first steps, because again I was busy making those benji’s. So I feel this was just the thing I needed to see before heading back home and getting back into career mode. I tell ya, It was the Perfect Mother’s Day gift and I am so blessed to be living the beautiful life I have. It’s these small things that bring me to my knees every night to thank the good lord for allowing me to stick around and witness it. I’m sorry if I sound like a religious sentimental fool but I do have so much to be thankful for. I had a really tough 2009, I had some health issue’s that no one would think a young healthy woman like myself would experience. I am still not 100% out of the woods but god is seeing me through it. and I am so happy to be here & sharing my special moments with you. Thank you for stopping by. ~Angela

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Thoughts and Prayers

2010-05-04T14:03:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone. I hope your May is off the a great start. Saying I have been busy is a complete understatement. I am purging all the things we don’t need. You’d think after only being in this house for 2 years it’d be an easy move, that’s just not the case here. My kids love STUFF, all kinds of stuff! Especially stuff that has a bunch of little itty bitty pieces. And things that no longer fit them that they just can’t part with, because as soon as I say let’s donate it, I see my daughter in boots 2 sizes too small for her saying “see mom, they fit, I still wear them” But she never wore them when they actually did fit her, and that’s the funny thing!

Now it’s my job to go through it all and I have been making trips to the goodwill daily. Thank goodness this is all happening while the kids are at school. (sigh) I really dislike moving, and all my friends are suddenly disappearing .. Hmm! Maybe I could disappear too.

Ok, so onto today’s card. It was made using SU thought’s and prayers stamp set. Bella Birds DSP. Background cardstock is SU Chocolate chip with Stock satin ribbon to match. Ink is SU Close to Cocoa which I am going to miss because they are retiring it, pretty in pink and bashful blue. MS lace punch and Kaiser pearls. I hope you enjoyed my card today. I’ll be posting something new soon. ~Angela

What!! No social network?

2010-04-29T15:50:00.001-07:00

Yes, you heard me correct. I deleted my on-line profiles from Facebook & Myspace. I was using these sites to keep in touch and connect with family and friends while here in Arizona. But I guess I sort of grew tired of them, I wanted more privacy and to not be easily tracked down by just anyone. As contradictive as this sounds (because I still have this blog) But I also grew tired of constantly being asked to be someone’s farm neighbor or invited for coffee with someone in Cafe world. I never got into playing those games and I am certainly not saying anything bad about the people who do play them, they just are not for me. The spare time I do have is spent with my family and at my craft table. My free time is limited and I want to spend it doing what I love best. Creating and sharing with people who are interested in what I have to share and say.

So with that, today’s card is definitely for the birds. If you can’t beat them, go find something else to do!

Ingredients:

SU DSP Flock together

SU Ribbon SO Saffron

Bella Baubles, Memento ink, Copic Markers,

Stamps: MFT hanging with my peeps

I look forward to seeing you more and spending more time on my blog, See ya ~Angela

Under the Sea and back near there too!

2010-04-27T11:43:00.001-07:00

Hello! I’m so happy to be back, I have to admit that was a bit longer then a cat nap. More like a long power nap. Which is just what I needed. As it turns out we are moving back home, to California. In CA we lived near the Channel Islands, and we are moving back to our same house. I miss the salty smell of the ocean, the fresh produce at the farmers markets, but most of all, I miss my family and friends back home! As for Arizona, I did enjoy the tranquility of this little 5 light town. And there will be much more to miss once we are gone. You know the saying:

“ don’t know what you got till it’s gone?” So anyway in the midst of all our packing my Aunt Diane called to let me know she is going to be a grandma for the first time ever and she is super excited. She asked if I could make the invitations for the baby shower. All though I am super busy I just can’t say No to my Auntie. She is doing an Under the Sea themed shower and it’s a boy. Here is what I came up with.

I just love the way they came out. Thanks to my daughter Tyla who helped me color in the images, She is a prisma & gamsol queen. We were able to finish these up and continue with our packing in no time.

Here is what we used:

Stamps by Our Craft Lounge: Bubbles

Making Memories DSP

Stock Grosgrain ribbon

Memento Ink

SU Tempting turquoise to ink around the edges

Spellbinders Labels eight

Prisma Colored pencils

Baby oil - instead of Odorless mineral spirits (since my daughter was helping I did not want harmful fumes around her)

Stickles in Icicle to add some shimmer on the star

I’m glad you stopped by and hopefully I will be back soon with something new to show you ~ Angela

Taking a blog Cat Nap

2010-04-05T13:08:00.001-07:00

I just want to let everyone know I will not be blogging for a bit. I have things that require my full attention & as much as I love blogging I simply won’t have the time. Thanks for understanding ~ Angela

By the way, anyone want this adorable cat named Coby? J/K this is my daughter’s cat and she would kill me if I gave him away.

Easter Bunny and Friend

2010-04-02T22:10:00.001-07:00

Wow wow wow, I can’t believe we are already in April! How time flies when we’re having fun. I just finished making my kids Easter baskets and I had these two fun creations to add. This is not something I created on my own I got the idea from http://dreamcreateandshare.blogspot.com

But are they not just too cute? Boy and Girl, perfect for my 2.

I had to improvise as I did not have all the same tools Tammy used but I think they turned out A-OK none the less. If you are interested in trying to make this duo hop over to her blog, she’s got some fabulous creations.

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and we’ll be seeing you around. ~Angela

Hello Sunshine and thanks a bunch!

2010-03-27T14:44:00.001-07:00

Hi All. It seems so long since I posted a project. I have been keeping busy with the kids. This was the first week back to school so it’s always a challenge to get back in the swing of things. But I’m back, and I have something super cute to show you! Look at this card & container set I made. The container is altered from a recycled Oatmeal container. I tell ya, I don’t throw away anything that can be reused or recreated into something crafty. I just have to hide it or my kids will put it in the recycle bin.

INGREDIENTS:

Lady bug and Friends “Hello Sunshine” stamp.

Tuxedo Black Memento ink & Copic markers

Score-tape (sookwang)

Pink satin ribbon, Nestabilities long rectangle

Handmade background Designer paper on the canister by stamping “kindness” from my favorite SU “Define your life” in Sepia ink on barely banana card stock.

Basic Grey DP in two Scoops. Which again, was another thing that was recycled in this project. I had a bunch of scraps and I love this DP so I scattered all the strips on top of my handmade DP. Everything is held in place and sealed with mod podge.

Kaiser pearls, icicle stickles, 1- Prima flower, & bella baubles. Here is a view from the top.

I hope you enjoyed my project and as always if you have any questions please feel free to send me an e-mail or comment. Have a fantastic day and see you soon. ~ Angela

Play date at Rotary Park

2010-03-18T09:40:00.001-07:00

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Hi and happy Thursday to you all. My back has been improving with each day, thank you for all your well wishes. Yesterday Ty & Josh had a play date with our friends Charlie and Payton. We met up with them at Rotary Park in Bullhead City. It’s a great park because it has access to the Colorado River. So much fun to allow the kids to play at the park and then cool down in the river. Since my back is still a little sore, I only allowed them to get their feet wet. Plus the river is wicked cold and has a strong under current.

Here is one of my Favorite pictures of the day.

You can see how sunny it was by the reflection on the water. Not sure if you can tell, but Josh recently lost his 2 bottom teeth. He was so happy when the tooth fairy came. He wondered if maybe it was “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson that delivered his loot. I could tell you this much, If “The rock” were in our house Mommy would have stood up all night to catch a glimpse of him ;) hee hee

we are going to enjoy the rest of what’s left of spring break. They start school on Monday. Yeah, you can say things are a little backwards here. But enjoying the time off none the less. Hope you have a great day and see ya around. ~ Angela

PS. I am in search of a new camera, the one I have now is a Canon Powershot SD300, I want more of a professional grade. If you love your camera and would recommend it, let me know what have have.

Lucky to have you, friend!

2010-03-16T19:24:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys.. Today’s post will be short. I threw out my back yesterday :( I was bending in an awkward position , while helping my lil boy in the shower. I heard a quiet pop and then enough pain to bring me to my knee’s. I am doing ok and trying to walk it out but sitting and typing on the computer seems to agitate the muscles. I guess I will have to work harder on strengthening my core muscles.

I wanted to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

This lil Cutie is another E. Bell design. Can’t get enough of these guardian angels from WOJ.

I was able to try out some of my new toys. The background stamp is SU Tres Chic. I also used Define Your Life from SU. See Below.

Lucky Me, Tom’s nice Auntie gave me this set. Thanks Rachel!

Here’s a close up of Melinda Blowing kisses I used heat and stick with dazzling diamonds on her wings and Hearts. Glossy accents on her bracelet. Colored in Image with my Copics.

I hope you enjoyed my creation for St. Patrick’s Day. I really am lucky to have you as a blog friend. And thank you for all your wonderful comments! Have a wonderful day and don’t forget to wear green. ~Angela

Rock Painting

2010-03-12T09:56:00.001-08:00

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Hi everyone. I hope you are having a fabulous Friday so far. As I promised I am back to show you our makings from our crafter~noon. The kids are on vacation and while we were at one of our favorite Hot Spots “The Laughlin Library” we discovered it’s national crafter’s week. There were so many fun Idea’s we had to celebrate but one easily came to mind. While my parents were visiting in November they took advantage of all the rocks we have here in the desert. All the different shapes and sizes, they knew would be perfect for the rockscape they planned to make back home.

The kids and I decided to add to their unique collection. ( Now that I think of it, I guess I know where Joshua gets his rock obsession from. Bringing home all his findings from the school playground, they somehow end up in my washer and dryer)

We used what we had on hand. Paints, Glitter, Stamps, Ink and got down to getting crafty. Joshua was our official rock cleaner, it was a dirty job but someone had to do it. Tyla arranged platters of goodies for us to enjoy before our hard work begun. She really surprised me with how innovative she was with what we had in the fridge! And I had the job of cleaning and covering the table & floor. All in all it was a super fun day. Our crafter-noon was inspired by Martha Stewart’s encyclopedia of crafts. I hope you enjoyed my blog post for today. Check back soon to see what else we might inspire you to do! ~Angela, Tyla & Joshua.

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Time to Celebrate

2010-03-11T08:42:00.001-08:00

Anyone can tell you, life is not always peachy keen or picture perfect. But I like to try and see the glass as half full. There are plenty of life’s little reminders that we have so much to be happy about and to celebrate. One is right here in front of me. Starting this Blog has allowed me to express my creative side. I haven’t been on here in a couple of weeks but it seems like forever. I am so happy to be back! We were out visiting family & friends in CA. We had such a great time and I miss them all so much. I can’t wait to begin crafting and scrapping today. The kids are on vacation so yesterday we went to the library and saw that it is national craft week. Needless to say we are going to have ourselves a “Crafter-noon” I’ll be sure to post our makings.

Today I am going to show you the sample card of invitations I made for my niece Susana’s Birthday party. She loves all things frilly and she is a total princess.

I used stamps from a stamp line called my cute stamps. I colored with my copic Markers RV000, RV02, RV21, RV23

for that yummy bubble gum pink color. The castle was layered with Basic Grey’s Bittersweet collection. I used stickles, Robins Nest Dew Drops, Glossy Accents, and a diamond bling in the middle.

Wizard to cut out the scallop oval and satin ribbon. Flowers are prima and Kaiser pearls on the bottom of her dress.

These invites were ridiculously “embellied out” and a true labor of love, I tell ya. Needless to say I am glad I only have two niece’s that are in this fuffy stage. But I eat up every minute of it since my princess Tyla is now 11 and says she is “too old” for this kind of stuff.

I’ll Be back soon and thanks for stopping by. ~Angela

A little scrapbooking anyone?

2010-02-28T20:39:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-02-21T21:18:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-14T12:23:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-12T09:36:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-11T10:38:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-07T09:33:00.001-08:00

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?

2010-02-03T10:14:00.001-08:00

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.