Long time no see!

I've been totally neglecting my blog! I miss it and have it in the back of my head to update but I just never get around to it! No more excuses...just been overwhelmingly busy. I did a couple of craft shows that went really well and I was so excited about! I have another one coming up next month so I should probably start getting ready for it. I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week!! yikes! Time is just flying by ssoo fast!

I realized that I haven't even blogged about my new etsy shop!! wow! It's EMTsweeetieWeddings yup EMTsweeetie officially went bridal! This way I can separate my cards and goods from my wedding invites, programs and such! I'm excited about it...got a lot of people looking at my stuff and hopefully little by little it'll take off. I hope to meet lots of new brides and grooms out there looking for something special and handmade!

So I've been busy making Fall cards and of course Christmas cards....lots of them! I thought I'd be bored by now but I just keep wanting to use all of my Christmas goodies I can't help myself!!

So here are a few I have to share because they're my favorites :)
Hope you're having an awesome fall and looking forward to the holidays!

Damask and more Damask

So most of you that know me know my true addiction with damask print and the whole brocade French inspired look. Our room at home will be based off that theme and I can't wait till I begin painting and decorating that room. I have picked up so many little details that involve a damask print...I don't know if it's going to end up looking like a damask flea market! lol But oh well....we'll see how it turns out. For now I want to show you a wedding invitation with a damask inspiration. I have used the typical black and white colors and added a bright aqua ribbon to contrast. Of course I have added bling with crystals at the ends of each damask. Hope you like it :)

A Wine Affair

There are times when I sit back and think of the greatest moments I've shared with the ones I love and how traditions have been established and now I can't imagine living without. Looking back I realized how I've grown next to my husband and the things we do to keep our love alive. Whether it is watching tv sitting on the carpet or enjoying a glass of wine deciding what it reminds us of. We think of how wine was the inspiration to many of our trips when we were dating and of course our wedding. The beautiful vineyard affair in the middle of Downtown LA in the middle of June! We incorporated a sweet tradition that evolved into a theme and it was truly us. I love it when couples come together to create an event that reflects their personalities, likings and little traditions they have picked up here and there.

For a while now I've been wanting to create a vineyard or wine theme wedding invitation for a couple that shares our love for the grape. I wanted to get some inspiration and wanted to flip thru a few inspirational boards or create one of my own but I came around to finding one of the sweetest surprises. I googled under images "wine and cheese theme weddings" and guess what the first picture is?!!! A picture of us cutting our wedding cake!! Our bakery Rosebuds collected pictures of all their favorite cakes for their Anniversary gallery! It was a sweet surprise that after all the searching I had done...I found inspiration very close to my heart. We drew out what we wanted our wedding cake to look like. We knew we wanted it to be unique and delicious and they delivered just that! Everything on this cake was edible except for the natural blooms...it was fabulous...they took our drawing, made it perfect and wonderful for our wine theme wedding :)

So with all that in mind...On to my recent creation...this is what I came up with. I used a Kraft box to hold an elegant yet rustic invitation for a vineyard affair. A double pearlescent cardstock is printed with an outline of beautiful grapes and tied with a deep plum silk ribbon. I have also tossed 2 unique corks for a little more texture.

Beach Wedding and BABY Card!

My husband's medic partner got married on Saturday at beautiful Santa Barbara! When I got the invite I was jumping for joy because I llooove Santa Barbara and the Los Olivos area. We drove up early enough to catch some wine tasting at our favorite vineyard Mosby and made it just in time back down to SB for the beach ceremony at the Fess Parker Hilton Inn at 4pm. It was a real sweet ceremony with butterflies and roses. Their colors were blues with lavenders...real pretty! We had a lovely time at the reception as well. The hall was gorgeous and I would to stay at this hotel next time we drive up! For a minute I teared up as we danced to the Look of Love by Diana Krall which was our first dance at our wedding :) Here are some pics of the wedding oh and I'm also including my take on this weeks 2s4y sketch! Hope you are having a lovely week. HUGS!

The Sand Ceremony

Sweetie looking around

LOOOVE the parasols for weddings!

Nautical 5 tier cake...mmmm was delish!

Our beautiful table

Seating cards/stars

Did I mention I love sea stars??!

Sweetie Pie

The sweetest of pet names are sometimes awkwardly pronounced in the isles of supermarkets, parking lots, movie theatres...etc. I always giggle when I hear a couple calling out their partner by their pet name. I mostly hear the common ones like "babe" or "sweetie" or "honey" but I find it amusing when you catch a couple so comfortable in public that they just don't know how silly and cheesy they appear to the common eye. A few that just made me flat out laugh out loud were these: skittle lips, juicybox boy, midget, tushee tush, pancake, stanky and butt-butt and I love it when it goes something like "hey tushee tush we forgot to grab toothpaste!" lol but in the spirit of sweetness and not being afraid to say it...I'll share mine with yours! We are "tickles and pickles" you figure out who is who...but to be safe in public we usually just call out "sweetie pie!" What pet name do you have?

The beauty of dreams

or the lack of...I've been staying up pretty late these past couple of weeks. I've always had funny sleeping patterns but now that my husband is working crazy hours of the night...I find myself wondering around the house not sleepy at all! On Saturday...or better yet Sunday morning my husband got home around 3:30am! I was bright awake...I had been crafting and watching random movie after movie! I stepped outside in our driveway and he was so surprised to see me out there...we chatted for a few. We realized its past 4am and we are so glad we have a chance to see each other. Well we decided while we're up why not have breakfast at one of our favorite diners in Long Beach. We drive out there only to find out they open at 6:30am...we were bit early! We drove back...went to bed and got up way after noon to homemade eggs, waffles and bacon for brunch! lol There is certain beauty in staying up late waiting for your man to get home but waking up next to him after a morning of sweet dreams is much better!
Here is my card for this week at 2S4Y Hope you enjoy your week and believe in the beauty of your dreams.

A Happy Anniversary...

Not mine...not anyone I know, but the idea of what marriage is really all about has been on mind lately. The idea of loving someone till death and beyond is a feeling that for some is hard to grasp. Loving someone other than themselves sounds awfully strange. To others is a entire life of happiness. My husband and I have only been married for a little over 2 years and we can't even begin to imagine our lives without each other. Is it just the beginning? Is it that as anniversaries come and go people metamorphosize into a strange being that their lover no longer knows? I like to think that time and trial and error only makes you stronger. But when things go wrong how long does it take before you stop tripping over the same rock that you have been for the past 35 years? When do you stop forgiving for the wrong reasons? One day I heard that it is getting "used" to someone that enables you from letting go, not love. I was devastated. I like to think that love remains strong in our heart as long as we embrace it everyday and feed it positive energy through compassion, respect, and shutting up when you're right! For those that have been married for a day or those that have been for 75 years embrace it for what it truly is...a marriage. A beautiful thing...Happy Anniversary.

A sweet baby shower

My God this weekend was amazing! Hot hot weather just the way I love it and a sweet success to savor. It all started on Saturday morning when I delivered 4 diaper cakes to a client at a baby shower happening off Mulholland Dr. I got a call about 2 weeks ago from a classy lady that wanted to use them as center pieces for an elegant affair. I was a little nervous making these because I knew they'd be the center of attention but I went with a couple of themes that worked out really well. I made a jungle, sports, duckie and a frog theme diaper cakes! I had a lot of fun going to costco with my husband thinking about the days to come when we get caught at the register with a giant box of diapers and we laughed...but just for now this adventure was strictly business! They turned out to be a real success at the shower and I look forward to creating lots more because they are too much fun.

Yesterday started off with a Sushi love boat for lunch and a sweet drive to Silverlake. Took the scenic route down to Venice to check out a wine shop we had not been in a while. About 7 months ago when they had just opened we picked up a few bottles of wine we really loved. Came out with 2 bottles and walked over to Intelligentsia. We met up with our favorite barista and an hour later after 2 lattes and a creme brule we were good to go. The rest of the evening was spent outside our backyard enjoying the sweet taste of a summer wine.

Here are some pics from the event on Saturday...their colors were Tiffany blue and chocolate brown with a few green here and there. Their napkins were folded in the shape of diapers and the water bottles were made to look as baby bottles.

I'm still alive!

I know I haven't posted it in a long time! I've been busy with a lot of different projects and especially with our condo remodeling. For 2 weeks we had scaffolding on our stairs and we had to crawl underneath it to get to our bedrooms. It's been hectic but it's all worth it. We tackled Venetian Plaster and the removal of popcorn from our ceiling! I'm in love with our stairs they look fabulous. We also installed 2 new lamps and I can't even begin to tell you how perfect they go with the walls. I think it's almost my favorite part of the house right now besides our floors!

So I've been trying new things lately experimenting on wedding invitations and I want to share some of them I have on my etsy shop. I've done a 2 tone stamping overlay for the swirls and the fall leaves and I used a pearlescent champagne paper for a classy and clean look. I've been working on 2 different themed pocket fold style as well that I will be posting soon but just haven't finished the RSVP cards yet. I'll probably finish them this weekend and have pictures soon.

I've been crafting late at night too...lots of organizing to do and I NEED to start using all my scraps. I have a mountain high pile of scraps of beautiful cardstock I only used once! I really need to get my hands on it and start using because I haven't been buying any brand new cardstock lately. One of my favorite scrapbooking stores by my house unfortunately and very sadly is going out of business. The owner was forced to close her Torrance location store and now this one was just too tough to get thru this economy. Strictly Scrapbooking I will miss you lots and the friendly staff was such a pleasure to see :( I'll just have to do more shopping on line.

Here are my pics...Hope you have a wonderful week!

An Intelligent way to do coffee

Sounds crazy or maybe just normal but I have been drinking coffee since I started college...like all my friends trying to stay awake among books and papers to write I was introduced to coffee. I never liked it, hated even walking down the coffee isle in the market! I don't even know why I disliked it so much maybe because my mom is a heavy coffee addict and I guess I never thought it was delicious.

Over a year ago while working long 36 hour shifts with my husband we discovered Intelligentsia. A sweet coffee shop right smack in the middle of Sunset Junction. As we'd go flashing down Sunset Blvd. with lights and sirens or sometimes just cruising we got curious over this place where there were usually lines for a cup of joe. We walked in one Sunday morning a little after 6am just clearing from running a call at Temple Hospital, we had no idea how this place would change our lives. I ordered a vanilla latte and the barista politely replied "we don't serve vanilla, but I can add agave" and I was like sure whatever you call it I just want a flavored latte so I can go on for the next 12 hours of my shift. Jorge ordered a "decaf" version of what I was getting because this man can drive at any hour of the day and feel good about it. He knows LA like the back of his hand and has many times been called the walking Thomas Guide. In other words he doesn't need coffee to function and he drinks it just for the taste.

So our experience began that morning with the most delicious, outstanding latte I have ever had in my entire life! Their mission involves bringing the coffee from the hands of the farmers themselves allowing them to have the best tasting coffees from Guatemala, Panama, Peru and Rwanda to name a few. It is a treat to see the baristas putting so much passion in what they do. All of them are carefully trained so they know everything there is about coffee and it shows! Everyone is sweet and friendly and ever since we stepped into Intelligentsia we have not stopped recommending people to go and try this amazing place. When we are not working Jorge and I drive from our house to Intelligentsia which is about 30 miles away to enjoy a beautiful day in LA with our coffees in our hands as we hold each other tight.

Last Friday a new Intelligentsia opened in Venice...right on Abbot Kinney Blvd. I'm sure over a few hundred people showed up! They were mixing tunes, free cappuccinos, wine, tea....it was fabulous! I snapped a few pictures and wanted to share and spread the word that if you live in LA I hope to find you there one day and if you are coming to visit you must stop by and emerge yourself into the world of Intelligentsia.

New baby!

Well sort of...I got myself a Cuttlebug!!! I couldn't be more excited from the moment I got the box in the mail on Friday its been a non stop love! I have always drooled over all the beautiful creations you can do with it and it was about time I got one...don't you think?! I only got a few cards done with it because now I'm so excited I can't even choose which die I want to use...the swiss dots or the swirls or the music notes one...aarrgghh! decisions!! but I have to say its a great feeling.
I have a few cards to share with you that have been some of my recent work that you can find on my Etsy Shop. Thanks for visiting me have a wonderful rest of the week.

If you live in California I hope you go out and vote!!!