EMTsweeetie

Winter Wonderland + something for the grownups!

2011-11-29T13:24:00.001-08:00

A winter birthday is super sweet if you're surrounded by snow, penguins, polar bears and everything that glistens in the cold wind!! How to bring all that into your home in Southern California? My new Winter Wonderland line of paper goods might help :-) I designed a double stranded birthday banner made out of three layers of snowflakes, boy and girl penguin cupcake toppers that I inserted in delicious mini donuts in a bed of shiny pearls, and scalloped snowflake toppers to match the theme. It was so much fun creating this line because I love aqua and pink together - just so delicate and pretty.

So in response to some of you that have contacted me to make more adult items...here is a sweet start...

The winter bird cupcake toppers on a berry branch to top those delicious holiday party sweets for the office or home.

Not too late!

2011-11-26T11:00:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving! I have been very stressed all month but today I find myself more at peace. Thanksgiving was truly wonderful this year...just so much to be thankful for and having my mom, dad and Jorge next to me was a real blessing. Earlier this month someone whom I love so much was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. A series of events followed that news...trips to the hospital, an 8 hour surgery, a scary recovery and therapy and just when I was exhausted from worrying my prayers were answered. The day before Thanksgiving we got the news that the cancerous tumor had need eradicated and finally tears of happiness came. I couldn't be happier and so thankfull for all the support I got from Jorge, my coworkers and my best friend when I broke out crying in the middle of the cafeteria. So I look forward to continuing my focus in school, my business and best of all enjoying the company of my family and close friends. I can't wait for Christmas!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a super fun Halloween night! I've been missing out on my blog but I remembered I had promised to share some of my decorations with you so here they are! I've been having so much fun seeing everyone's outdoor and indoor creations! So many creative people out there!! :)

I decorated two acrylic shelves I have over my couch in the living room with little things I gathered here and there. The crow is special because it came from my best friends' girlfriend stach of about 10 crows! The skulls well I just had to get an anatomically correct one and another with a little bling for eyes (it's a candle too)

This is the first banner I create for my home! I love how it just fits perfect over the shelves. My favorite part is the scalloped letters and the fancy frames with a skull and spider for accents. It was George's idea to use both orange and black ribbons! He is creative too :)

The old books that Mr. Crow is sitting on are actually circa 1909 and 1917. They were an awesome find at the UCLA LSA book sale - which I was lucky enough to get a sneek preview. The actual sale is going on Nov. 1st and 2nd from 9:30am - 2:00pm at the YRL Library at the UCLA campus. Go there you will sure find amazing books for super cheap! These actually had vintage ephemera inside!! By the way there are lots more where these came from.

I made a large rosette using vintage 1900's music sheet I also found last year at the book sale for the perfect background of this witch on broom. I filled up a vase with about 2 bags of candy corn for a sweet touch.

Happy Halloween!!

Fall is here!

2011-09-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

My favorite weather season is definitely Summer but I LOVE Fall! I'm looking forward to Halloween, pumpkin pie with my sweetie, that early morning chill and I can't wait for gorgeous October moons. I've been awol from my blog and my etsy shop due to crazy hectic non stop studying! With hardly any available time I really cannot handle any more orders than the ones I'm currently working on. I did manage to start a little something for our home! Yes I never get to craft much for our home but this year I'm starting very early and slowly working on a few Halloween items like a banner, a door hanger and a few decorations here and there. At least we can have something festive to look at while we study! I got a sweet message this morning from Jenn over at BrideFinds an awesome site with lots and lots of ideas for future brides. They feature great finds from Etsy sellers and focus on unique handmade items for ceremony and reception. I've been lucky to be included on their great finds for a Halloween Themed Wedding! My eerie silhouette cupcake toppers are featured among many awesome items that are cleverly chosen for a wonderful and elegant event as a wedding!

image via BrideFinds

New inspirations for the weekend

2011-09-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share a new collection that I'm just in love with! If you haven't heard of Designers Guild - you must! An amazing collection of colorful and elegant items for your home. Their color combinations for wallpaper, furniture, bedroom linen and accessories are breathtaking. I can live in just one of those rooms and be completely in heaven! I've been shopping around for cool wallpaper that'll go on our closet and these just blow my mind!! I would want them all over my house and not hiding in the back of my clothes but still...I love them :-)

Never Forgotten

2011-09-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

This morning was not a typical ride in to work. I woke up on time at 5am as I do every Friday morning. I did snooze for about another 10 more minutes before I got up, got dressed and out the door. As soon as I get in my car I set the radio to AM for my daily dose of news. A few miles down the 91 fwy I found myself in tears as I heard the news team reliving the most horrible day of our lives a decade ago. They put together a clip about 5 minutes long that took me back to that early Tuesday morning in 2001when all of our lives changed for ever. It's too hard to even try to type the memories and emotions I felt that day. Glued to the TV and seeing what it seemed like the most horrific movie turned into reality was devastating for me, close friends and family.

A whole decade has passed and 9/11 will always be engraved in my mind. My love and respect to all my fellow EMT's and Firefighters that gave their lives that day will never be lost. This weekend along with lots of studying and things to do Jorge and I will take the time to remember that day and look forward to the new WTC. The renovation videos look incredible and I'm so eager to see a new Manhattan.

Where did August go?

2011-08-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of temperatures reaching in the 90's this past weekend I was missing being out by the pool and drinking margaritas with my sweetie. We've both been so busy with school, work and trying to remodel our place all at the same time!! Our bedroom just needs to be primed and paint is going up on the walls soon :) Can't wait for that! Well if you're not as crazy busy as me then you might still squeeze a few tan lines out of this beautiful weather and enjoy it. It was so gorgeous out on Sunday I grabbed my camera and got to work on a little set up that included my new Hawaiian and Under the Sea theme cupcake toppers! I wanted to run to the beach as an excuse to pick up sand for my shoot but since my to do list was insane...brown sugar did the job! I scattered it around and used my favorite sea stars for fun! The new Under the Sea toppers include a mermaid, crab, sea horse and this adorable sea shell I adorned with coral, an aqua pearl and propped up fish!! The Luau Hawaiian toppers include a hang loose hand, hibiscus flower, hula girl, and tiki tower. Doesn't it just make you want to be in Maui right now?!!

Welcome Babee

2011-08-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited to show you my new line of party decor for a bee theme baby shower that we shot a few weeks ago with awesome photographer Ayumi from YouandMeWorld! Among the many plans I had this summer was to come up with a series of new themes for my etsy shop and I have to admit this Bee theme just makes me smile and sigh with joy.

I'm a huge lover of black and white damask print and for this line I got inspired by our ongoing bedroom renovation where damask print plays a major role! I'm really loving the bright yellow accent and of course the adorable bee as the star for this collection. I was so static when Ayumi sent over the pictures!! I love how she captured each detail I put so much time and effort in creating like the cupcake toppers, the drink flags, and the "B" is for Baby invitation! I spent weeks planning how I wanted this table to look like. I dragged my husband to Downtown Disney late the night before to get their delicious Kettle Korn and I even baked lemon bars the same night! I felt like I was truly having an Amy Atlas moment - setting up the backdrop, making the treats look yummy and lining up my paper goods just the right angle! It was definitely intense but SO much fun and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Staches of fun - featured on Style Me Pretty!

2011-08-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

So you guys already know my love for weddings and how I'm always amazed at the talent and inspiration that goes on over at Style Me Pretty...well today was a sweet surprise for me!! Ian and Natalie - a local LA couple purchased my staches of fun to be used at their big day and their gorgeous wedding was featured at SMP today!! It's so amazing to see their attention to detail captured by talented photography by Megan Thiele Studios - you must check out the complete post at SMP - it's simply beautiful!

Only 2 weeks before "Back to School"

2011-08-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Yup that's right my summer is coming to an end soon! I still have so many plans this August it's insane! Every Wednesday for this month will be Jazz nights at the Hollywood Bowl! I can't wait to see Herbie Hancock, Keb Mo, Marcus Miller and Buena Vista Social club which will be on the 24th and oh what a super fun night it's going to be - (it's my sweetie's b-day) and I'll be throwing him a "Havana Nights" celebration! I have lots of ideas and I'm already working on his invite I'll share with you soon! We are also going to the Laguna Sawdust Festival on Saturday the 13th for a full day of arts, picnic and music - Poncho Sanchez will be performing too and I cannot wait! My schedule is going to be super hectic with school and I will have to scale back from my crafts and condo remodel which saddens me but I have to stick to my goals and make it work. Along with books and such I always look forward to back to school shopping!! Whether it's a new pair of shoes, jeans or just fun/cool pens and pencils! Here are some items that definitely made it to my back to school shopping list!

1) Jonathan Adler Chevron Ink pen 2) Ikea Lamp

3) Lucky Emmie Ballet flats 4) Anthropologie Sweet Briar Notebooks

Yeeeha! It's Friday!

2011-07-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to show you part of an amazing shoot we did of inspirational party tables last Saturday with talented Ayumi from You and MeWorld Photography! Ayumi is one of those people that engulfs you with smiles and makes her job look so easy. Well there's no doubt she loves doing what she does best - beautiful photography! I'm really excited to show you my new western cowgirl line of paper goods that I'll be featuring on my etsy shop hopefully next week! For now my shop is being worked on by etsy support staff and should be going back up real soon.

A flying week!

2011-07-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

No time for a breather! This week has been super intense filled with tons of "to do" lists and I can't even begin to tell you how little I've slept and how many things I'm working on all at once!! Regardless I'm really excited about everything that's happening - we've been remodeling our master bedroom for a couple of weeks now. Jorge has been working so hard on the attic clearing all the mess to make room for a new light fixture box for our bedroom. I've had this dream of hanging a chandelier because I think lamps are so boring!! Jorge has been amazing...he removed that nasty popcorn off our ceiling, opened a whole where our chandelier will hang from, ran wire from the attic to the light switch and installed a dimmer switch (he knows I'm crazy for mood lighting) and the list goes on and on!!! I've only assisted on all of these projects but it feels so good working by his side and making our dreams come true. We might be only half way there but we're excited to tackle DIY projects together. This all translates to living with half my clothes in boxes and having our bed in the living room and not finding my shoes in the morning!! BUT I know it's all worth it. I will share some pictures of our remodeling soon. For now I'm drooling over these chandeliers in modern spaces and a girl can keep dreaming right?!

Winner of Giveaway!!

2011-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

The winner of the 405 Carmageddon party package goes to Tala!!!

Tala said...

sorry i just reread the post. I will be having a carmageddon bbq with your awesome decorations and YOU ARE INVITED :D

I live in Calabasas ... :)

July 12, 2011 12:07 PM

Please contact me asap at emtsweeetie@gmail.com with your mailing address so it gets there on time!!

Thanks for all of you that supported me on this nutty idea and who shared your comments with me!!

405 FWY Carmageddon GIVEAWAY

2011-07-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

So if you live in California you know that next weekend is expected to be chaos in the West Side and hopefully not 30 miles and beyond! Well officials are advising people to stay home and avoid the streets all together. I say...have a nice mellow party!! I already ordered my NetFlix movies and got our UNO cards and Monopoly out and we're planning to relax and enjoy not going out for a change! I commute on the 405 at least 1.5 hours a day so it's really carmageddon on a daily basis if you ask me. Hopefully LA commuters really take the time to just take it easy for at least one weekend out of the year and see this 405 closure as a chance to enjoy our homes with our families.

I made some time to create a party kit to give away to one lucky Californian! It includes a fun "405 Carmageddon Party" banner, a set of 10 cupcake toppers of different types of automobiles, 4 small 405 interstate freeway signs to decorate your glasses and 2 decorative highways!! Just leave me a comment telling me what you plan on doing this coming weekend to avoid Carmageddon! I will pick a winner at random on Wednesday night! You must live in California to win!!

New line of Pirate Party Decor

2011-07-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned to you before I've been working on a few new items to feature this summer and some of them are finally done! I just love 3D shaped items for party decor and I think this pirate ship would look so awesome surrounded by delicious treats, gold coins and skulls! With that idea in mind I picked up a few delicious cupcakes and dressed them up with wrappers and toppers! It's been so hot out and somewhat humid so I envision a pirate party by the pool or the beach! - Just another reason to go out and celebrate outdoors!!

Kristie & Damien - A real Wedding plus WellWed - the Hamptons Magazine

2011-06-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's such a great pleasure to share with you a glimpse of Kristie and Damien's amazing wedding day that occurred earlier this month. Their special day happened to fall on my birthday :) Kristie contacted me to create her wedding stationary thru etsy but we quickly started exchanging emails and we built a friendship. Both of us having super hectic work schedules and living in different time zones as she lives in Lindenhurst, NY and me being here in LA, we often missed eachother's phone calls but we always somehow managed to get the details right. Kristie knew exactly what she wanted but at the same time gave me the freedom to be creative. Her colors were yellow and grey as she is definitely a modern bride! lots of contemporary details but keeping the traditional wedding etiquette at all times. Aside from their wedding invitations I created matching menus, table card numbers, a seating chart, and all of her labels for the amazing candy bar she created! I couldn't have been happier when she contacted me right after her honeymoon to tell me how amazing their wedding day was along with beautiful pictures! Her photographs by Basia are so gorgeous they caught the eye of WellWed Magazine team and featured Kristie & Damien's wedding day on their blog!! It really captures what a truly beautiful and fun couple they are and I was really privileged to have worked with both. Here are only a few pictures of this amazing day!

Little Red Wagon

2011-06-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

I tried a couple of new things this week! I've been wanting to try the Trader Joe's yellow cake mix and white frosting for a 9" cake pan I bought at Joann's about a month ago - finally I baked it on Sunday! The frosting was super easy to make and I pulled out my recent creations and snapped a few pics before we gave the cake a try! My husband refuses to think that I need to purchase a baker's spatula to spread the frosting around. Instead he picked up a venetian plaster spatula from Home Depot and I have to admit...it did the job!! I'm not a baker by nature and all I really wanted was to easily spread the delicious frosting on my cake - thanks sweetie for the handy idea! So among new things I'm trying to create more decorations for boys. I just love the little red wagon theme I've been seeing on vintage shops. So now available is my take on the adorable boy red wagon cake topper available on my etsy shop. I look forward to creating more boy theme party decor so if you have any suggestions for me - let me know! Not too far out from my comfort zone I created a mermaid cake topper with lots of little details that include an aqua pearl! I used pearlized cardstock for the little mermaid as well as the age number...I think I like it!

Weekend at the Hollywood Bowl

2011-06-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

So far a sweet 10 year tradition with my sweetie is the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. It was Saturday June 16th 2001- our official first date! We showed up with a 6" Subway sub and 2 bottles of water for an entire 9 hour jazz show under the sun! There was jazz, laughter, hand holding and at the end of a fabulous day - a kiss. We had no idea the Hollywood bowl would become so dear to our hearts year after year. It's an event we prepare for weeks - from the time we camp outside of the bowl after midnight (this year we showed up at 10pm!) to purchase our tickets to the weekend it's happening! It's grown to a full blown caravan of coolers, picnic basket, wine totes, and so much fun. This year I decided to use my Hollywood Bowl picnic under the stars cook book for a cold salmon and dill/cucumber sauce recipe that is super tasty! I paired it with a fresh butter lettuce, shrimp and caramelized walnut salad - it was amazing! Jorge chose a Traminer from Mosby winery straight out of our cellar that brought out the flavors of the salmon so well! The weekend was a blast, we met lots of nice people that were there to party and enjoy the day just like us.

Post Birthday Summer Wishes

2011-06-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Every year after my birthday I feel like summer has officially begun :) So as of last Friday my summer is here!! It's my favorite season full of outdoor activities, music, wine, sun tans and lots of romantic evenings with my sweetie. I've been thinking that for our 4 year anniversary this year I want to plan a gorgeous picnic! Since it's only 2 weeks away I got a little help from Etsy to get my creative juices started!! I have the perfect park in mind - El Dorado Regional Park...next is finding delicious summer picnic recipes!!

Check out my Etsy treasury:

'Romantic Summer Picnic ' by EMTsweeetie

Clutch Handmade Checked Red ... ADGCORNERSHOP $26.00	5 x 7 Fine Art Giclee Print ... BlueTrike $14.00
red Heart Bobby pins - set o... minetteheartsy... $3.50	Little Heart Pie Bites -- He... OldTimeFavorit... $24.00
Picnic invitation akimbodesign $8.00	Fruit Memo Pads (pear, water... CMLDesigns $5.25
Sweet 100s Luxury Glycerin S... paintboxsoapwo... $6.00	Shopper's Tote Basket - ... joannascollect... $52.00
NIB Picnic Table Server RoomServiceVin... $	Summer Evening, 8x10 fine ar... aVeryStory $20.00
Picnic and Beach Blanket - r... rubiyat $120.00	Custom fully lined ruffled c... Ananya $60.00
Button Earrings amberike $6.75	DIY Mason Jars Lanterns Wire... treasureagain $18.00
The Forest Princess Flats - ... sorala $38.95	Pucker Polish flavored with ... GetLathered $3.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Ahoy!! Belay yer carousin' and haul on over me matey!!

2011-05-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

I love pirates and of course they're way cooler than ninjas!! Even though its not "talk-like-a-pirate day" yet...why not use a few AAaarrr's in the middle of a conversation just for fun. My best friend and I thought that for some reason on St. Patricks day we should say AAAarrrr! I think we share a pirate gland somewhere in our brains! Recently I've been working on a pirate birthday package that will include a pirate ship centerpiece, invitation, food labels and goodie favor tags! It's going to be an addition to my current vintage style pirate banner and cupcake toppers so I'll be sharing those items as soon as I get them photographed. Also if you want to learn to speak pirate head on over to Mango Languages they are now offering a free on line course til June 30th!! Impress your fellow 'swashbucklers' Aaaarrr!!!

Mermaid Real Party

2011-05-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

It's a mellow rainy morning in Los Angeles today but that was not the case a few weeks ago for Elle's 4th birthday fun in the sea Mermaid theme party! This was no ordinary party - Anokhi contacted me at the beginning of the year with ideas about a party for her daughter and only a few months later we teamed up to create a version of my mermaid banner to fit her color scheme and match what she envisioned for the day. Anokhi sent along a picture for inspiration and when I opened my email there was this darling skirt which Elle would wear on her special day. I knew then that I would have to create something unique and special for her. I included her name at the end of the banner and created over 30 sea creature cupcake toppers among little mermaids that matched her banner. There were fish, crab, sea stars and sea horses! The details for this party are amazing. I LOVE how she incorporated the colors and the details of ocean life right on her backyard! Lots of sea stars among coral and even a seagull resting on a dock!! I know one day Elle will look back at these pictures and remember the sweetest day.

Crazy Mailing + Gorgeous Stamps

2011-05-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been spending a lot of time at the post office! I think I've been going just about every other day for the past 3 months!! It's either me or my sweetie that graciously volunteers to drop off my packages :) The post office on La Palma Ave. in Buena Park is amazing! They have sweet staff, great hours - they close at 6pm and that's just perfect for me because I usually make it after a good hour of traffic. Just when I thought that people were using the post office less and less...it's beginning to prove more of a myth! I always see lines of patrons with boxes, letters, and lots of odd shaped things and sorts. The clerks behind their desks do an awesome job!

While standing in line yesterday I saw the coolest poster of their Garden of Love stamp debuting May 19th! I thought one of those stamps would be a gorgeous complement on a floral summer party invite or garden wedding envelopes. Check it out! I think I will buy a few for inspiration. I purchased the Jazz stamps last month because my husband and I love jazz and I think I will use them to embellish some of our photos and ticket stubs we will be gathering from this summer upcoming shows. Go buy a few and send some snail mail love.

Ladybug Real Party

2011-05-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to share this little cutie's 1st birthday party for a really long time! Alexa's ladybug party decorations were so much fun to create and her mom was super fantastic to work with. She contacted me thru my Etsy shop and we quickly got excited about planning for her daughter's 1st. She was so creative in all the little details she envisioned for her party and truly motivated me to create something special for her daughter. I created a jumbo version of my Ladybug birthday banner, Alexa's name banner, centerpieces that were inserted in candy jars, napkin holders, ladybugs that rested on her water goblets and leaf shaped seating cards! Her party was fun yet upscale with lots of candle light, roses and gorgeous lavender accents - major eye candy!!

Contest on facebook!

2011-01-25T14:06:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post to spread the word of a super cool contest going on right now at Love Takes Flight facebook page! It is a destination elopement service for couples wanting to elope! Jill a super talented photographer has asked me to participate and I just loved the idea. If you leave a comment on her wall telling her who would you like to photograph with a stach...you may win 12 of my 'staches of fun! Go post and then go picture crazy!
Good luck!

Staches of Fun to come!

2011-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

I'm excited about the new year! I had a great break and the holidays were lots of fun but I'm relieved that they're gone and I don't have to think about Christmas for another 11 months!! Every January I get really motivated and excited about what's yet to come and how the year is going to pan out...but I think that lately I've been thinking a lot of what I'm thankful for. I've been reflecting how on a day to day basis we touch the lives of other people and the impact we cause whether we think its minimal or grand. Year after year I thank God for having a wonderful and supportive husband and I can't be thankful enough for our love and our home. I want to make sure that I show those I love how they have touched my life and how very thankful I am of that! I don't want to call it a new year's resolution because it's not something I want to cross off a list...it's something I truly feel inside.

And since part of the new year has been about starting up something new and feeling creative I want to share some fun new crafts that we had lots of fun over the holidays with!! The mustaches on a stick!! I'm going to have an awesome time scrapbooking all the fun pictures we took! Take a look at the new designs!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Party Frenzy!

2010-06-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's party weather isn't it!?! My birthday was last week and for some reason it's always been my official start of summer and the time when I look forward to warm nights under the stars, outdoor music festivals, wine and lots of BBQs in our backyard! I've been just crazy over party banners lately! Can't get enough of how cute they are hanging from my wall and swaying back and forth in the light summer wind. I was at the UCLA 30th annual Luau a couple of weeks back and absolutely loved the hula dancers and the flowers and it inspired me to create a hula theme party celebration kit! I picture the cutest outfits and the freshest of pineapples being served at a lovely little girls birthday party. And for me well it also makes me wish I was in Hawaii but this summer our pool will most likely suffice our splashing cravings. My awesome photographer and friend Ayumi shot some pictures of my work and of course she makes them look so awesome I can't believe I made them!

On another note isn't there something totally adorable about owls?! I know hoots are just the cutest thing right now! And since I'm in a total party frenzy mood I did an owl party kit too!! Whhooo is having so much fun? Me! Hahaha! Ok maybe I'll just let the pictures do the talking!

Magazine Fun

2010-05-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last month I was contacted by one of the editors of Southern Minnesota Magazine that was super sweet and interested in my Damask Mint Matchbooks. She included the matchbooks on their current issue of Venus! A magazine dedicated to everything women and lifestyle. She did a great job on picking items for her article "Personalize your Party" and she explains how Etsy.com is an amazing way to shop for just about anything you need for a little fun soiree! My mints share the page with some outstanding Etsians and I'm just so honored to have been chosen for all Minnesotans and the world to see :) My print magazine is coming in the mail but I couldn't wait to share the news so here it's a shot from their website!

So new...so brand new

2010-04-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Couple of "new" things in my life happening right now...one of them is starting to look more exciting as I explore it more and more. Facebook. Yeah I'm probably one of the last people in the world to join right?! well...I'm doing it to reach out to people I don't get to talk enough and also to promote my businesses on Etsy. I also gave my Weddings etsy shop a new look. I had previously posted about an awesome idea that began about using better pictures to expose my work. It's been rrreaally hard to choose which pictures go up on etsy and which don't because I have so many favorites. I decided that I definitely want to continue doing this for my shop...it just looks really pretty to me and I hope others find it fun to look at as well.

I didn't want to neglect my cards either so I turned to my toolbelt and cardstocks and began crafting. It made me feel so relaxed and at peace. I'm totally in love with the new October Afternoon "Fly a Kite" and the "Thrift Shop" lines that I just can't get enough of them!! I have to start thinking of father's day cards soon so if you got any ideas for masculine cards let me know!!

Fab Sunday

2010-04-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

I want to share a little more of the project I told you about on my last post. It all began with the idea of exposure. Just like thousands of Etsians out there...we make these beautiful items that take hours to make using an endless list of tools and techniques, most working at wee hours of the night because we already have a full time job...or two! We try to stay on top of whats the latest and whats trendy in our industry and then after our "gem" is beautifully done we try to target those people that love what we've done with our hands and hope they buy it!

Well its really not easy to do. Truth of the matter is I've learned that there is a lot more to Etsy than amazing listings and the people behind their product. The way we communicate via a conversation message with some one from another city, state or country is our true window to the world. The fact that someone reached out and told you they love your work and are willing to buy is an amazing feeling. To have someone add your item to their favorites is more than rewarding.

It is why many of us are constantly looking for ways to Jazz up our Etsy store and I've noticed through blogs and tips that most exposure relies a lot on photography. "What is beautiful is appealing"...that's a given. In photography creativity flows and transmits uniqueness and beauty to whatever it is on the other side of that lens. So I started thinking I need to find something appealing to my items on my shop and well...great photography is my hope! As I've mentioned before my friend Ayumi is a fabulous photographer and a coworker and we often (ok more like daily) spend at least 20 minutes talking about weddings, crafts, sewing, packaging tape, cards, blogs, photoshop, crepe flowers and the list just goes on and on...We decided we would do a photoshoot using my wedding invitations and models! Yes I also work with 2 gorgeous girls that are my students and were more than willing to participate on our shoot. Both Grace and Teo have young, inspiring and beautiful faces that will perhaps not get you to run out and get married so you can purchase one of my wedding invites....BUT...will definitely make you click and appreciate both human and craft beauty. These are a couple of back stage photos but plenty of more to come...

Teo and Ayumi early Sunday morning at LACMA

Grace and Ayumi steps of LACMA

These lights that once lit up famous streets of Los Angeles are now

a gorgeous display that light up at night until dawn (6:30am to be exact!!)

Sakura

2010-03-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

My friend just thought me a new word! Apparently I've been so crazy over how beautiful Cherry blossoms look around my neighborhood. Almost every day at sunset I drive by this beautiful park in Cerritos that's filled with cherry blossoms and the light shows off the darkness of the branches and the hues of white and pink tops. The park is an amazing inspiration and I always picture an elegant and simple wedding venue so I felt inspired to create a wedding invitation with the "Sakura" theme! I used soft shades of pink and a delicate diecut of a Cherry blossom branch for this 6x6 invitation. My professional photographer Ayumi was sweet enough to photograph my invite! She also lives near a Sakura filled park!! she kidnapped my invite for the weekend and came back with the most amazing pictures! She is extremely talented and if you are ever looking for fun and modern pictures of you or your family you have to check her out! I'm super thrilled to be working with her on a project I will soon give you more details of...but for now let me share our work!

Sweet Escape

2010-02-17T08:36:00.000-08:00

Lots going on this month for me! I've been swamped with orders and things to do at home. I've been spending a lot of time sorting and organizing my craft room. We are getting ready to remodel that entire room and I have to take out every thing out!! It's a little scary but I can't wait to have that room done...it's going to look beautiful. We started thinking of colors for the walls and we'll be setting the floors soon.

So aside from that...Jorge and I had a really sweet valentine's day. We are short on cash these days so we wanted to stay home but still celebrate in a special way. Since we got married we often use our "The Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook" and if you don't have this book in your collection you should definitely get it! Super delicious recipes for all occasions! We chose the Valentine's Day menu but changed up the dessert. It was Lamb Chops with Mint Sauce, Couscous with leeks, roasted asparagus and we added strawberry shortbread sweethearts!
We had so much fun and it was so romantic! We ate outside in our backyard where he had hung heart lights on our awning. It really makes me feel blessed of what we are able to do when we are together and how special our love truly is. I'm sharing some pictures of our shortbread sweethearts and my sweetie which are just delish!!

Enjoying the Rain

2010-01-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

It's been raining a whole lot these past couple of days and it's been real nice for a change. I decided that I would enjoy it and not complain about it like I always do! Sure it adds another 30 minutes to my 1 hour 1/2 drive home but when I get home I get to enjoy my sweetie, sip on hot chocolate, and I even started to organize my scraps and crafts area too! I get to hear the rain outside my window and usually play the jazz channel on my tv and enjoy it. It's too much work to try to complain about the weather when you can just dress up for it :) This morning I took out my boots and threw on a long sleeve shirt and sleek pants, paired it with rain coat that's been sitting in my closet unused for over a year now!! I picked out a matching scarf my mom made me and off into the rain I went.

Tonight my husband and I are going on a movie date! We are finally going to see Avatar on IMAX 3D! yay! So I probably won't be doing much crafting again...I haven't been doing any serious crafting in a couple of days because I've been organizing my scraps and last night I just couldn't help myself...I was craving it so bad so I made 2 cards and stayed up till past 1 am! I will be sharing those soon because it was just way too late to take pix...so I have another one to share...I got brave with stitching all around on this one! I will go back to enjoying the rain and thunder every now and then :)

Shaped Fruittilicious!

2010-01-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

My friend loves shaped cards and she insists I should do more of them. So last week I made a few shapes I'd never tackled before and I'm really happy with how they came out. Found a few inspirations here and there but I thought I would do fruits for a sweet take on Valentine's day cards...and who doesn't love cupcakes?! Don't they look delish?!

The 32 Blues

2010-01-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Thirties...are they really the new Twenties?? This morning as I stumbled out of bed feeling lethargic and almost hungover but not I thought I could definitely use some more sleep. A friend complained of similar sleepiness today and he said maybe its coffee withdrawal symptoms (we are both quitting coffee for a while) or it's the "32 blues"...and I thought we're supposed to be feeling better about our health and our bodies with better food options, new technology, reinvented workouts and so on and so on...but I'm definitely not ripping the benefits of all that goodness. I miss my body of 10 years ago!! I even find myself saying "oh I don't bend that way" which is funny/sad because I probably could 10 years ago! Well one of my goals this year is to be more conscious of my health...not gonna call it a resolution but just a new way of thinking. Like whatever I ingest better be something I like and its good for me. I won't eat just because I'm bored, or just because someone brought their homemade brownies to work, or for no reason at all I reach over to eat someone else's fries. I'm sure if I was to add up all that munchin' throughout the day the calories would start adding up!!

If I keep this up maybe by the middle of this year when another birthday comes around I will be embracing the "thirties are the new twenties" concept. There's hesitation now but I'm sure it'll begin to show if I stay positive!

Hope your day is Fabulous

Congrats "I" did it

2010-01-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have been playing around with my mom's sewing machine and I have also been wanting to try some of my new stamps I got from PapertreyInk as a Christmas gift to me! So I gathered up all my goodies and this is the card I came up with.

I'm really happy with how the zig zag stitch matches the jagged edge I did with my scissors on the middle cardstock. I did some light inking and by the time I was done I couldn't decide which stamp to use from my Signature Greetings set...I was so proud of myself so "Congrats You did it" was perfect :)

2010 yay!!!

2010-01-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

So excited for the new year! I'm really looking forward to new beginnings and the new season. Yesterday my sweetie and I put down all of our Christmas decorations and tossed the tree. It was nice packaging everything in brand new boxes that will soon make it to our newly remodeled attic! Now my living room is back to its normal state and I couldn't be happier :)

It was extremely hard to wake up and come to work today...after 2 weeks off it was a struggle but now that I'm here it's not so bad...seeing coworkers and catching up with everyone's holiday adventures. I'm also back in business! My etsy shops are up and running and I've already had my first 2 sales of the year!! Whooohooo!

I'm looking forward to creating lots of beautiful cards and invitations, trying new techniques and challenging my creativity. I'm really proud to share that I learned how to stitch on my mom's sewing machine!! It was so nice having her teach me and very sweet of her to let me borrow her machine for hhmmm I don't know a "few" months :0 Now that I'm done from being completely addicted to holiday cards I can finally focus on my favorite of them all...Valentine's Day cards! I can't get enough of the sweet vintage images of cupids and cherubs, hearts, glitter and shades of pink and red! Here are a few...

Long time no see!

2009-11-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-09-29T12:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Cutie Pie

2009-05-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll with pie...or cake this time! This little set was so much fun to create. I made a birthday card to match a slice of cake shaped box using my Tags, bags, boxes and more cricut cartridge and used MS punchies too. I'm in LLOOOVE with everything Cosmo Cricket comes out with and this line "Girl Friday" is adorable. I used lots of pink pearls and felt flowers and a sweet ribbon from my stash.

BTW...hope you had a wonderful National Scrapbooking day. I actually went to a scrapbooking store I had never been to on Saturday! Only about 20 minutes from my house. My husband was taking an exam in Garden Grove on Saturday and while dropping him off I thought hhmm where can I go for the next 4 hours!?! I didn't want to go back home so I began searching "scrap" "scrapbooking" "craft" "stores" on my phone's GPS and what do you know..... I found 3 scrapbooking stores less than 5.3 miles away from my current location! I started to navigate to "Scrapbooking Heaven" ...I thought how cool is that?!"

4.8 miles later Michelle's voice (I just found out that the woman's voice on my phone's gps is set to Michelle) said "Your destination is on your left" And wow...did I find a really cute store with lovely items everywhere! Very pleasant and friendly help as well. They were holding a class that I really wanted to join but couldn't bare thinking my husband slaving behind a desk so I instead participated in a free make and take that only took a few minutes. It was a really cute mother's day card...I just couldn't resist. I bought lots of goodies that I'm sure I'll be working with soon :)

So of course I spent over an hour at the store...by the time I grabbed a bite to eat and coffee I wanted to head to the other 2 stores in Los Alamitos when I got a text from my husband that the class was almost done. Like a good wife I navigated myself back to where I had started my mission and waited patiently as he came out. I CAN'T wait to go and check those other 2 lingering destinations soon!

Have a lovely week everyone! I'm going to enjoy the sun and the heat expected for this week!

Crazy for pie!

2009-04-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to create a card with the quote "I love you more than pie" and I thought it was just adorable that a mother and a daughter say that to each other! It is so sweet and witty. For the card I used a Parisian patisserie theme with hues of blues, pinks and light greens. I used K&Co. Que sera sera papers and the Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge for the pie and the stand comes from the wedding cake in the Wedding Cartridge. I went crazy with bling and my customer truly loved it. It was a fantastic feeling to know how special it'll be for the two of them. And that is truly what I love about creating cards.

Sketch # 25

2009-04-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

I just love Kazan's and Laura's weekly fun over at 2S4Y! they have the most fabulous sketches week after week and I just wish I had more time to play with all of them...but last night I actually sat down and gave this fun sketch a try. When I saw the stars I immediately thought "USA" and the beauty of the colors in our American flag. I used several of my cricut cartridges for the stars, the map, and the letters for a fun but simple card celebrating our country. I think I might use this as a template for a 4th of July BBQ! hhmm something to look forward to :)
Thanks for visiting me and have a wonderful rest of the week! HUGS!

Sorry it's been a while...

2009-04-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in over a month!!! OMG! wow I've been super busy with lots of orders and I have been blessed to have recently worked with a really sweet bride. My first bride by the way!!! :) Emily is getting married this Saturday and I wish for her the most beautiful wedding. I worked on her wedding programs and she really loved them. It is so satisfying to have someone like your work specially on their wedding day. I have a few pictures of them for you. Her colors are this gorgeous navy blue and spring green. A light green polka dot ribbon was attached to them to hang from her ceremony chairs.

I'll be posting some more recent projects as well. Have a beautiful weekend!! HUGS

In a Springy mood

2009-03-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

I love it when days get longer...I feel more energetic in the evenings. I've gotten so much done lately! My husband and I are on a mission to cleaning and remodeling our backyard and the rest of the condo. We had been working on the living room and now its on to the next room! Sigh...I actually can't wait for the summer but I'm going to enjoy Spring as much as possible! It's been chilly in the mornings and there's only 20% chance of scattered showers today! I know we need the rain here in LA badly but I'm so loving the sun beaming thru my window. Hope everyone is having a great week.

I have some cards to share with you...let me know what you think. Thanks for visiting me today...HUGS!

I'm still here

2009-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been out of the loop for the past week. It's been rough this last week. My husbands aunt passed away last Tuesday and it's been an emotional roller coaster since. She was an amazing woman and she'll live in our hearts forever. To make things more intense at home, my mom had a fall down her stairs and fractured her clavicle and dislocated her shoulder! I'm praying she recovers soon and we can get back on track. On Friday I sat down and made a card because I was feeling sad and I wanted to cheer up a bit. I kept thinking how lucky I feel to cherish daily life with the ones I love. I couldn't imagine giving that up for the world. I made a Lucky card and here is what I came up with.

I hope everyone is having a good week and I look forward to catching up with everyone's blogs and wonderful creations out there. I think I'll craft tonight after I make some hush puppies for my husband...he had told me a while back he wanted some for Fat Tuesday so I think I'll surprise him. Thanks for visiting me today...have a lovely rest of the week.

I got nominated!

2009-02-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks Rosanne for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger award. I will share my info before I pass it on. So sweet of you Rosanne thanks!!! :)

7 things I did before

studied at UCLA

lived with my parents

commuted to work for 10 full minutes

diet more often

You make my heart sing & eye candy

2009-02-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Since I'm back and feeling refreshed from our cruise I wanted to quickly get back to my scrappin! I saw the beautiful sketch at 2sketches4you and decided to give this one a try. I used some scraps from my adorable Splendid papers from Fancy Pants. I used pop up dots to raise the scalloped frame and used this lovely little birdie tag and added some stickles and mini pearls to it. I can't remember where I got this ribbon from but I've been wanting to use it for a long time now and I think I finally made a card where it would fit! I hope the girls like it! You must check out everyones creations...they are amazing every week!!

Also I wanted to share the Eye Candy of my life...my sweet and awesome husband! Hardworking, romantic, attentive and most encouraging...I love you sweetie pie! This is him waiting for me at the altar. Thanks Kazan and Laura for such fun eye candy! Have a happy Valentine's day with your handsome husbands!

Inspiration

2009-02-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

I have a card to share with you today...it's the first card I made after coming back from our cruise. Being in love with a wonderful man is what makes me enjoy life and everything surrounding it. I saw a lot of aqua while I was on vacation...the crystal clear water, the skies, the colors of beautiful houses at Nevis all inspired me.

You know what else inspires me? The kindest of messages I received on my etsy this morning! A very talented photographer and jewelry maker Jenipher has a wonderful blog and the sweetest style of jewelry at her etsy shop CherryRunWay. Check it out!

What inspires you?

I almost forgot!!

2009-02-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged!!! Most talented Donna has tagged me!! If you haven't visited her blog wow you are for a real treat...her work is amazing and her cards are jaw dropping. I drool over her beautiful work every time! Well I was to look at my 6th picture folder and post my 6th picture. Here it goes:

This is a picture of my husband and I after a busy weekends work. We are still in our uniforms and we stopped by for dinner at San Antonio Winery. (we wear blue uniforms now) We are huge wine lovers and this local winery is just around downtown! It's funny because Donna and I have something else in common!!! :) I love this picture...it was about 3 years ago and I had saved it in my "wedding" picture folder because at this winery we had our rehearsal lunch and all we kept talking about was planning our wine theme wedding which then turned out a complete success.

Thanks Donna...you brought back a really sweet memory and thanks for visiting my blog!! HUGS!

Back and Jazzed up!

2009-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your sweet comments on our voyage and I missed you all very much! My husband and I had the most amazing 2nd honey moon...I really didn't want to come back!! There are sooo many memories of beautiful places, amazing people from all over the world and of course the music...it was fantastic!! I will never forget this trip! I will post a few pictures for you and I can't wait to get back into the swing of crafting and making cards. I have to confess...I didn't think about my cricut until day 7 of our cruise (blush) but now I just can't wait to get my hands on it :)

This is our ship the Westerdam of Holland America cruise liners. It is beautifully parked at their private island Half Moon Cay. The most gorgeous beach I have ever seen. The sand...I swear is not sand is pancake mix!!

This is the cutest little spa and resort at Nevis island in the Bahamas. I think this is where Martha Stewart got her punchies ideas!! The houses are adorable right on a the beach.

If you look closely you'll see why this beach is called "Shell Beach" it has over 690 billion shells!! no sand just shells...it was stunning! This is at St. Barth island and boy was it expensive but absolutely beautiful!

This is a view of El Morro in San Juan Puerto Rico and it is as gorgeous far and near. The views from this tranquil little old town is amazing.

I will post more pictures next week...I hope you all have a marvelous weekend!!! HUGS

Hello...and Bon Voyage

2009-01-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'm just super excited that there's only "ONE" more day before our cruise! On Saturday we'll be flying to Fort Lauderdale and then Bon Voyage to us! I'll miss crafting but one thing is for sure I'll be taking lots and lots of pictures so I can come back and scrapbook our trip! I have a little Hello card I made I'd like to share and hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and I'll be sure to bring back gorgeous pictures of clear skies and water! Thanks for visiting me and can't wait to return to my Cricut and all of you! HUGS!!!

My take on Laura's sketch 17

2009-01-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

I had been wanting to play with these super talented ladies for a while now and I finally did it! Laura and Kazan have these awesome sketches every week at 2S4Y and the DT...well they are just amazing!! I can't believe my eyes every time I look at their creations.

I'm hoping you like this Valentine's Day card I made for my husband. I wanted it to be simple but hot so I used my favorite color combo of red with hints of black and white. I used my Indie Art Cricut cartridge for the wings extending out of the heart, my favorite Home Accents frame in black and for the letters I used Plantin School Book and Making the Grade cartridges. I finished it off by adding this basket weave red ribbon I found Michaels. I think my sweetie will like it :)

Well it looks like its going to be another hot day here in LA...I hope wherever you are that you are having a wonderful day! Thanks for visiting me. HUGS!

Sweet...

2009-01-15T08:10:00.001-08:00

I'm known for a having a sweet tooth...yes anything you could think of SWEET! Including the wonderful sweetness of Valentine's. I just love the glitter, hearts, cupids, xoxos, kisses, amor and all of the above!! I've been going crazy not having enough time to make more cards but here is some I've managed to get done! I was up till 1:45am crafting and I had to get up at 5:00 so I'm not very fun this morning...I need my Intelligentsia coffee!! sigh...well I'll see how I manage today but I just had so much fun making these. Hope you like them!

Thanks to DeeDee I managed to make a shaped card with her tutorial she did using the cutest snail card ...it's a must see!! I gave it a try using the strawberry cut from the Indie Art Cricut Cartridge and layered it to form a tuxedo strawberry!! I think its "sweet" hence the little alphabets! :) Check it out...

If I hadn't already mentioned how much I love the Fancy Pants line Splendid here is another card I did using this adorable little poochie. I added scalloped sides and an awesome super bright pink ribbon I hadn't used in a really long time. I think the doggie is just adorable and I wish someone was getting me one for Valentine's day...HINT HINT!!!!!!!!!! It's ok...my husband is making me wait until all the renovations on the condo happen!

A special Christmas Gift

2009-01-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a special package that also arrived last week. I joined a Secret Santa Card Swap over at Carla's blog and it was so much fun!! I got to make a card for Rosanne and she sent me a gorgeous card along with sooo many goodies I couldn't believe it!! Her blog is awesome...a little of bit of all my favorite things...crafting and yummy recipes!! You must check it out. Here is a picture of her lovely card and the goodies she sent me. Thanks ssso much Rosanne and hope we can continue sharing wonderful ideas together! HUGS!!!

It arrived!

2009-01-12T12:59:00.001-08:00

So on Friday I rushed on over to the mailbox and guess what I found??! Yup that's right my new Cricut Expressions!! I'm sssooo excited and I only got to play with it for a little bit because I need to make room for it on my craft table!! So I started cleaning and moving things around and ended just getting all exhausted...but I did finally got it up and running and oh my God!!! It's amazing! I can't believe it took me this long to get it.

Work was rrreeealllly busy....we did a total of 43 hours this weekend!! I couldn't resist to go home last night and at least do some cuts on my cricut but just didn't have enough energy. I started on a few cards and hope to finish them tonight so I can show you tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll have a special post on another fabulous little gift I got last week too! :) My new friend Rosanne which I just recently met thru Carla's blog over Christmas.

I leave you with some pics of my new baby and some paper and embellishments I got from emma's paperie shop. You must check out their endless supplies of amazing designer lines.
Enjoy the rest of your day! HUGSSS!!

Splendid

2009-01-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

The minute I saw this adorable line from Fancy Pants I just had to get it. The embellishments are adorable and I've been having a lot of fun creating Valentine's Day cards with it. Here's one where I used the "Sophisticated" damask paper as a background and the rest just fit so nicely. I'm really happy how this one came out. I only used one cut from my cricut and that's the circle cut from the George Cartridge to accent the birdie.

Yesterday was a jammed packed day...we're getting ready to set on board our cruise in 16 days!!! Did some shopping yesterday and picked up a gorgeous bright yellow dress!! I KNOW! but I had to get it! Got me a great deal on lovely silk PJ's too from VS. I'm so excited about our trip...we need it desperately!!

Well...I'll leave you for now...hope you are having a wonderful day!

2009 here I go!

2009-01-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...hope you had lovely holidays with family and friends. I had wonderful holidays and had some time off from one of my jobs so I had a little time to slow down a bit and enjoy. It was great but I'm also glad that the rush, shopping, and cooking is over! :) for now at least!
I didn't get a chance to do very much crafting over the break but I can tell I'm going to have to start my Christmas cards for this year already! It seems like it just flew by. I worked on a few new techniques and some new Cricut cuts I hadn't tried before.

The biggest news of the year so far is that I'm FINALLY getting my Cricut Expressions...I KNOW right??! I've been having my little cricut guy for a while now and I figured why not start the year big and so I did! Got on ebay for an awesome deal and I bought 2 more cartridges along with it. It should arrive by the end of this week and I just cannot wait!!! :)

I have a few cards to show you and one of my new year's resolutions is to post at least a card a week and I also would love to enter more challenging contests over at Bitten By The Bug and at 2 Sketches 4 u. I look forward to sharing many more convos with wonderful talented ladies!

Paper: Sassafrass Lass Fawnd of You, too
Felt Flowers: Queen and Co.
Diecut: Happy Birthday cut from Zooballoo Cricut Cartridge
Butterfly cuts: MS
Rhinestones

Paper: Irresistible Love Dots by My Mind's Eye
Spiral Journal tag: Making Memories

Ribbons: Michaels

Prima Flower and button

Ticket Stubs and tag...can't remember for the life of me but they are so darn cute...I'll come back and post who makes them.

Pearl Heart button from own stash

Paper: Websters's Pages Love Note

Diecuts: Rose from Indie Art Cricut Cartridge; tag outline from Home Accents Cricut Cartridge; large scalloped border is from Accent Essentials Cricut Cartridge

Happy Mother's Day stamp from a stash

That's it for today...I'll be back soon with more Valentine's Day cards. I've been going crazy getting all these cute papers and embellishments can't wait to share! HUGS!!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

I realized I haven't posted in a long time. I've been so busy and perhaps just trying to be busy on purpose just to forget all the madness going around. Sighh...I hope everyone has wonderful holidays and stay hopeful for 2009!! A new year should bring us new challenges and new ideas along with wonderful people to bring the good in each other. I love you all and may God bring you peace of mind and love.

Happy Cyber Monday

2008-12-01T12:29:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends. I had a wonderful time cooking and preparing for the sweet feast. I have so much to be thankful for this year and I can't thank God enough for being blessed with an amazing husband who is supportive of all my ideas and challenges my mind. Thank you sweetie for being by my side!

As for crafting I'm thankful for all those amazing and talented human beings out there that constantly influence me and get my creative juices flowing! Thanks to all those who visit me and my creations. I couldn't be thankful enough to have you!

I want to share a few Christmas cards I've done but I have to admit I really haven't had much time to craft these past 2 weeks. I've been swamped with house work...trying to help my husband remodel our place. We just started to install our floors in the living room and I can't wait to be done this week!! I'll post pictures of how its coming along.

I have three cards to show you I made with my Cricut of course! Take a look:

Starting to finally feel like a new season

2008-11-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to say it was a very windy and chilly weekend but in a pleasant kind of way. I cuddled and even got a chance to prepare some Christmas cards. I wanted a few to show you today. I know I promised one for Friday but just didn't get around to posting :( I'll make it up today!! I've been thinking about how I want to decorate my new office at work. We ordered furniture and we're finally getting a window!! I want to surround myself with pictures and lots of projects. Any ideas for office goodies I can alter?? I did order a rolodex and I'm going to alter it with tiny pictures and turn into a calendar. We'll come back to this another day soon...

So here are some more cards from an order I recently finished and mailed out! I can't wait for her to get them and I'm really hoping she will love them. I worked on different themes such as baby, birthday and anniversary.

I finally got to use my New Arrival cartridge and created this card for "A Star is Born" theme. I wanted it to be neutral but I think it came out more on the blues side. I think the touch of yellow might make less boyish...I don't know I hope it works for either baby boy or girl.

Remember how I mentioned that I'm just crazy over the Sassafras paper collections?! Well I couldn't help myself but to use this one for an Anniversary card. I used the Indie Art cartridge for the love birds which I layered so they could have a background. I didn't want to do much more with it since the paper is awesome!

I used lots of bling on this one and I just had to use the Indie Art cartridge for the ice cream! I love how its melting! cuteness. I also used the Accent Essentials cartridge for the lovely shaped lined tags.

And now for a little Christmas cheer!! I worked on these last night after a 38 hour shift in the field!!! I know I'm nuts but I couldn't stop thinking about how its the second week of November already!! Besides I actually got some sleep in the back of the ambulance yesterday. This weekend wasn't nearly as busy as Halloween weekend!!

I used the Stretch your imagination and the Joys of the Season cartridges for this card. I didn't want to use the traditional Christmas colors as I'm prepping to enter the Bitten By the Bug contest over at http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com/ For this contest Regina asked that we use any Cricut cartridge to create a Christmas card without the traditional colors like the reds and greens typical of the holidays. I look forward to participating! There are unbelievably talented ladies over at Bitten by the Bug.

Aaww the joy of hanging stockings filled with goodies!!! Hhhmmm...this card has that theme exactly. I had lots of fun with this one! I used Joys of the Season and my George...again! lol

Ok so I love how the glistening little tree came out full of white snow! I bought this snow like stuff that comes in a little container and you're supposed to leave it on for a few hours to dry and WHOOAAaa...snow!! I'm blanking out on the name but if you e-mail me I'll be sure to look it up for you.

Well that's it for now. As always my great appreciation to all those that visit me! HUGS!!!

Yay the elections are over

2008-11-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

I was really glad to cast my vote this election. It was a special and emotional event for my husband and I. But...now I can focus on my crafts again rather than being glued to the tv for news! :) I've been very busy working on an order for a customer and I'll be sharing some of the cards I've created recently. I've been having a lot of fun with my new cartridges and I can't wait to start my Christmas production of cards for the kids. Michelle over at Mish Mash http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com/ blogged about a wonderful cause to send cards to children with life threatening illnesses. If you are interested to join visit her blog or the Make a Child Smile Organization. Its a great idea and I can't wait to be part of it.

So for todays card I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to use this super cute paper from Sassafras. I'm just in LOVE with their designs and paper. So mod and cutesy! I wanted the cute little owl on this card to stand out all by itself so I just added the sentiment WISH with my George cartridge. I used the Wedding cartridge again for the cake. Can you tell I just can't get enough of it??? lol Well I'm happy with how it came out. I'll have another one for you tomorrow.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a fun Halloween! I can't believe how fast this month just flew by. What's everyone up to...are you throwing a fabulous party? trick or treatin' with the kiddies? or just passing out candy?? HHhhhmm if you're still searching for inspiration check out these table get ups for tonight. If you get a chance check out http://tastefullyentertaining.blogspot.com/ for some really cool ideas in party decor! Just beautiful parties.

So yesterday I was having a really bad "traffic day" yes I know it sounds pathetic but I get those every now and then. I was so irritated sitting in the car for 2 hours going home because usually it only takes me an hour to an hour and half. But the point is that when I got home Jorge had the sweetest surprise for me. I had been talking about how we weren't able to decorate for Halloween or really celebrate since our house is still undergoing a makeover. Well...I got home to the most beautiful arrangement Jorge had to put together for me. He put up Halloween lights around our bare window and gave me the cutest pair of earrings with a matching orange rose in a little box he decorated himself with stickers! It totally made my day and there's more....he also got a cake decorated with a haunted house and he wrote "to our future home...when finished" so by next year we should be able to decorate as much as we want!! I love my man!

BBTB Contest

2008-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm super thrilled to show you my little Santa's Village ornament. I created the base of my village with the Circle cut from the George Cartridge. I wanted it cute and simple with 2 little houses on the block, so I reached for my Joys of the Season cartridge to create the little houses and I added extra snow top trees on the sides of each house. For the large snowy mountains I used the Zooballoo cartridge and added more stickles for the sparkly effect. A village can't be complete with a little choo choo train so I used the New Arrival train cut. I used the same cut for the tree in the middle of the ornament. A Santa's Village has to have a Santa! So I whipped up a mini Santa in sleigh with Rudolph and I placed them on the mountain top. I added a ribbon in the middle of the circle so I can hang my little ornament on my tree this year! Hope you enjoy it!

This is the front view suspended from the ribbon. You can see some of the pop dots I used to keep the little train and houses up.

I was having a hard time getting a good picture of it from the top. The shadow from my hand is still showing. But you still get the jist of it.

A little close up of the sweet little house with a view of Santa on the mountain top. I had so much fun making this little project. Thanks Regina for the opportunity to share and what talent over at the Bitten By the Bug!! My Goodness!!

My mom's birthday card

2008-10-14T07:29:00.001-07:00

Let me show you the card I made for my mom!! I wanted it to reflect her elegant and classy ways and also include what she likes the most...birthday cake!! I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. I used the zooballoo cartridge for the Happy Birthday and the Wedding cartridge for the cake because it's my favorite!! My husband put his 2 cents on this one too! He wanted me to have "MOM" somewhere on the cake so I used my George cartridge for that and I used the sign feature. For the cake stand again Jorge thought I should give it a shiny look! So...for that ceramic china look on the cake stand I used my crystal clear mod and I let it dry for a few minutes. It turned out really awesome! I wanted it to have some bling because she loves bling! I added a heart rhinestone buckle and a satin brown ribbon. I also went with the Amy Butler paper as my background because I really love that green and match it with brown. My mom's favorite is Mint Chocolate cake so it matches beautifully! I also used my MS doily because I'm simply addicted to it! :)

She Loooveed her card and was so happy with it she is framing it ! aaahh!!

A Mimosa Moment

2008-10-14T07:06:00.001-07:00

I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend!! I know its Tuesday but its never too late in the week to talk about the weekend. I finally took the day off from work on Sunday to spend it with my mom! My husband and I took her to her favorite brunch spot in Pasadena with my dad. The place is beautiful and the food is very delicious! If you are in town you must go to Twin Palms!! The service is great and they also have a live jazz band during brunch and I believe other nights too. We had rounds of mimosas and a superb brunch. My mom looked BEAUTIFUL!! She is an amazing woman and a great influence to my life. I love her so much and I'm so blessed to have her. I will cherrish her as long as God permits me to have her near me.

Here are some pictures of our "Mimosa Moment" :)

This is my sweetie Jorge and I snuggling at the table and giggling as usual!!

This is his Mimosa Moment

Yours truly!! Hey I think I can use this one for my blog pic! I don't have one yet hhmmm...

This is my dad joining in the celebration.

And save the best for last....my gorgeous mom! :)

Thanks for visiting me and allowing me to share my precious family with you! HUGS!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!

2008-10-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

Ok so talk about benefits at work!!!! OMG I'm too excited to even type!!!! For those of you that don't know I work at the UCLA Biomedical Library during the week and we have an outreach fund for staff to help us enrich our hobbies and carreers. Well I was awarded 8 that's right EIGHT Cricut cartridges for me just for me!!! OMG I don't believe it!!! I'm so static right now!! Ok I can't wait to open every single one of them and start creating wonders!!! I LOVE MY CRICUT!!!

How was your weekend?

2008-10-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! I had a great time and an awesome dinner with my friends Vik and Yolanda on Friday night! Thanks ladies for such a sweet night. I'm going to miss you lots Vik but moving to San Francisco should not keep us from staying in touch! LOVE You lots!!

So World Card Making Day just flew by me and I was only able to make a few cards but the inspiration was there. As some of you know I've been sick as a dog (yeah still) so I'll be spending some time at my parents to recover from the demolition mess at my place. Jeezz I can't wait till our living room is done and I can finally decorate it. I'm looking for drapes right now and I'm loving the West Elm linen drapes!! Any suggestions out there?? I want something chic and warm for our cozy place. HHmmm lots of shopping to do! Hope everyone has a great week!

Autumn in Los Angeles

2008-10-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

So have you heard we are in Fall season now....yeah all of us here in LA have no clue of that! Yesterday it was 98 degrees!!! I got home and jumped in the pool till about 9pm! I mean I love our weather but every now and then I wish at least for one year I could live in a city where the leaves on those gorgeous oaks change to burnt orange and the wind blows down a cozy mountain. I was inspired by the thought and made a few fall cards and a few Christmas ones too. I'm so excited about this season...can't wait to start making more and more Christmas projects and sending off those cards!

It's official!!

2008-09-30T11:29:00.001-07:00

My sweetie and I are going on our 1st cruise!! yay!!! I got the phone call that we are all set for our 1st Annyal Playboy Jazz Festival Cruise in January!! I'm so excited and I can't wait. You know what that means??? I have to start shopping!! :) I'm sure to find some fun cruise oufits and shoes! Well if you haven't yet heard about this cruise...let me tell you. First of all, among the many things Playboy is know for...it's also know for the love of Jazz. If you know my husband and I...we absolutely love Jazz! Our very first official date was the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl on June 16th. (we got married on that same date last year :P) Ok...so here are some of the cruise details:

Amazing Line up:

Marcus Miller (host too)
Herbie Hancock
Dianne Reeves
Keb' Mo'
Poncho Sanchez
James Moody
Roy Hargrove
James Carter
Eldar Roberta
Gambarini
New Birth Brass Band
DJ Logic
Sounds cool hua? but if that's not all...check out the ports!!

Half Moon Cay

St. Barths

Nevis

San Juan Puerto Rico

If you want to join us you can still purchase tickets at:

http://www.playboyjazzcruise.com/

We are really looking forward to this cruise and Fort Lauderdale! If any of you know some good places to stay or eat at Fort Lauderdale let us know! I'm clueless when it comes to cruises...any suggestions or tips??

Thanks for visiting today

1 more day

2008-09-25T08:59:00.001-07:00

Sigh! It's been a crazy hectic week. I have been fighting a terrible cold that sent me to the hospital on Wednesday morning! I had to go to the ER after having trouble breathing because of a cough induced by all the dust flying around the house. With all the upgrades we are doing the condo, my allergies just couldn't take it. I had 2 albuterol treatments and I feel a lot better today! Still coughing but not having trouble breathing...thank God!

Well I had promised pictures before of some cards I had created with my new awesome paper from Modern Crafts called Moda Bella. So here it is...enjoy.

BBTB Contest Entry # 2

2008-09-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

For my second entry for the BBTB contest is this funny elegant card with a matching little favor Starbucks coffee jar that I altered to match the card. I've seen the beauties that the designers have created over at BBTB with these coffee bottles that I couldn't wait to make one of my own. I hope Regina loves my entrys but I'm sure it'll be super tough...they are some amazing entries so far!! Good luck everyone.

BBTB Contest Entry # 1

2008-09-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've never entered a contest before so I'm so excited about having the opportunity. Thanks to Regina over at Bitten By The Bug for creating this contest! I worked hard on this little project and hope you like it. I used every single cartridge I own!!! George, Stretch your imagination, lots and los of Joys of the Season, zooballoo, animal kingdom, fabulous finds and going places, and the wedding cartridge!! wwwhee! I never used my little cricut as much as I have for this and the theme I chose is Christmas because I love the Christmas season. It's just lovely. I found the chipboard letters "BELIEVE" and to me it's all about believing in oneself and in the power of what you can create. So here are the pictures of my first entry.

Yay a new week!

2008-09-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! hope you had a great weekend! Thanks for all the sweet e-mails I received over the weekend regarding my blog. I hope those who have been with me thru my ups and downs will take this roller coaster with me as well. Thanks for all the support.

I had a busy weekend as usual. For those that don't know what I do every weekend...here it goes:

I work an average of 38-42 hours! I work as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician hence my blog name :P ) with my husband. It's a lot of fun working together because we get so many people from psycho patients, to doctors and nurses that love the fact that we are married. Our stitched name tag on our shirts give it away! Jorge carries a picture of our wedding with him in his wallet and all those that can't conceive the idea of working with their significant other get a treat when he shows them the picture. We've been working together for over 7 years and we couldn't look forward to it any less than that first Saturday.

So...Mondays are particularly weird for me. I wake up late...I stumble out of bed to hop into my car and drive 37 miles to go to UCLA for my second job. I usually can't function till I have my coffee or green tea in my system. So bare with me if on Mondays...I don't make sense! lol

Well I will be having dinner with one of my best friends tonight. I'm taking her out for her b-day. We are going to have Knotts chicken for dinner and hang out at Downtown Disney. If you are ever near the Knotts Berry Farm area...you cannot leave until you've had their famous chicken from the Knotts restaurant on the corner!! MMMM MMMM YUM!!! So looking forward to tonight.
I'll be posting some pictures soon of a few cards that I was able to work on. So stay tuned for that!

Have a lovely week everyone! Enjoy it...Autumn is just around the corner

Yikes! Popcorn!!

2008-09-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

I was sooo nervous about removing our popcorn ceiling from our living room!! Now I'm delighted!!! I can't tell you enough how completely ugly that thing was. Of course we totally started backwards because we really should have held off on painting the walls last month before we decided to remove the popcorn. Oh well...we just had to be extra careful and the plastic covering all around really helped!! Jorge and I got our complete outfits with masks, gloves, and gowns and got the job done! I couldn't be happier seeing it all drop to the ground! This is a super messy job but super worth it. If you are interested in this DIY project here are some tips:

1) Check for asbestos...just fork out the $50 and send it to your local Asbestos Testing Lab. The LA and OC lab is http://www.latesting.com/

2) Don't over soak your popcorn or else you're going to wet the underlining paper and that's not good because then you'll have to do a lot of patch work.

3) Have fun! After all who doesn't have fun with a water sprayer?!! :P

Well hope you enjoy the pics....

BTW...I didn't get a chance to do ANY cards last night because of all the madness but I think tonight I'm just going to sit and relax and get some cards done under my smooth ceiling :)

Here we are preping the room. We taped heavy duty nylon covers all over our nicely painted walls. We used the soft kind of blue tape so when we remove it won't chip off the paint.

On the floors we bought this cool canvas covering used for painting that covered a huge part of the carpet. It is recommended that you use paper so you can roll it up and discard it but this worked well too.

Here is half way of the job done!! It was real easy to scrap it off hardly any effort.

I will post some more pics after we sand and prime it :)

One quick post before I go home!

2008-09-09T15:08:00.001-07:00

Over at http://www.hostessblog.com/ I saw the most beautiful scrapbooking paper from American Crafts. Its one of their new lines called "Moda Bella" and WOW! that's all I can say!! I went and bought a few of these and I will be posting some pictures soon of what I have created with them. I'm just in love with it.
Check it out here: http://www.hostessblog.com/2008/08/moda-bella/#comment-35288

ok gotta run!

Tuesday my favorite!

2008-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

I yearn for Tuesdays because Holly over at decor8 has always the coolest things! If you haven't already checked out her "Etsy Take Five Tuesday" omg...you must! She is got the eye for the most wonderful finds and I always favorite at least one or two or three of her favs! Go here http://decor8blog.com/2008/09/09/etsy-take-five-tuesday-6/ to enlighten your senses.

Pictures as promised

2008-09-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Ok I'm back!!

2008-09-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

I started my blog and all of a sudden I disappeared! Just been so busy with 2 full time jobs and remodeling our condo. Now I finally have a chance to post some recent work. I'm so excited that the holidays are just around the corner and I've been so inspired lately!! Maybe its just the whole end of summer thing and I'm hoping to have some things in my life slow down a bit. My husband Jorge has become so amazing in doing all these changes to our place its unbelievable! He is my sweet bob-the-builder :P So far our living room is getting a drastic makeover! I will be posting some before and after pictures soon :) But trust me....we have a lot to do still...sigh.

Ok so i wanted to give you a peek at what's new on my Etsy shop. I've been doing some Halloween goodie bags and lots of cards! check them out.

1st timer!

2008-07-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's my very first blog and I love it! It seems like I can finally communicate with the world!