Beach Wedding and BABY Card!

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

The Sand Ceremony

Sweetie looking around

LOOOVE the parasols for weddings!

Nautical 5 tier cake...mmmm was delish!

Our beautiful table

Seating cards/stars

Did I mention I love sea stars??!

Sweetie Pie

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

The beauty of dreams

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

A Happy Anniversary...

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

A sweet baby shower

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

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

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

I'm still alive!

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

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

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

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

An Intelligent way to do coffee

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

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

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

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

New baby!

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

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

Cutie Pie

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!

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

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...

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