Distressed

Hello friends! Hope your weekend has gone well and not too quickly! We did some work yesterday outside and a bit in the garage. We are still waiting for the insurance check to clear so that we can get started on the remodel that dear Ike left us with. Last night I worked on a few Christmas cards, I decided to try out the Distressed inks by Tim Holtz. The Hero Arts Silent Night Stamp I bought at Michael's for 40% off, I do love a sale! I also used some gold powder on the card in the middle but it's hard to catch with the camera. I think they turned out nice hope you do too! After I took this photo I added a gold ribbon to the Season's Greetings card, looks much better.

Then this morning I tried my hand at using Adirondack Alcohol Inks and Tim Holtz's Distress powder and made a small card, the stamp is Ornate Heart by Stampendous which I got for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I think it turned out cute and so I look forward to buying more of the inks. The set I used here was the Tuscan Garden set. Well, this is it for now have a great Sunday!

Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo

Well, it is looking like I will be a demonstrator for Rubbernecker Stamps at the 5th Annual Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo here in Conroe at the Lone Star Convention Center. Click Here to check out the website for Rubberneck Stamps click Here. I'm excited and so when I get more details I will let you know, hope if you live in Houston that you are planning on attending! Here is an awesome card made by Candy Williams using Rubbernecker Stamps click Here to check out the stamps used.

Oh baby...

Hello! It is super late and I must get to bed so this post will be short and to the point. I made these matchbook covers using my Cricut "Alphalicious" cartridge. A friend is hosting a baby shower and has been out of town so I wanted to help her out. They turned out cute but sorta plain, when one of my girlfriends turns up preggers I will do these again but put a little more time into making them cuter. OK, off to bed I go! Have a great Friday! ciao.

A great Cause and some Great Blog Candy

I wanted to share with you a blog that belongs to Cammie (Carol King), she has some INCREDIBLE Blog Candy! And it is in honor of a great cause, she recently released her newest set through Gina K Designs called Whimsical Autumn, which benefits the Alzheimer's Association. What is awesome is that 100% of her proceeds from this set will always go to the Alzheimer’s Association. Isn't that incredible and generous! She has asked that we make a card for someone who is taking care of someone with Alzheimer's. This is close to my heart because my grandfather Ernesto has Alzheimer's and is quickly forgetting so many things and so many people. He remembers things from the past of course and so we often hear the same story over and over. I was married last October and I was so happy that he could be there with my grandmother, it meant the world to me. Then this past summer Andy and I went to San Antonio to celebrate my cousin's graduation from UT and my grandparents went as well. When he saw Andy and I hugging he asked my grandmother if we were "novio's" (not sure of spelling) that means boyfriend and girlfriend. It broke my heart to hear him ask her that and to realize that he forgot my wedding. I love him so much and I am so sad that we are losing him to this horrible disease. And to make matters worse he also has Prostate Cancer but it is growing very slowly so he seems to be OK and my dear grandmother makes sure he takes his meds. So, if you know someone who is a caregiver maybe you can take a few minutes to make or buy a card and send it to them. Let them know how special they are for helping take care of their loved one. And if you don't know someone with Alzheimer's you could send a card to the address that Cammie calls out in her blog where her grandmother was taken care of when she was living. Well, sorry for the sad story but I hope it will inspire you in sending a card or making a donation to the Alzheimer's Assoc. Here is the card I made for my sweet grandmother Matilde as well as a photo of the four of us at our wedding Oct 07'. Be sure to go visit Cammie's site just click here or on her name.

Some of the companies that have donated are Gina K. Designs, Taylored Expressions, PaperTrey Ink and so many more! Go check it out and join in on the fun! Good luck!

Back to work...

Well, my DH and I are going back to work tomorrow along with many other of our friends, family and neighbors. Many more folks have gotten their power back but not all unfortunately. I am so thankful for all the people who left their families back in their home states to come help us! We are living in a bit of an unorganized home but we did do some tidying up and real cooking over the weekend. It felt more like our old routine but it will be a few months before we are back to where we were before IKE hit. I did lots of relaxing today and I worked on some Christmas cards too. It took me FOREVER to get my mojo going but I did manage to knock out 5 cute Christmas cards that are not red/green! Working in my temporary studio is OK, I get to watch TV if I want but it was a bit time consuming finding where everything was tucked away. In an effort to cheer me up this weekend my DH suggested I start thinking about carpet color and how I want the rooms redone. I had considered doing them exactly as before but who wants to do everything the same just months after completing them the first time. Still can't believe the newest renovated rooms were the rooms that were damaged. So, I decided that I am going to do something just a little different, same colors but in a different hue I think. My Pinkalicous studio will go a little lighter as will the guest room. I also plan to set up my studio a little differently now that I had a chance to work in it for a few months. I learned that there are some things that I need closer and some that can be tucked away. Well, guess this is it for now. Ciao!

Then there was light........

Well, we are up and running again! It was such a great sight to see yesterday all the electricians in our neighborhood! Then they all left and still no light but when we awoke this morning there was power and boy were we glad! Today I had planned on going into the office however we had lots of contractors coming by so had to stick around the casa today. On Monday I will be back to work as usual and to tell you the truth I will be glad to get back to my old routine! I did lots of cleaning today and laundry and then I spent some time setting up my studio in the formal dining room. So, for the next couple of months I will be creating in the dining room, the good side of this is that I can watch TV while I work. My DH is not as crazy about the set up, he knows how I love to use my Cricut and so he will hear that going now and then, OK he will hear it a lot! Well, gotta get back to it. Ciao for now.

More AFTER IKE Photos

Just a few minutes to sign on, I'm using the Sprint Wireless Modem that my office provided to me for work so I don't want to use it too often for too long. I needed some non-IKE time so I decided to read up on some of my favorite blogs to see what I have been missing. It will be a few weeks before my studio is back up and running so I will have to set up shop in the formal dining room. We still don't have power and I was able to get more bottled water at the local High School yesterday. Today some of Andy's co-workers are bringing us gas to help run the generator as it is hard to find here in Conroe. We have a curfew from Dusk to 7am and so we made sure to stay home and also to conserve the gas. Some great fun news I did come across is that I am a WINNER on Teresa Collins blog!! Yep, I won her stamps and boy am I excited! It was a needed perk for me! If you haven't checked out her blog before you need to, she also has a site that has all her products and some great videos showing you how to use her stuff! The links are on the left sidebar and if you click here it will take you to her blog.

Here are a few more pics, we have had some great help from neighbors so our front yard looks so much better however the stack of debris on the curb is HUGE. We now have the side of our yard and back yard to work on, did some this morning and will do more this afternoon. We do need a bit of a break however as it is a bit overwhelming!

IKE Arrived And Left His Mark

Well, as you can see we didn't make out as well as many others did. By the grace of God the tree that hit our home stopped before landing on top of my Niece Alexa and my sister Gina who were in the room where the tree hit first. We have been without power but today a friend who got power back brought over a generator so we have power in part of the house. We will use it for a few hours then shut it off when we go to bed. We feel human again having lights and TV and I'm using a Sprint Wireless Modem to connect to the internet for now. Just wanted to post pictures of the damage and say we are OK. Hope everyone is doing well! Hope to be back soon with more pictures! And YES, one of the rooms with damage is my Pinkalicious Studio!

IKE IS ALMOST HERE!

Well, it's 2a.m. and our lights are still on but many of my friends have lost power in Houston. I am expecting us to lose power as well so this may be my last post for some time? So far we have had lots of heavy wind but in an hour it should get much more intense and heavy rain. We are also running the risk of a tornado in our area so again keep us all in your prayers! We have so many trees around our home and they are tall and will catch lots of the wind. I have already heard some branches hitting the house so yikes, here we go......... Ciao for now!

Waiting for Ike

Well, it's Friday and I'm home today. I'm sure you have heard that Hurricane Ike is coming to see us here in Houston and the surrounding areas. For now the winds are just blowing hard but I don't see any rain. I've been watching lots of news and surfing my favorite blogs. We were supposed to go to help my in laws in Tyler this weekend but with Ike coming we felt it best to stay home. So, hopefully Ike will take it easy on us, only time will tell.

I wanted to share one of my favorite blogs with you, Taylored Expressions, Taylor seems to be an awesome lady and is very talented! She started her own business and has this fascination with cupcakes that is just adorable. From that fascination came her creation of cupcake stamps, you must check them out! I've added a link to her store front on my blog and if you click on this adorable card she made it will take you to her blog. Not sure about you but I'm going to order some of her stamps as I can see many adorable cards with her stamps in my future!

This Weekends Cards

OK, here are the cards I worked on this weekend, I made 8 each of the small cards and just one of the large card. I haven't decided on that one as one to sell. The one with the gift box on the front is meant to hold a gift card inside. I think I will add a little rhinestone to the bow area and I also think I need to add the words A Gift For You on the front but not sure? The sentiment inside says Season's Greetings. The other cards I made were with Making Memories paper and I used my Cricut to cut out the circles. I used a Glitter paper for the large circle then coordinating papers and I went with a brown for the stamping. There is an inside sentiment but can't recall which one I used at the moment.

Lastly, I made one large card which I think is cute, still has the red/green I keep trying to pull away from but the Making Memories paper I used looks a bit more modern I think? I used my Cricut to cut out the curvy cut outs and the circle. I had been wanting to use ribbon so finally got to on this one. I like the card but think I might make it in a smaller size too. If you have any color ideas for my Christmas card creations please do shoot me an email. Ciao for now.

A Pink Day!

Hope you all had a great Saturday, I did! I took off of work on Friday and played in my Pinkalicious Studio for much of the day then went back for more today! I did take time out to run to my local HL to pick up a few things. I haven't taken photos of my newest cards just yet but will so that I can post them for you chicas to see. I am also starting to get the Halloween bug so I may just have to stop working on Christmas cards for a few hours and do something in orange and black :) If you live in the Houston area and are interested in attending the November Open House please email me. There will be all sorts of goodies for sale, candles, cards, purses, jewelry and many other items which I will list later.

Helping Friends

Hello Friends! In the past I have mentioned how many great friends I have come to meet via my blog! Well, one of those new blogger friends is Mary Kay, you might have seen her on HGTV's Rate My Space as one chosen for an inspiration room. She is a very talented lady who has decorated her home to the nines!! Please click on on her name above or the picture to the left to be taken to her blog and if you would help her out by voting for her. She and her husband have made it to the finals of True Hardware's All Star Contest. It will only take you a few seconds to help her out. Hope you are having a great Thursday!

MIA

Yep, I have been Missing In Action! Last week was a super busy week as was my Labor day weekend! We went to Tyler to help out the In-laws prepare for their move. We worked pretty hard and so I need a day off to get some rest but it isn't happening. LOL My DH on the other hand is off for TWO WEEKS, I am so jealous!

So, tonight I spent some time working in my studio on more Christmas cards to sell in November at the Open House. I used my Cricut to cut out some ornaments, trees and angel and they turned out pretty cute! I also used some gold embossing powder on the horn that the angel holds and ribbon from Paper Studio on other cards. Just working in my studio for two hours I feel so much more relaxed! I do love playing in that room and I love the Cricut that my DH gave me this past June for my birthday! I will do my best to blog more this week, for now have a great Wednesday! Ciao for now.