Thank You

Just finished this card today. I used an old card sketch from SketchThis. 2008 is basically over and one of my New Year's resolution for 2009 is to double my blog posts or even to exceed it. I didn't really get into posting 'til later in the year. So 84 postings for 2009 here I come! Anyways, hope everyone has a safe and FUN New Year's Eve!! Thanks to those who visit my blog, love all your comments and support. Talk to ya next year! ~Joanne

Handmade Christmas Cards

I just wanted to share some pictures of some of the handmade cards I got this holiday season. My sister Patty who is very talented, made me this card, inside was a coupon for my Christmas gift:



Several of my scrap cousins sent me these, they are awesome:

Abi

Marjorie

Jennifer

Another talented person is Cori, my design team buddy:



Thanks to all my beautiful cards ladies!!

Finally Done!!

Well there it is. Wow this is the most I've ever posted in one day, geez. I'm on a roll, lol. Anyways, here's my last clipboard specially for Andrew. I tried to keep it as masculine as possible for a tween. I guess rhinestones would have been too much...well, j/k. Also here's the matching card.

Matching Card

I decided to create a card with the leftover scraps. Not really Christmas theme, but still cute, hehehe.

1 down...

1 more to go. I finished one clipboard. This one is for Samantha (aka Sam). She's like a mini-me, I gave her my old graphic tees that are too small, so we pretty much have the same taste. Lots of layering with the modge podge medium. In order for me to get around the metal clip, I cut vertical strips of paper, which really made a difference in getting around the nooks and crannies.


The heart and wings are Tim Holtz's Grunge board. I used acrylic paint and then spritz some glimmer mist, iridescent gold.


To personalize it with her initial "S", I used Tim Holtz's Grunge board again. Used the same technique of painting with acrylic paint and then I spritzed on glimmer mist, red velvet. The other letters are American Crafts Thickers alpha stickers. Now on the final clipboard project...stay tuned.

Hurricane Jojo

This is embarrassing but I'm gonna show it anyways. This is what happened to my scrap workstation when "Hurricane Jojo" hit. Actually it still looks that way. This is what you call last minute handmade gifts. I had the bright idea of making altered clipboards for my cousin's kids, and this is my first try at it, I know good one huh? Well they're not finished as you can see, but they will be I promise. Stay tuned for the finished results. And good luck to those who are in the same boat as me!!

Birthday Wishes

This past Sunday was my friend Cat's birthday. We spent the day at the O.C. swapmeet and had lunch at Bamboo House. Here is the card that I made for her. I truly love the look of acetate cards. The flowers I used were from Prima, Fabric Fancies and I forgot what the lacy thingy one is called, lol. I stamped an image of a flourish using white Stazon. Last I added bling and some "stitching", eventually I'll graduate and use real thread.

Gift Card Holders

I am in gift card mode. There is a great tutorial on how to make the foundation of this little project, check out Angie's tutorial video on youtube, or her blog. Once you learn the basics the sky's the limit. I made a variety of different occasions:
Baby

Birthday

Thank You

I made all of these for my Aunt Rosemary. Hopefully I provided her with lots of options to choose from. Thanks Angie for the inspiration!

Busy Weekend

It's crunch time for handmade gifts this holiday season. This past weekend I decorated some gift boxes for my design team gals at the Scrapping Lounge. On the front of the box I had embossed their initials and used gold and copper embossing powders. Here's a great tip, buy Christmas decorations after the holidays at a real great discount and take them apart to use as embellishments on gifts. I had bought this "sugar coated" wreathe for a steal like 3 years ago and i just pick at it litle by little, LOL, talk about thrifty!

Yummy Weather....

for scrapping!! It's pouring outside but it's nice and toasty inside. One thing about being unemployed for the moment, you don't have to go outside when the weather is icky like it is. I get to stay in my pj's and scrap all I want. I need to finish some Christmas cards (thought I was done). (Doorbell rings in the background) Oh mailman, gotta go!

Christmas Stocking

Before:

@ScrappingLounge the Design Divas were assigned to make their own "handmade" Christmas stocking. I got this red velvet stocking at Big Lots for only $2! Wow what a bargain! With some pipe cleaners, Prima flowers, paper from My Mind Eye's Christmas Glitter Stack and some imagination...voila!

After:

Woohoo! My First Blog Award!

I have been presented two blog awards from Bona. It's my very first, hehehe.

The rules are:
1). Display the award on your site.
2). Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3). Give the award to 8 more people.
4). Notify them of receiving the award.
5). Advise them to pick it up at your site.

Following is the translation of the Portuguese words and the rules for the award:
"This blog award invests and believes in proximity -(creating friendships)!" [meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy]. These are the other words to be included with the award:
These blogs are exceedingly charming. These bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these awards are cut, even more friendships are propagated.
Please give more attention to these bloggers!
Deliver this award to 8 bloggers who must choose 8 more and include this written text into the body of their award.

The following recipients are:
1. Cat
2. Cori
3. Michelle
4. Sandra
5. Tammy
6. Patty
7. Dawn
8. Angie

I've been tagged!!...again

I've been tagged by Sandra...to list 4 answers to questions about me.

4 things I like/love about my husband/boyfriend:
1. He's my #1 Fan on all my crafty creations.
2. He challenges me on what's for dinner (i have to eat also, so i need to learn how to cook)
3. He has the greatest smile and dimples.
4. He loves to snuggle....awwwwww.

4 jobs I've had:
1. Bath & Body Works/White Barn Candle Co.
2. First Capital Mortgage
3. Inter Mountain Mortgage
4. Scrapping Lounge

4 Movies I have watched more than once:
1. Notebook
2. Tropic Thunder
3. The Lake House
4. Bridget Jone's Diary

4 TV Shows I watch:
1. Real Housewives of OC
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Ugly Betty
4. America's Next Top Model

4 People who email me regularly:
1. Cat (moostly chat)
2. Vivian (mostly chat)
3. Patty
4. JoAnn's Mailers

4 favorite foods:
1. Thanksgiving Dinner
2. All Mexican Food!
3. Sinigang (for you flips out there)
4. Rice

4 places I want to visit:
1. Europe
2. Figi
3. Tahiti
4. Australia

4 things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Getting Published (scrapbook stuff)
2. Getting a "real" job
3. Paying off credit cards
4. Winning the Lotto

4 people I tag:
1. Patty
2. Catherine
3. Bona
4. Kristina

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy today's festivities and ALL the food. Yummy. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday meal, I love all the turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, bread rolls, and don't forget the cranberry sauce. Okay gotta go and eat.

Finished Layout

Oh my gosh, I actually finished a layout. I've been doing scrap projects here and there but I haven't done a page layout in months. I'm soo proud of myself (pat on the back). Of course the paper line I used was Graphic 45. My new obsession is lace!! I luv it.

Another Class Goes By...

I had my "Vintage Dreams" class today and like my previous class, I enjoyed it a lot. Here are some pics from today. The first is of my student, Tracie, working on trying to get the pesky brad through the ribbon.
We worked with papers from Graphic 45. It is the Times Nouveau collection. I just love the vintage look.
I had also created some mini-calendars with my scraps as add-ons. Attached to the top corners are binder rings. You can easily hook them to your tote or even key ring. They make great stocking stuffers, hehehe. Please act surprised if you get them.

Well, that's it for now, just wanted to share. Also if there are first time visitors to my blog, I hope you enjoyed your visit and that you keep on coming back and please drop a comment to say, "Hello." I would love to hear your feedback.

Tag your it!!

Ok, I've just been tagged by Sandra. This is how this works, you need to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder of your picture files. Pretty simple huh? Well so I go to my pictures folder, open the 4th folder and I count to the 4th picture:



That's me at the possible age of 2 in the Philippines and that would probably be my mom taking my pic from above. So there you go. Since most of all the people I can think of to tag were already tagged, I've only got one other person in mind, my sis Patty, TAG your it!!

My First Class

I had my first ever class at The Scrapping Lounge!! I had a blast meeting new people and teaching. I was a bit nervous and I think I did ramble a bit and repeated stuff like a dork, but it was fun and exciting. Here's a pic of one of my students Bonnie, her calendar looks great! Of course they had to leave with a little goody bag =) If you missed out on my class don't do it again, I have another class this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 22nd "Vintage Dreams", call and reserve a spot (909) 626-7767.

Vintage Dreams Class**Reminder**

Wow, it seems like forever since i've last posted. Well this is just a friendly reminder of my "Vintage Dreams" Card Class. In this class you'll be making four cards in a variety of sizes. Also two cute rosette gift tags. If you haven't made rosettes yet, this is a great time to learn and practice.

Class: Vintage Dreams
Date: Nov. 22nd - Saturday
Time: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Cost: $20
Class Supplies: Pigment Ink - Brown, Black (ColorBox recommended), Scrapbook adhesive, Glue Dots, Dimensional Foam Pop Dots

Come by Scrapping Lounge and book the class or you can call (909) 626-7767. All skill levels welcome.

Fabulous Deal!! @Expo

Okay for those who went to the Ontario Scrap Expo this past weekend, did you guys pass by the My Mind's Eye booth? If you didn't you missed out. Look at all the goodies i got from this bundle pack for $20: a mega paper pack, transparency borders and border stickers, card kits and a bunch of die cut packs. You heard me twenty bucks! Can you believe it, i know OMG! Anyways, i love this company.

I also got a pack of frames and transparencies and a bunch of journal cards, all for $5 each.

Woohoo!! I am so excited to play with my new stuff.

Last Call...Calendar Girl Class

Hey Gals, last call for my "Calendar Girl" class. It's this Saturday, Nov. 1st (i know it's November, can you believe it?). Located at Scrapping Lounge, Time: 12-3pm, Cost $35. There are only a few spots available so come on by or call to sign up. Hope to see you there.

Cool New Item

Hey Gals, check out this new item we just got @ScrappingLounge. It's the new Glue Glider Pro from Glue Arts. I can't wait to try it. It looks soo cute and user friendly. Easy loading for the refill and it's 40 feet of adhesive. Just wanted to share.

Frosty the Snowman

Here's another great card idea that I found on youtube. It's a christmas card, but you can never start too early. Real cute just like the "Frankie" card that I posted a while back. If you scroll down on my blog and look to your left, you will find my "get Inspired" column and those are the channels I watch on youtube for a bit of inspiration. Check them out.

NKOTB 4 Ever!!!

This past Wednesday at the Staples Center I went to the New Kids on the Block concert. Yes you heard me, I said, "New Kids on the Block". You know you wish you were there. Here's a little peek of what went down, and all i can say is "Yummmmmy!!!!". Jordan Knight you're hot!!

Craft Table

I'm taking a cue from Tammy's Blog . I to went to Target.com and i found this craft table. I just love the height and size. But tell me this, why is it that you have to buy everything separate?? It just gets soooo expensive when you start adding the separate components, my goodness. Uhhhh Dad?? Can you please build me something like this, pleeeaaassse!! I wonder.....hmmmmm.

U.S. Citizen

Finally!! I applied for U.S. Citizenship back in July 2007 and now just over a year I finally completed the whole process. Yesterday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena I took my oath as a U.S. Citizen. There were about 5,200 people being sworn in that morning. It was madness. My friend Cathi made me the greatest red velvet cupcakes with butter cream frosting....yummmmmm...in celebration of this event.

Rough Draft Sketch

Here's a great new sketch blog that i found www.roughdraft.blogspot.com. They're new and they're putting out a call for a DT, so here's my take on their sketch. It's an 80's Crop that i had with friends and family. We went all out and had a blast.