Just a Note to say Thanks *Cardabilities*

a second post for today? well would you look at that!

This second one is my first card for as part of the Cardabilities Design team for this term. The sketch is revealed today and it's up here. We also have a brand spankin' new gallery so make sure you check that out here.

Just a note to say Thanks

I love how this sketch is so elegant looking. The vertical block/strip and the decorative borders on each side provided me with many possibilities.


Since it's the Spring season, I decided to add butterflies in my page. I also grabbed the colors of the rest of my card from the striped pattern paper (only pp in the page) which made the yellow stamped butterflies stand out more.


I created dimension and texture with my dry embossed paper strip going horizontal and layering of my butterflies.

So that's it. Make sure you check out the rest of the wonderful cards the design team members created here.

Till next time,
Grace

Clear Scraps + Imaginesce

Oh Friday....I have longed for you all week!!! This week (and next week) is super crazy for me. I'm getting prepared for the Easter Program at church and not to mention getting stuff for Easter for the family. There's outfits to purchase, stuff for the kids' baskets, candies for the egg hunt PLUS I'm making ham dinner that night?! Yeah I'm super crazy but that's what brings the spice in life, right?!

Anyways today I wanna share a card set that I made using Clear Scraps 12x12 acrylic sheets plus some fun Imaginesce products. If you go to the Clear Scraps blog, this whole week was all about Imaginesce + Clear Scraps project shares. I got to peek at it and let me tell you, so many fun ideas and wonderful techniques. Make sure you check it out.

Made with love card set

So for this card set, I had cut one acrylic piece into four pieces. I then carefully folded them in half to create the card base. I have to warn you though that you will have to "slightly" cut through the fold to actually make them separate but be careful cause they have a tendency to just separate in half. I learned that the hard way so you'll notice that a couple of them have decorative tape on the tops because I had to "doctor" them back together.


But I really love the look of the acrylic as my card foundation. So cute especially paired with the Berrylicious collection from Imaginesce. I even got to play with their I-tool and it was fun adding the bling on the card.


Here's the look at the cards. If you look closely, I stuck with one sketch/design for the cards and just flipped them for variety. As for the pouch, I just folded a paper doile, added adhesive for it to close and wrapped a Cosmo Cricket around it, then finished it all of with a tag from the same Berrylicious line.

Did you know also.......that the top loading acrylic albums are shipping!!!

Woohooo!!! Make sure you check them out here.

Here's two albums I made with them...



It was fun altering the front and back covers of these albums. The fact that you can now also decorate your albums is an exciting thing for me. There are possibilities for your creativity to shine all around!

Oh wait....there's more. Yep there's more!!! It's giveaway day today at the Clear Scrap blog so make sure you check that out too.

Have a great weekend.

Till next time,
Grace

What Matters Most

So despite my crazy schedule, I've managed to make a layout and that's my share today.... What's Matter's Most I was looking for some inspiration and Pagemaps is always one of the first ones I go to. And sure enough, the latest sketch for the blog challenge the perfect one to jumpstart this layout. This layout was based on a blog post I made here. I'm finding myself gravitating to old posts for layout prompts and themes lately. Maybe because the journaling is already there. I titled this page "what matter's most" because after the tragic event that happened to our friend, it really brought my perspective and priorites straight and family is really what should matter the most. I love the block design the sketch provided but made it my own by punching butterflies in the middle of them and then using those butterflies in another part of the layout. I added bling to the empty space left by the punched item to give the silhouetted butterflies a more distinct look. I sewn up the butterflies on the top of the layered paper and ribbon. Sewing them in the middle allowed me to lift up their wings, giving them more dimension. I also added more bling to the centers of them. So there you have it. I love sketches because they give me a quick jumpstart to my creativity. Thanks for stopping by. Till next time, Grace

I'm a 90's kid

photo courtesy of Google

Just made me realize that again this morning when....
I just came back from running around the neighborhood and I had Black Eyed Peas playing in my MP3 player and I came into my room and did the "running man" dance move in front of Mitch and he looked at me so weird!
I said..."don't you remember the running man?"
Mitch smiled and said he doesn't know that dance and that he never did that when he was growing up. For those who doesn't know my husband is a decade older than me. And then he proceeded to show me his "break dance move"!

It's funny, the things that we remember of our teenage years and that every generation is different.

That's it for today.

Oh BTW, does any of you know where I can find nice and cute dresses that are BELOW the knee? I spend the whole day searching the outlet mall for it and couldn't find any. Even the sales people in the stores I went into, nodded their heads in the negative when I would ask. Some even looked at me like...why does that matter?! I guess wearing dresses in the conservative side is not the norm anymore. Bummer!

Till next time,
Grace

Blodgett Park and Open Space

So it's another Monday and you know what that means....another weekend flew by and another trip made on Saturday.

We hiked up Blodgett Park and Open Space on Saturday. It wasn't too bad. At first, I wasn't looking forward to it because it was super windy but then after some time hiking, I realized that with the sun shining, having the wind blowing was actually a welcomed thing. I mean, if it was hot and no wind blowing, it would've been hotter hiking up the mountain.

So the first photo of the day was this....

when we got to the parking lot of the park, Mitch saw this. It is broken leg of a deer. Mitch thinks that the deer was caught by a mountain lion and this is a leftover of his feast on the deer. Yeah, way to start our hike right?!


So with some worry, I chugged along with everybody else making sure I'm close enough to my family that if anything tries to "jump" or attack me, my husband will rescue me. :)


the park had a few trails and we picked the one that started off through a maze of barren trees.


here's my stylish little girl sporting some sunglasses and a hiking stick! Super cute!


here's me and the kids. As you can see, with the wind blowing and we were underneath the trees, it was a bit cold. Later on you'll see that we will be shedding the sweaters and jackets bec. of the heat rising.


The kids saw a butterfly along the path and Maddie is in this photo trying to touch it.


Here's my boy, striking a pose with a hiking stick on one hand and a wooden gun on the other. Seriously my kid's have weird accessories in this hiking trip!


The kids loved this spot! On the way back, we took the same trail and we had to stop at this area again while they played with the small water running through this tunnel.


We saw some cool rock formations.


and our final destination was this water tank where you can have a good overview of the city. As you can see, I was pretty far from my family. I don't do heights very well *wink*


taking a bit of a break. For some reason, my kids' was a bit sluggish in this trip. They were dragging their feet on our way up. I have a feeling that our hiking days might slow down from here. Maybe we need to change things up a bit.


On the way down with the view of the city in the far distance.


The family, with sweaters now off (because it got too hot) and the mountains in the background. Lovely area!

So that's our trip! Short and sweet and another thing to check off our "must see/visit" list.

Till next time,
Grace

Knitting needles storage

It's Friday and good golly thank goodness it's Friday. I've been sleeping late this past week (busy doing projects and watching TV) that I'm soooo looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Before I share with you my project today....did you know that on Friday's you have the fantastic chance to win some Clear Scrap goodies? Well yeah! If you hop on over the blog, every Friday they have Giveaways. yes fun stuff! So make sure you check it out here ok.

Ok so onto the meat of this post....

Most of you know that late last year I was introduced to knitting by my good friend Tiffanie. After having to pack all of my scrapbook stuff, my busy hands were looking for things to do and she was kind enough to teach me this new skill.

Well fast forward to today and I'm still knitting. I don't make it too complicated and have not delve into doing projects that would require much brain power but I've proudly made scarves, little bags and now working on a sampler blanket.

So with this new found love for yarn and knitting needles, I've come across a bit of an organizational problem.....where to store my growing knitting needles???

I know there's lots of storage solutions out there and I'm sure they all do the job but if you know me, you would've predicted that I'd make my own instead......


Now before I continue, let me warn you that I'm not good at sewing. Not by a long shot! I've done blankets before and could do a pretty decent straight stitch but as embarrassing as it may sound, I use my sewing machine more on stitching on paper than on fabric.


That is why when I decided to dive into this project, I had to call my mom (who's a fantastic sewer and quilter) to give me some pointers. I have some fabrics (not a lot) in my stash and decided to rummage through their for this project.


Basically I put two fabrics together in a rectangle shape with fabric fusing in the middle for some stability and sturdiness and stitched it up together.


I added some pockets on one of the fabrics first before I stitched the two together. I wanted to use a more mellow print against the striped background and only found these dot design but was already cut smaller, so I stitched them together to make a bigger piece and used that for the pockets.


Now I have my needles organized by numbers in the pockets.

I stitched a grosgrain ribbon on the front fabric to finish the whole thing.

And viola...after an hour of messing around with fabrics and my sewing machine, I've made myself something useful and pretty as well.

I have to tell you that after this little project of mine, I had the urge to go to the craft store and get me more fabrics so I have more to choose from next time I get the want to sew up something. Oh more things to collect!

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

and they said...

Hi everyone.
First off....thanks to everyone that "celebrated" with me yesterday. Your kind words really touches my heart. I feel so ordinary among all the big names in this industry and for me to have opportunities like these really tells me that anything is possible if you dream! Again thanks!

Ok so lately I've been having some fun conversations with the kids and I just thought of jotting them down here before they get totally lost in the memory bank...aka....my sometimes overwhelming brain!


The other day I was helping Marcus with homework. We were reading a book about gardening and I've mentioned to him how I'm so anxious to start a garden here. We then started to reminisce about the garden back in Cali and our life there. I asked him which place does he like living better, Cali or here? and he said.....
"I like it here better!"
I asked why and he said....
"Cause we have a bigger house!"
I guess he liked that we've moved up in house size. Funny dude!


Then yesterday, Maddie and I went to the mall. *side note* Can you believe that in the whole month of March I did not step into a mall?! Shocking how the Colorado life have even changed my shopping habits.
Anyways, we walked by the area where the mall staff have set up for the Easter bunny. You know the area where you can take photos with the Easter Bunny?
So after passing the space, Maddie turned to me and asked me if the Easter Bunny was real or just pretend?
I didn't know how to answer that and instead returned the question to her and she said...
"I think it's just pretend and that somebody is in that Easter Bunny suit that makes it move. "
I said- "But who do you think puts all those fun things in your Easter basket?"
she said- "Well somebody can put the stuff in there. I mean how can Easter Bunny go to all the kid's houses on Easter morning?"
I said- "Well Santa does it!"
and the conversation ended at that. Mitch told me that I should'nt have talked about Santa. Maybe he's right but my question to you is....how long will I let my kids believe? I mean they're starting to realize the truth to this madness that we started for them. I think it'll be easier for moms if the kids know. That way we can shop for their Easter basket items when they're with us!

So that's it. Kid's do say the darnest things!

Till next time,
Grace

It's finally up!!!

Before I share with you my wonderful news today. Let me, first take a moment and let you know how I'm beyond thrilled that American Crafts contacted me. I mean......AMERICAN CRAFTS!!! contacted little old me! Seriously!!! Can you sense my utter excitement, joy and unbelievable sense of shock!!!

Breath Grace, just breath! Ok so Ms Paige Evans contacted me early last month and asked if I could guest design for their blog and without another second....I say ABSOLUTELY!!!

The post for my projects is up today, make sure you check it out and let me know what you think of my projects primarily focusing on stamps.

I have to tell you though that I'm not really good in stamping. That's one thing that I have yet to practice more on but I got my thinking cap on and made projects that I thought best represented who I am as a paper crafter.

Here's some of the close ups of my projects...








remember to visit the Studio blog for more photos and projects. Oh and they're giving away a fabulous stamping giveaway too. Make sure you put your name in the hat for that. :)

So that's it. Now off to step out of Cloud 9 and do my mommy duties.

Till next time,
Grace

Home *Upsy Daisy Designs*

Hello Tuesday! Hope you guys are all having a good week so far.

Today I want to share a layout I made for Upsy Daisy Designs this month...

Home

I used the beautiful Blossom line for this page. It speaks soft "spring" to me. I love it!


I also added some UDD letter rubons and brads.


This UDD quote rubon was perfect for my layout. I transferred it onto a chipboard circle for extra dimension and added it as the center of this flower.


Since my layout is about my feelings about our new home, I made a little house with paper as the backdrop of my page. I then added some ric rac, also from UDD, to give the home some "curve" appeal.

So that's it for today. Make sure you check out this and other UDD products here.

Oh and come back tomorrow as I have some fun and exciting share. :)

Till next time,
Grace

General Conference

Happy Sunday everyone.
Just finished a weekend listening to some pretty inspiring and testimony building talks from our church leaders.

As most of you know I'm an LDS and twice a year we have a weekend called General Conference. This is a series of two hour sessions where our church leaders and the Prophet speaks to us about things that will help us be better individuals and members of the church.

I'm so blessed to be in a time where technological advances lets me participate in these wonderful experiences in the comforts of my home. The conference is held at Salt Lake City, Utah but is telecast via satellite and through the internet all over the world.


This year, we were able to hook up Mitch's laptop to our big TV and watch all the sessions through the live feed in the LDS website.


We have always been advised to have a pen and paper on hand when we listen or watch conference. In this way we can jot down quotes and messages that touches us and be able to study more about the messages/lessons that we've heard even after the conference is over.

Some of the things that I wrote are...
"The power of our covenants (promises) are greater than the challenges we will face."

"Our Savior is not a silent observer, He suffered pain too, much more than we have."

"Women don't need to apologize about raising children but we also should not easily criticize women who choose to work outside of the home."

"If you are offended- forget it, forgive and leave it alone."

"Don't let fear displace your faith."

"Desired dictate our priorities; Priorities shapes our choices; and choices dictates our actions."

"Possession or Profession should not define somebody's self worth."

"He (the Lord) entrusts the truth to those that will share it with others. "


Here's Mitch sustaining (giving our full support) the leaders of our church.


Since we have little ones, it's hard to keep them sitting down for the whole 2 hours. So I went online and printed some activity sheets that they can do while we listened to conference. I had high hopes for these sheets but alas, my kids want to be difficult so they only worked on it for about 10 minutes before they were begging to play! So much for all my hardwork printing all 14 pages (front and back)! Oh and I might add that I had to print everything twice, so each one would have a booklet to work on.


and here's me working on some flyers for an Easter Program our ward is putting together this year. I made these flyers and printed all 250 sheets when we realized that I didn't edit the final copy to show the correct time. aaahhhh!! So to remedy my booboo, I printed off some itty bitty sheets of adhesive backed label papers and added the correct times on the flyers. It wasn't that hard but I felt so ditzy for not seeing the mistake from the beginning.


like I said, the kids didn't last for more than 15 minutes listening to the sessions. We had to let them go and here they are playing their games for the rest of the time.


After I finished my little flyer project, I knitted the rest of the time of watching conference.

So there you have it. No big excursions this weekend, instead we were home being spiritually uplifted. I guess we need those days where our bodies are in rest and our minds and spirits get the boost it needs.

Till next time,
Grace