Más vale tarde que nunca

I took a break from holiday cards to make an early (or late‽) Día de Muertos card featuring Dilly Beans Stamp #340, Frida's sugar skull. I practiced my Spanish (well, sorta!) and was inspired by two of my favorite Spanish-language blogs, Dilo en Español and Latina Crafter.

The sentiment is from the Queremos Pastel set by Dilo en Español Stamps. My husband picked out this cool sugar skull Washi tape for me at the craft store and I have had so much fun using it. The 3D skull was a gift from a friend. The patterned papers are all from Graphic 45's Fashionista collection.

Mom sent me some colored embossing markers (Marvy) and I just had to try them out! I colored the image with those markers (black, red, green, white) & Copics, and heat-embossed it with clear powder. I like the raised effect.

We're hoping to get to Mexico next year, for our family's semi-regular get-together. I really need to practice my Spanish!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Dilo en Español: Día de Muertos (+ DEE stamp)
Latina Crafter: Sketch #53

Thanks for visiting & for inspiring me!

Happy Scrappy New Year

We're not sure when my parents picked up the tradition -- probably when they moved to Spain -- but my family always rings in the New Year by eating 12 grapes, one for each toll of the New Year's bell, for good luck. I can't remember if we found our first plastic grape-holders at El Corte Inglés or Pryca, but they are some of our most precious possessions, and I think my folks still use theirs. I know where mine are...in the attic! I haven't really kept to the tradition since seedless grapes became the norm (because it's kind of cheating!), but I like to send my parents a grape-themed New Year's card (Um, Mom, if you're reading this, it will be in the mail tomorrow!) This year, I broke out my bag of Washi tape:

I used some white scrap paper to adhere the Washi tape and punched out the circle with a punch, and stuck them to the card with pop dots. I used 12 circles to represent the 12 grapes, and topped it with a leaf-shaped brad.

Using baker's twine and Glossy Accents, I made the vine spell out "2014". The sentiment is from a Dilo En Español set, and was heat-embossed in a shiny green powder (Stampendous). I added some decorative tapes as a banner, and made a hand-drawn border with a PITT pen.

I sure had fun making this, and am looking forward to a new crafty year!

Sketch Saturday #290

Inspiration/Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T. #239;: New Year/New Beginnings
Cuttin & Stampin Challenge #52: Use Something New (the lacey tape and camera-themed Washi tapes are new)
Opus Gluei #173: Leftovers (used scrap paper for the washi tape pieces and the yellow background is literally "leftover" from an old project)
Perfectly Rustics: Washi Tape
Sketch Saturday: Sketch #290
The Crazy Challenge: Celebrate the new year
Twisted Tuesday: New Beginnings (New Year) + Twist: Use something new (the lacey tape and camera-themed Washi tapes are new)

Update: This was chosen as the Winner/Top Pick for Perfectly Rustics' Washi Tape Challenge. What an honor, thank you! I'm so glad I was inspired by the challenge, I never would have thought of these Washi Tape grapes without it!

Thank you for visiting and best wishes for 2014,

Más vale tarde que nunca

I had so much fun making my framed Sugar Skull and Halloween/Birthday Card that I just had to make some cards using the same mix of paper-piecing and glow-in-the-dark glitter.  
I used orange and yellow flocking for the flowers, and colored the pieces with my Copics, using a lot of shading. 

I used the lovely Framed Sugar Skull & Flowers by Dilly Beans, and made the backing by printing it on shiny blue Recollections cardstock and then heat-embossing it in Glitter (Stampendous Kaleidoscope powder). The eye socket, nose hole, and teeth are actually a shiny white paper.

click to enlarge

As I'm sending this to my husband's Aunt in Mexico, whose birthday was earlier this month(!), I used the "Más vale tarde que nunca" ("Better late than never") & one of the birthday sentiments from the Queremos Pastel set by Dilo en Español Stamps. I think she'll appreciate the humor!

I used Spellbinders dies and another sentiment from the Dilo en Español set for the inside:

Here it is, glowing in the dark:

Our aunt owns & runs Arcos Del Atascadero Bed & Breakfast in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, and she taught me a lot about Día de Muertos traditions, as she's an expert in Mexican history and I like to ask a lot of questions! I'm really hoping that we can visit them during the All Saints holidays one of these years. Actually, the glowing skull sorta reminds my of this photo I snapped during our last visit to San Miguel de Allende, of the light show on la Parroquia in their main square:

Inspiration/Challenges:
Alota Rubber Stamps: Birthday celebrations
Cupcake Craft: Paper Piecing
MarkerPop Coloring Challenge #9: Paper Piecing + Shading
Natalie and Amy's Challenge: Birthday bling
Poisoned Peas Please Challenge #8: Sugar Skulls and Day of the Dead (This is my 2nd entry; my 1st is here)


You can see all of my Día de Muertos projects here in my archives.

Thank you for visiting,

Free Digi Fun

Oh my heavens I've had too much fun making "Sugar Skull" cards this year (see all my Día de Muertos projects here)! I thought I had it out of my system but ...

I goofed and entered a card into Digi Haven's Halloween Challenge forgetting that the focus of their fun challenges is to use a Free Digi! I really like the concept, but I completely spaced and entered a card using a Stitchy Bear/Ike's Art image. The Digi Haven team has left me some wonderful comments, but I did want to take up the suggestion to try again!

This time, I decided to use one of the funky freebies available at Wonderstrange, and when I saw their Valentine Sugar Skull I just had to make a shaped card:

I used kraft-core, patterned paper (Recollections for the skull & the paper-pieced bits. My husband says the "orange" looks leathery, and we both approve! I added detail to the image with Sakura gel pens and brads.

I decided to use my Dilo en Español sentiment stamps again; I hadn't used the "Dia de las Brujas" ("Witches' Day") sentiment yet, so I decided to make a Halloween/Día de Muertos card. Nothing like a little cross-cultural design!

The sentiment is heat-embossed in shiny blue, and the jaw is attached with one of the star brads.

I cut out the eyes on the skull to reveal a cute witch from a scrap of Graphic 45's Happy Haunting / Jolly Jack-O-Lantern DP (does anyone recognize this brand?! - found it, thanks to Papersniffer!)

Inspiration/Challenges:

• Art With No Boundaries October Challenge: October/Halloween
• A & T Emerald Faeries Challenge #34: Anything Goes
• Digi Haven "Free Digi" Challenge: Halloween (I used the Valentine Sugar Skull that is FREE and available at Wonderstrange)
• Going Grey With Scrap-Creations: Halloween
• Make it Monday with Kraft Outlet: Inside & Out (I've decorated the inside & outside of the card, plus the sentiment is hidden "inside")
• Papercraft Star Challenge #118: Witch

Update: This was chosen as a Top 3 for Digi Haven's Halloween Challenge. Plus, I sent it to my dad he and loved it. So double-thanks, Digi Haven!

Many thanks to Digi Haven for the inspiration ... twice! Thank you for visiting,

Chupa Chups

When I saw the unusual theme of Chupa Chups at The Lollipop Ladies, I just had to enter the challenge. I was also inspired by the Photo Inspiration at The Paper Girls (below), with its overlapping circles of colors and patterns.

I've always loved the fact that one of the versions of the Chupa Chups logo was designed by Salvador Dalí, so I used that to inspire my design.

I cut the circles out of tissue paper using a Sizzix die in my Big Shot, and then ran them through my sticker machine. I stamped pattern in watermark ink on two of the circles.

The "Happy Birthday" sentiment, from a Dilo en Español stamp set, is heat-embossed in shiny blue. I generated the "Sweet Wishes" sentiment myself, using the font Dolphins. I adhered some tissue paper onto cardstock (using my trusty sticker machine, of course!), printed the sentiment on it, and then cut the shape with a die from a•muse studio's Cupcake Toppers set. The ribbon is something I've had in my stash forever. 

Inspiration/Challenges:
The Lollipop Ladies Challenge #56: Chupa Chups + Curves
The Paper Girls: Photo Inspiration
Skipping Stones Challenge 150: Sketch
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #186: No Rules! + stamping

Update: Woot! I won a Guest Designer spot at The Lollipop Ladies for this card.

Update February 2017: The website Artsy reached out to me, asking if I would include a link to their Salvador Dalí page. Thanks for asking, I was happy to do it! They also have a Facebook page that shares lots of great art information.

As you can tell, I had a ton of fun making this! I totally over-thought it, but I'm happy with the final result. I made it for a dear friend, the only person I know that would get the reference right away. Let me know what you think, I appreciate it. Thank you for visiting,

Birthday Sugar Skull

I had so much fun making my framed Sugar Skull that I just had to make some cards using the same mix of paper-piecing and glow-in-the-dark glitter.

My dear friend form college has a birthday coming up, on Halloween. It's always a fun challenge for me to incorporate that two events into one card, and since he moved to L.A. recently (and loves Mexican culture), I used the  Framed Sugar Skull digi stamp by Dilly Beans to make this acetate-flap card:

For the presents in the eyes, I grabbed a clip art image off the web. The flower & leaves are colored with Copics, but the flower on the skull is covered with yellow flocking & the leaves are covered with green.

The nose & skull are covered in blue glitter. I adhered the glitters & flocking my running the cut pieces through my sticker machine. So easy, and it really sticks!

I used a Spellbinders die to cut the banner from copper foil, and heat-embossed the Dilo en Español sentiment stamp in white.

I couldn't get a good photo of the skull glowing, so please see my other glow-in-the dark card.

There are three layers of paper on the inside on the card, and although I glue the acetate to the paper (with a flap), I machine-sewed it all together with glittery thread.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Celebrate the Occasion Challenge #84: Male Birthday (must be a tall card)
Dilly Beans: Cute & Creepy
One Crazy Stamper: Clear or acetate

Update: This card was chosen as one of the winners for Celebrate the Occasion Challenge #84. Thank you!

Update: I won a free stamp from One Crazy Stamper. Thank you!

Thank you for visiting,

Pa' ella

My husband works in the Technology department of Johns Hopkins Medical Center's Radiology Lab at their East Baltimore campus, and every Thursday they have a small Farmer's Market at lunchtime. He takes the opportunity to enjoy Max's Empanadas, but often brings me home this awesome Paella from another booth:

As you may know, I grew up (and met my husband) in Andalucia, Spain, as part of the large American presence there, and for me nothing says "Home" like paella ... my mom never made Apple Pie, she made Paella in the pan regularly oiled by Dad! It's a tradition they adopted during their 17 years there, but it's definitely become our family tradition. My husband's family spent 3 years in Spain, but they definitely adopted some of the culture as well; my MIL has a modern Teflon paella pan that browns the rice beautifully in the oven, despite my original doubts about such a modern version! To be honest, I cook my Paella de Casa in a non-stick skillet, and if I'm feeling really fancy I finish it off in the oven in a pre-warmed, glass pie dish. Not proper at all, but it works well enough!

Alota Rubber Stamps

So when I saw this week's Inspiration photo (right) at Alota Rubber Stamps, you know I about flipped (sadly, I missed the deadline!) Maria chose the theme for her favorite dish, Paella Valencia ... Paella is a basic Spanish dish, and I guess what I remember best is Paella de Andaluz ... but it's all good!

I made this card for a childhood friend (so it's Pa' ella, get it‽ "For her"). She's like me with paella -- she visits Spain fairly often and makes sure to take photos of all the delicious food for us to drool over!

I always like an opportunity to use my Dilo en Español stamps, and my friend is bilingual so this sentiment from their Queremos Pastel set worked beautifully. I stamped it in a simple primary red, but I had to try a few inks to find the right saffron-ish color for the medallion stamp, before settling on TH's Mustard Seed distress ink. And if you're wondering what the white paper is ... yes, it is a paper towel! I couldn't find the right paper, and while walking through the kitchen it just came to me. Wow, what a nice material to stamp with!

I ran across the great tutorial for these Patchwork Chevrons by SEI Crafts for Creating Keepsakes over a month ago, but this is the first time I've had a chance to try it. I modified the size to 1.5 x .5 inches, which I don't think is quite right but it worked! This double-sided DP seemed just right for this project ... it's been long-hoarded!

Following my "ingredients" theme, I made some tiny pea-like embellishments. I used my hand-held hole punch to make some small circles from the green part of the paper I used for the chevrons, and coated them with Glossy Accents. They didn't come out perfectly, but I guess they're a little cooked!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #37: Recycle Something + use a stamp (I guess this is technically reverse-recycling ... Although the paper towel hadn't technically been used before I stamped on it, I did use the rest of the paper towel to clean up my crafting!)

Hooked on Crafts Challenge #23: Let's Celebrate

Many thanks to everyone for the inspiration!

Thank you for visiting,

Feliz Semana Santa

Since this coming Sunday is Easter, this week is Holy Week, or Semana Santa in Spanish-speaking countries. Having grown up in southern Spain, I have very fond memories of this week full of processions, pasos, and penitentes (to get an idea of what I'm talking about, start here at Google Images). There aren't many people in my life now that have shared this experience, so I wanted to make a special card for my folks, who definitely were there!

I'm so happy to be able to use the lovely Feliz Semana Santa sentiment from the Que Siga La Fiesta stamp set by Dilo en Español. The flourish stamp is from Stampendous; I used painter's tape to create quick mask for the sentiment portion. I used the same stamp for the silver faux metal embellishment.

The purple triangles represent the cone-shaped "hats" worn by the penitentes (there are many different colors), and the black lace represents the lace-and-comb mantilla worn by many of the women in the procession.

I'm pleased with how this came out (although I couldn't get a photo); it was a fun way to spend Palm Sunday!
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Crazy4Challenges #130: Sketch (right)
Lexi's Creations - Focus on the Sentiment
Raise The Bar: The Promise of Easter (religious)
Whimsy Inspiration Challenge 32: No Patterned Paper

Felicidades

I made this card for my best friend, who's birthday is coming up, and was inspired by the following:

• Sketch Saturday
  I rotated the sketch 90 degrees.
• Lili of the Valley Challenge #116: Warm & Cozy
  I love this stamp by LOTV! Few things are as cozy as curling up with a book. I also added a bookish surprise on the inside (see photos below).
• Die Cut Dreams Challenge #100: Use a Poem on your card
  I couldn't pass up this challenge! The poem I chose, In the Desert by Stephen Crane, is my friend's favorite.
• Use It Tuesday Challenge #17: Metal
  Brads & nameplate are long-hoarded and metal!
• Paper Crafting Journey Challenge #21: Orange, Black & White
  I had lots of fun with the paper. The striped & dotted papers are Echo Park, and the embossed/sanded layers are Black Magic cardstock from Core'dinations. The white linen paper I used for teh mini card, newspaper piece, and sentiment is actually the card I got with gift cards from AC Moore (a lovely present from my awesome mother-in-law!). Talk about upcycling!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley, Dilo En Español, Tiddly Inks

Paper: Recollections, Core'dinations, Echo Park, Hammermill

Tools: Cricut, SCAL, Cricut markers, Fiskars papercutter, HP printer & ink, InDesign, Tim Holtz paper distresser, Sizzix Texture Boutique, Sizzix & Cuttlebug embossing folders, awl, sandpaper, Martha Stewart scissors & punches

Other: Copic markers, Sakura gel pens, metal brads & nameplate from stash

Shakin' it up for Dia de los Muertos

I so fun much making a shaker card with these cute stamps, that I had to try it again with this lovely sketch from Addicted to Stamps.

I'm also entering this into the Halloween challenge at Drunken Stampers.

Inspiration:
Addicted to Stamps Challenge #14: Sketch

Drunken Stampers Challenge #76: Halloween

Stamps: Studio g, Queremos Pastel set from Dilo En Español

Paper: Recollections, Core'dinations

Tools: Fiskars papercutter & deckle scissors, stamp block, MS detailing scissors, Marvy heat tool, awl, Cricut, SCAL, Sizzix Texture Boutique & embossing plate

Other: ZipDry glue, Recollections adhesive rhinestones & micro beads, Versamark inks, Copics, Sakura & Elmer's gel pens, Studio g ribbon, Shake It set from Impression Obsession, Stampendous, Recollections & Speedy the Cat (from Mark's Finest Papers) embossing powders, flowers from Sandra

Dilo en Español

I don't think I could have had more fun making this card! It started with inspiration from a few challenges:

• Dilo en Español Challenge #1: Kraft Paper
  I've been following Abby's blog for a while, and am very excited about her new challenges inspired by her fab new Dilo en Español stamp sets. I only just bought a set, and I don't think a sentiment in Spanish is a requirement, but I was inspired so I used this cute Feliz Cumpleaños Ticket digi stamp by Marion.
  
  
• Fun with Shapes Challenge #93: Shabby/Vintage
  This challenge blog is new-to-me,  and I love its mission of using "something punched or cut". For this card, I used my Cricut & their "Paper Dolls" cartridge (the circus tent), as well as two Recollections hand-punches. I made the borders with a star punch, and the banners made from the circle punch. For the additional "Shabby/Vintage" theme, I used my Tim Holtz paper distresser on all the edges.
  
  
• Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge Week 75: Use Polka Dots
  Polka dots seemed a perfect fit for the circus theme. I used a scrap of Graphic 45 paper for the tent, but I really tore into my Echo Park Dots & Stripes pack for the rest!
  
  
• Crazy Amigo Challenge: Animals
  This challenge blog is also new-to-me, and it looks like fun! I didn't really have any circus animal stamps, so I used this cutey. I'm not quite sure what circus act this is ... Gassy the Zebra & his Gossipy Canary, I guess!

Originally, this is how the card was to look. But I really wanted to show off the background, so I made the tent fold down to create this sort of tent card:

Here's the card completely open. I stitched the message section with the same hemp rope I used to string the banners.

Update: Wow! This card won Dilo en Español Challenge #1! Muchísimas Gracias!