Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone! Just popping in to say a quick Hello. Not doing much today since I decided not to BBQ (crazy I know) just gonna relax. Had a wonderful time at church this morning so my spirit feels good. Have a wonderful day and be safe!


Blessings & Love
Julia M

June Viva la Verve Winner

Oh my gosh I can't belive I won the Viva la Verve June sketch challenge! When I found out I jumped up and down screaming "I won, I won"...yes my daughter thought I was crazy! I LOVE Verve stamps , plus I have never won a challenge before, so I'm entilted to be a little crazy..(LOL) So let me tell you about my cards.
First up is my patriotic card for the first sketch. I used the new American Hero stamp set, and some DCWV paper from an old Summer Stack.

This next card was for the second week and I kept it pretty simple using some Pink Paislee dp and green cardstock. For the third week I pulled out this gorgeous dp from MAMBI (Black & White Butterfly) I colored the high heels with Copic markers, and popped one up on the sentiment, that came from Hero Arts. This card will probably go to my sister for her birthday later on this month.

Week 4's sketch was easy, but the color combo worried me a little. I don't really use red in my cards, but I think this turned out fine. This was the last sketch and it gave me the most trouble. I almost trashed this card, but I didn't have time to make another one so it had to stay. Probably one of my least favorite cards , so I will redo it next week. (I'm my worst critic) The dp is from DCWV (Cafe' Mediterranean) and the sentiment is from Verve.

Well that's all from me today. Off to enjoy all the sunshine. See you tomorrow with a 4th of July card.

Blessings & Love

Julia M

One Person

I got a Shining Star from Stampin' Sisters in Christ for this Mother's Day card. I'm sending this one to my wonderful Mother-in-Law. I love black & white cards, but thought the pink would brighten things up .

I have more Mother's Day cards to show tomorrow, so until then have a good night.

Welcome Home Baby Girl

Just stopping in for a quick post. Today my friend's baby came home from the hospital after spending the past month there. I made this card to welcome her home. I used this weeks sketch from Christian Paper Crafts (CPCST54), and some dp from DCWV (Nana's Nursery). The stamp is from Cloud9 that I got at Joann's a few months ago.

That's it for tonight, got a busy day tomorrow so have a wonderful night.

Blessings & Love

~Julia M~

Delightful & Delicious

Had a blast at Verve's Beach Party Release Party on Friday. Unfortunately I didn't win anything, but I enjoyed playing along. I forgot to post another challenge card I made for Verve's Ready, Set and Stamp challenge using Delightful & Delicious. A great stamp set that I haven't used as much as I thought, but taking a second look at it I see so many possibilities to mix it with other sets. For this card I went shabby chic with a coffee color. The sketch is from Mercy's sketch challenge#69. I made a few cards over the weekend , but need to take photos so I will be back in a few days. Have a wonderful Monday! LOVE & BLESSINGS
~Julia M~

VERVE'S BEACH PARTY CHALLENGES

What a busy week this has been. The schools are doing STAR testing, so seniors had the craziest school hours possible since they don't take them.TGIF!...it's time for Verve's Beach Party Release Party tonight. I can't believe I got all 5 challenges done on time. This graduation card is for the 5th sketch challenge. I used Pink Paislee dp and some Zva crystal flourishes. I love how this turned out.
This card is for sketch challenge#4. Finally got a chance to use this stamp that I've had for a few months.

Sketch challenge #3 is a Mother's Day card for a friend who has always been there for me, she is a great inspiration as well.

I used sketch #2 for a wedding card and is also for the Bible Verse Thursday Challenge where the theme is love. Now I have a wedding card handy for the next person getting married.

Challenge #1 is a color challenge using aqua, orange and green. Those are great colors for a summer birthday, so that's what I went with.

Just a few more hours until the Release Party so I gotta get rested and get the credit card ready. I'll let you know how the party went and if I won anything!

BLESSINGS & LOVE

Julia M

I Won Some Blog Candy

I won my first Blog Candy from Martine at The Craft Table. It was this gorgeous Origins DP from Basic Grey. I got it just in time to make this Mother's Day card for the Mojo Monday Sketch #134. This is such a great sketch. Of course I pulled out my Verve stamps and Prima flowers. Can't go wrong with those two together. This is a short post with only one card because we have to get up early to go to a new student orientation at CSUEB for my daughter. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. High school graduation is in 2 months. Love & Blessings
~Julia M~

Catching Up

Time has gotten away from me once again with so much going on. My three nieces from Georgia were here for the week after Easter. I haven't seen them in a couple of years, so it was great spending time with them. For this card I used some new dp I got from SEI called Claire. I entered this into the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge where the theme was love.

The first of many Mother's Day cards I need to make. Hopefully I can get them all done by the end of this month.

I just entered this into the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge and Mercy's Sketch #69. Funny thing about this card is that I didn't realize my panel was crooked until I took the picture. Oh well I still like it.

Easter Cards

I finally got 3 Easter cards done. I really only have one stamp set to use, so I ordered Easter Blessings from Taylored Expressions a few days ago. This first card is going to my Godmother & her husband in Rio Rancho, NM. I tried to keep it soft but neutral since it is for a couple. The cross is from Inkadinkado and let me just tell you the flowers were not easy for me to color. Overall I really love this card, so I might have to duplicate it. The dp is from Basic Grey's new line Kioshi. This second card is going to a wonderful woman we call Nana. What a blessing she is to so many people. Her favorite color is purple, so I hope this card brings joy to her. See what I mean about one Easter stamp.

For this card I decided to use a scripture that reflects an Easter theme. I am sending this to my Aunt in Georgia. I decided to go very feminine on this one with all the pearls and the soft paper. The dp is Luxury Stack from DCWV. I originally bought this stack to scrapbook my daughter's First Holy Communion, but I never got around to that. (LOL)

Blesings & Love

~Julia ~

I'm a Shining Star

I'm soooo excited!!!! The shabby chic card I posted a few days ago got me a Shining Star and a blinkie from Stampin' Sisters in Christ . This really made my day to have a card I made recognized.

I just begun to make Easter cards, yes I forgot it is in 2 weeks. I made 3 already but will have to post tomorrow as I am sleepy. Until tomorrow.....nite-nite!


BLESSINGS & LOVE
~Julia~

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

I thought I would try to make a shabby chic card. I see so many beautiful cards made in this style, but was afraid to try it. Finally said what the heck and started distressing my cardstock. This is what I came up with and entered this into the Stamping Sisters in Christ Challenge. Notice anything different about this cards? I finally figured out how to do a watermark on them. I am not computer savy, but thankfully I have Photoshop Elements 6.0 and it was not too hard. Couldn't figure out how to save the watermark, but I will try tomorrow. So this card was done for the Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge week 1 for March. They are already in week 4 ,so I am way behind.

That's it for tonight. I got new dp the other day so I can't wait to post new cards.

Love & Blessings

~Julia~

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY!

Oops! I forgot to post my daughter's birthday card. So here it is. I used Sassy Suzi from The Greeting Farm and dp from DCWV. This stamp reminds me so much of my fasionista girl. Here is a picture of the Birthday Girl. She loves to take pictures of herself.

BLESSINGS & LOVE

~Julia~

MORE BIRTHDAY CARDS

I totally forgot to post the birthday cards I recently made.

The yellow & green was made for my friend Joy using a Mojo sketch,

the black & cream was made for my friend Patricia using a Viva La Verve sketch, and the red & yellow one was made for my daughter's hair stylist. I will come back later to show the card I made for my daughter's 18 birthday.

BIRTHDAY CARDS

Another wet evening here in California. So I was crafting up a storm. I have to make 4 Birthday cards for March, with 3 of them on the same day. Once I'm done with all of them I'll post them. This card was done for my sister-friend Leonor who had a birthday after Valentine's Day . Trying to use up all those scraps I have accumalated .

I LOST 20 LBS.!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment to see how I am doing with my Diabetes. I was so shocked to find out that I lost 21 lbs. in the past 6 months. Yippe Ya Yea!!! Doc said I have good control of my Diabetes, just keep an eye on my blood pressure.
I made this card to celebrate my weight loss. So sunny & cheerful.

MY SISTER NILENE

This is my wonderful sister Nilene who passed away on December 30,2009. What a shocker this was to my entire family. I feel so blessed to have spent time with her that day, I will forever remember the conversation and laughs we had .

My sister encouraged me so much in my cardmaking, that I have decided to make a card for her every month.

I was feeling really sad so I made this card to remind me of my sister. I am actually gonna keep this one for myself.

It's getting late so I will post the card I made today tomorrow.

Blessings & Love

~Julia~

HAPPY 2010!!!!!!

OMG! I can't believe it's 2010 already. So much has happened in the last few months that have been real eye openers. I've spent so much time following my favorite blogs that I forget to update my own! Starting tomorrow my blog will be taking a different direction. I will focus more on what is going on in my life with daily pictures of projects and loved ones. So until tomorrow I leave you with love and peace.
~Julia~