Brazil favorites + some craftiness too

oy! it's been a while past when i thought i'd be posting, but here i am! (better late than never is what i tell my students about assignments, and it can apply to blogging, too, eh?)

today i wanted to share some pictures with you that i took when i went to Brazil with my sister, Cecelia, in Summer 2008. yes, it's been a while since the trip, but these pictures are really gorgeous.

both of these buildings are churches that we saw in a mining town that still has the original colonial architecture throughout the whole city--there were probably 50+ chapels/ churches throughout Ouro Preto (which means"black gold" in Portugeuse) and all of them are amazingly beautiful.

this picture below is one of my favorites, and happens to be gracing the background on my computer desktop at the moment. this was the view from the patio of the hostel my sister and i were staying out... i'm telling you--AMAZING stuff!

and yes, yes, i do have some cards for you! these were made using some scraps and a fun new tool i got courtesy of my dear friend Paulina. she knew that i wanted an eyelet setter/ punch for crafting, so for Christmas she got me the Crop-a-dile Big Bite II! :D *big grin*

that girl is so good to me. speaking of good... we had an amazing chat and dinner the other day (at Panera! love!)--the very first day back to work from vacation for both of us. i think it literally may have saved me from breakdown! love you Paulina :D

okay, so back to the cards. i was inspired by Nichole's post on her blog about using scraps. Lord knows i have drawers full of them... so i pulled out all the red, pink, coordinating patterned paper (plus some neutrals) from my pile and cut down TONS of card bases for mini's and A2 size cards. i have a stack to create with now...

but, since the goal was to use up some scraps, i put some pieces through a punch, some got stamped on, distressed, punched again, chopped in little tiny pieces, etc :)

all of these have Valentine's themes... and there are more to come--so bear with me :D

the first card i made combines a few things--DeNami Design sentiment, DoodleFactory birdie image, ribbon from Michael's, pillow heart stickers from MM, some swirl stamps, fabric pins from Wal-mart, and some Bazzill dotted cardstock. the patterned paper is from me & my big ideas i think?
he turned out so cute, right? i normally wouldn't put the big circle right in the middle of the card, but since it was left over from a Cricut cut, i figured i'd try to use it up.

next up i have some DCWV paper from the green stack, a stamped image from Impress, more pillow stickers, Michael's ribbon, lace from Jo-ann's, MM staples in pink, a pink square cut from my Cricut, and some pearls to boot :D i love that tree image--it actually goes with the pattern in the background... kind of an environmental Valentine, right?ooo! on this next one i have some lovely texture! DCWV has some velvet silhoutte sheets in one of their stacks, and i just LOVE it! also, the red/ white polka dot is actually leftover Christmas cardstock paper, there's lots of punching on this one--the scalloped square, and both hearts are punched out. i had a TON of fun making the little kraft embellies with the hearts, buttons, and pearls. sooo fun!

so here's what i did... i got some patterned paper with text on it, punched the little heart, inked up the edges with pink, and stuck some pearls on top. then, i punched the big heart, inked it up, and attached it to the kraft square with a 1/8" punch + red eyelet using my new Big Bite! i also inked the edges of the square and layered a button beneath the square.

totally loving making Valentine's Day cards... they're fun! i even had one approved by my brother Joey--hehe :D

okay, off i go to sleep and school tomorrow... this week will NOT end soon enough :/ we just came back from break and i need another one! what about you? do you feel like you rested up over your vacation time, or were you running around like me?

well, thanks for stopping by, see you soon!