a little bit of Ecuador and a lot of cards...

oh my goodness. i had a wonderful time in Ecuador! i spent 2 weeks working with my church group doing some short term missions, and i got to spend the majority of my time working with 8-10 year old Ecuadorian kids. my group was the best, and i got really attached to a few of the cuties... here are just a FEW of the pictures i took (and i literally mean, a few. i had a total of 650 + all the videos i took.)

this is me with Joselin at our first VBS (we went to 2 locations a day for a week. that meant i told stories for 2 very different groups of kids [in numbers and dispositions] and did skits twice a day as well. fun stuff!)

here i am with Daniel... who could resist that little face? he was something of a trouble maker, but i really loved being around him and his smiles. he loved giving me hugs and showing me his coloring. too adorable. wish i could give him a hug right now just thinking about it.

anyway, i made a WHOLE bunch of cards today after i went to see the movie Julie & Julia with my friend Paulina (totally recommend it for EVERY blogger out there... so hilarious and TRUE!) we were cracking up the whole entire time, and totally felt a connection with the Julie and her blogging obsession :D we also had some lovely lunch (with my sister, Cecelia, as well) at The Cheesecake Factory. can you tell i was spoiled today? i was going to come home and nap because i'm still getting over a sickness from Ecuador, but was coughing too much and just decided to make some cards for 365 cards. i'll be posting more later, but here's what i have:

Day 177 - Monogram Monday

i stamped the background on the white CS, and actually embossed a bit too. the rest is Basic Grey and some rub-ons :D

Day 178 - Back to School

oooh, October Afternoon papers are lovely, eh? i used a DCWV panel for the "A+" part. plus, the pom poms make the grade, eh? :D

Day 179 - Checkerboard Background

here i used some more DCWV Indian Summer paper. i paired it up with my Martha Stewart punch, AC ribbon, random button, and some Bazzill CS. i distressed the edges of the purple panel to add some interest.

thanks for looking :D

thanks a bunch + i'm back!

hey guys, i'm back home! whew, it feels good, but weird. i'll post pictures and tell stories from my trip later, but FIRST, today's card is really dedicated to you, my blog readers. thank you for leaving all your sweet comments on my posts while i was away in Ecuador, and also for your well wishes--they meant a lot to me! glad you didn't have to miss any cards while i was gone, though :D

but really, thank you!

well, here's a card i made using only Cricut cuts... from the "thanks" sentiment, to the flower stem, to the flower itself. it looks really neat all layered and put together, don't you think? i LOVE that "thanks" font--cute stuff.

the only "non-Cricut" elements used were adhesive (foam tape, quickie glue pen, and ATG adhesive) and the button/ twine in the center of the flower.

this card fits into a business size envelope, so it's a "long and skinny" card. hehe. i love how i can just cut out pieces for cards, and assemble and voila--there's a beautiful card!

thanks again, and check back soon for news on my trip :D

i didn't know they had buttons!

here is a SUPER quick and easy card i made with some pretty patterned paper from a huge value pack... just cut the card to the preferred size, cut down the patterned paper (1/4" smaller), and find embellishments to match! you may recognize the same paper from *THIS POST* a while back...

in my case, the embellishments i pulled out matched the paper perfectly, and were super fun too! (who doesn't love orange :D) i layered some Prima flowers, and tied them all together with some orange twine and an Yves Saint Laurent button. yes, a button! i didn't know they made/ had buttons (i mean, i KNOW they had them on clothing, but i bought the button pack from Michael's that contained this orange cutie...) anyway, i was like, wow!

and there ya go. nothing fancy today, just the basics. i'm coming home today--from Ecuador (read about it in THIS POST). i'll be super super super busy the next few days transitioning into teaching/ coaching from summer, and i'll be re-adjusting to having my sister, Cecelia, home too, but never fear--i've actually pre-scheduled a post for tomorrow, so come back and check it out!

winter wonderland!

ooh, my first Christmas card finished! yay!

i used: ribbon from Costco (leftovers from last years wrapping), The Paper Company "Winter Wonderland" stamp, Fresh Ink in Chocolate, Cricut cut--Accent cartridge, *snowflake*, DCWV Downtown Stack, corner rounder, and red, cream, and kraft cardstock.

like, love it? tell me :D

you're a sweetie + ice cream chickies

look at these sweet DeNami Design stamps! ah, so cute :D here i used the ice cream chickies (and colored them pink! my favorite :D) and then i used the sentiment "you're a sweetie!" to compliment the image.

i used some K&Co paper (super colorful... you can even see some unicorns back there) and my Martha Stewart border punches. the *bright* pink dotted paper is from Bazzill. oh, and that sweet label/ frame shape? that's a Cricut cut. i love it--super classy, and the best part is--you can downsize/ upsize it to fit ANY of your projects.

that's all for today, hope you enjoyed it :D

sending you wheelbarrows of love!

look at those cute little wheelbarrows! they're the sweetest ever, right? i love the elegant touch the pearl strand adds (a value buy from Jo-Ann's)...

well, these cards (i made 6 of similar design, color, etc) were a blast to make. i busted out my Cricut again for the flowers/ wheelbarrow--this time using the Walk in My Garden cartridge. it's full of garden images, and really beautiful flowers... perfect for those embellishments for cards or page layouts. i think i'll be making a garden card for my Dad soon--he's the one who's always in our backyard making things look fantastic. in fact, he even has his own blog where he posts new projects and pictures from his favorite "changes." you should check it out :D

oooo, and that sentiment "sending you love" is one of my favorites from DeNami Design--i recently went to a show where they were selling and ended up walking away with a TON of new stamps... they just came out with a new line, you really have to go check them out for the sweetest/ cutest/ most versatile stamps ever. did i mention they were cute?

i used paper from AC and (agh, can't remember the green pattern!), as well as some black ric-rack. the green paper was to "ground" the Cricut images... like grass :D oh, and that border punch, Martha Stewart style, is fast becoming a favorite... scallops tend to trap me!

well, thanks for stopping by, and hope you have a wonderful day! i'm just loving reading all your comments!

ummmm? and butterflies...

ummm? well, what can i say? haha. this card uses a unique mix... from patterned papers (DCWV floral mat stack & the stripes from another company) to the lacy border punch and extra layer of *real* lace on top... then the image. :D makes me smile just thinking about it. this stamp comes from the DoodleFactory line from Starving Artists. i turned this cute little guy into a zombie in a previous post HERE. this card has a very different feel, though, than the zombie one. it was a happy day, just not something "normal." :D

anyway, here's a sweet card. it's the same design/ elements/ everything as THIS CARD, but the patterned paper changed. still a really sweet card--don't you LOVE the Martha Stewart butterfly punch?

thanks for looking, and have a wonderful day!