Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I THANK YOU for when you take the time to:
1. Stop by and saying hello.
2. Leave me nice comments when you like something you see.
3. Provide me with inspiration on a daily basis.
4. Are sooo generous with your hops-celebrations-challenges, etc.
5. Share your awards-it's truly kind!
6. Appreciate the value of each other's creativity.
7. Respond with kindness when fellow bloggers have needs, by sending cards, raks, you name it!
8. Give of your time to cheer me up when I least expect it.
9. Allow me to be part of this awesome creative blogging community.
10. Offer your friendship, even if it's long-distance.
May you all have a blessed day, and may you have the opportunity to reflect on what's truly important and valuable in your life, because you are valued! Sincerely-Raquel 

Mini Album

Hi there, This post is picture heavy, but it's probably the most important project I've made all year, so I wanted to have a memory of it. It's a Mini album I made for my mom, using a tutorial from Kathy Orta at Paper phenomenon called "Build a page". I used all 6 page styles in this mini, giving it an incredible amount of places to display pictures, or hide little mementos. Now, my mom is not one for elaborate scrapbooking, and prefers picture space, so it's very simple on the inside. To add my "touch" I used vibrant colors (DCVW Retro Stack), the Sentimentals Cartridge from Cricut to keep with the retro look of the album, as well as some stamping and little details here and there. I hope you enjoy the pics as I couldn't fit them all over at the Ning site. Let me know your thoughts!-Raquel

I made the flowers using the cricut, then hand painted them, added glitter, brads, bling, etc.

I also used vintage lace to finish off the binding made with turquoise Duck Tape.

The inside front cover allows for pics to be tucked behind the lace. The right page also opens creating a bigger layout.

This is the front page, with 2 pockets and a hidden Bible verse for my mom.

This huge tag has room for pictures on both front and back.

I used both heat and dry embossing and the Cricut to cut all tags.

2nd page offers equal amount of space, and 2 pockets. 

I added a hand-painted flower I made with Coffee filters, and tulle, a pearl brad, and Viva pearls with little butterflies.

Here I added dimension by fussy-cutting flowers and "popping" them off the page. 

A little pic. of one of my boys to get her started...

This is still the 3rd page, opened up to reveal another pocket and more room for pics.

Stamped tag.

Back of tag with Lace stamp and hand-coloring.

This little card tucks into one of the many pockets.

I love this page, since my mom and I chat on the phone almost every day.

It reveals another tag...

More room for pics.

Here I added more vintage lace, and a cut from Sentimentals. 

I added vintage findings, twine, flowers, stamping and scallops.

The bumblebee has great significance for me. I thought it fit the sentiment "Limitless" perfectly.

Mini tags fit into these side pockets.

This page also opens!

The back page has a little place perfect for mini tags.

I added a pic. of my handsome teen, and made some custom tags that have room for journaling. 

Birthday Mini for girl

Hi all, This is a simple birthday mini I made to go along with a birthday gift. It doesn't have a lot of techniques but I will add descriptions under each picture. I used lots of different colors throughout to keep it young and tried to keep the details pretty simple too. I hope you like it!

The H.B. phrase is from Create a Critter, embossing with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, Thickers letters, and I made my own glimmer mist for the layered flowers. I also added twine to the center button.

The corners on this picture mat were made with a M.S. punch, I popped the sticker to allow the pic. to slide underneath.

This is the 2nd page, the little house is from Create a Critter, I added a jewel for the door knob.

The little house opens to allow room for pictures.

This little scene was created with Create a Critter, and stickers that I backed with cardstock and kraft paper, then popped on the page.

It slides to reveal a journaling spot.

To this page I added double sided tags to allow room for journaling, and a place for the date. The phrase "sweet" is also popped on the page.

This picture frame was made using a scallop border punch, and finished with polka-dot ribbon.

This picture frame also has a flower border punch with added sequins, stickers, and dry embossing.

This smaller frame has a lacy ribbon I recently purchased, the picture can slide right behind it.

Thank you Card/ Mojo 214

I made this masculine Thank you card using several stamps and would like to enter it to Mojo Monday's contest. You can enter several times, so perhaps I'll make a feminine version too. I used green Recollections cardstock as the base, and layered a double sided paper on top that has a grungy grid pattern on it. The brown strip of paper has bits of glitter on the blue polkadots and I popped it using foam tape. It's placed on top of a medallion shape that I stamped and cut out of the same green base paper. I used a fiskars punch to cut out the brackets to the stamped "thank you" phrase, and I used Basic Grey stamps for the detail over the "thank you" and for the small blue bird. I also used a glimmer pen to give it a little sheen on the tail feathers, and parts of the medallion. TFL!

Girl Birthday card / Hoot N' Holler

Hi there, I made this little birthday card using Hoot n' Holler and a MS border punch. It's for a little girl's birthday and I used some paper left over from a mini book I also made for her which I'll post separately. 

I really enjoy the simplicity of this cart, as well as the cute owls. This one got a girly flower and googly eyes. I also used the Cuttlebug to dry emboss the black strip of paper with the dots folder, and finished it off with several sequins to add some "starry" sparkles. Enjoy!

Sympathy Card

Hi there, this is another twisted easel card I made because I wanted to dive into the winnings from the Link for Pink blog hop held in October. The ladies were extremely generous to enter everyone into several giveaways and I was fortunate to receive some beautiful paper from The Robins Nest! I was able to use it on the base of this card, and the lighting in the pics does not do it justice, because the colors are subtle but beautiful. Some of the papers were very glittery too! I was not familiar with this company outside of their dew drops which I have purchased in the past. So, a huge thank you once again to Celeste from Touched by a Butterfly, please stop by her beautiful blog and give her a visit!

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

rbessette@rochester.rr.com

Quinceañera, are you invited?? (Dilo en Español challenge #3)

To those of you who are unfamiliar with the traditional Spanish birthday celebration of the Quinceañero, please sit back and relax. You are about to get schooled. 

The quinceañero is a beautiful coming-of-age ceremony which takes place on a Hispanic girls 15th birthday, in which she traditionally would be introduced to society as a young woman, ready to meet the young suitors who would see her dressed in white, in all her virginal beauty, and at which point they would all try to get her attention and her father's so that courtships could be arranged, and promises of weddings would follow.Typically, the party consists of 14 of the young girl's best friends, as well as 15 young men, and dances are choreographed, the birthday girl receives her first set of earrings, high heels, jewelry, and whatever else mom and dad can afford to add to her dowry bestow upon her. Fast forward a few years, and add to the same society a dose of Americanism, Facebook, and a few cell phones and the same tradition is now a big party where the same number of teenagers get together, only each invites another 15 teenage boys and girls, mom and dad hope the birthday girl doesn't get married but stays in school and gets a college degree, a DJ decides what music is played, and because we're still Hispanics, there's somehow plenty of food for everyone, and of course Grandma is on the dance floor swiveling her hips to the latest Salsa song ( to which she can recite the chorus)! Nevertheless, it's a great celebration, and even though I made 60 invites for this one, I'm sure it won't be enough. Enjoy!

The theme of the party will be candies. These are from Joys of the Season. 

The birthday girl wanted Turquoise, Green and Pink as her colors. Her initial is on the Lollypop. Hand-written in Martha Stewart glitter. 

Each will have a pink bow added to the handle, once the tags have the names written on them.

One of the Pink Purses! All the candy was embossed with the Swiss Dot Cuttlebug folder.

These invitations are  finished with a Martha Stewart Punch and enclosed in the purses, which will be handed out personally-a really nice touch!

I'd like to enter these into the following challenge: Dilo en Español, challenge #3 by Abby to use glitter or bling. I used glitter on the initial, and bling on every enclosed invite, right in the center of the flower.