A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY

Happy Friday all!!! I am so glad it is Friday - I am ready to spend some time with my husband :-) I feel like we have been high fiving in the doorway as we both are rushing around to and from work, kids events, errands, etc.  I am teaching tomorrow but Sunday we are going to take the boat out and have some fun on the lake, and I am very much looking forward to that!!! Saturday my daughter is also participating in a very special birthday event for one of her best friends - a Quinceanera.  This is a special party that is celebrated in the Hispanic culture for girls who turn 15.  Sort of like a sweet sixteen party :-)  So, Kayla asked me if I would make her a card (of course!) for her birthday, and so I decided to use one of the fun stamp sets I purchased from our Spanish catalog.  Many of the sets are the same, just the sayings are in Spanish; however, there are some sets we don't have and this is one of them! It is specifically for this special event, and so it was perfect for making the card!  My daughter's dress is gorgeous - it is coral in color with sparklies all through it, just a beautiful dress! The birthday girl is wearing a white dress with coral accents, so I thought our new in-color Calypso Coral was perfect! This is a square card, which is probably my favorite size card to make.  I used the new patterned paper called Domestic Goddess, I just loved the pretty flowers and colors of this particular pattern! I used my Scallop Trim border punch on both sides as well as the patterned paper strip going across the middle of the card. All the images are from the stamp set Quinceanera, which can only be found in the Spanish version of the catalog - if you want to see it, you can click on the image in my sidebar the right, and it will take you directly to the catalog :-) I stamped the pretty birthday girl in stazon, then accent colored the dress with my Calypso Coral stampin' marker.  I used my two-way glue pen and my dazzling diamonds glitter to make the dress and crown all pretty and sparkly just like the dress she is going to wear!  Can you see how pretty it looks? If you click on the pic it should make it bigger - it is soooo sparkly IRL, I just love it!  The ribbon is the new Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, which is available in all our new in-colors.  It is soooo pretty! The sentiment is also stamped in Stazon, punched out, and mounted on a Calypso Coral scallop circle, then popped up with dimensionals.  I am very happy with how this turned out! However, since this is a special card, I also had to do the inside because I wanted the card to look finished, lol!
So, here is a pic of what I did to the inside of the card! I stamped the crown, flowers,  and the word in Stazon, and again accented with the Calypso Coral marker, but I also added some rhinestones to the crown and the flowers on the bottom as well! I think every girl deserves a little bling, don't you *wink*  so, there is plenty of room left for Kayla to write her secret birthday message to her friend (I was not allowed to see it, lol) and my daughter loved the card as well! So, that means I was successful because if I can get the 14-year old stamp of approval, I am good! If you like this set, you can order from the Spanish catalog in my online store as well! Or, you can contact me and I can assist you in putting your order in! I will leave the recipe below so you have all the pretty ingredients in one spot, and again, if you have questions, please feel free to ask! I am now off to prep for tomorrow's canvas class, which is one of my favorite classes to teach! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and get some time to be creative!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Calypso Coral, Whisper White card stock, Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper
Stamps - Quinceanera (from the Spanish version of our catalog)
Inks - Calypso Coral stampin write marker, Black Stazon ink
Tools - Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 3/8 inch Circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, mat pack and paper piercer, two-way glue pen
Accessories - Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, basic rhinestones

OPEN HOUSE EVENT!

Good morning all! I have been CRAZY busy around here getting the kids ready to go back to school, two workshops, classes, and yes, I had my Open House :-) We had soooo much fun so I thought I would share the pics as well as the cute make n' takes they did!  This first pic is of the display table of items made with items from the new catalog!! Sorry for the glare - my cards are in plastic pockets so I can switch them out, lol! I have to say, my customers LOVED looking at everything on this table, I think it helps when deciding what you want from the new catty to actually see it used - I know that happens to me anyway, heehee! I had fun making all of these things - the little houses you see in the corner was actually a kit I got at Convention, and I had a great time putting it together!
Here is a closer look at the little village I made:  isn't it cute?  I added some extras of my own although the kit came loaded with really everything I needed to make this! You probably can't tell but I put my address on the one house, lol!  I just love all the pretty details although cutting out all those little circles for the roof was not as fun as I would have liked, heehee! But, it sure was worth it seeing how awesome they all look on roof - just like shingles only way better!!  I plan on making another one of these for my house at Christmas time - can't you see cute little gingerbread houses that make up a village?  I can't wait until I can get my husband to cut the wood for me so I can play around with this idea - I just love the thought of a gingerbread village :-)

These next few pictures are of the cute little make n' takes they all got to make during the Open House - they really seemed to like them and they all used new sets and colors from the new catalog so it was a chance to get to play with some of the new products!!  I am not going to list all the fun things we used, but if you have a specific question, you know you can ask and I will get right back to you!  These are little 3x3 cards - so perfect to slip in someones lunch or include in a gift bag! These are one of my favorite size cards to make and I use them all the time! Here is the third one!  I just love the bright, cheery colors of all three and my guests also really enjoyed making them as well! In fact, one of then told me they were nice, happy cards, lol! Just the kind of cards I love to make :-)  Happy cards for happy stampers, right??  I would like to share a few pics of the wonderful ladies who shared this fun event with me - they are so used to me having my camera out all the time, now they pose, lol!! I love it though - they are all good sports and wonderful friends - the best part of what I do!!! I have made sooo many great friends through stamping, and I cherish each and every one of them!  

This first picture shows two of my favorite peeps Maggie and Lori, who are diligently stamping away at the make n' take table, lol! I love these ladies - they are so much fun to be with! Maggie actually just joined my team of stampers - I am sooooo excited for her because she truly loves to stamp and scrapbook, she always has a smile on her face!  I am looking forward to all the great projects she has planned already - the woman is amazing!!! This one is of my friend Teri who is working on the scavenger hunt game - it was such a great game; they had to use their catalogs to find the answers! Every one who came to the Open House played all the games, and told me they really enjoyed them!  

I also got this great picture of my new friend Sarah - isn't she beautiful?  I just love her pretty smile! Sarah was the winner of one of my grand prize door prizes - she won a whole set of the clear blocks and the carrying case! Needless to say she is thrilled! She is a new stamper, and has already fallen in love with all the fun things you can do with stamps!  All in all, it was a great day filled with lots of laughter, teasing, chatting, eating, and of course stamping! I loved every minute of it, and am already looking forward to my holiday Open House when we get to do it all over again :-) I hope you enjoyed what I shared, and if you are local, you are more than welcome to come to the next event I hold - I sure would love to have you there! Now, I am off to prep for my class tonight but I will be back tomorrow to show you the fun frame and gift card we are making tonight! Until then, happy stampin'!