Occasions Mini 2012 Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of the new Occasions Mini Catalog to be released Jan. 4! You're going to see this card in the catalog, and I made it for a demo at home to promote the catalog.
Enjoy!

Mixed Patterns Color Trends Challenge

I created this card for Embellish Color Trends Challenge, whose theme is mixed patterns, and the colors to use are blue, brown, yellow, green and white.

I would also like to announce that I opened a new blog called Crazy about Magnolias, where I'll be posting cards using Magnolia stamps and other stamps and materials besides Stampin' UP! Hope you find that site inspiring and any comments or questions will be appreciated! With each card I create, I feel that not only do I improve a bit more, but that I also expand my passion for crafts, cards and everything that involves paper.

Hope you enjoy my card, and I wish you a happy new year full of blessings!

Wish you all well,
Lili

Learn, Live, Hope

I wanted to create a card for New Year's, but I couldn't find any stamp that I liked except for the one I used for this card, which is discontinued, but I think that it fits perfectly for the idea of New Year's. The stamp is called Sense of Time, and it matches with the designer paper.

This is my first time participating in the Freshly Made Sketches, and I combined this challenge with Pals Paper Art, whose theme is tags. Actually it was my friend Gisela's idea to combine the theme of the PPA and the Freshly Made Sketches. We were both playing around with the design and I came up with this card.

The designer series paper I used is another sneak peak of the Occasions Mini Catalog, which will be available on January 4th. I love this mini catalog full of new stamps, papers, framelits, edgelits, and much more! If you like to receive it, contact me and I'll be glad to mail it to you along with the Sale-A-Bration promotions.

I wish you a Happy New Year full of blessings!!

Wish you all well,

Merry Christmas to you all!!

Almost the end of the year! I'd be making Christmas cards for the rest of the new year. This is my favorite time of the year and I don't want it to end!

I created this card, which was inspired by a card I saw on the Card Ideas magazine. This week I've received the doily die, which will be available in the new Occasions Mini Catalog on January 4, 2012, and I wanted to use it desperately, it's soooo beautiful!!

I have to thank all of you who have followed me throughout the year, and for all the comments you left on my blog which have been so encouraging for me to create more cards. I hope everybody has a wonderful holiday season and a super duper happy new year with lots of blessings for all of you and your families!

God bless you all now and always!!

Mojo Monday 220

I made this card for this week's Mojo Monday. It's so full of Christmas cheer, don't you think?

Hope everyone's enjoying their holiday season! Enjoy!

The Paper Players #76

The theme at The Paper Players is a clean and simple color challenge...perfect for the holidays! This is truly my favorite time of the year!

I created the first card for a demo I did at home, and I got the inspiration for this challenge from that card. Hope you like it!

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas for The Paper Players #72

I've been pretty busy lately and I haven't posted for a week, but I miss participating in my challenges and making cards! Today I made this card for The Paper Players, and the colors we have to play with are Always Artichoke, Riding Hood Red and River Rock. I was inspired by a card that was published in Cards magazine.

Have a great day! Enjoy!

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip (102128), River Rock (108640), Riding Hood Red (111348), Very Vanilla
(101650), Red Glimmer Paper (121790)
Stamp Set: Forest Festivities (W 123797, C 123799)
Embellishments: Mini Jingle Bells (124116)
Fabric: Deck the Halls (121716)
Embossing folder: Snow Burst (124096)

Give Thanks (The Paper Players #70)

I can't believe Halloween is over. I was planning to create a card for Halloween when I realized that Halloween was Monday, boohoo! I am looking forward to Thanksgiving now.

The theme for The Paper Players this week is about fall and anything goes. Since I love fall and leaves (in any size, any color, any kind!), I decided to make a card with leaves. I took the technique I used on this card from our Success magazine. I basically clear embossed some leaves, then gave color to the cardstock with the daubers and after that I stamped leaves randomly on top. The effect is so nice that I used that technique several times in different cards. Below you are going to find the card that I sumbmitted to the challenge and the other one that I created using the same technique and very similar to the one that is in our magazine.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade (122926), Soft Suede (115318), Natural Ivory (101849)
Stamp sets: Gently Falling (W 123802, C 123804), Hand-Penned Holidays (124312)
Ink: Soft Suede(115657), Versamark (102283), Daffodil Delight (119667), Cherry Cobbler (119669), Old Olive (102277)
Ribbon: Cherry Cobbler 1/2" Seam Binding ribbon 1/2" cherry cobbler (120992)
Embellishments: Antique Brads (117273)

Another Halloween card for colourQ #108 (and Papers Players #69)

Hi everybody! First of all, I want to thank the colourQ Royal Court Design Team for picking my card in last week's challenge (#107) as a colourQ Courtier!

All your comments have been much appreciated, they are very important to me. I think through comments you connect with your audience, especially by reading and answering them, otherwise you never know if people like your creations or not. Although most bloggers share creations, thoughts and their personal lives with the rest of the world, I am pretty sure that they are not expecting any comments in return, so when you do get those comments and you read what people think of your creations, it is so inspiring and rewarding!

This is my first time that I combine two challenges, The Paper Players and colourQ. I used the sketch of The Paper Players challenge and the colors from the colourQ challenge to create this card. I already put up a card at The Paper Players, but I also wanted to put this one up since I made it with the sketch!

Hope you like my creation, and get inspired to create some Halloween cards. Have a spooky Halloween! Boo!

Cardstock: Basic Black (121045), Peach Parfait (119794), So Saffron (105118), Daffodil Delight (119683)
Designer Series Paper: Pick Your Poison (124001)
Stamp set: House of Haunts (111574)
Ink: Versamark (102283)
Punches: Scallop Edge Border (119882)
Embossing folder: Spider Web (120889)
Embossing powder: Black (109133), Tangerine Tango (123106)

The Paper Players #69: Nance's sketch

Hi everybody! First of all, I have to thank The Paper Players team for choosing my card as a Cut Above last week! I feel so good when someone likes my creations.

When I start the process of creating a card, I don't know what I am going to come up with. I can have a vague idea, but when you put papers and embellishments together, the original idea of your card changes completely! At least that's what happens to me. This is also why I truly enjoy (I think this happens to you, too) that part in the creating process in which you play with your stuff. After that, and once you have created your card, publishing is the following process in which you open up to people, followers, friends and family to show your creation, and if you add to that the fact that people liked your card and selected it in a challenge or contest, even better! It's like the cherry on top. I feel pleased and gratified.

Hope you like my creation today! Have a great day and God bless you all!

Cardstock: Crumb Cake (120953), Lucky Limeade (122926), Sahara Sand (121043), Chocolate Chip (102128), Cherry Cobbler (119685), Very Vanilla (101650), So Saffron (105118)
Stamp set: Just Believe (W 116948, C 120453)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (119669), Crumb Cake (121030), Early Espresso (119670)
Punch: Scallop Trim Border (118402)
Embossing folders: Finial press (115963), Stripes (123128)
Embosslits Die: Beautiful Wings (118138)
Embellishment: Basic Rhinestones (119246)

Thanks for being my friend (PPA 116)

A couple of years ago, I took watercolor classes. When I became a Stampin' UP! demonstrator I tried to apply my watercolor techniques in my cards, and I enjoy it a lot. The scene in this card was created on one of those days that I was inspired with watercolor. I had taught how to paint this scene in a class, and it had been lying around my studio ever since, so I decided to use it in a card for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge.

I painted the watercolor scene using the Stampin' UP! aquapainters and markers. In some areas, I applied the marker directly on the watercolor paper and then blended the color with the aquapainter. In other areas, I used the plastic that comes in our Stamp-a-ma-jig as my pallete, placed some strokes of marker on that, and took the paint from there. If you want to darken some areas like the wheelbarrow, or the clothes of the girl, you can do so by letting the paint dry, and then retouching with paint only the areas you want to darken. On areas where the light reflects (like the front of the girl's shirt or her pants), try not to put much paint in those areas, or leave them white. It's much easier to leave these areas white or with very little color, than to remove color to lighten them up later.

It is so much fun to paint with watercolor. Don't be afraid! Give it a try and you won't regret it! It's definitely worth the try. As long as you work with watercolor paper, there are no worries about how much water you put on it, but remember to use Staz-on to avoid smearing the edges, and that the colors will run where the paper is wet. Don't hesitate to contact me for any questions you might have.

Have a great day! Leave me a comment and tell me your experiences with watercolor. I'll be happy to read about them!

Cardstock: Very Vanilla (101650), Poppy Parade (119793), Concord Crush(119792), Watercolor Paper (122959)
Embellishments: Crystal Effects (101055), Dazzling Details (124117), Basic Pearls (119247)
Markers: Poppy Parade and Concord Crush (119801), Daffodil Delight (119677), Melon Mambo (121074), Chocolate Chip (100071), Old Olive (100079)
The rest of the materials are discontinued.

Spooky card for colourQ challenge #107

After three days of rain, that for us is a lot, we got a beautiful sunny day, so I went for a walk with my daughter around the neighborhood. I came back full of energy and ready to create a card for the colourQ challenge!

I love the combinations of colors that the colourQ team always pick, and it's because I love to work with colors. For this challenge, we have Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White. The combination is perfect for Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. I don't know why I love Halloween, we don't decorate the house much and there is nothing to celebrate really, but maybe that kind of spooky feel around Halloween time is what attracts me.

For this card, which by the way is very similar to the one that I posted a couple of weeks ago, I used the bleach technique. When you use this technique, first apply bleach on a little piece of cardstock to see how clear the cardstock gets. Not all of the cardstocks respond the same way to the bleach, so you're better off trying it first on a small scrap so you can get the results you want on your card.

I love the bat made with ribbon. I took the idea from Cristena Bagne and I think that it is adorable, stinkin' cute, like she said, lol. She used wiggly eyes for the bat eyes, but because I didn't have, I made them with white and black circles, and then applied the Crystal Effect on top, and they look like wiggly eyes without being wiggly, lol.

Hope you get inspired today to make your own Halloween card! BOO!

Have a great day!

Cardstock: Early Espresso (119686), Lucky Limeade (122926), Rich Razzleberry (115316), Pumpkin Pie (105117), Whisper White (100730)
Stamp set: Wicked Cool (W 118738, C 120600), House of Haunts (111574)
Inks: StazOn (101406), Basic Black (101179)
Embossing folder: Spider Web (120889)
Ribbon: Basic Black 5/8" Satin (117285)

Thank you with buttons for Embellish

I created this card for the Embellish Magazine Color Trends Challenge. The colors we had to use were turquoise or blue, yellow or mustard, green and chocolate chip. At least those were my interpretations of the colors I saw in the challenge. We also have to use buttons the way we want.

I learned how to make the flower with a Designer Series Paper circle from Card magazine (August 2011 issue). I wanted to put the flower in this card and I think that it was the perfect chance to display my beautiful flower! It is so easy to make and what I love about it is that it looks like an imperfect flower, it doesn't come out neat and balanced, but I love it . It looks like it was created by someone, not by a punch or a machine. The smaller flowers have been cut with the Big Shot. The buttons make the perfect center for those flowers.

Enjoy your day!

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip (102128), Very Vanilla (101650), Tempting Turquoise (102067)
Stamp set: Curly Cute (W 117014, C 120510)
Die: Blossom Party (115971)
Punch: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer (122464)

Merry Christmas

Another challenge at The Paper Players. This week, we have to create a card with red and green, and it has to be clean and simple.

I cannot believe we are talking about Christmas in October. I know some people start with Christmas in July, the famous "Christmas in July," right? But still, we are getting ready for Christmas. I would love to extend the year to enjoy these coming holidays more. I love them, I love the colors ... those earth tones that are for the fall and winter season. They are warm colors and for this season, "warm" is what we need.

I live in Miami and we are warm all year long, lol, so I don't need that warm but I love the cold weather and those colors transport me to those cold places where you can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. So nice! I lived in Yorktown Heights, New York for two years and I enjoyed every single minute I was there. I looooooved it! I never got tired of the cold weather, so I missed that place. Here in Miami, on the contrary, we have warm/hot weather all the time and to be honest, I cannot get used to it, so when I have to create a card with warm colors, I really feel in my element.

For this particular card, I used the "cracked glass" technique on the ornaments. During the third coat of embossing I added the glitter for a sparkling look.

Remember, if you want to be part of the Stampin' UP! family, and you want to become a demonstrator, you will get the Big Shot for free until October 31st or, if you already have the Big Shot, you can get products for the value of the Big Shot, which is $100. Don't miss this opportunity and the chance to do what you love with the support of Stampin' UP!

Have a great day!

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler (119685), Old Olive (100702), Very Vanilla (101650)
Stamp sets: Delightful Decoration (116517), Christmas Greetings (115448)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (119669), Old Olive (102277), VersaMark (102283)
Embossing powder: Silver (109131)
Punch: Ornament (119847)
Embossing folder: Houndstooth (123134)

Fancy notebook

I took an ordinary composition book and made it fancy to show how to decorate it for my Friday's card club meeting. You can use it for any ocassion, and with the upcoming holidays it could be a nice gift for anyone!

I also made the bookmark, which is shown in our monthly magazine Success. To give it an extra touch, I added one of the flowers one of my friends, Monica, taught in one of Friday's meetings.

I love to make these type of projects because you turn something ordinary into something very special and personalized.
Have a great day! God bless you all!

Cardstock: Old Olive (100702), Pink Pirouette (100459), Soft Suede (115318), Very Vanilla (101650)
Designer Series Paper: Beau Chateau (122357)
Punches: Lace Ribbon Border (122362), 2-1/2" Circle (120906), Blossom Petals Builder (121808), Fancy Flower (118073)
Ribbon: Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon (119267), Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta (119960)
Embellishments: Trinket Keys (121892), Spice Cake Designer Buttons (124113)

Thank you card for colourQ #105

Hi everyone! Yesterday and today it has been raining a lot, perfect time to make cards or take a nice warm nap, lol! I didn't take a nap, so I made this card for another challenge at colourQ.

Doilies are the latest trend on cards, and each time that I see a doily I get inspired. I was skimming through a card magazine when I saw cards with doilies and immediately grabbed my Delicate Doilies stamp set and I came up with this card. Hope you like it. Have a great weekend!

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip (102128), Basic Black (121045), Whisper White (101650)
Stamp Set: Delicate Doilies (W 122590, C 122592), Thank You Kindly (111700)
Ink: Wisteria Wonder (122936), Pear Pizzazz (119784), Basic Black (101179)
Embellishments: Designer Buttons-Subtles Collection (119745)

Musical birthday

I created this card for the Paper Players Challenge. The theme is music. Although I don't know much about music (I've never played an instrument), I love to listen to music. I think that you can find music anywhere, even if you are alone in the middle of the forest. Or in the middle of nowhere, you can hear the birds singing and chirping, and you can even hear the silence, and if you hear carefully, you can find music in it. When I work in my studio, I am always accompained with a chorus of birds singing around, and I don't even need to turn on the radio to listen to music, lol!

Hope you like my creation with my happy birthday tune! Have a great day!

Cardstock: Melon Mambo (115320), Crumb Cake (120953), Whisper White (100730)
Stamp Set: Fabulous Phrases (C 120501, W 117002)
Ink: Versamark (102283), Melon Mambo (115656), Chocolate Chip (100908), Daffodil Delight (119667), Real Red (119667), Crumb Cake (121030), Tempting Turquoise (100814)
Embossing powder: Pewter (124114)
Embellishments: Basic Rhinestones (119246), Designer Buttons-Brights Collection (119747)
Ribbon: Baker's Twine (123124)
Punches: 1-3/8" Circle (119860), 1/2" Circle (119869), 3/4" Circle (119873), Cupcake Builder (121807)

Working with fabrics

I had to prepare a class using fabrics, and to show how to use the fabric adhesive roll, I came up with a card and a tote. I took the template of the tote from melstampz.com.

She has a lot of templates for boxes, purses, bags, etc. Sorry but I cannot remember from what specific artist in that Web site I took the template from. I know for sure that I had to adjust it to make the tote bigger. I'll be glad to email the template and measurements I used for this particular tote, but I would like to give credit to whoever designed it!

Below you are going to find not only the tote and card using fabrics but also two more bags using Designer Series Paper. The templates are from the same Web site I mentioned above.

I love to work on fabrics with the fabric adhesive roll. It's so easy to use and the fabric gets adhered to the cardstock so easily, and when you run the fabric with the adhesive roll through the big shot, it gives it a very clean edge. It doesn't fringe.

Hope you like it, and don't hesitate to contact me for any questions you might have.
Enjoy your day!

Fabrics: Flirtatious (122335)
Bigz Die: Top Note (113463)
Cool stuff: Big Shot Adhesive Roll (122194)

For the card I used:

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip (102128), Very Vanilla (101650)
Fabrics: Spice Cake (124066), Deck The Halls (121716)
Stamp Sets: Hand-Penned Holidays (W 124310, C 124312)
Ink: Versamark (102283)
Embossing powder: Silver (109131)
Embellishments: Antique Brads (117273)
Bigz Die: Tasteful Trim (120893)
Cool stuff: Sticky Sheets (114300), Big Shot Fabric Adhesive Roll (122194)