What do Valentines, Cricut and SBE have in common?

Can I just say how much I love my Baby Bug? (aka Cricut) I cut 15 2 1/2 inch hears, 15 2 inch hearts, 15 hollow hearts, and 15 tags. All of this within minutes. And not only did I cut these, but I was burning CDs at the time. How is that possible? Because I just key in the items I want to cut and my BabyBug does the rest. I am so in love with it, I think I will have to give it a pet name....I'll get back to you on that one.
The hearts are for work. We have 40 or 50 employees at the library and Valentines Day is coming up. I got my SBE Magazine on Saturday and they have these cute Valentines day cards on page 88 and I just fellin love with them. I did not want to have to go buy anything so I used paper that I had and embellished. So I made these and I will use another pattern to make the others. Perhaps two more patterns.

My Daughters Faith

I am on a count down for Revolve tour with my daughter. I grew up in a faithless home and at times I could have really used it. Looking back, I can see the times God was there when I didn't even acknowledge His existence. My prayer is that my daughter grows up knowing Him. And not just knowing Him but being in love with Him and having a relationship with Him. It overwhelms me, in a good way, when I see her engrossed in praise and worship. I took this picture at a concert we went to together. I can't wait for the Revolve Tour, for girls.

Birthday Card

This is the card I made for my son. I used AOL trial offer CDs from Best Buy. My inspiration came from 2peas. My son lives 2000 miles away in Canada and my husband really misses him. Well we all miss him but my husband misses the time he use to spend with him during the weekends. Now, our son won't call dad to talk but he will spend a few hours each night playing Call of Duty with his old man. So that is what I used for a theme. The cover has two players and if you have ever played Duty of Duty, your user name is displayed near your man. So I used PSE5 to insert their names onto the screen shots.

The Answer is...scrap

I have been so out of blogging. Sorry guys. I went to CKC Houston...so it was a scrapbook store on steroids. I didn't take any of the classes and they may be the difference. I didn't connect with anyone and to be honest...so much stuff that I was just overwhelmed.

However, I did come away with a few new loves

1) Technique Tuesday...I love their stamps and I love their layouts. I fell in love with their style of scrapping. I think I have found my home...scrapbook wise.

2) Stamps by Judith...totally love her stubbies and her tree stamp.

3) Liquid Glass...I have some in a package..never used and now I can't stop using it.

Do I scrap or do I blog? That is the Question

Recently, the answer is scrap. My stepson's birthday is coming up. So you know I had to scrap a card for him. And of course, not just any card but a "special" card. You know the ones, the ones that take hours and hours to make. The ones that take as long as a mini album. :) The hard part was thinking of a theme. God bless the women at 2peas because someone said scrap his hobby. Well then it became a little easier, Call of Duty 4. So I was on a mission at 2peas looking for inspiration. Thank you memrybug for your pirate CD...it was just what I needed for inspiration. The cover is a screen shot from the game and I used Photoshop E5 to add his user name and my husband's user name. (If you are ever online at Xbox, look them up.) And again, the Bind it all from Zutter was my hero. It cut through those CDs like butter. I have to say it has become my bff.

Christmas Eve at the Blancos "Joyfully"

Wow! It has been a whole year since I started my first scrapbook. This time last year I was working on my first scrapbook.. Well I did one about 11 years ago for my grandmother but it was a once in a lifetime deal and when I was done, I was done. (so I thought) It was at Christmas that I presented my very first scrapbook. It was a hit with all the family. She passed away about 3 or 4 years ago and I was given the scrapbook.

Well this year, one year into my new scrapbook adventure, I did a a video montage to music that consisted of all the pictures that were in the original scrapbook, some of them dating back to the 3o's and pictures of time that has passed since creating that one.

But this page is about Christmas. Christmas as it has been since I was a little girl celebrating it at my grandmother's house. It is still celebrated at her house. Well, my aunts house but we call it grandma's house. Her spirit is still felt and missed, especially at Christmas time. The house is full of children, as it has always been. Only now I am not the one begging to open presents early, running around the house, and laughing with all my cousins. No, it is my daughter now and her second cousins. I don't think we will ever be without children in the house. With a new one even this year, there is a promise that Christmas will always be filled with children. That is why I love this picture and why I could not wait to scrapbook it. It is us, the Blancos, celebrating as we always have...joyfully.

One more look at the years gone by

I began to reflect on the year gone by and was searching through my pictures to find the perfect one to tell my story and I found my Christmas tree. It isn't big, full or even real. But on its branches hang symbols of days gone by. If you look closely you will see one I made by hand. That was Christmas when money was so tight that we had no gifts between me and my love one. So I went to the dollar store and bought a roll of wrapping paper and some plastic doilies and took some tape from work and some paper clips and I made some ornaments. We didn't have a tree that year, I just hung them on the wall in the shape of a tree. There hangs the first ornament I bought for my little girl. Her eyes had not seen the world yet but I already loved her. I could feel her move around in my tummy and I know she was mine and I knew she was loved. There hangs one of the first ornaments she made for me, a big white angel with gold trimmed wings. There hangs a wreath ornament made of Chili peppers, the one me and my beloved bought the first time we met in person. There hangs an ornament given to me by a sweet young boy. A thank you gift he made for me. We had adopted his family one year for Christmas and their wish list consisted of things I could not afford. But by the grace of God, through others, they received their stove, beds, food, clothes and even toys...they hadn't asked for toys, they only asked for things they needed. At 10 years old he could tell you how many cans of vegetable he had in their pantry and corn bread mix. They made one of each a day, to share between him, his sister and his mother. I still cry when I think about them. There hangs the lyrics to Away in a manger, the song that tells of my saviour and how he was born so fragile yet he is the King of Kings. Even my tree itself has a story. It is the tree me and my precious daughter bought on our first Christmas alone. It wasn't big and it wasn't real but it was ours. My tree and its ornaments are symbolic of all of God's blessing. Through the good times and hard times, He was there. He loved me and cared for me when I knew nothing of Him. He worked through others to help me and as He filled me, he used me to help others. How great is our God!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!! We had a wonderful time New Years eve with some good friends and new ones. I am excited that two of the most amazing men I have known, have found their soul mates. And what else would an amazing man have but an amazing woman?!?!?!? They are wonderful women, Godly women. We sat and chatted and rang in the New Year. A wonderful time was had by all.