Half Christmas Tree

Hola everyone!

Only a few more days until Christmas!!!  I am soooo excited!!!  

I've been very busy getting my home ready for the Holidays.  I must confess that my favorite piece of decoration this year is my half Christmas tree!!!  I love it!!!

Front View

Side View

I bought my 5.5' half Christmas tree at Target and had it shipped to my friend's house in Palm Beach.  She was the best and shipped it over here!  Did I mention that I am in love with my tree?

Happy Holidays!!  Feliz Navidad!!

Peace and healthy days for you all!

Besitos,

A Snowman Card

Hola everyone!

I've been working on some Christmas cards for the past few weeks.  I love the challenges posted in some groups in Facebook.  It motivates me to create.

Here's my latest creation.  A Snowman Card!

I got the image from here, which also inspired me on the design of the card.  I used sequins for the snow, and the stamp "Let it Snow!" is a clear stamp I got from Oriental Trading a looooong time ago.

Hope you like it and inspires you to create!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Linking to:

• Scrapping 4 Fun Challenges
• Through the Craft Room Door
• Party Time Tuesdays
• Card Mania Challenges
• Craft your Passion
• Dream Valley Challenges
• Imagination Crafts
• My Craft Creations
• The Pink Elephant
• Whoopsi Daisy Challenges
• Come and Get It Challenges
• Catered Crop
• Penny Black and More
• Sribble and Scrap
• Storyteller
• That Craft Place

Operation Christmas Child

Hola everyone!

It is that time of the year again, when we get ready to support Operation Christmas Child.  

This year we are doing a box for every month of the year.  Some of my boxes have home made jean dogs,  owls, pencil holders, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, coloring books, crayons, small puzzles, stickers, wash clothes, tshirts, sandals, balls and balloons.

I hope you are able to join us this year in Operation Christmas Child!  Remember, collection week is this week, from November 17 to the 24.  To find a collection center close to you, click here.

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Ethel's Monologue - American Horror Story

Hola everyone!

There have been a series of things going on in Puerto Rico that have made front news in several news portals... I am ashamed of what is going on, and I really wish I could do something about it.  

I love my island and its people.  My family lives here, my friends are here, I work here... My life is here.  But everthing that has been going on, makes me wonder if I should consider doing what a LOT of puertorricans are doing: moving to other states.

I want to have hope.  I want to see things get better.  And tonight, watching American Horror Story in my DVR, I came across this monologue which touched me deeply, so I decided to share with you:

I agree.  We need to take control.  We need to stop conforming with what is placed before us.  Let it be taxes, criminality, unemployment... We need to take a stand and rebel as a country against all the injustice, against all the wickedness.  It is time.

Peace and healthy days to you all.

Besitos,

Echo Park - Best Friends - part 3

Hola everyone,

I told you I had worked several projects with just one kit.  ONE KIT!! lol  

This is a gorgeous Mini Theme Kit by Echo Park called "Best Friends".  I was able to work several projects, and this is the 3rd one.  It is a Toilet Paper Roll Mini Album, and as you all know I love to repurpose things, you can imagine this is one of my favorite projects to do.  

I placed pictures of my best friends in my mini album, stickers from the kit and used colored ribbon to finish it up.  

If you want to see other Toilet Paper Mini Albums I have made, you can click here, here and here. 

*Update:  You can see the Scrapbook Layout, card and notebook I made with this kit!

Peace and healthy days to you!

Besitos,

Linking to:

613 Avenue Create

Cheery Lynn Designs

Penny Black and More

Craft my Life

Crafting from the Heart

Love to Create

The Paper Nest Dolls

Papertake Weekly

Retarte

Through the Craft Room

Echo Park - Best Friends - part 2

Hola everyone,

As promised, here is part 2 of my Echo Park "Best Friends" Kit projects.  Like I mentioned before, it is a gorgeous kit, and I was able to work several projects with it.  I still have one whole sheet and some of the stickers left! 

For this card, I used American Crafts twine and scraps from the first project.  As you know, I love to repurpose things, this time pieces of cardboard.  Thick cardboard.  This I used to create the 3D effect on the telephone stamp and the sentiment.  I like using cardboard versus using 3D dots or thick double sided tape.  

Stay tuned for the rest of what I created using this beautiful kit.

*Update:  You can see the Scrapbook Layout, mini album and notebook I made with this kit!

Peace and healthy days for you all!

Besitos,

Linking to:

Suzie Bee's

Crafting at the Weekend

A Girl Who Crafts

Crafts Galore

Mema's Crafts

Sunshine Mail

Sisters of Crafts

Echo Park - Best Friends - part 1

Hola Everyone!

It's been a while since my last post (over a month to be exact).  I've been very, very busy with my new business, Relicarios y Dijes, where I am a South Hill Designs Artist.  

Mom and daughter matching lockets

This past week in my spare time, I was able to work with the Echo Park Mini Theme Kit, "Best Friends". It is a beautiful kit with gorgeous double sided pages and a sticker page.  I was able to make several projects, which I will be unveiling in the upcoming days.  For now, let me show you the LO I made with this awesome kit, dedicated to one of my best friends.  

It was really fun to create this LO.  Stay tuned for the rest of what I created using this beautiful kit and make sure you check out my South Hill Designs store!  And if you can, go ahead and Like my Facebook Page.

**Update:  See the card I made using this kit here,  the mini album, and notebook I made with this kit!!

Peace and healthy days for you all!

Besitos,

Linking to:

Craft my life

Squigglefly

Fan-tastic Tuesday

PDE Linky Party

Tuesday Throwdown

7 kids College Fund

Divas by Design

The Paper Shelter

Penny's Challenges

4 Krafty Girlz

4 Crafty Chicks

Scrapping4Fun Challenges

In Black & White

Hola everyone!

My last challenge as a DT for Scrapping4FunChallenges, was to create a Black and White project, and I had just the pictures for that.

The papers are American Craft and the flowers I handmade after finding this tutorial from Lynn Larson.  Gorgeous and super easy to do!!   To finish off my Layout, I added some enamel beads in black and white.

With this LO I say goodbye to the wonderful team of DTs at Scrapping4FunChallenges, and her creator, Rachelle.  It has been an honor and a privilege to have played with you.

Hope you like this project and that it inspires you to create.

Peace and Healthy Days!

Besitos,

Linking to:

• So Artful Challenges
• Art by Miran
• Chocolate, Coffee and Cards
• Crafty Girls Challenges
• Crafty Ribbons Challenges

Project Life vs Smash Book

Hola everyone!

Hope you are having a great week!  It is very, very hot here in Puerto Rico.  The worst part is the humidity!  So hot and sticky!

I recently bought a couple of Smash Books on eBay, which were only $10 each with free shipping.  Now the question is, what are they?  How do I use them?

I had heard a lot about smash books for the past couple of years, but never really paid any attention... until I saw what I think is a great deal on the books.  I've also heard about Project Life and I was wondering, what is the difference between the two?  I asked my very knowledgable friend, Google, and I found these two videos that explain really well what the difference is.

vs.

As an avid scrapbooker, I think I will use my brand new Red and Black Smash Books instead of doing a Project Life.  I like to make a mess of paper, glue and embellishments; it's my favorite hobby!

What do you think?  Smash book or Project Life?

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Father's Day Card

Hola amigos!

Wow! Time sure flies! It is almost June already!  It's Summer Time!!!

It is also the time of the year I've been dreading... Father's Day.  I lost my father in January 15th... He had a 2 year battle with Multiple Myeloma.  I am in Peace.  I am glad he is no longer suffering.

In his honor, I made this card for Challenge #18 of Scrapping4FunChallenges.  He was a contractor and wood worker, and he loved his tools.

This is a hybrid card, as I printed the tool images I found online.  Hope it inspires you to create!

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Linking to:

• Craftitude
• Simply Create Too
• Sister Act Card Challenge
• Crafty Girls Challenges
• Charisma Cardz
• 7 kids College Fund

Mama (Mom) Accordion Mini

Hola everyone!!

Wow, time sure flies!!  I thought it was just a few days since my last post... And I almost forgot to update my blog for the Scrapping4Fun Happy Mother's Day challenge!

I designed this mini after buying something that came in some awesome plastic boxes.  I was throwing them away, when all of a sudding "light bulb!" I can make some minis and place them here for gift giving!

The mini turned out to be 3 x 2 1/2.  I used scraps to complete it, along with a felt flower.

Inside Back

Inside Front

I tried to take a good picture of it inside the box, but it came out a bit blurry...

I'm in the process of making a few more for Mother's Day.  Oh, I should mention that inside, I just printed some pretty Mother's quotes, to make sort of a quotes mini.

Hope it inspires you to create something for Mother's Day!

Peace and healthy days for you!

Besitos,

Fun in the Playground - A Double LO

Hola everyone!

Hope you are enjoying your Spring Break!  It is a bit rainy here in sunny Puerto Rico, but it usually is on Good Friday.  I like it because the temperature is nice and is not as hot has it has been the past few weeks.

Last year I babysat my nephew and my niece (they are now 3 and 8) and we had a blast on the playground.  So, that's my theme for Challenge #14 of Scrapping4FunChallenges, where as you all know, I am a DT.

I used DCWV and American Crafts cardstock.  The washi tape at the bottom is My Mind's Eye and all the park embellishments are from a kit I purchased a Miss Kate Cuttables, but instead of cutting it, I used the included JPEG to print and cut the embellies.  Unfortunatelly I have no idea where I got the polaroid camera... it is cute, isn't it?

I hope you have a splendind Easter Sunday!  Thanks for stopping by and hope I inspired you to create!

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Linking to:

• 4 Krafty Girls
• 7 Kids College Fund
• Rheed and Rosie Challenge Blog
• Through the Craft Room door
• Everybody Art Challenge
• Through the Purple Haze

A Puerto Rico Mini Album

Hola everyone!

Hope you had a WONDERFUL week and an even better weekend!  I am finally feeling better, after another bout of bronchitis that has kept me home for over 2 weeks.  At least this time I didn't end up in the hospital... that would've been the worst!  LOL

Today I share with you my DT entry for Challenge #14 of Scrapping4FunChallenges.  This is a mini-album I made for my friend Susannah, who came to visit from Texas.  

I used brown paper bags for the pages, to which I added tags for additional picture or journaling space.  Most of the embelishments are digital clipart I found online, which I printed and cut. 

Front Cover

The lens of the camera, I covered with Glossy Accents to add dimension

Tags and hybrid Puerto Rico embellishments

More taga and photo areas

The Polaroid fram has space for a photo

More photo space!

Tags and hybrid journaling space

Back Cover

The numbers in the front cover, are felt, and I added some hanging tags for decoration.  

Well, I hope you enjoy my Puerto Rico Mini!  And come and join us at Scrapping4FunChallenges this week!

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Lace and buttons

Hola eveyone!

How is this week going for you?  Today is Wednesday... actually the end of Wednesday, and this week has been a bit icky for me, as I have been sick... again!  I have bronchitis again.  No real reason why, after I just spent half of February in the hospital with the same thing... 

Anyway, Scrapping4FunChallenges Challenge #13, is all about lace and buttons.  This was a bit hard for me, as I am not a very lacey type of girl... but I pulled it off!

My friend who lives in the Dominican Republic will be receiving this cute kitty card in the mail soon.

Thanks for joining me this week!  And I promise I will tell you all about my South Hill Designs new venture before the week is out!

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

Flowers - DT Challenge 12 for Scrapping4FunChallenges

Hola amigos!

Hope you are having an awesome Friday!  I am in very good spirits and very good health (finally!), so I'll be enjoying the weekend with my husband, and doing some work for my new South Hill Designs business, which I will tell you about in another post this weekend.  I promise!

Scrapping4FunChallenges Challenge #12, asks for Flowers!  We all love flowers, don't we?  And with Spring coming up soon, I really loved this challenge.

So, without further ado, here's my entry for Challenge #12: 

Hope this inspires you to create something amazing this weekend.  If you do, share it with me and my friends at Scrapping4FunChallenges.

Peace and healthy days!

Besitos,

March - Kidney Cancer and Endometriosis Awareness Month

Hola everyone!

As you all know, I am Kidney Cancer Survivor (yey!) and an Endometriosis warrior.  March is Awareness month for both.

I invite you to join me in both my Facebook groups, Cure Kidney Cancer and Endometriosis de Puerto Rico.  Endometriosis de Puerto Rico, is the group page for my organization.

Please feel free to share these images, and help me raise awareness.  These are both silent illnesses... and both are discovered by change on routine exams.  

Endometriosis is a very painful disease, that 1 in 10 women suffer... in silence.  It causes unbearable pain during menstruation and sex, along with other severe symptoms.  Most women with Endometriosis are infertile (thus, the reason I have no kids), have a lot of difficulty at work and in relationships.  And the worse part is that it can go for years untreated, as doctors are still treating it as PMS, PMDD, or worse, as a mental illness.  See my Endometriosis story here.

I count on you to help me raise awareness!

Endometriosis Awareness Images:

Kidney Cancer Awareness images:

#endometriosis #endometriosisawareness #endometriosiswarrior #kidneycancer #kidneycancersucks #kidneycancerawareness #kidneycancersurvivor

Peace and Healthy days for you!

Besitos,