Baby Announcement

Here is my adorable reason for being a horrible blogger, Kaiden Connor.

I've had good excuses in the past for not keeping up my blog and not stamping but my little bundle of joy is one of the most adorable reasons. After I had Malachi 2 years ago it was a lot easier to fit in my crafting and blogging but now with a newborn and a toddler I have to schedule time and it doesn't always work out like planned. Sometimes I am just to exhausted and even though both kids are napping, I just end up napping with them.

A lot has taken place in my life the past few months. In November we went into escrow on our new home and we started packing up our little house. It is amazing what you can accumulate in 7 1/2 years. December is an already busy time of year and adding the packing and moving on top of it made for a stressful month, I was also weeks away from my due date. We got the keys to our home on December 24th and actually moved in on December 31st and 4 days later I had Kaiden.

I think that adjusting to two kids has been one of the hardest things. Poor Malachi has had a hard time adjusting to sharing his parents. He didn't want anything to do with his brother the first couple of days but he now loves his brother and smothers him with kisses.

Kaiden is now 8 weeks old and is letting me sleep a little more the house is mostly unpacked, I have returned to work 3 days a week, and I actually stamped for a couple of hours this past week. My life is getting a little more routine every day and I hope this is a sign that I will find the energy to focus on my SU! business a little more.

Enough about all that and look at that adorable birth announcement. I used My Digital Studio to create my one of kind announcement. I knew I wanted to create my own announcement and had some ideas floating around in my head so during the kids nap time I worked on it and when I got interrupted I just hit save and came back to it later. After I was pleased with it I sent it off to be printed. It took me longer to mail them out than to create them and have them printed because going to the post office with two little ones isn't that appealing. If digital scrapbooking or card making is your thing, make sure to give MDS a try. It is easy to use and has lots of digital downloads that come with the software.

Stylin' Stampin' Squad March Hop

Welcome to the Stylin' Stampin' Blog Hop. This month we are sharing spring, baby, and St. Patty day creations. I've been horrible about updating my blog lately because adjusting to two little ones has been a bigger task than I anticipated, anyway since I have a newborn baby in the home I wanted to create something baby related.


I really appreciate the gifts I received for baby Kaiden and thought what better way can I show my thankfulness than to send them a hand made card. So I got out my new stamp set Baby Prints from the Occasions Mini Catalog and since stamping is a little challenging when my husband isn't home to help with Malachi I thought "lets make this simple but nice." I got out some paper, ink, ribbon, and an embossing folder and whala! Here is my thank you card. I love the simplicity of the card, that made it easy to duplicate.

Items Used:
Stamps: Baby Prints
Paper: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, & Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze
Other Items: Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Big Shot, Strips Texture Impression Folder

Now for my 3D item I was a little stumped because I didn't know what I wanted to make, I actually took days just thinking about this and couldn't come up with anything. I got online and looked around for inspiration and still was stumped. Finally I thought to myself, I'm just going to choose a product and go from there so I looked through my dies and chose the Petal Cone die.

To decorate my petal cone I decided to use my free Sale-A-Bration paper, my framelits dies, and another new stamp set Apothecary. This cute spring petal cone came together rather quickly. That is just my style lately, quick. I love the colors! I used some packaging paper I had laying around for filler. I just shredded and scrunched. Its a great way to re-purpose that paper.

Items Used:
Stamps: Apothecary
Paper: Soft Suede, Every Day Enchantment
Ink: Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait, Soft Suede, & Lucky Limeade
Other: Big Shot, Petal Cone die, Framelits Labels collection, 1 1/4" circle punch

I hope you enjoyed my projects this month. Now make sure to hop on over to Tonya's Blog.

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Creative Electica


2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards


3. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!


4. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps a Lot


5. Anji C. of Altered Scraps Blog


6. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose


7. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya


8. Chelsea M. of A Chelsea Morning


9. Amanda H. of Live Laugh Craft


10. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet


11. Patricia T. of Sunnyone Stampin'


12. Heather W. of Heather's Stampin' Blog


13. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu


14. Linda O. of Stamp at Linda's


15. Marla R. of Marla's Stampin' Spot


16. Michele M. of Michele's Stampin' Blog


17. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place


18. Nicole B. of Creations by Mommy


19. Pam S. of Sunny Girl Scraps


20. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim

Stylin' Stampin' Up! Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stylin' SU! February Blog Hop! This month we are showcasing Valentine's and Sale-A-Bration products. I chose to make a couple of Valentine's projects. Whether this is your first stop on the blog hop or you just came from Anji Pearson-Clements blog, I hope you enjoy all the creations.

My first project is a simple Valentine's card using the P.S. I Love You stamp set from the Occasion's Mini Catalog. That cupid image is adorable and one of the images that made me want to purchase this stamp set. Being that I just had my second baby 4 weeks ago, I went for simple. It is a little hard at times to squeeze in crafting time when you have a 2 year old and a 4 week old. So if you need a simple Valentine card for your Valentine, this is the perfect card for you.

Products Used:
Stamp Set- P.S. I Love You
Card Stock- Blushing Bride, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink- Soft Suede
Accessories- Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder, Labels Collection Framelit Dies, Big Shot


Since Valentine's Day is about giving cards and treats to your loved ones, I made a little treat for my lil Valentine.

Once again I used the P.S. I Love You stamp set but this time I made a bag topper for the small cello bag. I found the yummy cherry hearts at my local grocery store. Now just to keep them hidden from Malachi and I so they don't get all eaten up before I get a chance to make some more treat bags.

Product used:
Stamp Set- P.S. I Love You
Card Stock- Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Accessories- Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon, Top Note Die, Big Shot, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder

Now that you've seen my simple Valentine's projects make sure to hop on over to Tonya's blog to see her fabulous creations.



Stylin' Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Creative Electica
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
4. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps a Lot
5. Anji C. of Altered Scraps Blog
6. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose (You are here)
   
7. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
8. Amanda H. of Live Laugh Craft
9. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
10. Patricia T. of Sunnyone Stampin'
11. Heather W. of Heather's Stampin' Blog
12. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
13. Linda O. of Stamp at Linda's
14. Marla R. of Marla's Stampin' Spot
15. Michele M. of Michele's Stampin' Blog
16. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
17. Pam S. of Sunny Girl Scraps
18. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim

Free!

My Digital Studio Express Free Trial Now Available

Our FREE 30-day trial of My Digital Studio Express is now available. Make sure to get it, and let your friends in on it too! Remember, this is an ongoing offer.

How do you get it?
You can download the software and access the free trial through my business website, www.rosecastillo.stampinup.net or the Stampin' Up! Online Store.

What do you do once you try it and like it?
Once the 30-day free trial period is over, you can purchase the downloadable or disc version of the software to continue using it. You'll simply open up the trial version you already have on your computer, and will be prompted to enter the product registration key you received after purchasing the software. (You'll receive this key via e-mail if you purchase the downloadable version, and you'll find it along with your shipped software if you purchase the disc version.)

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me today!

All Things SU! Christmas Blog Hop

Welcome to the The all things Stampin' Up! Christmas Blog Hop. I hope you enjoy everyone's creations today.

I made a 12x12 scrapbook page of my handsome little man and I from last year to share with all of you. As I mention in a previous post I am trying to catch up on the first year of Malachi's scrapbook before I have my second little baby boy in five weeks.

The page uses some of the DSP from the Christmas Lane Simply Scrapin' Kit from the Holiday Mini. I also used the Northern Frost Sizzlet Decorative Strip die with the Silver Glimmer paper. I just love the way it sparkles.

I am sorry to say that I just realized that I used a retired die on this page. I used the Join in the Cheer Sizzlet Decorative Strip. I apologize for my error. I also added some Mica Flakes along the bottom of the page. It looks like snow and adds that perfect touch.

My second project I wanted to use some of the pieces from the Simply Scrappin' Kit to make a card. These die cuts are so easy to use and apply to a Christmas card. I also used some bakers twine for the string of Christmas bulbs. Added a stamped Merry Christmas and wallah a Simply cute Christmas card.

I hope you enjoyed my simple Christmas projects. Make sure to hop on over to Tanya Ball's Blog to check out her Holiday creations.

BLOGS

1. Anastasia Radloff www.stampinblondie.blogspot.com

2. Shellie Hepner Grindy www.creativeeclectica.com

3. Annie Lee www.lovemecard.blogspot.com

4. Pam Steckman www.stampininthesun77.blogspot.com

5. Nancy Berg www.ladystampsalot.blogspot.com

6. Anji Pearson-Clements www.alteredscraps.com

7. Rose Castillo www.stampwithrose.blogspot.com (that's me)

8. Tonya L Ball www.stampinwithtonya.blogspot.com

9. Chelsea Malouf www.a-chelsea-morning.blogspot.com

10. Jenn Van Wart www.beachsidestampers.com

11. Dawn Snowangel www.dawnscreativechalet.blogspot.com

12. Erin Bradley-Hindman www.erinbh.typepad.com

All Things Stampin' Up! Blog Hop

Welcome to my blog, I am so excited to be apart

of the All Things Stampin' Up! Blog Hop. This is the first time I've ever participated in a blog hop and I hope I don't disappoint anyone.

I intended to have at least two projects to share with you today but I just couldn't squeeze enough crafting time in the past couple of days. I promise to have more to show you next blog hop.

Anyway, I have had this idea in my head for over a month now. I bought a cheap 5x7 frame from the dollar store so that I could make a little home decor for Thanksgiving. It is officially Thanksgiving weekend and I finally made this cute little Give Thanks project. Good thing is I can store it away after this weekend and use it again year after year. Now if I can only get my other home decor project done that I wanted to share today but didn't get a chance to make.

Now that you have seen my blog hop project make sure to hop on over to Tonya Ball's blog to check out her stuff, www.stampinwithtonya.blogspot.com

Stamp Set: Gently Falling

Paper: Spice Cake DSP, Pool Party, Early Espresso, and More Mustard, Very Vanilla

Big Shot Dies: Naturally Serif Sizzlit Decorative Strip Die and Alphabet Simple Letters

Ink: Pool Party, Early Espresso, and More Mustard

Tools: Scallop Trim Boarder, Big Shot, Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon

BLOGS

1. Anastasia Radloff www.stampinblondie.blogspot.com

2. Shellie Hepner Grindy www.creativeeclectica.com

3. Annie Lee www.lovemecard.blogspot.com

4. Pam Steckman www.stampininthesun77.blogspot.com

5. Nancy Berg www.ladystampsalot.blogspot.com

6. Anji Pearson-Clements www.alteredscraps.com

7. Rose Castillo www.stampwithrose.blogspot.com (that's me)

8. Tonya L Ball www.stampinwithtonya.blogspot.com

9. Chelsea Malouf www.a-chelsea-morning.blogspot.com

10. Jenn Van Wart www.beachsidestampers.com

11. Dawn Snowangel www.dawnscreativechalet.blogspot.com

12. Erin Bradley-Hindman www.erinbh.typepad.com

Online Extravaganza

Start your shopping now! No need to wait for Black Friday.

Head on over to my website http://rosecastillo.stampinup.net and click on the shop now button.

Feel free to contact me with an order or any questions.

Candy Canes

Here is the second project from my November stamp club. I used Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, and Whisper White for the colors. I also use the embossing folder and the Stocking Accents die from the Holiday Mini. I love the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon, it is beautiful! What a simple Christmas card and the great thing is you could easily use one of the other die cut shapes on this very same layout and it would look just as great. Which is perfect for making some quick cards in a time crunch.

Speaking of time, I was looking at my blog history for the past couple of months and I have done a horrible job of updating. I guess time has gotten away from me. I will apologize but unfortunately I don't think it will get any better. I will do my best to keep up with my blog and sharing ideas but life is getting crazy. I did sign up for a blog hop so I will keep my commitment to that but with the baby due soon my energy level is way down, the holiday's are approaching rather quickly, and we just got the call that our offer on a short sale home was accepted and we should be closing escrow on December 30th. Closing escrow only 9 days before my due date. Just thinking about this makes me excited and stressed at the same time.

My plan is to set a time aside to just create so I can have pictures of projects ready to share over the next couple of months in advance but we shall see how that goes.

Simply Scrappin' Kit

I am getting down to the last 7.5 weeks of my pregnancy and it is making me a little crazy. It feels so far away but yet so close. It feels like yesterday I was preparing for the arrival of Malachi but it has been almost 2 years.

This weekend I was mentally going down memory lane, thinking about my sweet baby boy and the sweet adorable monster he has become. I ended up pulling out all his monthly pictures. Boy do we have pictures. I only pulled out the professional ones, we have thousand of snapshots but that would require us to get them printed. I laid out one picture from each month and marveled at how they change so quickly. This did two things to me, one it made me sad that my baby wasn't a baby anymore and secondly it made me feel guilty that I hadn't even scrapbooked his pictures like I had planned.

How sad is it that I have taught many scrapbook classes and have many scrapbook pages done with no pictures on them. This put me on a mission, I have been working diligently this week on Malachi's baby scrapbook. I think I have gotten about 8 pages done so far. Most of them are pretty simple because an 8x10 picture takes up a lot of room on a 12x12. I am determined to get the 12 months of professional pictures of Malachi scrapbooked asap because I plan to do the same for Kaiden when he is born and I don't want twice as many pictures sitting on a shelf. Hopefully I will do better this coming year, hopefully. I know that once these pages are completed I will love to sit and just flip through the book and stare at my baby.

I forgot to mention in my long story that I used the Simply Scrappin' Kit from the Holiday Mini for this scrapbook layout of some of last years Christmas photos.

Christmas Stocking

Who doesn't love Christmas Stockings? They are always filled with yummy treats and gifts.

This adorable Big Shot Stocking die is a must have, not only can you make paper stockings but you can make felt or fabric stockings too. I've even seen some Christmas ornaments made with the stocking die and fabric and they were beautiful. If only I could sew. Maybe one of these days.

This stocking project is one of the projects my stamp club made at our November club. I added a pocket inside of the card just a tad bit bigger than a gift card so that this card can be used as a gift card holder. It was so simple to do, with die cut cuts everything for the stocking and creating the gift card slot was simple. I decorated the outside of the Stocking with the holly from the Stocking Accents die, I embossed the front of the stocking, and used a little Designer Series Paper.

What a simple gift card idea. I can't wait to make more.