I'm Dreaming of Christmas

Today it is 106 degrees in Redlands, way too hot for my liking! My favorite season is Fall but I also love Christmas and all of the decorations, lights, and spirit of the season. I am looking forward to putting out my fall decoration soon and then replacing them with Christmas decor.

Today I thought I would share this Christmas card that I made for an organized swap for convention. When I saw the Dasher stamp in the under $10 section in the SU! Idea Book & Catalog I knew I needed to have it on my first order. Why would I need a Christmas stamp in July? I have no idea, but I got it anyway. It came in handy when I decided at the last minute to be involved in the swap. I chose not to go completely traditional with the colors but I had to include Real Red and the beautiful Real Red Polka-dot Ribbon. If you know me, you'll understand that I have a thing for polka-dots! I have been trying to convince Eric that Malachi will need the brown, baby blue, and cream polka-dot stroller & play pen but he is convinced that I only like the products because of the polka-dots. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little taste of Christmas on this hot August day.

Products Used:
Dasher Stamp Item #116816 $8.95, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, and Whisper White Card Stock, Chocolate Chip Ink Pad, 3/4" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, SU! Texturz Plate Backgrounds 1, Big Shot, Sanding Blocks.

Scrapbook Swap

Here is another one of my swaps that I created for convention. I added the pictures and a different title to this page but other than that its the same. This was for an organized 12x12 scrapbook page swap.

These pictures are of my cousin's little girl, Lizette from last Halloween. Grandma and I took the girls to the pumpkin patch to take pictures of them in their costumes. Lizette was mostly interested in picking up the sticks off the floor to eat. We propped her up against some pumpkins and snapped away with the camera. It has only taken me 10 months to scrapbook these pictures and I have plenty more! Someday...

Products used:
Stamp Set: Scary Skeleton, Arachnophobia (standard wheel)
Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Old Olive, and Whisper White
DSP: Cast A Spell
Ribbon: 1 1/4 Stripped Grosgrain Ribbon
Big Shot: Hearts & Brackets, Naturally Serif

It's a boy!

Here is my baby boy! It was a long morning at the doctors and I almost had to leave with out knowing if it was a boy or a girl. Luckily the technician said he would try one more time before I left. He ended up getting a clear shot between the legs and now we know it is a boy. His name is Malachi Mason Castillo.

It was so amazing to see our baby. We got a hand wave and a peace sign from him. Seeing my baby move around in my tummy made me get all teary eyed. What a wonderful experience!

I am so blessed to be given this opportunity to have a baby. Eric and I tried to get pregnant for over three years and now it is finally happening. Somewhere around January 13th we will finally meet our lil guy. I already love him so much!

Thank you to everyone for sharing in our joy!

Home Sweet Home

I had a blast at the SU! Convention this past week but I sure did come home exhausted. The convention was full of excitement, business classes, announcements about new product and new ideas.

SU! is having a great hostess special in the month of September so if you are interested in having a in home demonstration for you and your friends contact me today to reserve your date!

The Holiday Mini Catalog will be available on September 1st. The catalog is full of great new products for the holidays, new Build A Bear stamp sets and die cuts for your Big Shot, and the new Digital Scrapbook software.

I roomed with some awesome ladies! I hope to call them life long friends because they were just so great and I am so happy to have met them. We had many laughs and late night talks.

The Chic Boutique Card is one of my card swaps from convention. I wish I would of had more swaps but I just didn't have the time to make them. As it was, I made this card the morning I was leaving. It is simple but I like it.

I used the Wellness Wishes stamp set to make this cute little Tea Bag holder. This is a stamp club project for this month. I am totally loving the wide stripped ribbon. I have used it on many projects already and I already need a new spool. I would hate to wish that someone would be sick but I do want to give this project to someone. I will just have to wait and it may come in handy sometime soon.

Tomorrow I will be going to the doctors for my 18 week sonogram, I am so excited to find out if I am having a boy or a girl. I truly have to special feelings that would make me believe it is one or the other. I just keep thinking that its a 50% chance for either one. One more day and I will be shouting it from the roof tops! I will probably be sending out mass text messages, emails, and blogging about it. Talk to you tomorrow.

SU! Convention

I haven't been meaning to ignore my blog but this past month has been way to busy. Today I am in Salt Lake City for the SU! Convention, I am so glad I came. Today was check in day. Tomorrow the classes start and I am excited to see what is in store. I will post pictures when I get home of the scrapbook page and cards I designed for convention swaps. More updates to follow...