MY NIECE SOPHIA, 6

This is my beautiful 6 year old niece Sophia, modeling her new bikini and her new smile.

Sophia's favorite things are:

• Horses, horses and more horses
• Anything and everything "Princess".
• Color: PINK (are there any others?)
• Sparkly everything...
• Cupcakes and Ice cream WITH sprinkles
• Panda... (the animal and the Chinese food... yeah... I know... lol)
• School

and a lot more stuff

Sometimes I get a phone call and I say "hello"... and all I hear from the other side is "MEOW" and then a little laugh... and that's how I know that is Sophia trying to trick "Tia Rosana"... than I respond "QUACK"... and that is how we communicate for a little while... Until I say: "Hey Sophia, want to go to Michael's?" And then the conversation gets real serious and she is ready to go in minutes.

Loro, 41 Year Old Bird

This is my familie's bird fom when I was a little girl. I remember as if it was today, the day that we adopted him into our family. I was a 7 year old little girl. One evening after school, in Brazil, my mom (deceased), my middle brother Edson (deceased) and I walked a couple of miles over to the home of some friends to pick him up and bring him home. I was wearing my school uniforme, and running so excited about adopting "Lourinho". He had just a few gray feathers. That was 41 years ago. This picture was taken a few months ago by the new family that is taking care of him, since he is in Brazil and I am in USA.

He sings and speaks and calls my name and used to call my mom.

What memories I have of those times.

Scruff, 15

Picture by: Eliana Kaplan

This is my boy Scruff. He is 15 years old. He's been my buddy for the last 12 years. Lately his health has been weak, but he is a fighter and is hanging on for dear life. I am pretty sure he already used up all of his 9 lives plus a couple. The vet diagnosed him with liver cancer, probably very serious pancreatic problems too. But trough it all I often catch him playing with his little toys under the bed or in the closet, and still knows how to demand being petted 'the right way'.

Picture by: Eliana Kaplan

ONLINE TV IS A BEAUTIFUL THING

AND THESE ARE MY GUILTY PLEASURES...

BIRTHDAY CARD

I LOVE THESE PRE-MADE FLOWERS
(too bad more than half of the flowers in the package are unusable and a total waste of money. let the maker know it.)

I USED THE FISKAS FLOWER EMBOSSING PLATE, A MINI E.K. PUNCH FOR THE EDGE, A CUTE RIBBON AND SOME REALLY COOL SHINNY PAPERS.

I ALSO USED RUBONS FOR THE SENTIMENTS IN AND OUT OF THE CARD, CRICUT (WIMG) FOR THE VASE, DIMENSIONAL ADHESIVE AND A MATCHING ENVELOPE.

ENJOY!

SOME OF MY CHRISTMAS CARDS

When I made these cards I didn't have my tools or space to work on. I just wanted to work on Christmas cards so badly, so they are quite simple. My cricut and CB were in storage and very hard to get to. My friend Eliana Kaplan very generously invited me numerous times to scrap with her at her home. She let me use her CB and folders and cricut (last card's snow flakes). Shared paper and suplies. Gave me lots of boxes of square sticky glue, and LOTS of inspiration.

Thanks Cu!

TWO QUICK BUTTERFLY CARDS...

I founf these cute butterflies ribons and knew I had to make some butterfly cards.

Both very easy and quick. They measure 4'' x 4'', and used the "Happy Birthday" CB folder.

TFL

YEAHHHH... I MADE IT THE CHIRP NEWSLETTER!!!

I WAS HIGHLITED ON THE CRICUT'S NEWSLETTER TODAY!!! YEAHHHHH!!!

HERE IS THE LINK: http://www.cricut.com/newsletters/volume.aspx?ID=170

ONCE IT OPENS SCROW IT DOWN TO THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE AND CLICK ON: ""LET'S GARDEN...""

THIS WAS A CARD THAT I MADE LAST YEAR FOR A FRIEND OF MINE THAT WAS REDOING HER GARDEN. I ENDED UP NEVER SENDING IT TO HER, DIDN'T EVEN WRITE A SENTIMENT ON THE FRONT OF THE CARD. SO I SHOULD PROBABLY MAKE A NEW ONE AND SEND IT TO HER.

IT WAS A LOT OF FUN MAKING IT. I USED ''WIMG CARTRIDGE'' FOR THE WHEELBARROW. I AM SORRY BUT I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT SIZE I CUT IT, BUT IT WAS TRIAL AND ERROR. I KEPT CUTTING UNTIL I GOT IT RIGHT. THE FLOWERS ARE SILK MINI-HYDRANGEA. I LOVE THIS LITTLE FLOWER BECAUSE IT LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE DOGWOOD. FOR THE SCALLOPED EDGE ON THE BOTTOM I USED A MINI EK PUNCH. THE PINK CENTER FOR THE FLOWERS CAN BE BOUGHT AT JOANN'S 20 OR 25 FOR A BUCK... AND AN ADORABLE RIBBON.

ANYWAY... HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY. THANKS TO ALL THAT LEFT A MESSAGE ON THE CRICUT FORUM. AND THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION.

SYMPATHY CARD FOR MY FRIEND MARCUS

MY FRIEND MARCUS'S FATHER PASSED AWAY LAST WEEK. I WANTED TO MAKE KIM A CARD THAT REFLECTED HOW COLORFUL HE IS. MARCUS IS A WONDERFUL FRIEND SINCE GRADE SCHOOL IN BRASIL. SO IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT WE KNOW EACH OTHER FOR AT LEAST 35 YEARS. MARCUS IS GOING THROUGH A TOUGH TIME, BUT HE IS ALSO A STRONG GUY, THAT IS AT PEACE WITH HIS DAD'S PASSING.
I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU , MARCUS, AND KNOW THAT I WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU.
BEIJOS NO CORACAO!

Ba-TIM-an Card...

I made this card a while back for a very special boy I was a nanny to for 7 years, for his 5th birthday.

It came out so adorable, if I may say so.

It was a lot of work, as I made 30 of these cards, at 6 layers each + printing in and out of the card, plus the picture that was a 'snap'... OK, lame joke not intended... lol

But my boy, Tim, already had a Batman costume from Halloween and he knew exactly how to pose for the picture.

The first picture was the card we used.

The second picture was the other version of the same card I made just for fun.
The third picture is the topper alone. Just look at Tim's happy expression.

What a good looking pup. I love this boy!

Enjoy the card!

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

Thomas Train

Tim's 4Th birthday was all about "Thomas" the engine. I did not make the invitations, but I made the thank you cards.

Here it is.

SCRUFF... THE SUPER CAT???

HUMMM...

THIS IS SCRUFF... MY 14 YEAR OLD CATSTER. CUTE, HUH?

MAKE NO MISTAKE... HE IS A FEROCIOUS BEAST!

HE LOVES HIS TOY MOUSE!

Let's Garden...

I started this card a while ago for a friend that was redoing her garden.

I haven't even finished, as I haven't added a sentiment to the front of the card.

I plan to finish it.

Happy Birthday Gi!

I made this 'cardy' for my sister-in-law that is having a birthday this coming Friday. I am so happy with the result. I think it looks like Gummy Drops. Lol... I hope she'll like it.

Happy Birthday Curita!

My friend Eliana had a birthday several days ago and I just got around to mail her card today... Well last year it took me 6 months to deliver her "Jamba Juice" card... so this year I'm not so bad... hahaha...

Anyway... I am both exited and anxious, because my friend is also a cardmaker.

Hope you like it Cu!

I used shinny green cardstock embossed with Fiskas system, Canson's Expression blue paper, Pre made Flowers, Walk to my Garden, Ribbon and rub-ons.

I just love these colors together.

Happy Birthday to my Brother Adriano

May 7th - 2008 is my big brother's birthday.

I made this card as a version of another card I made a couple of months back.

I used Oposites Attract, rub-ons and some really cool papers.

Happy Birthday Nano!

What I'm Listening To In My Car

Ok, I'm in love with this book!

Eat, Pray, Love:
One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

by ELIZABETH GILBERT

DELICIOUS, REFRESHING...

are some of the words I use to describe this book.
I just love listening to the author's voice, along with her perfect combination of Sweet Smart Ass way of describing her amazing experiences.

Yummy!!!

Rose Bouquet Birthday Card

I made this card today. I am very happy with the result, and as always unhappy with the photograph. But I've decided that I need a new camera. I've used Walk to my Garden's rose, cut at 4.5 in. I made the vase a bit smaller, at 3 in. Luckily I had an envelop that was the same shade of green of one of the papers I used. Don't remember where the paper came from, but it's beautiful all embossed. The cardstock is gorgeous and shinny. I also used a metal bird charm hanguing from the bow, and dimensionals all over. If you have any questions, just ask. Hope you all like it!

I Miss You Baby Girl!

My beloved Zoe picked me to love when she was just a puppy on the streets of Emeryville, CA. She was such a beautiful puppy. So full of energy... no, really... crazy, overwhelming energy. After all she was a 4 month old Australian Shepherd... A Sheep Dog.
My life was so complicated then. I had no room for more responsibilities. And though I wanted to keep Zoe, I fought for a while getting close to her.
Then I fell in love with her and the rest is history. I was mom to Zoe for about 8 short years. She died 8 months ago, on August 21st.
Not a single day goes by that I don't miss her like crazy. I miss her totally, absolutely 100% unconditional love for me. She made me feel like "Hot Shit", the most important 'thing' in the world.
I will always love and miss you baby girl!

My Daily Affirmattions...

Life is Beautiful!

Meanwhile At The Sunset Drive...

It's so late it's early!

There's not much sleeping around here.

I lay on a loveseat while my 14 year old cat nests on my left arm and I try to type with my right hand the notebook that is on my left side, in the dark . You get the picture. Trying to fit on the sofa when Zoe is no longer here.
I make lists of ‘things to do today’, ‘things to do this week’, ‘things to do eventually’.
Thoughts of 'I need' race through my mind. It's not 'things' that I need, but things that I need to do to help my life run more smoothly. I need to organize my art space, I need to dedicate more time to my business, mostly I need to rest, I need to sleep.

Days of Spring...

I've been enjoying the gorgeous flower trees this year. The flowers came early this year, so hopefully the flowering season will last longer.
Luckily I keep a camera handy and took a few pictures... Here are a couple, I will post more later. Please click the first picture to see it bigger. The intensity of these flowers touches me
Enjoy!

Valentines Card

I love how this card came out.

The bug stamp belongs to the 'bee happy' collection, by STAMPENDOUS.

So Cute!

What I've Been Listening To In My Car

I drive 120 miles everyday, to and from work, so I have loads of time to listen to my cd's. Last week I 'discovered' this singer... went and bought her cd and I just love it!

The singer is
Brandi Carlile
the cd and song title is
"The Story"

Too Funny...

Found
this
while
on
one
of
my
'walks'
through
the
internet...
can't
remember
where,
but
thought
it
was
very
funny...

Happy Birthday Raul!

I WANTED TO MAKE A CARD FOR MY DEAR FRIEND RAUL... I WANTED FOR IT TO BE A COLORFUL, YET MASCULINE CARD, WHILE STAYING AWAY FROM 'BOAT' AND 'FISHING' IMAGES... LOL...
WELL, I WAS UNABLE TO STAY AWAY FROM BROWNS... AND ENDED UP USING A BOW...
RAUL IS A BEAUTIFUL MAN WITH A BEAUTIFUL FEMININE SIDE WHO CAN TOTALLY HANDLE A LITTLE BOW...

><> <><

Baby Boy Announcement Card

I made 30 of these cards, a few month's ago, to announce the birth of a friend's baby boy. I am very proud of how the card came up...

enjoy!