Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Is that Christmas DSP?


Are you like me and buy a whole bunch of Christmas craft stuff with great intentions of making all sorts of wonderful Christmas presents for all your friends and family? However, life happens, and you only get a tenth of those projects done and have to pack up all that Christmas craft supply until at least next July? Well, if you bought the Winter Frost DSP from the Holiday Mini, don't pack that paper away. Here's a couple of ideas of how to use that paper for a non-holiday card. (BTW, this card is CASEd, but I can't find the original source. Thank you fellow stamper, whoever you are, for inspiring me). 




Stampin' Details:
  • Color Scheme: Whisper White, Island Indigo, Pool Party 
  • DSP: Winter Frost DSP
  • Stamp sets: Hello Lovely
  • Embellishments: Basic Rhinestones, Coastal Cabana 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim 
  • Stamp the flourish on the side of a strip of Whisper White cardstock in Pool Party. Stamp a rectangular sentiment (I used two from the Hello Lovely stamp set) in Island Indigo. Cut out this sentiment and adhere in between the two flourishes with Stampin' Dimensionals. 
  • Use glue dots to adhere the ruffle stretch trim ribbon to cardstock. 
I hope you have a wonderful new year filled with adventure and blessings!

Happy Stampin' 
~Cita 

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Stampin Up! Holiday Sale


Get your crafting shopping done before Black Friday. Avoid the crowds! Avoid the chaos! Avoid calling your husband names as you try to navigate you cart through the chaos of big box stores. Get into your favorite fuzzy socks, grab your hot cup of comfort tea, fire up your computer, and browse through the dozens of discounted products. Take advantage of these sales before December 2.

Holiday Sale Details:

  • Sale runs November 20 - December 2. 
  • View all the amazing products here
  • Discounts range between 20 and 50 percent. 
  • There's no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion. Sale on!
  • For product bundles, you need to use the bundle item numbers provided. If you use individual item numbers, you won't get the discount. 
Don't wait, head over to my website now and place your holiday order. 

Happy Stampin'! Happy Shoppin'! And Happy Holidays!

~Cita 

Monday, November 18, 2013

Happy with Thinlits


Oh  my. This stay-at-home stuff is busy! After a month, I'm still trying to get in a groove. My entire family is adjusting to the huge change, but I didn't think I would be so lost on my days. I thought I would make it more of a point to blog when I no longer had a day job, but instead I have been finding myself cleaning out a cupboard instead of blogging. But today I told myself that I wanted to blog, so here I am.
I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again: I love the new thinlit dies. They are so much fun, and I just love creating with them.  This card reminds me of Hawaii because of the flowers and the colors. Or maybe it's because I want to go to Hawaii for Thanksgiving.

Stampin' Tips:

  • Color Scheme: Marina Mist, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive
  • Stamp Sets: Secret Garden, Yippee-Skippee, Express Yourself 
  • Paper: Quatrefancy Specialty DSP
  • Accessories: Label Card Thinlits Die, Chalk Talk Framelits, Secret Garden Framelits, Brights Candy Dots


Friday, October 25, 2013

October Paper Pumpkin


5 minutes, ladies and gentlemen. That is how long it took me to put together this month's adorable, useful Paper Pumpkin kit. This cute little note pad can be used for taking notes, writing to-do lists, or compiling a grocery list.

Paper Pumpkin kits are your monthly creative escape. Sign up, and each month the Paper Pumpkin will auto-ship directly to your door and come with all the supplies you need (stamps, ink, paper, and accessories) to create cute, simple, and pinable project such as cards, journals, decor, and more! Interested in this monthly creative escape? Get more details or sign up at the Paper Pumpkin website.

~Cita

Friday, October 18, 2013

Ladybug Ink Blog Hop: Thanksgiving Style


We are heading to the holidays! And this month, the Ladybugs decided to skip Halloween and focus our blog hop on Thanksgiving. I'll be honest, I don't do much for Thanksgiving. We do make it a point to be with family, that is important to us, but other than hanging out with la familia, stuffing my face, and watching football, there's not much more to Thanksgiving. So Thanksgiving craft projects are a little hard for me. But after watching Mary Fish's tutorial on how to make a card using the Floral Framelits, I was inspired for this blog hop.



Stampin' Tips:

  • Disclaimer: Remember that Stampin' Up! recommends cutting only one piece of cardstock with the framelits, and this card will require you to cut through two pieces at one time. I haven't had any issues with cutting two pieces of cardstock with the framelits, but I wanted to make you aware that my framelit usage goes against recommendations. 
  • Colors: Pumpkin Pie, Baked Brown Sugar, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, and Daffodil Delight
  • Stamp set: Tags 4 You 
  • Designer Series Paper: Epic Day This and That and 2013-2015 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack
  • Accessories: Floral Framelits, Pumpkin Pie 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Label Bracket Punch 
  • When cutting the Epic Day and In-Color DSP with the floral framelit, position the DSP on top of each other and run both pieces through the Big Shot at the same time. This will allow you to perfectly line up the pieces. 
  • Cut a piece of the Always Artichoke with the Label Bracket Punch, cut it in half, and then layer it to the back of the "Happy Thanksgiving" tag. 
Thanks for stopping by! Hop on over to Cassie's blog.



~Cita 

Thursday, September 26, 2013

A New Chapter


Today was my last day at my day job. I have worked for a science and technology company for almost 7 years as a technical communicator. Today I said goodbye to the workforce and changed my title from "working mom" to "stay-at-home mom".

This was a hard decision to make, but I'm confident with my decision and do not have any regrets. 

Three and half years ago, after having the Booger, I decided to go back to work. It was necessary for me to go back to work at that time. I was going crazy at home. I felt like I had lost my identity after having the Booger. Going back to work helped me to feel like I restored my identity and sanity. But what was necessary three years ago is no longer valid now. I don't find my identity in work as much as I used to. My job doesn't fulfill me as much as it used to.

Please don't get me wrong. I had an amazing job. The people I worked with were great. I got to work on some fun projects. I learned new programs and improved my HTML and website skills. My managers were caring and flexible. These were some of the many aspects that made it so hard to make this decision.  

So after months and months of thinking and praying about quitting my job, my husband and I made the decision that it would be in our family's best interest if I quit my job. And that brings us to today. I gave my notice to my manager weeks ago, but today solidifies the decision.

This afternoon, I finished clearing off my desk and headed out to turn in all my separation paperwork. As I closed the door to my office, I thought, "Wow, I'm literally closing the door on a chapter to my life."

And then I pretty much cried all afternoon. Even though I'm excited and confident with my change, I am mourning the end of this chapter. 

So what's next? I don't really know. 

What I do know is that I do want to spend more time with the Booger. I do know that I want to eliminate the craziness that came with both my husband and me working. I do know that I want to spend more time teaching stamping and paper crafting. 

Other than that, it's going to be all trial and error. Maybe I'll love being a stay-at-home mom and never look back. Maybe I'll go crazy in a few months and demand to find another job. Maybe I'll go back to school  - photography always has interested me. I could go back and get my Masters in Technical Communication. I do love the TC field. Maybe I'll become an awesome Stampin' Up! demonstrator and never look back to going back to a 9 to 5 job, but just do what I love: papercrafting. Maybe I will decide to homeschool Sybella ( I doubt it, but who knows).  I feel like the sky is the limit right now. I'm so fortunate to be in this position. I am so fortunate to have a husband that recognized my discontentment with my job and supports me chasing an undefined dream and "trying" to be a stay-at-home mom, even after my first attempt was a complete disaster.

So stay tuned! Hopefully, I'll be able to increase my blog posts. Oh, and if you have any advice for this newbie SAHM, I'm all ears.

Happy Stampin',
~Cita 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Lovely Ladybugs Day

Have I told you lately that I love being part of Stampin' Up!?
Let me tell you now: I love being part of Stampin' Up!

One of the many reasons I love this company is the people. I have met so many wonderful people since becoming a demonstrator, many who I now comfortably call my friends. The group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators I belong to is called Ladybug Ink. Think of it as my immediate Stampin' Up! family. Every so often, my upline, Amber, rewards several Ladybugs who met certain requirements during a performance period. I qualified this past period and got to partake in Lovely Ladybugs Day, and it indeed was a lovely Ladybug day. Complete with a scrumptious lunch, make-and-takes, and gifts, Amber provided an amazing morning.  Here's a little glimpse of my morning.

Here's the beautiful centerpiece at the table. These sunflowers are from Amber's garden.



Our lovely place setting. The placemat is an actual 12x12 piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock. I was super careful not to soil the placemat.

We each received a a little gift. Inside this cute little bag was a set of washi tape that we later used for one of our make-and-takes. 

At each place setting was this elegant "Lovely Ladybug" frame. You may not recognize the lovely ladybug from any set that Stampin' Up! sells. This is because Amber drew and carved this stamp using Stampin' Up!'s new Undefined Kit. I was surprised when Amber sent us all home with this cute frame.

I love how Amber used the new Bow die to make the wrap around for this setting. See that lemon? That is another stamp she hand-carved using the Undefined Kit.

 Dessert part 1. Can you say yummy?

I thought this was so cute and clever. Amber gave us these simple mason jars to use as our cups. To spruce up the cup a little, she wrapped a strip of washi tape around the jar.

And the glass is now completely full with delicious hand-squeezed lemonade. 

Dessert part 2. Amber's husband made these decadent lemon bars. I was so tempted to walk off with more that I could munch on later. 

After we finished stuffing our bellies, we got to stamp! 

Here's a bookmark we made. See the gold button on the flower? That's actually a white button that we dipped in gold embossing powder and heat embossed. 


This is a pouch made out of a simple 6x6 piece of DSP. See the gold splatter marks all over the black polka dot paper? We used the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and embossed skid marks and splatter all over the paper. I think it's a nice touch.

This card is a "shaker card"; shake it and the butterflies, hearts, and flowers shake behind the window sheet. The window sheet is adhered to the card base using the washi tape.

This was our last make-and-take: a decorated notebook. Amber found these notebooks at a big craft store. We added the chevron ribbon and the Lovely Ladybug tag.


 I am definitely motivated to try to earn another invite to Lovely Ladybugs day again. Join my team of Ladybug stampers and you can also earn a lovely day like this. Contact me to see how you can join Stampin' Up! for only $100.

Happy Stampin'!
~Cita










Friday, September 13, 2013

Ladybug Ink Blog Hop: Holiday Catalog Style


It's time for the blog hop again. This month we are featuring projects made from the Holiday catalog. My project features the Christmas Messages stamp set from the Holiday catalog, along with the newly released Circle Card Thinlets Die.



I love the new Thinlets die and how they help make such cute and fun flip cards.

Next up on the blog hop is Cassie.

Enjoy your day and Happy Stampin'!

~Cita

Ruth Norton http://ruthsstampingcorner.blogspot.com
Nichole Gonzales Jaramillo http://nicholesu.blogspot.com/
You are here: Camelita Wasson http://carmenacita.blogspot.com/

Friday, September 06, 2013

The Joys of Washi Tape


I. Love. Washi Tape. When it started to become trendy in the crafting world I did a hidden eye roll as I thought the idea of decorative tape was silly. Just take some DSP and apply with scotch tape, wa-la makeshift washi tape.  I shall confess that I mocked washi tape at first. No more. I apologize washi tape. Please forgive me. Let me use your awesome-ness to grace my cards and make creating easier.

At convention, Stampin' Up! so graciously gave us six rolls of washi tape from the Holiday Mini catalog. I took my cute little rolls of washi tape home and decided to give it a try on a card. I had already started to use it in my This N That books, but not on cards. The above card was the outcome. I loved how easy it was to string the strips of washi tape across the card to create a layered DSP look. Had I used actual DSP, this card would have been a little more time consuming. Think about trying to cut all those little pieces of DSP, laying them out, adhering them one by one, and then trimming the sides. Use washi tape, it's much easier.


Stampin' Tips:

  • Colors scheme: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Whisper White (The best Christmas Card color combo ever)
  • Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Christmas Messages
  • Accessories: Season of Style Designer Washi Tape, Cherry Cobbler Twine, Apothecary Accents Framelits
  • When placing the washi tape, don't worry about cutting the strip of tape to be exact. Wrap the excess tape around the back of the card. 
  • Use the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to provide a background in the bottom right-hand corner. I used Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler ink. 
  • Cut a Cherry Cobbler piece from the Apothecary Accent framelits. Then cut a 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" piece of Whisper White cardstock to line the accent and stamp the Christmas greeting on. Tie a piece of Cherry Cobbler twine around and seal with a bow. 
Have you tried using washi tape? What projects have you used them on? If you haven't given washi tape a chance, I highly recommend giving it some time. I do believe you will like washi tape. 

Happy Stampin' 
~Cita 

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Holiday Single Stamps


Stampin' Up! recently released a new, holiday-themed collection of single stamps. These stamps are perfect for budget conscious stampers or those who just want that one special Christmas stamp. (It's so weird to already be thinking about Christmas in August.)

There are eight different stamps to choose from, six of which coordinate with the Framelits dies or punches.  These stamps are only available in clear-mount.

Be Merry Clear-Mount Stamp ($8.95, 134767)
A Gift For You Clear-Mount Stamp ($4.95,  134765)
Cheers Clear-Mount Stamp ($5.95, 134769)
Christmas Star Clear-Mount Stamp ($9.94, 134813)
Joy and Love Clear-Mount Stamp ($6.95, 134771)
Magical Season Clear-Mount Stamp ($5.95, 134777)
Prince of Peace Clear-Mount Stamp ($6.95, 134811)
Wonderful Blessing Clear-Mount Stamp ($8.95, 134779)
Aren't these stamps beautiful? Visit my website and place your order. These stamps will only be available until January 31, 2014. 

Happy Stampin', 
~Cita 








Friday, August 30, 2013

Convention 2013 Swaps: Part 4

If you're wondering, I swapped between 40-50 cards at convention. 50 is my personal magic swaps number. I feel like 50 makes me feel like I came home with a lot, but doesn't kill me (or my roommates, in this year's case) making them. I talked to some demonstrators who prep hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of swaps for convention. Wow!!

Here's another round of convention swaps.

I'll once aging tout the simple, yet elegant card. Isn't this a beautiful card?

I like how this lady used the polka dot embossing folder. 

Convention was very special this year, but one of the things that I most appreciated and enjoyed was seeing and meeting all the demonstrators from the other side of the world participating in convention this year. These demonstrators earned an incentive trip to SLC for convention. I met demonstrators from the UK, Australia, and France. This swap was made from a lady in France. I feel privileged that she swapped with me. 

I need to make more "Get Well Cards." We received this set, Tag It, at convention this year.  

I. Love. This. Card. I forget constantly to buy this stamp set, but need to as I could put it to good use. I come from a family of car-aholics. I used to joke that my brothers bought and sold cards more than they changed their underwear (sorry for the bad analogy, but you get the point). They, along with my stepdad, love racing cars. I could make them amazing cards with this stamp set. And I could start with CASEing this card. 

I love the colors on this card. I like to avoid any type of yellows, but look how beautiful the Daffodil Delight is against the Not Quite Navy card base. 

This card is beautiful! I appreciate the lady who put all this effort into making this card and swapping with me.

This last batch completes all the card swaps I received at convention. The next post will feature the 3D swaps I received from people who so graciously swapped with me. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Happy Stampin'!
~Cita 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Convention 2013 Swaps: Part 3

I'm continuing posting the swaps I received during Convention in July. I love looking at these from time to time because they are so inspiring.

I love simple cards, and this definitely fits the bill. I also like the use of the Modern Medley DSP. 

I swoon over this card. I love the use of the Modern Medley DSP and the strips of Basic Black cardstock on the left. And the button to hold up the Chalk Talk tag is the perfect splash of color to this card. I'm hoping to CASE this card soon. 


Check out the background of stamped flowers. It's so subtle, but very eye-catching. 

Here's another lovely simple card. I love how this lady punched out a butterfly at the bottom of the Whisper White cardstock.

This is obviously not a simple card, but it's SO STINKIN' CUTE!! Doesn't the punch-art Santa Claus make you happy? It makes me happy, and I don't really like Santa Claus. 





I still have a few more swaps to share with you from convention. Check back soon!

Happy Stampin'!

~Cita 

Snowed In

It's like we were destined to not go to school today. I woke up to a beautiful 6 inches of snow in my yard. We are in the lower elevatio...