Yellow Pants, Grapes and Triqui Traquis - Venezuelan New Year

Venezuelans have been stocking up on yellow underwear, sparkling wine and grapes in the last few days, in the traditional build up to the celebration of New Year's Eve, or Fin de Año.

The locals love to welcome in the New Year with a massive bang so sales of fireworks or "triqui-traquis" have also been brisk - especially the annoying little firecrackers called "fosforitos", the bigger "

Wisemen Still Seek Him

The challenge today over at Cricut Cardz Challenge was to create a card inspired by your favorite Christmas carol. Here is what I came up with:



It is based on an old favorite of mine - Wisemen Seeking Jesus. I cut this using Inspired Heart. The sentiment, is one of my favorites. I have spent so long looking for the sentiment Wisemen still seek him. This year I finally found some, and decided this was the perfect cut for the sentiment.

I hope you all come play with us over at Cricut Cardz Challenge!

Some challenges:
Creative Card Crew - Tis the Season
Tuesday Throwdown - Celebrate the season
Come and Get It Challenges - Christmas
Clearly I Stamp - Christmas
Fairytale Challenge - Christmas
Jingle Belles - Christmas
The Poodles Parlour -Christmas
Raise the Bar - Christmas
Simply Create Too - Christmas
Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Nativity
Rainbow Lady's Challenge - Christmas carol


A la prochaine...

Michelle

Brought to you by the Letter S

Morning everyone :) Today is challenge day over Cricut Cardz Challenge. Today, Mary has challenged us to make a Christmas card featuring something that start with the letter "S". Here is my card"



Cute, eh? the snowflakes are from Disney's Pooh and Friends, and Wrap it Up cartridges. I used the snowflakes embossing folder from Cuttlebug, and The Let it Snow stamp is from CTMH. You will also notice that I used my super cute Peachy Keen stamps! Love them!! I hope you all play along with us, and have a wonderful day!

A few challenges:
Everybody Art Challenge - christmas cards
Ladybug Crafts Ink - winter blues
Oldie but Goodie - let it snow & use a stamp that is at least 6 mos old (I have had the Let it snow stamp almost 2 years, and have never used it... :)
GHWI challenge - embossing
Kaboodle Doodles - Baby it's cold outside
Fashionable Stamping - I'm dreaming of a white christmas
CES Challenge blog - snowflakes
Drunken Stamper - up in the air
Ellephantastic - weather related
One Stop Craft Challenge - blue
Stamps, Scrap and Doodle - embossing
Moving Along with the Times - ribbons and bows
The House that Stamps Built - snowflakes

A la prochaine...

Michelle

Venezuelan Xmas food at UK bazaar - 11 December

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the usual Venezuelan festive foods so the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in London has organized a Christmas Bazaar at Bolivar Hall on Sunday 11 December with stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a feliz navidad Venezuelan style, as well as rum, music, and a raffle.

Festive favourites on sale include hallacas (a stew of

Giving Thanks

It's Challenge day over at Cardz TV. Mary challenged us to create a Thanksgiving card using the card feature from any cartridge. Here is what I came up with:



I used the card feature on Stretch Your Imagination. I cut it on my Gypsy girl at 4 1/2 inches. I then used my Gypsy to make the layers fit. I think she turned out really cute :)


A la prochaine...

Michelle

How to Make Hallacas - Venezuelan Christmas Food

The most important dish at Christmas in Venezuela is without doubt the hallaca, a cornmeal-dough pocket stuffed with a host of tasty ingredients, wrapped in a plantain leaf, and boiled.

Culinary legend has it that the hallaca originated from the tradition of the plantation owners giving the leftover scraps from their Christmas banquets to the slaves, who would use them to spice up the boiled

Venezuelan food now on sale in Southampton

Hot and tasty Venezuelan snacks are now available in Southampton on Saturdays, after Yasmily Barrios Teran decided to open a stall selling traditional food from her native Venezuela at the seaside city's popular Bargate Market.

Teran, originally from Maracay, only started selling Venezuelan empanadas (fried cornmeal turnovers with savoury fillings) and arepas one month ago.

The empanadas on

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge

Sorry this post is a few hours late, we just got back from a glorious Thanksgiving weekend at White Point Beach with my Mum and Dad and the kids. The weather was INCREDIBLE!! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to work on this post before I left, but here it is now...

Yesterday, I the honor of being a Spotlight Sunday designer on Fantabulous Cricut, and am a guest designer for this week's challenge. The challenge was to do a project you could hang on the wall. Here is what I did:






A few weeks ago on Pinterest, I came across this frame, that someone had converted into a weekly calendar. I always have a hard time keeping our week straight, and the kids never know when I'm working, or what nights Mike has meetings, this seemed like the perfect option :)

I found a frame at Walmart for about $15. I cut out Our Week with Pooh Font, and the days of the week were cut with various cartridges - Robotz, All Mixed Up, A Child's Year, Baby Steps, Gypsy Font and Opposites Attract. I used 8 different patterned papers that I had in my stash for the backgrounds and adhered the titles. Each frame is 4x6. I then attached a dry erase marker to the side with a ribbon so i wouldn't lose it, and voila! The perfect weekly organizational tool for my busy family.

I hope you all come play along today at FCCB, and that all my fellow Canadians had a fantabulous Thanksgiving :)

A la prochaine...

Michelle

Happy Owl -oween!

It is challenge day over at Cardz TV! Today Mary challenged us to create a halloween card with an owl on it. This stumped me, it took me ages to come up with an idea. My husband finally said, why don't you just dress up an owl. That's when the the ghost idea hit me. Here it is:



Pretty cute, huh? You can't really see the owl, but it's the one from CAC, as is the branch. The ghost costume is from Paper Doll Dress Up. I manipulated the shape on my Gypsy, so I could make sure it fit the owl. The sentiment is from My Pink Stamper.

I hope you all come play with us over at Cardz TV! Can't wait to see what you come up with :)


A la prochaine...

The history of the Venezuela arepa (documentary in Spanish)

This excellent documentary by the Universidad Monteávila in Caracas charts the history of the humble Venezuelan arepa - a local maize-flour alternative to the bread roll - from its indigenous origins to today.

Experts in Venezuela's food history and gastronomic traditions discuss the boom in arepa bars, called areperas, that occurred in the 1950s with the arrival of Italian, Spanish and

Cricut Cardz Challenge

It is challenge day over at Cardz TV - Cricut Cardz Challenge. The challenge is "Things that go Bump in the Night". Mary challenged us to make the scariest card possible! This was a bit of challenge for me - I tend to like cute more than scary, but here is what I came up with:



I made a shape card from the haunted house on Mini Monsters. The ghosts and bat are from Simply Charmed. I used my Peachy Keen Stamps to cute up the ghosts, and My Pink Stamper stamps for the "eeeeek". Pretty scary AND cute, isn't it!

Some challenges -
Crafty Emma - spooky
Squiggles and Giggles - spooky fun
Simply Sundays - halloween
Floweret - halloween


A la prochaine...

Monsterrific

It is challenge day over at Paper Playtime. Today's challenge is to make an easel card. Here is what I came up with:



Pretty cute eh? The cut is from Mini Monsters and decorated with a cute little Peachy Keen stamp. I discovered last week that my LSS just started selling PKS, I am in such trouble!! The cute little saying is from My Pink Stamper. I pulled out my spots Cuttlebug folder to embellish the bottom half of the card, and my threading water punch to decorate the base.

Come play along with us at Paper Playtime. We would love to see what you come up with :)

A la prochaine...

Back to School!!

Yesterday my kiddies started back at school. My son started grade 4 and my daughter had her first day ever, starting Primary. Both their days went really well. I was so excited :)

This is the present I made for my daughter to give her Primary teacher. It is a crayon wreath, and I am THRILLED with how it cmae out. It is too cute for words! This is NOT my original idea, and I used a video tutorial from the awesome Ruthie. You can find it HERE. This gift cost me $1.50 to make (2 boxes of crayola crayons). Everything else was in my scrap room, or my house.



Isn't it the cutest??



The "book worm" is from CAC, the book is from Recess cart. The stamp is from PKS Critter Faces. I didn't do the best coloring job in the world. I think I may need a new white pen... The label and it's shadow are both from Gypsy Wanderings, and he name is from Opposites Attract.



The apple and glue are both from Recess - I think that cartridge is ADORABLE!! It is the first lite that I have ever bought!



The adorable schoolhouse is also from Recess. I wrote École on it because the kids are both in French Immersion. The red ribbon was just in my stash.



The ABC is also from Recess. To cut the base, I welded 2 circles from george and Basic Shapes together on my Gypsy - one 5" and one 8". I cut 4 of them out of cereal boxes, and glued them together and voila!! A fabulous wreath base for free!

Gabrielle loved it, and she loved giving it to her teacher, who put in up in her classroom. All in all a huge success :)

Some Challenges:
Critter Sketch - anything but a card
Crafty Boots - anything goes
Ribbon Carousel - anything goes with a ribbon
Make it Monday - anuthing goes
There's Magic in the Air - back to school
The Ribbon Reel - back to school plus a ribbon/ bakers twine
Anyone for Anya - teacher gift
Just Some Lines - anything but a card
Guylou's Inimitabilty - back to school
Let's Face It Friday - teacher gift
Totally Paper Crafts - not a card
Fantabulous Cricut - use ABCs or 123s
Cricut Card Chaos Challenge - use Gypsy Wanderings (the name label uses the topnote style cut from GW)

A la prochaine...

Paper Playtime

Welcome to another great challenge at PAPER PLAYTIME! We are so glad you are joining us for our AUGUST STAMPING MONDAY CHALLENGE! Our theme for this challenge is VACATION.



How to play along: Make a project with the theme of VACATION using a Stamped or Digi Image/Sentiment. Easy Peasy! So for all you Cricut Lovers out there – you can still play along by adding a STAMPED sentiment. And for all you DIGI Lovers out there – use any Digi image or sentiment on your project.



You can enter as many times as you'd like as long as all your entries are NEW projects and NO backlinks to previous blog posts.



The queens got some digi stamps to play with, Mine were from Prarie Fairy Designs. here is what I came up with:







My neighbor loves his Harley, he loves to go on bike trips. For him, his bike = vacation. Hmm maybe I'll give him this card :) The stamp is from Simply Sweet Stamps.







I think these little ducks are so cute :) I decided I would make a card that I could send girlfriend when I was away on vacation - hence the "hey chickie" sentiment from Simply Sweet Stamps







I think Gilly is one of the cutest digi stamp characters out there. I literally love her :) Riding her bike, she reminds me of my kids - one of their favorite summer vacation activities is bike riding. My daughter just learned how to ride a two-wheeler with trainig wheels. She is so proud of herself :) The stamp is from Scrappy Moms.



Come play with us :) There are prizes to be won!!





A la prochaine...

Venezuelan Food in San Francisco - Pica Pica Maize Kitchen

If you're in San Francisco and you feel like savouring the authentic flavours of Venezuela, check out the Pica Pica Maize Kitchen run by Adriana Lopez and her father Leopoldo Lopez Gil.

The menu focuses on tasty Venezuelan street food, such as empanadas, cachapas and the the maize buns known as arepas, which are stuffed with a variety of fillings, from traditional shredded beef and plantains

Whimsie Doodle and Paper Playtime

There is a bonus challenge going on this week at Paper Playtime! It is an "anything goes" challenge that is sponsored by Whimsie Doodles. The design team were given some digi stamps to play with, and here is what I came up with:



















As soon as I saw these stamps, all I could think was, what an amazing set of 3x3 cards these would be, so that's what I did. I colored them with my Prismacolor pencils and blended them with baby oil, and the paper is from Recollections.



I hope you all come to Paper Playtime and play along wiht us, there may even be some prizes :)









A la prochaine...

Simple Thanks

Hmmm... this was supposed to auto post yesterday while I was sleeping, and it didn't, but here it is anyway. This is my submission for Cricut Cardz Challenge. The challenge was to create a Thank You card with a heart, using no red or pink. Here is whht I came up with...











This is a little set of 3x3 cards. I used Gypsy Font for the heart, and MFT for the saying. I embossed the square around the heart, using my Martha Stewart scoring board.



Come over to CCC, get inspired by the DT and come play with us :)



Some Challenges:



Southern Girl - white and black with one pop of color (each card has one pop, so I hope that's not cheating...)

Ippity Challenge - CAS



A la prochaine...

Cooling Water

It is challenge day over at Paper Playtime. Today's challenge is staying cool in the water. Here is what I came up with:







I used Pack Your Bags, and made a shape card with it. Isn't she cute?? I used Peachy Keen Stamps for her face, which I think turned out so cute, and I used my Scrappy Mom Stamps for the sentiment.



The prize this week is from My Pink Stampr, so head on over and play with us at Paper Playtime :)



Some Challenges:

Let's Face It Friday - shape card

Speedy the Cat - anything but a 4 1/4x5 1/2 card

Raise the Bar - anything goes

CES Challenge Blog - water it

Crazy 4 Challenges - shape card

Cupcake Craft - stitching

Die Cut Dreams - holiday fun

Creative Inspirations - summertime

I Did it Creations - children

Kenny K Krafty Girlz - summer fun

Totally Papercrafts - holidays

Divas by Design - summer

Creative Craft Challenges - summer holidays

Try it on Tuesday - from the beach

Tuesday Throwdown - summertime

You had me at Craft - Linky party







A la prochaine...

Cricut Cardz Challenge Holiday Card

It's Wednesday!! That means it's challenge day over at Cricut Cardz Challenge. The challenge today was to create a holiday card using any cartridge or color. Here is what I came up with;



Isn't that the cutest penguin?? He is from CAC and the Santa hat is from Pooh and Friends. They "ho ho ho" stamp is My Pink Stamper. The patterned paper is from a DCWV stack, and the rest of the paper is from Michael's. I think it turned put so cute!!
The card is a 4x4 and the layer is 3.75x3.75.

Sorry for the lack of links, I am on my iPhone, and have no clue how to do them on here :) I have just been such a bad blogger this summer, that I wanted to at least get my post up on time. Hope you are having a wonderful week!

A la prochaine...

Free Forum Sigs

Summer fun!!

Man, this summer is being brutal for my blogging. I am either at work, or at the camp, and that's about it :) So much for being a good design team member... I am getiing my projects done, but not posting them to my blog. I am so far behind.

Today is digi challenge day over at Paper Playtime.Each of the DT members has been given some wonderful digi stamps to make a summer themed project with. I bought a Bind it All last week, and decided to break it open and make a note pad, and I am thrilled with how cute it is :) I chose this ADORABLE Gillian stamp from Praire Fairy Designs. Here is my project:



Don't you just loved it?? I think Gillian looks so suumery and cute!! I colored her in with my Prismacolor Pencils and used a CTMH alphabet set to stamp the word "NOTES". It is a 6x4 note pad, and fits perfectly in my purse!!

Everyone should come and play at Paper Playtime, there are tons of digi stamps to be won!! Hope you are all having a great summer!!

A la prochaine...

Venezuelan arepas go burgundy for La Vinotinto football team

Venezuela's national snack, the round corn-flour arepa, has been given a makeover to celebrate the national football team's remarkable success in this year's Copa America football tournament.

Nicknamed La Vinotinto (The Burgundy), and more recently La Remolacha Mecanica (The Clockwork Beetroot), the Venezuelan side have played consistently well in the tournament beating Ecuador 1-0, Chile 2-1,

Canada Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the CANADA DAY Blog Hop hosted by Tara & Jacqueline!  If you are here from Kimberly's blog then you are in the right spot. If you would like to start at the beginning please click here In honor of Canada Day we are all making a project with a Canadian theme!

HERE IS MINE:

I decided to make a mini Canada Day album, and I am so happy with how it turned out!! The maple leafs are all cut from Create a Critter - my favorite cartridge, and so is the Beaver - isn't he cute?? All the words are cut with Robotz - my go to chunky font. The tags are all from Sweet Treats. Almost all the paper is from my scrap boxes. I am trying to use up what I have :) Most of the card stock is from Stampin Up or Close to My Heart. I have no idea who made the patterned paper, sorry - one of the problems with delving into my scrapbox. I used ribbon from Michaels, and my white and black gel pens to do the doodling. Supe cute eh??

Be sure to comment & follow each blog stop to be eligible to win these great prizes
BiG prizes:

The Scrapbooking Cafe - 3 X $10.00 GC

Bugaboo Digital Stamps --- 7 Digital Stamps

Pink By Design --- Canadian Stamp Set

My Stamping Studio -Lime Twist Products pack from My Mind's Eye

Digis With Attitude! --- $10.00 GC

Graphic Cat Creations --- Freebie + $15.00 GC

One Crazy Stamper --- $25.00 GC

Be sure to drop by our sponsors and show them some love. 

Next stop is ----->> Tracy

HOPE YOU ENJOY THE HOP.
HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

Here is the hop list in case you got lost, and in case the link to Tracy's Blog doesn't work - my computer skills leave something to be desired:
Tara - http://creativeprincess-homemadehappiness.blogspot.com/

Kate - http://smallbitsofpaper.blogspot.com/

Heather - http://princesspaperprojects.blogspot.com/

Kimberly - http://www.justwordz.ca/

Michelle - http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/

(you are here)

Tracy - http://thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/

Kerry - http://mommakcrafts.blogspot.com/

Avril - http://totallyscrapaddicted.blogspot.com/

Nicole - http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/
Cheri - http://graphicatdesigns.blogspot.com/

Courtney - http://craftingwithcourtney.blogspot.com/
Jacqueline - http://madebyjacqueline.blogspot.com/ 

A la prochaine...

Free Forum Sigs

A Blog Hop and Teacher Gift

It is just after midnight here, and I have just finished 2 projects. The first is a little teacher gift I made for my son's teacher, as tomorrow is the last day of school, the other is my project for an upcoming Canada Day Blog Hop. What better way to get back in the swing of things, than with a blog hop??



There are some really amazing artists who will be participating, and there are going to be some awesome prizes, so I hope you all come check out our patriotic hop tomorrow - July 1st. I love my project, and am really excited to share it with you!!

A la prochaine...