Audrina's 1st Birthday

My beautiful niece Audrina turned 1 in September. The party theme was pink (of course) and monkeys!! It was too cute. I had to make a monkey card for her. Here are some pics of the card and of Audrina's party.

I hope you are having a nice day and I thank you for visiting me!

Soft Pretty Card

Here's a pretty card I made for fun. I wanted something soft and feminine. I think the pink and the pearls did the trick. Hope you like it. Have a super day! BTW: this card is cased and as soon as I find the original card I will add that link.

A Few Cards

Here are some cards we did last year at one of our meetings. I totally forgot to share these with you. Sorry about that. :0) Although the holidays for these cards are past you can still use the layouts and designs to create current cards. Thanks for visiting me today!

Edra Jandro brought this cute purse for her swap.This is another make & take by Edra Jandro. This card was Rosie Gonzalez's make & take. This was my swap card made with the Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio digital software. After it was printed I added some Dazzling Diamond glitter and some Rhinestones. This was Joyce Cram's make & take. This was anther make & take by Joyce Cram.

This was Joyce Cram's swap. A really cute candy bar holder! I ate the candy bar before I took the picture...sorry. :0)
This was my make & take. I totally cased this card from Renee Van Stralen. You can see her original card here: http://reneevs.blogspot.com/2010/10/me-my-mum-just-add-ink-challenge.html

Stylish Blog Award

Every once in a while my blog gets recognized by an incredible blogger/stamper. This time I received recognition from the uber talented Patty Bennett!!!! Patty is one of my favorite stampers. She always has fun, new, creative projects posted on her blog and has inspired me many times. It doesn't hurt that she was the #5 stamper out of thousands of Stampin' Up! demonstrators last year! Patty has graciously awarded me the Stylish Blogger award and I am so thrilled.

As with most awards there is a little work I need to do to accept this award. I need to tell you 8 things about myself that you probably didn't know and then I need to pay it forward to 8 other amazing bloggers.

So, here are a few things you might not know about me:

1. I have been married for almost 18 years to a wonderful man and my best friend. We met about 26 years ago while working at Chili's Grill & Bar. I was a waitress/bartender and he was a cook/waiter. When I met him I knew I would marry him one day.

2. I have a 7 year old son who is the love of my life. We tried for almost 10 years to have a baby and just when we thought about giving up God blessed us with a boy.

3. I have been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for almost 15 years. I signed up right after a presentation on Secretary's Day at my old job. I have since quit that job and have been a full time demonstrator ever since.

4. I have a huge family on my Dad's side with 6 uncles and 3 aunts and over 200 cousins, most of which still live in Stockton, CA. My Mom was an only child so I have no aunts & uncles on her side.

5. Sometimes I think I should have been a teacher. I absolutely LOVE working at my son's school. I love being in class with the kids and helping them with their work. I would be there every day if I could but, if you paid me and it was my real job, I don't think I'd like it.

6. I've had 6 cars in my driving career. A silver, spray painted, 1964 Bug, a Toyota Corona station wagon, a Scirocco, a Toyota Celica Supra, a Honda Accord and now a Chrysler Town & Country Van. Out of all those the Honda and Chrysler were bought brand new.

7. I've had 10 jobs. I'm not sure of the exact order but here they are: Chevron Gas Station, Gemco, Susie's Casuals, American Forest Products, Spoons, Chili's, Carlos Luigi's, Stone Brothers Real Estate Group and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was my last job. My current job as a Mom/Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the absolute best job I've ever had!!

8. I am usually up at all hours of the night reading emails, playing computer games and reading blogs.

Ok, now I would like to pay this forward to some amazing bloggers!! These are ladies that inspire my creativity and give me endless tips and techniques for stamping. Do yourself a favor and check out their blogs. You won't be disappointed!!

Rosemarrie Gonzalez

Mary Fish

Mary Brown

Nancy Riley

Becky Roberts

Sandi MacIver

Maxine Conrad

Chat Wszelaki

Regina Andari

Christmas Party Make & Takes

As promised here are the make & takes we all made at our Downline Christmas Party. These ladies are some of my best friends and I owe it all to Stampin' Up! We always have a great time when we get together and share what we love. Thinking of a career you might love? Why not join my incredible team and start loving your job now!

Click this link and join my team today!

http://www.lorraine.stampinup.net/.

I'd love to share this fantastic journey with you!

And just so you know who's projects you are looking at I've uploaded some pictures of my amazing friends too!

Thank you for stopping by to see me today.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and getting your fingers all inked up!

Lorraine Castellon-Rowe
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Shop Online, View Events,
See Projects, Promotions,
Catalogs, Join My Team!
www.lorraine.stampinup.net
Home: 510/440-9053
Cell: 408/757-6373
Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693

Let me explain what a make & take is. It is when each person brings a project for everyone to make. You would bring the stamps, cardstock (cut to size), ink, embellishments and tools so each person can make your card. It's awesome!! You bring one card for everyone to make and you leave with several cards that you made yourself. Here are the projects these ladies brought for us to make. These are the cards I made with their supplies and design.

Maria Fennelly's Design

Judy Descoteaux's Design

Gina Cardera's Design
Edra Jandro's Design
Amanda Cardera's Design

This is my design

Here are my sweet friends/downline/sideline!!

From bottom left: Rosemarrie Gonzalez, Gina Cardera, Amanda Cardera, Judy Descoteaux

From bottom Right: Maria Fennelly, Joyce Cram, Edra Jandro

Rosemarrie Gonzalez and Gina Cardera

Maria Fennelly

Gina and Amanda Cardera (mother & daughter team)

Edra Jandro and Joyce Cram

Amanda Cardera and Judy Descoteaux

Downline Christmas Party

We had our Christmas Party a little late this year. We just couldn't all agree on a date so we decided to wait until after Christmas. Without further ado here are the fabulous swaps everyone brought. Stay tuned, I'll post our make & takes tomorrow!
Enjoy the eye candy and have a great day!!

Gina Cardera

Judy Descoteaux

Maria Fennelly

Joyce Cram

Rosie Gonzalez

Amanda Cardera

Edra Jandro

Here's my card. I got this "pennant" idea from Monika Davis. You can see her card by clicking this link: http://monikastamp.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/udi-color-challenge-16/#comment-2442

Lorraine Castellon-Rowe
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Shop Online, View Events,
See Projects, Promotions,
Catalogs, Join My Team!
http://www.lorraine.stampinup.net/
Home: 510/440-9053
Cell: 408/757-6373
Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693

Snow Family

Here are a few cards I made for my family for Christmas. I love collecting snowmen so making these cuties was so fun.

This last card was created by my "other son" Mike. He's a neighborhood friend that likes to come by to hang out with us so we've adopted him. He was so proud of his snowman card. I am too. Look at it. It's totally 3 dimensional. He debossed the hat with my stylus, he cut a piece of ribbon to create the top of the hat. He cut out the jacket, arms and nose free hand and he made snow out of ribbon. Great imagination!! Great job Mike!!Thanks for checking in to see my creations today. I appreciate your visit!
Lorraine Castellon-Rowe
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Shop Online, View Events,
See Projects, Promotions,
Catalogs, Join My Team!
www.lorraine.stampinup.net
Visit My Blog:
www.lorrainerowe.blogspot.com
Home: 510/440-9053
Cell: 408/757-6373
Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693

Memo Board/Hair Clip Holder

Before Christmas my Sis asked me to make my niece a hair clip holder. She sent me a picture of a memo board she had seen online. It was really cute but the ribbon was only going up and down on the board. I wanted to make something they could use even after my niece was done with hair clips. So, I created this memo board that can hold her hair clips too.

This was a pretty easy project. I would have to say choosing the fabric was the hardest part. I spent more time in the fabric store that it took me to make the whole project. LOL!! My nieces room is decorated in brown and pink (my favorite color combo) so it was easy to decide what colors to make the memo board. The hard part was choosing just the right fabric.

The base of the project is a cork board I bought at a craft store. It's just like a framed canvas you would buy for painting only it's covered with cork and backed with cardboard. This made the project so much easier to make. I just hot glued the fabric on to the cork board frame making sure to wrap it around to the back. I folded the corners over really neatly as I wanted the back to look nice too. Then I took some ribbon and measured out where I wanted them and where to criss cross them. Then got glued them to the back also. For the criss crosses I hot glued some brads. First I used my paper piercer to make holes through the fabric, cork and cardboard. Then put the brad through the hole and added hot glue before I pushed the brad all the way through. Then just opened the back of the brad on the back. I also hot glued some ribbon on the back to cover the edges of the fabric and ribbon. Sorry I didn't take a picture of that. I'll have my Sis take a picture and then I'll post that later. The board is 17 x 24. All the supplies are listed below.I hope you like this project and have a chance to make one for yourself or a loved one. It was so easy to make and turned out way better than I ever thought it would. It was a great sense of accomplishment.

Thank you for stopping by to see me. I hope you have a wonderful day!
Lorraine Castellon-Rowe
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Shop Online, View Events,
See Projects, Promotions,
Catalogs, Join My Team!
www.lorraine.stampinup.net
Home: 510/440-9053
Cell: 408/757-6373
Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693

SUPPLIES:
Cork Board: Craft Store
Fabric: Craft Store
Ribbon: Retired Stampin' Up! Ribbon Bundles
Brads: Retired Corduroy Pink Brads

How About Some FREE Bitty Buttons???!!!

Click on a picture to go directly to my Stampin' Up! website to get your Filled With Love bundle and FREE Buttons now!! While you're there check out our Clearance Rack!!! You won't believe the prices...up to 60% OFF!!! Promotion dates: December 17, 2010 - January 24, 2011

Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for sending cards, and during the Filled with Love promotion, you can get an exclusive package of Designer Series Paper perfect for creating cards for family, friends, classmates, and more!

From December 17, 2010 through January 24, 2011, get a FREE package of Bitty Buttons--a $4.95 value--when you purchase an exclusive Filled with Love Bundle.

Details:

Filled with Love Bundle
Contains the Filled with Love Set*

and exclusive Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack
124380 $32.90 Wood Mount
124381 $26.90 Clear Mount

Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack (non-bundled)
12 sheets total: three 12" x 12" sheets of two double-sided designs in

Real Red and Pretty in Pink
124156 $9.95

*Featured on p. 43 of the 2010 Holiday Mini Catalog

The Filled with Love Set is available in the Holiday Mini Catalog through January 3, 2011,

after which it will only be available through this promotion.

Have a wonderful day!

Lorraine Castellon-Rowe

Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Shop Online, View Events,

See Projects, Promotions, Catalogs,

Join My Team!

http://www.lorraine.stampinup.net/

Visit My Blog:

http://www.lorrainerowe.blogspot.com/

Home: 510/440-9053

Cell: 408/757-6373

Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693

Winter Wonderland

This enchanting page reflects the timelessness of Christmas with its traditional images and music notes that beckon to one’s mind the angelic sounds of the season. We love the use of several different sizes of decorative labels to create custom accents and borders to give shape and personality to the layout. A wonderfully vintage-looking folded bauble adds a final touch of dimension and texture that tops off this page with fanciful flair.



ALL SUPPLIES ARE STAMPIN' UP!
The first price listed is for regular orders via email, phone, etc. The second price is the Preferred Price when ordering through my Stampin' Up! Website: http://www.lorraine.stampinup.net!!

Top Note Stampin' Up! Bigz Die $24.39 $21.95
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine $111.06 $99.95
Color Spritzer Tool $14.39 $12.95
Bells & Boughs $22.17 $19.95
Deck The Halls Designer Series Paper $11.06 $9.95
Matchbox Stampin' Up! Bigz Xl Die $47.72 $42.95
Very Vanilla 1/2 Inch Seam Binding Ribbon $7.72 $6.95
Basic Pearls Jewel Accents $5.50 $4.95
Early Espresso Classic Stampin Pad $6.61 $5.95
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin Pad $6.61 $5.95
Cherry Cobbler 12X12 Card Stock $7.72 $6.95
Soft Suede 12X12 Card Stock $7.72 $6.95
Very Vanilla 12X12 Card Stock $7.72 $6.95
Early Espresso Stampin Write Marker $3.89 $3.50
Curly Label Punch $18.83 $16.95
Scallop Edge Border Punch $17.72 $15.95
1-3/4 Inch Scallop Circle Punch $18.83 $16.95

Thanks for visiting me today!
Lorraine Castellon-Rowe
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Shop Online, View Events,
See Projects, Promotions,
Catalogs, Join My Team!
www.lorraine.stampinup.net
Home: 510/440-9053
Cell: 408/757-6373
Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693

Merry Card

Here's a cute Holiday project. Hope you like it!
Merry card
A paisley patterned Christmas tree makes a lively focal point for this eye-catching holiday card. We colored selected paisleys in our tree a darker color using a Stampin’ Write Marker just before stamping to add a pop of detail to the image, which is further accentuated against a matching paisley background. Make this card to share with loved ones this Christmas to add to the wondrous sights and moments of their holiday season.


ALL SUPPLIES ARE STAMPIN' UP!
The first price listed is for regular orders via email, phone, etc. The second price is the Preferred Price when ordering through my Stampin' Up! Website: http://www.lorraine.stampinup.net/!!

Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock $9.44 $8.50
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine $111.06 $99.95
Stampin' Dimensionals $4.39 $3.95 Qty:1
Stampin Write Markers - In Color Assortment $16.61 $14.95
Paisley Prints $18.83 $16.95
Teeny Tiny Wishes $41.06 $36.95
Paisley Party Standard Wheel Stamp $7.22 $6.50
Crumb Cake 8-1/2X11 Card Stock $7.72 $6.95
Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock $7.72 $6.95
Old Olive 12X12 Card Stock $7.72 $6.95
12X12 Smooth Card Stock - In Color Assortment $12.17 $10.95
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin Pad $6.61 $5.95
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad $6.61 $5.95
Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker $3.89 $3.50
Very Vanilla 3/8 Inch Taffeta Ribbon $7.72 $6.95
Basic Pearls Jewel Accents $5.50 $4.95
Scallop Edge Border Punch $17.72 $15.95
2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch $18.83 $16.95
Island Floral Stampin' Up! Bigz Die $24.39 $21.95

Have a wonderful day!
Lorraine Castellon-Rowe
Your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
Shop Online, View Events,
See Projects, Promotions,Catalogs,
Join My Team!
http://www.lorraine.stampinup.net/
Home: 510/440-9053
Cell: 408/757-6373
Stamp Studio: 510/573-7693