First comes marriage, then comes the baby carriage...

Do you guys remember that little rhyme? Well, I thought after a wedding card week, baby cards would appropriately come next (no pressure on my cousin, Graham, who I celebrated last week with his engagement). I am really in love with all my new baby cards. Some traditional and some unusual, which makes it more creative and fun for you and me.



I also am introducing twin cards, which is in honor of an old friend, Jathan, from high school. Congratulations to you and your wife! This particular card was a custom card that I made for my Aunt Mary Ann, whose husband's son had a set of twins: a girl and a boy.

Weddings!!

In honor of my cousin's new engagement, I am writing about wedding cards today. I am so excited to dive into this because it is all about love and the growing of your family. It puts a smile on everyone's face knowing that there is a fun event to plan and attend, and above all, another person to welcome into the family. So, wedding planning can be both exciting and a bit scary since there are so many decisions to be made. Just the wedding cards alone: the engagement party invitations, the wedding announcements/save the date cards, the wedding invitations with wedding site directions and reply cards, the bachelor and bachelorette party invitations, the table place cards and finally, the ever important thank you cards. Whew! Also, from the guest's perspective, there are the congratulations on your engagement, wedding and life together cards. So, here are a couple of new wedding cards to add to my wedding card collection! Enjoy!

Contra Costa Children's Chorus fundraising event

First off, happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Have a Guiness or some corned beef and hash for me.

Omar, my husband, was a part of the Contra Costa Children's Chorus back in the 80s when he was younger. It shaped his life in different ways, but his love for music began with his time at the chorus. The artistic director of the chorus, Iris Lamanna, inspires the children to reach their potential. On top of learning how to read music, Omar traveled abroad, learned new languages and learned the piano from Iris. Now in its 26th year, the Contra Costa Children's Chorus is an amazing organization and their performances are wonderful. I can't wait until our daughter is old enough to join this musical and life-shaping experience. If you are interested in learning more about them, go to their website at: http://childrenschorus.org/.

About one month ago, I was asked to participate by selling my handmade cards at the Contra Costa Children's Chorus crab feed. One of our dear friends is on the Board, who thought of me for this opportunity. Thanks again. It was a well set-up event; there were silent and live auctions, live performances, dinner and other donation opportunities. It was a very family and festive event. The children were a big part of hosting the event, which made it more lively and fun. It reminded us all that this event was for them. I loved it. I met all types of wonderful families, who all love the chorus and its contribution to their children. It felt more like a family event than an organization event.

For the first time, I sold my candy cards at an event. They were very popular and well received. I was so glad to hear the feedback from all the different customers. I even got a custom order. It was a successful show, which was great because to quote a customer "it is three-fold - great for you for selling the cards, great for us because we get the cards and great for the chorus because 50% of the sales go straight to the chorus." I was so glad that my participation could bring that much great karma. Also, due to preparation of the event, I created a lot of new cards, so you will see more new cards this week on etsy (http://cardsbylela.etsy.com), which include a new wedding line. Hope you enjoyed this Wednesday article. See you next time.

Happy Mother's Day

I know St. Patrick's day is the holiday coming up and Easter is next after that, but I wanted to introduce my Mother's Day cards!  Mother's day has always been a special holiday for me. When I was young, we would always celebrate with a special breakfast for my mom, who is a very special person to me.

She is the best example of a terrific mom.  She is a great mom because she always knows how and when I need a helping hand and she is one of my most favorite people to hang out with.  I feel like I was born with a built in friend, who will always love and believe in me.  I am so lucky to have her as a mom...and a friend.  

We would also celebrate with my grandma for lunch or dinner.  We would go out with her to a special restaurant, which would be nice.  We continued this tradition until I became a mom in 2007.  Now we celebrate at my house.  My husband, Omar, who is the best husband, makes all the meals for the day.  He usually makes a brunch for all of us moms - my grandma, my mom and myself (sometimes even a friend of ours whose husband is in the military).  He definitely treats us to very good food and we have a great time socializing.  Omar's mom has lived out-of-town since we were in high school, so normally he celebrates with her on the telephone.  

This holiday will always be special for me because we have always made it a point of getting together with all the mothers in our family.  I feel very lucky to celebrate another one together this year.  Here's to celebrating mothers and all that they do.

My process

Happy belated new card Wednesdays!  I have been super busy this week, so Wednesday came and went!

I realized that I haven't shared my process of card making. I think that it is time to reveal to you what it means to create, share and sell handmade cards.
I find that I enjoy creating cards from the stamps. I see a set or an individual stamp and I build a card from there. I choose particular ink or colored paper based upon my mood, the ribbon I want to use or the style I want to create. It really comes from my head. Sometimes I find inspiration from the beauty of flowers, trees or plants I see outside or even from my daughter's outfits. I even dream card ideas sometimes. Whatever triggers my thoughts to create a card, it evokes free-flowing ideas that seem to pour out through my fingers as they work to make a thought a reality. It is a wonderfully freeing feeling once that thought becomes a reality. It is such a rush when it is made and is what I envisioned. Below, you will see a stamp and the cards that I have made from it. One of them will be for sale on etsy today. Enjoy!