crafty dreams (so~nando manualidades): December 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

A Gift for Our Mailman: Etched Glass / Un Regalo Para Nuestro Cartero: "Etched Glass"

After many hours of thinking about what to give our mailman for Christmas, I came up with a great idea. It happened when I was looking around at my local Walmart and saw this very pretty yet inexpensive glass mug. I immediately pictured the mug in my mind, decorated in "mail motifs" with glass etching. So, I present to you, my very first try at this beautiful craft. :)
****Despues de pensar muchisimo, sobre que podia regalarle a nuestro cartero para las Navidades, se me ocurrio algo buenisimo. Mientras estaba en Walmart, vi una taza grande de cristal. Decidi que la decoraria toda con motivos de "cartero" y que lo haria con la tecnica conocida como "glass etching". Esta es la primera vez que hago esta artesania.

What you will need:
***Necesitaras:

Cricut cartridges (cartuchos):

My Community (for the mail truck) (para el camion)
Doodlecharms (for the mailbox ) (para el buzon)

Armour Etching Cream
Vinyl
brush
Transfer tape

Etched mailbox:

Packages/letters:

Mail truck:

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Five Christmas cards / Cinco Tarjetas de Navidad

Hi !!! OMG, I have been so busy, that I have made projects and haven't had the time to post. I have ALL MY CHILDREN together again this Christmas. I thought that one of them, being in ARMY Basic Training, would not be able to make it home, but HE DID !!! YAAAYYY I am enjoying every minute of it !!! I think it will be a long time before I have them all together again.
I had made these (and other cards that I gave away) about two weeks ago.
**** Hola!!! He estado tan ocupada estos dias, que no he podido publicar los proyectos que he hecho. Tengo juntos a todos mis hijos, cosa que pense que no sucederia al estar uno de mis hijos en entrenamiento en el ARMY. Pero le dieron 2 semanas de vacaciones y aqui esta !!!! Me estoy disfrutando cada segundo!!!
Estas tarjetas las hice hace como dos semanas.

Cartridges used:
Cartuchos usados:

Create a Critter (Christmas Tree, Reindeer) (arbolito,venado)
Joys of The Season (Wreath) (corona)
Christmas (jingle bells, candle) (cascabel, vela)

Saturday, December 11, 2010

It'S A SmaLl WorLd Holiday Blog Hop: Three Wise Men in Puerto Rico

Merry Christmas, everyone!!! You must be arriving here from Nicole's blog at http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/. I want to thank Jess at http://www.kinderstampo.com/ for giving me the opportunity to talk a little about Christmas in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico's Christmas season is the longest ever, starting shortly before Thanksgiving day and lasting until Three Kings Day on January 6. Yet, this can extend until "Las Octavitas", eight days after Epiphany. LOL Homes are decorated with lights, Christmas trees and scenes of the Nativity. The season is famous for it's delicious typical dishes like roast pork, rice with pigeon peas, cooked green bananas and "pasteles", made of mashed plantains or yucca, filled with meat and wrapped in the leaves of the banana tree where they are cooked. Desserts are rice pudding made with coconut milk) and my favorite: "tembleque" which is a cream made with cornstarch, sugar, and coconut milk. It is served cold. The puerto rican eggnog is the "coquito", which is the same recipe as eggnog but with the addition of coconut milk.

On December 25th, Puerto Ricans celebrate the birth of Jesus. Since the 1940's it has become part of Puerto Rico's Holiday traditions that Santa Claus brings gifts to the children.

On January 5th, the feast of Epiphany's Eve, children place water and grass under their beds for the Three Kings (Three Wise Men). The Three Kings leave the presents under the bed, after the camels "eat the grass". On the morning of January 6 ("Dia de Reyes") children wake up to see what Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar left them. Epiphany commemorates the day in which the three wise men arrived bearing gifts for Baby Jesus, twelve days after he was born.

Aren't Puerto Rico's children the luckiest: Santa and "The 3 Kings" !!! My daughter Diana is even luckier; her birthday is December 23rd !!!!!!!! LOL

My project is about the THREE WISE MEN (or 3 KINGS). I made 3 candles with one King on each: Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar.

Lets do it:

Cut 3 strips of cardstock.

Emboss and adhere to candle. I used Terrifically Tacky Tape to adhere everything to the candle.

Adhere a golden ribbon to the top and bottom of the cardstock strip.
Add gems

Cut the shapes of the 3 Wise Men from the Winter Frolic cartridge. I print and cut the images on my Imagine and colored the shapes with the Snow Angel cartridge (which makes it so much faster).