Disney Magic - Western Cruise May 30, 2009

This year to celebrate our 26th Anniversary and Brian's Graduation from Jr. High School we decided to take 7-day Disney Cruise. It has been amazing since the moment we stepped aboard the Magic and they announced. "The Disney Magic welcomes back the Gumino Family."

Here are some photos to get you in on some of the fun we had onboard.

Brian outside the stack. The Teen club is located in the 2nd stack in the background

The sail-away party with Mickey and Friends!

Our character breakfast was scheduled for our first full day aboard! What a great way to start our trip! Our servers Joyce and Rey were great and made up character hats for the occasion.

Our first port of call was Key West, FL. We decided to do the Trolley Tour that gave us a great history and tour of the area via a trolley. It was very hot and humid, but the ride was fun and the facts were great in understanding the lifestyle in Key West.

The sunset was amazing!

I'll post more later. Right now we're off the captain's dinner and a premEAR showing of UP! in 3-D in the Buena Vista Theatre.

Color Challenges

I had fun creating my newest cards for challenges at PaperCraftPlanet. The color challenge was to use Stampin' Up colors Whisper White, Pacific Point, So Saffron, and Tangerine Tango. I just love Scenic Route paper and they had a very cute dotted paper that matched these colors perfectly. For the 1-31-09 sketch challenge I used the same colors but stuck to the sketch. All the stamps used were Stampin' up.


Wishing you much scrappiness!

So, what do you think of my "NEW" look?

I've been working away and I think I'm finally finished. I've added some new graphics and even a digi header I created myself with supplies from www.shabbyprincess.com. My friend Teresa guided me to their website, and I fell in love with so many of their digi sets. It's definitely somewhere I'll return to for digi supplies.

So if you have a minute, please comment and let me know what you think of my new look.

Wishing you much scrappiness. Karen

This card was created for a color challenge on Paper Craft Planet. This challenge used Stampin' Up colors Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, and Very Vanilla. I used a combination of Stampin' Up stamps from Delight in Life, and Happy Hearts and I some Whipper Snapper Design stamps - Makes one Weak and Mousey in Love.


This will make a cute Valentine card with some chocolate to strengthen the receiver :) The papers were Very Vanilla, Pacific Point, and Kiwi Kiss.

This is my personal invite to join Paper Craft Planet. There are fun challenges and inspiration there.

Valentine for Grammie and Grandpa

My son made this cute card for his Grammie and Grandpa for Valentine's Day. He made a pop up inside the card. I didn't photograph the inside since he already signed it and I didn't want to spoil the surprise message before they receive it.

It was fun to watch him as his creativity flowed--He has quite the eye for balance. He embossed the bottom heart with a white sparkle embossing powder and cut the top heart apart and then used a needle tool to simulate stitching on the cut line. All the hearts were hand cut.

I'm hoping that we will be creating lots of cards together in the future.

Bear Hugs To You!!!

I created this card for a challenge at Paper Craft Planet. It's a great website similar to Facebook but with paper crafts at its heart. Check it out and join us for some fun and challenges.


This card was created for the Sketch Challenge group. I used the Stampin' Up "Happy Bear" stamp along with the "Bear Hugs to You" stamp by "Judith." The bear is watercolored with Stampin' Up inks and a water brush. The papers are Bazzill cardstock and Cloud 9 Design papers -- Sparkle Circles of Love and Luster Candy Box Hearts in Red both from their "Be Love" series. I used the Stampin' Up scallop border stamp and circle punches that I purchased from my friend, Sarah, who is a Stampin' Up Demonstrator-- Checkout Sarah's website here to get some of these great products.




ENJOY! Wishing you much scrappiness!

Happy Birthday My Love

I wanted to make a special card for hubby's birthday this year. We were going to a special dinner so I made a special card and a special dessert for him, Cannoli cake triffle. He loves cannoli filling, so I layered the filling with yellow cake and whipped topping in a triffle bowl. Unfortunately we were too full to enjoy it after dinner, but the next day it was just as good--maybe better.



Now for the card. . . I used Bazzill Cardstock, Dream Street Paper Art Nouveau and I wanted to make some matching paper with alcohol inks (this is the copper colored paper with the script on it. I used glossy paper and various alcohol inks with copper mixative and once dry I stamped the Hero Arts Manuscript Background stamp with Black Staz-on ink. As you can see I used the new Kaiser pearls and several metal charms and brads. The fabric ribbon is from Stampin' Up. I used my needle tool to punch the holes on the brown paper and then lightly sanded. I absolutely love the Dream Street Paper and how the colors interact together.

Wishing you much scrappiness today and always.

Alcohol Ink Card for Eagle Scout

Last weekend we went to an Eagle ceremony for one of the scouts in our troop. It was a wonderful ceremony and he is a wonderful scout, so I knew I wanted a special card for him.



I created this card with Ranger Alcohol inks and this great stamp by Stampers Anonymous. The alcohol inks are great for coloring anything that is metal too to create matching brads and accents. Hope you enjoy this and it inspires you to try alcohol inks. The background papers are Dream Street--nice heavy 2-sided papers.

Giving is Better than Receiving

Check out i{heart}2stamp's blog - She's doing something wonderful and you can get involved easily and maybe even win something for yourself.

But remember, giving is better than receiving. It's simple and the more the merrier!

Snowman Spinning Card

I admit I don't visit YouTube.com often unless it's to view ERA real estate listings relating to work. But, recently I discovered a whole new outlet after viewing one of Tim Holtz tutorials, which are amazing for new techniques and learning how to use his products. I found MonicasPassions and her directions for a spinning card. I just had to try this and they are so much fun. When you turn the card 90 degree, the little snowman spins and tumbles down the slot in the card. Monica gives you detailed directions for this with great visuals so check it out if you'd like to create a card like this.


The snowman stamp is part of the Stampin' Up - Holiday Tag Team set watercolored with a waterbrush and the following ink pads from Stampin' Up - Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Red Riding Hood, Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze. After the image dried I coated it with clear Versamark and used "heat and stick" powder and heat set it just until sticky. Then I dusted it with Diamond Dust and gently heat set. The papers used are Fancy Pants Botanicals Daisy #839, Imaginisce Snow Jo - Snow #000789, and Bazzill CS-Powder, a piece of BG blue (not sure of the name), and last but not least, a pop dot and 2 pennies.

These are great cards to give, but beware they are so much fun to play with you may not want to give them away. Enjoy !!!

Let it Snow!

Today I finished up a layout I have been working on. The paper is Rhonna Christmas "Glittery Night" #67030 - Autumn Leaves. I also used basic white CS and some Aqua BLING CS. The boy's coats were a challenge in choosing paper to match the photos, so I tried to stay neutral and not add too many colors.

I love the glitter on this paper, so I decided to add some accents with glitter. The snowflakes you see are American Crafts Holiday House colored chipboard. The arrow and rectangle are Basic Grey Undressed Chipboard that I painted white several times with Ranger white paint dabber. For all the chipboard, I finally had a chance to try out some of my new Stampin' Up products I ordered from my good friend Sarah Craig.

First I covered all the chipboard with Versamark and then covered with Heat and Stick powder from Stampin' Up and heat set them. Just heat until it looks sticky, if you overheat it it will lose its stickiness. Then I added some Diamond Dust and lightly heat set it.

I decided to do hidden journaling and a made pocket behind the photo to hold the journaling. The journal card is by Pebbles Inc "Share & Tell" Designs that I cut down a bit.

Hope this inspires you to get some layouts done.

Those that know me, know that no one loves Disney more than I do.

I'm so honored that the word has finally gotten out and I'll be honored at Disney this year.

What a treat for a Disney fan like me! Hope you'll join me. Click on the arrow to start the video and for information on all the festivities in my honor.

After the video, you can click on it to find out how you can honor someone special just like this!

A few more cards to share with you. Love those alcohol inks!