Last of 2011...

December always gets nutty and I have been enjoying the nuttiness of it. I have missed the blogging, but I also have been working a lot designing a blog for my uncle's business. It has been tons of work but I have loved every minute of it.

I will be be back in full force, come Jan 1st 2012, though. NSV will get a much needed redesign. As much as I have loved my 50's theme, it's time for a bold change to usher in 2012. I designed this coming new look a long time ago and it's time to reveal it.

This year was a true roller coaster. Lots of bad, but also lots of good (#5928...). Here's a little look back at 2011...

 

 

It was a challenging year for our family and the challenges are not over, but I am hoping with all my heart that 2012 comes with lots of good and mostly lots of strength and wisdom to face all that's still to come so we can finally go back home and to a happy place.

I hope this new year brings all of you love, happiness and peace.

Off to get ready for tonight's celebration.
Toodles, 2011...

Winners!

Here are the winners of the Stop & Scrap giveaway...

Please contact me at anilumagloire@yahoo.com to get your prizes.

Winner of $25.00 gift card...

Winners of $10.00 gift cards...

Congrats, y'all!

Today Is The Day... Stop & Scrap Giveaway! *CONTEST CLOSED*

If you've been reading this blog for some time, you know I hoard scrapbooking supplies and I get them all from my all time favorite store, Stop & Scrap.

I've been shopping from Maria for years and I have always been super happy with their selection, they always get me the latest and greatest, and they have top notch costumer service. Love them!

Today we have teamed up to bring you this amazing giveaway of one (1) $25.00 gift card, and three (3) $10.00 gift cards. So, we'll have four lucky winners.

To enter, just leave me a comment here telling me what you'd get with your gift card, cause I always need more enabling. Ha!

I will announce the winners here on the blog on Tuesday, November 29th, so y'all have a whole week to participate. One comment per person, please. Contest closes on November 29th at 12:00 noon CST.

Good luck, y'all!

OK, Enough Slacking. Promise...

Lawd, have I been neglecting this poor blog I love so much!  But, I have been working like crazy redoing my uncle's website, and that takes up all of my time. We also have Nati's after school stuff, the house stuff... You know how it piles up.

I'm gonna try to make time to update every day again. I really am. To start this new week off properly, lemme tell ya that our BIG Stop & Scrap giveaway is tomorrow, so don't forget to come by and leave a comment for you chance to win.

***Oy! There's a misspelled word on my graphic. Sorry!!!***

Gotta go get the giveaway post ready for y'all tomorrow.

Kisses and hugs, lovely people.

Giveaways!

Yes, we do! In the next few days, No Shrinking Violet will have some very nice gift cards and promo codes for y'all, courtesy of Stop & Scrap. I've been getting my crafty goodies from Maria for years, and she always has the latest and greatest, always at a discount.

Does not get better than that for us scrap hoarders.

So, my darlings, keep checking back to have a chance at winning...

It's The Little Things.

These past few weeks have been a roller coaster of very happy and very not so happy. I'm a very emotional person and when I'm feeling so out of sorts, my creativity/mojo/inspiration/will to create, leaves the building. This translates into very few and far between blog posts. It sucks.

So, I try to find joy in the little things, like this...

If you read this blog regularly, you know I am a HUGE fan of Pugly Pixel and the genius behind it, Katrina Tan. So, finding my humble little blog on her blog roll made me happy. I read hers religiously and it's incredibly flattering for moi, that she reads mine too.

So, that's my happy for today. Here's hoping more happy is on it's way. Oy!

Arrows and patterned paper are Pugly Pixel.

Font is Cheap Pine @ MyFonts.

Have a lovely week.

I Need.

Really, really, really need. Need.

(Because this is just too delicious, it has bumped our scheduled Font Love post)

*insert longing sighs here*

I cannot tell you how very much I need to upgrade my beloved iPhone to a 4S and of course I need this incredibly cool Hipstamatic cover. My heart skipped a beat when I came across it. Utter coolnes. Again, I need.

Cover can be found at the HipstaMart. Uber cool iPhone 4S at Apple (aka heaven on earth).

*insert more longing sighs*

It's almost Friday, lovelies!

My Adventures In Word Feud.

Indulge me in this if you will. I love word games and I am pretty good at them, I think. But, there's this person, who shall remain anonymous, that has bested me more times than I care to admit. It irks me to no end.

Now, picture a new game, me resigned to lose, again. This person, let's call him Mr. Meanerson, gloating and guaranteeing a 100 point win over me.

Again, picture a relentless battle, epic, monumental... Full of dramatic sweaty brow close ups and at the end of it, the sweet taste of MY victory over Mr. Meanerson.

Amazingly satisfying does not begin to cover the feeling I experienced when the little "You Won Against Mr. Meanerson" sign appeared on my iPhone's screen.

Let me illustrate...

This one's for you, Mr. Meanerson.

Have a great hump day, lovely people. I'm off to ready lots of new posts cause this blog has been neglected enough.

Toodles.

I'm Back.

I had such a wonderful time on my trip. It was exactly what I needed and it was so much more than I could have ever imagined it would be.

I got to spend a few hours in Miami, where home is to me, and just taking a big lungful of Florida air was a balm to my homesick soul. I had tears in my eyes when I saw my apartment, Nati's school, our whole neighborhood from the air. Perfectly bittersweet...

Then I got to Charlotte,  and I fell in love with another place...

I am planning on going back as soon as I possibly can. I slept a lot, laughed a lot, ate such good food, visited lots of beautiful places, I even watched a few NFL games. Yep, me and the NFL are one. Ha!

Anyway, my telling of this adventure was delayed by the worst cough in history. Lemme tell ya, planes and airports are just huge petri dishes of evil stuff. I'm just now feeling human again, after over a week of coughing my lungs out. Sorry, that was TMI *blushes*

I missed y'all and I will get back to regular blog updates. Promise.

Toodles, loves.

Leaving On A Jet Plane....

Yes! I am finally able to visit the US again (HOME!) and I am going on a little weekend vacay to a mysterious place that promises to be a swell time for all involved.

I am actually sitting on a plane while you read this...

ETA: I have had a HUGE lungful of Miami air by now too. I almost died dead right there on the curb.

Now more than ever, I know I am coming back soon. SOON.

A whole weekend of peace, calm and good things with people I had been dying to be with. Finally!

So, my lovelies, I will be back next week, with a new outlook, rested and happy to have been back home even if for a few days, while the trip back home for good happens.

Have a wonderful weekend. I will do the same. Whoohoo.

 

Digital goodies are Paislee Press. Font is Wisdom Script.

Au revoir, mes belles!

Font Love: New Ones To Love.

I have to say I not only love all these new font finds, but the tons of doodle brushes I found are making me giddy. Found them all through a simple Google search of "doodles Photoshop brushes". I never bookmarked each one, so I can't give you links... Sorry.

Being this close to Friday is also making me giddy. Ha!

Enjoy your Thursday, pretty people.

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty...

Here I am with a new post I had been wanting to make for a while. These are my every day beauty must haves. The stuff I use every single day and have for a while.

All are tried and true, keep coming back to them products that I simply cannot live without. I started taking care of my skin at about 14 and never stopped. I have been blessed with very kind, age gracefully genes, but my daily routine is a huge part of it.

So, here they are. I like shopping online, so all of these goodies can be found and bought on the interwebs.

What are yours? I'm always looking for the next great thing... Like I need any more. Ha!

All digital elements are Paislee Press. Font is Ostrich.

Enable me, will you?

Happy Wednesday, lovely people.

Font Love: Lost Type Co-op, Part Deux.

As promised, here's part two of my Lost Type Co-op type finds. Ribbon Numerals, Tightrope and Wisdom Script are my fave of this batch.

I always find it so cool that these incredible designers would create these wonderful fonts and offer them to us, font lovers/addicts/enthusiasts, for free.

To all of them I say a big, huge thank you. Huge.

I know there are lots more cool font sites I have yet to discover. If you know of one of those magical places, be a darling and tell me all about it, yeah?

I'll love you forever...  Have a great Thrusday.

Smooches.

New Goodies Are A Good Thing.

Since life decided to separate me from my delicious stash of paper and glue which I adore and miss like crazy, digital has been my life saver.

Of course, just as I hoarded paper and embellishments, I now hoard digital kits and fonts. Oh, the fonts. They will be the death of me. Alas, here are my recent additions...

I had been drooling over these until I succumbed. Ha! Yeah, that took lots of effort.
Templates are Pugly Pixel. You can get my goodies at Design House Digital and MyFonts.
Font used: Dream Lover by MyFonts.

Yes, I enable. It's what I do.

Have a very lovely Tuesday.
Toodles.

Where The Heart Is.

As you all know, I love, LOVE living in Florida. Love it with a huge passion. Sadly, by circumstances out of my control, I have had to live in Mexico City for the past two years, leaving my whole life on hold in Miami. It's been a killer. A test of endurance and it's been hard.

The other day I was browsing Etsy and I found these super cool Florida love goodies that I am aching to buy. All of them. Ha!

Lovely stuff, isn't it? I just can't wait to go back home... It's where my heart is.

Template by Pugly Pixel. Font is Cheap Pine by MyFonts.

Have a great week, pretty people.

Font Love: OMG. I'm In Love.

Big time in luuurve with this fabulous place called Lost Type Co-op. All of the fonts I found there were not only free, but now in my top fonts of all time. All. Of. Them.

Lemme show you part one of my Lost Type finds... Sigh.

Aren't they just insanely cool? I love the retro vibe they give off, love that most are all caps, love it all.

Chalkboard texture: deviantArt. Screws: Katie Pertiet.

It's almost Friday. Yeehaw!

Can't Have Martha, But I Have Sweet Paul.

A while ago I found this amazing online magazine called Sweet Paul. Being the huge Martha fan that I am, I immediately fell in love with it.

There are four issues a year, one for each season, and it's chock full of amazing stuff, recipes, photographs, DIYs, oh my!

You can find it here,  and if you somehow hadn't heard of it, run. Run like the wind and enjoy the brand new Fall Issue that just came out.

I just found out you can also buy print copies and I am so gonna get them all as soon as I'm back home.

So, there you have it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Photo template by Pugly Pixel. Font HT Pasticceria from My Fonts.

Happy hump day, pretty ones.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program...

I was doing so great updating the blog every day, finding lots to talk about... But life happens and it's been happening to me with a vengeance lately.

But, I am trying hard to get through it all so I can come back to fill this blog I love and enjoy so much, with all the things I like to make and share with y'all.

In the meantime, I'll still post here and there, but the everyday posting will take a little break. Really little break, just till I get my bearings and get back on track again.

Wish me luck, lovelies. I need it like there was no tomorrow.

All those cool graphic brushes are Katie Pertiet.

Kisses.

Aleida.

It's been three years... Just cause I think about her a lot, and she created a group of friends that has stood the test of time, this post is for her. My dear friend Aleida. She was gone way too soon and I miss her. Lots of us do...

This is a digital LO I made for a book her friends put together for her family when she passed away. She was funny, vivacious, honest and beautiful inside and out. I miss her so...

May 16th, 1967 - Sept 12th, 2008.

These Words...

I found these words a few days ago while browsing Pinterest, and I thought they described pretty accurately what I wish for myself in these trying times.

Only after researching the quote to be able to credit it, did I realize it was from Proverbs 31:25. Who knew?  Guess they were exactly what I needed to see at the exact time I needed to see them.

I'm gonna be reading them a lot and making them a personal mantra. 

Here's hoping they stick.

I hope yours is a great week.

Font Love: Gotta Get These.

Man, MyFonts will be the death of me. That place makes me giddy in a serious way and I wish I had tons and tons of cash to spend on all the fonts I've been drooling over. Alas...  I gotta think over my purchases carefully. Sigh.

These are the ones I have in my sights right now. I love, love them all, but Cheap Pine makes my heart beat faster.

OK, I'm off to find out if MyFonts has gift certificates. Bwahahaha.

Later lovelies.

I'm Out Of Commission....

I'm shivering in bed, feeling like death warmed over, so posting will be slim this week. But, I will be back soon.

Miss me...?

Kisses, lovelies. 

Have a healthy and happy week.

She Always Knows.

I was having one of those days, and when I came home in the afternoon, I found this drawing my baby girl had made for me, taped to the wall of my bedroom, over my bed.

She always knows, without me having to say anything, exactly what I need to make my heart lighter.

I dunno what I'd do without her in my life to give me the strength, the will and the reason to keep going, no matter what.

Thank you for making mommy smile every day, my perfect little girl.

I hope you get to have a great weekend.

Font Love: You Can Never Have Enough.

I absolutely believe that. Fonts are like shoes or bags. The more, the merrier. Always.

These are my features for this week...  Pacifico and Old-Town are making me positively giddy.

Which ones are you loving right now? You have to feed my font addiction. You have to!

Kiss, kiss.

I Need One Of These. Or Three...

I found this Etsy shop called Delightfully Lovely through Eighteen25, a very cool blog I read. I fell hopelessly in love with all the cupcake/cake stands they have and I so need a few. 

They are so cool and bold but still a little cute and I can already see them full of my chocolate ganache cupcakes.

These four are my fave and I love that I  can get them in custom colors. I need!

Stand 1 | Stand 2 | Stand 3 | Stand 4

Hope you like my finds, lovelies.

Toodles.

Poladroid Love.

A while back a good friend of mine showed me this little gem called Poladroid. It's this little app for your Mac or PC that lets you turn any photograph into a very cool looking Polaroid picture. Complete with smudges and color variations.

It generates great high res images that you can print or digitally use however you want.

Here are a few Ploadroids I've created with the original pics and the Poladroid results...

Definitely give this a try.

Have a good one, pretty people.

About.Me

I have to say, I follow the coolest blogs evah. I was checking out Hannah's blog a few days ago, and I found this website...

Here's my About.Me...  I still have to edit my info,  tweak it some more, maybe change the background some, edit my links and such.

Check it out, and if you get one, send me the link, OK?

Happy week, pretty peeps.

She's The Ultimate Girly Girl.

That's my Nati, in all her girly glory, the day before her birthday. We celebrated the day before so the whole family could be there. Of course,  her big cousin gave her an extreme makeover.

I took these pics with one of my fave iPhone photography apps: Pocketbooth. If you love realistic looking photo strips, this is the app for you. I love it to death and it has lots of options to make your strips look completely different every time.

Hope you like. Happy weekend, toodles, loves.

Font Love: Say Hello To My New Little Friends.

It's Font Love Thursday again and it's time to introduce you to my new lovely fonts. I swear, I'd drape myself in fonts if it were socially acceptable. Ha!

Feast your eyes on these...

All styling elements are from Sahlin Studio's Kitschy Kitchen kit. Love, love all her stuff.

I hope you see something you like.

Happy Thursday. Toodles.

Oh, Fun!

Yes, I just learned how to make .gifs after seeing that insanely cool image Katrina from Pugly Pixel, had on her blog a few days ago.

I thought it would be much harder, but it's really not. It just takes a little time if you want to get something as cool as she did.

I tried my best, and mine is not nearly as amazing as hers, but hey, it's my first try. And believe me, I will make many, many more of these.

I took this photograph of my beloved Miami sunsets, while waiting for the light to turn green on the way home one afternoon. I miss those so, so very much. I need to go back home already...

I made my own Instagram-y frame with Karla Dudley's amazing digital cardstock. Font is Habana from Lost Type Co-op.

Later loves. I'm off to make more of these. Whee!

The View From Up Here.

Yes, I do complain endlessly about living in a city as difficult as Mexico City. It used to be great, but now it's in the hands of millions of thugs that make life here so, so difficult...

So, I stay home a lot and enjoy these insanely beautiful views from my mom's apartment. She lives in a 12th floor and all the way south of the city so I get to see the whole of it. This Summer has gifted us with some camera worthy views, like these ones...
 

Gotta try to find the silver lining some days, no?

Have a great Tuesday, and here's hoping your view is a beautiful one also.

Ain't That The Truth.

 (click on image to participate)