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Friday, January 7, 2011

Reyes Magos Hop - One More Day

Dear Friends and Guests:
Due to the many problems encountered by Blog Participants
as well as Visitors while Blogger was up and down yesterday,
the Hop will stay up until 5:00PM PST today Friday January 7, 2011
Thanks for Visiting!  -- To participate, just scroll down --Gaby

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Dia de Reyes Blog Hop

Welcome to GabyCreates
First of all
Happy Birthday to my daughter
Yajaira!!!!
LOVE YOU BABY!!!!
and welcome to
El Día De Los Reyes Magos Blog Hop

El Día De Los Reyes Magos is celebrated around the WORLD!
for info on how it is celebrated click HERE
and scroll down to "local customs".

 My parents always had us kids place our shoe outside the kitchen door.  A Barbie was my best present ever as a kid!
(I think I just told you my age! lol  40 years ago Barbie was "the" hottest toy- no pun intended!)
But as a grown up the best present
Los Tres Reyes Magos brought to me was
My Daughter Yajaira
and to celebrate I am having 6 Giveaways!
Here is a bit of info on how it is celebrated in México.
The presents are not received on Christmas, for Christmas is a celebration of Life of Our Savior.
The children's celebration of receiving presents is not until January 6th, "el día de Reyes", the day of the Kings, or the Wise Men Day. It is the Magi who brought the presents to the Baby Jesus, thus, they bring the toys to the boys and girls who have been good. The children place their shoes by the window, so the Magi place the present in the shoe. It the present is bigger than the shoe, it will be placed next to it. 

El dia de Reyes is celebrated with a "Merienda" consisting of hot chocolate and "The Rosca de Reyes". "La Merienda is the meal that takes. place any time between 5 P.M. and 7 P.M. it is not a heavy meal but the equivalent of "High Tea".
The Rosca de Reyes is a big oval wreath made out of egg bread (like an egg bagel, but huge) with dry fruit decorations and sprinkled sugar on top, but inside, there is a little ceramic/plastic doll which represents the Baby Jesus. The person who gets the piece of bread with the Baby, must be the Godparent of the Baby Jesus in the celebration of the Candelaria, on February 2nd.
Melin from CookingWithCricut (she is in the hop) created these files (Reyes) so I can use them here today!!!
THANK YOU MELIN!!
The star is from the Cricut Noel/Christmas cartridge
So you are thinking, how is it that she did not paint the frame..... it matches the mangier and they did not have paint back then!!! lol 
In this pictures you see my nieces and nephews!!
Can you believe that the kid/King with the red cover is currently serving in the
Marines in Afghanistan!!!....prayers!
Word of advise: Do not attempt to cut at 3"in.!!!....all those little intricate pieces!
I cut enough for three sets to create 3 frames to give to each of my sisters...

I had already created this LO, but I finally asked my sister Gladys for the pictures!

Giveaway #1
EK Punch Edge Edger
Giveaway #2
Tim Holtz Visual Artistry Flights of Fancy Stamp Set
Giveaway #3
MS Dimensional Glossary Stickers Pack
Easter Stickers Pack (not pictured)
KI Memories Stamps 17 pcs "Messages" (not pictured)

Giveaway #4
Imaginisce i-rock

Giveaway #5
A Cricut Cartridge

(I can not advertize which one until I receive shipment- sorry I was hoping it got here today)
Let's just say it will be a surprise!!

Grand Prize!!
BasicGrey/Sizzix embossing folder size A2 Large Diamonds
+BasicGrey/Sizzix embossing floder size A2 Large Snow Cap
+BasicGrey/Sizzix die cut phrase HO3
ALSO INCLUDED IN GRAND PRIZE
ADDITIONAL TO GIVEAWAYS #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5
Yes! I bought two sets!

+EK Punch Edge Edger  (see giveaway #1 for picture)
+Tim Holtz Visual Artistry Flights of Fancy Stamp Set (see #2 for picture)
+MS Dimensional Glossary Stickers Pack (see #3 for picture)
+Easter Stickers Pack (not pictured)
+KI Memories Stamps 17 pcs "Messages" (not pictured)
+Imaginisce i-rock (see #4 for picture)
and
+A surprise Cricut Cartridge!!!! (see #5)
There is more!!- just received word edited at 12:17PM PST
+Making Memories Noel Kit from HappyNScrappin!!!!!!!
+My Sister Gladys knitted a beautiful (grey tones) scarf for me to give


You must leave comment here to enter Giveaways #1---#5
but
In order to enter the Grand Prize
You MUST
1-Visit and leave a comment on every blog
2-and collect a word from the blogs
3-email the phrase to scrapabookaholic at hotmail dot com
4-(DO NOT enter the phrase on the comment area- email it to scrapabookaholic@hotmail.com)

 Now go get started collecting your words and to see what wonderful creations the other talented ladies created to celebrate
Los Reyes Magos!
Your Next Stop is the talented Yolie

If you get lost along the way or wish to take a break and come back!

Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/  --You Are HERE
Yolie http://www.justyolie.com/
Dorcas http://4craftyangels.blogspot.com/
Sandra http://365daysofcricut.blogspot.com/
Dalis http://www.stampergirl.com/
Madison http://funkycards.blogspot.com/
Donna http://donnamundinger-popsicletoes.blogspot.com/
Martha C http://dreamofcrafting.blogspot.com/
Patti/Martha http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
SweetSassyDiva http://sweetsassydiva-gspot.blogspot.com/
Erika http://www.cricutlove1.blogspot.com/
Melin http://www.cookingwithcricut.com/
Patty T http://mynameisscrappy.blogspot.com/
Jess http://www.kinderstampo.com/
Ivette http://allaboutmeandmyscrapbook.blogspot.com/
Maria Elena http://www.mariaelenaworld.blogspot.com/
Terri S http://scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/
Karla http://kalittlescrapcorner.blogspot.com/
Elsa http://www.cricutlvr.blogspot.com/
Jessica http://www.thatzuneek.blogspot.com/
Cristina http://www.craftingwithcristina.com/
Grand Prize now Closed
but Giveaways 1-5, just leave a comment
Will post winners on Monday

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Pre-Reyes Magos Hop Giveaway - La Cabalgata

I am having a Pre-Reyes Blog Hop Giveaway!

Since more than 50% of my lineage is Spanish, I thought I would share the following:

The winter holidays are a truly wonderful time to experience a new culture, as each town and country has its own set of time-honored traditions, holiday treats, music, etc. The Christmas season wraps up with Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day), which is marked by huge, spectacular parades, all sorts of sweets and pastries and presents for all!


The annual celebrations surrounding the arrival of the Three Kings begins on the evening of January 5 for the Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Parade), and continues on January 6 with the celebration of the Epiphany.

That evening, before an early night in bed, children leave out their shoes in a spot where the Kings are sure to see them. The religious monarchs, just like Santa Claus, certainly love their sweets, so Spanish children often set out goodies to entice the Kings as well as hay to feed their camels. When morning arrives, children delightedly discover that the Kings nibbled the sweets, the camels ate the hay, and by their shoes there are wrapped presents just waiting to be torn into. The magical night comes to a close with a typical breakfast of Roscón de Reyes, a ring-shaped cake decorated with fruits symbolizing the precious gems that adorned the royal trio's lavish clothing.

This celebration itself originates from the New Testament story in which the kings
M------, G----, and B-------- travel by night to bring gifts to Jesus. In 1885, the Spanish government called for a parade to mark the holiday. A beloved tradition, the Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos is the oldest parade in Spain.  (http://www.enforex.com/culture/reyes-magos.html)


To enter the Giveaway, just leave a comment with one of the king's name!-- I gave you a letter!!!
You will get a package containing two embossing folders-Evergeen Large A2 and Snow Flowers Large A2 and a die of tree #5 (not pictured) by one of my favorite companies, Basic Grey by Sizzix. Everybody qualifies to enter!!!! but you must enter a King's name!
As always, Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment!!!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Recycling a Bag with Tinkerbell-Cricut

Just a quick hello and posting.
My grand daughter Jasmine is really into Tinkerbell, so I created this bag in a Jiffy because I could not find a bag big enough to wrap her oh so desired Unicorn Pillow Pet for Christmas.
I recycled a take out paper bag from Olive Garden.
Not a great picture.
And not your typical Xmas decor, but it was a hit with Jasmine, and-that-is-all-that-matters!
I am glad the bag survived. I forgot to take pictures on Dec. 24th.
I cut the flower design at 11.5 in. and followed the color suggestions on the handbook.

I created the same design on the back or other side of the bag to cover the restaurant's logo minus the Tinker tag.  I will re-recycle and create a LO with Tinker and the flower bed altering it a bit.

Announcement:
Come back in a few hours. I will be posting a
 Pre-Blog Hop Giveaway!


Monday, January 3, 2011

Blog Hop Starting Here

Just stopping by to invite you to come back on Thursday to celebrate with me
El Día De Los Reyes Magos
and my only child's B-day!!

I will have 6 giveaways!
Just to celebrate!

There will be 20 talented
Scrap Artist!