Carol Liška

Halloween!

2011-10-29T14:26:00.004-06:00

I love Halloween! Although it's rare when I dress up, but this year is different... now that Anika is with us, the spirit of Halloween and Christmas came back! Pedro (hubby) installed Christmas lights already; we live in Utah, so it's smart to install them before it gets too cold and snowy :)

Last week we bought a spider web for our front porch... decor can't be complete without it! And we also got 3 pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, papa pumpkin, mama pumpkin, and baby pumpkin. I didn't carved them (no time with baby and work) but they look really cute outside the door. We had an awesome time at the pumpkin patch (fist time we do this) we took lots of pictures, it's pretty neat to see all those pumpkins on the ground, for some reason it made me so excited.

And finally last night on a trip to Lowes we found orange bulbs! Pedro wanted some since he put the Christmas lights 2 weeks ago, but they were too price online, so didn't get them for him. At Lowes they were super cheap, like $0.25 each. So we got 20 to do just the front of our house, we did orange bulbs every other 2.

I'll post some pictures later tonight of our house and costumes :)

Remembering...

2011-10-28T03:44:00.001-06:00

Today a year ago I lost one of the loves of my life, my dad. I have never felt a pain like that before; I was 3 months pregnant and I just thought the sky was falling over my head. I didn't get to say goodbye... and I can't get over that. He got sick Wednesday night while I was in school, and the next day he was gone.

I love my dad with all my heart, he taught me to read, to ride my bike, to think first before open my mouth, and to listen. He took care of me all the time; while mom was working he was the one cooking, cleaning, taking us to the doctor when sick, dentist appointments, and helping with homework. He was the perfect father and friend, always listening, and saying just the right thing. He was so excited about me being pregnant that he called almost every day to ask for the baby... I miss him so much; my heart will never be complete without him.

First blog after 2 years!

2011-10-22T03:26:00.004-06:00

Well I guess I have to give you an quick summary of my life and what happened in the last 2 years and 7 months.

My name is Carol, and I was born in Guatemala in 1982... yes I'm 29 years old. I came to this country because of my husband's job. When I arrived I did not speak the language, just a few words like yes, bathroom, table, help, don't speak English, the numbers, and how much is..? (of course, this last one is an important one if you are a girl and like to shop)

I taught English to myself (and still learning,) and after I started having dreams in English, I knew I was ready for school, so I signed up for Interior Design. I wanted to sign up for Architecture, but it was really expensive for me due my residency status, so Interior Design was my second option. I haven't finished school, but I do work as a commercial interior designer at Linc Hospitality here in Salt Lake City, UT. Utah has no legislation yet, so that is why I'm able to work without a degree. At Linc I'm a project manager, and my last two projects are now open for the public if you want to check them up, Hampton Inn in Murray, UT (guestrooms & lobby renovation); Home 2 Suites in West Valley City, UT (new construction) I will post photos later.

I have been married for 6 years now, and I just had a baby girl on April! Her name is Anika Sofie. Because of my pregnancy and my daughter's birth I had to have a school break; it was impossible to handle new baby, work, school, and house chores at the same time. But I'll be back in January. I'm also leaving Linc this year, it is very important that I finish school and take care of my beautiful baby girl.

I haven't made cards in a while, and I miss it so much! My goal is to redo all my old cards that are on my website, improve them if possible, and take better pictures. Anyway, is 3:55 am and I'm going back to bed to my hubby and baby. Have a great weekend!

Started blogging again!

2011-10-22T03:18:00.004-06:00

I decided to start blogging again, but his time the right way. I don't want this blog to be about my handmade cards only, I want it to be about me... and the things I need to say about what I think or feel.

English is not my native language, and I have not taken an English class ever (I taught myself), so please be patient with my grammar :) I'll do my best expressing myself in a correct manner.

Shopping Cart Finished!

2009-01-10T20:59:00.006-07:00

Hello everyone, I have good news! Pedro, my husband, finished the shopping cart for my website and it has been running for almost two weeks! We are very excited. The shopping cart is integrated with Google Checkout; this means that no one (including me) gets to see your credit card information because it is all handled by Google (100% secure).

Please visit us as soon as possible and try out our new shopping cart =) www.carolliska.com

Santa's Truck

2008-12-20T20:17:00.007-07:00

My Brother has a transportation company, AMX Trucking. He asked me to come up with a card to give away for his clients and providers for Christmas. He wanted an 18 wheeler truck of course! With a "funny Santa" as driver. It was a challenge for me, it took me almost two days to figure it out (i know.. I'm slow).

I found a very cute truck which I colored with a red marker and put some deer antlers. I also added Santa's company name on the trailer "North Pole Trucking". Then I found the "funny Santa" on one of my clip art galleries, which I also colored with markers. I used my Cricut to cut out the city and the moon.

Now it was time to put it together! I glued everything down and added some "snow" with dimensional fabric paint. I think it looks great and closer to reality! After all, truck drivers & companies are the people who make Christmas possible. Without them we would not be able to obtain food, cloth, Christmas presents, gas, etc. Hope you like it! Happy Holidays!

Etsy Store

2008-12-04T14:03:00.009-07:00

Today I signed up to Etsy, which is a place to buy and sell all things handmade. This cool website supports crafters like me! Of course you have to pay a fee to be able to sell. I signed up because my husband is still working on my website shopping cart. He is a Software Developer and in his free time sometimes he works on my website =). I hope you can be able to purchase directly from my website soon.

I never thought Etsy was such a huge thing; there are lots of peolple selling and buying. It is nice to see other talented people and their amazing ideas for card making and other type of crafts. I like to called it ART, because it is a gift to create such amazing things.

Feel free to visit my Etsy store any time at www.carolliska.etsy.com

Hand Painted Little Princess

2008-12-02T11:49:00.002-07:00

My little nieces love Disney Princess, so I started loving them too! Brianna, which is the youngest one, turn four years on June 24th, so I sent her this Sleeping Beauty card.

My sister in law thought that the Princess was a sticker, but for her surprise it was hand painted with markers by myself! This card has a beautiful striped paper patter which I stamped and embossed with "Little Princess" and "Happy Birthday" tittles. It took me two hours and 30 minutes to complete it. I must confess that Aurora is my favorite Princess!

Birthday Paper Dress

2008-11-30T19:22:00.003-07:00

This is one of my favorite cards! I guess it is because is so simple, but at the same time charming. It has an stamped and embossed happy birthday title and dress.

I need to confess that this is the second version of it. The first version was one of my first handmade cards, and I liked it too, but I felt it needed something different, so this time has a paper hanger instead of a handmade wire one, a brown background instead of white, and a single happy birthday title instead of ten!

Hope you like it :)

To create

2008-11-30T17:45:00.003-07:00

To create? According with the dictionary: to produce through artistic or imaginative effort.

I'm an Commercial Interior Designer and CREATE is a verb that I bring to life almost every single day. I need to create in order to be happy, so if I'm not working I'm making cards in paper or in my head. I love to make cards, this is my favorite thing to do besides working as an Interior Designer.

Every card I make is a creation 100% handmade. Everything is designed, stamped, cut and glued by myself, even my envelope seals!

I hope you enjoy my cards like I enjoy making them.