A Fond Farewell to 2008

I've been a bad blogger lately, but it's been a busy time around here, getting ready for the big
M-O-V-E.

We've also had 3 birthdays, 2 big holidays, and a few illnesses to speak of, but who's counting, right? :)

Without further ado, here's my (brief) photo review of 2008...

Family Photo

View of Diamondhead & Waikiki:

Plumeria:
Victoria:

Graduation Day!

Catherine:

Did you ever see "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler? Great movie!

White Hibiscus:

Family!

Ft. Eustis, VA

Fire Thrower:

Awesome big brother & his beautiful wife:

3 Doors Down (GREAT concert!)

Bayfest Fireworks 4th of July

4th of July

Plumeria

My honor roll kid:

North Shore, Hawaii

White Hibiscus:

Surfer at North Shore (>30' waves):

All of this along with floods, a visiting President-elect, an island-wide power outage, and an ailing economy.

I'm considering our upcoming move a big blessing from above. We "get" to take a vacation of sorts when others can't even consider it. I know we are blessed to still have all that we do and I'm thankful.

Please bear with me through this move as I may not be able to post much. The movers arrive in a couple of weeks and we are frantically preparing for that.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that your 2009 is healthy and prosperous!

Thanks for visiting!

Crash

Sorry for the lack of posts!

I had some software/driver issues with my computer and had to wipe my hard drive. Of course that puts me WAY behind the curve, and not at a good time.

Today is my daughter's birthday and I've been busy preparing for that. I've been stamping a bit, so hopefully I'll get to share some of that later.

I've also been preparing for the big M-O-V-E. It's just amazing how much work that is.

I hope you're all enjoying a great late autumn where you are! It is still pretty rainy here most days. But the temperatures stay around 80 degrees, so the a/c stays on day and night. It will be a shock for us to return to a full-blown winter in progress with temperatures in the 20's when we hit the mainland! But I'm looking forward to it!

Have a great Aloha Friday!

Thanks for visiting!

Operation Quiet Comfort

Splitcoast Stamper's Cards for a Cause Challenge this month is Operation Quiet Comfort.

EXCELLENT cause! I'm honored to participate again this month.

Here's one of the cards I made for this challenge:



This is a smaller card, about 4"x 4" square, with sort of an unconventional opening... The score is on the left side of the star and opens on the opposite point.

Stamps:

Verve Swirly Stars

Paper:

Silver Cardstock, unknown; Close To My Heart Black Cardstock
Ink:

Versamark
Accessories:
Silver Eyelets, Clear Embossing Powder, Spellbinders Star Nestabilities, Silver Gel Pen

No matter who you voted for yesterday... No matter your political stance... No matter how you feel about the results of the election, locally or nationally... We should always, ALWAYS support our troops (and our Veterans) - at home and at war.

Send a note, a letter, a card. A thank-you. A "we support you." Something.

Let them know we have not forgotten them.


It means so much.


Thanks for visiting!

Pocket Silhouettes

I hope you all exercised your right to vote today!

Here's a card I made with one of my favorite new Stampin' Up! sets, Pocket Silhouettes:
Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Pocket Silhouettes
Paper:
Bazzill Blue, Bazzill Brown Bling, Basic Grey Granola, Georgia-Pacific White
Ink:
Stampin' Up! Night of Navy
Accessories:
Stampin' Up! 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Circle Scallop Punch, Fiskars Threading Water Punch, Ribbon Unknown

Now, gotta run!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately!

I hope you have a great hump day!

Thanks for visiting!

VOTE!

I also stamped!

But I'll share that with you later, because I don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipient. ;)

(Sorry!)

I hope to post more later today!

I hope you're all out voting!

Thanks for visiting!

Neat! Sweet! Petite!

My youngest daughter has a very creative imagination. At 13 years old, she came up with the idea for this Halloween costume all by herself.

Mind you... She had never seen an episode of The Addams Family before! I had to find an episode on YouTube so she could see how Cousin Itt "walks and talks!"

She was quite a hit in the neighborhood with the parents. Many stopped her and asked if they could take her picture. :) Most of the younger kids didn't quite "get it." LOL!

The costume took 6 skeins of yarn for us to make and she wore it for about 2 1/2 hours before she couldn't take the heat anymore. Literally. It was about 75 degrees outside, but under that carpet, I'm sure it felt more like 105 degrees! She did good, though! And she had a great time!

This week, I received two Halloween RAKs.
Mary Ann sent me this:

Aren't those dry embossed trick-or-treaters just adorable? She added chalk to make them pop and inside she used her Cricut to cut letters to spell "BOO." It's just too cute!! Thank you, Mary Ann!

Bonnie S. sent me this little jack-o-lantern:

I just love how she colored it! She stamped some spooky ghosts, too. Very nice, Bonnie! Thanks!

I hope you all had a great Halloween and enjoyed lots of treats and no tricks! :) We had lots of little princesses and Spidermen! We saw one "Obama" and several witches and Elmos.

Have a great weekend and thank you for visiting!

Because Someone You Know

There are signs posted around here on post campaigning for donations for CFC (Combined Federal Campaign, an annual thing they do get people to donate to various charities). The signs say something like,

"CFC...

BECAUSE SOMEONE YOU KNOW...

NEEDS YOUR HELP"

It's an LED sign that flashes the words in those increments and it always kind of creeps me out when I read it like that.

This month on Splitcoast Stampers, the Cards for a Cause Challenge is to send cards to Chemo Angels. In fact, the whole theme over at Splitcoast Stampers this month, is "Pink," for Breast Cancer Awareness.

I believe most of us are touched in some way by cancer, whether it is breast cancer or some other kind of cancer... and whether we have battled the cancer ourselves, or it was someone very close to us.

Eight years ago today, I lost one of my very best friends to cancer. He also happened to be my big brother. I don't have a digital photo to share right now, but I'll find one soon. He was an amazing person that is still very much with us today. I see him and hear him everywhere we go and I miss him very much. He was a very loving Dad to five children, a great best friend, so smart, so funny, and just so much fun to be around. He considered himself to be a blacksheep of sorts, though I disagreed with him wholeheartedly.

I could not figure out why I've lost my mojo, but I guess this is it...I haven't been feeling well, I've got the stress of this big move coming up, and I miss my big brother.

Here's to you, "Kaki"... I know you're up there & I know you're looking out for me. I miss you Every.Single.Day.

My sheep is not black (it's pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month), but you get the idea. ;)

Stamps: Saltbox Studio
Paper: Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey, Bazzill
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Robin's Nest Dew Drops, May Arts Double Sided Ribbon, Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

To those of you warriors who have fought and won the war against cancer, I salute you!

To those of you warriors who are fighting the war against cancer, keep up the fight! We are praying for you!

I thank you for visiting and hanging in there with me!

I hope you're having a great week!

Birthday RAKs

Can you believe it's almost November already?! I mean, really! Where does the time go?! Halloween is Friday! That means Election Day is next Tuesday, a week later is Veteran's Day, a couple of weeks after that will be THANKSGIVING!!! And then, of course, we are ALL ready for Christmas, right?... 59 more shopping days to go!!

Hello? Is this thing on?... Tap! Tap! Tap!

Ok so... My daughter's birthday is November 21st and Karen B. sent her this cute pink & purple (her FAYYYvorite color!!!!) polka dot card:


It took 5 or 10 minutes of pleading with her to convince her to let me borrow it to take this photo! She did not want to let go of it - she just loved those colors so much! :)

Karen also sent my hubby a birthday card... Hubs also has a birthday in November (it's quite a festive month for us!). I just love this truck image! Our pastor up in Alaska had a truck like this that was restored and so nice...

Inside the card, here's what she wrote...

I just thought this was SO FUNNY I darn near lost it!

Thank you, Karen!!

Now... I still haven't gotten to stamp or do a single creative thing. :( Yeah. I know, right?! SO... do me a favor, wouldja'?... Please?

Go forth... And be creative... for me.

I've got cleaning and such to do. (sad, I know)

90 DAYS!!

That's IT! I only have 90 DAYS LEFT!

SO much to do... SO little time...

Got to make time to stamp, right? Must.

Thanks for visiting!

Autumn Colors

Here in Hawaii, we don't get many chances to see Autumn colors in the form of Nature's work. The weather pretty much stays the same year-round, with the exception of the rainy season up here in what they call the "Mauka" or mountainside area of the island.

Holly sent me this beautiful Halloween RAK this week with all of the beautiful colors of the holiday. I just love that brayered background! She's a very talented stamper - with a blog... go on over and visit! :) No stamping for me this week yet... Maybe today. I've been busy cleaning and sorting... Listing things on eBay and Craig's List to lighten our household goods shipment. I've been putting this off because I hate to part with any of these things! :'( But we just can't go over our weight limit!

I've listed several auctions for stamps, alterable items, Sizzix, Stampin' Up!, Close To My Heart, Punches, Dies, Ink Pads, etc. Many of these items are new. Click here to go to my "About Me" page. to see all of these auctions.

Anyway! I've got a sinus infection so bear with me for a few days until I get past this, please! Thanks for your patience! And thanks for visiting!

I hope you're having a great hump day!

Joom (Challenge)

Good morning! :)

This past Saturday's Inspiration Challenge over at SCS came from this Etsy store called Joom (what a neat name!). When I clicked over to check it out... I just fell in love with her stuff! Those colors are SO pretty! It wasn't too difficult to find inspiration there!

So here's the photo I chose for my inspiration: (Go figure on the colors, right? LOL)And here's my card: Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Always (I think this will be one of my long-time standing favorites for a very, very long time!)
Paper:
Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze, Bazzill Bling Brown, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink:
Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip Craft Ink
Accessories:
Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, May Arts Ribbon, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals (THANK YOU, TERI!)

Well, I hope your week is off to a fantastic start wherever you are! Find time to stamp this week and send a card to someone you've been thinking of but maybe just haven't had a chance to call or write in a while. It'll brighten your day AND theirs! :)

Thanks for visiting!

Mojo Monday

Aloha!

As promised, here's the card I finally got around to making with Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Sketch (56) yesterday.
Here's her sketch:

And here's what I came up with: (Isn't that Bazzill Bling gorgeous?!) A close-up view of the dimension on the front of the card:

I just adore that Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

Stamps:
Verve Blacktie Birdies
Paper:
Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Bazzill Bling, Georgia-Pacific White, Basic Grey Urban Prairie Meadow
Ink:
Paper Trey Ink Perfect Match Aqua Mist
Accessories:
Circle Nestabilities, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Bling, Bella Bling, Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen

Well, I hope your weekend was a good one. I can't believe mine went by so fast! I got a lot done as far as organizing and sorting goes. I'm not finished by any means, but I'm really close. And that's good enough for me for now. :) Hey! I've gotta pace myself, right? ;)

Well, it's Sunday, so that means Army Wives & Desperate Housewives are on tonight!

Thanks for visiting!

Ribbit!

That means "Thank You!" in Frog. I think.

Teri sent me this ADORABLE RAK this week and her timing could not have been more perfect.

I'd had the worst day with a horrible night's sleep, dealing with bad drivers, long lines at the gas pump and everywhere I went, then had to go to the doctor at Tripler (the big Army Hospital here), which is always great fun, and finding parking up there is always like riding a carousel at the fair.... just driving around and around until someone decides to leave so you can take their spot. Of course, waiting an hour and a half to get a prescription filled (or I should say, waiting an hour and a half to be told that they don't have the meds to fill your prescription!), well that was a BLAST! And then there was the traffic coming home, which I always say feels more like being in a Mardi Gras parade. I feel like I should be doing my "princess wave" and throwing beads out the windows to the other cars because we're moving SO S.L.O.W.!

Boy! Talk about a tangent! Let's just say it was a bad day and I was a real grump when I got home! Everyone just loved being around me. But she turned all that around!! She sent me some really happy mail! Not only did she send me this lovely card, but I had mentioned (whined) to her that I was running out of dimensionals LOL! and she sent me some! What a sweetheart! I'm so lucky to have her! Thank you, Teri! You really made my day!
So, sorry I haven't been around much this week, but my lack of sleep and grumpiness haven't made me very creative... nor have they made me very good company as you can see. :)

I'm coming around, though. I Promise! I have been cleaning and sorting my stamping stuff... weeding through stuff I want to sell and throw out before the big M.O.V.E. and just trying to re-organize the neglected things. This process is always good for my creative side. I got to stamp a little bit tonight... just long enough to create something for this week's Mojo Monday. (Late, don'tcha' think? LOL!) I'll post that tomorrow after I've uploaded the photo and gotten a chance to edit it a little.

Well, I hope you're all enjoying a relaxing weekend where you are. It's another wet weekend here in Hawaii, but we're getting caught up on some household tasks that we've been putting off, so that's good.

Thanks for visiting!

EEK! and another Cupcake!

Do not be fooled by the cute, innocent look of this creature.
Though this is not the ACTUAL creature that has been heard around our house, I'm sure he looks something like this one. All of the cats in the neighborhood (there are six or seven last time I checked) and mouse traps (four) and exterminators (two) cannot catch this little fella'... And boy, does he like to party once everyone has called it a night! I sure wish he'd find it in his heart to move on so we could get a little peace and quiet around here. We haven't had a good night sleep in ages!

Anyway! I mustered up a little mojo to give Taylor's Sketch my best try. Here's her sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

The different sized circles were a bit of a challenge for me, but I don't know if that's just because I was so sleep-deprived or because I was trying to watch a movie and stay awake at the same time. LOL! Well, I think the colors coordinate anyway. I hope they do.

Stamps:
Maya Road Cupcakes
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey Two Scoops
Ink:
Paper Trey Ink Perfect Match Dark Chocolate, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Embossing Folders Swirl & Swiss Dots, Circle Nestabilities

Thanks for visiting!

Lovely Labels

I had a little time to try my hand at Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge:
Here's my card:
I apologize for the lighting in my photos. I have a great camera and I always wait until mid-morning to take my shots, with natural light, but this is what I've been getting lately. It's winter here in Hawaii (LOL!) so it's been cloudy and rainy for days on end. On a good note, SURF'S UP out at North Shore if anyone's planning on heading up this way... (just thought I'd mention that...)

Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Lovely Labels
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey Sultry
Accessories:
1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Punch, Cuttlebug Textiles Embossing Folder, Circle Nestabilities, Paper Trey Ink Sweet Blush Ribbon

Thanks for visiting!

It's A Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Ya' know, I was just about to post that it was a great football weekend (Georgia beat Tennessee, Texas beat Oklahoma, Florida beat LSU, Hawaii beat Louisiana Tech... Leilehua High School, my daughter's alma mater and defending state champion, won the division title...)
AND THEN!....
OMG...
I could not believe it.
In overtime no less.
The boys.
The Cowboys lost.
In overtime.
:'-(

In other news...
Here's my little paper pumpkin patch! :D
I got the idea from another very talented stamper's blog... who I would love to give credit to, but I can't remember where....
I'll find it and edit this post. I promise.

ETA:
The Paper Pumpkin creator has been found! :-D
I found them at Stamp Happy's site. Thanks, Jami!


All made with scraps and neglected paper from the hoards and stash...
Leaves were cut with Oval Nestabilities and run through the crimper.

Sugar coated brads are from Doodlebug... Fiber is from my stash - remember when fiber was all the rage a few years ago? Gosh - I almost threw a giant bag of fiber out... several times. In fact, I think I've probably gotten rid of yards and yards of it. Anyhoo... (sorry - I got off track there!) I'm glad I kept this little bit of brown for my pumpkin "vine!"

Ok. I've got to run and get dinner started. Baked ziti! Yum!

I hope y'all had a great weekend! Ours was especially long - the military got a four-day weekend so I get to enjoy the hubs extra! :) I'd like to thank Mr. Christopher Columbus for that. :)

Thanks for visiting!

Mini Pizza Box Fun

On Monday, there was a Challenge (sometimes I just can't resist those) posted over at Split Coast Stampers to created these adorable Mini Pizza Boxes. Jen Del Muro created the original one for Scor-Pal using a template you can get from this site.
I had an idea to create one of these to get a head start on Teacher gifts for Christmas. (I've got teachers on the brain this week for a couple of reasons... it being INTERCESSION, plus a friend of mine, who is a teacher, had a rough week, so I've just had her on my mind.)

Anyhoooooo...

What I created was this...
Cornish Heritage Farms Owl wearing his cute little Santa hat. (I love that sleepy little look on his face! I feel like that too right now.)

When you open it up, this is what you see...
I made 3 scalloped note cards with my scalloped circle nestabilities (3 3/4" x 3 3/4") and the smaller CHF Owl stamp.
I also made a little gift card holder...

Here's a better look at the note cards. You can see the texture from the Cuttlebug embossed front layer. I cut a slit in the center of the card to run the American Crafts ribbon through so I could tie it.
I ran that whole gift card holder through the Cuttlebug Embossing folder to get that look.
Yum-Oh! (As Rachel Ray would say)

Stamps:
Cornish Heritage Farms "U R A Hoot", Paper Trey Ink Polka Dot Basics
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Pure Poppy, Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip, Georgia-Pacific White
Ink:
Ranger Distress Ink Black Soot, Copic Markers, Chocolate Chip Craft
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Swirl Embossing Folder, Clear Embossing Powder, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Nestabilities, American Crafts Ribbon, Fiskars Threading Water Punch, Dimensionals

Well, gotta run... Literally! I hope you're having a fab-O day!

Get some stamping done already, will ya'! :-D

Thanks for visiting!

Gift Box in a Bag

Diana Gibbs is a master at making these adorable Gift Boxes in a Bag. She made up a tutorial so that even people like me (who need three tries to make a Stationery Box) can make one. :)

I think I shoulda' left the Prima flower off the front of the bag, though. I covered up the cute little Penguin!!! Ugh!

Then I made a matching card with a sketch from Jen Del Muro's site:

Here's my card:

Stamps:
Imaginisce Surfer Penguin
Paper:
Imaginisce, Cardstock from Die Cuts With A View & Georgia Pacific White
Ink:
Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers, Close To My Heart Topiary

All I have to say is... Thank GOD it's Friday! I can't understand why this week has seemed so long... Maybe because it's been INTERCESSION? I dearly love my children... I really, really do...

According to Wikipedia, "intercession" means "prayer for the living" or "prayer for the departed." I'm not sure which I am right now. HA HA! Kidding! It also means "prayer for the Saints" which I'd like to think all of the teachers up at the Middle School are for putting up with all of those students on a daily basis are! LOL! But, "intercession" also means "break between sessions." So, take your pick.

So, friends, that wraps up the lesson for today! :) I hope you're having a fabulous Aloha Friday and have great plans for the weekend!

Thanks for visiting!