a big MAHALO for a big SURPRISE!!

Happy Thursday peeps!!! i'm on the slow boat today as i was up til 430am crafting and then awoke again at 8am... ooooh, someone want to send me some strong coffee... i feel like i'm hangin' and i didn't even take the drink... LOL... funny words of expression huh?!

so i know i said i would share my other Island Paperie card, but i'm gonna save that for tomorrow because i have a FABULOUS SURPRISE RAK to share with you...

funny story actually.... Joy of the Joy of Crafting did this awesome make over project that she posted to her blog on Tuesday... this project among some of her other fabulous recycled creations was using a 2 liter soda bottle that she used for packaging/boxing... what is that right?! just wait... this project is SO COOL and topped other recycled projects in my eyes... who would have thought to do something like that... and to make it even more exciting, she mailed it... anyway, yesterday, hubby went to get the mail and said the mailman was sorta smiling and giggling when putting the mail in our box... he didn't know why until he went to get the mail and saw this....
hubby came in the house and said "what is this?".... i can't even explain my bright eyed, ear to ear smile i had on my face when he brought it to me.... i was so shocked to see it come to my house!! WOWZERS!!! MAHALO plenty Joy for the fantastic surprise RAK!!! it is SO SO COOL i didn't even open it yet.... i'm still in awe with how fabulous it is to see it in real life... it's really different when looking at it through pictures and then seeing and touching the creation... i really like the unique-ness of the packaging.... very creative!! wanna see how Joy stuffed this bottle up?? take this link >here< to check out her post.... i'm telling you, it's so cool!

ok, so whoever left comments on her post that day was pretty much in awe that the postal service would actually deliver something like this right?! well, here's proof that they do!!!! cool yah?! it reminds me of those big balloons that florists and such stuffed bears and goodies into... except i don't think those could go postal... it's just an awesome way to recycle and be unique in gift giving... i LOVE it!

THANK YOU again Joy for brightening my day with this EVER SO crafty surprise RAK!!! =D

okie dokie.... i'm still dragging a bit from lack of sleep but mommy duties call.... come back tomorrow for my IP creation... and thanks for spending a few minutes with me... hugs!!!

Funky Princess

stopping in for a Royal share... =D i've been playing along with all the fun challenges at TGF for the Royalty contest and almost didn't play along with the last week... merely because i was stumped and my mojo seemed to take an unepexcted vacay... LOL... i think it's back though... haha!

anyway, i pushed myself to the very last minute to play along with Week 4 - the 4C's... what is that you ask??? 4Cs as in crown, castle, carriage, and carats... it was a challenge trying to use all of it on one card (you were required to use atleast one) and during one of my moments talking to myself the hub says "how hard can it be to add all of that onto your card?" well mind you dear hubby, it is very hard if you are trying to make it look right and not just slap all of that together... LOL... oh i wanted to dare him to participate so bad! of course i didn't... my craft supplies are kapu (sacred) to me... hehe!

after much 'waste' of some supplies because it didn't go together, or didn't look right, or i changed my mind many times (thanks mr. mojo) here is what i came up with...
Creeper Tuesday here has a funky twist to being a princess... she's very outspoken and doesn't care if she has a sassy face on, the sentiment from CC Designs says it all... =D she brings the spunk to being royal, hehe! being tempted to do her up in pink, i went with purples as my main color on her WITH added pink, yep... the papers are all from the new The Yellow Bicycle tiny princess line... papers are SO cute... finally used my fleur border punch by EK too... and the carriage is a saved rub on i had stashed away... so let's see, i've got a crown (part of the image), a castle (part of the DP) and a carriage (rub on)... last but not least, carats (rhinestones) completes my card... you'll find it on her crown and on the layout... since i didn't get a chance to play along with TGF's FFCB WOW challenge sketch #5 a few weeks ago, i used it for inspiration and guidance to make this card...

sorry for the not so good picture... i had to darken it a little bit as the original picture was really bright.. camera skills are not a thing for me... i'm still learning... haha!

thanks for sharing a part of your day with me... hope you come back and visit again soon! =D

Local flowers....

Yes! i let Monday slide right past me... i was actually on the lazy craft train trying to recover from the weekend... LOL... ok, ok, from posting... hehe... besides, hubby and i did some summer cleaning and took a load of trash to the landfill and a bunch of cans and plastics to recycling... wow what a work out... haha! before we get onto my sharing, just want to let you all know that i'm being CASE-d this week at TGF FFCB for Mystery Monday (YIPPPEE, what an HONOR) so go on over and play along... =D

anyway... i have the greatest privilege to be working with some AWESOME products from a local craft store here on Maui known as Island Paperie... got to meet the owner, who is just the sweetest ever and i love her images (and everything else she has in her store)... while browsing in her store one weekend, she asked what type of crafts i did and so forth and then she asked if i could do up some samples with some of her stamps and products... how could i say NO! i am thrilled to be working with her images/products... and yes, my cards with the Island Paperie images (and some without) can be purchased at her store.... (i just need to fill up her stock, hehe)...
this orchid is from IPs tropical flowers(b) set that i'm currently using... it's a set of 4 flowers (orchid, plumeria, bird of paradise and ohia blossoms).... i didn't have any tropical papers in my stash (can you believe that) so i had to make do with whatever... i was trying to be realistic so i didn't want to mix the image with just any patterned paper... with my first attempt, i went with texture... embossed some white CS, added some raffia, a mahalo sentiment and some bling... and a little bit of glitter in the centers too... i thought it came out a little plain, but it does capture my color scheme and the embossing gives it a nice touch... not bad for a first try (or so i think, hehe)... whatcha think???

i do have one more that i made using another flower from this set, but i'll save that for tomorrow or the next day... i don't want to overload you with reading... hehe... and i'll share a bit more about IP... it's gonna be a busy 2 weeks for me so i'll pop in and post when i can... thanks for stopping by today and i hope you like this creation... a hui ho, until we meet again! MUAH!

Syren's time to shine...

It's Aloha Friday.... nothing to do until Monday... doo do do doo doo... HA! yah if only.... but it is Friday and that means the weekend is finally here!! it seemed like a long week but yet it flew by so fast... just have to enjoy the time while we can...

i've been hoarding Syren from TGF for a few months now and she was ready to break free and shine in time.... so with the help of TGF's FFCB WOW Sketch challenge this week, i was able to make that possible....
my hubs thinks she's kinda scary, but i like to think that she's a model of some sort... you know, those pictures where the models don't really smile?? hehe, overall i think she's fabulous! and a definite FAVE from TGF's creeper line...

had some difficulties using her though... as soon as i inked her i knew the colors i wanted to use and immediately colored her... then my challenge was what papers to use... after digging through my scraps, at least twice, i finally found somethig suitable... the red CS behind the strips is regular CS that i embossed using my tiny bubbles folder... the "fintastic" sentiment is from the Down by the Pond set, also available at TGF... can't tell from the pix, but i blended a few shades of orange... you can barely see the light spots (even IRL) but i like it! and i went a little crazy and embossed her body to make it look like scales... see...
thought it made a cool touch of texture... =D

well happy friday everyone!! i hope you are looking forward to the weekend... i know i am... bbq with the besties for the hubby's bday and some crafting.... always great!! gonna take a posting break for the weekend and be back on Monday for some new sharings... hopefully that gives me time to create, create, CREATE!!

alrighty... time to start off my day... need to go and see what i can snag from the BF sale... hehe! see you all soon!

Sentimental Flutterings....

is it just me or is the days just fluttering past us?!? it seems like we just started a new week and already the weekend is approaching!! my goodness... how do we ever keep up!

happy thursday everyone! was going to post this yesterday but with sign ups and an introduction to a new stamp line, i thought that was good enough for your reading pleasure... so i saved my creation for today...

there is a fun Farm Fresh Friday challenge over at TGF's FFCB which is "Get Sentimental" and after thinking about what to create, i had the perfect pair in mind...
Flutter Anya has also been one of my faves and first stamp purchase from TGF and she was awesomely paired with a sentiment from TGF's Butterfly wishes set... this creation is a bit out of my comfort zone but i had so much fun making it!! i actually like the way it turned out regardless that some of the DP don't quite match... it is all from the same paper pad, but does not necessarily mean they go together... ah you catch my drift right?! did some paper piecing again (i just LOVE this technique) added some baker's twine (though you can barely see it) and distressed ink the edges of the mat... also distressed the DP edges of the main layer, but not with ink... with the DP scraps, i layered butterflies to kind of match Flutter Anya... i do like it!! it has fun colors, a fantastic sentiment and the embellies add a great touch... what do you think?? should i step out side the zone more?? hehe! well, i'll try to now and then... =D

my time is up with all of you for now... hope to bring you another share tomorrow... thanks for dropping in and checking out my card!! come back soon!!

Introducing a FABULOUS new line...

**2nd post today. Take the link above or scroll down for July's SSS sign ups. Thank you!**

Have you heard or seen the news about a new stamp line that will soon be available to you?!? look no further as i help spread the word BECAUSE these stamps are just TOO CUTE to miss!!

my dear friend Jenny and her sister have partnered up to bring you CUTE asian designs and they will debut 3 adorable images on July 1st... i know you want a peek!!

O-M-Gosh isn't these a MUST have?!? introducing to you.... Sister Stamps!!! like i said, this company has been started by two sisters who have the passion for drawing and creating... Jenny has lots of creations that can be found on her blog using these wonderful new images so be sure to check her out! and hey, why not take the link to the new Sister Stamps blog and join in on all the excitement!

Congrats Jenny and Denise on your new adventures!!!

July Secret Sister Swap sign ups...

Hello summer!!! i hope you all are enjoying the summer season... i assume some envy the fact that i'm in Hawaii, but the weather has been off and on lousy, and therefore doesn't make great beach days... it's almost like we are in winter already... passing showers, cold at night, blah, blah... but it does make perfect weather for CRAFTING!! most of the time... when it's nice and cool and a breeze sweeps through...

hmmm.... let's go with a theme for July.... how about FLOWERS.... yup, i'm sure you all can create lots of fantastic things with flowers... flowers can be in your image, on your papers, used as embellies, whatever fits your creations as long as there is a flower(s)...

here's some deets on my swap: *please take note of some changes in red*

1. You can swap anything you think is appropriate. Such as cards, 3d projects, gift tags, altered items, etc. You are not restricted to just a card for each swap... for example, you can do a card this month and gift tags next month, etc... be creative and use your talents! Many of you do not limit yourself to cards, there are some that do awesome jewelry, altered items and so on, so this is the swap to make something special and surprise someone... can't get creative? no problem, you are free to sub in a RAK too!

2. I kindly ask that you please send out your swaps before month's end. Please take into consideration snail mail timing. If you cannot mail your swap before the end of the month, you are given until the 5th day of the following month to do so. This will allow some time for your Secret Sister to receive it. If nothing has been received within 10 days past the end of the month, i will not include you in future sign ups. Please friends, let's play fair. This is a commitment i ask that you follow through with.

sign ups will be open until June 28th... PREVIOUS PLAYERS, just leave a comment on this post so i know you want to play along... NEW PLAYERS, please email me at krisnal5868athotmaildotcom with the subject "Secret Sister Swap" and the following info: FULL NAME, ADDRESS, BLOG URL (if you have one) and BEST EMAIL for contact.

If you cannot commit yourself to this swap, please don't sign up. I believe there is decent time allowed to swap. Remember, you don't have to create anything outrageously fancy, as long as your SS knows it comes from your heart!! I understand things come up that we cannot control, please make contact with me so we can work something out should that happen.

Thank you to all who have made this swap possible, who have shared their talents and creations with others, and for keeping this swap going!!!