Happy Anniversary Lollipop Crafts!!!

It's time for a CELEBRATION!!! Lollipop Crafts is celebrating their ONE YEAR BLOGAVERSARY and you are sweetly invited to join the fun!

First of all, we are back from summer break with our weekly challenge. The theme this week is CELEBRATION! Create a card/project with a celebration theme (ex. birthday, anniversary, wedding, new baby, graduation, etc) We all have something to celebrate right?

It is the first challenge of the month and that means we are sponsored this week by Meljen's Designs. One lucky random challenge player this week will win a fantastic prize. Be sure to link your creations with InLinkz on the LC blog for a chance. Check out the challenge rules too!

Secondly, it wouldn't be a celebration without some FUN! Join in on our Anniversary blog hop! You have until tomorrow (Tuesday at midnight PST) to visit and comment on each DT member's blog. Make sure you visit each of us because their are hidden prizes (the DT doesn't even know who has the prizes). Winners will be announced on Wednesday.

List of blog hop sponsors can be found on the LC blog and the master blog hop order is there too! You should have arrived here from Mimi's blog. If you hopped here by chance, please head over to Lollipop Crafts and begin your journey there.

Here is my creation for this wonderful celebration... using TGF's Sweet Cupcake Anya (created by one of our very own past designers, Barbara) along with the new paper line (fun-fetti) from Doodlebug (LOVE IT) and some stashed away TPC Studio brads... i went a little on the lighter brown/blondish style hair coloring this time, don't usually but i'm liking the way this one turned out... Cupcake Anya is ready to party in her bright outfit and her yummy chocolate treat!!!

Now it's time for you to finish the hop on the Lollipop Crafts blog!! Comment there are let them know you made it through the celebration!! Thank you for all your support friends!! We wouldn't have made it through a YEAR without you!!

To the end of a SWEET summer!

last weekend before school begins!!! WOW!! can't believe it's almost over.... the summer flew on by soooooo fast! it has been such a wonderful summer and DD1 enjoyed going to her daily summer pals program for the last month and a half... last week friday was their very last day of pals, and all of her group leaders were amazing with the 2nd graders and she personally enjoyed having these girls and guys lead her this summer... we knew an end of summer gift/treat would be the sweetest way of giving thanks for a fabulous summer!

me being on hiatus awfully forgot that it was the last week and had to whip out some treats the night before... guess i was extremely trapped in between my commitments, not paying attention to the days that just passed on by and assuming i still had time... think again Kris!! but like many other things that suddenly happen, i'll do my best to pull it off and in this case, i did!
very easy and quick gift giving... filled a cellophane bag with some yummy tummy treats... used SU!'s top not die to cut out some bag toppers and the SU! square lattice embossing folder for some texture.... printed out some words on the comp, cut it out with circle nesties that is layered on the scallop nesties... punched some flowers using scraps and tadduh!! all done... =D
just a close up of the bag toppers.... every year the grades get to choose a name for their group... DD1's group called themselves the "STUNNAHZ"... i can't remember the other ones except the menehunes (i think it was the kindergarten group) that stood out as such a cute name...

wow, can you believe i've posted every day this week?! i amaze myself... LOL... anyway... hubby is going fishing tonight and i'm planning on hitting as much crafting as my hands and eyes can handle... oh i hope it's a productive night! there is so much to do....

gonna be MIA tomorrow as it is the official last day of summer break and i've still got lots to do before DD1 goes back to school on Monday and the Lollipop Craft girls return from break as well... so i won't be posting any sharing (saving for next week), but come back here on Monday for a very SWEET celebration you DON'T want to MISS!!!! Really! you don't want to miss it!

going to bed now... thanks for popping in and thanks for all the beautiful comments this week and always!! Have a fantastic weekend friends!! see yah laters!!

Down to earth....

yah i am.... sorta... i can be on the highest level of adrenaline sometimes too.... =D happy friday to you all!! are you ready for the weekend?!? hope so... i'm looking forward to it...

ok so, the title isn't about me... it's all about working with browns.... mmmm, how i love brown... blue is still my tip top fave, but brown is a close second... and you can tell that because i have a lot of brown in my house and closet... it's a gorgeous color and can pretty much be matched to any other color...

when WOW's challenge over at TGF's FFCB was posted i immediately jumped on the train! so many ideas ran through my head and i went searching for the right papers... oh and this is one creation i worked on after Ms. Creativity came back (after i finished my art journal pages too).... seeeeee!
i admit i was thinking fashion and thought it was time to rip open the miss anya hats off set that has been waiting patiently to see some ink... hmmm, i think i made a good choice in using sitting anya, her outfit was great with browns... the bottom layer and strip with ribbon are papers from DCWV's new green tea stack (LOVE the color combos, it has blues and greens too) but i pulled only the browns... the other paper is from another DCWV single stack that i got from Ross' but can't remember the stack name.... i used one of my handmade stick pins, added some half pearls and used "a simple hello" sentiment from the critters sweet message set stamped in brown... i tried again to distress the edge of the image with ink and ran into a few errors so instead i tried lightly to brush color around the image... ummm... yah, still didn't quite work... i'm still learning! oh well i still like it.... oh and i added some butterflies too...

in my personal preference i'm loving this card!! monochromatic in beautiful shades of brown! might have to make more of these.... hehe.... what do you think of this creation?!? i'd love to hear your comments about it.... i think Ms. Creativity made up for her being MIA....

before i end this post i just wanted to send lots of hugs to all of you who come to visit my blog whenever i post something and leave your wonderful and such encouraging comments!! you really are the ones that keep me going with the support and inspirations... THANK YOU with all my heart!!! stop by tomorrow for a sweet ending to a great summer! see you then!

Acrylics?!?

and i don't mean acrylic nails.... happy thursday friends!!

i was kinda crazy when i signed up for TGF's He-ART Journaling class, seeing how i have a huge pile on my plate as is... i was very much ready to step out of my comfort zone and try this new thing that is a rave all over the world.... so i signed up... for personal and crafting reasons... i do believe this will open up the world of mixed media to me and may or may not help me grow in the different aspects of crafting, i won't know unless i try... it is definitely worth a try... it's a 23 week course of basically journaling in the form of art, hope i can keep up... i had SO much fun with the 1st week's assignment... SPREAD YOUR WINGS! in the sense that you reflect on something with wings... ie, fairies, angels, butterflies, birds, etc on your journal pages.... i chose to do butterflies...
here is my 2 page creation... butterflies was the first thing that came to mind after reading the assignment... to me, the butterfly is very symbolic in the sense of metamorphosis, and i put that on my life in general and then my crafting life... we all hit transitions in our lifetime and what better comparison than the butterfly to relate to.... (yes, the very hungry caterpillar is one of my FAVE books)... i've added 3 butterflies on to these pages that represent my 3 children... why?!? because for me, each one of them have transitioned me into becoming a better person in their own unique ways and because it represents their changing lives (transitions)... i see butterflies as being so pure and innocent... just like my kiddies.... i love butterflies, always have, but it wasn't until i was much older that i truly looked into the symbolic reference of butterflies and compared it to life.... welcome to the beginning...

the next thing to go along with the whole meaning of butterflies was that i wanted to try a different medium, which would represent my crafting... so i stocked up on some acrylic paints... a decent priced set of colors since i'm not sure if acrylic painting is for me i just wanted to try a few first.... yes this is my first time using them and OH I LOVE IT!! i love the textures it leaves on the paper.. my basic background here is all acrylic painting... the blue sky, the grass, clouds, and flower stems.... oh but i admit one thing about the painting.... took my 3 tries to do one and i made a big mess.... but oh it was super fun!

mixed media?! well if you can consider adding embellishments to the paint, i used a pack of prima flowers to add to the stems and some feathered butterflies....
here's a pix just showing the 3D effect to the pages... i opted to not scribble on my pages just yet... it's too nice to mess up with my ugly hand writing.... but i eventually will... i decided to dedicate the complete journal to my kiddies so they can reflect on me when they want to and see what was going through my mind through the course of this class... i won't work on the dedication page until i complete the whole journal first and i have yet to figure out how i want to decorate the cover... i have it covered with some yuzen paper and have a quote in mind that will tie in with the dedication page but not sure about the "other" elements... so you'll just have to stay tuned for that... =D

overall the first week went great! ventured to a different type of crafting which is way past the comfort zone... paper crafting will always be my first love, although i'm really loving this new art journaling.... so each week (if i can keep up) you'll see journal pages for sharing...

phew! have you stuck on to read this whole post?! if you did, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! If not, hey atleast you stopped by! Thanks for coming by and sharing a brief moment with me! join me tomorrow for something down to earth... =D

Piecing it together...

Oh my! it's midweek already... could someone please stop time?! i'm desperate... haha!

ah! the title reflects a little more than my creation today.... i'm still trying to piece together the last things for my son's party... and well, i'm not completing my task like i'm suppose to... hehe... i find it more thrilling to find Ms. Creativity, who seemed to have gone MIA on me the last few days, and play in some challenges... BAD BAD BAD!! i know.... i'm working on it! ha!

today's creation was made for TGF's FFCB Farm Fresh Friday - Piece it together.... basically it's paper piecing... i LOVE to paper piece!! so you know i just had to play....

ok, another step outside the "zone"... i've seen this tech done before but never had the "balls" ok wait, that's not right for a lady.... LOL... i mean "courage" to stamp/color on kraft paper... so i tried it for the first time ever... detour, back to the balls thing, i only say that to my hubby's friends... hahaha! you know, to show them i'm in control... hehe! just kidding... =D wanted to make you laugh... SO LAUGH! alright back on track... so i used this cutie patootie from the Hope and Grace set cause she is so awesome to paper piece... i opted not to color in skin tones but highlighted her hair and the accesories to her outfit... hmmm, not bad for a first try... i was stumped on the layout (Ms. Creativity didn't show up yet) but was able to fit all the elements i wanted to use so i guess it worked... i sprayed the prima flowers with shimmerz sparkle glitter for a bit of bling... the 'just for you' sentiment is from TGF's OA - Just for you set... found a lonely piece of the greenish lace ribbon so figured i add that on too and some dew drops just cause...

well after creating this card Ms. Creativity decided to grace me with her presence... wonder what her punishment should be?!? but since her return, i was on a roll working on creations... so that's a good thing right?! again, not what i'm suppose to be doing, however it was craft related... =D

alright peeps! i'm yawning like no tomorrow... that means time to hit dreamland.... ugh, i'll clean my mess up later in the AM.... hoping to squeeze in some commenting time too... toodles for now and THANKS for stopping by today!! smile!

Kick off for Christmas?!?!

Hiya!! poppin' in this early tuesday morning for a quick sharing.... i'm actually playing in a challenge... amongst everything else i'm suppose to be doing i wanted a little "free" play.... i can't even tell you how super stumped i was making this card... it's like Ms. Creativity went on vacay or something without telling me.... you know, the last freedom ride for summer... gonna have to have a talk with her... LOL... really though, i did have a hard time finishing but was absolutely determined to finish it since it was partially complete...

challenge over at ATS this week is CHRISTMAS in JULY! perfect for a kick start to making those Christmas cards, gift ideas, tags, etc.... and the good man knows i NEED a kick start!! but i can bet you i'll probably procrastinate again! haha! lately that has been the word in my craft world... man would some one just delete the word entirely?! hehe... i'd be better off if the word was not part of the vocabulary or in the dictionary... dream on right?! well, here is what i came up with by winging it...
totally plain if you ask me... if not for the pretty papers i guess you could say... papers are pretty busy itself and i couldn't really find the right embellies to stand out... my solution... slap on a sentiment (from Dandelion Designs) and just a touch of rhinestones (yah it blends into the papers) and leave it like it is.... not even the border punch i wanted to use would go with it... ahhh, no stress papers worked it's magic... and CC Designs Sugarplum Santa Emma is the steal of the show anyway... =D i fun flocked the white parts of her outfit and Santa hat, something i love to do when i can... hmmm, maybe when i pull this card out again for the holiday season i'll find something to dress it up a little more... what do you vote?! leave as is?

okie dokie.... way past my bedtime... told myself i need to start sleeping a little earlier... obviously it's not happening... LOL... i just enjoy the silence of the night crafting.... no interruptions or disruptions... just me and my craft supplies... ahhh! privileged pleasures.... too bad i kinda hit the crafting stump.... oh well, hope for a better craft day later today... Ciao for now!

Tags pt2

Hello Happy Monday!!! did you all have a wonderful weekend?! i sure hope so! my weekend was busy... but when am i not busy??? LOL... i had fun though...

Helped out at the Paper Party at BFC on Saturday which was lots of fun.... didn't get to see what the other girls were doing, but i still had fun with my make n' take and meeting and chatting with people... received many awesome compliments on my samples table which was truly the highlight of the day... hope i made an impression to sell some BFC products, hehe!... THANKS to the wonderful staff at BFC for a FANTABULOUS day!

so, here are the other 2 tags in my 4 tag make n' take....
the most wonderful thing about prepping the tags was i got to use a lot of paper scraps... still not enough to bring down the pile though... the tag to the left was made using the jumbo clever lever tag punch and the center solid CS was using spellbinders label 4 nestie... that was all premade and all they had to do was punch out the little cupcake pieces, adhere together on the tag and add a dew drop for the cherry/sprinkles.... the second tag was premade too... using scallop circle and circle nesties i precut the tags... on the solid white CS i stamped the cute Panda present image from Dandelion Designs and added the to/from (also from DD) inside the box... all they had to do was color the image and adhere the circles.... simple yah?!

alright... my back hurts a little from "rearranging" the craft room yesterday! LOL... yes i did a little more than clean... in fact, i basically just rearranged and have yet to attack and go through all the craft containers and really clean... i think i need a bit more of magic dust to get me going on that... hehe! nonetheless the craft room is more spacious and somewhat cleaned and organized... i'm ready to get crafting again! i'll try to today after what seems like our endless errands... but until my next creation to share, take care and i'll be back soon!

August Secret Sister Swap Sign-ups...

Happy, happy, joy, joy!!! =D

Time for August Secret Sister Swap sign-ups! Thank you to all who have been playing with my swap! I am hearing marvelous feedback from the swaps being received! YOU make this swap AWESOME!!! Thank you, Thank you!!

No theme for August... ANYTHING GOES!

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 July 29th... PREVIOUS PLAYERS, just leave a comment on this post so i know you want to play along... NEW PLAYERS, please email me at krisnal5868hotmaildotcom with the subject "Secret Sister Swap" and the following info: FULL NAME, ADDRESS, BLOG URL (if you have one) and BEST EMAIL for contact.

Thanks again and let's have a FUN swap for August!

Cards for Japan

Howdy peeps! how are you all doing this fine Friday?! hope all well and bombarded in crafting like me... i totally forgot that today was the last day of the summer program for DD1!! yikes! what happened to summer?!? the new school year is right around the corner! so yesterday i was doing some last minute treat bags for her group leaders (i'll share that later)... man oh man it just slipped my mind... so i do apologize this post is a tad bit late....

have a few cards to share with you today that i will be donating to Ben Franklin Crafts Make n Give event happening this Saturday, July 23rd as well as next Saturday, July 30th... BFC will have a table for you to visit to make a card to send to Japan in their efforts of sharing Aloha... this will take place at all Hawaii BFC locations and i will be at the Kahului, Maui store...

these cards were also made to sample an embossing folder demo i'll be doing too.... you likey?!?
click the photos to make it bigger.... you'll be able to see the embossing better.... the blue card features TGF's Geisha Anya and the Kanji is an old set from Stampin' up! the embossing folder used on this one is from Sizzix called garden flowers, a nice embossed border folder... the other card is simple with a strip of yuzen paper over white CS embossed using Cuttlebug swiss dots... i embossed washi paper, using a smaller embossing folder from the Sizzix birthday set, to show that you can emboss any type of paper... oops just noticed i forgot to add a sentiment... hehe
i used Stampin' up! elegant bouquet embossing folder on the yellow card and added some rhinestones to the mids... kanji on this is another retired SU! set... last card has the border embossing folder from Sizzix's HK spring set 2 that i sanded a bit to show some white... image is from Dandelion Designs cling Friends set and sentiment from TGF's Anya says...

very simple cards you can do in minutes.... some might be a little hesitant to use embossing folders not knowing the full capacity of it and they probably think no one will notice the image anyway, but with a little color, bling, sanding or even pretty papers and a cute stamp will help to bring out your embossed creations... use your imagination and put your creativity to work and you'll have loads of fun with embossing folders... i know i do and i LOVE mine!

alright, 2am and it's past my bedtime... LOL... gonna catch some zzzzs and hopefully i'll have time later today to finish up more cards and few other things like packing up everything and TRY-ing to go to bed at a decent time... hahahaha! long fun day tomorrow and i'm excited to see the other demos and make n' takes... probably won't post until Sunday if i'm not too tired so if nothing from me over the weekend i'll see yah back here on Monday! Have a FABULOUS weekend everyone!!

It's such a CINCH!

Bonkers! the day is half gone... sorry peeps... wasn't feeling so good last night and wasn't able to snap snap til now...

i hope i didn't scare your minds asking you to guess what yesterday's project was going to demo!! LOL... i tried to add key words of supplies in my write up... but seriously if i had to guess just by looking at the project i would have said nesties... haha! since the effort was to use different shaped nesties for the frames... BUT that wasn't it! it's actually a sample to demo the CINCH... i wanted to showcase that the Cinch can be used for other purposes besides binding... think of it as a hole punch with better features! took me long on punching holes in that project because the mid section isn't an even inch... but that's what's fabulous about the Cinch... trial and error until it's just right... =D

the creation today is another simple project demo-ing the Cinch in it's binding features....
a simple and easy recipe book! of course the main purpose of the demo will be binding... i'm very fond of the Cinch because you can create all types of binded projects... i'm a lefty and sometimes find it difficult to "write" with the bind to my left... so a lot of my personal use notebooks, etc. using the Cinch has the binding on the top... ahhh, comfort!
these are the inserts for the recipe book... trial and error again trying to print the words evenly and somewhat on the lines... LOL... i think i wasted half a pack of index cards to get it just right... because the cover is chipboard, you can jot down all your fave recipes in this book and when you need it, flip to the recipe and it will stand alone on your counter... can't really do that with regular recipe books that have soft covers... i know mine tend to fall down...

with the Cinch you can create many gift giving items like this book, or even notepads... or something outrageous like yesterday's wall hanging frames... hmmm, maybe you could make your own popular smash book! the possibilities are definitely endless....

join me Saturday at Ben Franklin Crafts Kahului, for the Cinch demo!! alright back to prepping some other stuff... tomorrow i'll have some cards to share... =D have a fabulous hump day!!

Having a blast!

Tadduh!!! told yah i'd be back.... =D

ok so today's sharing is something that took me a little more than 24 hours to complete due to stopping in between for mommy duties and breaks, but i'm very pleased with the outcome... puzzling in a few factors like me wanting to play in a challenge and having to create some samples for Ben Franklin Crafts Paper Party, i went to the extreme in creating something for that special little man in my life....

the challenge this was prepared for is TGF's FFCB Farm Fresh Friday challenge DOUBLE DUTY!! use 2 or more TGF stamps on your creation.... easy right?! maybe not for me this time... LOL... it's easy to use 2 or more of the cutie girly stamps on an approach to creating something really girly, but this time i challenged myself to make something for a boy... in that department i am a bit.... what's the word?? guess i could use challenged! LOL.... and here is the outcome.....
talk about extreme... layers and layers of the Bo Bunny Blast Off collection... it's a little hanging wall frame thing-a -majig... what is it really called?? anyway, i added 2 photos to show you that they are for pictures... Astronaut and Skater Ian helped to showcase my boyish theme... minus Astronaut's flag and Skater's skateboard... i'm so use to grabbing bling and glitz to add to my creations that i had to stop a few times and remind myself this is for my lil' boy... hehe! so i went with some dew drops and buttons... the mid section is also for pictures, but i couldn't find any to fit the frames right now... the frames are cut out with nesties and i added acetate to the back of the frame so the pictures won't get too dusty or ruined by exploring hands... i had fun playing with the different shapes and just swinging it... and all the holes were delicately planned out with trial and error using my cinch... love that thing! used my cropadile to add eyelets for a sturdier hold... and that's it... a little busier on the layout than i usually do, but i like it! what do you think of this??? thinking outside my zone again!!

ok, does anyone want to take a guess at what demo this creation is for?? hint, not what you normally would think by just looking at it!! hehe, is your mind racing again?! wanna know the answer, stop by tomorrow for the second project.... thanks for sharing a part of your day with me and i'll see you back here tomorrow!!

There is a WINNER!!!!

Thank you to all of my wonderful friends for joining me with my 2 year blogaversary!! i still can't believe 2 years has gone by.... i've grown a lot (personally and crafting wise) since the beginning of this adventure and i have all of you to THANK because it was your inspirations, encouragement and support that keep me going day to day.... where i am today i would have never thought to be 2 years ago or even a year ago.... SO THANK YOU!!!!! Hugs to all!

now i know you're anxious to see the winner but i want to share this with you first.....

i randomnly went through my pix on the desktop and chose this creation from 2009....
then i chose this card from 2011..... coloring has gotten a tad bit better, thanks to tutorials and tips and techniques from you all... i'm not sure what differences i notice.... LOL.... i still (or atleast looks) the same.... whatcha think???

ok, and the winnnnnnner is........ MIMI!! congrats Mimi!! please email me to claim your candy and i will get that in the mail to you!!

Thank you everyone for playing along!! Cheers to another year!!

i'll be back in a bit to share my finished creation from yesterday.....

Last chance!

Hey peeps!! how are you all doing this fine Monday?! hope you all had a blast of a weekend!

quick stop in today to remind you there is still time to enter my blog candy giveaway! get your comments in by midnight today! take the link above and it will bounce you over to the candy post... winner will be announced tomorrow morning....

i have a few creations i'm working on as i write this... nothing really complete to share just yet, but i did finish prepping for the make n' take i'll be doing this saturday at Kahului Ben Franklin Crafts Paper Party (10am-2pm)... here's a sneak peek....
we'll be making a set of 4 tags at my table.... easy tags that can be whipped up in minutes... hmmm, am i missing 2 from this set?? i am, but remember this is only a sneak peek! you have to come down and join BFC saturday for the revealing of the other 2 OR just hold your horses until i post it.... oh i love suspense sometimes.... hehe! but really, if you're around the area come and join the fun at the Paper Party!! (please revert to Friday's post for more details)

short, quick and i'm outtie... gottah finish working on my creations so i have something to share with you tomorrow!!! ta-ta for now until i post again! =D

Ben Franklin Crafts sends ALOHA to Japan

Happy Aloha Friday everyone (whatever is left of it)!!! A quick stop in to let you all know about a FABULOUS happening around the islands of Hawaii!! As i am a faithful reader of the happenings on the Ben Franklin Crafts website (http://www.bfcraftclub.com/) i ran across this today....


i did lift this from the site to pass on to my fellow blogging sisters around the islands as i know there are many of you who have awesome hearts... the BFC stores around Oahu and on the Big Island as well as Maui, will be having a Make n' Give at the stores... they are allowing customers to make cards (with provided supplies) in the store on July 23rd and July 30th in efforts to send some Aloha to Japan... PLEASE read the flyer for more details (my pix is kinda small, but take the BFC link to read a bigger pix)... Some of us have busy schedules and may not be able to participate in this heartfelt event HOWEVER, i'm sure you could make some cards at home and drop them off to a store near you... deadline is July 30th.... NOW wouldn't that be a good deed?!? i hope you will join BFC and send some of your ALOHA to Japan.... more info can also be found on the Joy of Crafting blog too... there is no limit on how much to give and there is NO limit to just the peeps of Hawaii... if there is any of my blogging sisters/flowers from around the US or around the world that would like to donate some cards to this cause, by all means send them to me and i will deliver to our BFC here... please contact me for mailing addy... deadline for mailed cards will be July 29th and please take into consideration mailing time...

as many of you know, i recently participated in the TGF Cards for a Cause campaign with it's beneficiary being the students of Tagasako, and my children and i sent off lots of smiles, but i am in no means stopping there... i am definitely ALL for good cause projects and will be making some as well and maybe i can get my Mini Ambassadors to participate too... lets join hands, bring out our craft supplies and send some love.... who's with me?!?!

and on another note, i'll be joining Kahului BFC next weekend for their PAPER PARTY, Saturday, July 23rd from 10am-2pm... come down and check it out too! gonna be another great weekend of FUN (let me get through this one first though)!!! all night prepping here i come.... LOL... jus' kidding... Have an awesome weekend everyone and i'll be back soon with some creations i hope!

Invite mission ACCOMPLISHED!!

i have to start today's post by THANKING all my sweet friends that have left uplifting, positive and encouraged comments yesterday!! you have no idea how heartfelt i've been reading them!! the support is definitely out there from you and it really sinks into my heart to know that even from afar, i have the GREATEST friends! so THANK YOU for the wonderful words of kindness!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!! yesterday afternoon i finished 96 invitations!! not the 100 i wanted, but i ran into some flaws on 4 of them and tossed it into the trash... the 96 actually gives me some play... so here it is....
all 96 invites ready to be stuffed into envelopes, addressed and sent on their way.... i have a big family, just on my side, so i had to produce lots...
here is one up close on the front of the invite... a soon as i saw the summer splash stamp set in the mini SU! summer catalog, i just knew i HAD to get it for the invites.... my son's theme is beachy with a hint of some sea friends....
this is under the vellum overlay.... layers of CS that i ripped to make it look like waves and sand... the picture was a perfect blend with the colors... luckily we made it to the ocean center here and snapped a few pictures of him in front of the big tank....
the inside... sorry, i blanked out some info... the octopus, bubbles and big red fish is also a part of the summer splash SU! set... the little turtle and fishy is from Mari & Me... a local Oahu company specializing in asian and hawaiian themed stamps.... someone told me to leave the inside blank, but i just couldn't, it looked too plain... these sea friends add a touch of playful-ness and give the "ocean" some color....

phew!! i am SOOOO thankful these are done! first time ever, out of the 3 kiddies, that i stressed myself to exhaustion with the invites... it had to be nearly almost perfect or else it was dumped... can someone remind me next time to do photo invites instead (thanks Teri)??? LOL... overall, i'm happy with the outcome, even with the late nights, stress and all in between... what makes this special and worth it is knowing i've done it! they are all in envelopes now and ready to be mailed.... a little late, but better than never... hehe! a little break before attacking the favor bags and table deco.... i'm hoping NOT to procrastinate with that... or else i'll definitely be in trouble... i have one more event to prep for (not a stressful one) coming up next weekend and then the count down to the party begins.... so much for thinking i'd be able to get back to "free" creating... hehe... i might try and sneak in a few...

hope you all like what you see... got to run some errands and hopefully take some time out to catch up in blogland... so sorry haven't been able to comment much the last few days.... i'll be by soon! thanks for coming by, have a FANTASTIC day and i'll be back soon! =D

Breaking News: the WORD of the week!

and that word is FRUSTRATE.... it can be used in sentences as is or as frustrated, frustrating or frustration... all listed applies to me... LOL.... how's that for catching.... bwahaha! long post so beware...

seriously though, it has been such a FRUSTRATING few days... it has settled since but still lingers! the weekend ended in frustration only to begin the new week frustrated... seems nothing was going right... i'll get to that later in today's story...

so yes, we did our mini weekend getaway on Saturday to the beautiful east side of Maui... NO i did not fulfill my "early" bedtime as planned... i ended up sleeping an hour before i had to wake up, but with the help of some starbucks, i lasted til 815pm that night... man was i drained... but here is what we drove into at 530am....

sorry, i couldn't get a good picture as the driver was driving faster than i could snap... LOL... there were other beautiful views of the sunrise but with the winding road it was impossible for me to capture...
we finally made it to Keanae at 6:15am and this is the most beautiful view captured on the peninsula... these are the times i say "i'm lucky to live in Hawaii"!! gorgeous and relaxed atmosphere in nature's beauty... the water is so clean and fresh and pure as boats are not often seen out in the water...
here's another view with the awesome waves in the background... gosh i stood there for a long time soaking everything in... it is different than city life i tell you that much... and absolutely wonderful to experience...
miniature horses.... or is it ponies... LOL... i thought they were so cute and wanted to share them with you... they had horse rides for the kids and a little train too.... too bad we didn't have the kiddies... they would have LOVED it!

the event went really well.... sales were down, but it was ok... just being out with the crowd for a good cause was worth my time!! and even though we didn't have a sell out day, i'm totally cool with it because that means less prepping for the next event.... haha! yah right! i was the only one with paper crafts and received extremely hearfelt comments on my products... that made my day as is... not much vendors with products that have interested me but i did find something for my girls....

both of my girlies got new HK blankies!! i wanted one for myself too but hubby said NO! LOL.... if i had my way i would have bought it all...

so back to the word FRUSTRATE... LOL... ok, i'm already late with my son's birthday invitations and instead of taking a break to recover on Sunday i started working on it... but there were lots of things that happened in the process... 1. the CS for the base did not cut porperly so it wasn't an even 4.75x5.5 cut... 2. my printer was not printing on the vellum correctly and i've wasted almost the whole pack... it still isn't printing properly but there's nothing i can really do... 3. the adhesive we used to glue the inserts to the invite was not sticking on the corners, we tried to fix but it wrinkled the paper and it looked worse... now you see where my frustration is going... LOL... by the end of Sunday i was giving up hope that i would ever get the invites done... i have people yelling at me that they need to go out... YES PEOPLE I KNOW!!! but what they don't understand is that it's just me! and producing 100 invites mainly all by hand and with just me, umm, i can't possibly finish in a day... LOL... anyway so the invites was just not working out to my liking... so how did i solve this problem??? i THREW it ALL AWAY! LOL.... wasted money but there was no way in fixing... so yesterday i went at it again... back to square one... went to the craft store, picked up more paper and i'm pushing overtime to get these done... i hired some HU-PREPS, the opposite of my RO-PREP, lol to help with the easy things... adding double sided tape to the CS.... hubby did some cutting and i'm doing the rest... but i've found that even with the easy things, my helpers had a hard time complying.... AAAAHHHH! i hear things like, oh nobody will notice or doesn't matter, but truthfully it does matter and i notice... LOL... as of right now i have about 30 completed invites.... and i mean completed... no having to go back and add this or that... phew... tired as heck but i must go on... i'll be MIA until i finish that... which hopefully is tonight... these are the times i wished i lived closer to my blogging sisters... being the only crafty one in the family(this household), it's hard to expect things to be done correctly or atleast to my expectations... it is really easier for me to do it myself.... haha! so invites sneak peek coming soon....

alrighty, thanks for sharing a part of your day with me and listening/reading my rambling and complaints... hehe! just had to share my non-perfect moments... hahah! i miss everyone and have been trying to sneak on to check out creations... i have yet to make it to commenting and to start playing in challenges again... this 100 invites in 2 days is already a challenge in itself but i'm going to do it! but then again that's what i get for procrastinating... hehe.... which isn't entirely true, since i had good cause for the procrastination... be back soon!

Memo holders... HK style

YAY!!! It's friday, and i am FINALLY done with the bigger projects for the craft fair!! whoop whoop! finished a little after 1am... packaged it up and packed into the containers... can someone remind me next time on HOW LONG it takes to make the HKs... LOL... wow! a day just to cut out everything for the HKs... another day to assemble the holders... and another day to put it all together... i have to stop procrastinating and telling myself i can be super woman.. hehe... and i STILL managed to go to bed around 4am.... what was i doing??? oh yah, packing and some blog hopping... =D

so here it is the 8 HK memo holders i created in between daily life....
these will probably be the last HK holders i do... my "die" is really worn out and hasn't been cutting too good... unless anyone has suggestions on sharpening... =D

i wanted to make more, however, in the process i some how broke my punch... while assembling the holders i noticed the cutter part was off track... i slammed it on my desk to loosen and then the bottom came off... LOL... that made me sad... guess i know what i'll be using my BF 40% coupon for this weekend!

ok, short post today... lots to still do... i'm setting my alarm to tell me go to bed by midnight... let's see if that happens... having to wake up at 430 in the AM to take the drive out to the craft fair will indeed NEED some starbucks! hmm, maybe i'll just do an all nighter?? but then i'll probably be passed out in the truck while the event is going on... hehe! cancel that idea! so if you're on Maui, come head out for a day of fun at the Keanae Ball Park for the 1st Annual Keiki Jam Fest 9am-5pm... mmmmm, can't wait to get me some famous banana bread from the Keanae Peninsula!! now that's YUM!! ugh, i feel the pounds packing on already... =D it's definitely a crave here except no one wants to do the 2 possibly 3 hours drive to get it... but it makes waiting so much worthy!!

Happy Aloha Friday and i'll be back soon!!

HK Round 2....

Sorry gang!!! had a late start this morning and it's overhaul in my hale... trying to wash my table skirts and covers and pack that away... and of course i'm NOT done crafting yet... LOL...

so curious minds want to know what the heck a RO-PREP is??? LOL... i apologize for the not so creative name... haha!! ok, so my version of a RO-PREP is a robot that will help me prep all my projects... i seem to notice that i spend endless time on measuring and cutting papers and such... come on now, there are robots that clean the house, so why not have one for crafting too! RO-PREP will save you time by programming her to measure and cut your papers, add adhesive and maybe even glue on your embellies... we could even go as far as having RO-PREP assemble 3D items for you to decorate... wouldn't that be sooooo cool??? i think i'd get more crafting done with the help... maybe i'm living a dream in the Jetson's age but hey, that's what i would create if i could... =D i came across naming this robot Mr. Mojo, but i honestly fired mine last week! LOL... i've hired Miss Creativity, but i might have to lay her off too... hahahaha!

alright, did that get your minds going?!? on to the LAST HK notepads... i won't be making more of these until probably October, so if you see one you like, either email me to save it and we can work something out or come check me out at the Keiki Jam Fest this Saturday at Keanae Ball Park from 9am-5pm... here goes....
using more of my FAVE papers... love the colors combos and prints... oh, and i only have 2 tanned HKs on these notepads, one in this post and one on yesterdays...
and the last batch... Swimsuit HK was perfectly paired with my "hawaiian" print papers... beautiful tropical colors by Best Creations Inc. too bad this line is discontinued... i do have a stash for future projects though!! again, all of these have room to add some kind of personalization to make this more personal for you or for that special someone.... crossing fingers that these sell out! whatever doesn't go i'll list it on the Krisp Krafts blog and then add it to my Etsy shop... so check back to see how these cuties did...

gottah get back to my ever so messy craft desk... if i manage to finish up the projects i'm currently working on (more HKs) i'll post it tomorrow.. it's overtime as my last late night before this event but during breaks i'll try and hit your blogs! Thank you for sticking with me, even through my crazy schedule!! until next time.... ALOHA!!

HK is back again!

Midweek!!! YAY!!! so looking forward to the weekend.... hubby and i have a little tropical getaway on Saturday as we drive to the lucious tropical paradise of Keane.... it's only for the day for a fundraising event, but the drive is scenic and just being out there in that part of the island is so relaxing and beautiful!! don't get to do that often, even with living on this island!! LOL

don't forget to play along with my 2 year bloagaversary candy... take the link above or scroll down... =D it is so interesting to read the comments and i'm LOVING the ideas!! don't know what i'm talking about??? you better go check it out!

ok, so this past Friday i went into a crazy mode and did an ALL NIGHTER!!! yup, i did... and i don't mean my usual, 3-4am... i lasted until 8am Saturday morning!! haha! yes i'm crazy like that... but i had to or else i wouldn't get anything done for Saturday... i tell you one thing though... it's still kicking me in the you know what! i think i'm too old to be doing that kind of nights... sticking to my usual if needed is better... hehe! unless it really has to be done, which i feel one coming up... i'm so behind on my bigger projects... like my son's 1st birthday! yikes...

so here is what i worked on that night...
more HK notepads for your viewing pleasure.... LOL... i tried to use as much scraps as i could, but it was a challenge not having much big pieces... i was kinda forced to cut up new sheets... now, my scrap drawer accumulated more scraps... how did that happen??? LOL... i was ok with cutting up new paper... most of them are older lines that i picked up during the clearance sale at BF... hey 25 cents a sheet isn't that bad... i'm kinda bummed though.. it was really nice papers and i don't think i have extras...
here's a few more.... that first one has my FAVE papers on it... i hope i have a few more of those... that was also on clearance and i grabbed whatever i could find... hehe! i bet you remember that paper from previous creations ;D.... love the color and patterns on the 2nd... who would have thought dots and plaid really go together... you won't catch me wearing that patterns together, but in crafting, it all looks good! those papers are from the DCWV School stack that i think i got at Ross'... the last one are papers that i know i found at Ross'... it's from the write out collection and so pretty and bold... tried to preserve as much of that paper i could since it was sold as a pack of single sheets... can't find that one anymore here... i had about 5 HK charms left so not all have them... i tried to keep space to add sticker letters for names or such... always tell my cutomers that if they want a personalized look, take stickers and spell out a name... these will be available Saturday at the Keiki Jam Fest, unless you want to snag one up now, email me... =D

tomorrow i'll share the last 7... all together i made 13 that night... now you see why i was up til 8?! hehe!

before i go, i'll share this... if i had to create the next paper craft hit, i would invent the
RO-PREP... LOL... have no clue what i'm talking about... stay tuned and check in tomorrow to find out!! gottah leave you with some suspense... cheers for a beautiful day!!

it's CANDY time!!!

let's get crafty with it!! haha!

Happy 4th of July everyone!!! Hope you all are having/had a WONDERFUL weekend!!

ok, so the month of June flew right past me.... i can never get a grip on time... and that means my 2 YEAR BLOGAVERSARY went right past me too... technically i set up my blog in June but didn't post until July... so, why not celebrate my 2 year anniversary in July this year!!! =D

Yup, it's time for some BLOGAVERSARY CANDY!!! who doesn't want some sweetness?!?
you will get all that is pictured in the photo above PLUS a few extras i'm gathering that i didn't have a chance to photo yet... i LOVE embellies and decided to do some EMBELLIE CANDY!!

here's how to chance your luck at some candy...

1. you MUST BE A FOLLOWER of my blog as of today... (i wouldn't have made it this long without all of the encouragment and support from my followers)

2. post a comment on THIS post by July 18th at midnight HST.

3. PLEASE DO NOT share this candy on your blogs...

4. Optional: answer this question: "if you were asked to create the next HIT for paper crafts, what would it be?" i.e.: stamp line, embellies, paper, dies, pens, etc.... i think this would be fun to read about what you would create....

5. Optional: post a link within your comment sharing one of MY creations (old or new) that has inspired you and why...

easy peasy right? #4 and #5 are totally optional and you will not be disqualified for not playing along, but if you do answer any one of them (or both), i will give you another entry... so have fun, get creative and comment away....

winner will be drawn on July 19th....

Thank you so much for making the last 2 years of blogging fun and interesting!! i've come along way from the last year and i have learned so much from many of you... made new friends, been apart of new adventures and i'm just enjoying my time with all of you... i hope to bring more creations and inspirations to you and look forward to another year! Hugs to all the friends i've made through my blog, near and far... and THANK YOU all for the endless support, encouragement, critiques, inspirations, but most of all, for the FRIENDSHIP!!

Special Summer Challenge at Lollipop Crafts!

Hiya!!! are you getting ready for the long weekend?! any special plans?! hmmm, let's see what's on my schedule? pretty much a weekend full of crafting! or i can hope!! =D

Happy "ALOHA" Friday friends!!! and Happy 1st of July... for starters, check out the Lollipop Crafts post today for our Special Summer Challenge... it's an 'Anything Goes' theme and you have ALL month long to play... deets are on the blog and there is a prize for one lucky winner from our sponsor Sassy Cheryl's!! now i know you wanna play along for that! head over there and check it out!

ok, because it was anything goes, i think my 2nd card for Island Paperie fits right... =D
here is the 2nd image i was able to play with... it's a plumeria branch and like i mentioned on the first sharing, part of a set of 4 flowers... i really like the way this one turned out since i had the DP in the background.... i'm diggin' the brown and yellow together too... oh and the hint of green... basically gave the flower middles a touch of yellow and using my colorless blender, pushed the ink outwards... then gave it a little glitz...

Island Paperie is a scrapbook store located on Maui... however, if you want to purchase some local hawaiian/tropical themed items but can't get to the store, check their online website... They make majority of their own papers, the stamps are created by the owner, die cuts and other products are available too... again, it is such a pleasure to be working with IP and giving them a little taste of my style!

alright, it's almost 3am HST and yes, i am still up! got a busy schedule ahead of me as we, i mean i, prep for next weekend's craft fair... LOL... so every second gets me closer to finished products... hehe... i'll probably stay up for another hour or so... i've been doing some major multitasking... crafting, blogging, blog hopping, fb-ing, making/packing lunches... do i need to say more... haha! anyway, check out what my DT sisters have to share with you today and come out and play along!! until my next sharing (hopefully soon) have a great 4th of July weekend!! Be safe and have lots of fun!!