2011 Reflections

WOW!!! i can't believe how fast this year has passed us by!! it really seems that the days have gone by in a blink... 2012 i hope you are ready for me because i'm not ready for you!!! LOL...

taking some time today to do a little reflection of the highlights for me this year... both on a personal level and with crafting... where do i even begin?!? so much goodness has happened....

personal level....
~hubby and i marked our 10 year anniversary (together for 10, married for 5)
~participated in TGF CARES - a card drive that i support 100% with whatever i can
~launched PROJECT MAKE A CHILD SMILE - a card collection drive collecting Christmas cards to go along with hospital dolls to be given to children in the ER at Holy Cross Hospital
~my lil' boy turned 1 this year
~finally got my act together and tried out some craft fairs (yes i'm rethinking all that i did this year for next, it was overwhelming this year)
~went back to work

that's just a little that i'm happy to share about... and now for the fun crafting stuff... here's a few top faves, in no particular order.... hope you enjoyed these as much as i have...









THANK YOU everyone, for sticking with me through the craziness of this year! i hope to bring you fresh new creations in 2012... you truly are my back bone to keeping up with crafting!! you all give me the motivation and inspiration to continue what i love to do... CRAFT!! i would have given up long ago if it weren't for your endless support of love and encouragement!

i wish you all a HAPPY, PROSPEROUS, CREATIVE, HEALTHY and BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!!

Sqaure-ing it up for 2012!

Hey!! so has everyone survived Christmas?! i surely hope it was filled with love, laughter, joy, family and friends!! well, cause that's how i roll! hehehe... we had a splendid weekend celebrating with family and friends on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... Kids were delighted, Mommy and Daddy were happy and the eating never ended... LOL... there went my dropping 3 sizes... and Hubby surprised me with some crafting goodies!!! =D all in all, i hope it was a FANTASTIC day for all of you too!!

so did anyone go shopping the day after Christmas??? we did!! yah, it was crazy, but i really wanted to get some stuff before the stores ran out of it... happy to say that the mission was accomplished... i usually get these items well in advance before Christmas Day, but this year has been rough and i told myself, if it's there after Christmas, it was meant to be... AND IT WAS!!! i was SO stoked! now i have the Holiday Barbie 2011 and the ornament to add to my collection.... yippppeeeee!!

alright.... enough chit chat... sharing some calendars i made for the craft fairs...
these are mini hanging calendars... i used my biggest square nestie to cut out some chipboard, then the biggest scallop nestie to cut out my backings... found some great HK paper to accent the calendars completed with PSA HK clear stamps... i know everyone puts magnets on the back of their calendars, but i did ribbon instead... for those that prefer to hang it... i did tell my customers that they could add a magnet if they preferred... first time i made these it sold quickly... then again i only had a hand full... 2nd time around i made a bunch and came home with 1/4 of the stock left... most customers preferred it with the magnet instead of for hanging i guess... note to self for next year.... hehehe!

well, my craft room needs some major cleaning up... with the last minute hustles for Christmas i sorta threw and left things here and there... eek!!! bad no no! now i'm going to pay for it.... LOL...

ciao for now friends!! be back again with some more crafty goodies!

Wishing you....

the Happiest of Holidays... Merry Christmas from my ohana to you and yours! May you all be blessed in many ways and remember the reason for the season... for nothing is greater than the gift of love!!

Mahalo everyone, for your endless support throughout the years... i appreciate and hold each and every one of you close to my heart and keep you in my thoughts daily... THANK YOU!!! even if i haven't been around much, i do think of you all and will find the time to resume back to my blog soon!

with love and blessings,
Kris

May i have a tissue 2?

hiya there! did you miss me?!? hoping my TGF Holiday Hop projects had you remembering me.... hehe!!

i know it's been a while since i've really shared my projects with you.... with Christmas only a couple of 'sleeps' away, things around here have been starting to settle down and we are slowly falling into new routines... today's sharing is a few tissue box covers i did for my last craft fair... only made a few to test the waters... they did pretty well... =) take a look...
HK is always popular with the crowds.... these sold like hotcakes within 2 hours...
broadening the scope of things i did some TGF images too... Holiday Anya above and Cheeky Xmas below... papers used were from the DCWV value stack... lots of pretty papers in there.... i was hesitant to even use them... LOL....
do you like?! these are really fun to make... simple and you can dress it up any way you desire in any theme or color! makes a great gift for birthdays, just because or even as a heartfelt get-well...

it's Aloha friday and i do bid you all a good day! where ever you may go, whatever you may do, SMILE!! thanks for stopping by today and i hope to post more soon!! as always, THANK YOU for your outrageously kind support and sweet comments!! a hui ho, until we meet again! =)

January 2012 Secret Sister Sign ups

Well, the year has really flown past us... can't help but ask... "where does the time go?" guess we just loose track of it when having fun!! i THANK all who have supported this swap this past year, we've made it to SSS' ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! YAY!!!! i truly hope you are all enjoying the surprises and finding out who your secret sisters are! i do enjoy the 'behind the scenes' work of putting it together... =)

January Secret Sister sign ups begin today and will close on December 30th at midnight HST... sign up now by posting a comment here or by emailing me... There will be NO THEME for January... ANYTHING GOES!

Here's a little blurb on my mini rules (Please take note on the items 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.

PREVIOUS PLAYERS, i have your info so all you have to do is comment that you will be participating on this post... here's a list of those who have signed up for their spots:

Kim, Karen and Gail

Ladies, if you signing up has changed since your last request, please let me know ASAP... thank you!! **If it is easier for you to sign up a month or so ahead, that is totally fine too!

NEW PLAYERS, please email me at krisnal5868 at hotmail dot com to sign up for January with the subject SSS or Secret Sister Swap and the following info: Name, Address, Blog URL (if you have one) and Best Email to contact you... i will send you a confirmation email that i have received your info...

**Please note that swap info is sent out by the 2nd day of the swap month. If you miss the sign up deadline, it doesn't hurt to shoot me an email and ask if you can still play. There may be a chance i'm still sorting through the players and can add you in...

3rd Annual Holiday Hop with The Greeting Farm

Helllllloooooo!! Are you ready for some FUN FUN FUN today?! i sure hope so because The Greeting Farm's Customer Holiday Hop is one that everyone awaits for each year! ok, i know I DO! =)

If you hopped to my blog by chance, PLEASE head on over to the TGF blog and begin your holiday hopping there... a full list of holiday hop participants are listed on the blog... there is a SERIOUSLY large amount of participants and you want to make sure you hop to EACH blog listed... i'll tell you why in a sec... so please, please start there! you can always head back to the TGF blog is you get lost along the way...

ok, so why should you visit each blog listed?! because in addition to the prizes for the participant's creation(s), ONE LUCKY random hopper will ALSO win a FANTABULOUS prize... YES, the lucky winner will win the entire January release which consists of 6 NEW SETS... the prize is HUGE! but the only way to get a chance at that prize is to participate in the hop, so what are you waiting for?!?

Guess it's time to release my creations for the hop! Like i've said, this customer hop is long awaited for and i always set time aside to keep an eye out for the announcement... it's a TOTALLY FUN way of seeing what everyone is creating this holiday season... inspire and be inspired!

so up first is a few creations i've done for the HOLIDAY portion of the hop...

i always do some kind of 'treat' project for the customer holiday hop, so this year i've done some simple handle bags featuring the cozy snowmen from the Keep Cozy set...

these goodies are filled with pencils, rulers, notepads, candy canes, and either a yummy chocolate KitKat treat or some cozy warm hot chocolate packets... a simple way of sending someone a 'SWEET' Christmas gift....

next up is also for the Holiday part of the hop... saw this in a mag earlier this year and been meaning to try it... it was perfect to try for Christmas... A PAPER WREATH!
using strips of holiday/Christmas papers from MME's Merry Little Christmas paper pack and a foam wreath, i created something joyful to hang on my door.... bringing out Santa Ian and his lovely helpers, i applied them to the wreath to replicate ornaments (ball or circled shaped ornaments)... a nice burst of colors for a warm welcome home...

Now, onto the NON HOLIDAY part of the hop... i have to say that soooo many ideas were running through my head... in the end, being all caught up with mounds of stuff, i decided to create some marble magnets... i really do need them... maybe i can organize my notes a little better now that i whipped some up...

Miss Anyas are a great size for these approx. 1 3/4 round flat marbles... i used a few of my fave Miss Anya images... 2 from the Hats Off set and 1 from the Anya collection set... i applied magnets to these to use on my magnetic memo board but they are big enough to use as paper weights as well if preferred instead...

Well... what did you think of these creations?! i had so much fun creating these and hope that i can inspire you in one way or another with one of my projects... maybe a quick accent to your home or a easy and quick gift to give someone... whatever it may be, i just really hope you enjoyed visiting with me today...

Thank you SO much for stopping by!! head on back to the TGF blog and continue your hopping!! Thank you TGF for the awesome and very splendid CUSTOMER HOLIDAY HOP!!!

K-lusive Kreations presents....

{Please be aware that this post is extremely long, but worth reading... =D Thank you!}

1st Annual... Project Make a Child Smile 2011....

A very SPECIAL THANK YOU to all of you who have kindly embraced the Holiday Season with the GIFT of GIVING!! i will honestly say, so many thoughts went through my mind when first initiating this card drive... for instance, would i collect enough cards, what if no one participates, oh my can i produce my goal? yep, all of that went through my mind... and guess what?!? with many hearts of GOLD, i surpassed my collection goal!! i will admit now that with every package of cards i received, my heart melted and my eyes teared because the feeling of the wonderful generosity from those that helped put an extra smile on a child's face this season is just so REMARKABLE and the sensation of YOU sending your LOVE to a child whom you never met, i embraced with my heart greatly!! THANK YOU and BLESS you all today, tomorrow, throughout the season and every day forward!!

i've put together a little slide show for you, sharing the beautiful cards made by some FANTABULOUS crafting sisters around the world... (please excuses my skills, i'm no genius when it comes to this stuff, but i tried my best =D) grab a tissue or 2 and sit back and take a look... background song is "Give Love on Christmas Day" sung by Lorie Salvatera (Local Hawaii Girl) and it was the perfect fit to this project...

Did you enjoy the slide? Didn't the kindness just embrace your hearts? i really hope it did because it is people like these wonderful ladies that truly make the world a better place! Please give these fabulous givers a round of applause!!!!!

Aunty J emailed me after receiving the cards, and here is a little of what she has to say...
"Thank you so much to you and all your friends that participated in the Aktion Club project of the hospital dolls and the awesome Christmas cards that were made. The Kiwanis Club of Santa Clarita along with the members of the Aktion Club will be visiting Holy Cross Providence Hospital in Mission Hills, CA. in December to make our annual donation of the hospital dolls. The Christmas cards will accompany the dolls and I know that they will absolutely delight the young patients in the hospital emergency room. Thank you so very much to all that gave their time, materials and especially the love that was put into making the cards."

The cards created comes from all ages... young and those young at heart... no matter what the age, no matter what the skill level, the thing that matters is we all came together as one and made this event SPECTACULAR!

A very huge THANK YOU goes out to Jenny of Sister Stamps LLC for donating a generous amount of prizes to award some of those who have participated... Jenny kindly contacted us and wanted to participate in a very generous way... So she has donated several prizes... Yes, the prize info was kept a secret and the amount of cards received has shown why... BECAUSE WHEN YOU GIVE FROM YOUR HEART, THERE ARE NO INCENTIVES ATTACHED, YOU JUST GIVE. and that is what makes your giving more meaningful... THANK YOU SO SO MUCH Jenny!! Aunty J and i appreciate your sweetness and LOVE!!

As a THANK YOU to all that have participated we do have some prizes to give away... everyone that has sent in cards, names were put into a bowl and have been pulled... so here goes...

Prizes donated by Sister Stamps LLC
SS Shimo-San ~ Brenda and Patti
SS Yuki ~ Sidney and Lianne I.
SS Setsuna ~ Mimi and Danni

Prizes donated by Kris and Aunty J
Punch Gift ~ Kyoko and Bobbi
Paper Pack Gift ~ Jacque and Jill

We had a tremendous amount of participants (more than we anticipated) and even if your name was not pulled for the above prizes, there is a little THANK YOU gift that will be sent to you as a token of our appreciation. Thank you Aunty J for donating the extra gifts!

(All will be mailed out next week, apologies for the delay)

I've also received many emails asking if this will be an annual event, and with much heart, i've decided to continue this as long as Aunty J continues her part... Be on a look out for next year's details... =D

Thank you, thank you, time and time again for EVERYTHING!!!

Now that that is done, yes, it's taken me quite a while to complete, i'm sorry, curious minds (i can hear it, LOL) have been questioning "what happened to Kris?" or "is Kris ok?" Yes! i am ok... still trying to recover from the craft fair preparations (i've caught up on most of my sleep) and now trying to adhere to a few life changes... my biggest one, i've gone back to the real work world full time now and i'm trying to adjust time management between 3 full time jobs... it's been an up and down adjustment, low points and high, but taking the days slowly is a must... especially with the holidays here... please be patient with me, i'm still around and i do have lots of things to still share and will get to that as time permits... Thank you for sticking with me this far, i hope you continue to come and visit my crazy postings! Many blessings and LOTS OF LOVE to you all!!!