Stamp Club for September

No rest for the weary!  After Quarterly (and football Sunday), I had to get myself in gear to prep for my Stamp Club this week.  I had several new ladies join us and I hope they decide to join our group in the future.  Here are the cards we made this month:

Using Botanical Blooms and Sunshine Wishes thinlits.

•  Use Botanical Blooms leaf thinlit to cut out leaf on Sahara Sand CS.
• Stamp leaf on scrap of white (or you can line it up and stamp directly on the Mint Macaron card) with Wild Wasabi.  Stamp veins of leaf w/Always Artichoke.
• Stamp fern all over Mint Macaron card using Mint Mac. Ink 
•  Line up leaf behind the cut out and adhere to card.
• Adhere piece of Washi Tape to bottom of Sahara Sand.
•  Cut “hope” out using Sunshine Wishes Thinlits.  Adhere to middle of Sahara Sand piece.
•  Stamp “sending / & hugs” to Sahara Sand piece
• Adhere Sahara Sand cs to card with dimensionals.
• Tie ribbon or Bakers Twine into bow & adhere with Glue Dots.

• Rub Embossing Buddy all over Very Vanilla card stock.
• Stamp Floral with Versamark; pour embossing powder (copper or gold) on it & heat w/Heat Gun.
• Use Blender Pens to color flowers & leaves. (I used Flirty Flamingo on one and Sweet Sugarplum on the other)
• Stamp sentiment (leave room for ribbon)
• Adhere ribbon around Very Vanilla piece.
• Put layers together.
• Tie copper or gold bow beneath the flower stem.

This one was super easy!  Use the Aqua Brush and paint stripes onto watercolor paper.  I used Sweet Sugarplum, Daffodil Delight, Emerald Envy, Dapper Denim and Watermelon.  When the color dries, stamp the sentiment using black ink.  Adhere to your choice of colored card stock.

• Die cut large circle from Framelits
• Lightly stamp Texture Stamp onto white circle &
• Stamp floral stamp onto white circle – leaving top flower cut off.
• Stamp & cut out the top flower & adhere to card making it go off the edge.
• Use Blender Pens and color flowers & leaves with ink that is in the top of the stamp pad lid. 
•  Adhere Circle to card with dimensionals.
• Stamp sentiment onto scrap and “flag” the end.
• Adhere Washi Tape onto scrap of white cardstock & adhere with dimensionals below the flower.
• Tie bow & adhere with Glue Dots.

Note Card Swap at Quarterly

Another Quarterly meeting for the NC SU Demos is in the books and I think it was a success!  Marianne, Debbie and I met at the Wingate Hotel about noon on Friday and after making numerous trips back and forth from our car to the meeting room, we got everything set up and arranged the way we wanted it.  We were surprised that we were done by 2:00!!  The room was just perfect for our needs.  We ended up with 33 people so we weren't too crowded and were able to leave a large table in the center of the room where we based our demonstrations from.  There was a large closet in the room so we could store our excess in it and pull them out as needed.  After setting up, we headed over to Joe Fish to relax for a bit and have lunch before the crowd started coming.  And then the fun began!  We got everyone signed in and gave out goodie bags and started working on our shoebox cards.  We headed to bed a little after midnight, leaving a few still working on their projects.  Saturday was filled with more fun projects.  I started out the morning with a box card which everyone seemed to enjoy.  Here are a few samples that I had made to show everyone.  The ones that everyone made were kept simple.  The idea was to get the basic idea of how to make the box card and then your imagination can take over when you get home.

If you would like to make a Box Card, let me know and I will email the instructions to you.

One of the swaps that we did on Saturday was a Note Card Swap.  We only had 14 participants but I think it was a great swap!  Now I have several Christmas presents ready to go!!  Here is one of mine:

When it opens, there are two clear pockets on either side to slide the note cards in.  I used the clear envelopes and cut one side open to slide the cards and envelopes in.
 

Clearance!

 

I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that the Stampin' UP! Clearance Rack and Special Offers have been updated.  You are sure to find something you need on sale.  Check it out HERE.  And please make sure you are shopping with me and that you add in the Hostess Code AGVSDKCG.


I got some great news yesterday!  When I was in Hawaii, I went to a Weight Watchers meeting every week.  I wanted to make sure I was accountable while I was on vacation.  It was ok if I didn't lose weight (which I didn't figure I would!) but I didn't want to gain too much either.  As it turned out, I gained a little the first week; lost a little the second and third week and ended up coming home the same weight as I left which was great.  Last night was my first Weight Watchers meeting since I got home and I had lost a couple of pounds, getting me to my GOAL weight!!  I am so happy.  Now I just have to maintain.  I think I have learned a new way of eating in these past few months.  The only problem is going to be on Football Sundays when we go to a bar and have fried stuff and beer.  

These are Banyan Trees

The path to the beach

This is the Kailua Bird Man.  The birds just flocked to him as he walked down the beach.  He has names for all the birds and just walks out into the ocean with about a dozen birds on his shoulders, arms, head, etc.  It was fascinating!   You can read more about him HERE.

Waikiki Beach

RAK and Football Season!

When I returned from Hawaii, I found the card below waiting for me.  I love getting happy mail!  This was a RAK card (Random Act of Kindness) from a demo friend, Sharon Guarino.  Another demo started the RAK program in our NC Demo group.  Isn't it fun to get a card just for fun?!!  I love the pleated technique that Sharon used.  I have made an RAK card and it should arrive at the lucky person's house tomorrow or Wednesday.

I'm happy this week because football season has started!  I didn't do too well with my football picks yesterday in the pool, but it's only the first week!  I'm watching the Steelers tonight killing the Washington Redskins.  Now if the fall weather will just arrive!

Home Sweet Home!

Well, I made it back home safe and sound.  I hated to leave but it sure was good to sleep in my own bed last night!  I almost slept around the clock last night!  I only slept about an 1 1/2 hours total on the plane coming home.  Sonny picked me up at the airport and we went to breakfast.  After a quick stop at the grocery store, I unpacked and took a nap for a couple of hours.  That helped me to stay awake until about 10 pm when I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer!  I showered and went to bed about 10:30 and woke up at 9:30 this morning.  Surprisingly, it didn't take me long for my body to adjust to the time difference when I was in Hawaii.  Let's see if the same is true for being back home.  I'll be getting ready for the Quarterly that Debbie, Marianne and I are hosting next week.  I did all my swaps before I left so just need to concentrate on getting everything ready.

I downloaded my photos to my computer this morning so I have a few more to share.  Ashley and I went snorkeling and kayaking last week.  I didn't do so good with the snorkeling.  I have done it before and really enjoyed it but the water and currents were too rough due to the tropical storms.  I ended up losing my snorkel tube when the waves knocked me down.  Ashley was able to get out further and had a good time looking at the turtles and fish.  The kayaking turned out much better.  We rented the kayak for two hours because we thought it would take us an hour to figure it out but it didn't.  We ended up kayaking for about an hour until my back was killing me from sitting in the seat with no support.  We thought our arms would be sore from paddling but they weren't.  This time, I didn't lose any of the equipment but Ashley broke one of the oars!  We were bringing the kayak in and trying to ride the waves in until a big one knocked the kayak over and dumped both of us in the water snapping her oar in half!  It was a lot of fun!  We are going to try and get Sonny to join us in December.

I'm going to miss seeing these beauties everywhere!

I didn't do it this time!

Ashley on our kayak

This is where the kiss scene of From Here to Eternity was filmed.

This is a blow hole - water comes up through a hole in the rock in the middle

Our snorkeling day - when I gave up!

What will $6 Million get you?

I just have to share this house with you!  For the two Sundays that I have been here, Ashley and I have gone to Open Houses for places that are on the market.  We are just being "looky-loos" but we also thought we could get some decorating tips from some of them.  The first Sunday we went to a lot of the properties that she had looked at so she could show me what she was seeing and how you don't get much for your money here!  Last Sunday, we decided to limit ourselves to million dollar homes!  A gal can dream can't she!  Well, some of them, believe me, you wouldn't pay half that for!  This house below is one of them.  It is for sale for $6.9 MILLION!!  It is on the beach although you can't see the beach unless you are standing on the roof because the sand dune is in front.  It was built in 1934 and I don't think anything has been done to it since then!  The selling point is that it is right next to Kailua Beach.  I would think you would just tear it down and build something in it's place but the realtor said because of permits, the smart thing to do would be to build on top of the house and let the house be the garage.  Remember - you have already spent almost $7 million - how much more are you willing to spend?

The "front door" is just to the right.

View of the back yard - the ocean is back there over the dirt.

This is your front entrance!

Master Bedroom!

The bedroom closet!

Great Kitchen, don't you think?  HA!

Lovely shower!

Can you just imagine living there????  Beach or no beach - not me!  If you want to go online and look at the pictures or put an offer in, go to www.cliffshafer.hawaiimoves.com, MLS #201620001.  They definitely had a good camera and did some powerful staging to make it look as good as they did.  Except for that old bed in the picture above, there was no furniture in it on Sunday.

Ashley's condo is much better!!  Not even close to $6 million but much better!

Ashley on the lanai - both her bedroom and the den have sliding glass doors to the lanai.

backyard tropical plants

backyard - not much grass to mow - think she is going to put concrete steppers down.

Her bedroom - it is upstairs with a bath and there are 2 more bedrooms, bath and laundry room downstairs.

More from Hawaii

I'm still loving Hawaii!  Last week was pretty humid until about Thursday when the trade winds started blowing that humidity away.  Ashley and I did a little bit of packing along with a fair amount of sight seeing and beach time. 

This week's forecast is not good.  Tropical Story Madeline is headed this way on Wednesday (coinciding with Pres. Obama's visit on that day) and over Labor Day weekend, they are expecting Tropical Cyclone Lester.  So, doesn't look like there will be a lot of beach time in the next week.

Thought I'd share some random pictures I took last week.



This is Ashley's dining room / living room and out the sliding doors to the lanai.  I am standing at the front door taking the snapshot

We stopped off at the Macadamia Store to try a few samples!!

This was a cool rock formation we found while driving to the North Shore.

Every meal you get here has rice - even as a side at breakfast.  We stopped at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Shore and it was yummy!

Another yummy stop - Matsumoto's Shave Ice!!

Saturday morning - AFTER I weighed in at Weight Watchers, we went to Cinnamon's Restaurant.  One of Ashley's friends had told her we needed to go.  It was so good!  By the way, we shared this!!

Not sure what this flower is but it's pretty.

This is called  "shower tree"

This is my favorite!  It's a plumeria tree and the flowers are beautiful!

YUCK!  This was in Ashley's suitcase!!  Think he made the trip from Texas to Hawaii?  Hope he has found a new home outside! We believe it is a centipede.