Beautiful You - again!

Well, today is my last day in paradise!  Our flight leaves tonight at 11 pm.  Guess we will face reality when we land in Charlotte.  They had 8" of snow at our house last week end.  I am hoping most of it is gone by the time we arrive on Wednesday.  I'm also hoping we might get bumped on our flight tonight!  What difference does it make if we leave tonight at 11 or in the morning???!  The flight is a full one flying from here to Seattle and I don't have a seat assignment plus Sonny is in a middle seat. When I checked this morning, all the seats that were available were premium seats.  Ashley says they will have to give us one of those.  She also thinks I should act like I have a twitch or something so they will seat Sonny and I together!

Saturday we hiked up to Diamond Head.  Wow!  What a gorgeous view.  It almost made me forget about the steep hike and the 70+ stairs to the top.  I was proud of myself though.  I had told Ashley early in the hike that I didn't think I would make it to the top.  Sonny and I both realized we were out of shape.

Sunday we went to an Irish pub in Kaluia and watched the Steelers beat Miami in the first play off game.  Now we need to beat Kansas City this weekend!!  After the game, we went to the Swap Meet in Honolulu.  Sonny was a sport since we were there almost 3 hours and it was pretty warm - in the 80s.  Monday Ashley went to work, dropping Sonny off to play golf and I called an Uber driver and went to the beach!

Here's another card I made with Beautiful You stamp set.  I stamped her dress on a piece of retired DSP (from last year's Sale-A-Bration) and fussy cut it out.  I really love this set and can't wait to go home and play around with it some more.

A the top of Diamond Head

 Almost there!  Ashley standing out on the look out.

I did it!!

Stampin' Up!'s 2017 Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-Bration Event!!

Hello from sunny Hawaii!  Yesterday Sonny and I took an Uber (like a taxi) to the beach - that was a first for us.  I recommend it though.  Our fare to the beach was $10 (about a 15-20 minute ride) but I had a coupon so it turned out to be free!  Can't beat free!!  We had planned on catching the bus right outside Ashley's complex but it was going to take an hour with about 25 stops plus we were going to have to transfer along the route.  That would have only cost $5 for both of us so what was another $5!!  I laid out on the beach while Sonny walked around and explored, then returned and sat on a bench out of the sand and read.  After a few hours, we walked across the street to Buzz's and had drinks and pupus (Hawaiin for appetizers.)

Today is the kick-off of the new catalog!  If you are one of my customers, you should have received your copy in the mail.  If you need a catalog, please email me and I will send one your way.  I love to see the new catalogs and show off the new products.  Today is the first day of Sale-A-Bration also!

Between January 4 and May 31, the Occasions catalog is open for business.  This catalog features all sorts of products you'll want as we head into Valentine's, spring, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day.  Plus there are FOURTEEN bundles.  I love bundles - what a great way to save 10% when buying a stamp set and the coordinating dies or punches!

If you have never heard of Sale-a-Bration, you are in for a surprise.  Sale-a-Bration is Stampin' Up's annual sales event where you get to earn free product for buying the Stampin' Up supplies you love.  You can earn one exclusive item from the Sale-a-bration catalog for every $50 (before shipping and tax) of Stampin' Up! product you buy (from the Annual Catalog, Occasions Catalog OR Clearance Rack!)  For individual customer orders greater than $250, you will earn an additional $25 in Stampin' Rewards during Sale-a-bration.  What a great deal!

If you are placing an order less than $150, please use my active Hostess Code - JW4FKPWP.

Coloring books are all the rage now and Stampin' Up is jumping on the band wagon with Designer Paper that you can color yourself!  I loved coloring as a child and can't wait to get my hands on this paper!

This is my favorite stamp set in the sale catalog!  I just love these chicks!!

Our selfie with Tripler Army Medical Center in the background.

Welcome 2017

Happy New Year!  Hope you ushered in the new year in style!  Most of you had new year several hours before I did!  We went to the movies last night about the time people on the east coast were singing Auld Lang Syne!  Afterwards, when we returned home, we opened a bottle of wine and sat on the lanai to wait on the new year.  There were a lot of fireworks being shot off all around us so that made for a nice view.  Today we had to wake up early in order to go to a local bar to watch the Steelers play!  The game came on at 8 a.m. here!  Luckily, the bar/restaurant served a pretty good breakfast and a never ending glass of OJ.  We weren't so sure the Steelers were going to get a win even if they were playing a team that has only won 1 game this season.  The Steelers coach announced earlier in the week that he would not play at least four of the offensive stars, including the quarterback, in today's game.  He wanted to rest them for the play off games starting next week plus today's game was a meaningless game for us since we already have made the play offs.  But, in Overtime, we got the win so we were happy!

We had a good week last week.  We had tickets to go to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday.  Ashley & I have been but Sonny has not and that was #1 on his list.  Well, we were watching the news Monday night when they announced that Obama and the Japanese prime minister would be making a visit to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday to pay homage to the victims of the 1941 bombing and Pearl Harbor would be closed to the public!!  Grrrr!  Ashley called the following day and was able to get tickets for Friday so at least that worked out.  Obama has been vacationing here and staying in a rented house not too far from where Ashley lives. It has been amusing to watch the news every night and he is big news - reporting what he did that day and where he ate for dinner!  He has played golf a lot since he has been here at the Marine base which is also where Sonny has been playing.  Sonny has not seen him there but one day he had to wait on one of the holes because Michelle Obama was a few holes in front.  They keep the public back a few holes on either side for them.  At least they don't close the course!  It has worked out well for Sonny.  The first time he played golf there, he got paired up with another man who had ties to Texas.  They have ended up playing golf 3-4 times.  Ashley drops him off on her way to work and picks him up when she returns.  One day last week, his friend was busy so Ashley dropped him off at a public golf course.  As it turned out, the golf pro there was selling a set of used golf clubs and made Sonny a deal.  Now he has his own clubs to play with here and won't have to pay to rent them each time.  He'll just leave the clubs here at Ashley's when we leave.  He's already gotten a call today to play golf tomorrow so maybe Ashley and I will have a little beach time!

This is Sonny's view on the golf course!  Not too bad, huh?

The weather has not been great while we have been here.  Temps have been mostly in the 70s although Friday at Pearl Harbor it didn't get out of the 60s and there was a drizzly rain all day.  I think it has rained a little bit every day except today.

Here are a few pictures I have taken this week.

The 3 of us at one of my favorite restaurants here.

We stopped at a scenic view site and while looking at the view, this rainbow just appeared.  You couldn't really see it in the sky but it was gorgeous reflected in the water.  It was just amazing!

This is Tripler Hospital where Ashley works.  She took us there on Christmas so she could leave a few gifts for her residents who were having to work on Christmas.

Ashley with the Arizona Memorial in the background.

These are the 2 wreaths that Obama & Japanese prime minister left.

After touring the Pearl Harbor Memorial, we drove across a bridge to Ford Island which was at the center of the Pearl Harbor attack.  It is used now by the Navy.  This is a memorial to the USS Oklahoma for the 429 crew members who were killed in the Japanese attack.

This banyan tree is on Ford Island and is huge!!

North Shore Beach

USS Oklahoma names

We watched surfers at the Bonzai Pipeline on the North Shore of the island.  Oh how I wish I could surf!

Trying to capture the sunset on the North Shore Bonzai Pipeline

These are just some of the poinsettas at the Hale Koa Hotel which is the military hotel in Waikiki.  We have been here a few times - sitting on the beach and Friday night we went to a show.

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl plus Hawaii pics

Hope your Christmas was a good one and you were able to spend some quality time with your friends and family!  Ours was nice and quiet this year.  It was a little different to have Christmas in my shorts and flip flops (or slippers as they call them here!)

We arrived in Hawaii Monday night around 10:30 pm (or 3:30 am EST).  Ashley met us at the airport with leis.  Believe me, the bed felt good to me when we finally got to Ashley's around midnight!

Thursday was Ashley's birthday.  This is the card I made for her using the new Beautiful You stamp set from the Occasions Catalog.

Our first stop on her birthday was to have breakfast.  We went to a restaurant for macadamia nut pancakes!  Soooo good!  Then we drove over to the Polynesian Cultural Center where we were able to learn about six Pacific cultures and visit the villages (Hawaii, Maori, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti & Tonga). There was a canoe parade with the different cultures aboard the canoes and different Polynesian activities going on.  The Cultural Center did not open until noon and there was really too much to see and do in the few hours we had.  We had reservations at 5:00 for their luau and at 7:30 for the evening show.  We really needed more time to explore.

Our pig for the luau - it was delicious!

Ashley and I with our luau leis

Finally - a picture of all 3 of us.  Those leaves were huge!!

Sonny & Ashley - waiting for our table to be called to get our food!

Our Maori tattoos!  They used a rubber stamp and black ink!

Canoe Parade

Hawaii float from the parade

Bundle Up!

I love this fellow! 

This is not a Stampin' Up stamp but it's one I've had for several years and just love to color him.  This time I used my Copics to color him matching him pretty well to the Coastal Cabana card stock. 

I think I'm packed and ready to go.  My friend is coming to pick us up in the morning to take us to the airport.   I took Sammie to my mom's late this afternoon.  She was not a happy camper and threw up on the trip to Mooresville.   She'll be fine once she gets settled out on Mom's sun room.  She loves to sit out there and watch the birds and squirrels. 

Beautiful You meets Serene Scenery

Well, December has been a really busy month as you can see by the lack of posts!  Actually, until yesterday, I have not done any stamping for about a month - except for the inside of my Christmas cards!!  But .... I got my order from the Occasions Catalog on Monday (as a demonstrator, that is one of the perks).  To tell the truth, when I first looked at the catalog, I was not blown away.  But as I'm seeing what other demonstrators have done with some of the sets, my mind is changing!  Especially for the stamp I am sharing with you today - Beautiful You.  I've actually made several cards using the same image.  I will share one of them with you today.

Isn't this lovely?   There are 13 stamps in this set - 3 images of the girl; 8 sentiments; and 2 water washes that you can use to stamp her dress.  For this card, I stamped the girl on a piece of shimmery white card stock because I wanted to watercolor her with our NEW watercolor pencils!!  I layed the color down on her dress and hat and then used the Aqua Brush to smooth the color out.  For this card, I "fussy-cut" the girl out and glued her onto a piece of the Serene Scenery DSP paper stack (pg 174 in the annual catalog).  I stamped the sentiment directly on the DSP.  The DSP is layered onto a piece of textured card stock that I found in my stash but don't know the color but it matched the DSP so well, I had to use it.  The card itself is Pool Party.

I am still going to Weight Watchers and have lost 30 pounds.  The struggle now is to keep it off during the holidays!  I bounce back and forth with 2 pounds lost; 2 pounds gained!!  Last week, I went to 4 party events and this week, it is three plus my family is going to meet at an Asian restaurant Saturday for a little before Christmas get-together.  I will be going to Hawaii for the holidays (I know you feel sorry for me!!)  We leave on Monday for 3 weeks so not sure how often I will be updating the blog.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I won't need a sweater or a coat!  Ashley took my summer clothes back with her when she was here for Thanksgiving.  Now I'll have room in the suitcase for a couple of cases of Cheerwine for her.  (For those who don't live in NC, Cheerwine is a local soda that is a little like a cherry Dr. Pepper.)

Stampin' Up SALE!

This is such a busy time of year and I have been neglectful about posting here on my blog.  So sorry but life just gets in the way sometimes!  Stampin' Up has been doing a little year-end cleaning and have some great deals to offer.  Their Year-End Closeouts include holiday retiring products, clearance rach items and current high-inventory catalog products.  The sale started today and will continue until Jan. 3.  Here are the details:

• Clearance Rack items are only available while supplies last.
• Following the Year-End Closeouts promotion, some products may remain on the Clearance Rack; other items may be removed from the Clearance Rack to be added at another undetermined time.
• High-inventory items will only be discounted through January 3; beginning
January 4, they will still be available, but at regular price.
• Retiring item availability will follow standard retiring item rules:
        • Retiring stamp sets are guaranteed available until December 21,
          after which they will be only available while supplies last.
        • Retiring accessories will only be available while supplies last.
        • Retiring items will only be available while supplies last. All retiring items
          will be discontinued after January 3.

You can call or email me with your order OR you can put your order in on-line by clicking on the box above that says "Order Online."  I would really appreciate it if you would include my current Workshop Code when ordering - GW4FKPWP

You can follow THIS LINK to go to the SU Store and see all the items on sale.  There are 2 catagories to check out - Closeout Stamps, Papers, Bundles and Everything Else so check them all out.  Remember - ALL of the Bundles will be on the list because Bundles are only sold together at a discount the FIRST time that they appear in a catalog.

Lovely As A Tree

This was Stamp Club week and I was taking requests - for a sympathy card, note cards and the technique using the Woodlands embossing folder.  Unfortunately, 2 of the gals who made the requests were unable to make it this week!!  Oh well, such is life.  This is such a busy time of year.

This sympathy card was so easy to make but was a big hit with everyone.  It uses everyone's favorite stamp set, Lovely As A Tree.  The sympathy sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  First I stamped the trees on Smoky Slate with Basic Gray ink and punched out a hole using the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.  Stamp the tree on a scrap of Soft Saffron and line up the trees on the scrap behind the trees on the Smoky Slate piece.  Trim the scrap of Saffron so it doesn't peek out at the top, bottom or sides.  Mat the whole thing on a piece of Soft Saffron.  It gives the illusion that you have stamped those trees on the large piece of Saffron.  

The next card uses the Woodland embossing folder.  I rubbed Soft Sky ink all over the embossing folder (on the side that has "Sizzix" in the top corner).  Next I stamped the trees (Lovely As A Tree) with Chocolate Chip ink directly on the embossing folder.  I used a Q Tip to go over the birch trees and removed some of the ink off of them.  Next I inserted a piece of white card stock in the folder and ran it through theb Shot.  If you want your trees whiter, you can use a dauber and rub some White ink over them.  Use the Chocolate Chip marker to make the marks on the birch tree.  The sentiment on my card is from a previous Paper Pumpkin kit.

We also made a Note Card Portfolio with note cards and envelopes.  I'll be sharing those later.

Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack

I will be hosting my annual Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack on Monday, Nov. 21 and Tuesday, Nov. 29.  If you live in the area, and would like to attend, please contact me.  My telephone number and e-mail address can be found in this blog header at the top of the page.  The way it works is you choose the cards you want to make and make them in sets of 5 each.  I will have everything pre-cut for you so it makes it easy to put them together.  I just need at least 3 days notice so I can have your packets ready!!  This is always a fun event with prizes given out while you create.  The price is

$35 for 20 cards   /   $65 for 40 cards   /   $95 for 60 cards.  (amounts will be pro-rated for other quantities)

I had a hard time narrowing down the card choices this year!  Well, truthfully, I have this problem every year!!  Here are the cards you can choose from.

CARD #1 Your choice of Fox or Owl below

CARD #1B

CARD #2 - Your choice to do the trees in any of the papers from Warmth and Cheer DSP stack (pg 13-Holiday Catty)

CARD #3

CARD #4 - Your choice of background colors - see card below for another option.

CARD #4 B

CARD #5

CARD #6

CARD #7

CARD #8

CARD #9

CARD #10

CARD #11

CARD #12

CARD #13

CARD #14

CARD #15