Aloha, all! Happy 2020! What a difference a year makes. This time last year, we were still reeling from having lost our home to the Kilauea Lava eruption, and here we were stuck in this small apartment, surrounded by "stuff" that really didn't feel like ours - even though technically it was. This year we're in the same small apartment, but it is now home. We worked hard this year to make it … [Read more...] about Here’s to a Shiny New Year!
Handmade Cards
My Holiday Cards are All Sent!
Aloha, all! This year I sent out almost 100 holiday cards, most of them Christmas cards. No, this is not usually how many I send out. Each year, when Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Catalog comes out, I pick a few of my favorite stamps, papers and embellishments and make about 40 or 50 cards featuring those products. That's what I did in 2018. But in 2018, the whole process stopped with the making … [Read more...] about My Holiday Cards are All Sent!
Cards Aren’t Just for Christmas!
Aloha, all! This time of the year it's hard to think of any kind of greeting cards except Christmas (or other holiday) cards. But December is also just another month of the year, and every month has birthdays, illnesses, and just someone that I know who could use a simple "Thinking of You" card. While I do usually keep a stash of cards around for just such occasions, two things came into … [Read more...] about Cards Aren’t Just for Christmas!
New Products for a Fun Fold Card!
Aloha, all! Earlier this week I shared some samples of how I used the new Christmastime Is Here Designer Series Paper and two of the new embellishments in the Christmastime Is Here suite - the Gold 1/4" Shimmer Ribbon and Gold Glitter Enamel Dots. Today I have one project that uses all three of these, along with just three products from the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. I made this card … [Read more...] about New Products for a Fun Fold Card!
Island Hopping: Introducing a New Suite of Products!
Aloha, all! It's time once again for Cheryl Hamilton, a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator extraordinaire from Maui, and I to share projects across the channel between our islands - it's Island Hopping Day! The brand new Christmastime Is Here suite of products is available beginning this coming Friday, November 1st! What I found great about this suite is that so many products in it are perfect … [Read more...] about Island Hopping: Introducing a New Suite of Products!
Sympathy for the Loss of a Friend
Aloha, all! In the middle of everything that's been going on this month and last, I was very sorry to hear of the death of an old friend. Clarence's widow, Denise, is really the person whom I think of as my friend. But wherever Denise was, there was Clarence. I belong to a group to which both Clarence and Denise have belonged for a long time. And Clarence was always there to help when we needed … [Read more...] about Sympathy for the Loss of a Friend
One Design – Two Cards!
Aloha, all! The week before our windows were to be done was a usual kind of week around here - hectic and disorganized. One of these days I'll get it together. Anyway, all of a sudden I realized that (not suddenly) I needed both a birthday card and a get well card, and I needed them the week before. The only solution to getting them done before the mail truck came to our apartment was to use … [Read more...] about One Design – Two Cards!
A Belated Happy Birthday!
Aloha, all! Of my four brothers, only my two youngest brothers are still alive and kicking. Both of them are quite a bit younger than I am, and both live a long ways from Hawai'i - Maryland and Massachusetts. But I do get to see them occasionally, and I get to catch up with them a bit on social media. And I always think of them on their birthdays. I haven't always been really good about … [Read more...] about A Belated Happy Birthday!
The Holiday Haul Stamp Set – And How to Get It!
Aloha, All! Every year the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog has such fun host-only stamp sets, that I make sure that my very first order is at least $150 so I can buy at least one of them. This year is no different! I fell in love with the Holiday Haul Stamp Set the minute I saw it. Here is the first card that I made with this set last week. The little red car and that cute trailer just … [Read more...] about The Holiday Haul Stamp Set – And How to Get It!
Coloring Colored Paper? Yes!
Aloha, all! Earlier this month, I entered a challenge to add my own colors to one of Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Papers to show how they can be changed to make our own unique project. I had just finished a project using the Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper set, which includes designs that are just white and one color. While the striped and checkered designs worked for me, I had a hard … [Read more...] about Coloring Colored Paper? Yes!
We’ll Have a Blue (Plaid!) Christmas!
Aloha, all! I had so much fun at Cheryl Hamilton's stamping event last month, and got some great inspiration as I work to design my own Christmas cards this year. For one thing, since I first saw the Wrapped in Plaid Designer Series Paper in the Stampin' Up! 2019 Holiday Catalog, I've thought of it as a green and red Christmas paper. Not so! There's BLUE in that paper! Night of Navy blue, in … [Read more...] about We’ll Have a Blue (Plaid!) Christmas!