Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Cheerful Critters Best Year Ever

I cannot believe that today is the last day of Sale-a-Bration already! I think if I had to chose just one item as a favorite it would be the Best Year Ever DSP. I love the cheerful colors and fun prints. Here is a set of cards we made at my All Occasions Card class yesterday using theses papers along with the adorable Cheerful Critters set.

I used the 2013-15 set of In Colors for the set. I will be sad to see these colors go in just two months. Here's a closer look at each card...

I used a different embossing folder for each card. The bunny card used the Spring Flowers EF, which is available in the Occasions Catalog.
Not sure why, but the color on this bear card changed after uploading here to my blog? To see true colors of Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe and Coastal Cabana, look above at first photo to see the set of 3 cards. This one used the Lucky Stars Embossing Folder.

The little chicks sign was stamped onto DSP, cut out and popped up for some extra detail. The embossing folder used here is the Lovely Lace Embossing Folder. All cards were watercolored using the Aqua Painter and Classic Inks.

If you were planning to place an order during Sale-a-Bration...hurry, you have until the end of the day! If you love the soon to be retiring In Colors, now is a good time to stock up on ink refills and card stock before the retiring list is announced and they possibly run out.

If you need further enabling...how about a good sale? There are some great items listed in this weeks Weekly Deals and the Clearance Rack has been updated recently as well.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

The Garden Isle of Kauai

As some of you may already know, I've been gone for a little while on vacation. Thank you for your patience and understanding with the few delays I had getting some of the tutorials out to you. There was a 6 hour time difference from home and sometimes internet service just wasn't there. Now I am home, and playing catch up around the house. I'm sure not complaining though!

I feel so fortunate and very blessed to have spent three amazing weeks with my husband visiting Hawaii to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. (Our real anniversary is actually not until August...but figured we would appreciate getting away more during our cold Michigan winter) The Hawaiian people are so friendly...we learned so much about Hawaiian culture, great spots to eat and beautiful places to visit while we were there. I must say, there is certainly no shortage of gorgeous places to see on all three of the islands we visited!

The first week of our vacation was spent on the island of Kauai, in the town of Princeville. My husbands brother and his wife joined us for this week. We enjoyed many mornings walking on the beach at sunrise with our coffee...and of course my camera was always with me to capture memories in the making!
I took over 4000 photos during the three weeks we were there! I couldn't help it! In each direction I looked there was a beautiful postcard view! Don't worry, I won't be sharing them all here, but I thought you may enjoy seeing a select few from each island. So today's posting are some favorite photos from the island of Kauai. Here's another gorgeous sunrise at Hanalei Bay.
Rising before sunrise is no problem on Kauai, we didn't even need an alarm clock thanks to these guys, jokingly refered to as the state bird. After a hurricane in '92 destroyed many chicken coops these guys were set free to roam where they choose with no real predators on the island.
We visited so many different beaches while we were there, and one of my favorites had to be Polihale Beach.
This is the last beach on the west side of the Napali Coast. The road getting there was memorable...an unmarked sugarcane road which was dirt & rock and really bumpy, but so glad we found it because this beach with miles of gorgeous sandy beach was simply breathtaking. It was recently just voted the world's best secluded beach by Travel & Leisure...and I can see why! If you continue on east along the shore line you would encounter the unbelievable beauty of the Napali Coast...
The red rock mountain sides covered in moss and trees, with many waterfalls, sea caves and crystal clear turquoise water is simply magnificent! The only way to see the Napali Coast is by boat, air or hiking the often treacherous 11 mile Kalalau Trail.
We opted to see it by boat! We went out with Captain Andy for their Sunset Dinner Cruise. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Here we are (L to R) BIL, SIL, me & hubby.
December thru May is the best time to see Humpback Whales in Hawaii. It is this time of year that they make their way from Alaska to the warmer waters of Hawaii to give birth,. We were lucky to see many whales throughout the duration of our trip. We saw quite a few that evening while out on the boat. It sure is an amazing sight to witness these 40+ ton creatures propel themselves out of the water...they make quite a splash! Here is one that we saw that night.
In the center of the island, backing up to the Napali Coast is the breathtaking Waimea Canyon, also known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". We got there mid day and the clouds had already made for a hazy view...but still just incredible! 
Another memorable day was spent kayaking down the Wailua River. Calm waters with beautiful scenery. We parked our canoes and hiked some trails in to have a picnic lunch and swim at Uluwehi Falls or "Secret Falls".
It was very beautiful but very cold!

We ate so much delicious pineapple and tried some other exotic fruits while we were there. Cannot remember now what the red fruit was called but after peeling away the soft, spiny skin it had the texture and taste of a large, kind of sour grape.
Everywhere there were so many gorgeous flowers...even garnishing our food and drinks...what a treat! The hibiscus is one of my favorite. Isn't this color lovely? 
The Kilauea Lighthouse offered another spectacular view. That morning we saw a female whale and her calf frollicking in the bay right there.

We did a lot of hiking down rocky trails and carefully climbing up and down large rocks to get out onto cliffs near the sea to enjoy views like this one near the Queen's Bath.

and these petrified cliffs and sand dunes along the Mahaulepu Trails. We never knew what we were going to see, but always knew we would be rewarded with an amazing view for our efforts.  

One of the best surprises we came along one day was this guy (or gal?)...isn't he/she cute!?


Sadly, the Hawaiian Monk Seal is one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world. They come ashore after a long night of fishing to rest and bask in the sun.
I was so glad we got to see one again during this trip. We spent some time in Kauai only five years ago and saw several on that trip. I hope that doesn't mean that their numbers have diminished that rapidly since our last visit.

Aloha until next post! Check back if you would like to see some scenes captured on Maui. 

In stamping news...I do have a few more of my Butterfly Basics Watercolor Kits available that I can send out beginning of next week. Check this post for more info and contact me to receive a paypal invoice for this kit. 


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Expect Delay On Tutorials

Normally I am able to get purchased tutorials emailed out within 24 hours of receiving Paypal payments. Right now we are vacationing on the beautiful islands of Hawaii, and after we switched islands our new place has no internet connection...I know, I'm sure you feel very sorry for me!

This morning (there's a 6 hour time difference...so it's not even 7 yet here) we stopped at a cafe with my laptop so I could send out the recent tutorials purchased...so sorry for the delay! I'm not sure I'll be doing this again before we return home, so if you do order one of my tutorials in the next few days, I may not get it to you until March 17th.

Mahalo for understanding!

Best Year Butterfly

The patterns in the Best Year Ever DSP papers are so fun! I paired them up here with the Basic Butterfly stamp set for a cheery card that could be used for any occasion.
The Pool Party strip was stamnped using the polka dot desing from the Painted Petals set.

Thursday, March 05, 2015

Framed Painted Tulips

These little tulips from the Painted Petals set fit perfectly inside the embossed Fun Frame window. I'm really looking forward to looking outside my window and seeing some colorful tulips.
Until then, I colored these spring flowers easily using my Rose Red. Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight markers. The Wild Wasabi strip down the center was stamped with the striped background stamp that comes with this set. I love that this set comes with two fun background stamps...the polka dot one is super cute too!  I inked the Spring Flowers Embossing Folder with Pool Party ink before running it through my Big Shot.

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Over the Hills and Far Away

I love sets that have coordinating framelits! Especially when the set is so versatile like the Celebrate Today stamp set! I love that the balloon image can be used for the traditional party balloon or as a hot air balloon!

It was fun to create this adorable scene using Pool Party card stock and the Cloudy Day Embossing Folder (retired) for the sky and Wild Wasabi card stock and the Tiny Triangles Embossing Folder for the rolling hills.

The "thank you" sentiment is from the Painted Petals stamp set. Both of these can be found in the Occasions Catalog.

Thank you for visiting today!