Hoppin' into the Holidays with The Greeting Farm!

Hi and welcome to The Greeting Farm's Holiday Hop! Start at The Greeting Farm and hop your way through all the blogs for lots of Christmas inspiration. Both blog hop participants and commenters will be eligible to win TGF's entire December release!

I've used Cheeky Christmas--she's my favorite gal in the Cheeky series--and made two cards to share. I colored up several images in different colors but stuck to the traditional red for this card and the "Santa Baby" theme.

I used Papertrey Ink's tree die and die cut two trees and placed them behind Cheeky. I moved the die a little higher so the second tree came out a little shorter than the first. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I'm thinkin' of giving this card to our mail carrier. Maybe it'll get his heart racing a little faster and he'll deliver our mail a little quicker. You think? ;)

For my second card and the "Let It Snow" theme, I colored Cheeky in vintage colors and added some glittery snowflake buttons. Hope this qualifies as "snow". I added a green ribbon that I dyed with some distress inks
for a bit of contrast.

Now return to The Greeting Farm for the master blog list and continue the hop. Thanks for hopping along with us today! Happy Holidays!

Stamps: The Greeting Farm, Hero Arts dots and sentiment, Inkadinkado Kid's Quotes

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Bazzill, Stampin Up

Patterned paper: Crate Paper, Bo Bunny

Ink: Memento, Versafine, Distress inks

Other: Copics, Papertrey Ink tree die, Tim Holtz embossing folder, seam binding, snowflake buttons, twine, pop dots

Thanksgiving on Kauai

Hello, and Happy Monday! Just wanted to share a few pics of our Thanksgiving trip to Kauai. My hubby was such a great tour guide and gave our daughter's boyfriend a grand tour of his hometown.

This is the famous tree tunnel as you're heading towards Koloa. It was totally destroyed in 1982 after Hurricane Iwa hit Kauai.

The tunnel provides shade during the day, but has a spooky feel at night because there are no lights along the way.

Only in Hawaii can you enjoy shaved ice cones in November

and watch body surfers brave some pretty strong waves.

The lobby of the Princeville Hotel. Check out that awesome chandelier!

Here's Hanalei valley which produces taro that's turned into poi--a Hawaiian staple. Doesn't it look like a lush patchwork quilt?

And lastly, here's a mountain formation of King Kong. See his profile facing to the left? He's not as well known as the Sleeping Giant, but we always look forward to seeing him.

It was a quick trip and visiting family is always fun...but there's no place like home.

Thanks for visiting today. Please stop by tomorrow for a Greeting Farm holiday hop!

Christmas Usher

Hello! Hope my US friends had a great Thanksgiving and that you all got some fabby Black Friday deals. I can't believe how fast November zipped by and Christmas will be here in less than a month!

Here's a card I made using one of Penny Black's new holiday images called Christmas Usher. Elizabeth Allan has a great video tutorial here and I pretty much cased her card, but substituted the cardstock color and the corner images.

These new Penny Black images are fun and quick to color. A swish of the Copics and her legs are colored. Another swish and her arms are done.

And here's a close up shot of her layered skirt. I added lots of Xmas Red Stickles for some holiday bling. The sentiment is an oldie from Wordsworth.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Whatever you're doing, I hope you're having a fun weekend...

Stamps: Penny Black, Wordsworth, Hero Arts
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Bazzill
Ink: Memento, Versafine, Versamark
Other: Copics, Stickles, gemstones

A thankful giveaway at Tiffany Doodles

To celebrate Thanksgiving, Tiffany is having a giveaway for three lucky random winners of a free digi of their choice. Visit Tiffany Doodles here and simply share what you're thankful for.

Tiffany will draw the names of three random winners on Wednesday, November 24th. And there's still time to enter the "Anything But a Card" challenge which ends on November 30th.

I am so thankful for my family, who supports my stamping addiction, and the many friends I've made in blogland over the years. Big hugs and thanks to those of you who follow or simply stop by my humble blog. ♥

* * *

We'll be island hopping to Kauai for Thanksgiving, and I'll be making the Pumpkin Mochi recipe that I shared here last year.

Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.  Eat ham!  :)

Home!

Hi there! Did y'all miss me? I missed you! We got in last night and I'm ick. Icker than when I left. My doctor did prescribe "lots of rest"  but, hello...we were in La$ Vega$ and were always on the go.

Here's some pics of our room at the Golden Nugget. I loved our room! It had a very Asian feel with the dark wood and glass. 

Check out the sinks. The first thing my hubby asked is, "Which one is yours?"

We saw The Association ("Windy", "Cherish", "Never My Love") at Suncoast Hotel and Casino,

went (window) shopping at City Center and Aria on the Strip,

Jean Philippe candy store 

and ate lots of deeelicious food.

All you can eat buffet at Makino's.







It was super cold--dipped into the 40's at night--and it's hard to stay away from cigarette smoke wherever we went so I seem to have developed a touch of bronchitis.

I did, however, manage to lose a couple more pounds! We ate "healthy", did a lot of walking, and I used the stairs whenever it was offered as a choice.

Ah, but I did miss stamping! And visiting blogs. Hope to play catch up while I do some recuperating...

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you later....

It's a Sweet Celebration!

Hello and welcome to Sweet November's Sweet Celebration Birthday blog hop! It's been one year since the characters who reside in Sweet November Land have come out to play and a few of them have gotten all decked out for a grand birthday party today!

All of the wonderful SN Gals and Guest Gals, as well as some of the ATS design team have come together to showcase these new cuties with a hop! And you won't want to miss a single blog because not only are the cards super cute and totally inspiring, but there are also four birthday candy kits hidden along the way! Think of them as fun birthday presents for you to win!

We are kicking things off at the ATS blog where you can find the complete list of everyone's blogs, and if you came here from Rinne's blog, then you're on your way!

For my card, I used Birthday Baby Girl on a cupcake shaped card. The template was designed by Tania of SRM stickers and can be found here on her blog.

I Cuttlebugged and lightly sanded a swirly pattern on the cake portion, and ran the bottom part through a paper crimper to look like the cupcake liner.

Here's the inside of the card, using sentiments from a birthday set that I won from Kim's blog.

All four of the new Sweet November stamps will be available in the ATS store on Monday, November 15th, which is the same day that the birthday candy winners will be announced on Amy's blog.

Now hop over to Serafiia's blog to see more birthday goodness. Thanks so much for joining our Sweet Celebration!

Stamps: Sweet November, Amy R
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Stampin Up kraft
Paper: Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Other: Copics, Cuttlebug embossing folder, paper crimper, Signo white pen, sanding block, pop dots

Local Girlz Rock!

A lot of my blogging friendships were formed years ago from the Hero Arts Flickr group, and back then, I never thought that I'd be starting and keeping up with a BLOG. It was a Hero Arts blog hop that started it all and it's been a fun ride ever since.

I've also met a lot of local girls in blogland and I'd like to share some cards and goodies that I've received from them.

Here's a card from Denise, one of the first local girls that I met. She was also the first stamper to introduce me to Dew Drops. 

We live on opposite sides of the island, and she's invited me to several stamping get togethers. Teri, too! I'm always flattered but I feel so OLD, compared to these talented gals. They could be my daughters!

Next are some goodies from Joy. She is quite the box maker and cardmaker. A while back, she was my blog giveaway winner and thanked me by sending me this. Check out the little Ketto card!

And for my birthday, I received this adorable box filled with crafting goodies. Totally unexpected, and so very sweet!

I also got to meet Joy by chance, when I served on jury duty this past summer. I had no idea she worked at the court house and I recognized her from her blog's avatar.

Small world! Well, more like small island.

Next is Shirley, who happens to live about 15 minutes away from me and makes the prettiest cards. She wanted to get together to do some ink distressing, but I think she did an excellent job on her own.

There's that little Ketto again!

I also shared a trapezoid box pattern with Debi from Hilo. In return, she sent me this cute little box filled with Hilo's world famous shortbread cookies......yum!

Sorry, the cookies are long gone.... 

Another Joy, the owner of Tamiko's, sent me this cute card when I won a set of Nesties for a Tamiko's challenge. And she always adds a sweet note and extra goodies, too.

Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to Ilissa. I was shopping at my favorite Long's Drugs store and she recognized me--probably from my avatar and the fact that I was buying some Hero Arts goodies--and made me feel like a celebrity! Ilissa, you made my day!

* * *

By the time this post is up, I'll be sitting on a plane, catching the "red eye". My hubby's reward (for losing 20 pounds!) is a quick trip to Las Vega$ for the week. Hope I don't gain it all back with those yummy buffets...Is there a 24 Hour Fitness in downtown Vegas??

Thanks for your get well wishes and a special thanks to Kiara for sharing her family's "magic potion" that helped calm my cough.

Please visit here on Saturday, November 13th for a SWEEEEET birthday blog hop, complete with hidden giveaways. Bye!

imagine

A quick post to share a card I made using the Music Background stamp from Hero Arts. Got my fingers inky over the weekend and did some ink distressing in different colors. I like the color combo of Peeled Paint with kraft and pink and found the perfect papers in my scrap pile.

I added some tiny gemstones to the tops of each of the trees and gold embossed the sentiment from River City Rubber Works.

Thanks for visiting! I'm fighting off a cold--drinking tons of liquids and trying to get some rest. Hope you're all off to a great week!

Stamps: Hero Arts, River City Rubber Works
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Hero Arts notecard
Paper: from my scrap stash--October Afternoon or Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Peeled Paint distress ink, Memories, Versamark
Other: Gold embossing powder, gemstones

TD06--Anything But a Card

Wow, it seems like the 7th of November arrived so quickly! Which means it's time for another challenge from Tiffany Doodles where you can win up to 7 digis of your choice!

This month's theme is "Anything But a Card". Using a Tiffany Doodles digi isn't a requirement to enter the challenge, but we'd love for you to use them if you have some.

Here's my project using one of Tiffany's newest images--Ducky Umbrella. I made a desk calendar using an acrylic photo frame. After coloring the image, I stamped and embossed the sentiment and sponged around the edges to make the sentiment pop.

I added a grassy border on the bottom and trimmed the card to fit the frame. I didn't have any of the ready made mini calendars on hand, and found a printable one online. I printed it out, trimmed it and stacked the pages to create my own mini calendar.

Please visit the rest of the Tiffany Doodles team--many of whom are leaving this month (Sniff!)--to see their "Anything But a Card" projects. You won't be disappointed!

Tiffany Doodles

Tiffany Richards

Cammy Wall

Deirdre Horgan

Julie Masse

Kathy Racoosin

Kim Schofield

Lindsay Amrhein

Peet Roeven

Ruby McGuire

Shannon Neparko

Vanessa Menhorn

Virginia Lu

You have until the end of the month to enter the challenge here for your chance to win up to 7 digis of your choice. Hope you'll play along with us!


Stamps: Tiffany Doodles digital image "Ducky Umbrella", MFT sentiment
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific
Paper: Crate Paper
Ink: Versamark, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Antique Linen distress inks
Other: Copics, clear embossing powder, Sharpie poster paint pen, Martha Stewart grass border punch

***

As I mentioned earlier, several team members are leaving Tiffany Doodles, and Tiffany has an open call for anyone interested in joining us. If you are, click here for the requirements and an application. 

Ice Beary Greetings

Whiff of Joy came out with their Christmas images and I couldn't resist this adorable little bear. I colored him with Copics and added a bit of sparkle on the snow with some Crystal Stickles.

I love the Pendant Nestabilities die, ever since I saw my friend Sue use it here to create her stunning Christmas ornament. Then I saw Teri's card here and that's when I knew I had to get it.


What I didn't love was how the die wouldn't release the piece once it was cut. I kept wishing there was some type of Teflon spray that would just pop the piece out.

I finally solved the problem by putting a piece of waxed paper between the die and cardstock.

I also used a barbecue stick to poke out all the smaller pieces before sliding the stick under the die to help loosen the piece. Using a good quality cardstock helps, along with saying a little prayer.



If you've used them before, I'd love to hear your "sticky" solutions for getting your pieces out of your pendant dies.

Thanks for stopping by today! Whatever you do, I hope you have a fun weekend!

Stamps: Whiff of Joy
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Memento
Other: Copics, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities dies, Stickles, pop dots, waxed paper

Peace & Love

I may be the last person to finally own Hero Arts' Winking Reindeer and I've seen so many cute cards that used him. Love his ornate antlers!

I paired him with the Starry Sky background stamped with my favorite white ink--Papertrey's Fresh Snow. I think it's the "whitest" ink and I love how it looks on kraft.

I also sponged the ink around the edges of the card for a "frosty" look. The sentiment is from an older Hero Arts stamp set.

The "snow" on the ground was made with a Cuttlebug embossing folder which was a limited edition release from the UK.

I colored a clear gemstone with a Copic marker since I didn't have any red ones for his nose, and tied a bit of floss around his neck to finish him off.

Hoping to make more of these mini cards for Caring Hearts and Cards for Kids.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you're having a great week so far...

Stamps: Hero Arts

Ink: Memento, Versafine, Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Stampin Up

Other: Copics, Cuttlebug, floss, gemstones, pearls

Pure Innocence Christmas

If you're a fan of Pure Innocence images, Heather Ellis has a few of her images on sale here! Due to popular customer demand, she's still keeping her older images and offering them at a great price. Some of the digis are only £0.50 which is equivalent to 79¢US!

I made a tent card using one of her older images, but I removed the mistletoe so the main image would fit. After coloring the image with Copics, I tried to texturize some pieces of clothing by tapping the colorless blender over them for a "woolen" look.

Beate Johns has a wonderful tutorial on making tent cards. I love that a tent card stands up nicely, and can still be folded flat for mailing.

Hope you have a great week....Can you believe that November is here??

Stamps: Digistampcharacters
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Hero Arts layering paper
Paper: Crate Paper
Other: Copics, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities, Liquid Pearls, ultra fine glitter
Finished card size is 4.25" square