Let's see some curves!

Happy jump for joy Friday everyone! It's time for a new challenge over at Raise The Bar called Let's See Your Curves! Scallops, circles, even a curvy image - heehee! For my card I used a new image from Two Scoops Rice Designs - isn't this gingerbread chef adorable? It's a new set called Gingerbread Bakery - too sweet with all the little accessories that go with her! Come on over and join in on the fun, click {here} to see the other adorable curvy cards by the Bar-Tenders. Have a beautiful Friday everyone, I'll be back tomorrow with a Bee Crafty post! :) ♥

Anyone need a hug? ;)

Happy Sunday everyone!
Unorganized me didn't have the opportunity to post this yesterday so here I am. I was perusing through tons of different challenges and had fun combining as many as possible. All sites are linked so you can join in on the fun too!
ADORABLE fairy image, courtesy of Two Scoops Rice Designs. You can find her HERE with her other garden fairy friends, this one was a freebie digi that Renae graciously had on her blog last year (whoa, time flies!). There is also a really great sketch challenge going on at the TSRD blog HERE. You have one more week to enter into the contest, there is a freebie Mumford image HERE to join in on the fun.

Here are the following challenges that I incoporated:
Friday Sketchers: layout
Cute Card Thursday: Fairy
C.R.A.F.T.: Red
Simon Says: Punch It (sentiment, branches, flourishes, corner edges)

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone! And if anyone needed a hug today, consider it done. :D
♥ and Aloha

Two Scoops Rice Designs Challenge time :D

Hello everyone and happy Saturday to you!
I spent all morning at DMV. Yay. But the good news is that my Driver's License is renewed and I hit some sales at Michaels. haha!
Today is the start of a 2 week challenge over at Two Scoops Rice Designs, come on over and play along!
Here is the sketch made by yours truly:

And here's my summery card made with a yummy shaved ice image from TSRD:

Whoa - I should have warned you it was a bit bright. ;) In my vow to use up what I have, I found this fun and bright DP way at the bottom of a stack. I colored in the cone holder to match, then used flowersoft all over the icy part:

 

Oooooh...a nice shaved ice from Matsumoto's in Haleiwa sounds good right now. :D
Come on over and join the fun! Follow the link HERE to get to the TSRD blog and to see what the Scoopers made as a sample. No TSRD image yet? Here's a cute little freebie named Mumford with a pie - mmmm...pie all year long is my motto. ;)
Happy Saturday everyone! Have a wonderful day...
*Love and Aloha*

Beeee my Valentine!

Happy Saturday friends!
It's so cold here in VA - still with snow on the ground from yesterday.
I think that's why I loved playing with this new stamp from Two Scoops Rice Designs because he reminds me that Spring is right around the corner!

Whoa - so bright and happy, I can't wait for the flowers to start blooming again! This little guy is so cute, I made a 3x3 notecard for him to buzz on. This size is perfect when I have to send a quick note to a teacher, otherwise I feel like I have to write a story when I send in an A2 size. haha!

You can find this little bee HERE in the TSRD store as well as a ton of his other adorable friends.

We'll be announcing a fun challenge at TSRD next week with really cute prizes so be sure to check back in!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!
♥ and Aloha

I'm feeling happy!

Hello everyone and happy Monday to you! After a weekend of rest, I am as happy as our breakfast waffle yesterday. haha! Mmmm...the diet at the Wilsons needs some tweaking in 2010.

We had 2 feet of snow here in Viriginia so the kiddos are officially on Winter break with school cancellation. Even DH has the day off! My ILs are making their way over from TN slowly but surely. They will be here by early afternoon, the little ones will be surprised.

I had full intention of posting my Two Scoops card this weekend so I thought I would show you my busy little bee today:

Awww, this image is so cute, he's such a chunky little bear isn't he?

We absolutely love our DD's Kindergarten teacher, I don't even think I need a reason to give her this card and a little gift. She's that wonderful!

I followed the current layout over at Sweet Sunday Sketch and colored in my bear bee with copics.

Renae has the cutest collection of stamps (actual ones too, not just digi!). You can find this cutie here in her store along with his other adorable friends.

And just as a visual, here's what we experienced this weekend:

Let's see how much a Martha Stewart patio set can take:

My girls' sassy snow skier:

Out in our front yard:

A pic of my neighbors' house:

And I left Hawaii why? heehee! JK!

Have a wonderful Monday everyone, thank you for coming by on this busy countdown week. I love your friendship and will make you an m&m waffle just to prove it.

♥ and Aloha

Two Scoops' fun announcement♥

Hello everyone and happy later in the day Monday to you!

This is my second post of the day, Sunshine and Giggles card can be seen if you scroll down a bit. :D

Two Scoops Rice Designs has a fun little announcement, Renae is now doing monthly challenges - yay!

Enjoli is our first challenge hostess {if you haven't been to Enjoli's blog before - omword. It is sooo awesome!}.

This is her recipe:

1 TSRD image (required, there's a freebie on the blog HERE)

1 piece of white cardstock

2 pieces of solid cardstock

1 patterned paper

1 ribbon

sparkles of bling

And here is my little concoction:

It was fun to get all the recipe ingredients in as they work really well together. Do you remember that DP? It's an oldie but goodie from SU, I believe it was made for V-day but the pinks and browns are so yummy with holiday images. Here is a closer peek:

I just love these fairies! They come in a set of 3 along with coordinating sentiments, and can be found HERE at the shop. Now make sure you link up to TSRD's blog for your chance to win! You have one week to enter, you can have as many entries as you would like, and the card need not be Christmas themed. The winner will receive Muffles the Snowman Cone and the Juggling Bunny singles. Wow, I want those! heehee!

Here's what the other girls cooked up with this recipe:

♥ Enjoli  ♥Maylee ♥Stephanie ♥Jenny

Have fun with this contest everyone, I would love to see what you all create!

Hugs and enjoy the rest of your day. ♥

*Love and Aloha*

You must be my lucky star

Cause you shine on me wherever you are...
heehee! HAPPY THURSDAY everyone! One more day until the weekend. woot woot!
I am challenging myself to a month of different techniques and I am excited to share today's project, using one of the newest fairies from Renae's Two Scoops Rice Designs line:

SUPER easy! I had this idea while shopping in Michaels when I saw this porcelain ornament. It was only $1.29 so I figured it was worth a try. The adorable image was stamped with Staz-On, I didn't prep the star or anything, just inked up my image and dove in. The nice part is that if you mess up, you can easily wipe it off...like, 8 times.

After letting it dry completely, I painted the image then stickled the parts that I wanted to shine. That was it! I was amazed at how easy this was, I am sure there is a proper technique or video how-to, but sometimes it's fun just to go with the creative flow. ;)

Thank you for coming by today! I hope your day is full of smiley stuff. :D

*♥ and Aloha*

The Inside Scoop at Two Scoops!

Hello everyone and happy Saturday to you all!
I am blogging all weekend with all these wonderful new releases, so I thank you for coming by to see me.

Two Scoops Rice Designs is having a special weekend sale:
Purchase 2 of the featured stamp sets and receive an acrylic block, all for $25.00! It is $10 off the retail price. In addition, the first 20 customers to order will receive a special stamp. All this plus free shipping! Isn't that just wonderful?

If you aren't familiar with Renae's designs, they are really adorable. Here is a little Christmas caddy/teacher's gift that I made with one of her holiday fairies:

Isn't she sooo cute? I just love her and knew she would be perfect for this project that I had in mind.

Here is a quick overview because this project came together so easily once I designed it in my head. First follow Tammy's instructions on how to make a cardstock tote HERE. Go ahead...I'll wait. ;) LOL!

(I like to link back to where I found it instead of putting the tut here myself. It gives them the credit that they deserve.)

Okay, now here is where I altered it just a wee bit:

I inserted 2 pieces of cardstock on the inside so that I could have a 4 way divider.

I ended up trimming down an inch on both sides of this tote so my CAD would be able to insert those 3 eyelets on the left. I then threaded ribbon through.

In the other 3 compartments I included: a fun pen, scissors, candy cane decor, bows in another, and then adhesive gift tags in the back right compartment. This is a fun project to do if you don't have any gable boxes or Starbucks frap boxes lying around.

I held the ribbon handle in place with snowflake brads. Here you can see a closer view of it:

And here's the sweet fairy's closeup:

She is part of a set of 3 holiday fairies that come with coordinating sentiments. You can find them HERE at Renae's store. And don't forget about the fabulous sale! It ends tomorrow so get your shopping done for you and a friend. Or just you. haha!

Hope you all have a wonderful day everyone! Enjoy your Saturday, let's hope it goes by nice and slooooow.

*Love and Aloha*

A Wednesday toot toot tutorial :D

Hellooooo everyone and happy Wednesday to you! It is usually my Whimsie Doodles Day but I promise to show the remaining wonderful new releases tomorrow. {Since Melyssa is vacationing in New York, I am being honery. lol! JK!!}

I actually sat down this weekend to participate in a couple of challenges and needed to get this posted in time to meet the deadline.
Challenges are:
*Stamp 'n' Scrap Hawaii create tags (Christmas tags, ack! I know...I should have taken better notes but it is worth a try!)
*Just Us Girls dry embossing challenge: tags are Cuttlebugged
*The Secret Crafters Four Seasons Challenge

First off, a huge THANK YOU to Renae of Two Scoops Rice Designs for asking me to be on her Winter-Spring DT! I am so excited, so I decided to create a little tag project that I have nicknamed Friends Through The Seasons with her kawaii images:

This is a super easy project to do and uses up all those little scraps that you have lying around. Toot toot! LOVE that we can use up those small pieces, exciting, right? heehee!

Here's the simple tutorial:

First, start off with the outside 'pockets':

Select scraps of DP, I made sure mine were all at least 3x8 which, folded in half, turned into a 3x4 finished pocket size.

Then punch in 2 holes on each side for eyelets (yes, eyelets!):

You are going to attach each of them with ribbon in the holes, but make sure you wait to line them all up to connect the panels together first.

For the inside tags:

Choose coordinating colors of scrap cardstock (or not so coordinating, whatever suits your style!).

Mine measured 2.5 x 4 to fit the 3x4 folded pockets:

And now the fun part. Select scraps of DP and small pieces of ribbon, extra embellishments, etc. that you want to use to decorate the tags:

  

Now have fun!

Here are my tags once they were all decorated according to the seasons:

And the lovely ladies wanted to take one last walk down the runway:

Teehee! Thank you all so much for coming by! I do hope you enjoyed this tutorial, this weekend I will be creating a separate page with all the tutorials that I have discovered and tried, including the strawberry one that some of you have asked about.
Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone! Thank you for being a friend through the seasons!
*Love and Aloha*

Tottemo Kawaii desu yo!

Heehee! Hi everyone and happy Monday to you all!
Sorry, I just had to do that...4 years of Nihongo, my mommy will be proud. ;) I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a fun WCMD?

Well that phrase in my title simply means "Totally cute!" which is what "kawaii" stamps are all about. Last week I received my digis from Two Scoops Rice Designs and had to color in this kawaii trick or treater:

Awwww! Isn't she the sweetest and chubbiest tiger? I followed the latest sketch by Arlana of Sweet Sketch Wednesday. When I was putting the card together I realized that the rectangle element looked like a door, so I added the large black brad as a doorknob. Now she looks like she's really going house to house!
Renae's images are sooo cute, she has them both in clear stamps as well as this set of 14 Halloween cuties in digis that I found HERE.

Thank you all for coming by to see me! Don't forget I have a giveaway to celebrate the changing of the seasons. You can find it HERE on this post, or clicking on the picture in my sidebar.
Have a wonderful Monday everyone!
*Love and Aloha*

It's my Party and I'll craft if I want to...

Hi everyone and happppy Friday!
Wow, what a wonky title - but with good reason. You all know that Saturday is World Card Making Day right? So I thought I'd share some images that I have found on different blogs that are FREE! These gracious designers have given us some wonderful images for us to use and play with, that take us through every season of the year. My goal is for you to enjoy all their generosity and have fun, after all, isn't that what a party is about? :D

First up for Winter, Pollycraft's adorable Cherry Kisses Snowball image:



Isn't she cute? Her outfit is so fun to color in, I made the pants and shoes into those vinyl waterproof gear that my kids love to wear - they feel invincible when they're dressed for snow action.
Here is a closer look at the snowball:

This is a little technique that I found out through my friend Toni - see that white fluff? It's not liquid applique, it's dimensional paint! YES! That huge old bottle (Tulip brand) that you paint on fabrics and retails for $3-ish does this. The only difference between this and liquid app is that this requires longer drying time. Other than that, I was surprised by its similarity. Unbeknownst to me, my card also qualifies nicely with Pollycraft's current challenge. :D

Up next for Spring, flowers from Nina:


Ohhhh, hydrangeas, my favorite non-Hawaiian flower. How beautiful is this image? I met Nina through blog land, she is a designer for GinaK and has done images for TSG. I love this image, and since it comes with a Psalm scripture, I plan on making more for my mom to use.

On to the dog days of Summer from Dawn:

No matter how I tried, I couldn't get that charm to show up! It says 'love' as in puppy love. ;) A friend of ours just got a Dachschund so I thought I'd give them a card to celebrate their newest addition. I added bling to his collar, just so he could be a stud. lol! I think I'll add another sentiment to this card later. Dawn has some really fun images over at her site!

And finally, Renae gave me a cute reason to get out my broomstick:

Isn't Little Witch cute? Her 'do is awesome - no hat hair for her! She is the monthly freebie at Two Scoops Rice Designs who, by the way, is having a DT call with the cutest kawaii images! Renae is back after a summer hiatus and is having a fun contest that ends on the 3rd, grab little witch and fly to it!

Here are all the direct links to these wonderful images, PLEASE leave them a comment as I know it will be really appreciated:
Cherry Kisses Snowball * Hydrangeas * Puppy Dog * Little Witch

Yay, now you have new stuff to play with for World Card Making Day without having to leave your home! :D Be sure to peruse through these awesome designers' blogs as there are other freebies that they are giving away for your enjoyment.

I'm joining in on the fun, come back tomorrow for a special Inktegrity ladybug image that celebrates October. Go and eat breakfast, I'm getting my blog candy out this afternoon. ;) See you later, happy Friday everyone!
*Love and Aloha*

Happy Musubi Monday!

Haha! Got your attention right? Hi everyone, I hope your weekend was wonderful!!

Regarding my post title for the day, you either know what I am talking about or have no idea what language I am speaking. ;) Anyone who has spent some time in Hawaii has come across a musubi, which is a kind of sushi. It made news recently when President Obama went back home for a vacation. It's basically cooked and sweetened rice (with mirin), your choice of meat, and wrapped with nori. Here's what it looks like, done 'local' style:


Although you can use teriyaki chicken and even a thin omelet in between the rice, my kids love it with spam. YES! I said Spam. haha! Unlike the bad rep that it gets here in the contiguous United States, it's actually a staple back home. Scoff if you may (DH does it, but my MIL says that she cooked it all the time while raising her kids), but you can't knock it until you try it! Especially my version. ;) My boys are the pickiest eaters but they request this all the time. It's like a meal that you can hold in one hand. lol! So that's what a musubi looks like IRL, this is what it looks like on a card:



Isn't that a cute image?!?! Thanks Renae for my happy mail!! My order from Two Scoops Rice came in last week and I think this is the sweetest kawaii stamp. I am getting my friend a musubi maker and sending this off as a thank you for hanging out with us the other week. She lived in Hawaii for a number of years and her kids love local foods. The sentiment is from SU, and so perfect as I am including a can of spam and a package of white rice in her box. haha!



Thank you all so so so much for your birthday wishes to Izzy! We had an incredible weekend, the weather was super hot - just the way I like it. The whole neighborhood was bustling with activity, we even took Izzy on a little birthday parade through the housing area. I pulled him in a wagon while the girls waved - Ms. America style - to everyone. hahaha! We're a kooky bunch. We came home, had everyone shower, then sat down for his cake and ice cream.

Here he is getting ready and wondering what the commotion was all about:




And here he is after he realized how worth the wait was:

Mmmm...I've created a chocolate monster. ;) It was everywhere! I think he ate only about a teaspoon of the actual cake. haha!

I also let Izzy pick a number out of his hat, that was no longer on his head as you can see...Congratulations #6 - Jessica aka The Whimsical Butterfly! Send me your real addy and I will get this off to you!

Thank you all so much again, I really appreciated all the happy comments, it means so much to me. I am going to print them out and post it in his scrapbook so one day he can ask why I didn't have actual friends. LOL!! JK!

Okay, before I go, just a few things:

1) The Digi Shack's color challenge is going on - awesome color combo of Summer Sun, Certainly Celery and Going Gray. Click HERE for the deets.

2) Mel's Super Challenge Saturday is up and running with a fun twist, see post below for more deets.

3) Modern Sugar Blvd. is busy busy busy with their debut, I have posted their weekly schedule in my sidebar for everyone (meaning me) to keep track.

And finally, I have soooo many fun things planned this week! I can't stand it!! And no, I didn't apply to any more DTs. LOL! So hopefully you'll come back and check in. Until then, have an absolutely perfect Monday everyone!
*Love and Aloha*

Did you see?

Renae has this new free digi over at Two Scoops Rice Designs! Isn't he adorable? Now this free digi thing is so incredibly generous of her, I just have to make my way over to her store and buy more stuff as a thank you. ;)

Since I really need to use up my scraps, I pulled out 3 random ones and committed to making it work. It is a perfect image because you can color in the flowers however your heart desires. And to stay true to my 'use it or give it away' pledge, I opened up my favorite but neglected jar of black fun flock for his ears. You can see it a little better here.I love this stuff! It brings so much texture to an image and a little goes a long way. I really have to use it more often. I also glittered the butterfly's body and used a clear glaze on puppy's nose. So head on over to her blog and store, her stamps are kawaii (Japanese for 'cute') and such a fun take on everyday foods!

And finally, a gentle reminder of Spring. This new lamb was one of many at Mount Vernon yesterday. He was sooo cute and wobbly! The girls giggled every time he bleated. I told them that's what they sound like when they call for me at home. ;)

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone! *Love and Aloha* (or in this case, Love And Music Baby - teehee!)

"Dig if you will a picture..."

Can you finish those lyrics? If not...he can! (Sadly, I can too. lol!)Seriously, I will TRY to stop doing these cards for Club Anya's Rockin' Rebel challenge. But I just couldn't resist, especially since I heard "When Doves Cry" on my XM 80s channel! (Trust me, you don't even want to know of the others that I am brainstorming on. HAHA!)

But back to your royal purple highness. Isn't he fun? This is Chef Ian, toned down to Prince's tiny frame. Chef Ian's jacket and black boots were just perfect for my rockstar. I colored everything in with a purple prismamarker, then added the white ruffle detail out of some scrap ribbon. He was stamped on caramel cardstock like Janet, I added Prince's beauty mark and his goatee. All Ian's hair needed was a bit more poof as it already had some curl to it. ;)

The motorcycle pays tribute to the Purple Rain poster complete with dark clouds. I found this dove from an old Jolee's Easter sticker sheet, from its mouth dangles a banner carrying the Symbol.

I hope today's post made you smile! And if you are racking your 80s memory trying to remember the next line then here you go...
Of you and I engaged in a kiss
(the rest of the lyrics are quite risque, I can't believe I walked around the house singing it when I was younger!)

In other exciting news, twoscoopsricedesigns.com is now open for business! Head on over there and see what cute stuff Renae has created. With all these fabulous companies coming out with their irresistible stamps, I may have to start doing dishes somewhere. ;)
Have a wonderful day everyone!
*Love and Aloha*

This is me...

...sending you all BIG HUGS for all of your love and support! I was floating on cloud 9 with all of your comments here, on Club Anya's blog, on SCS and via email. Thank you so much!!! :D I admit, I even read them over and over with a smile. Not out of vanity, just validation. I hope that makes sense.
Because it's Friday, I'll do a quick post since I know you have some fun planning to do for this weekend. See that cutie giving you a hug? And this bunny peeking out of the pot making sure you entered my egg hunt? They are digi images from the new stamp line by Two Scoops Rice Designs!!!Howwww sweet are they?! I can't wait to see the fabulous site that Renae is creating. Her line is soooo stinking adorable, from what I've seen, I am going to see lots of invoices from her in my email! Mahalo Renae for contributing to my habit! haha!
Now go and enjoy the rest of your Friday. Don't forget to enter into Mel's awesome sketch challenge, you have until midnight tonight to upload it into BLOGC5 on SCS or leave a comment on her blog with a link to your card. And stop by Club Anya's blog for the most rocking challenge ever. It will definitely put a smile on your face!!!

In honor of the first day of Spring, what flower would you be?
I'd have to say a Vinca for me. It's colorful, resilient, low maintenance, and gets really full around the middle. teehee!
Happy happy weekend to you!
*Love and Aloha*

I really can't stand the time change...

I know I'm whining but for someone who grew up in Hawaii, I have such a hard time with this time change...ESPECIALLY the Spring ahead. Ugh. Like this sleep deprived mom really needs one less hour to get things done. haha! ;)

I say this because I have pictures sitting on my other computer for Transformation Tuesday but as I type (at 1:25am because I can't sleep), DH is trying to get everything fixed on our new one. For the time being, I wanted to show you what I fiddled with while keeping my fingers crossed that the computer would be well again tonight. However, on a happy note, this card ends up complying with The Pink Elephant's challenge to use brown, green and pink.

Isn't this sleepy owl adorable? I feel like him right about now! Of course he's from The Greeting Farm, off the Forest Friends set. (I don't know if this is one of the stamps that is currently sold out but they should be restocked tomorrow.)

I thought it was appropriate for this owl to be in his little safe home. I CB'd the tree with the distressed stripes then ran the brown and white cs through with my nesties scalloped circle. Look at that butterfly being nosey. teehee! I didn't want to put a sentiment on the outside so I saved it for inside the card where I masked him off then sponged gray around him. It kind of looks like a separate image with a moon. :D The more I look at him, the more I realize I should be in bed.

Yesterday while blog hopping, I came across a site that I had been meaning to check out. It's called Two Scoops Rice Designs which is such a local Hawaiian thing when it comes to food. We eat rice with everything. EVERYTHING! Renae at Two Scoops Rice Design is so sweet AND she has an adorable line of cupcakes and fairy stamps. Go and check her out! She is doing a pre-order right now through March 15th and offers an adorable free digi image every month. (I told DH that if the computer isn't up and running by tomorrow, I am going to disconnect everything and hook it up into my craft room - my digis are waiting to be printed!) Please let her know that I sent you, I want to hold true to my word that I would enable my friends. ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! *Love and Aloha*