Another Sketch

Here is the last sketch I created for January.  With so much interest in Project 365 and its variations, I decided to share a two page layout that I created one year for a New Years feast we have at our friend's house each year.  Here mother comes up from Hawai'i to cook a stupendous feast for us.  All the traditional Japanese Oshoogatsu (New Years) food and more!  

One year I took pictures of all the foods and wanted to create a layout.  Well, I take close up photos, so cropping is not an option.  I came up with this one to highlight the subject and my food pictures.  I hope you can find some use for it.  

Have a great day! 

a hui hou!

Mixed Media Arts

  
I don't often do much with mixed media.  I am lazy for the most part.  I love the look, but not the involved processes.  I enjoy much simpler things.   I was "forced" to create with mixed media this past month for a review of a new book "Exploring the Latest Trends In Mixed Media Arts".  This is one of the fun things about being a review team member over at ScrapFriends.  I have to stretch my creative muscle.  By the way, the book is a great one for finding recipes for all sorts of projects.  I think it is best for intermediate to advanced crafters though, unless you are a really motivated beginner. 

I have to say I was super excited about one project, a little Starbucks mint tin of all things.   You can read all about process here, but to make a long story short, I finally used a copper antiquing kit that I purchased with good intentions of using many many years ago!  I was tickled pink at how it turned out!

 

One more project I created were these pretty cool fabric/paper postcards.  The great thing about this project was that I used many of the little scrap and mismatched things that had lying around from other projects (I have a hard time throwing anything out).  I haven't actually sent one in the mail yet, but I have always been fascinated by mail art and can't wait to be a part of it.  In fact, this reminds me that I should go and do that right now! LOL

Hope you enjoyed these projects! 

a hui hou! 

How To Make Paper Roses

I created a "How To" over at ScrapFriends for the paper roses shown in yesterday's blog.  You can find it here.  I included a template for the petals and leaf in case you want to create it to scale.  You'll find it at the bottom of the page.  

While you are there check out the other really great tutorials on every topic.  One of my recent favorites is Tammy's Homemade Shimmer Mist.  It really works! 

LOL, I couldn't make a post without a photo.  this is DS doing his homework minutes before he asked me to get him a regular sized pencil LOL.  Cracks me up! 

A hui hou! 

Take care! BTW, we have snow again.  Can you believe it?! 

Sincerely Yours

Since it's close to Valentine's Day, here is another new paper collection I think you'll adore!  Sincerely Yours by Flair Designs.  I am really impressed how many manufacturers are creating their theme paper so that it can be used for more than just one thing.  What does that mean?   Case in point.  This collection can be used for much more than just Valentine's day paper.  It can be used for everyday layouts and heritage layouts and more.  

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My review for this collection over at ScrapFriends is a bit (very) wordy, (I'll have to work on that) but it includes the story about these paper roses (above).  

Just in case you want to learn how to make them, I have created a tutorial that will be posted soon on the ScrapFriends site.  In the "How To" I included a template for the petals and step by step instructions.  I'll post the link when it comes available.  They are really fun!  They take some time and patience, but it's worth it in the end!  

For those of you who would like a custom rose or two or three...I have some listed in my Etsy Shop and can make them to order.  

 

By the way , you can get this collection at Memory Villa.  They have tons of Flair Design items. 

a hui hou!!!

Word of the Year

With the encouragement of Tammy over at ScrapFriends I finally decided to "do" the "one little word" exercise for this year.  I did some "research" on Ali Edward's blog and came up with a wonderful word for myself. 

Noa is a Hawai'ian word meaning "Free." I have also heard it translated as "Boundless".  These two meanings really struck a chord with me.  I created this canvas with papers from the Basic Grey Bittersweet Collection, and I plan to hang it in the kitchen above the computer.  I think that I will also make another one for my bedroom.  

One technical note, if you look closely, you'll see some paisley designs on the light pink background paper.  This was created using watercolor crayons on acrylic stamps.  I colored the stamps with various colors using watercolor crayons, then spritzed it gently with water from a sprayer and stamped.  The images on the stamps were very thin, but I love the detail of the design.  

This project was created for my Scrapfriends review of Basic Grey Bittersweet Collection.  You can read more about the process here. 

Is it February Already?!

 

 

Where has the time flown?!  

I have created and reviewed and lived and enjoyed for the past few months.  I've jumped on the band wagon and am creating a 365 album with the focus on journaling.  I don't always take photos on the day of, nor do I write on that day, but I will end up with 365 journal entries (hopefully this year) of all the little things I don't usually get to write down. 

I'm starting a new schedule and have not blocked in a time for blogging, that's something that I'll have to change.  I have some really fun things coming up so I hope you will check back.  

Meanwhile, here is some of the work I did in January...

 

ScrapFriend Product Reviews: 

I have been very fortunate to review some new products in January.  With every review there are five opinions and projects to go with them.  Each review has brief information on how the projects were created.  I hope you will check them out for inspiration or information.  

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I got to play with Basic Grey's Bittersweet Collection.  It's a fun one!  I loved the patterns and colors!  The great thing about this collection is that it is not a Valentine's Day only set, you can use it for a variety of themes.  Click here to view the reviews and projects.

I created the little puzzle piece album (header) and the Christmas Layout with this collection.  Tomorrow you can see the last project I created with this great paper! 

This is the first of two January sketches created for ScrapFriends.  There are tons more if you ever get stuck and want some inspiration.  Renee does wonderful card sketches as well. 

  

That's enough for today.  Hope you have an awesome weekend!  

a hui hou! 

Let it Snow....now let it be done... :)

Aloha mai!

Snow snow snow!  

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and that you are enjoying your family and friends this season! 

I wanted to share some snow pictures with you.  It's been an amazing week and a half here in Snowville...um Seattle. 

This is a bowl that k put out to measure the snow fall.  It stuck to the rail, so out it stayed through the whole stormy week. 

 

This was the total amount of snow that we got.  Below you will find a pictures of the park near our Library.  I loved the snow patterns on the wall.  There was enough snow that someone built a snow fort (dome shaped) that had windows and could fit one person in it.  I went in.  It was really cool! 



We went sledding on the hills by our house.  Not too steep or else the snow was just too much, so we didn't really go too fast, but it was really fun!  

But now, we've had our fill of snow and I think that most of us are ready to see it go.  LOL.  

Parking lots are danger zones, everyone seems to need a push with the snow ruts appearing now that it's warming up a little.  Can you believe it snowed again today?  I've gotten really good at reversing and driving-reversing and driving to keep from getting stuck.  

Enough for now.  Have a great one and sorry to be such a stranger.  

A hui hou! 

Switch Plates Anyone?

Aloha Mai!!

My review on Tinkering Ink Retro collection is up at Scrapfriends now.  There are some really great projects by our Review Team members.  I hope you'll check them out here.  I really love this collection, it's full of color and action.  Just what I needed to work with with winter coming along so quickly! 

I have some brief instructions for creating the wonderful switchplates in my review which is the last on the page.  This project was very quick and fun!  LMK if you have any additional questions. 

I just finished updating my website, whew, what a job.  Thank goodness for the wonderful programs with WYSIWYG or I would not survive having to do HTML! 

Today I work on some Ikaika's costume for Halloween.  He will sew most of it, but I will help with the little details since time is short.  Skate America took up a lot of our time this weekend.  And of course we can't start a project too soon before it's needed LOL.  

My Mom loves Kim, Yu-Na, the phenomenal skater from Korea.  I took some photos for her since we were lucky enough to see her skate on Saturday and Sunday.  She shares my birthday which is really cool (of course she's a little younger than me LOL).  I think my Mom will get a kick out of that!  

Have you started thinking about Christmas this year?  It's about that time of the year for Christmas cards...

Better get to work now.  

Until next time...

A hui hou! 

Skate America 2008!

Aloha Mai,

Yay!  This past weekend was wonderful!   Production Sports produced Skate America 2008 in Everett, Wa.  Laura Lee and Steve Baker did a wonderful job with this huge international event and we broke the standing attendance record held by Spokane!!!

The skaters were great, the fans were wonderful, Ikaika had a blast doing some flower sweeping and participating in the Victory Ceremony.  He was lucky enough to hold the Bronze Medal that went to his favorite skater, Evan Lysacek!  Totally cool, and he was on the ice at the same time as Evan was warming up.  I promised not to post that photo though.  :( LOL.

I was able to do some fun volunteer work at the airport, in the arena and in Fan Fest as well.  It was all a wonderful experience.  You can find the results of the competition at Ice Network and if you love Ice Skating, you can even subscribe for a season of video coverage (charge).

Last but not least!!!  I would like to debut my newest creation, an acrylic album large enough to hold at least 10 DVD/CD pages for a total of 20 discs.   The album is shown with black cardstock as a cover page so that you can see the engraving better.  I can personalize the cardstock color and ribbon for you.  

With all the DVD and CD storage of video and photos, I thought that it would be a super idea to have a place to put all of these items.   The cover is laser engraved and the words can be personalized. 

Please check with me about this album for other sports or events.  

Enough for now,  

Thanks for visiting! 

a hui hou!

Flair Designs Merry Little Christmas

Aloha Mai, 

A little Christmas Cheer today.  I was fortunate enough to work with Flair Designs Merry Little Christmas Collection this month.  This tree is one of my projects.  I'm not really a Martha Stewart when it comes to home decor, this is about as close as I get.  You can find my review and how I made this tree here on the Scrapfriends website.  

No school today, so I gotta get moving.  Have a wonderful day! 

a hui hou! 

Playing with wax...sort of

Aloha Mai,

So what have I been doing this week?  I've been playing with product called Rub 'n Buff by AMACO.  It's a wax metallic finish that goes on like paint and shines when you buff it, kind of like when you wax your car.  It's awesome for getting an antiqued look.  My full product review will come out at Scrapfriends before the end of the month, I'll post the link.  Meanwhile, I really like how this little project turned out!  

It's just a little thrift store frame, some Stazon ink and Inque Boutique stamps and home pressed flowers.  I added some Tim Holz alcohol ink on the edges of the glass for fun.  The large flower is a calendula from our yard, and believe it or not I found the fossil leaf outside, it's not from a bag LOL.  Looking at this project brightens my day now that Fall is here and the weather is cold again.  

This week I've been finishing all sorts of projects because next week Skate America is in town and DS and I will be helping out with the event as volunteers.  I'll get to greet the athletes and their support people at the airport and also send them off after the event!  DS will be a flowersweeper (the kids who collect the things thrown on the ice after a skater finishes) and also a helper in one of the award ceremonies!  If you watch on TV, look for him on Saturday night late.  

Well, have a great one!  

a hui hou! 

I've been tagged

Aloha Mai! 

Better late than never ;)  

Rusty Pickle Chef Kathie D. (check out her blog for some stunning work!) tagged me a while back, right in the middle of this wonderful allergy season.  I figure I better get on with the game...Thanks Kathie, sorry so late!!      

So here are the rules:

1.  If you've been tagged, you can put the logo on your blog.

2.  Link the person from whom you received the award.

3.  Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4.  Put links to those blogs on yours.

5.  Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated. 

Here are my nominations:

1.  April Derrick  multi talented designer with Memory Villa, ScrapFriends and Flair Designs

2. Kelly Totally excellent designer who comes up with the greatest combinations of products! 

3.  Lynne Anne super blogger and extremely talented designer at SF

4.  Amy B very talented designer friend I met along the way

5.  Alycia Sanders super mom and ultra Rusty Pickle Chef

6.  Carrie Leavitt of Scrapdango fame

7.  Tammy M of way cool and excellent designer at ScrapFriends

Thank you for the honor I am happy to pass it on! 

Aloha nui! 

3D Punchie Embellishments

Aloha Mai! 

Halloween is coming soon, and here is my latest creation for the season.  It's for a coach appreciation gift so shhhh, don't say anything!  I'll make cards and an index for a perpetual birthday calendar.  Watch for my ScrapFriends review of Cosmo Cricket Haunted Collection coming soon.   

You've seen this card before, well, I wrote up a tutorial for you on how to make easy 3D flower embellishments.   I hope you'll check it out.  I find myself using these flowers on all sorts of projects!  

Tomorrow I will be helping my Kumu (Hula Source or Teacher) move into her new place.  I hope my allergies abate soon.  Yuck, this Fall has been really harsh for some reason! 

See you soon!  

A hui hou!

  

Back Again--at last ;)

Aloha Mai! 

It's been forever it seems!  So glad to be back!

Etsy

My store has been updated with a few creations.  I  hope you will check them out, and maybe help keep me from having to work at McDonald's soon.  ;) 

Summer 

A great time was had by all.  Too short for sure (as usual).  All went well with Hula.  DS is still working on his goal of getting to Juvenile level for skating (one more test).  DH participated in the World Outrigger Canoe Sprints in Sacramento and had fun. 

Fall

We actually got some ripe tomatoes this year!!!  How can that be?  DS returned safely from a trip to Mt. St. Helens with his class.  They had stellar weather and got to see the mountain which is a rare thing in cloudy Western Wa.  

I'm getting over the first Fall cold yuck.  Hopefully I'll be 100% again soon.  The weather transition is so hard on this Hawai'i Girl! 

Righ now I'm busy working with Bob Shives with Cascadian Design Studio (Lazer cutting and engraving) on a donation project for the athletes who will be participating in Skate America. More on that later.  

ScrapFriends

So much to catch up on.  I am a full fledged review team member now!  Hooray!  I will update my sidebar with reviews you can read on some totally cool projects!  Here's a recent one on Flair Designs Spellbound Collection. 

Beginning this month I have been creating and posting layout sketches for the site (4 a month) and will keep on doing it as long as I can.  I hope you'll check them out.  You can find some card sketches by Renee there as well (2 a month).  

Now that I have finally taken the plunge back to blogging, I'll be sure to keep on coming back as I hope you will too.  

Take care and a hui hou! 

Rusty Bottle Rockets Red Glare

Aloha mai! Whoa, it's been a while since I last blogged!  Summer is so packed full of things to do!  Our neighbor has a beautiful cherry tree that we have been eating off of and their Raspberries have come into fruit too.  Kai's corn is growing and we even have some tomatoes so far!  

Among all the other things I've been doing, I finished an album today for the Rusty Pickle July Blog Challenge.  It might not count because it's supposed to be an altered item using their patriotic paper lines.  My original idea fizzled (pun intended), so I decided to alter two pieces of chipboard into an album, added envelopes and a tag, and also altered two pieces of MM metal tags (the ones with the holes around the perimeters into charms for the album.  

Even if it doesn't count, I had fun using the new Bottle Rockets paper! 

Flap Opened:

Flap Opened:

Flap Opened:

ScrapFriends July Bash Update

There are still two more weeks for you to create and post your entry into my "Alter a White Elephant" and "Crazy Insert Journal" challenges.  I hope you'll check them out! 

Mario Bros.

photo by Marianne Oelund

Last but not least, look who came to visit Olympic View Ice Skating Arena!  Mario and Luigi!  Aka my own Ikaika and his good friend Cameron!  They were the hit of the show!   Congratulations to all the skaters. 

Hey don't forget to check out my Etsy Store.  I'll be re-stocking real soon! 

Take care and have an awesome weekend! 

a hui hou!

July Bash @ Scrapfriends.us

Aloha Mai! 

Happy Fourth of July! Even with gas prices skyrocketing and all that has been happening.  I am so thankful for the good old USA.  Happy Birthday America!

Hey, have you heard yet?  There is a month long Crop over Scrapfriends full of excellent challenges to get your mojo flowing! 

But wait, there's more!  Each challenge has an excellent prize... paper collections, peekaboo albums and tons more! 

And...each challenge you complete will give you points towards the a super grand prize!  

You can read all about it here.

Check it out!  Some challenges last all month, some last a week.  

I have a couple of month long challenges I hope you will check out: 

Alter a White Elephant and Create a Crazy Insert Journal

Follow the links here in my blog, but if you get lost, just go to the Game Room>Scrapfriend's Contests>July Bash.  

Be sure to come back an visit me soon because the fun doesn't stop there! 

a hui hou!