More food (for Dawne)

So Dawne and I were talking today about what we were going to make for dinner when we got home. She cooks like me - we make a whole bunch of dishes on Sunday for the rest of the week, so we don't have to cook every night. All our hubs have to do is heat and eat! Since I didn't post the picture of my roast pork with gravy the other week, I figure I better post what I made tonight. My son's fav, mushroom chicken.

This pic didn't turn out too well. But it's what I call a baked potato casserole. I use red potatoes, bacon, cheese, sour cream and green onions. Cook the potatoes, fry the bacon, toss them together with shredded cheese and sour cream and heat through until cheese melts. Toss with fresh chopped green onions. Mmm, delish! I love potatoes!

Pasta salad ...

That's it for now blogging peeps. Tomorrow I'll be back to sharing crafts. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Let's enjoy the coming week, take care of yourselves, be kind to others, and be grateful for all that we have. Until next time, Aloha ...

Sympathy card

Hi all - just a quick post tonight before I pick up "Eclipse" and fall asleep dreaming about Edward. All you Twilighters know what I'm talking about ...

This is a very simple sympathy card I made a while ago. I used a plain bamboo print and a simple sentiment.

Here's the inside ...

Hold your loved ones close and always remember to tell them you love them! Until next time, take care and Aloha ...

For Katie

Finally, here's the card I made for my other niece, Katie. She's a purple girl just like me so I went to town using purple and pink for her card. AND OH! This is also my very first ANYA card! I had lots of fun coloring her! My BFF, Kyoko, doesn't know that her April OCS was the inspiration for this card. She knows now! Thanks for the inspiration, girl! Love you!

I just HAD to put that major bling on her purse!

Here's a close up of the flower. Again, I used flowers from All Natural Accents. Check out Brian's link for more info about this superb line of flowers and leaves. You won't be disappointed!

Ok, bloggin peeps. That's it for now. I'm gonna be busy at work this week so I'm not sure when my next post will be. But I won't be away for long because this blogging thing sure is addicting! Thanks for stopping by and leaving all your wonderful comments. I really appreciate hearing from you! Take care of yourselves, be kind to each other, and stay safe. Aloha ...

For Kelly

Since I made a card for Cody, I also made cards for his sisters. Besides buying the Magnolia stamps at Photo Craft, I also bought my first Himawari Babies! OMG - they are so cute!!! Here's what I came up with for my card for Kelly:


I used flowers from All Natural Accents and the Hello Kitty scallop border die I got from J's Knicknacks. The die is very similar to the SU lace border punch. Here's a close up of Princess Carina Ballerina ... isn't she the cutest! She reminds me of my Kelly girl. :-)


And here's a close up of the flower. I wrapped the stem (wire) around a bamboo skewer to make it curly.

I hope Kelly likes her card! Stay tuned for Katie's card ...

For Cody

Where did the weekend go? Well, I don't know, but I sure hope you all enjoyed it! Anyhoo, I went to Photo Craft yesterday so I could meet Jen and tell her in person how much I enjoy her blog! She is so sweet and friendly! I'm so glad I finally got to meet another "blog celebrity"!

I mentioned to Brian that his store sure got "filled up" since the last time I was there. I was looking at a bunch of new stamps and he said that Jen was selling her inventory of Magnolia stamps at his store! Of course I had to look through them and buy some! Since coloring my first Tilda, I've gotten braver and decided to try more Magnolia stamps. I made this card for my nephew Cody, who lives in Indiana with my two nieces. He's a teenager and will probably wonder why I made this cutesy card for him, but he's also a very talented artist and I think he'll appreciate this.

Here's a close up of "the little man" (can someone tell me his name please?) ...

I so loved the card that Gracie made that I just had to make this guy sit on the edge of the rectangles! Thanks for the inspiration Gracie!!!

My first Tilda

Hey everyone! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend so far. Quick post tonight so I can do some crafting. Here is my very first Tilda card! Sweet Enjoli shared this image with me and I was finally able to make her a card with it! I colored her with my Copic markers (first time coloring a large image like this) and used SU's Dazzling Diamonds on her headband and socks. I hope Enjoli likes this card!

Headband close up ...

Socks close up ...

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments! I really appreciate hearing from you! Take care and Aloha ...

ANOTHER shaker card

Happy Aloha Friday everyone! Was this a long week or what? TGIF!!! I'm sharing another shaker card with you, but this time it was given to me by my BFF Kyoko! I went in to work on Wednesday, and there it was, sitting on my desk, waiting for me. How sweet and thoughtful was that? Yes, my BFF is always there for me, through thick and thin. Thanks, Kyoko, for EVERYTHING!
Here's a closer look at the shaker part ...

You notice that the heart is the scalloped heart? Do you know that Kyoko patiently cut the foam, with her craft knife, following that scallop pattern? OMG - I don't know how she did it, but she did a GREAT job!

That's all for now. Hope you all enjoy your weekend - spending time with family and friends, crafting, or just plain relaxing. Take care of yourselves, be kind to others, and stay safe. Thanks for visiting ~ Aloha...

Another shaker card and Jasmine Tea

Good morning everyone! Short post before I leave for work this morning. I love jasmine (green) tea and wanted to share my new find with some co-workers. Instead of just giving then the teabag, I did a search for a holder and found this one on Dawn Griffith's site. She made her holder for a chicken soup packet, which was a little bit smaller than this one. I just adjusted the size for mine so the teabag would fit inside.

Here's a look at the inside:

I think I'm starting to like making shaker cards. They're not as hard to make as I thought they would be. Of course I wouldn't have made any if it wasn't for Teri's superb instructions! Thanks again, Teri, for teaching us! I made this next card for Joy, over at Tamiko's. After all her hard work making those 120 (!) thank you cards, I wanted to send her a little something to congratulate her.

Here's a close up of the shaker part ...

Ok, friends, that's it for now. Thanks for checking in, let's all have a wonderful day, and be safe. Take care and Aloha ~

I'm so touched ...

Chalsie of Paper Kisses sent me this blog award today ~ and you can't even begin to imagine how happy that made me!!! I've been having a couple of rough days this week and when I came home tonight I wasn't going to check my Dashboard. I'm so glad I did. I know this sounds so corny, but after receiving this sweet award, I'm so totally over all the bad things that have been going on. It's' nice to know that starting this blog has made people smile. I just told my BFF that I'm glad we decided to do this because its made me want to start creating again. Thank you so very much, Chalsie, for thinking of me. Where's my Kleenex ...


Now, I'm supposed to pass this award on to five people (even though there are so many more that I'd like to send this to - see my Blog List). Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Teri (Big Ideas From a Little Girl)
2. Enjoli (Stamping Under The Sun)
3. Joy (Tamiko's)
4. Jodi (Inked Inspirations).

These ladies are all very inspiring and talented. If you haven't checked them out, please do so. You won't be disappointed! Finally, to all my new blogging friends, please know that ALL your blogs make me smile! Thanks for visiting ~ my next post will have some new cards! Aloha ~

My Cute Stamps

While blog hopping this morning, I came across this company called My Cute Stamps. Boy, do they have cute stamps! I don't own any yet ... but that will change soon! Check out Holly's Blog here for an Easter week giveaway too! Enjoy and Aloha ~

Happy Easter and some sweet blog candy

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you are all enjoying this special day with your families. Just a quick post today to let you all know that Gracie is giving away some awesome blog candy! No, it's not her blogaversary, she didn't hit a certain amount of hits, but it's to celebrate her daughter, Kae's, First Holy Communion on May 2nd. Please take a moment to check out Gracie's blog and to comment on this very special day for Kae! Aloha ~

Oldies Part 2

Welcome to Oldies Part 2! First, before I get started, I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who visits my blog and/or leaves comments for me. It's nice to know that you have taken time out of your busy schedules to check my blog and to leave comments. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT! Second, I noticed that some of my pictures really suck! I need to practice taking better pictures. Hahaha! I got a really great tip from Cassie on how to edit my sucky pix. Thanks, Cass! If any of you have any tips for clear pictures, please let me know!

Now, on to the cards ... this card was made during my "think outside the box" session. I had just gotten my rather large order of SU DP and since I couldn't decide which paper I wanted to use, I just used a bunch of different ones. I also heat embossed the sentiment (w/egyptian gold embossing powder), which I hadn't done in a very long time. I was rather pleased with the way this card turned out.

This one too was creating during that same weekend. I swear, I don't know what got in to me that weekend. It was like I was possessed by a card making maniac! Hahaha! Before this card, I never made anything with the pink/brown color combo. Since then, I've come to really like this combination.

This last card was made several years ago for my old card swap group. I have to say that although this card was very time consuming, and my fingers were really sore after making the cards, it was definitely worth it. I had seen the haku lei scrapbook page layouts at Photo Craft in Kaimuki and thought they were so beautiful. I never thought I would be able to create anything as pretty as that, but Brian showed me how to do it, step-by-step. Jen has a video tutorial on her blog showing the technique for this border. Thanks for sharing the video, Jen!

Ok, gang ~ that's it for now. Got a busy Saturday planned, but hopefully I'll be able to create more things to share! Enjoy your weekend everyone! Take care, be kind to each other, and thanks for stopping by ...

Oldies Part 1

Ok, I just realized that in my last posts I didn't give the supplies I used on my cards. If you have any questions about what I used, please send me a comment. Most of the time I'll know what I used, but you know us old guys, eh? Sometimes we cannot remember ...

Anyhoo, welcome to Oldies Part 1! Some of these cards were made for a swap I belonged to a while ago. Others were made when the "lightbulb" went off in my head. This first card is a simple wedding card. This one was definitely made during my early card making years.This next card was made during one of my "I gotta think outside the box" sessions. One weekend, I challenged myself to make cards I wouldn't normally make. This was one of them. I got the idea from SCS. I think its called a criss cross card. You can easily make this type of card now with the SU Sizzix XL pennant die. Its really simple!Here's a close up of the belly band:This card was made for a challenge we had at work. There are quite a few card makers in my office and although we don't all craft together, one day I decided it might be fun to do a small card swap. The theme was "Gratitude" and this is what I came up with. At Teri's 50 Tags Class, she made a tag using the SU scallop border punch. I decided to use her idea and make the "tag" as an embellishment to my card.

That's it for Oldies Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 ...

Easter mini gable box

Here are a couple of mini gable boxes I made for some friends for Easter. I found the template on Jen del Muro's blog, i{heart}2stamp. You can check out her blog here. Go to the categories section, click on tutorials and you'll find that she generously created a template for the mini gable box! You can make two boxes out of one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock! Very convenient! Thanks for sharing your creations with us Jen! Happy Easter everyone! Take care of yourselves, your families, and may God bless all of you!

Gift card holders, old and new

Happy Friday all! Remember I had to make some gift card holders for my GF Sherri earlier this week? Well I did, but before we get to those, these are a few that I made last year for an auction we had at work. Super easy to make - I got the idea from Dawn Griffith at Dawns Stamping Thoughts. If you haven't already done so, check her out here. She is an awesome creator, has great video tutorials and she's really funny too! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas with us Dawn!

These are the gift card holders I made for Sherri. I wasn't very creative that night, so I just ended up making two of each design. Sorry I couldn't have made more, Sherri!

I'll be posting some older cards I made and a couple of Easter treats next. Hope you stay tuned ...

No cards, just food

Hi everyone! I wish I had some cards for you today, but alas, no cards. However, I hope these pictures will make you happy! A co-worker and fellow foodie of mine sent me these pictures today, just before lunch. Boy, was I drooling after I saw these! All these dishes are from the Aiea Bowl restaurant. I hear that the food is really good, but haven't had a chance to get out there to try it. Anyhow, this first picture is a plate of calamari. Doesn't it look delicious? Now, I'm sure you think this next picture is just a plate of fries. Guess again, my friends! These happen to be GARLIC fries! Mmm, my favorite! I can just imagine all that garlic - yummy!

Finally we have a plate of GARLIC chicken. My foodie friend definitely has great taste in food! So, for lunch today, my friends trucked on up to Fort Street Mall Cafe and bought me a garlic chicken plate. Thanks, ladies! Man, it was everything I hoped it would be. I'll have to go to Aiea Bowl (soon) to make a comparison. Ha ha ha!

I'm getting hungry looking at all these pictures again. I think I'll have a snack after this post. Actually, what I should be doing is the Wii Fit, like my BFF posted about today. But, nah, who am I kidding? I'm gonna eat!

Hope you all had a great day and are lucky enough to have the Good Friday holiday tomorrow! Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Another blog candy alert!

Hi everyone! Another blogging sister is having an amazing blog candy giveaway! You're probably already familiar with the very talented Jodi, but in case you're not check out her blog to see some beautiful creations and her awesome candy! Enjoy and have a great day!

Blog candy alert!

Fay at My Stamping Creations is giving away some major blog candy! Yipee! Check out her site not only for the candy, but for her amazing creations! Enjoy!

Man, I'm really starting to get addicted to this blogging thing ... ha ha ha!

Some simple cards

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you all had a nice weekend. Here are some simple cards I made recently. Please bear with me as I get used to describing the cards that I'm posting. So in the future, if there isn't a description of the "ingredients" for the card, please forgive me!

This first card wasn't my idea. I was scanning videos on Google and came across a woman demonstrating the Sizzix XL Curly Label Die. I was so excited to make the card that I forgot to write down the site I was watching before I turned the computer off! What a ding dong! So if anyone knows who this wonderful woman is, please let me know so I can give proper credit to her! Until then, thanks for sharing your video w/me!

So anyway, this card was made using the Sizzix XL Curly Label Die exclusive to SU. It matches with the Curly Label stamp set and punch which I also used. The DP is from the SAB polka dots set, and the cardstock is also from SU. The ribbon is from Wal-Mart, the flower brad is from my BFF (you all should know who that is by now), and the yellow paper flower is from Prima. This next card is a 3X3 card that I made for my bloggin' sistah Enjoli. The card is from SU, the image and words are from Dandelion Designs, and the matting was made using my Nesties and some paper scraps.

This last card was for Amy, my partner for Teri's March OCS. The card and dotted DP is from Playshop. The DP for the flower, the ribbon, brads, felt flower, sentiment, and the key tag punch are from SU. I can't remember where I got that little clothes pin from.

That's it for now. I'm off to make some gift card holders for my GF Sherri. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures of them to post later. Have a great week everyone and thanks for visiting!

One more post ...

I can't believe I forgot her. I feel horrible. A BIG MAHALO goes out to my GF Teri who has been so patient and generous with me and Kyoko. Seriously, if it wasn't for Teri, we wouldn't have created our blogs. So, Ms. Teri, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being an inspiration, a wonderful Little Girl with Big Ideas, and a great friend! Love you!
P.S.: Please tell Joe thanks for the lettuce!

Spoiled and Blessed ...

I am so spoiled and also very blessed. After I returned from LV last month, my BFF Kyoko went to LV to get some of the $$ I left up there. I do believe she was successful! When she finally returned to Honolulu this past week, look at all the goodies she brought back for me! There were stamps, punches, spools of ribbon, brads, Prima flowers, a Quote Sticker Stack and paper! She also brought me back a box of delicious chocolate caramel tart cookies from Trader Joe's (sorry no picture of those - they're gone)! There were so many things, I couldn't fit them all in one picture! Woo hoo! Can you say JACKPOT?

Kyoko spoils me way too much - but it sure is fun to be spoiled like this! Of course I'm also very blessed to have her in my life. She's a great friend and sister ~ couldn't have done this blogging thing without you!

Before I left for Teri's class today, I received a RAK in the mail. I was so happy and surprised! Thank you so much to Enjoli for the super cute HK goodies! She made me a matching set with a post-it note holder, luggage tag, and calendar/notepad holder! I'm gonna show these to the gals at work and I know they're gonna love them! Thanks Enjoli!

Ok, that's it for now. Sorry this post is so long. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend and thanks for visiting!