Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas is almost here!

Aloha everyone,
Just a few days 'til Christmas! My shopping is finally done, I have just a few gifts to wrap and the cards have been mailed.  I had a wonderful time with one of my grand-daughters last night and today, and I can't wait 'til the whole family comes together on Friday.

A new phase of our life starts the day after Christmas, one of which I'm sure will take some getting use to. Christmas day is the last day my husband is on duty for HFD, yep, he's retiring.  Don't worry, my "honey do" list is waiting for him.

Here's a few things I've been busy with:
Tea time holder/dispenser

Thank you Brenda for directing us to Jane's blog for the tutorial on this box.  And, thanks again Jane for the excellent tutorial! I used some Yuzen paper that I adhered to cardstock for some of the toppers.
Here's a few more earrings I made the other day.  Someone needed a couple of more gifts, so I made these for her to choose from.
Amethyst,Freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystal with SS or 14k gold-filled, your choice.


She chose these freshwater pearls
 

Matchboxes for earrings

I made the matchboxes from the Bigz diecut for Stampin'Up.
That's it for now. Have a very Merry Christmas!
Aloha,


Friday, December 17, 2010

This Santa's Workshop is cracking

Aloha everyone,
I don't know why, but I woke up this morning and had this over-whelming need to cry. Not hysterical kind, just the tears kept flowing kind. Maybe from lack of sleep? I've been averaging 4-6 hours nightly these days; seems there's only one elf in the workshop. Maybe a lack of B-complex vitamin.
At any rate, here are some of the things I've been up to.  I ran away from the workshop this past weekend to attend a silver smithing workshop (last minute decision). I've always wanted to attend one of Gordon Uyehara's classes, but noticed the prerequisite was his basic silver class. I figured everyone would be busy with the Christmas hustle so I called 2 days before the class and sure enough there was an opening.  I learned a lot of good pointers from Gordon and now I'm not so afraid to use the torch (which I had for years) or the propane dome oven (hardly used) since taking his class. Gordon is a silver master and he makes everything look so easy, plus he's so laid back about the whole subject.  I can't wait to take his other classes next year.   So, here's a few of the charms I made:
I took some rubberstamps that I had and used them to impress the silver clay. The one with the tombow, I first used a texture plate, then stamped with the tombow. The piece that looks like a coin was also a stamp, I just cut around the piece about 1/8" before firing.  I so enjoyed the class, however,  I don't think I'll be making more until next year. I feel like things are moving so hectically, I think if I stop, I'll fall off the train and can't get back on.
I'll post the teatime boxes I've made after tomorrow, 'cause I'm giving them out tomorrow night.  In the meantime, here's a few of the thirty something cards I've been frantically making.
These are all fast and fun. On the inside (sorry, not shown), I used the spellbinder to frame out the sentiment that I typed on the computer and printed.
That's it for now. Aloha,

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Look What I Got and Then Some!

Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)! Whew! Time is flying by so quickly, I didn't realize I missed posting last week. I've been busy making boxes for tea and cocoa, thank you Brenda for that. I've also been making more gift tags. I haven't posted  photos because I'm using them for favors and giveaways for the parties I'll be attending. In between all of that, I've been trying to do the gift shopping and visiting with the GCs. My sanity is saved when I take a pause to remember why we have Christmas and that the very first gift ever was the gift from God. Then I go on with the madness of the festivities. Hehehe.

So, some of you remember the birthday giveaway that Sweet As a Gumdrop had? I was the lucky winner of that giveaway, but I only now got around to photo snapping all the goodies I won, plus some other wonderful gifts from Brenda. Check this out:
Rubberstamps, diecuts, altered file folder, memory brads etc.

This one is a RAK, the sticky note holders were inside. Love the box!
This cutie bear tin had the memory brads and the sealant for it inside
This very festive and gorgeous gift holder was another gift with all those gifts in it.
Brenda is such a talented artist when it comes to paper engineering. I love all the decorative punches and die cuts, it's quick and easy. That's what drew me to Brenda's blog, http//:sweetasagumdrop, she uses punches and die cuts. The special thing is, she puts it all together in a way that makes things look so festive and/or elegant. Mahalo again Brenda.
Before I forget, I placed an order with Brenda for some SU products a couple of month ago. When I got the products, I also received this beautiful gift box as a thank you gift, but realized I forgot to post it. Here it is:
See what I'm talking about? 
Don't know how she knew Anya was a fav of mine; coinkydynk?
Anyway, you all have a very Merry Christmas. I'll try to post photos of my boxes and tags and cards soon.
Aloha,