Aloha Everyone;
Hope you all had a great weekend, I know I did!  BenFranklin Crafts Mapunapuna had a crafting carnival.  There was free make and take stations and some for a small fee make and takes.  I did both.  Here are some of the projects that I did.

I had to make the Hello Kitty bag for my grand daughters.  It's made with an acetate sheet, HK duct tape and this new felt (new to me) called Felties.  It's a little stiffer than regular felt and it has some glitter throughout.
Here's a closeup of the other projects.

inside of pop-up card

Cheryl Miyashiro taught us how to make the above card.  She is always fun to learn from.

stand alone pop-up card

Joy from Joy of Crafting shared this card with us, taught us to make the flower.  It was good sticky fun; we usd a giant glue dot and ribbon.

Tin covered in pink

Well, that's what I did this weekend.
I understand that the Pearl City BFC will be having their Craft Carnival this coming weekend.  Hmmm...
Oh, I forgot to tell you that there were door prizes throughout the day; I won an embossing folder!
Until next time,
Aloha,

I Have Returned

Aloha everyone,
I know I've been missing in action for at least 6 months and I'm truly sorry for that.  It seems I was obsessed with getting my body back to healthy, to the point of being OCD.  My eating habits are very different, I was checking my BP every day, sometimes twice a day.  I checked my blood sugar everyday to make sure I was below a hundred.  I even bought another meter to check my cholesterol!  Planning out my meals, making sure there were no starch, wheat gluten and sugar in my food.  It took most of my time, I didn't want to do anything else but that and play games on my computer.   Though I still watch what I eat and try to get in exercise, I don't obsess over the stats anymore.  Not that I don't check, I still check maybe twice a week.
Somewhere along the way of all this, I seemed to have lost my mojo for crafting and creating.
 But then I remembered that Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage always has a blog party called "Where Bloggers Create" about this time of year.  Sure enough, Karen is hosting her 4th annual blog party.  Though I'm not participating this year, I'm still checking out everyone that is participating.  Visiting fellow bloggers always help to get me in the mood of creating something.  I do have Karen's button for the 2012 party on the side, so check it out, you'll have fun and maybe find some great ideas to organize your work space.  You can either click on the blog party button on the side or click here.
In the meantime, here's a  recycled and reused container.  My daughter wanted to make use of all the formula containers that she's collected; her kids like to put little toys in them, but she wanted to decorate them so that each child (she has 5) could easily identify their own container. I used decorative scrapbook paper and the Xyron sticker machine.  Very quick, very easy.  She'll use her Cricut to cut out the letters for each child's name, then she'll let them glue it on.  They too love to craft.

Easy peasy

Aloha for now,

Home and Recouped!

Aloha Everone!
 It's wonderful to be back home!  I didn't get back until Super-bowl Sunday; that was unexpected.  I'll tell you what happened.  But first, I want to let you know that this post doesn't have any craft subject, so if you want to visit me at a later time, I'll be sure to post about crafting then.

Ok, back to what happened.  I won't give you a blow by blow; I don't want to bore you.  While on my trip to visit my BFF in Texas,  I had what is called a TIA or mini stroke.  But I didn't know this until after we returned from our side trip to New Orleans, when I went to see a doctor who after examining me, sent me to the emergency room for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).  Of course once the tests, (there were many), were done and it was determined what medication I needed, I thought I would be able to leave and continue with my vacation.  HAH!  I was stuck there for a few days, taking more tests.  Plus, the doctor said I wouldn't be able to fly home for at least 2 weeks.  What?!

High cholesterol and hypertension plays a big part in strokes and heart attacks, we all know that right?  But add a 7 1/2 hour plane ride without getting out of your seat to the equation.  Oh WOW!  Well according to Dr. Oz, if you don't get out of your seat and walk about during a long plane ride, you may develop a blood clot.

It was explained to me that when a mini stroke happens the clot will most times dissolve itself and the damages incurred may also disappear.  Which explains why I was able to start walking  straighter while in New Orleans.  However, this type of stroke is a message stroke, a heads up, a warning that a bigger, stronger stroke which may cause permanent damage, is on its way.  So I was very glad I didn't wait until I returned to Hawaii to see a doctor.

My husband flew up to Dallas so that he could accompany me home.  I was afraid of flying home alone fearing that something else might happen to me.
 
Of course, now that I'm home, I've made some lifestyle changes, I'm keeping my cholesterol and blood pressure in check, I'm exercising again, I've even lost 4 pounds.   Yeah!

So, going on a long trip?  Wear compression socks and don't forget to get up every now and again to walk a little.

Though the stroke put a little dent into my trip, I was still able to do some of the things I wanted to do.  Remember, I planned on meeting Cindy Adkins of Cindy Adkins' Whimsical Musings.  I did and it was a great meeting!  She's an amazing person, talented and so sweet.  We just didn't have enough time together.
Cyn (my BFF) and I had a great time shopping, though we only made it to one or two stores a day.  I guess I move slower and I get tired too quickly.  And we were able to sneak in some crafting time in the evening too.

Well, I'll be back soon with a craft project.  'Till then, take care of yourself.
Aloha,

Flower Swap and Trip

Aloha everyone,
I just want to share with you the flowers I made for a flower swap I joined, started by my friend Linda.  My photography is not great, but can you see the very dainty swirly flourish? I picked up about three of these wonderful dies by Memory Box from A Place In Time.  They're so dainty, I love using them.  Just run them through your Bigshot.   I used crepe paper from Melissa Frances to make the flower and leaves and added glitter and rhinestones.  I used a pearlized cardstock I bought some time ago from Creations Unlimited, to cut out the flourish.  These aren't due until the last week of the month, but I'm going on a trip and have to make sure they get to Linda before I leave.

almost packed and ready to ship

I'm looking forward to visiting my BFF in Texas! I leave this Wednesday (ooh, that's tomorrow), and won't be back until the thirty-first.  Posting will be far and few between when I'm gone.  While visiting in Texas, we're going on a side trip to New Orleans.  So when we're there, I'll be visiting Cindy Adkins of Whimsical Musings.  I can't wait!
Aloha,

And the Winner is.....

Aloha everyone,
In the US continent it's already noon. So, I thought perhaps I'd better announce the winner of my giveaway.  Drumrolllllllllllll:
The first winner is Julie Campbell from A Vintage Chic!  Yeah!  So dear Julie, please email me so we can get the detes squared away, don't forget to send me your address.  And yes, because your name was picked first, you get to choose which prize you want.

Ok, drumrolllllll:  The second winner is:  Lynn Stevens of Trash To Treasure.
Congratulations to both of you! Hope to hear from you soon.

I understand that some of you couldn't get through to leave a comment.  I'm so sorry, don't know what happened, but I understand that Blogger has been acting up.  And I've had that happen to me on other blogs under Blogger when I tried to leave a comment.  But there's another chance to enter another one of my giveaways I'm planning when I reach 100 followers.  We'll talk about that when the time comes.
I'd like to thank Sweet Land Paper Treats for being my newest follower.  Big mahalo to you Sweets!
That's it for now, have a great week!
Aloha,