Winner of the Cookie stamps, Hello Kitty nails and a cute card

Thanks for reading my post today.  I'm a few days behind in selecting a winner for these cookie stamps, but better late than never, right?!  Thank you to all who commented on this post and for sharing your cookie stories with me, whether you baked the cookies yourself or just bought them freshly made - yumm!  I selected Rita as the winner of these stamps.  Toll house cookies are one of my faves too - they are classic chocolate chip cookies that we all love!  Rita - I will send these stamps out to you soon!  Thanks to all who played along.  This was fun; I'll be posting another giveaway soon! 

I wanted to share my Hello Kitty nails with you.  I only did my left hand as I was having a hard time working these fine lines with my left hand.  I've been having problems with my left hand lately.  Anyone have trigger fingers?  My fingers are stiff in my left hand especially when I first wake up.  I think I overused my hands over the years.  Is this a sign to slow down some??  Love to hear anyone's experience or suggestions to help me.  I know I have to get to the doctors soon.

Sorry for the long post today, but I wanted to share this cute birthday giftcard card that I made last week.  I bought this cute Papertrey Ink die called Card Base-ics #1.  Love that it can fit a gift card so perfect.  Also used one of my new favorite stamps from Sister Stamps called Daba!

Thanks for your visit today and for reading this long post!  Congrats to Rita on the cookie stamps giveaway and I hope to see you soon!

Strawberry Nails and Easter Treats!

Here are my strawberry nails  that I promised I would post.  I was actually trying to do something along the lines of Minnie Mouse nails but the dots were too small and I didn't want to fuss making the dots larger for fear that I'd ruin my nails and have to start all over again.  That's when the idea of turning them into strawberries popped into my head.

I bought some green nail art polish and added it to the tips of my nails.  It turned out kind of cute. 

Can you believe that Easter is this Sunday already?  I found this super cute idea to make these carrots on Jessica Witty's blog called Witticisms.  She is a DT member for Papertrey Inc.  Check out her post here .  Here's my take on her carrot project.  What I did different - I used the cellophane cone bags (I bought from Ben Franklin).  I filled it with m&m's and then wrapped the orange crepe paper around it.  I had a hard time making the first carrot - the crepe paper didn't stay on nicely so I put a piece of scotch tape on the end and stuck it to the top of the carrot, then firmly winded the crepe paper down to the point.  I put a couple dots of elmer's glue to hold the end down.  Then I cut two strips of green crepe paper and folded it in half and tied it to the top of the carrot using green baker's twine.  I added a cute tag on it and that's it!

The adorable bunny stamp is by Sister Stamps.   I just had to have this cute bunny, whose name is "Daba"...read this cute story about Daba here...I was actually planning to use the cute bunny (from Papertrey, Inc.) that Jessica used on her tag, but I didn't order the correct die to cut out the bunny egg *sigh*, guess I'll have to order the egg die and plan on using it next year!

I made a total of 17 of these carrots.  I was satisfied with how they turned out.

I'm still trying to find my groove.  It's slowly coming back, but not fast enough - LOL!  Tomorrow is Good Friday and I have a day off.  The daycare is closed tomorrow too, so Nolan and I plan to take Grandpa on an excursion of our own.  We're thinking of stopping by Home Depot and then maybe Ala Moana Shopping Center.  We've been working on giving Nolan's room a good clean up.  We are planning on tearing out the carpet in his room and laying some kind of tile.  He's been sick so often that I have to figure out how to make him feel better.  Last night, Tobie and I wiped down all of the walls, wiped up the blinds and vacuumed the carpet over and over.  We also wiped tons of dust off the ledges of the door and closet too, no wonder the child is sick!  My good friend gave us an air purifier and also a portable air conditioner (thanks Uncle Mike!) hopefully this will be a start to getting Nolan feeling better.  We are planning to paint the walls and also rearrange his room to give it a new look and a new bed to boot!  Anyone have a tempur pedic bed?  OMG, we went to check it out - it is the best bed.  The price will shock you.  I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has one or knows anything about it.
Okay, I've blabbed enough.  Thanks for stopping by today!  I'll be sharing a few more projects that I made and some Hello Kitty nails.  I've got to stop this nail art kick - taking too much time! LOL!  Happy Easter to you!  Hope the Easter Bunny stops by your house to give you some treats!

Sweet Press Cookie Stamp Giveaway!

Can't believe that the end of March is fast approaching!  I can't believe that in a few days, I will no longer be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  I have mixed emotions about letting this go, but I know that there will be other opportunities waiting for me when I'm ready to start up again.  I've been cleaning up my craft room slowly, and found these cute and fun cookie stamps that I bought when SU first released it last year.  Never got a chance to use them and now I really don't have time to bake cookies and stamp them.  Anyway, I would like to give this set of cookie stamps away to someone who could use them.  If you are interested in winning this cute set of cookie stamps, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite cookie is and if you like baking them.  I'll select a winner on Friday, April 6.

My caregiver Tobie just celebrated a birthday, so I forced myself to make a card for her.  I bought this table tent big shot pro die from J's Knicknacks and really wanted to use it.  The image is an older one from The Greeting Farm, one of my favorite images.  I haven't used my copics in so long, I kind of lost the touch of blending with these wonderful pens! 

Here's a side view of the tent.  I reinforced the tent by adding a strip of cardstock in the center of the tent.  Because I did this, I couldn't fold the tent.

 This is the message that I stamped on the back of the tent.  The heart on the bottom of the card holds it closed.  I wrote a birthday message to her on the inside.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I can't wait to hear about your favorite cookies!  Some of my favorite cookies are almond cookies, holland cookies and sesame seed cookies!  I love to bake, but now days, don't have the time to (boo hoo!). 

Panda Nails and Some Mochiko Pics

Anyone like nail art?  I love to fuss around with nail art, but usually there's not enough time to play.  I was determined to try it just for fun and decided to have some fun.   I was inspired by a co-worker who does her nails every Sunday.  Not just polishing them, but doing nail art on every nail.  This is the first time I tried anything like this, but I had fun playing around.  Of course, I didn't take a photo of my nails when they were freshly done, so by the time I took this pic, my nails were ready to be re-done.  LOL!  This week, I have strawberry nails.  I'll post a pic of that soon.  They came out much better as I'm getting used to doing some artsy stuff on my nails - I think it's therapy for me!

Anyway, I had a request to post more photos of the Queen of the house.  Here are some of my latest favorites.  Although this girl is so high maintenance, she makes me laugh and smile all the time. Well most of the time!

 Well, the weekend is fast approaching and hopefully, I'll be able to find some time to touch my crafts.  I've been thinking about putting some projects together for some kind of class.  I know I'm dreaming, but it's a start. 
Thanks for stopping in today.  Hope I can work on another post soon! 

Snowmen in March

I just had to share with you the cute marshmallow snowmen I made to give away during the holidays.  I know that Christmas has been long gone and it's almost Easter, but I've been wanting to post this since December!
These cute treats was one of the only things I made to give to the day care workers, etc.  Got this cute idea from Jessica Witty who is a designer for Papertrey, Inc.  Her blog Witticisms is awesome and I was so inspired by her.    You can find her post for the snowmen marshmallow project HERE.  Here's the snow guys after getting dipped in white chocolate waiting to get dry.

A close up shot... I added mini chocolate chips for the eyes and cut little pieces of orange slice candy for the noses.  Somehow, I needed to add a face!  Funny thing is when the dipped marshmallows are waiting to dry, some of them started to slide down.  I ended up trimming the sticks.

Here they are, all dried and wrapped ready to be given away.   Aren't they fun?!  I had so much fun making them with help from Tobie (Dad's caregiver).

Here's a close up of the tag that I attached to each treat.

I know that posting back to back will not be happening too often just yet, but I had a few minutes to spare while waiting to get my turn to shower and off to bed I go. 
Thank you to those who already left encouraging comments for me on my last post.  It really brightens up my day reading them and to know that you all are such caring people!
In the weeks to come, I will be weeding out all kinds of craft things that I will not be using and will end up having a nice craft sale sometime in the near future.  I'll be sure to announce that on my blog so you can plan on stopping by to get some bargains!  Thanks for stopping by!!

Making Changes

Hello Friends!  Just wanted to send out a big Thank You to all of you who commented on last month's post.  It's so wonderful to have so much love and support out there.  I am truly blessed by all of you!
So, did the title of this post make you curious?  What kind of changes??  Well, this change is something pretty big for me, so it took me a while to make my decision.  I have decided that because of my current situation and the lack of crafting, being able to plan classes, etc. that I will no longer be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  What??!!  I know! hard to believe after almost 10 years!  Can you believe, 10 years??  My heart is sad, but I know that this is the right thing to do for now.  I totally could not support my business and take care of my Dad and my family and to top that off, I'm totally exhausted.  I know that the crafting will always be there for me when I'm ready to do it again and I totally believe in living life with no regrets.
To my wonderful downline, I thank you for your trust and for believing in me and for letting me share my passion for stamping and crafting with you.  To my loyal customers, thank you so much for supporting my business with your orders and also for attending my classes - I cannot tell you how good it feels every month to have "sold out" sessions.  You guys put me on top of the world!
I know that this is not the end of crafting and classes for me, but just a break to take care of my priorities.  I know that as soon as I can catch up with my rest and figure out where everything needs to be, I'll be back and I hope that our paths will cross again!
On Friday, I whipped up this card before I left for work for my caregiver's friend who was celebrating her birthday.  I saw a similar card while surfing the blogs. 

Here's the inside of the card...

I still haven't given up hope that I'll be able to post a couple more times...I'm still gonna post my Christmas stuff - haha!
Well, I guess I better end my post here.  Just wanted to let you all know of the changes with my SU status.  If you need to place an order, I am still good to order til the end of March.  If you need a demo referral, please send me an email so that I can hook you up with some fantastic demonstrators!
THANK YOU once again to everyone who has supported my SU business for the last 9 1/2 years.  It's been a great ride and I have grown so much through this wonderful opportunity!  More soon!

Hello!

Hello Friends.  I know that It's been a very long time since I last posted, but so many things in my life has changed.  Taking care of Dad is pretty much all that I do and I must say that it has been one of the most exhausting things I've ever done in my life.  There is no time to turn on the computer or even think about my crafts these days.  The holidays were very hectic as well.  Not too much time to do any hand crafted things, just a select few.  Since I wasn't able to post during the holidays, I missed sharing with you the few things that I did make, so if I find the time, I will be sharing them even if the holidays are over - I hope you don't mind.
Today is Superbowl Sunday and I'm not a football fan - I have no clue on anything football - LOL!  It's been a real lazy day for me and Dad since we are the only ones at home.  My caregiver wasn't feeling well, so she told me that she wasn't coming the whole weekend.  Boo hoo for me!  I stayed up all night taking Dad to the bathroom every 2 hours.  That's not the hardest part - he forgets that he needs to use his walker because he stumbles and he gives me a hard time when I insist he uses it.  Dementia is such a sad disease because the person has no clue what they are doing or not doing.  I find it so sad when I help Dad because just the simple things he forgets and it's not a joke.  Anyway, today, Dad is resting on his chair with the game on and I decided to try to "force" myself to do something for Valentine's Day.   Here's what I came up with...

I used my BS Pro die Bag with handles and some cute and fun monster clip art that I purchased from Lettering Delights.  It was easier than doing the stamping and coloring.  I hope that I will be able to make a few of these to give to the CU girls and to the girls in my office.
I made a cute box using another BS Pro die.  This box took too long to make, not a good one to duplicate.

 Just wanted to share a side view of the box.  I propped the circle up because I couldn't think of another way to put the circle on so it would fit.  Turned out pretty cute except too much work.

I miss hearing from everyone and also seeing anyone.  I can't believe that it's been so long since I've seen my crafty friends and downline as well.  I'm toying with the idea of deactivating from Stampin' Up! since I haven't been able to touch anything in the last three months.  I wanted to say to everyone who has placed orders during the holidays a BIG THANK YOU for helping me maintain my business even if I haven't been creating, having classes and posting.  I know that there will be plenty of time for that after my job is done.  It's just so hard for me sometimes that I feel lost! 
I hope I'm able to share more with you soon - I miss all of you.  Please feel free to drop me an email and I will do my best to reply.
Thanks for reading my post and for hanging in there with me!! Hugs!