Stamptoberfest

I've finally got a start on Stamptoberfest--a fun stamping event at one of my favorite sites. If you want to look at some wonderful cards or read through the challenges, please go to the site and check out anything labeled SOF09!

Two Peas Stamping Board

My desk is a disaster and I will be gone all day but hopefully I can get lots done tomorrow. Cleaning up can wait until next week, ha ha!

Card Credits:
Paper by Basic Grey, Little Yellow Bicycle and Stampin' Up! Stamps by Karen Lockhart and Clearly Wordsworth. Coloring using Copics and memento ink.

August CFH Bloghop

Welcome to the CFH August Bloghop.

Did you get here from Sheila's amazing site?
If not, make sure you start here to see all the featured cards today.
You're almost done now so continue to the last stop of the hop. Thanks, everyone who made it this far and to everyone who participated in any way!


Can you believe Summer's almost over!? That means it's time to think of holiday cards for our heroes. You need to make them early so there's enough time to organize them and then mail them overseas and back again. The deadline for holiday cards is November 1. They don't have to be fancy or perfect or anything at all except heartfelt and made with love so there's no pressure. Make one or a hundred--they are all appreciated.

One of my favorite things about making these cards is knowing just how much joy one little card can bring.

1. Of course I get the joy and relaxation of doing my favorite hobby.
2. Then whoever gets my box at CFH will feel great knowing that another bundle of goodness will be ready to mail soon.
3. When our heroes get the cards I hear they have tons of fun picking out which cards each person gets to send to their loved ones.
4. Finally, a friend or family member will get a much-needed card from their hero letting them know they are missed and everything is ok.

That's a lot of love for one tiny card, isn't it!?

Here's a super simple card you can make for any occasion and in any color scheme. All it takes is a large sentiment stamp, a gem or brad some embossing powder and ink and a marker. If you have a Scor-Pal that will add the perfect touch. To start, cut your card out of heavy ivory cardstock. I used Papertrey Ink brand because it is extra smooth and extra heavy. Score it in half and add two score marks on the bottom side for an elegant decoration. Use your marker if desired to add a line between the decorative score bumps. Stamp and emboss your sentiment using green powder (mine's from My Sentiments Exactly) and add a red gem. Voila! A fast and easy card.

I am thinking of making more with some dark burgundy cardstock and gold embossing and marker. You can also do a "Thinking of You" or any other occasion card using your favorite colors!

Memorial Day CFH Bloghop

Today is the start of the big Cards for Heroes Bloghop! If you haven't been there yet, please visit the CFH website at http://cardsforheroes.org/bloghop to start your hop (everything starts at noon, PT)!

Sandy has done wonders with the site and there are so many fabulous volunteers working hard to create cards and make sure they get out to our heroes overseas so they can write home to their friends and family. Every time I see the pictures of the heartfelt cards people make it makes me feel so good. You can send one card or a hundred—each card it accepted with appreciation and love.

My card features a beautiful red poppy to observe Memorial Day and the sacrifices that were made for our country.

Card details: Cardstock from Papertrey Ink and Bazzil; patterned paper from me & my BIG ideas; stamps from Stampin' Up!; markers from Copic; Punch from EK-Success. In the background is my grandfather's flag; Alfred H. Bentley served in the Army in WWII and retired as a Master Sergeant.

Once you are done here please hop over to Vicki's site where you are in for a special treat. Her cards are so cute and cheerful I know she will have something wonderful cooked up for us today! Whoever gets her cards are very lucky!

(Scroll down to read more about why poppies are a symbol of this day. )



Thanks to my coworker Captain Troy H. for forwarding the text and story below.

The Poppy Story

From the battlefields of World War I, weary soldiers brought home the memory of a barren landscape transformed by wild poppies, red as the blood that had soaked the soil. By that miracle of nature, the spirit of their lost comrades lived on.

The poppy became a symbol of the sacrifice of lives in war, and represented the hope that none had died in vain. The American Legion Auxiliary Poppy has continued to bloom for the casualties of four wars, its petals of paper bound together for veterans by veterans, reminding America each year that the men and women who have served and died for their country deserve to be remembered.

Poppy Day has become a familiar tradition in almost every American community. This distribution of the bright red memorial flower to the public is one of the oldest and most widely recognized programs of the American Legion Auxiliary.

This poppy, as a memorial flower to the war dead, can be traced to a single individual, Miss Moina Michael. She was so moved by Col. McCrae's poem that she wrote a response:

. . . the blood of heroes never dies
but lends a luster to the red
of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

On impulse, she bought a bouquet of poppies–all that New York City's Wanamaker's Department Store had–and handed them to businessmen meeting at the New York YMCA where she worked. She asked them to wear the poppy as a tribute to the fallen. That was November 1918. World War I was over, but America's sons would rest forever "in Flanders Fields." Later, she would spearhead a campaign that would result in the adoption of the poppy as the national symbol of sacrifice.

Baby Fever!

Well, it has been a whirlwind of babies around here lately! My SIL (the one who was engaged and pushed up her wedding, planned everything in a month and got married a couple of weeks ago!) had an "emergency" baby adoption that was the cause of the shortened wedding time.

She got word from a friend of a friend of a friend that someone was giving birth and was going to leave her baby at the hospital because she didn't want to keep him. So instead of abandoning the baby to be left with social services, the birth mother gave the baby to someone who has wanted children for so very long! Nena went to the hospital that very day to pick up her sweet and precious newborn.

She and Carlos have a long adoption process to go through but they are some of the happiest parents ever! I helped them out by making emergency birth announcements (80 of them!) to mail out.

Pictures today are the birth announcements, an extra card I made while making them, and the card I made for her shower.

In the meantime, Lena (one of my other SIL's) found out that she is pregnant and she also getting married soon (at the end of the month). She is due in October and I know that she and Joe will have a beautiful baby! Today I found out that my cousin Laurel is also pregnant and her due date is in January. I am thrilled for everyone!

Details: Precious One shower card uses Hambly transparency, Stampin Up and Hanko Designs papers and Cosmo Cricket rubons. Punch is by EK Success.

Happy New Baby announcement and card use papers by Prism, Amuse Art Stamps and Hanko Designs. Stamps by Stampin' Up.

Sunshine

I was on a photography forum and the challenge was to post a photo of "sunshine". I thought it would be fun to post some photos that feel like sunshine to me.

I love sweet Ollie with the warm sun on his fur. He has such a sweet disposition that I even call him "sunshine" sometimes. Matt took this picture.
We are so lucky to live on the beautiful California Coast. This was taken near Malibu. Can you see the rainbow in the sea spray?

My baby cousin, Ruthie got married in a beautiful redwood grove in Northern California on a perfect day last May.

Here's another wedding shot of the sweetest, freshest strawberries you've ever had! They were grown locally and picked at their prime the day before.

A lovely waterlily at the Getty Villa in Malibu. I love how the sun shines off the leaves and petals.

What is more sunshiny than bold, beautiful sunflowers?

A final wedding shot. It really was a perfect day for Ruthie & Craig. These cosmos were the centerpieces.

I did not take this picture (obviously!) but I wanted to leave you with one of my favorite wedding photos. I love the soft glow of sunshine here and the peaceful feeling it has. We were dancing to either "As Time Goes By" or "Moon River"; our first two dance songs. (Did you know how much Matt loves "Casablanca"?)
Hope you have a nice end of your week and hope my sunshine warms you even if it's still cold where you are.

Hong Kong Trinkets & Treasures

Colleen Challenged us to blog about the 6th photo in the 6th folder so here is mine. My photo was just awful and blurry (I guess I was in too much of a hurry and now I can't re-take it) so I figured I'd blog about all the items in the small folder.

These are some of the gifts I brought back from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is known for its fabulous shopping and boy did we have fun! I got most of these at the Jade Market, which is a section of the city with some big warehouses that are set up with small kiosks for individual vendors to sell. It is a great place to find some deals on trinkets and haggle for costume jewelry. Oh, how I love me a good haggle!

The Jade earrings on the left were for my mother.

I got these pretty stone and braided bracelets for my cousins. Some of them are jade and I'm not sure what the other stones are. I just liked the work that was done on them. The one with the 5 jade flowers was the most expensive and it cost about $10 American. I could have gotten something similar for cheaper, but I wanted just the right one.



Sometimes you have to pay more if you don't have time to haggle and you have other people with you that are in a hurry, but it's all part of the fun. And we are talking about a few dollars here; not hundreds so there is no big loss.



I found a tiny jade elephant for myself and I had to have it. When I was a girl I collected carved elephants and I wanted one as a remembrance of my old collection. If the trunk is up in the air it means good luck. I bargained that elephant down to about $5. Imagine my chagrin when I went to the next booth and they tried to sell me the same elephant *starting* at $5! So much for my mad haggling skillz! I have the elephant at work. Someday I'll take a picture to show you.



These chopsticks were a gift for my cousin who was getting married the week we got back from vacation. I did not get any sort of bargain on them but I thought they were so beautiful I had to buy them. They were from a very touristy chopstick shop in Big Buddha Village. I ended up spending about what I would have spent buying a wedding gift here in the states.



They are hand-carved rosewood with gold engraved tops. One set has a phoenix to symbolize the wife and the other one has dragon to symbolize the husband. They are a traditional gift for a wedding and I wanted Ruthie & Craig to have something special.



I had to hunt all over town for these earrings. I ended up going to a jewelry store on Stanley Street near our tailor shop. If you look closely you can see that the gold work is much finer than the cheaper ones I got at the jade market. These are jade too; it is called lavender jade. They had similar ones everywhere, but I wanted this shape, color and gold tops. I can't remember what they say, but I think one is "good fortune" and one is "happiness".

Dreams

I made some cards this week using my new stamps by Wendi Vecchi. She's the one who taught me the resist technique that is used in my post below and in the leaf card above. If you're interested in the stamps you can find them here and here