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

White Ink Samples

If you're a stamper, you know how many basic inks you acquire in your search for the perfect ink. I thought I'd stamp out all my white inks for fun so I could have a comparison. The first sample is stamped on Stampin' Up (SU) Basic Black paper. The Colorbox ink was extra juicy so it is a little darker than the rest. The alabaster needs to be re-inked, I think. The alabaster is really more of a cream color than white, but I wanted to compare it anyways. It also shows up a little better in person than in the scan. I think I like the Adirondack and SU ink the best for this purpose, but if you're stamping a solid non-detailed image maybe the Colorbox is best. Of course, depending on your needs, each one of these inks has its own advantages.


This second image shows the same inks stamped on SU Ivory paper. Once the ink is dry you can try this cool technique I learned yesterday from Wendy Vecchi. I'm using her stamps as the sample. Use your sponge tool and your Tim Holtz Distress Inks (I used Spiced Marmalade). Keep adding more ink onto the paper until the image magically pops. Depending on the look you want you can choose which ink you like best. She was using the Adirondack and made some fantastic samples. Let me know if you try this--I'd love to see what you make!

Aeronaut

Can you believe I did it? People who know me soon realize that I'm scared of everything. I'm afraid of heights, cars that are too fast, bridges, skiing, falling, being cold, suffer from claustrophobia; I'm even afraid of Tzatziki Sauce! I never would have gone on a balloon if it hadn't of been my friend's 30th birthday and I knew my husband has always wanted to do this.

So with steely resolve I vowed to go on the balloon and hoped I wouldn't cry. I kept reminding myself how brave I had been to go on the Big Buddha tram in Hong Kong and how I would be able to do deep breathing and hold Matt's hand when I was scared. I reminded myself how scared I had been to snorkel and how by the end of our honeymoon it was my favorite thing ever. I reminded myself how many people go in balloons and love it. I prayed I wouldn't get hysterical and embarrass myself in front of my friends and ruin their trip.

All that worry was for nothing! As soon as the balloon took off I knew it would be OK. We ever so gently floated in our basket; slowly rising off the ground like angels. We climbed into the sky and saw the grape vine fields and citrus orchards and houses that looked like tiny models. My worries about the cold were unfounded—the heat from the flame was more than enough to keep us warm. I was at peace with the world and I didn't want it to end. Our landing was a little adventurous; we took out a couple of saplings in a small industrial park and came very close to a large plate glass window. But our skilled pilot and crew got us down safely with one big jolt and that was it—safe again on mother terra!

Afterwards, we enjoyed some almond champagne and a picnic breakfast (our adventure started at 6 AM!) and then went to a winery for a much deserved (and needed!) wine-tasting. As we drove home I was happy that we had enjoyed a perfect day!

Have you ever conquered fear and been surprised at the outcome? This time I was more worried about being scared than I was during the actual event. I'm glad it worked out and I could have a beautiful memory of a great day.

Guess what I did?

Can you guess what I did yesterday? I'll post the answer later...

Home is where my heart is

Sigh! It's good to be home again! It's just about always where I'd rather be. Sometimes when I turn the corner into our neighborhood I start smiling and feel brighter because I know little Ollie cat will greet me at the door! He almost always comes to greet me after a long day and he will run ahead of me, say a happy "meow!" and plop onto the floor in front of me so I can scratch him! What's better than that!?

Boo is usually waiting nearby and she will let me have an "audience" with her princess-self if I have been good! It is funny how they have such different personalities. He is goofy and lazy and she is dainty and wants to play all the time. Sigh! I love coming home. I step lightly up the stairs and say hello to Matt, who is usually on the computer (and hopefully done with work for the day!)

This weekend I won't be home much (to my regret!) but we will be doing fun, interesting things. Saturday it's off to the Travel Show in LA and Sunday I get to go to the Scrapbook convention for a little supply run. Then Monday (hooray for an extra day off!) I will go visit my mom to have lunch. Then, it's home again for me with an Ollie greeting and another relaxing evening in my favorite place.

Stamp credits:
Stamp by Unity Stamp Company colored with Copic Markers. Font is from Spellbinders.

Some pink to cheer a rainy day

I'm not a fan of the rain so it's good that I live in Southern California where it rarely rains. But it rained yesterday and it looks like it will rain again today. Rain, rain go away!

I was thrilled when my mother in law had to throw away her copy of Jane Austen. She had read it so much that it was falling apart. I asked her if she would dig it out and save it for me. I got it on Christmas and it was my favorite thing I got that day!

Here's some pink valentines. I made the last two a couple of months ago at a friend's house. It was really fun to get together and stamp! We usually get together to shop at the local stamping convention but this time we saved our money and actually used our supplies!

Stamp credits: Girl on moon by Magenta. Swirl by Buzz and Bloom. Heart and background French Text by Stampin Up. Fairy and butterfly by Unity.

No Tzatziki Sauce!

In our house, "No Tzatziki Sauce" has become synonymous with anything I don't like. My list of foods I will not eat is very long and when we go to a restaurant there are always things I do not want on my plate. If I don't like something, I don't want to look at it, have it near my food and for goodness sake I don't want to smell it or have it touch anything! Mayonnaise, ranch dressing, guacamole, mushrooms, sour cream, and pickled ginger are all offenders.

And when we go to Daphne's it's "No Tzatziki Sauce!" I know they put it in a little cup but sometimes it spills over onto the plate and then I make the face. You know the face--the one that says "Ewww! This tzatziki sauce touching my food may kill me!" I have been known to order "No Tzatziki Sauce" and then order extra on the side for someone else just to ensure my food doesn't get contaminated (I'd rather pay extra then have to eat "tainted" food)

Sometimes, Matt likes to go through the Starbuck's drive thru by our house to get himself a cup of coffee. Imagine their confusion when he orders it with "No Tzatziki Sauce!" just to make me smile.

All Day Marker Class

Well, I'm so excited because I got to take a Copic Marker Certification class yesterday. My friends were teasing me because I spent all day learning how to color with markers, and I paid money to do it! But really, that's what I did and it was worth it in so many ways! Plus, isn't it fun to sit down and color!?

I went home so inspired and I wanted to play with the multiliner professional drafting pen they gave us so I picked up an old botched attempt at an ATC and "fixed" it up! Face stamp is by Club Stamp and I think the sentiment is from Stampin' up. The tiny text is just some drivel I wrote: "Do robots dream of electric sheep? Do sheep dream of dancing humans? Will humans learn to get along with each other? Are we human or are we dancer? Are dolphins smarter than yuppies? What is the meaning of life the universe and everything? Will you dance with me in the clouds? What does a cat really think about while asleep? Do they debate philosophy with each other or do they think they are the center of the universe and the rest of us really don't matter?"

The background of the ATC and the face details are enhanced with some Copic markers. I like how it highlighted his face and really made the pattern on the paper stand out. I wish I had taken a "before" picture so you could see how it changed.

Picture to make you laugh!

Need I say more? We had a great time, even though my blue 70's eye-shadow faded after the first hour and my Janice Joplin wig came off. Matt looked pimperific all night and Uncle Bill even danced. Laurel was the prettiest prom queen ever! And boy am I sore from trying to dance like we did in the 80's!

Just a short explanation: My crazy cousin likes to do theme parties and when she was younger her school was so small they didn't have a prom. So since that was 20 years ago and her stupid school didn't even have a reunion, she decided to make her own prom! It was all her friends and their kids so it was an all-ages bash! Everyone went retro with outfits from the 50's through today's fashion!

Pictures to make you smile!

Sorry I've been ignoring everyone lately! Thought I'd post pics to make you smile! Aren't they just the cutest!?



Here's a preview of what Matt will be wearing to Laurel's prom party! This will be a crazy, fun event! Oh, yeah--I think he's lookin' mighty pimp-a-licious, pimp-tastic and pimp-a-riffic! I'll post real pics of us after tomorrow!

I found the perfect 80's dress for myself and it was on sale too! Unfortunately, the sale price was $175 so I didn't get that one, LOL! I got the 70's dress instead that was only $30 and it matches Matt's costume better. I was so excited when it arrived in the mail and fit perfectly! Yahoo for polyester--only for you, Laurel will I wear poly interlock, LOL! Tomorrow I have to get some fake eyelashes, blue eyeshadow and hopefully some tacky "suntan" pantyhose!

Vintage Collage Swap

Here's my items for the vintage swap below. These are going to Jan just as soon as I can get them in the mail. For the postcard I used stamps from Hero Arts (lady) and Lockhart (inchie border) and some pretty Basic Grey striped paper. The roses are real dried flowers. Jan lives in Alaska so I feel good giving her a bit of summer to get her through the winter!

On the arch I used stamps from YanKiwi (key) and PaperArtsy (ration book). I aged the yellow Fleur de Lis with alcohol inks and covered it with Glossy accents so it wouldn't scratch off.

Vintage Collage Swap

I decided to host another collage swap with my swap friends. Here's a photo of what each person got and the idea is to choose 3 items and make a card, postcard, ATC or arch for their partner. Some people are making extra because there's so much to choose from and it's so much fun! I was going to put in just a few things this time so all the swap items were more likely to match, but it was too much fun to keep adding to the envelopes I was making. Can you believe almost all this stuff was stitting on my desk getting in the way!? I should do about 50 more swaps and then maybe my desk will be clean, LOL!

Anyways—here's what the swap contained:
Club Scrap Faux Postage Sheet
Pins that have tiny buttons on the end
Vintage wallpaper from the 50's (pulled straight off the wall of my dear Great-Aunt's house as a rememberence)
Prints of some vintage sailor photos (each swapper got a different set)
CTMH Paper Lace
Pearl Brad
Antiqued Copper Brads and Eyelets
Yellow Fleur de Lis Brad
Vintage address book page
Square Scalloped punch out
Oval Scalloped acrylic sticker
7-Gypsies Aged Label (each swapper got a different one)
Some Club Scrap cardstock
Some pretty patterened paper

Do you think that's enough to choose from? What would you choose to make something with? I'm having trouble choosing from making a masculine or feminine vintage item. Maybe I should do both—I am really thinking I need to make arches since I never get to do those. Oh—it's fun having choices!

I will update with links to everyone's final product as they come in.

Here's Jan's Arch

Penny's (items #1 & 5)
Mine

Hey, Ma! Guess what I made!?

I took a beading class 2 weekends ago and here is the product of my class. My very first pieces using wire stringing techniques. The nice lady at the shop did the wirework for me on a vintage Chinese coin that I picked up in Macau. I picked out the beads and colors and did the stringing. I used a combination of cheap and expensive beads but I liked the mixture of sizes, colors and shapes. I used real and fake turquoise--I wish I had some real turquoise chips to use--maybe someday I will find some that are just right and then I can restring it from scratch. In the meantime I was happy to create something new.

Kitty Goodness!

For all who are wondering, The kitties are doing just great! They are almost done training us too! They have trained Matt to give them treats so they can beg (sigh—I had it so they never begged but Matt said he *likes* begging kitties!) They have trained me to play on demand and to go downstairs in the morning when they say. They got fixed 10 days ago so tonight Boo gets her stitches out. Here's a photo of them sleeping like angels—they are so attached to each other!

Birthday Card

Hope you didn't think I abandoned you all! But it's been really hot upstairs and the kittens are very demanding of my little spare time. As soon as I sit down, Boo wants to play and play! Anyways, here's a birthday card I made for a coworker. Stamps are from Impression Obsession and Purple Onion Designs. I colored in with my copics and topped the parfait with glossy accents.

Hell Money

Here's another installment of my China Collage Share. This is called "Hell Money". It is traditionally burned at funerals to make sure the deceased has enough to get them through in the afterlife. They use the word "hell" to refer to the underworld; not meaning the same "hell" as we use in Western speech.

Stamping Score!

I went to the Carson Stamping Convention this weekend and I scored the coolest grab bag ever! Just $30 for a huge bag from http://zettiology.com. How cool is that! It was so good I really wish I had splurged and got the second bag they had, but when I went back an hour later they were all gone! Here's the images I got—$150 worth of stamps for me. I spent my time on Sunday cutting them all out and mounting them. Forgive my sloppy indexing—I got a little lazy.It is fun to buy grab bags from good companies because it is like a treasure hunt! Matt was helping me look through them and we both though there was a stamp that looked like a map. Matt said it was probably Europe. I knew he had to be right, so imagine my surprise when I stamped it out and it was Albert Einstein! I laughed out loud! I am so glad I got two of him in the bag—I've always wanted an Albert stamp so now I have double!

Is that eye cool or what!? I had no idea what it was going to be. I thought maybe a sailboat or something. I stamped it and turned it around and around until it was the right side and there I saw the eye! Surprise!
The stamp with the Asian characters on the bottom left is what made me get this bag instead of the other one. I love Asian stuff so I thought it looked good. The other one had an Egypt stamp in it with Horus so I really wish I had that one too. But Asian is cooler than Egypt on the "Llama Cool Scale" ha ha!

Comic Relief

Here's another set of images for our Chinese Collage Share. These came out of a small booklet I bought on Cat Street in Hong Kong. It is some sort of mini comic book with each page telling part of the story. I'm not quite sure what it's about, but I love the illustrations.


Feel free to save these to your hard-drive by clicking on the images to enlarge and then right-clicking to save. Enjoy printing them out to use on your collage. I hope you make something and post a link here to share!


Click on the image share link at the bottom of this post to find the rest of the images I am sharing for our Chinese Collage Swap.