Tech"neat" Class

 When I signed up for the Hero Arts Tech"neat" class, I was so excited and was really looking forward to it.  After the first class at 8:00am, we had a break for lunch before our next class.  So we decided to head to the Silhouette booth to do their make-n-take.  I wish we did it earlier, because by the time we went, they were almost out!  They were giving out bags that you would iron on a design cut from the Silhouette.  My sister and I chose the same design, but she chose the red flock and I chose the smooth red.  After our images were cut, we had to weed out the part that we didn't want on the bag.  Man, did I have a hard time doing that!  I struggled and the girl had to help me out!  My sister on the other hand had no problem.  Sigh.  So they even had a hard time ironing it on!  Finally the girl pressed it several times before assuring me that it would be ok.  You can tell where I made mistakes, but overall I was still happy with my project.

After that, we headed back to the classroom for our Tech"neat" class.  Since we had sat through their last class, we knew the pace would be fast.  We were better prepared for this one and was able keep up, which was surprising since there was more technique involved (hence the name).  Even though we made the same amount of cards in this class and the cards were more difficult, I think we had more fun and our cards came out better in this one.  Here's all of the cards we made.

This was the first card we made... I think it was my favorite technique!  We finger painted using distress inks.  At first my sister was not into getting her fingers dirty, but after she realized she had to do it, she actually enjoyed it.  We couldn't wash the ink off after class and later recognized who was in the class by their dirty fingers!

This was my other favorite card of the day.  I think its cause its using one of my favorite color combos- pink and brown! you can't tell from this photo, but the pink heart is actually attached to the inside of the card and you can see it through the die cut heart.  I think its one of those dies that match the stamp system.

Sis and I decided that we should have taken more classes as this one was really fun.  I don't think we could take as many as Patti did- she didn't even have time to eat! But I think there might have been a few more that I would have wanted to go to.  If I ever go again, I'm gonna register really early and try to get into the Tim Holtz class- I'm sure that one is worth waking up early for!

3 Years Old

Time sure flies!  I can't believe its been 3 years since I started blogging!  I remember when I discovered the world of blogging.. I was instantly addicted!  It was like a wealth of paper craft information... for FREE!  The more I searched, the more I was hooked... and here I am today, still blogging now and then.  Not as much as I used to, but as you know, within the last year I've also started my own stamp company!  Although this has taken a lot of time away from my crafty and bloggy time, I still enjoy visting everyone's blogs to see what they are up to.

I am also very happy that through blogging, I have met so many fun and wonderful friends!  Living in a small town that you did not grow up in makes it hard to find friends that have the same interests.  Blogging opened up a whole world where I could find others that were just as crazy as me about paper crafting!  I feel so fortunate to have met so many crafters not only from Hawaii, but from around the world!

I gotta tell you, I've met some bloggers in person and they are nice, but when you tell them that you are a craft blogger too, their eyes light up and there's an instant connection!  I guess we all feel comfortable with each other since we all get excited over the same things, all have messy desks, all lose stuff and end up buying 2 of the same thing, all hoard our craft supplies... and the list goes on and on... I guess its nice to know that you aren't the only one doing those things!

Sooo, for all of you who have been following me on this journey, its time for some fun right?  Well, since Sister Stamps is dear to my heart, and I'm celebrating 3 years of blogging, I think one of you should win some blog candy!  Hmmmm, I'm thinking 3 Sister Stamps of your choice! I'll throw in some other goodies too, but that's the main part of the prize. Who doesn't like a little freedom of choice?

So, how do you win?  Well, I'm lazy nowdays, so I trust you guys... just leave a comment on this post by February 29th 11:59pm HST and you'll be eligible!  OK- if you leave more than one comment, I'm only entering you once. :)  No being sneaky now!

I wonder how many people will actually enter to win if there is no photo that shows up in the blogger window?  Are you guys even reading posts anymore?  We shall see...  Good Luck!

Hero Arts CHA Class!

So you are probably wondering if I took any classes while at CHA?  Well, I managed to get into 2 Hero Arts classes and dragged my sister along with me.  She was hesitant at first, but after the class starting going, she managed to keep up and ended up enjoying herself.  In this first class, we made 5 cards in 2 hours!!  Of course, all the kits were cut, so we didn't have to take time for that.. just had to cut out a few stamped images, but nothing major.

The best part about taking the class was that it was taught by Hero's Designers that you see all the time on their blog- Jennifer McGuire (stamp god) and Shari Carroll and a few others.  It was fun to see them in action and get great tips along the way.

The pace of this class was FAST!  Even I had a hard time keeping up, but I think it might have been because I was trying hard to listen to the instruction over my sister whispering to me.. "what did she say?, what do we do now?"  I think it didn't help that we picked the back of the room either.  The cool thing was that during the class, they picked names and gave away stamps from the new catalog and at the end of class, they told us what stamps and supplies we could take with us.  All that free loot was so worth it!  Did I mention the class was included in the badge fee?  Others around us told us that last year you had to pay $30 per class, so this was a good deal.  Free is good to me!

As you can see, that newsprint background stamp was used a lot.  I think I need to get that stamp!

We also used that pretty Basic Gray paper.  Love it!

Since this was a basic card making class, the cards were pretty simple to make. The only thing we did really was put them together.  It did give me some good ideas in terms of layering etc.  If you want to see these cards in person, head down to Island Scrapbooking- I dropped them off there for customers to check out.

I took another class the same day, so I'll share another post on the cards we made in that class.  Ja mata!

For Me?

I was so surprised to be the recipient of the Liebster Blog Award!  This award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers.  I think this is a cute way to recognize us small potato bloggers that do it just for fun and not for being popular!

I was amazed that 3 bloggers felt I was deserving of this award.  So nice of all of them to think of me!  Here's the gals that awarded me with this honor...

• Sweetland Paper Treats
• K-Lusive Kreations
• Cuddles of Luv

Thanks Ladies!  I feel so flattered you thought of me!  I actually feel like you guys deserve the award too, but since you already got it, I will try to pass on the love to others who inspire me too..

• A Star for Chiemi- I have no idea if she has 200 followers or not, but I think she deserves this award!
•  Wahine Ink- Just because I love her work!
• Bearasaurus- Craftroom Haven:  Such cute projects!
• Kerry is Chilling- Love her SS cards!
• by tkg- Fun and Simple cards!

For those of you who are picking up your award... here's some additional info for you...

• Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.
• Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.
• Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed.
• Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.

CHA And Other Fun Stuff

Did you miss me?  Yes, I know I've been MIA lately, but I had good reason!  After the holidays, I've been getting ready for my trip to LA to attend CHA!  Woo hoo!  It's been a dream of mine to go one day and I finally made it!  Dragged my sister along with me and had a blast going through all the new stuff and taking classes.  A bit more about that in a sec.. wanted to share some pix from the trip....

First up is my darling nieces... DN2 (Darling Niece 2) is seen here at Bruxie. If you ever have a chance, you have to try this waffle place.  Its so awesome!  They have both sweet and savory sandwiches made out of waffles.  The junk things is that there is not much parking and only outside places to sit.  Other than that, the food is fabulous!

Here's DN1 showing off her waffle.  She chose my favorite... waffle w/lemon curd and fresh berries.  Yum!

This was taken when we were waiting for our food..

And after we ate lunch, we checked out this cupcake place that won Cupcake Wars on Food Network.  The cupcakes were OK.  Read on for more on cupcakes...

Here's the firs pix we took at CHA.. I pretty much forced my sis to take it with me.  I love how the Lawn Fawn booth had this polaroid and props to make your picture fun.  They were soooo nice there!  We even met some ex-Hawaii residents.  They were so nice and knew immediately we were from Hawaii too!

When we saw these, I made my sis take pictures.  Sorry- not so in focus- this was taking w/my iphone...  Do I look like a Sister Stamp?

Here's my sis with the other outfit...

Finally got to meet Patti from Creations by Patti!  She is so full of life and such a great resource!  She told us all about digital cutters, etc.. I was trying to take notes in my head, but I don't think it worked.  Saw her later and she told us she didn't have much time to eat lunch cause she's so busy taking classes!  She's so fun, wish I could've hung out more with her.

And I also got to meet one of our former guest DT- Leanne!  Leanne was so nice!  She was helping out at the La La Land stamps booth doing a make 'n take.  We didn't have much time to talk, but she was so much fun to visit with!  

OK- you will think I'm a stalker, but I took this photo from behind Tim Holtz!!!  Yes, I could've touched him,but I didn't want to scare him.  :)  He is a craft god!  To watch him in action was pretty amazing. 

Also met another blogger.. Ivy!  She was waiting to go into the Hero Arts class we took.  She found out I am blog friends w/Donna of Three Umbrellas and so we took a photo to email to Donna.

Ooh.. got to meet another "Celebrity", Jessica from the Greeting Farm!  She was so nice, especially when she found out I knew Kris (K-Lusive Kreations)!  They were on the TGF DT together and she could not stop talking about Kris.  

After a busy day of ordering, we played hooky and went to the Happiest Place on Earth!  Yes, Disneyland!!  Here's what we saw when we first walked in.. Poppies!  I guess spring is almost here!

 We also went to California Adventure and rode the Toy Story ride.  Sis is so awesome at shooting games!  She skunked me!

 Later that day we happened upon the Jedi Training Academy show and after the show, we ran into some Stormtroopers!   DH was totally jealous that I got to take a picture with one.  He kind of scared me.

 

 

Ahhh, Toontown... We almost didn't go, but I wanted to check out one of the stores.  Glad I did cause we found some really neat stuff!  Also took a fun photo here...

 

When we got back to my brother's house, he surprised us with the most awesomest cupcakes ever!  OMG- I am craving them now just looking at them!  From left to right starting at the top... Hula Hula (coconut & pinapple- my fave!), Raspberry, Boston Creme, (bottom row) Chunky Monkey (PB, banana & chocolate), another Raspberry, and Chocolate Mousse.

As you can see, my nieces loved it too!

I had lots of fun on this trip!  It was definitely a fun experience at CHA.  Next time I gotta take more classes!  Back at home now with the family- its good to be back!