Mickey Adorned

I was so excited when Dawn sent me the Simply Adorned charm and chain. I have waited and waited for inspiration to strike. It finally did....while I was at The Disney Store! The Japanese are CRAZY about phone charms. I saw several Mickey icon charms and knew they would look adorable on my necklace. I used Love Letter paper for the background inside the charm. The Mickey head on the front (the side with the gold heart) is punched out of black paper from the Neutrals DSP stack. The Mickey on the other side is punched from the Love Letter paper. I can't wait to make more Simply Adorned projects. These would make fabulous gifts! I am planning to use the charms to make Christmas ornaments. Have you taken time to get crafty lately? I hope so! Crafty time is good for your soul! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I will be spending time this afternoon under the cherry blossoms with our Japanese friends & neighbors.

Its been 4 weeks/1 month.....

What a long sad month this has been. A major earthquake, a tsunami, threat of nuclear fallout, thousands (yes over 1000) aftershocks including the 7.1 last night..... So much to deal with. So many emotions. So many lives lost. So many people with nothing left. Japan still has a long road to recovery. The people here are amazing. They WILL pull through this. Military and volunteers from around the world have come together to help this great nation. If you have helped by donating money or supplies, thank you! If you have volunteered your time, thank you! If you have prayed for everyone involved, thank you! Tomorrow I will be gathering with over 20 people to help put together backpacks for the children of Japan. They will include things like toothpaste, toothbrush, underwear, small toys, coloring books, crayons, water and snacks. Its not much but every little bit helps. It has been stressful enough for me dealing with all the aftershocks. Last night's big quake/aftershock was especially rattling for me. Then I thought of all those in this country with no home, no belongings, no family. That made me remember how blessed I truly am.

Thanks Kath!

I feel so honored! Kath has chosen me for the Stylish Blogger Award! When you are given this award...there are (4) things you must do...
1. Thank the person that gave you the award and link back to their blog (above). Thanks again Kath!!!!
2. Share (8) things about yourself:
(1) We will be moving from Japan this summer. (more details to be posted later on my blog)
(2) I love to watch Disney movies, even when the kids aren't around.
(3) I am still a Disney nut. (Always will be.) I will never grow up!
(4) I am participating in Brave Girls Soul Restoration.
(5) I rarely watch the news. All that negativity, over reacting and exagerating annoys me.
(6) Things here in Japan are not as bad as everyone in the US thinks it is. I am fine. The water here on base is fine. The air is fine. (well other than the pollen lol)
(7) I am VERY allergic to the cherry blossom trees. :(
(8) I LOVE teaching others how to get crafty.

3. Pass this award on to (8) other Stylish Bloggers:
Bootybella Designs
Debby's Stuff
There's glitter on the dogs
Kindred Gypsy Soul
Cards, scrapbooking and musings!
Stipple Shapes
kareN stampZ
Viv's Visuals

Sping is Blossoming

Stampin' Up has some GORGEOUS papers for their Spring is Blossoming promotion. I created this cake card using: Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz and Concord Crush cardstocks, Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz inks, Four Frames and Strength & Hope Stamps, Pop-up Three Tier Cake die and the gorgeous new Paisley Petals DSP (Designer Series Paper). You may be asking, "What is this Strength & Hope stamp set you speak of?" Well, thats a little sneak peek for you. It will be available May 1st. There will be much more from me with this set in the near future. Stampin' Up will be donating $2 from the sale of each set to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Patriotic Vintage Canvas

Hello blog world! Yes, its been a few days. I'll try not to let that happen again. Well, until we start the big move. lol Anyway....Remember the canvas I mentioned the other day? Well, this is how it turned out. :) I started with a blank canvas, a calendar with reprints of these old war posters, the Bands 4 Arms photo, mod podge and plenty of ink. I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso to ink up the canvas. I tore the poster prints from the calendar and inked the edges using a sponge. I tried several different arrangements before I came up with this final design. I covered everything but the B4A photo with the matte mod podge. I have to say..... I LOVE the end result. Oh and to fill you in on the B4A photo....Bands for Arms is a fabulous site started by Nick, an active duty guy in the Navy. Go check out the site. I have purchased MANY of these bracelets for my family and plan to purchase many many more.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Today was my daughter's 12th birthday party. I thought I would take a break while the girls are upstairs singing and dancing to post. I bought the Stampin' Up Pirate Party Kit from the clearance rack. When Taylor saw it, she decided she wanted a pink pirate theme. It came with the supplies to make a flag banner but the colors just didn't work for our color theme. I gathered my supplies and changed the colors to match the pink and brown theme we decided to use. Taylor and I sat down together and made the flags. We used Chocolate Chip and Melon Mambo cardstock, Versamark ink and Beware Pirates stamp set. The pink embossing powder is from my stash. It was a lot of fun to do something crafty with my creative kiddo. The banner has been hanging up since her birthday earlier in the week.
Taylor wanted her cake to be covered with gold sprinkles, "like a huge bar of gold with gold coins around it." I wanted to cover the cake with fondant and dust it in gold. She insisted that the sprinkles were what she wanted. So, I gave her the cake she envisioned in her head. When I was finished, she said it was perfect. I love making my kiddo happy by little things like that. With all the decorations in place, we were ready for her guests to arrive. The Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack was playing on the radio. Her friends walked in and said, "This is going to be the best party ever!" They each got their own eye patch and treasure chest. Later tonight they will be back downstairs for a Pirates movie marathon. I wonder who will fall asleep first and how long they will all be able to stay awake. May your weekend be full of smiles and fun times. Mine sure has been so far. :)