sun and {fun!}

Hello there blog peeps!  How are you?  I have to say I am enjoying every minute of my vacation so far.  Kauai is just amazing as always.  Definitely my favorite place to recharge my batteries!  I've got a card share for you, believe it or not.  I brought this card with me from home with the intent of writing our note of thanks to the owners of our fun beach cottage you'll see at the end of this post.  Isn't this the cutest little surfer bear?  In the background is the view of the beach from our front porch.  It's truly a breathtaking view!

Today, I thought I'd share some pictures of our hike to the Hanakapiai Falls, which is part of the Kalalau Trail, located where the road ends in Hanalei.  We've done this hike now 4 times out of our 6 times here in Kauai.  And every time, the hike is a little different.  A huge part of it is due to the weather conditions, but this time, it was both weather conditions and some trail modifications.  It was also probably the most treacherous yet, since it rained on us a lot and the ground was really muddy and slushy.  You won't be able to tell so much in the pictures, because most of the time we took our camera out was when the rain stopped and the sun came up!  Anyway, here's a little snapshot of our hiking journey.

This picture was taken on our way to the hike, right off the road in Hanalei.  The rainbow ends in some taro fields!

Here I am - we've just started the hike and already, you can see the muddy path in the background.  Imagine this for 8 miles. The view was to die for though, so it made every bit worth it!

Did I tell you that there was quite a bit of uphill on this hike?  The elevation changes were pretty dramatic at some parts.  How cute is my hubby though?  Heehee.  He was a trooper carrying that backpack filled with water and snacks.

Here's one of the many gorgeous vistas that kept us going.  The cliffs in the background are part of the Napali Coast.

We even got to see kayakers in the ocean!  Their brightly colored kayaks looked so pretty against the gorgeous blue ocean.

Ahhh!  How gorgeous is this beach?  This pristine stretch of sand and beach is the Hanakapiai Beach, 2 miles into our hike.  Since we got an early start, there weren't too many people that had made it here yet.  It was quite a treat for us!

Here's a quick peek at the big payoff...the waterfall at the end of the hike! This is the Hanakapiai Falls.  We were probably a quarter mile away.  So pretty!  We took some flip videos at the falls, so hopefully, I can share them with you when I get back (after editing and all that good stuff!)

This picture was taken on our way back...the little peek a boo view is of the pristine beach.  Isn't this so amazing?  I really love this hike!  It's worth all the soreness I'm still feeling in my legs!

And lastly, here's a pic of our adorable beach cottage - our home in Poipu for the remainder of the week.

That's all for now.  Hope you enjoyed the photos!  Time for me to go and run before heading to the water.  Have a fantastic day!

Something to Cheer about!

I had to share my latest Build-a-Bear creation. She's a cute little Bruin Cheerleader! And of course she has a lot to cheer about. The UCLA Bruins are 3-0 so far this season. I'm hoping they keep it up! GO BRUINS! Meanwhile, my hubby wasn't too happy with his Trojans this weekend.

I'm thinking of making my Bruin Cheerleader a magnet so we can stick her on the fridge for the season :) She is just adorable!

Here's how I made her pom poms - punch out three 1 inch circles from wrapping tissue paper for each pom pom. TIP: sandwich the tissue paper between 2 pieces of regular paper for easy punching. Otherwise, you'll notice that the tissue "gives" too much to punch cleanly. Put a dot of the Tombo glue in the center of one tissue circle and layer the next 2 pieces on top. Let dry, then scrunch up and fluff. Adhere to bear paws with a glue dot. Viola - you're done.

{Bruin Cheerleader}
*Dies: SU! Bear, Beary Essentials Bigz dies; SU! Beary Girl Sizzlit; Billboard Alphabet decorative strip
*Cardstock: Soft Suede, Bliss Blue, Summer Sun; Basic Black, Real Red; Kraft
*Accessories: White Gel Pen, tissue paper, 1" circle punch

Thanks for letting me share :) Have a good one!

My Bruin Bear

With football season upon us, how could I not make my little bear a football player? Afterall, a Bruin is a Bear ;) Isn't he a handsome guy? He looks pretty athletic, too! Maybe it's his UCLA jersey with the racing stripes. Here's a closer look at him and his throwing arm: He's got quite a grip on his custom made football. Here's a peek at how I made it using the 1" circle punch.
I first punched the circle and then slid the circle back through about 1/2 way on the punch and punched again. Then, I went back and ran the piece through the big shot small polka dot texturz plate. I sponged the edges with craft ink and drew in the stitching with the gel pen. Viola!

{Bruin Bear Card stats}
*Dies: SU Bear, Beary Essential; Stampin'Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz embossing plates
*Cardstock: So Saffron, Old Olive, Bliss Blue {retired}, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Basic Black
*Inks: Bliss Blue Classic Stamp Pad
*Accessories: Hemp twine, Signo White Gel pen

Looks like he's off to a strong season this year at the Rose Bowl. Let's wish him luck!

Since my hubby and I are cross-town rivals in the household, I will probably have to make an SC football player, too. But I'm ok with that from an overall Pac-10 perspective. I have to give credit where credit is due - I was inspired by Pamela Knox and her post on SCS. She made an awesome bear! For those of you that are big football fans, you too can make a customized bear for your fave team ;)

Build-a-Bear boy card

Hey there! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. Just a quick share - I made my first BAB boy card for my niece's son's 1 year old birthday party yesterday. Isn't he cute? I am having so much fun with these little bears...definitely a lot more than I thought I would! Turns out, they were a great purchase for me :) Here's the boy bear card {I love the ball cap!}:

{Kashton Birthday Card}
*Dies: SU! Bear and Beary Essentials Bigs dies, and Beary Boy Sizzlit; Billboard Decorative Strip; Sizzix Scallop Card Bigz XL
*Cardstock: SU! Sweet Slumber specialty paper {retired}, Baja Breeze {retired}, Whisper White, The Write Stuff specialty DSP, Basic Black, Real Red, Kraft
*Ink: Real Red marker

Hope you like it! Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

Ciao for now!

Fabulous Freebie Friday!

My Fashionista bear has a friend - Fabulous bear. She enjoys all the finer things in life and loves to be pampered! She, too, made it on a cover of her own notebook, complete with a caption that says "You're absolutely Fabulous."

"Wouldn't this be a fabulous Freebie Friday giveaway?" she said. Yes - absolutely fabulous.

So, that's how today's Freebie Friday giveaway came to be. Isn't she a cutie? Here's a close up of her, so you can check out all her bling and accessories:
She's got a custom made square-neck tank top that I fashioned for her out of the t-shirt die cut. I simply drew in the outline on the reverse side and cut it to the shape. Her little black flower accent is made out of a scrunched up 1/2" circle punch with a brad in the middle. And her belt is black grossgrain ribbon with a square rhinestone belt buckle. Her outfit was made out of the same Night and Day DSP that I used for the fashionista bear from the other day. Did you notice her cute little herringbone peep-toe flats? She is just stylin'! I think I have found my calling as a BAB dress designer! Heehee. Here's the recipe:

{Absolutely Fabulous Bear Notebook}
All supplies SU!
*Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla; Night and Day and Raspberry Lemonade DSP.
*Inks: Melon Mambo Classic pad, Basic Black marker
*Dies: Stampin'Up Bear Bigz die
*Accessories: Scallop Border, 1/2" circle, modern label punch; square rhinestones, black vintage brads, black grosgrain ribbon, melon mambo polka dot grosgrain ribbon.

To play in today's Freebie Friday, just leave me a comment along with your blog website or email address on this post by midnight on Sunday, September 6th! You can comment about anything or answer this question: What are your plans for this Labor Day Weekend? Then, come back on Monday to find out who the lucky winner is!

Thanks for stopping by and playing - good luck! Have a great weekend!

Beary Haute Couture

This little bear knew she was a fashionista. She loves the fall season and loves to accessorize. Then I told her she would be on the cover of her own book. She was ecstatic! But, she felt the scarf was too much. So she posed without it. Isn't she a sophisticated little bear? Here's a close up of her. Her Night and Day Specialty {DSP} outfit is all the rage! You, too, can order this paper, outfit and bear from the Holiday Mini catalog. Here are all the components to capture the "look".

{Beary Haute Couture Notepad}
All supplies Stampin'Up! except where noted
*Cardstock: Textured Basic Gray, Whisper White, Kraft, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Real Red CS; Night and Day Specialty DSP,
*Dies: Stampin'Up! Bear and Stampin'Up! Beary Essentials Bigz Dies
*Accessories: Border punch {Fiskars}, Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Filigree Flower, Vintage Black Brads, Hodgepodge Hardware Flower Buckle, Signo White Gel Pen

Hope you liked this beary special fashion edition. Have a great day!

Wanna Freebie Build-a-Bear Notepad?

Hi there - welcome to Freebie Friday! I stayed up late last night watching the news on the wildfires, since the Rancho Palos Verdes fire is just a few miles away from my house. Luckily, this morning, the news is reporting that it is now about 35% contained and that it has died down considerably since yesterday. Thank goodness!

Now let's move on to the Freebie Friday giveaway, shall we? I finally busted out my new exclusive Stampin'Up! Build-a-Bear Big Shot dies the other day and I feel like a little girl again. These bears are just too darn cute! It was lots of fun trying to come up with the little outfit for my girlie bear. I decided to go with pants instead of the skirt for her. Here she is: This notepad is the same style as last week's Medallion Notepad giveaway - I just changed up the front with this cute little girl bear. Here's a close up shot: I sponge daubered the clouds in the background using a combination of the scallop circle and scallop oval punches to create my subtle cloud shapes. I used the Tall Tales DSP to create my hilly foreground, and the trio flower punch to make my little field of flowers. How do you like the Build-a-Bear dies? These will be available starting September 1st! I used 2 of the dies - the Stampin'Up! Bear Bigz die and the Stampin'Up! Beary Essentials Bigz die for the clothes. Here's a sneak peek of what the dies look like:

{Build-a-Bear Notepad Recipe}
All Supplies Stampin'Up!
*Bigz dies: SU Bear and SU Beary Essentials
*Cardstock: Soft Suede, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla; Textured Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo; Tall Tales and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
*Inks: Bashful Blue classic pad
*Accessories: Rich Razzleberry grosgrain ribbon, Scallop border punch, Signo Gel pen, Trio flowers punch,Sponge daubers and Scallop circle and scallop oval (for the clouds)

All you need to do is leave me a comment along with your blog website or email address on this post by midnight on Sunday, August 30th! You can comment about anything or answer this question: How do you stay cool in the heat? We've got quite the heat wave going on in Southern CA (hence the fires) and we don't have air condition in our house, so we've got a teenie fan to keep us cool. It's not the best method, but it's all we got right now to battle the high 90's - low 100's temps we're having. Hopefully, it will cool down and the fires will be completely put out soon!

Come back on Monday to find out the winner of this Freebie. If you win, I'll try to contact you directly with the info you leave me. Have a great Friday!
PS - One more thing I wanted to remind you all is that the $85 Demo Starter Kit offer ends on Aug 31st, so if you're interested in signing up - you can do that directly on my Demonstrator Website! You can read more on this post. Contact me if you'd like to know more - would love to have you on my team :)

Ciao for now!