More Cocoa

It's been awhile since I posted anything. Must have been busy. I've been working on my 2010 scrapbooking which I call my Annual Photo Journal. After doing heritage albums for the family and other albums, such as my husbands years in the USMC, I now do an album each year documenting what we do and where we go. Lots of pages are from Christmas and July. That's when we go north to see kids and grandkids.

Anyway, I decided it was time to do some more cards. I love the Cocoa stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy. Both of these are digital, although I've ordered regular stamps from them also. Hope you enjoy them...

My Digital Studio

On another note, I decided it was time to try my hand with Stampin' Up's "My Digital Studio". I'd recently watched part of a video on how to create a card so I tried it out today. The card below is a "hybrid", meaning I combined digital with traditional. I used "My Digital Studio" for the main part of the card...(punch, sentiment, background paper, matting and ribbon). The cute little bunny is a digital stamp from Sweet n' Sassy. I attached this to some white matting and then used dimensionals to attach it to some Always Artichoke cardstock which was attached to a white card. Still so much to learn; so little time, but this card came out okay for a first try.

Stamping Lesson

Last week a couple of newer stampers to our group wanted a demo on "two step" stamping. So, I showed them how to stamp using the "stamp-a-ma-jig". For the demo, I used Stampin' Ups Greenhouse Garden stamp set. (I really like this set..) I also used their Mixed Greetings sentiment set.

The only colors I used for cardstock were Whisper White, Basic Black and Crushed Curry. I used Crystal Effects on the flowers to highlight them. Here's a few samples of the cards I made later using the demo flowers.

The designer paper on the top flower is from Stampin' Up's designer series.

Happy Valentine's Day

A lot has happened since my last post. Found out I had a heart blockage, had a stent put in and here I am, just fine and dandy.

We had company last week for only four days. My niece from Vermont came to visit. I hadn't seen her in 15 years and what a wonderful time we had catching up. She is a delightful person and was just great to get reacquainted with her. She has two young children that I'm so looking forward to meeting.

Now that I have some time, I'm back to making cards, and the first ones I made were Valentine's Day cards for Grandchildren and Grand niece and nephew. I'm posting a couple that I made and hope you enjoy them.

I thought this was a really good stamp for a boy.



This is a standard card using stamping up products (except for Cocoa.)



The background paper and ribbon are from a digital program.

Thank You Card

It's been a busy week since returning from the cruise. One big event was my Wellington Chapeau Rouge Red Hat group went to Fletcher's music for a concert and buffet lunch. There were only 12 of us that were able to attend, but what a wonderful time we had. The staff at Fletcher's bent over backwards to accommodate us. Tables were set up for lunch and Susan decorated them with red and purple table coverings along with flowers at each table.

Bobby Speaker played all kinds of music on a Lowery organ and was extremely entertaining. (He can be very comical.) In fact, when I take classes there, he is my teacher. The event was catered by Palm Tree Cafe and was delicious. Sandwiches, salads, cheesecake... to name just a bit.

Here's a thank you card I made to send to the staff.

The stamp is a digital download from Sweetnsassy.com. I used the Cuddlebug  "Thanks" embossing folder and used  Perfect Plum and a brayer to cover the folder. All of the other products are Stampin' Up.

A CRUISE TO REMEMBER

Well friends, I'm back from the most memorable, fun cruise ever. Our first encounter was trying to get aboard. The returning cruise had a virus among the passengers; therefore the ship had to be sanitized before we could board. We postponed our arrival at the terminal until 5:00 PM (which was the original departure time). Then, we were assigned numbers for boarding. We finally boarded at 7:30 that evening, but we all had a good time while waiting.

Waiting to Board The Radiance of the Seas

The first day at sea was great. Had some Red Hat functions to attend and we got acquainted with the ship. Of course we never skipped a meal. The food was wonderful, the service the best and the ship exceptionally clean. One thing that was different, and for our benefit, was we could not serve ourselves at the buffets. We were not allowed to touch any food or condiments. We were handed/served everything.

The 2nd day was in Cozomel Mexico and the shopping there is unbelievable. We had lunch at a lovely Mexican restaurant called Pancho's and of course
spent some $$$ shopping.

Lunch at Pancho's Back Yard

                 


The 3rd day was a stop in Costa Maya. More shopping!!! The weather was gorgeous, about 82 degrees. And the water was an unbelievably turquoise. Of course each evening after dinner, we saw Las Vegas type shows. Wonderful entertainment.

Costa Maya

Our 4th day was at sea and the waters were extremely rough. I heard that lots of passengers suffered sea-sickness. We arrived in Tampa yesterday morning to a temperature of 32 degrees. Brrrrrrr...

Rough Seas on Day 4

                         

Cruising

Hi everyone. I'll be leaving on the "6th Annual Red Hat Cruise" tomorrow and will be gone 5 days. There are about 75 Red Hat women going on the cruise. This will be my 3rd cruise and I'm really looking forward to it. However, we've just been notified that we won't be able to board at the expected time; we'll be boarding around 4:00 instead of 2:00. It seems that the ship had a virus infection and they have to sterilize the ship before we can board. Interesting!

The theme for this years trip is Hollywood. There is a "door decoration" competition (stay tuned to see our door), a gala fashion show, Breakfast at Tiffany's and a Gone With The Wind Tea. Plus, we're stopping in Costa Maya and Cozumel. We traveling on the Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. Here's a picture of the Carnival Cruise Ship I sailed on 2 years ago. Until later....