10-10-10 A Very Special Date

My oldest daughter, Mikayla, was born on October 10th. Being that this year is 2010, it meant that her bday would be celebrated on 10-10-10. She wanted to have a bunch of friends over for a slumber party, scary movies, pizza, and cake.

Some of the things Mikayla loves are skulls and the color turquoise. She chose this design from Liliha Bakery.

No, she's not really 18. There was some confusion about the design, and the bakery put "18" instead of "14"!

The girls had a great time talking story, putting makeup on each other, and just being girls. We gave each of them a goodie basket with candies and little Halloween trinkets such as pencils, spider rings, etc.. as a thank you. I got these great buckets in bright colors from Pricebusters for 99 cents each. I really love these buckets. I'm thinking of picking up a bunch of red ones to use at Christmas time.

The great thing about putting these together is that Mikayla did most of the work after I did the first one. She even used the Cricut to do the lettering on the front.





That night, we made sure to log onto a website that displayed the time. We wanted to take a picture at 10:10:10 p.m. The timing was a little tricky with the camera, so I took several practice shots. I definitely did not want to miss a once-in-a-lifetime moment! Thankfully, I caught it on camera !!!

I'm BACK !!!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here. Unfortunately, I was just soooo tired during my pregnancy and, of course, after I gave birth, all I really wanted to do was concentrate on getting adjusted to life with a new baby and enjoying every moment with her!

So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce my little bundle of joy, Madison. She was born on Sept. 3rd after 22 hours of labor -- longer than when I was in labor with Mikayla! YIKES !!!

Words cannot express how much joy I feel everytime I hold daughter # 2 (as I sometimes refer to her, LOL). Even though I already have a daughter who just turned 14, I still can't get over the fact that this little human being grew in my tummy! I know that might sound silly, but I truly do find the entire process of conception and birth absolutely fascinating and amazing !!!

It's strange to have a little one to take care of after all these years, but at the same time, it seems so natural. Of course, it still took some adjusting, but I am very blessed to have such a supportive older daughter and boyfriend that both contribute a lot !

It's November 2nd, and Maddie is already 8 weeks old ! Boy, time surely is flying, and my baby sure is growing quickly ! She was 6 lbs. 7 oz. when she was born, but I am sure she has probably doubled in sized already! We'll know for sure when we take her to the doctor for her check-up this week. Her pediatrician already "suggested" that we cut back on her feedings being that Madison was gaining weight at twice the recommended weight. Her doc likes to see a gain of one ounce per day, but Maddie's been gaining 1.5 to 2 ounces per day. She's getting a little chunky!

Here she is with Mikayla on Halloween night. Mikayla dressed up as Alice from "Alice in Wonderland". She wanted to go trick or treating with friends, and that worked out fine for my boyfriend and I since we had the little one to take care of.

Wow, just looking at these two pics of Madison has me in awe at how much she has grown in just two months! I also can't believe how grown up Mikayla looks. This picture makes me feel somewhat bittersweet. I feel so happy and excited at the thought of all the memories I look forward to creating with Madison. At the same time, I feel sad knowing that Mikayla is not my little girl anymore. It seems like it wasn't so long ago that I was dressing her up in her first Halloween costume.

Well, now that I have another little one, I have another excuse to scrapbook! I actually have gotten some crafting done and will post about that next! Hopefully, with juggling work, a new baby, and possibly school next semester, I will have SOME time to myself to spend crafting. I'm so looking forward to it!

Rock Princess: Cricut August Release!

OH EM GEE !!!! I am so in love with the Rock Princess cartridge that is being released in August. Love, love, LOVE it! So does Mikayla. She can't wait to get her hands on it and start creating with it. If you haven't seen it yet, here is a link to pics of this cartridge as well as a few other August releases! http://www.cricut.com/(S(52dgiyvolr0mykra23guwnrq))/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=6864034&mpage=1

I've Been So Tired (Gestational Diabetes)

All along, I thought I was exceptionally tired with this pregnancy just because I'm older. I'm 38 now and was 24 when I had my older daughter. Well, my first glucose test at my 7-month checkup was high, so I had to go in for the 3-hr glucose test last week. This happened with Mikayla, so I didn't worry TOO much about it. Everything turned out okay with that pregnancy.

Unfortunately, this time around, the test results came back positive for gestational diabetes. If your readings are too high for 2 out of the 4 blood draws, you are classified as being diabetic. My initial fasting reading was only about 2 points over, I think. The other three tests all exceeded the maximum levels. *SAD FACE* So, I guess this helps to explain why I've been so tired on some days, especially after I eat.

I have to attend a consultation next week and then attend a four-hour class the following week. I need to make adjustments to my diet, mainly cut back on carbs and sweets. I will learn all of that at class.

The condition SHOULD go away after I give birth. Mainly, I'm just praying that the rest of the pregnancy goes okay, and that there are no complications. But, after I give birth, I'm definitely having some sushi and a sundae!!!

I'm Officially a Cricuteer !!!!!!

I did it! I broke down and treated myself to a Cricut E!!! YAHOOOO!!!! I had been thinking about getting either a Silhouette or a Cricut but was pretty torn. Without boring you with details, I decided that I would just get three diecut machines: the Big Shot (already got it), the Cricut E, and the Silhouette. Actually, I'm not positive about the Silhouette since I plan to get SCAL one day. I'll just have to see how SCAL works for me.

I had been stalking Craigslist for some time when I got lucky! There was a listing for a Cricut E and some cartridges. No prices were listed. I emailed my name and number. When the lady called me back, she told me she was selling her Cricut E for only $100 !!! Her E was about a year and a half old, and due to a separation, she needed to sell her craft supplies. I felt bad for her, but at the same time, glad I could help in some way.

So, I am now officially a Cricuteer! I still have so much to learn when it comes to my new toy, but since I will be on maternity leave for several months soon, I am hoping I will have some time to create lots of wonderful things!

Cheesecake Factory

UGH! I've been slacking in posting to my blog lately. Just been busy with some things going on at home -- and still really tired! I wanted to share some pics of a belated Father's Day dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We decided to go on the Wednesday after the Father's Day holiday because P had some things to do with his two older daughters on Father's Day.

If you've never been to the Cheesecake Factory, be prepared for a long wait (they don't take reservations). I can assure you though, that the food makes the wait worthwhile.

To kill time, we walked around Waikiki. We came across a guy with some parrots who was happy to let us pose and take pictures with them. The birds were so adorable!



After about an hour of waiting, our pager went off (YAY!). We didn't take pics of all our meals, but we did take a pic of Mikayla's GINORMOUS pizza as well as the delicious cheesecake we had for dessert!





P had the low-carb cheesecake with strawberries. I had the tuxedo cheesecake, and Mikayla had the red velvet cheesecake. Mmmmm...heavenly! Click on the pictures for an enlarged view of the Cheesecake goodies!

Blog Candy !

Ooh, YUM! Aren't these cookies way TOO CUTE??? One of my hobby goals is to work on my decorating skills. Pretty, decorated sugar cookies are at the top of my list. I hope to one day soon be able to have my cookies look as professional and gorgeoous as these! I have a bunch of cookie cutters already, but I would love to add this cookie cutter to my collection *adds to Christmas wish list*. Now, if YOU want a chance to win the cookie cutter along with some other goodies, check out http://glorioustreats.blogspot.com/. I recently discovered this blog and fell in love with it. There are some great party ideas there. Good luck!

Garage Sale Finds

Saturday morning, Mikayla and I went garage saling in hopes of finding treasure amongst other peoples' trash. We started at 9, after having breakfast with the bf and a service appt. at the car dealership. We were out until around 12:30, hitting up about a dozen garage sales. Some were drive-bys where we simply drove by to scope things out and then left without even getting out of the car. We were both pretty happy with the day's take. She spent a whopping $9.50 and I spent about $27 -- not bad considering all that we got.



I absolutely LOVE these two 8 x 8 albums. One is a Tinkerbell album by Sandylion. The other is a Tim Coffee K & Co. album. I love how girly his stuff is! Both were brand new and in the original packaging. I checked online and both retail for around $25 each. At the garage sale, they were priced at $5 each with an additional 50% off! That means I paid only $2.50 for EACH !!! WOO-HOO!!!! I think I am going to use the pink one as Maddie's first scrapbook album. As for the Tinkerbell album, I can't decide if I will use it to scrap pictures of Mikayla's Disneyland album, or create layouts and sell the entire album on Ebay or Etsy. Decisions, decisions ...



My second favorite find is this set of Christmas stamps by JustRite Stamps that also included in the wooden base! I've been wanting some of their stuff, but pricing for a set like this with shipping to Hawaii would run me around $45. I paid TEN DOLLARS at the garage sale. YAHOOOOO !!!!!



I love blank chipboard and was happy to find these two stacks of square coaster-type chipboard pieces marked down to $2 per stack (back of pic)! I have so many ideas for these, and at $2 a stack, I couldn't resist! I also found a Sizzix snowflake die that I've been wanting. The other die is an Ellison die that contains four different sizes of stars. Stars are so versatile, so I know I will make use of it. Both dies were only $4 each! I also got one of those water pen thingamajigs marked down to 50 cents!



Here is one of Mikayla's favorite finds of the day. It's a hot pink satin tote bag with bamboo and pandas on it. She absolutely loves it. It cost her only $2 !



Her other favorite find was a brand new ceramic paint set that set her back only $2.50! She's already used it for a mini canvas painting. I'll post that as soon as she's done with it.



She also got a tote bag (not shown), a bunch of metal containers which she plans to put her paints in while painting, a little trinket box shaped like a suitcase, a naked container (right of photo) that she plans to alter with sb paper and embellies, and 4 bottles of Avon products and Avon lip balm (not all are pictured).

All in all, I'd say it was a successful day. We didn't spend much and got great deals. Best of all, we had FUN !!!!

Hello Kitty Card

It seems like this week just flew by. As usual, I've been feeling pretty tired due to the pregnancy, so I didn't get around to taking pictures of this card until today. This is a card I've been working on for a while. It's for the June OCS (one card swap).

Sorry the pics are a little dark. I was having trouble with my daughter's camera. Also, I have to use a different computer since my other one crashed (UGH). Sooo...I do not have access to Photoshop at the moment *BOO HOO*.

Anywho, the challenge for this month's swap was to incorporate a FAVORITE. I included many of my favorites when making this card. I used blue, red, and white cs by Bazzill. It's my go-to cs and has been my fave for years. The background pp with flowers is actually the reverse side of some Snow White themed pp by Reminisce. They have the cutest, cartoonish line of fairtytale pp out now!

I used Doodlebug glitter paper for the Hello Kitty Sizzlits die cut. Oh, how I *heart* Doodlebug glitter paper -- actually, ANYTHING by Doodlebug!!! I added some bling to her bow because every girl needs to have a little bit of bling, right? Also, if you know me, you know I love bling!!!

The rainbow sticker is from the Doodlebug Icons Sticker set. The butterfly sits on top of a pop dot. I absolutely love dimension, so I incorporate pop dots a lot in my projects.

The little red daisy was cut from a punch. Again, I included some bling here.

The "hello" sentiment was made using another one of my favorite products by one of my favorite companies: Maya Road. I love using blank chipboard pieces because I can paint or cover them with pp to match my project or get them to be the exact color I want. Although, it can be tedious, one of my favorite techniques is utilizing my Making Memories acrylic paints to paint the chipboard in the color I need at the moment. I like to then follow up with glitter and Glossy Accents. Here, I used white paint and then covered with glitter from a Martha Stewart collection. The glitter was sealed with Glossy Accents.

I adore gingham ribbon, and I thought some red gingham would go perfect with the feel of this card. I included a little heart charm tied on with Scrapper's Floss and then finished the front of the card with pearls by Kaiser Craft.

The inside of the card has been lined with the same pp by Reminisce. I included more of the punched daisies with bling on a white liner provided for writing purposes. I hope my partner likes her card!

TFL!

Dinner at Hapa Grill

I haven't been out in a while, so this past Saturday night was a special treat for me. I went out to dinner at Hapa Grill in Kapolei to celebrate my girlfriend's Big 3-0. She's the one in the middle, and she happens to also be pregnant -- due 3 weeks before me! She's also having a girl!

While I have heard some good things about Hapa Grill, I would have to say that I was a little disappointed in my shrimp scampi dinner. I love capers and usually order any dish that has it with extra capers. I forgot to this time and realized I really should have -- because there were a total of TWO capers on my plate! How disappointing. I also found the cream sauce a little bland for my liking -- although I seem to have that problem often with cream sauces for some reason.

Other than that, I enjoyed catching up with my girlfriends, especially since I have not seen these two since last year. We laughed at how, a year ago, we were celebrating my girlfriend's birthday at Oceans 808, dancing our butts off and getting our drank on. Now, 3 of us in the group are pregnant! LOL (The third girl moved to the mainland)

It's always nice to have a ladies' night out every so often, even if there's no drinking or dancing involved. While I wasn't pleased with my meal, I still had a good time. After all, it's the company that matters!

(the ladies before dinner was served: we wanted to take the pic

before we messed up our lipstick...lol)

Welcome !

Welcome to my blog! My name is Dena, and I love papercrafting! I love scrapbooking, cardmaking, and photography -- although it seems like I do more collecting of supplies than anything else! EEK!

I started with rubberstamping around 2001'ish. It was around that time that scrapbooking started to really take off and evolve. That's when my interest piqued. I've been hooked since then but have taken lots of breaks due to lack of time. But, with another baby on the way (no, that's not a beer belly in my pic -- I'm actually pregnant! LOL), I've decided that I don't want another stack of photos piling up, so I need to make the time to scrap and journal!

I tend to favor cutesie, girly things -- think Doodlebug, Imaginesce, and Sassafras Lass. I also absolutely *heart* Maya Road products. I'm a technique person, so it's not unusual for me to combine different techniques in a project such as glittering my own chipboard or using acrylic paint, etc ... I love pushing myself to try different things.

I mainly work with bright, fun colors, but I will dabble with vintage from time to time -- particularly, Valentine's Day and Christmas themes. I also toy with inking and distressing, too.

These are older creations, but I thought I'd share to give you all a sense of my personality and style.

Some altered paint cans I did way back. The Raiders can was obviously for a Raiders fan. I rolled up a Raiders t-shirt that was his Christmas gift. He loved the can and kept it in his garage near his tools. The tinsel trim actually looked like little footballs.

I made this one for my girlfriend's b-day one year. She loves anything Elvis and actually has the same b-day as Elvis Presley!

Halloween treat can for a friend's son. I made several of these one year. Word of caution to parents: you really need to carry a plastic bag to periodically empty out the can as it doesn't hold very much.

Wall hanging I made for a friend in a coffee-themed swap last year. She works as a barista at Starbuck's.

ATC I made for a "I've Learned" ATC swap last year. I used glossy accents on the witch's costume and the words. You can't tell from the picture, but I also used glow-in-the-dark embossing powder on the moon.

This one was one of my favorites and says a lot about ME : kinda sassy-tough but girly at the same time! I used the glitter lace technique for the background for a girly touch. Sorry the picture doesn't show it too well. I often work on projects late at night and am just too lazy/tired to fiddle with my camera settings! Anywho... I chose to punch the butterfly out of metallic paper to go with the motorcycle and add a little bit of toughness to the ATC.

I'm working on some cards and other projects this month. Will post those projects when they are done. Thanks for looking!