HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU

As 2011 comes to an end, I'll remember the fun journey I've been thru blogland. Making new friends who share the same passion, being so inspired by other amazing bloggers while blog hopping, and reading sweet comments from all of you who visit my blog just made my year a fun-filled and fabulous one. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here's a card for all of you with wishes for a bright, safe, healthy, and very prosperous New Year. The "firecracker" image is by Sister Stamps. Cute yah?


Other supplies: Branch die by Sizzix, flowers by Gakken which I bought in Japan, Copics, DP by DCWV, Distress Ink, Spellbinder dies, and "go" yen (a nickel) from Japan.

Well, I better hit the sack now. Need to wake up early to cook, cook, cook.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2012 "Lion Dancers" Calendar

Hope you all had a SUPER Christmas and Santa was good to you. We enjoyed a nice little family dinner and I'm so lucky that the boys helped cook. The eldest and his girlfriend grilled some Leg of Lamb, our other son grilled some steak, cooked Spicy Tofu with Noodles, baked Lemon Lucious Pie, and mini Cream Puffs. I made Won Bok Salad, Korean Chicken, mini Spring Rolls....oh and the rice. Hee-hee.

Oh boy....what a FAB day!!!! Did anyone grab some bargains at the After-Christmas sales today? I sure did. Up at 6:00 and out by 7:00. Got some Xmas wrapping paper at 50% off so I'm ready for next year. YAY!!! Also, got some BARGAINS at Ben Franklin Crafts and Island Scrapbooking. WHAT A SCORE!!! WOO-HOO!!!!

Enjoyed lunch with my friend Faye today. We were both craving noodles (of course...my favorite) and had the Special Mein Soup at 1-Plus-1 Cafe. They make DA BEST. Ummmm, I could go for another bowl right now.

I wanna share my very first "hanging" calendar featuring the "Lion Dancers" image by Sister Stamps. I inked it up with Copics, cut out the image, then applied it to a red CS cut with my Spellbinder die. The red circle was then affixed to the black scalloped piece. Here's how this idea came to be. The December month somehow tore off so I though, hey, why not make a hanging calendar. Something a little different. How do you like the washi paper? It's from Tokyu (not Tokyo) Hands in Japan.

Here's a closer look at the image. The red circle was embossed using an oriental design by Cuttlebug.

And here's the bottom section.

Other supplies used: Edge punch by Stampin Up, ribbon, and dowel. Our son's girlfriend loved the calendar so I gave it to her. She was all smiles. :-)

Thanks for stopping by and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

One Last Christmas Card.....I think....I hope

Oh brother, just when I think I'm done with everything, I realized I'm short one card for one of our sons. So I just whipped this card out a few minutes ago. Whew!!! I hope that's it because I've already put all of my Christmas stamps and embellies away.

Anyhoo, this was a fun card to make. I already had the snowman image by TGF stamped so it was just perfect to make a card with it. I rummaged thru my collection of Christmas DP and pulled out this Christmas tree "Smirk" paper by Kyla May. OK, so why not add a Christmas tree button to my Happy Holidays image too.....make it at Christmas tree theme. Sounds good!
I finished it off by distressing the edge around the snowman, used my edge punch and Happy Holidays sentiment by Stampin' Up, applied a red-dotted ribbon by American Crafts, and of course, can't forget the Spellbinder dies. And wa-la......done!

Thanks for popping in for a visit and have a very Merry Christmas!!!! I'll be back very soon with a New Year's post. Keep warm and be safe. Oh, speaking about keeping warm, it was soooo cold last night I couldn't even craft because my fingers felt like ice. I spoke to my neighbor today and he said it was 50 degree F last night. OMG, that's much too cold for me. I'd NEVER survive on the east coast for sure. Toodles till next time.

December C.A.T.S and Chinese Pretzels

Happy Christmas Eve Eve Peeps!!! Can't believe the big day is just around the corner. A few last minutes things popped up over the past few days. You know how that goes. Got those squared away. Whew. I'll be glad when we can sit down and enjoy our family Christmas dinner.....THEN hit the stores on Monday for some after-Christmas sales. Woo-hooooooooooooooo!!! That's probably the best part....for me anyway. I LOVE DEALS.

Have you seen that Hyundai commercial with the little girl singing Feliz Navidad with her dad? Oh, that is my fave commercial. She's soooo cute singing with her heart and soul. If that commercial comes on while I'm busy doing something, I always stop and run to the TV to watch it.

And did you watch X Factor last night? YAY, my fave won. Go Melanie!!!!

I want to share this sweet card I received from Mimi who was my December partner for C.A.T.S. (Card and Tag Swap). What a cute image and so perfectly colored. Love the DP too and rhinestone bling.


And here's the matching tag. Cute yah? I love the layout and embellies LOTS. THANKS MIMI!!! Check out her blog for some inspiring creations.

Oh shoots....another senior moment. I forgot to post a picture of the sparkling Christmas brads and embellies. Trust me, they are CUTE. I'll save them for my 2012 Christmas cards. THANKS AGAIN MIMI!!!

And here's a pix of the Chinese Pretzels I made the other night for gifts. Thought I'd share a pix for Colleen. Check out her inspiring blog too. She has her house so festively decorated.

Thanks so much for stopping by. HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS with your family and friends.

Star Christmas Card

Edited on 12/22: I added the 3rd paragraph.....something I almost forgot to share.

Ohhh, only 3 more days till Christmas? Are you ready? I just got thru making some Chinese Pretzels for gifts and my son is eyeballing them.

Do you have young children or grandchildren? As a child, I gotta say, Christmas was quite boring. When we had our sons (3 of 'em) I had to make it EXCITING and FUN. Soooooo, I'd give them a "Treasure Hunt." Each son would be given a note at the same time. One note might say, "Look under mom's pillow." Another "Look in the dryer." The other, "Look under the dinner table." They'd scramble around only to find more notes (about 8) telling them to look different places. Oh how fun to see their joy and excitement. FINALLY, they'd find a gift and ripped off the wrapping to find something that was on their wish list. Oh, those were Kodak moments to see them jumping for joy.

One year, they "thought" they opened all of their presents and I told them gently, "Sorry boys, no Treasure Hunt this year," and they were fine. We ate breakfast, THEN, I asked them, "Are you ready for a Treasure Hunt?" They froze for a moment looking at me and each other, and happily replied, "YAH!!! YAH!!! YAH!!!!" And the hunt began. This particular year was exceptionally exciting because I told them they had to open the gift they found "at the same time." The reason is, they wanted a Playstation system that year. One opened the system, another the controls, and the third opened a game. WOW, TALK ABOUT JOY AND EXCITEMENT. I'll always treasure those happy moments.

I also did this for Easter. If you try this, please be sure not to hide a note or the gift near anything breakable. Yikes.

Here's a card I made from one of the embossed stars that Jeri sent me. OMG, I didn't see her for years and she found me while blog hopping. How cool is that? I was so surprised when I got an email from her. She wanted me to help her create something with it. Oh boy, I tried a few times buy my mojo was malfunctioning probably from holiday overload. LOL Anyhoo, here's what came up with....finally. I love the distressed effect so I thought I'd do it to the star and green background. If you zoom in, you'll see that I embossed the green CS with a pine embossing folder from the "Bird & Reindeer" set by Sizzix.

The images and sentiment are by Pink Cat Studio colored with Copics and Stickles applied to the round "Merry Christmas" sentiment. The stripe DP is by Making Memories. Embellies are a must so I added a peppermint candy by Darice to the center of the sentiment at the top, a candy cane by Dress It Up to the little girl at the bottom, and pearls (for buttons) by Kaiser Craft.


Jeri, thanks for the stars! Hey, did you know we are related (calabash) in two different ways?

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS. Be safe and keep warm.

Thanks for stopping by.

"Yuki" Ornament Card & Mochi Pounding Pix

Hope you're all enjoying some nice and sunshiny days. OMG, we've been having rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, and more rain. And it's supposed to be worse tomorrow. Good grief.

Here's an ornament card I made for Linda for the December Secret Sister Swap. The "ornament" is made using a Spellbinder die. How fun! I placed the top on the fold to create this card then inked "Yuki" by Sister Stamps with Copics. The red cherry blossom is from Wild Orchids, small lavendar flowers by Mulberry Bear, large leaf punch by McGill, and small leaf punch by Punch Bunch. To give the leaves more definition I distressed the edges. I LOVE embossing folders and used dots by Cuttlebug on the green trim, then used an EK edge punch.
Here's a peek inside the card.

The sentiment is by Dandelion Design. Don't you think it goes perfectly with Yuki hugging her toy-filled Christmas stocking?

Now on to mochi pounding. Cely requested pictures and here they are. I wish I took more. Shucks.

The day before mochi pounding, we wash then soak a 5 lb. bag of mochi rice in water. The following day, the rice is steamed in a wood fired steamer until it's soft. Then it's transferred into a large stone bowl for pounding. Then several of the guys, each with a long stick, will poke at the same time to soften it more. Now it's ready to be "pounded" which is a 2-person operation.

Well, here I am getting ready to pound with my hubby.

We need to have good timing so we don't end up hitting the other person's "hammer." Also, a good aim is a must so we don't hit the side of the "bowl." If that happens (and I did it before), the "hammer" ends up with splinters. Yikes. Who wants to eat mochi with wood splinters? LOL. Good thing they always have extra hammers.

The men folks do most of the pounding but as each family's mochi is pounded, the members of that family get in a few "hits."

After the mochi is pounded several times, someone will turn the mochi by hand. Oh, and we need to be careful not to pound his hand too.....dangerous job. LOL :-)

Once the mochi is pounded, it gets transferred to a long table that is sprinkle with "katakuriko" so the mochi won't stick to table and our hands. The ladies then make kazari or ko mochi.

Okie dokie, that's Mochi Pounding 101. :-)

Nighty night and thank you for visiting. Have a great week.

Winner of my Merry Christmas Candy

12/19/11 - Hi Peeps, just wanted to let you know that I received an email from Colleen. Congrats to her. Hope you all have a safe, warm, and Merry Christmas.

Hope you all had a great weekend. We went "mochi pounding" yesterday and had lots of fun seeing and chatting with our relatives.

The winner of my Merry Christmas Candy is COLLEEN whose name was randomly pulled by my son. Please send me an email by Wednesday, 12/21/11 at 9:00 p.m. (Hawaii Standard Time). If not, another name will be drawn.

Colleen said...
Thank you so much for a chance to win some fun and very generous blog candy. What you are giving away is looks super yummy. I espcially love the HK stickers. :) One thing on my list for my News Year's Resolution is to loose some weight.

Thank you all for visiting my blog and hope you all have a WONDERFUL and SAFE holiday season.

Hugs,
Karen

"Tweet" Christmas

Quick post as I need to hit the sack and wake up early tomorrow.

Also, my candy is posted below this post.

Here's a card I made for Mimi who was my December C.A.T.S. (Card and Tag Swap) partner.
Silly me, I was trying to be "efficient" (yah right) and mailed the card to her earlier this month without the tag. OMG, when I realized it, I emailed her quickly to let her know. She's so sweet and told me not to worry. But I did get it to her about a week later.

I'm entering this card in the Lollipop Craft Challenge #61 "Happy Holidays." Gee, it's been a while since I last entered a challenge. If you'd like to enter, click here for the deets.

And here's the tag.



Supplies for the card:
Image by Penny Black, Snowflake embossing folder by Darice, DP by Crate paper and Stampin' Up, Spellbinder dies, Holly embellies by Dress It Up, Copics, Distress Ink, Button, Pearls by Kaiser Crafts, Carpet thread, and Poinsettia embellies (?....sorry, I tossed the label).

Supplies for tag: Spellbinder dies "Label Eleven," snowflake embossing folder by Darice, edge punch by EK, "To / From" stamp by Magenta, poinsettia and Xmas tree embellies by Dress It Up, ribbon by Offray, and Distress Ink.


Thanks for stopping by and HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Merry Christmas Candy

This candy is now closed. Thank you.

Happy Holidays Peeps. Hope you're all enjoying the spirit of Christmas. I sure am. My cards are done and will be mailed tomorrow. And I'm just about done with my shopping. What a relief.
BIG SIGH.

Since Christmas is a season of giving, I'd like to give you a chance to win more candy. I'm just thankful to all of you who visit my blog.

The lucky winner by random drawing will receive the following:

-Wave Flourish by EK Success
-"Messages" cling stamp set by Hero Arts
-"Special Little Person" stamp set by S.W.A.L.K.
-"Little Flower Circle" stamp by Hero Arts
-Mini cloud punch by Punch Bunch (great for little scenes)
-Mini Happy Birthday cling set by Studio G
-"Happy Birthday" Japanese character stamp by Stampettes
-Hello Kitty stickers by Sanrio (got it in Japan)

Here are the super easy-peasy rules:

1) You must be a follower of my blog.
2) You must leave a comment by answering this question. "What is one thing on your New Year's Resolutions list?
3) Please DO NOT post this candy on your blog, if you have one.
4) One entry per person please. Thank you.

Deadline to enter is Sunday, 12/18/11 at 10:00 p.m. (Hawaii Standard Time). The winner by random drawing will be posted on 12/19/11.

Hope you all have a warm and safe holiday season.

Good luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

December Secret Sister Swap

Hellooooo Peeps! Hope you all had a great day. Our boss took us to Pescatore today for lunch and ummmm, the Chicken Marsala was "deeelicious." They say it's a "local favorite" so I tried it. That was topped off with a slice of Chocolate Truffle Cake. Oh boy, I practically rolled outa there. LOL

Today, I want to share this pretty card I received from Linda who was my Secret Sister for this month. I love all the sparkle on her card. Coincidentally, we were paired off and I was her Secret Sister too and she received my card the same day I received hers (yesterday). She's new in blogland so please welcome her and see her awesome cards at http://lifeofagirliegirl.blogspot.com/ She also became my 100th follower....a milestone for me. YAY!!! Made my day!

Here's a matching tag with dangling snowflakes. What a clever idea. Thanks Linda!!!!

If you'd like to join in this fun swap, click here for the deets on Kris' blog.

I'll post the card I sent to her in a few days. Until then, happy crafting and thanks for stopping by.

Setsuna Delivers Christmas Gifts

I've had Setsuna by Sister Stamps inked up with Copics for a few weeks now and finally had time to finish this card. Of course, since he's delivering gifts, I needed to place him near a Christmas tree. This tree is from my Spellbinder Shapabilities "Nested Pine Trees" set which I just got at Island Scrapbooking last weekend. I love it. The brown brick wall background was made using a Sizzix embossing folder.

Other supplies used:
Distress Ink
"Happy Holidays" sentiment by TGF
Ribbon Banner by Spellbinder
Present embellies by Dress It Up
Peppermint candy embellie by Darice
Stickles

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a GREAT week.

WINNER of my BLOGAVERSARY CANDY-Round 2

Hope you're all warm and getting in some crafting. I'm freezing here....yup, in Hawaii.....burrrr!

CONGRATS to CYNDI. You are the lucky winner of my Blogaversary Candy - Round 2. Please send me an email posted on my sidebar before Saturday, 12/10/11 at 9:00 p.m. (HST). If not, another name will be drawn.

Cyndi said...
Congrats on your blogaversary! i have a lot on my wish list...copic refills, 6 x 6 paper, greeting farm stamps, dies, punches, etc. :) I want all the new stuff! It's crazy!

Thanks a million to all of you for visiting my blog. Hope you all HAVE A SCRAP HAPPY DAY!!!

Hugs,
Karen

BLOGAVERSARY CANDY - Round 2

This candy is now closed. Thank you .

This post will remain at the top until the deadline of this candy. Please scroll down to view newer posts. Thank you. :-)

Hi Peeps!!! Hope you're all having a fabulous week.

Are you ready for Round 2 of my 2-year blogaversary celebration? Okie dokie, here are the deets......

1) You must be a follower of my blog.
2) One entry per person please.....thank you.
3) Leave a comment telling me what craft item(s) is/are on your Christmas wish list.
4) Please DO NOT post this candy on your blog, if you have one.

Deadline is Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 10:00 p.m. (Hawaii Standard Time). The winner will be announced on 12/9/11.

I want to spice it up a bit so if I reach 110 followers BEFORE the deadline of this candy, I will post one more candy after the winner of this one is announced.

Here's a list of goodies the lucky winner will receive:
"Furry Embrace" stamp by Penny Black
Oriental girl stamp by Stampettes
"Thinking of You" clear mini stamp set by Studio G
"Congrats" clear mini stamp set by Studio G
"Seasons Greetings" clear mini stamp set by Studio G
"Dear Santa, I've been (naughty / good)" clear mini stamp set by Studio G
Sugarplums Holiday Emma by CC Designs
Glitter buttons by Elements
Snoopy Christmas House demensional stickers by EK Success

Thanks a million for visiting and good luck.

Hugs,
Karen

Mimi's Back

And here's one more card with sweet Mimi from the "Mimi's Christmas" set by Penny Black. Isn't she adorable? Of course, I "had to" use my snowflake embossing folder by Darice again ....my fave. The holly punch is by Martha Stewart with berries punched from my "regular" hold puncher. I inked Mimi with Copics.
Other supplies: Ribbon Banner and Eyelit Circle by Spellbinder, "Merry Christmas" by Penny Black.


And here are 6 more. I'm so happy to say I'm almost done with my Christmas cards and have most of them ready for mailing. Wooo-hoooo, YAH!!!

Thanks for popping in for a visit. Have a GREAT crafty day!

Kiyoko Playing with Sparklers

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend. I had a fab Saturday going to a couple of craft fairs in Hilo. Jenny's was the first and of course I got there 15 minutes before the start time. Hee-hee, that's me. Well, we go to the same hairdresser and since Debbie can't go to any craft fairs because she has to work, I asked if she wanted me to get something for her. She was so excited and asked for 4 Hello Kitty calendars (the long ones). I wanted to make sure I got those for her before they sold out and got pretty much first crack at them. BOY, FOR A SMALL FAIR, THEY SURE HAD AN ABUNDANCE OF AWESOME HANDMADE CRAFTS. WOW!!!

Today, I want to share this New Year's card featuring Kiyoko. What a cutie playing with her sparklers. I got the "tori gate" stamp by Megawa at Stamps 'n Memories last month. You know how sometimes you see a stamp and just know you gotta have it? Well, that was the case with this one because I thought it would be perfect for an Asian theme / scene. I added patches of grass (stamp from Viva Las Vegasstamps), cloud stickers (sorry no label on my pkg.), and of course that cute little pooch (by Dandelion Designs) to create a scene. Kiyoko and the cherry blossom branch are adhered with Pop-Dots to give it demension. The cherry blossom branch is a sticker by Mind Wave, Inc. that I got in Japan

Other supplies: Distress ink lightly applied (blue for the sky and green for the grass) and Copics.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all HAVE A SCRAP HAPPY DAY.

Hugs,
Karen

Dressing Up Shimo-san

Happy Wednesday Peeps!

I just can't get enough of this snowflake embossing folder by Darice. See I told 'ya, you'd be seeing more of it and I still have one more to post with this embossing folder later....maybe next week. It's so perfect with this CUTE image of Shimo-san by Sister Stamps.

Other supplies: Banner die by Spellbinder, "Happy Holidays" by TGF, and Copics.

Here's the inside. The sentiment is by Hero Arts, snowflake punch by Marvy, and glitter cardstock by DCWV.

Woo-hoo, and here's seven of 'em. I had a blast making these.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a super-duper fabulous day!!!

Karen

WINNER of my Blog Candy - Round 1

Hello Peeps,
First of all, a great big hug to all of you for visiting my blog. It's been a FUN, FUN, FUN 2 years since I started my blog and I've been soooo inspired by many of you. THANK YOU!!!

Also, hop on back as I will be posting another candy very, very soon.....Round 2.

Wooo-hoooo, the lucky winner of my blog candy is LEANNE POE. Please send me an email by 9:00 p.m. on Friday, 12/2/11 (Hawaii Standard Time). If not, another name will be drawn.

Leanne said...
Happy Blogaversary Karen! Doesn't the time just fly by so fast?! Well it's been wonderful to come by and see your beautiful creations. I think the best present I have ever received was handmade cards made by my co-workers. That was really touching and very unexpected. o and this past bday my friends and family surprised me with a really awesome gift card. have a great week!

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL YOU!!!

Hugs,
Karen

SWEET CANDY TO CELEBRATE MY BLOGAVERSARY

This candy is now closed. Please stop by tomorrow, 11/30/11 to see who the lucky winner is.
Thank you VERY MUCH for visiting my blog.

LITTLE NOTE: This post will remain at the top. Please scroll down to see my new posts. Thank you very much.

Has it been 2 years already? How time flies when you're having FUN!!! It's been an awesome journey for me filled with so much inspiration from visitors and fellow bloggers from here in Hawaii and afar. Your sweet comments also make my day. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

To celebrate my 2nd blogaversary I'd like to give you a chance to win some yummy candy. You'll have a chance to win the following: Flowers from Wild Orchids, a set of clear stamps for various occasions by Hero Arts, "Exotic Blossom" stamp by Hero Arts, Christmas penguins stamp by Dandelion Designs, 2 Hello Kitty paper clips and a set of Hello Kitty stickers by Sanrio I got from Japan, Disney stickers by EK Success, stamp with image of a cute gal with shopping packages by Dandelion Designs, and "let's go shopping" stamp also by Dandelion Designs.

I made it SUPER EASY and you don't need to have a blog to enter. Simply do the following:

- Be a follower of my blog (if you are not a follower already)
- Leave a comment on this post telling me what was the best gift you ever received for any
occasion.
- One entry per person please. Thank you.
- Please DO NOT post this candy on your blog if you have one.

EASY PEASY HUH?

Enter now as the deadline is TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011 at 10:00 P.M. HAWAII STANDARD TIME. The winner will be posted on Wednesday, 11/30/11.

Mark your calendars peeps because AFTER the winner is announced, I'll be posting another candy.


GOOD LUCK and thank you again for visiting my blog. Hope you all HAVE A SCRAP HAPPY DAY.

Hugs,
Karen (aka KI)

Here Comes Mimi

Helloooo Peeps!!! Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving and got to fill your tummy with LOTS of yummy food. Are you all ready for Black Friday???? Better put on your running shoes and good luck blazing thru the stores. Hope you get a steal of a deal on all your purchases.

I want to share another Christmas card featuring Mimi by Penny Black. I think she's such a cutie pie. When I started cutting around the branch, I didn't quite like the white border but you know what, after cutting around the entire branch, I LOVED it because it looks like snow. That image is from the "Magic of Christmas" set by Hero Arts.

Of course, I used my snowflake embossing folder again by Darice. My fave for sure.....and you'll be seeing more of it soon. :-)


Here's a peek at all six of 'em.

Other supplies used: Copics, "Happy Holidays" sentiment by Penny Black, Spellbinder dies, Stickles, and ribbon from Walmart.

Thanks for stopping by. HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY!!! Be safe and go get 'em.

"Yuki's" Christmas

Hey Peeps! Hope you're all enjoying the weekend. Are you ready for Black Friday? I sure am.

A few days after I got my October release of Sister Stamps holiday images, I whipped up some circle cards featuring Yuki. Oh, I think she is such a cutie hugging her Christmas stocking full of goodies. At first while deciding on my layout, I used a solid green to trim the border but found that to be too plain. When I tried this stripe DP by DCWV and thought that was perfect. On most of the cards I made for this Christmas, I used the snowflake embossing folder by Darice. I love it!!!!

Here's a peek inside. The sentiment is by Art Impressions.

Since I made several of these cards, I inked up Yuki all at once with Copics.

And prepped the cards and insides like an assembly line.

And here's the seven cards.

Other products used: Spellbinder dies and Stickles.

Back from Japan

Helloooo Peeps! We just returned from Japan a few days ago and I can finally share some pix with you. It's been crazy busy since we got back. This was my very first trip to Japan and my hubby's 4th. We stayed at the Hotel Metropolitan in Ikebukuro in Tokyo.

I was warned that there'd be LOTS of people but OMG it seemed more like millions. On the night we arrived, we decided to go to Seibu, a huge multi-level store at the train station. Not knowing when "pauhana" (end of the work day) time was, we got to the train station at about 6:45 pm. WOWZER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was a MASSIVE AND UNBELIEVABLE number of "men in black" in their black suits and women in a constant flow scrambling thru the station. A couple of guys were full-on sprinting. I told my hubby they look like an army of human ants. LOL. Yikes! I hung on to my hubby's arm so tight so we wouldn't get separated. I must've cut some blood circulation in his arm. LOL. What an experience.

We did soooooooo much walking that by the 3rd day, I needed to take Aleve for my sore left knee. We just had to cut out the night time walking which put my legs over the edge. About the 3rd day, we caught the train to Ueno as we were headed to Asakusa. After getting off the train, hubby said, "Oh, I think we can walk to Asakusa. It's not too far from here." YEAH RIGHT. No way Jose. I told him, "We're catching a cab." WHOA, that was quite far. If we walked it, my legs would've fallen off, plus we'd probably get lost too.

Speaking of getting lost, we had to ask for directions so many times and shared some Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts (tetra packs, those little triangular pkgs.) to whoever helped us. Boy, were they happy. One security guard continued thanking us as we walked away. When we were about 40 feet away, I could still hear him. I turned around and he kept bowing and saying, "ARIGATO GO ZAI MASU." I smiled and waived to him. Glad we could spread some aloha. :-)

Shortly after getting out of the cab, a guy approaches us and "sold" us a ride on the rickshaw. HOW FUN!!! But poor guy, he was perspiring. Good thing we took the shortest ride. And here we are with the Hawaiian "shaka".....

OK this next picture doesn't look too appetizing but at Nakamise Dori we both ate the pumpkin age-manju. Jenny, you weren't kidding. That stuff was so good that after we made our round shopping and munching on other goodies, we went back and bought one of each of the other types and took them back to our hotel to eat though it's better to eat them fresh. They were all yummy though I didn't really care for the cherry and this other one with green specks. Don't know what that one was.

That's me in front of the temple. This is the largest temple I've ever seen. ENORMOUS!!!

One morning, my hubby looked out of our hotel window and saw snow-capped Mt.Fuji. Isn't that awesome? We heard it's rare to have a clear day and see the mountain. We were very lucky.

Hubby loves to watch Ultimate Japan. On this show he was introduced to the Matsuzaka Beef. Being a meat eater, he wanted to go to Satou Restaurant in Kichijoji that was featured on the show. Here's the owner showing him his steak before it was cooked. I had the sliced Sirloin steak that was $10.00. You don't want to know how much my hubby's meal costed. I almost fell off my seat.

Here's a shot of my hubby's meal. Looks ono yah?

There was a 7-11 near our hotel which we went to everyday. We had to try the ice creams we don't have here in Hawaii. Ummmmm, they were deeeeelicious!!!!

Lookie here. These were almost too cute and nice to eat. They were from the bakery in our hotel.

This last pix was taken as we were riding on the bus heading back to Narita Airport to return to Honolulu.

Hope you enjoyed the pix. I'll be posting my blogaversary candy within the next few days. I need to get my act together first.

Thanks for stopping by and HAVE A SCRAP HAPPY DAY.

My November Secret Sister Swap to Gail

Hello Peeps. Hope you're all enjoying your long weekend and crafting, crafting, and crafting.

When I found out that I was Gail's secret sister for November, I must admit that I felt quite intimidated because she sent me such an awesome swap as we partners for the October C.A.T.S. (Card and Tag Swap).

Well, the November swap for the Secret Sister Swap calls for "thanks." Hey, this was actually PERFECT because I got to create this card for her to thank her for the cool swap she sent me. It's the first time I used my new Scallop 3-D Pop Up die by Sizzix.

I'll start by sharing the inside of the card. I'm still hooked on my Fair Princess stamp set by TGF so I "had to" add these cuties to the garden scene.


Here's a close-up of the top half.


And the bottom half.

Here's the front of the card. Sorry, it's not a very good pix and I had already mailed it so I couldn't take another.

I having a blast with the swaps. If you'd like to join in the fun, click here for deets on C.A.T.S. (Joy's blog) and here for the Secret Sister Swap (Kris' blog).

Other supplies used:

Stripe DP by Stampin' Up; Copics; Ribbon Banner, circle, and large scallop dies by Spellbinder; "I absolutely love it" stamp by Stampin' Up; "Sending Smiles" stamp by Hero Arts; "Thanks" stamp by I think Hero Arts (sorry, it's not noted on the stamp); Grass and butterfly punch by Martha Stewart; Decorative Swirl by Sizzix; Stickles; pearls and rhinestones by Kaiser Craft

As always, thanks for stopping by. HAPPY CRAFTING!!!