HAWAII

We got here on Big Island January 12th. Stayed one night at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel because we came in at 7:30pm and there is no way we would have been able to drive to our rental in the dark. We are staying on a 24 acre property outside of Hilo. We are here for 2 weeks. 14 miles to town, Hilo. It is beautiful here. Breath taking....

Day 2 - We couldn't check in until 3pm so we went to the Hawaii Botanical Garden that was on the way to the rental. It was a mile cemented walk through a beautiful forest of native growth. There were many orchids growing in the ground, planted there, but obviously growing on their own, unreal!!!

We drove to our rental.... wow..... is all I can say....

I can only post one picture at a time,,,, I will post more pics later!!

UGG... WHAT'S GOING ON???

I have been trying to download pictures on Blogspot for the past week with no luck!!!
Anyone having the same problem????
I go on some of my usual blog visits and you all have pictures.... so what am I doing wrong????
Any suggestions????

I'M SEEING STARS....

I have been "nose.to.the.grindstone" working on some Christmas gifts in glass. I saw these stars made on a show THAT'S CLEVER and thought I could figure them out.....

Well,,,,, THAT PATTERN DIDN'T WORK FOR ME,,,, This star is the pattern I got from the program. It was hard keeping all the pieces together. It just looked sloppy to me.

so I made my own pattern and I like them MUCH BETTER...

I used etching cream and my dremel to put a design on the glass before I cut it, then put a rounded edge on all sides and points with my glass grinder so the edges are nice and smooth. Each star has 50 passes on the grinder (that was the time consumer!) Then I used beading wire to hold the pieces together along with some decorative glass beads... These stars are 6"- 8" from point to point.

So this is the ornament of the year for me.

Maybe I will start a new tradition, annual ornament of the year....

THIS LITTLE ELF.....

I have some stones to finish and some baking to do today.

This one is done.

This one is getting poured next...

This one, a friend of mine made, but I thought it was so pretty, I would put it in the show!

Hope your Monday is filled with wonder (I'm wonderin' when I'm going to get the baking done!)

Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd - Mary, did you know?

THIS SONG MAKES ME WEEP.... and yes, I like Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd!!!

THE 33RD YEAR OF HAPPINESS....

Today my DH (dear hubby) and I celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary. Last year on this blog, I put up pictures and took time to write a nice piece about how wonderful our wedding was. I'm honestly just not feeling it today! Got too many things going on.... Oh, I still love him the same and everything is honestly wonderful (couldn't be any better!!!) but just not feeling the 1 1/2 hrs. it seems to take to download pics and all the blah, blah, blah...
Hubby is actually hauling beans today and I have a list a mile long of stuff to do....
So please go to my 2009 post and know that I am truely a blessed person to have this other person in my life.... love ya all....

46 vs. 16....

I saw a decoration the other day and they wanted $46.00 for it... It was just perfect for my dining room table and I am starting to look for new ideas for around the house. This year is not going to be a big decoration year, I'm just not feeling it!!! So I studied the decoration (as any crafter would) and thought, "I could make that for a lot less than $46".
I was on the hunt for all the parts and pieces...

I found a set of trees (2 to the box) for $24.95 and the ornaments for $2.00 a box. So each
decoration cost me $16.00. Not bad!!!!



The table runner under the tree is one my mom made me. I just love it and try to use it each year to remind myself of how much my mom loves me and how she is so special to me. She weaved all her love within this piece. I know it took her a long time to do it. I am so blessed to have a caring mom that likes to make me things ♥

Look at all those stitches...

Here you can see the detail...

So that is the only decoration I made new this year. I decided this year I am going stress free. I am not stressing out about baking, decorating, or buying. Just not going to do it!!! and so far, I have found "IT'S OKAY".

I wish you all a stress free holiday...