A special birthday...

Blogger Note: This hop is actually running on my DeNami Addict blog, but I wanted to make sure no one was left out of the fun...so come on, let's play! :)


Hello everyone - today is a very special day and cause for a celebration!! Today the world was bettered by welcoming Nami Nakamura into it. That's right, the amazing person behind DeNami Design!

 

Nami's uber sweet and talented daughter, Paulina, has planned a little impromptu blog hop just for fun so that everyone can join in on the celebration! I hope you are able to hop along and join the celebration! You should have arrived here from Dana's blog. If you didn't and want to start from the begining, just head on over to the DeNami blog.

For me it was love at first sight with DeNami Design and my passion has done nothing but grow and grow and grow...and yes, it has grown a little out of control! ;)   Whatcha gonna do, right?!?!? Well, I have always wanted to meet the faces behind DeNami and recently I had a chance to. I was soooooo nervous that my excitement over it slowly started turning into dread. Random thoughts from the Nakamuras thinking I was some kind of insane stalker to the awkwardness of me introducing myself and them giving me a blank vacant stare because they have no idea who the heck I even was...I was a nervous wreak and didn't even get an ounce of sleep the night before. I felt like I was going to meet royalty and in a way, I was, well in my book anyway, lol!! I had myself all worked up for nothing! I walked up to the booth and Nami recognized me instantly...how, I have NO idea, but she did and was so welcoming and amazingly sweet!! First thing she did was run around the counter to give me a big welcoming hug! I was ready to cry at her sweetness and because I was so relieved! How can someone with so much on their plate know who I am and welcome me so beautifully...I'm still amazed! She graciously told me to hang out in the booth to watch, follow and absorb...it was a day that I will never forget! She does have a little habit of embarrassing the heck out of me though, lol! She made sure to tell everyone that happened by the booth who I was and about the Addict blog. Her excitement over the blog just filled my heart with joy and love. She has no clue what that ment to me!! I could have stood there all day and watched her create. Her creative process is something I hope everyone gets to experience at one point. You mention one little thing and her mind is off like a race horse in the Kentucky derby! She had idea after idea that played off one little thing I had said...I was dizzy with all of the ideas and the speed in which she came up with them! WOW, She is brilliant and loving person and I hope to be able to spend time with her again. Fingers are crossed that I can work in the booth with the Nakamuras if they come back to this area! I feel so honored to be able to participate in this hop to help celebrate Nami's birthday!

 

Here's a little card and candy box that I created in honor of Nami...

It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but I embossed the sentiment and Hydrangea Border in silver onto vellum then overlaid it onto the white cardcstock that I had previously stamped with the Hydrangea Background and colored in. I finished it all off with some Amethyst grosgrain ribbon. For the little box, I stamped the Hydrangea with black Staz-On the "colored" it in using purple 3-D Crystal lacquer and regular Crystal Lacquer with various colors of glitter. I wanted the candy to match the box so I had to pick out the red ones, lol. I placed the candy in a little baggie with a wire tie to ensure that no stray glitter touched it.

Nami, I hope you have a fan-tab-ulous birthday and I am so honored to have gotten to meet you and to be able to participate in your birthday celebration! Big {{HUGS}}!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I've rattled on and kept ya'll here long enough so off you go to the next person that is helping celebrate Nami's birthday...Laurie Wilson.

 

Back to school blog hop

Hello everyone! It's that time again...after a long whining about being board filled fun filled summer, it's time to get our little brats out of our hair send our little angels back to school.  ;)  And to celebrate, DeNami Design is hosting a back to school themed blog hop!

Here's all the details you need to know:

When: The blog hop starts on August 9th at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until August 10th, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

 

 

You should have arrived here from the mucho talented Deb W. Her CAS style just amazes me...wish I could do that! If you didn't arrive from Deb's blog, don't worry....just head over to the DeNami blog for a list of all the participants!

 

 

Now mind you, my "little one" is 22 years old (AAKK), but senility hasn't set in quite yet for me ;) and I remember how he loved to have plain binders and decorate them with his own art work. I decided to expand on that idea and make not a bunch of doodles and pencil drawings, but what is essentially an over sized card front. I think this would make an adorable teachers gift too.

 

Blogger note: Please excuse the photos. I never dreamed that photographing a binder would be so hard...sigh.

 





Here's a look at the "art work" pulled out of the binder...

The background paper is a fairly soft color palette because I wanted the Chickie scene and tag to really stand out. I used chalk inks for the polka dots and graduation caps. To make the little border strip I simply masked the Back To School Chickie stamp. Did you notice that extra chickie hiding out in there? I used a sentiment from Lawn Fawn's "Cruising Through Life" set...I thought it was a perfect fit. Everyone should "follow your dreams" and with a good education, your dreams could be limitless, right?

 

Well, there you have it, that's all for me for today. Your next stop is Stacy, a very talented gal that I've had the joy of getting to personally know lately. She's a pretty awesome gal and I'm sure will have something uber fun for you. Don't forget to leave comments along the way for a chance to win one of the gift certificates!

I'll see you on the DeNami Addict blog bright and early Monday morning with the button challenge winner and the announcement for the next challenge!