Chiquita Banana Time!!

Welllllllllllllllllll Helllllooooooo again everyone!  I am back home again from a FABULOUS trip to Naples, FL and I now have a new place I want to call home LOL!  My pal Pat Jaynes and I stayed at Dana Shaw’s lovely home, each in our own guest rooms and it was so nice of her to have us at her “Dana Hotel” hee hee…I’m sure her hubby was glad to see us go LOL!  The weather was sunny & in the 80’s every day and I got to spend it with my bestest BFFs.  Classes were a sell-out and I enjoyed them so much and all the wonderful ladies that came out to Coleen & Janet’s store Scrapbooks Etc (a must visit store if you are in town)—thanks to everyone for the warm welcome and FUN dinner!  I laughed so much my abs/ribs still hurt and there wasn’t a whole lot of sleeping done at Dana’s house LOL…we got in bed around 3 am (except the first nite which was 5 am…yikes huh)…chatting, laughing, facebooking, shopping (oh boy), eating and having NO schedule.  It was a great break for me….recharged my mojo and I so needed it.  Everyone needs some me-time and to get away with your girly pals is a MUST do at least twice a year LOL!
So one of the funniest things on the trip….well there were many but I’ll start out with the airboat ride in the Everglades…OY VEY!!  It was so much fun and we three were in the front seat and Pat had the rope…she was holding that darn rope like she was riding a horse (see slideshow below)…it made her feel in control I guess.  I on the other hand had nothing to hold on and was sliding around like crazy!  So there were LOTS & LOTS of alligators…now I respect all wildlife…however I do not find them cute or cuddly nor do I want to touch them…you feel me on this?  So we get right up next to the first alligator and he’s pretty large and the lady behind us says “I really want to pet him…he’s so pretty”…ummm are you a NUTTO…do you need psych help…let me take a picture while you get your darn arm bit off!!  So we continue on thru the mangroves and we are speeding at quite a clip around a curve…Suzanne almost flies off her seat…literally I kid you not, I was 2 inches from going in the water…that is NOT a story adventure I wanted to have.  So I had to brace myself with my legs in different positions to keep on the seat LOL!  Then we are speeding down a path at quite a clip…when the 3 of us spot a big gator in the pathway…oh yeah…WE RAN OVER THE ALLIGATOR WITH THE AIRBOAT…yes we did and we were screaming as we bumped right over him..LMBO!!!  Dana has a video of it and when she gives me a link I’ll share it…it is hilarious.  Well the driver spins the boat around to go back to Mr. Gator (who was fine but boy'-o was he PISSED)…yep he was hissing & growling at us and GUESS WHO WAS NEXT TO HIM??  YES ma’am it was me and I kept scooting back…especially after said-driver tells us they will jump…I was pushing Pat & Dana off the end of the boat.  I was not a HAPPY or thrilled girl at that point…pretty sure me & my new sunglasses were gonna be GATOR DINNER!  OMG I was skkkkeeeeered!  I thought perhaps I’d have a heart attack for sure on that dang boat…I was thinking about running across the water as fast as I could!  Then we head back and they have baby gators you can hold…yes everyone held the baby gator…’cept me.  HEY—its not on my bucket list, if it ain’t on my bucket list then I do NOT feel a need to do it…got me? LOL HEY let's face it...those baby gators grow up to be large-people-eating-gators...yes indeed they doooo!  So I stood next to it but I did not touch it…I don’t touch reptiles…never, ever, never!! Sheesh!

I have more stories but I will share that I got home at 3 am yesterday morning…why you ask?  Well OOPSIES…Suzanne accidentally booked her return flight home for March 29th instead of February 29th LMAO…yes I did and luckily was able to get a flight leaving around same time but…… That is what I get for booking flights at 2 am in the morning…no more of that stuff.  I was stuck in the middle seat to Atlanta and then my flight was delayed so I didn’t get in till 1 am.  The KICKER of this lil’ story…ummmmm my flight flew into DC National Airport not Dulles which is an hour away…OOPSIE…LOL…yeah hubby was NOT so thrilled with me.  Good thing he loves me and knows me well huh?

Florida Slideshow:


NewsBitz:

-Upcoming Copic classes are in West Virginia, California, Baltimore and Montreal Canada!  See www.cmcroad.com for more details!

-Winner of that fab Imaginisce Ribbon MagiCutter is…….Aixa of "Aixa's Creativity Garden"!  Congrats...please email me for details ok!

-La La Land Crafts has a fun new blog JUST FOR KIDS…its for kids and by kids…so if you know a kid that likes to craft and color, then head over to the new blog challenge HERE!

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Chiquita Bananas!!

So today I have a fun, cheery project to share with you---the colors just put ya in a good mood dontcha’ think?  I made this for the current March Magnolia-licious DT Challenge which is hosted by Sharon Caudle…this month she’s challenged us to create projects the “Move & Groove” (they need to move, shake, slide, pop, etc)!  So I created this Pop-Up Gift Card (see tutorial here) which was easy to make and fun too!  See all the details for this fun challenge at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog….we want to see what you create so come’on!!!

I'm entering this into the following fun challenges:

Pixie Cottage Challenges (anything goes)

Simon Says Stamp Challenge (anything goes)

Perfect Sentiments Challenge (anything goes w/ sentiment)

Anything Challenge (anything goes..no cards)

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations (pop up projects)

Make It Monday (anything Goes)

 I used this super cute stamp from Magnolia-licious called “Tilda Goes Bananas” –she is so stinkin’ cute I almost can’t stand it LOL!  And she reminds me of a crazy-banana friend of mine (ahem….Tina….ahemmm)!  She comes in mini-stamp too…go get her…she’s just TOO fun to not have!! I used papers from Basic Grey’s “Picadilly” – love the fun, bright colors!  The sentiment is from PTI, border punch by from Martha Stewart, rhinestones and layered flowers.  The swirly die is a Marianne Designs die - ( Magnolia-licious now carries dies from Marianne Designs, Memory Box, PoppyStamps & Cheery Lynn)

She’s colored up with Copics R29,R24,R22,R20 / YR23,Y15,Y11,Y00 / E11,E00/ E37,YR23,YR20.  I used Ranger Liquid Pearls for her necklace (yellow) and added Stickles to her bananas, shoes and ruffles—this gal has gotta SHINE!!!

On the inside it pops a gift card envelope up so you can add any gift card you’d like!  I added a few paper flowers I made with my Nellie Snellen dies and brads.  I used my handy-dandy Scor-Pal to create the inside...always makes it so much easier!  The whole project closes with a belly band but instead of slipping off the card it closes with a brad-twine closure…wind the bakers twine around to close..unwind to open.  Just a fun way to deliver a gift card dontcha’ think?

Ok that’s it for me today….I sure hope you enjoyed this post & play along with us over at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!!  Have a great weekend everyone!

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Thanks for choosing me for Top 3 Crafts & Me!!!