Stampin' Up! Cruise 2010 - St. Lucia day 4, pt 2

As promised .. here are more photos from our 4th day on the Stampin' Up! cruise.  

DAY 4 - ST. LUCIA - part 2

Our taxi tour took us to "Diamond Falls".... we really had to laugh when we got there... it looked as if someone had turned on a garden hose at the top.... oh well....  at least it was a break from the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride through the windy roads :)

But the GREAT THING about Diamond Falls was the tropical gardens surrounding it... Jason and I had a field day with our cameras...  (since many of you have asked, I thought i'd add the info here... Jason has a Nikon Coolpix P90 and I use a Sony Cybershot point n shoot).

The photo below is one of my most favorite photos from that day...   DO YOU SEE WHAT IS ON TOP OF THE FLOWER!!?? :) :)

 That plant was really interesting.. here are 2 more shots of the same plant. Anyone know what this plant is??   UPDATE: THANK YOU to 2 of my readers (Donna & Janet) who let me know this is a TORCH GINGER.. I am going to see if I can get it here and grow them ... I just fell in love with it!

The photo below is my favorite photo that Jason took:

and one more outstanding photo by Jason:

and 2 more of my favorite photos..,.

   If it weren't so daaaaaaaaaang hot and humid there, I could have stayed for hours taking pix... but... the A/C in the van was calling me ...

When we got back to the ship, it was time for a late lunch:

and just before dinner we got to visit with dear sweet Dawn and her daughter Jessie:

 
  Every night at dinner, our assistant waiter would bring numerous cokes to Jason :)

That evening for dinner we had huge shrimp that were still in the shell, so the head waiter took them out of the shell for Jason and I !  What service!

 
There was a joke at our table... since we were seated with Jan and DOUG Wakeland and Stella and DOUG MacKay... Eric decided to change his nametag to DOUG, too! 

CLICK TO VIEW LARGER.... Doug 1, Doug 2 and Doug 3 .. LOL :)


We got wonderful gifts each night when we returned to our cabin from dinner... if you want to SEE THE GIFTS, CLICK HERE. :)

So.. I'll leave you with that .. and stay tuned tomorrow for the BLOG CANDY WINNERS!!!!

  

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

 

 

Stampin' Up! Cruise 2010 - St. Lucia - Day 4

Together, my son and I took almost 2,000 photos on our Stampin' Up! cruise .. and I've narrowed it down but still have over 40 fab photos to share from St. Lucia... so I'll break it up into more than one day on my blog :)

DAY 4 - ST. LUCIA - part 1

One of my favorite parts of each cruise is being up early to watch us dock in each new port.. on day 4, as I was heading onto our balcony to watch us dock, I saw THIS coming in next to us!!  This is the Ms Noordam which we actually sailed to Alaska on in 2006 for our 20th anniversary (our only non-SU! cruise)... too cool, huh ? 

We met up with Jan and Doug Wakeland and hired a taxi/van to take us on a tour of the island... THAT is another whole story.... think of"Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland..... 

 
From our taxi/van, as we climbed the hills, we could see our ship and the Ms Noordam in port.

We quickly learned that these taxi drivers are obligated to stop at multiple outlook stops.... and each one has a variety of locals selling everything from necklaces (that looked like they came out of the Oriental Trading company catalog), to clothing, to food, to bananas, .. you name it...  and they were all very persistant about showing you their wares...

Bananas and sugar cane abound on the island... they wrap the bananas in plastic bags to keep the insects away. 

Below are several shots, very typical of what we saw on our 3-1/2 hour tour...

um... narrow roads?

On our way to "Diamond Falls" and the "drive through volcano", this was one of the scenic outlooks.. this is the Twin Petons in the distance.  You can also see the necklaces and other items on display in the foreground.. another pit stop opportunity to shop...  (we didn't get out).




We were supposed to keep driving all the way over by the Twin Petons.. we'd already been driving an hour and a half on very windy, steep roads... so we opted to go to the Diamond Falls and head back to the ship .. not sure any of us could have weathered several more hours in this van on these roads.

Tomorrow I'll share our great pix from Diamond Falls.

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

 

 

Stampin' Up! cruise 2010 - Barbados - day 3

it's all about RUM on Barbados...

I made the 2 photo collages with My Digital Studio.. just pulled in some quick photos of our Mount Gay Rum Factory tour and voila... instant memories of the day :)   {{{ You can CLICK to make them LARGER }}}

DAY 3 - BARBADOS

Starting the day off right.... in the dinning room on the Stampin' Up! cruise of course...  nothing like an omelette and blueberry pancakes!  Honestly.... at home... my breakfast consists of a cup of coffee while reading emails.... so you can bet I gained a few pounds on the cruise... ugh!!  :)  (but I think it might have been worth it!)

We got off the ship (Adventure of the Seas) ... the ship is HUGE.. and the water is the MOST GORGEOUS color of blue EVER...

 

So many wonderful photo opportunities ... it was fun playing around with the camera..

These seemed like fitting signs to greet Stampin' Up! demonstrators!!  :)

In search of a taxi ... no shortage of those!!!

they fit as MANY in the taxi as possible ...  and it was HOT ... "turn on the A/C please!"

It was off to the Mount Gay Rum Factory for us ...

We were greeted by this lovely patio with some SHADE !!!!  and a nice gentleman serving Rum Punch...

 
  

LOVED this tree.. we were told on St. Lucia that it's called Fascination... not sure if that's really the name, but it's sure beautiful !

 

I think this trim looked a bit like a Stampin' Up! punch.....  :)

  Heading in to the building to learn about making rum..

 Sniffing the rum.. we learned about 1 year old rum, 5 year old rum, 10 year old rum and 30 year old rum..... it all smelled awefully STRONG to me .. but you can really tell the difference between them when you smell them all one after another .... 

Now TASTING... it all took my breath away... I'm sure most people appreciated it more... :)  I'm more of a fruity "umbrella drink girl" than a shot girl :)

Photos were not allowed in the actual factory area.. but it was much like touring a winery here in the Napa Valley area.

Heading back to the ship, Jason was interested in the signs on the cigarettes.. (smoking kills)

aaaah.. the ship is in sight.... cool air conditioning... aaaaaaaah.... please... 

This was across the dock area from our ship ... we were told it has something to do with sugar cane... I thought they might make some really unique condos..

After cooling off, hanging out, eating lunch, visiting with friends... (ah the life).. dinner time rolled around...

Jason's steaks...

and as always .. beauteous desserts..

 
Tune in tomorrow for Day 4 of the Stampin' Up! cruise!

   

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Cruise 2010 - stamped samples part 3

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms who are reading this!!

{{I'll post blog candy winners next week... stay tuned}}

Before we continue with more travel posts from our Stampin' Up! cruise, I have a few more fun stamped samples to share with you !!  We where able to drop off stamped samples in the Hospitality Room hosted by Stampin' Up! staff, and they put them on display for us to photograph.  The ideas were amazing and here are just a few of my favorites.

if one of these samples is yours, let me know and I'll be happy to add your name for credit! :)

 

sample above uses the new Lattice Embossing folder from the Summer Mini catalog to texturize the background... I LOVE this new folder!!  item # 119976, $7.95, pg 24.

I must say, this sample had to be my very favorite since it was done using My Digital Studio... it's fabulous!

Above and Below: these samples were done using all the new products from the summer mini catalog on pgs 22 and 23.  Check them out!

 

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

Stampin' Up! cruise 2010 - stamped samples part 2

STAMPIN' UP! CRUISE STAMPED SAMPLES by Brent Steele

{{I'll post blog candy winners next week... stay tuned}}

SEE YESTERDAY'S POST for great samples from Pam Morgan, demonstrated last week on the Stampin' Up! Cruise to the Caribbean.

Today's post features the My Digital Studio samples presented by Brent Steele.  He made a digital scrapbook featuring his boys and their football teams, and then framed one of the pages in a great coordinating frame.... the scrapbook pages are very simple and he repeated the same layout/design over and over throughout the book.. makes it quick and easy to put together a scrapbook in a flash! :)

Brent's terrific pages feature the NEWEST DOWNLOADS available for My Digital Studio.. view them below and CICK HERE to view ALL extra available downloads that do not come in the program itself.  Did you know you can use these files in several programs?  If you don't have My Digital Studio, you can still use these digital files in any program that supports .jpg and .png files & layers such as: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro (PSP), Microsoft Digital Image Pro (DIP), Ulead Photo Impact (PI), Corel Draw. My Digital Studio designer templates are exclusive to My Digital Studio and are not compatible with other programs.

  

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

   

Stampin' Up! cruise 2010 - stamped samples part 1

I am excited to share some GREAT stamping ideas with you ... these samples were all demonstrated on stage in our General Session meeting on the Stampin' Up! Caribbean Cruise last week.  Pam Morgan and Brent Steele demo'd amazing projects on stage.. below are Pam's projects.  I'll share Brent's in another post.

Pam used the Tropical Party theme (see pages 26 and 27 in the SUMMER MINI CATALOG).. she designed an invitation, decorations, favors, etc., for a summertime party.  Everything is adorable and so creative, and it's all available NOW from our Stampin' Up! Summer Mini catalog!!  contact your demonstrator to order today, or ORDER HERE NOW if don't have a demonstrator.

this is a string of low voltage patio/party lights.. Pam used the Island Floral die (flowers) and the Island Oasis Party Favor boxes placed around the lights to decorate the string!

this is a banner using the Pennant Die, .. it says CELEBRA (Celebrate en espanol)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Island Oasis DSP.. it is the BEST !!!
 
 

Create a lei using the flowers from the Island Floral Bigz die and the big shot... curl the petals using a bone folder (like "curling ribbon") and then string onto our linen thread or hemp twine.

Our cute new Island Oasis party favor boxes are so versatile for any summer event!!

 Supplies used (Summer Mini catalog):

• Tropical Party stamp set, pg 26, #118515, $17.95
• Bigz Island Floral die, pg 27, #118871, $21.95
• Island Oasis Party Favor Boxes, pg 27, #117178, $5.95 for 12 boxes
• Island Oasis Designer Paper, pg 27, #117173, $9.95

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

  

Stampin' Up! Cruise 2010 - Day 2 at sea

Wow.. I've got over 50 photos I'd love to share from Day 2 of the cruise... so I will divide them up into 2 days... today will be the "people and food" photos and tomorrow will be all the stamping ideas! :) 

DAY 2 - "AT SEA" DAY

I truly think everyone should start the day like this ... being served breakfast in the dining room ! :) Oh.. and that empty chair... that would be because JASON WAS STILL SLEEPING!  lol 

Um yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... strawberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast.... oh ya!  and.. I don't really even like strawberries.. but this was DELISH!

Here I am with my dear friend Stella... we were roomates at Leadership earlier this year and will be roommates at Convention too!

Below.. Stella and her hubby Doug

Below.. Jason, Eric and I exploring the ship on our "at sea" day.

after the Stampin' Up! General Session meeting, taking tons of pix of stamping ideas in the Hospitality Lounge and exploring the ship, it was already time for lunch!  They have a Johnny Rockets restaurant on the ship... we have one near our house and it's a fun place to eat burgers and fries..

 they bring you fries, onion rings and HELLO...... RANCH DRESSING when you sit down.... now THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!

Eric and Jason

 
yum.. needed a little dessert, too ...

On deck... enjoying the breeze and sun.

 Time for a little mini golf... I'll tell ya.. this ship has everything !

 
At the back of the ship there is mini golf, inline skating, a rock climbing wall and a sport cort!  Oh, and a golf simulator that Jason used later that week.

And yes... I'll admit it..... I plopped $20 into the $1 slot machine called Pink Panther... Eric and Jason thought it was rather a "sissy" machine >>>> UNTIL>>>> it paid out $110 !! :) :) :)

You only have to be 18 to be able to go in the casino on the ship.. so Jason could go in with us.. he was pretty thrilled at the prospect..

That evening was formal night #1 ... here are several photos of us ...

   
 

Doug and Jan Wakeland ordering.... and our adorable waiter Hazel.. she was the BEST waiter we've ever had on any cruise!  (yes, they call her a waiter, not waitress).

Stella and I toasting at the captain's reception.

Shrimp cocktail (before the sauce)

escargot... we dipped our bread in the left over buttery garlic sauce... oh hello... YUM!

The BEST mushroom thing I've ever had in my life.. can't remember what it was called but I think i could eat it every night!

Cheesecake dessert

Tune in TOMORROW for lots of stamping ideas shared on the cruise .. WAY too much to share in one post.

Thanks for coming along on the ride.. hope you are enjoying it!

 

We've just added over 20 new products to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store! You can't beat Stampin' Up! products for up to 60% off.

Stampin' Up! Cruise 2010 - Embarkation Day

I have so many fun photos to share with you from our Stampin' Up! Cruise to the Caribbean last week.  We were on the Royal Caribbean line ship: Adventure of the Seas.  It was a WONDERFUL week and we are so grateful to Stampin' Up! for the opportunity to earn such an amazing trip each year!!

DAY 1 - EMBARKATION DAY

We flew from San Francisco (via Houston) to San Juan, Puerto Rico and stayed one night prior to going to the ship at the Pan American dock.  It was soooo fun to see other demonstrators in the hotel and at the dock!!  And I even got to see Puerto Rican demonstrator Magdamari before we got on the ship!  :)

We waited in a couple lines prior to boarding the ship, and a strap on my husband's backpack got stuck in the xray machine.. it held up the line for awhile and I finally said, "Just go ahead and cut off that end of the strap"... otherwise I think we still may have been standing there! I don't think Eric was too pleased, but there was no way that strap was coming unstuck!

{{ You can click on any photo to view it larger }}

My son enjoyed all of the signs en Espanol ... he's taken many years of Spanish in school.  He was able to practice speaking in spanish to a few cruise staff and island natives, too!

 

This was our table in the 3 story dining room... as we walked around the ship that day we went to see where our table would be.  Our dining tablemates were Jan & Doug Wakeland and Stella & Doug MacKay.

When we arrived at our cabin, we were greeted with this great magnet on the door!

and here is our little home away from home for that week:

Then of course we needed a little "sail away" toast to a fabulous week ahead:

  Here are views from the center of the Promenade looking both ways.. it's like a shopping mall on a ship, complete with several stores, Ben & Jerrys, sports bar, pub, bakery, etc. !!!!

here is yours truly being really silly pretending to take a bite of the HUGE Johnny Rockets burger - I think my son was mortified when I asked him to take this photo :)

 

Prior to dinner, Stampin' Up! hosted a sail away party called THE BIG HELLO.. it was on the floor of the ice rink (which was covered with a wood floor).. more about the ice rink in a few days.

{{ You can click on any photo to view it larger }}

  
At dinner, we had lovely custom menus exclusively for the Stampin' Up!  cruisers! :)

 I think Jason had a steak every single night....

This is one of the atriums and one of the 8 glass elevators on board.. everything is really beautiful:

Jason took a photo of the SU! videographer, Brian, in the hospitality room:

 

and I just love this photo that Jason took while we were in the Viking Lounge;

 

So.. . there is a recap of day 1 as we boarded the ship and set sail.... tomorrow.. Day 2 - Sea Day.

 

 

New "Cruise" Blog Header

Several of you have asked about the photos in my new blog header that I made with My Digital Studio.. they were all taken last week on the Stampin' Up! Cruise to the Caribbean, aboard the Navigator of the Seas... 

Left to Right, here are the photo locations:

 

• outdoor vendorns on Barbados
• flower at the "Diamond Falls, Barbados
• homes in Barbados
• Eric, Jason and I on formal night #1
• scenic overlook on Barbados
• our ship: Navigator of the Seas, Royal Caribbean line
• sail away drinks with friends in the Viking Lounge

I took over 1,000 photos ... I know you'd be bored if I posted them all, but I will post highlights from each day .. so please check back daily ! :)

I love FREE GIFTS from Stampin' Up!

One of the amazing things about our annual Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip Cruise is the way the Stampin' Up! staff makes you feel like royalty !!  They are always giving us lovely prizes and gifts and this year was no exception!

  Last week on the 2010 Caribbean Stampin' Up! cruise, we were treated to 8 free jumbo bottles of water and a cool plastic waterbottle upon checkin... and then we could bring our little "fishy" with our name/info on it to the Hospitality Room and spin the wheel for a free prize!!

I got some of the fun new Island Oasis Designer Paper in the new SUMMER MINI catalog.

Then.... a DOUBLE TREAT... a backpack for hubby and a GORGEOUS wallet for me... it matches the document pouch we received before we left for the cruise!

Hello... how GORGEOUS is this wallet!!???

Then,... of course we needed Make & Take Supplies.... so.... we received this adorable tote filled with goodies to create our projects..

Sorry.. I can't show you the set since it's a new one that will come out in the new catalog in July..
 
 

Then... to top it all off.... what's this ?  hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
 

Only one of the MOST amazing, wonderful, beautiful purses on earth!! Wow!! Check it out.. complete with "Island Oasis" fabric lining!!!!!!!

 I also came home with 3 other stamp sets, a Simply Adorned charm, a roll of ribbon, new Vintage tags and the new Travel Journal DSP from the Summer Mini catalog!!   WOW!!!!  Good thing we left some room in our suitcases knowing we'd be bringing home a few goodies :)

Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of my new blog header.. I'll be sending out some BLOG CANDY to randomly selected comments...

  

Greetings from the Stampin' Up! Caribbean Cruise!

Hey friends!!  I had some time this afternoon and wanted to update you with some pix of our fabulous week in the Caribbean so far!! :)  We've been having a GREAT TIME connecting with friends, making new friends, seeing new sites, eating new foods, ... but not much rest, ... guess that is what the plane flight home is for? :) 

It's been SUPER hot and VERY VERY Muggy here but we have enjoyed the islands so far.  Here are some highlights of the week..

Here is our ship, the Adventure of the Seas, taken from our taxi ride on St. Lucia.

Here is our ship in port in Antigua.
 

Our son Jason on the sail away day in San Juan.. in the Viking Lounge... great view from here!

We played mini golf on deck 13 on our day at sea... it was sooo windy out there.. but still fun!

a pretty view on St. Lucia...

 Banana Ketchup .... who knew?

More fun pix to come... stay tuned over the next week..

 
 

A quick hello from Barbados!

Just sending a quick hello from Barbados from our Stampin' Up! cruise... I've never blogged from Barbados before so thought this would be cool...  I'll just attach a photo from our formal night last night and tell you all that the ship is wonderful and luxurious and the people are delightful. .. there is NO shortage of food at all, and we are actually taking time to RELAX, watch the scenery and enjoy everything!!! whoohoo!

 
 I'll try to blog again... the connection is pretty slow.. and I'm also probably not able to answer many comments or emails until Monday... take care everyone!

 

Well I'm leavin' on a jetplane...

Yep.. today is the big day.. We are flying to San Juan to join  my Stampin' Up! friends on the fabulous Southern Caribbean Cruise!!!  Thanks to Stampin' Up!, this is our 8th free trip and we LOVE CRUISIN' WITH SU! !!!! :)

 

Stampin' Up! always spoils us with the cutest travel wallet .. complete with luggage tags, name tags, tickets, itinerary, etc. .... so fun!! Notice the CUTE lining.. it's from our new Island Oasis Designer Paper pack - new in the Summer Mini catalog!!

Here is a fun travel tip for you ...  I used my BIG SHOT, alphabet die and the sheets of VINYL to cut out an S and a C -- SHAMPOO and CONDITIONER -- so that I can tell the difference with my travel bottles!!  I am super duper "blind" without my contacts, and since I don't wear them to bed or in the shower, I can never see my toiletries in the shower.. this will make life grand!!  (view all the colors of vinyl sheets available, HERE).

 

I am not sure how many times I'll be able to log on to the internet while we are away.. but here is our itinerary if you want to follow along ... I've got blog posts set to post this week.. just in case I can't get on line in the Caribbean.

Stampin' Up! 2010 Caribbean Cruise Intinerary:

• Sunday, April 25 Depart San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Monday, April 26, At Sea
• Tuesday, April 27, Bridgetown, Barbados
• Wednesday, April 28, Castries, St. Lucia
• Thursday, April 29, St. Johns, Antigua
• Friday, April 30, Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Saturday, May 1, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
• Sunday,  May 2, Arrive in San Juan

SEE YA !!