Ashley and Eric tied the knot!

Eric and Ashley went off to SF to get hitched! They came back with Eric sporting a whole new wardrobe of fashionable shorts...

Eric works really hard!

Eric's our Design/Product Development Guy. Yup, it's an official title...and works very hard.

Not sure where this was...but we were having fun!

David recently shot off this photo...no idea where we were...tho it looks like fun...
oh, I think we had just picked up his mom Freda, and took David out to dinner for his birthday at Downtown Disney...
Rain Forest Cafe! It's all coming back. :)

What have you done with your stamps lately?

This is a collection of some of my favorite stamped projects....
1. Left: (No longer black) leather Italian boots I found at Goodwill.
At the toes...Leaf Mandala Stamp.
The instep...Bali Cloth Design.
Stamped with Stewart Superior black fabric ink.
Toe tips are double stick tape stripes with alternating copper, gold, and silver glitter.
Painted with Dr. Ph Martin's Ready Tex Paints.
Rose lame, copper, gold, pewter, silver, brass.

2. Center: Stamped candydish.
Stamped using Rubber Stamp Plantation Tolum stamp with black fabric ink on the underside. Sponged Ready Tex metalic paints. Sealed with several coats of polyeurathane.

3. Wood Heart Door Hanging by Stephanie Freeman.
Wahine, and Post Card Rubber Stamp Plantation stamps. I LOVE this!!!

Let me know what you think!

Shelf above my desk

Rail Station in San Diego

Shower at the Vetiver farm

Best part of "Farm Day" is Woody's outdoor shower! Water is sweet, fresh, and warmed by the sun.

Smile Spa and Karaoke-our neighbor

Altered Art/Altered Space

Syndee Holt told me that you always get great photos by using a car in the sun! (I think...) So we clipped off some foliage from the tree that needed trimming, and set up the "studio" on Mary's car! This photo will be the base for our upcoming Ad in Altered Arts magazine. I kind of wanted to epoxy them on and drive away!

Stephanie's Vintage Sticker cards!

Just rec'd an amazing package of cards and books Stephanie made using Rubber Stamp Plantation stamps, and Aloha from Hawaii Vintage Stickers!
David will be at Ben Franklin, Market City, in Kaimuki tomorrow (Sat. 5/17 10a-noon) leading a "make & take" for their annual "Paper Party"! I hope you can join him.
These dimensional cards are the models for Stampclub this Monday eve. Join us 5:30-8pm.

Mary and Deb playing "tourist"

In the 20 plus years I've lived in Hawaii, I never walked through the Halemano Plantation Photo Op garden! So here we are! Right next to Dole Plantation, Fabulously tacky, a definite "must" on everyone's list!

David and Max joined us at the Vetiver Farm

David and Max, my brother and sister in law, trekked up to the Vetiver Farm with us on Tuesday. Max and I rode the planter while Mary and Dave filled in the spots we missed. We were able to plant 7 rows! Lo and behold, Woody found 1st gear on the tractor! Prior to this, it was truly the "Lucy and Ethel" show...trying desparately to keep up with the planter, barely able to breathe from laughing so hard!

Gas pump in Caracas, Venezuela...approx $0.11/gal

Mary and I were in Caracas a year ago November...just prior to the elections. Gas prices then were about $0.11 per gallon (about $1.00 to fill up a tank for a small car!). Prices now have inflated to $0.14 per gallon!
I had to take this photo when we filled the tank and it was all of 80 cents!

Sat. Farmer's Market-Kapiolani Community College

luscious pineapples at KCC Farmer's Market every Sat. am. Quite the jammin' place to see and be seen. Unfortunately, they no longer allow dogs!

Tropical Etch...my favorite vase broke!

I'm soooo glad David had photo'd my favorite vase made with our Tropical Etch glass etching stencils! This one was relatively easy to make, tho have yet to find a similar vase to replace it.

To create this I used:
2 packs of Tropical Etch 4 in Lau'ae stencils
2 packs of Tropical Etch 2 in Lau'ae stencils
(I had extras from both size packages leftover to use on other projects)
Glass etching wood handle pick with burnishing end (to remove unwanted part of the stencil and burnish any air bubbles, or "tents").
Etchall Creme (reusable!)

Foreground is "reverse" etched using the 2 in Lau'ae (fern) design. I masked off the spiral stripe first with blue masking tape. I then placed the stencils in a random patern leaving the white leaf stencil on the glass, removing the background. The leaf stencil served as a mask, and the background of the stripe was etched.

The etched leaved in the background resulted from removing the leaf design (4 in fern/lau'ae), and leaving the background portion of the stencil. I used masking tape to cover any exposed glass areas within the stripe area I had portioned off for the larger stencils. This resulted in the leaves being etched by the creme while the background of the area was protected by the remaining part of the stencil.

This was a stunning piece 8 in at the base, 12 in at the top and 18 in tall. It was in several gallery shows and led to quite a few orders for similar pieces that sold for $75-$225! I also gave a few away as wedding gifts! Check out the YouTube videos and our site for instructions and to order stencils for your showcase project! http://www.rubberstampplantation.com

Vetiver keiki (slips) in rooting hormone bath

Farmer John washing Vetiver

Woody washing the dirt off freshly harvested Vetiver plants.

Where we ready Vetiver for planting

Emily and Halia at the Vetiver Farm

We had a great day of Vetiver harvesting on Saturday. Woody harvested a row of adolescent plants from a very weedy row. The stock was amazing. Great yield. Keiki were abundant. We seem to really have the processing down. Woody hauls the harvest to the washing station. He cleared a great spot under a tree where we trim and soak the keiki in rooting hormone. We'll go up on thursday to plant.

Kiana and Kiani at BFS Paper Party!

Sisters Kiana and Kiani joined me at Ben Franklin Kailua for their annual Paper Party.
Stamping and coloring with markers and colored pencils was a huge hit with all! We then cut them out to make scrapbook pages.
Our calendar is on our website http://www.RubberStampPlantation.com
More Paper Parties and other Demo's to follow throughout the State! Can't wait to see you there!

Friends from Yap visit Rubber Stamp Plantation

Our new friends Gina, Tina, and Tim, visited us last week from Yap! They were visiting Honolulu with Melanie, for the Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities. Gina is a Deaf student (freshman in high school) who was "shadowing" Sharon for a few days. She's thinking of coming to college here in Hawaii, to study Deaf Studies, so she can become a Special Ed Teacher/Teacher for the Deaf. Sharon had a blast taking Gina to her college classes, going shopping, out to restaurants, and of course, bringing her to work at RSP! Gina did great, and we're ready to hire her when she comes to go to school. Tina, her mom, and Tim, her teacher in Yap, were accompanied by our great friend Melanie for a grand tour given by Sharon!
In the photo L to R: Deb, Sharon, Gina, Tina, Melanie, Tim, David, Thomas

Nancy, camped out on my desk wearing the Birthday Lei Melanie and Jan gave me! She's stylin'!

Mandalas at Stampclub

Monday nite was Stampclub...everyone's invited! We meet the 3rd Monday of every month. The other nite, Rosemary led us in mandala creation. This was mine using the Korean Mosaic stamp in the center, swirl sun, mendhi hand, Islamic border, swirl heart, and last but not least, Deb's sun. I used crayola colored pencils. to color everything in, and a pigma micron to outline the detail in the Korean Mosaic stamp (because it stamped really lightly...I used a grey chalk pad).

Stampclub is 5:30-8p...everyone brings a pupu, all materials are included, and we take turns leading a project. We've been ongoing since 1998! If you'll be visiting our Islands, be sure to schedule your trip to include a play date with us!

What I did for my birthday!

I had the best birthday last week...and it just keeps on keepin' on! After dropping Lauren off at the Hilo Airport, I headed to the docks to ship my truck, filled like a stuffed kishka, back to Oahu. It was a blast. Kawai picked me up and gave me a tour of Kehaukaha (her neighborhood). We met up with Zeke, perused the corner candy store (bought out their supply of cherry mash, and picked up Koji burgers so we could meet Randy for lunch under the Banyan tree. Then off to Wal-mart to get some towels and 3 decks of cards. I spent the day with Zeke at the beach learning how to play his and Randy's favorite card game using 3 decks in fervent wind. This is the beach we settled in to until we met Randy again for dinner at their favorite Thai place before I was dropped back at the airport to catch my plane home. It was so sweet to see Mary at the other end waiting for me! Slobbery hugs and kisses from the pups too!

Turtle Toes

I just rec'd this cute note and photo from a sculptor staying on the big Island...

"I've been staying on Hawaii for a while now and have been having a ton of fun with your temporary tats. All my nieces and nephews wear them when they come to visit, and take some home with them when they leave. THANKS for making them cute and fun, looking forward to some popokis! I've attached a pic of some on my feet, they were a big hit. I'd be honored if you put me on your gallery to give people some ideas! All the little kids at Hapuna commented on them! "
Mahalo,
Lorna

Embellishment Central-Honolulu

Embellishment Central...embellishments you never even dreamed of inspire your creativity, and throw a giggle your way! Yup, its a service I provide...you dump all your "...but it's good stuff!" drawers into a suitcase or two. Book 2 or more tickets on the cruise of your choice. Fly me to the departure port, and while you're in the casino, I'll sort thru all your "stuff". We'll have a blast the rest of the time!
The green shelves have a little roof on the unit. It came from The Poi Comany, and was their poi roll and muffin display. Rusty metal pieces, bingo, scrabble, triomino, keys, mahjong, elementary school lettering, bottle caps, single earrings, rusty pieces of tape measures, japanese movie film cans, matches from Ohio truck stops, are just a few of the treasures that call Embellishment Central "home". All part of our Treasure Chest and Art Bar. 746 Ilaniwai St. Honolulu. Give us a ring for detailed directions if its your first time. 808-591-2122

The Farm...first planting day

Farm Day: I just unearthed this photo of our very first planting day up at our farm on the North Shore of Oahu. Mary found the 5 acre ag lease on Craig's list a year ago. This was our first Vetiver Planting done by hand! I had Altered Book group this morning, and my knee needed to rest from a cortisone shot a few days ago, so I didn't make it up for "Farm Day" with Mary, Jane, and Woody. The Vetiver, http://www.vetiversystems.com , is doing really well. They'll continue to harvest, split, and will most likely replant tomorrow. We'll have another farm day next weekend, so if you're in town, be sure to call or email to let us know you're coming!

FYI...it's a video: Volcanoes Nat'l Park-Halemaumau

Spent last week on the Big Island of Hawaii for the Merrie Monarch Festival. After 4 great days set up at the craft fair at Ah Fook Chinen (Butler Building), we headed home to Hawaiian Paradise Park to put on our jammies and watch the performances live on TV. Sunday Loren and I went holoholo up the mountain to Vocano. We stopped at Kilauea Kreations...an amazing little quilt shop, and lunched at the Lava Rock Cafe before heading into Volcanoes National Park to meet with Akiko...the buyer for their gift shop. The weather was amazing considering that Volcano Village and surrounding areas were evacuated yesterday when the winds changed, blowing sulfer and sulfuric acid the way of populated areas. As you can see by the photo and video, the sky was blue and the winds minimal. I took several virtual rolls of film just on the "clouds" of emissions. Loren and I then hiked the crater rim trail a ways...ever so often being wafted on the legs by warm damp air rising from a crack or hole on the side of the trail. The mini caverns, lined with glistening warm moss were bottomless to our sight.

Bodacious Bangles!

I left for the Big Island of Hawaii March 31, and just returned last nite. Will post more about my amazing Volcano and lava experience later...want to get the skivvy posted about the Bodacious Bangles.

Material needed:
1. Rubber Stamp Plantation Stamps (fish tapa, hibiscus, maile lei, kukui lei, lau'ae-fern, swirl sun all xlg bamboo, lg bamboo, all worked great)

2. Wood bangles from DIYbangles.com

3. Radiant Rain luminescent paint daubers from Luminarte, Inc.

4. Stewart Superior black fabric ink (permanent black)

5. Blank/uninked microcellular foam ink pad (I love the large 3 1/2 x 6 1/4 inch pad)

6. Triple Thick coating by DecoArt

7. Makeup sponges to apply the paints

8. Sponge paint brushes to apply the Triple Thick

9. Something with spokes or similar to hang bracelets on to dry

Shake your paints well to evenly distribute the pigment and mica powders (luminescence)
Use the dauber to paint the outside of the bracelets. I open the paints and use makeup sponge for the inside.
Stamp with your favorite Rubber Stamp Plantation stamps with ink

When dry, rub side of bracelet on ink pad to make the black bands

Paint the outside with Triple Thick. let dry and paint the inside....
Viola!
You're Pau! (done in Hawaiian!)