Stampin Up Incentive Trip 2018- Part 6: Seattle, Washington

I know this is long over due and I kind of forgot about it until recently. I want to finish up the last part of our Alaskan Cruise with our last day of our fabulous trip.

We ended our trip in Seattle, Washington. We had lots of sight seeing to do, so when we disembarked the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas at 7:00 am, we hit the ground running.

Our first stop was the Public Market. The famous sign was an exciting sight to see.

I took this photo later, after we had eaten breakfast, when the sun was a little higher and brighter.

Next, we stood in line at the very first Starbucks. It was early, so we got lucky and only had to wait about 20 minutes. Later that day, the line wait was nearly 3 hrs. Glad we got there when we did!

Ordering their drinks. There wasn't much "sit down" space at this location. Very cozy and small.

Worth the 20 minute wait to get a drink at the very first Starbucks!

Next stop, the big bubble gum machine to buy gum for the famous "Gum Wall."

The "Gum Wall" was pretty cool, but at the same time, pretty gross. Chase (the germophobe) wasn't happy about getting so close to the sticky wall.

 

Next it was off to ride the Great Wheel. This is the largest observation wheel on the west coast. Its 175 feet tall and each of the 42 enclosed gongolas holds up to 8 people. We were lucky and got on this ride early, so we had a gondola all to ourselves. What a great view from the top!

Even though Maci loves thrill rides, she's not fond of heights, so the 4 trips around were a little much for her, but she braved it out. Chase on the other hand is required to be able to work from extreme heights, so this was a baby ride for him.. lol.

Back down on the ground and strolling along the beautiful waterfront.

It was time for lunch and what better meal than seafood while we are in this waterfront city. You guessed it... crab legs again! These weren't the gigantic Alaskan King Crab legs that we had in Alaska, but they were still pretty darn tasty.

Our bellies were so full. I'm glad there was plenty of walking yet to do. In fact on this day we had over 22,000 steps in!

An authentic totem pole in Victor Steinbrueck Park. Victor Steinbrueck was a famous Seattle architect, and those are the Olympic Mountains in the background.

We also saw some amazing sculptures at the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Such a cool bronze sculpture over top the Seattle Monorail system.

An interesting human statue. He had to have been so hot in this painted outfit.

This is what we all have been waiting for... a trip to the top of the Seattle Space Needle. There was a line, which was about an hour and a half wait, in scorching 87 degrees weather, but well worth it in the end. The Space Needle had just undergone some major updating so we were one of the first to see it.

It opened in 1962 and stands 604 ft high. Remember Victor Steinbrueck? He was the Civil Engineer on this famous landmark.

She's smiling for the camera, however, when I asked her to stand on the bench- she declined immediately. I saw others standing on the glass benches for pictures and it looked as if they were floating up there. So cool.

We did more shopping and headed back to Pikes Place Market and the Waterfront where we saw the lovely Carousel.

I sure wish we had markets like this in my hometown.

We had a fabulous day in Seattle and saw all the things we wanted to see that day. I'd love to go back and see the mountains and parks someday as well.

Next stop, our hotel. We stayed at a Pineapple Hotel (how cool is that?) It was called Hotel 5- a super cute and super cool boutique hotel in Seattle. We decided to get dinner at our hotel and eat in our room. The food there was delish!

Check out these beds... the most comfy beds ever!

Chase was happy to see his bed... he didn't even take his shoes off. It looked way too inviting to waste time taking them off.

I highly recommend a trip to this fun city. So much to see and do. This hotel was pretty amazing too!

So that's (finally) the conclusion of our Alaskan Cruise/ Seattle trip. I hope you enjoyed seeing the wonderful cities that we were fortunate to explore.

No stamping this time.. but stay tuned for some great cards coming your way soon. I have tons to share!

Thanks for stopping by.

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!

 

 

How to: Card Fold for Halloween

I made this card in August for a swap and it got lost in the shuffle. Its such a cool and easy fold, that I wanted to share it with you today.

I call it the Triangle Flap fold. I used the Cauldron Bubble stamp set as well as the fun and funky halloween designer paper called Toil and Trouble. It has such awesome, bright and spooky colors with the perfect trick or treat images.

I used several different patterns of the Toil and Trouble designer paper.

Check out the fabulous Black Glitter ribbon... it has silver glitter sparkles in it. I also colored the ghosts with the Stampin' Blends alcohol markers in granny apple green and highland heather.

I used the 2 1/4" and 2" circle punches as well as a few Faceted Dots on the card. The circle was only attached to the top flap.

 Here's how I made the card.

Granny Apple Green cardstock 8 1/2 x 11 piece

Cut it from top left corner to bottom right corner, diagonally with the Stampin Trimmer.

You will end up with 2 triangles. We only need one of them for this card. The other one can also be used to make another card. The flap will just be on the opposite side.

Next we will score this piece. Line up on the paper trimmer like so.. with top point on 4 1/4" and score.

Then turn it and score it at 5 1/2" as shown.

It will fold like this.

Next, attach pieces of Toil and Trouble designer paper. Cut the designer paper at 4 x 5 1/4". Then you will cut it diagonally from left top corner to bottom right corner, just as we did with granny apple green cardstock.

Here are all the fun patterns that I made. I attached the ribbon behind the circle with dimensionals

Here's a bunch, ready to mail to my demonstrator friends.

Hope you enjoyed this fun and unique card fold. It really is quite simple. Give it a try!

Thanks for visiting.

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!
 

Product List

Cauldron Bubble Clear-Mount Bundle [149931] $44.00	Cauldron Bubble Clear-Mount Stamp Set [147710] $21.00	Cauldron Framelits Dies [147914] $28.00	Toil & Trouble 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [147531] $11.00	Black 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Glittered Organdy Ribbon [147897] $8.50
2" Circle Punch [133782] $18.00	2-1/4" (5.7 Cm) Circle Punch [143720] $18.00	Faceted Dots [146910] $6.00	Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146990] $8.50	Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146986] $8.50
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.75	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $7.50	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [147274] $9.00	Light Pineapple Punch Stampin' Blends Marker [147029] $4.50
Light Highland Heather Stampin' Blends Marker [146881] $4.50	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	Stampin' Trimmer [126889] $30.00

Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise- Victoria- Part 5 & More Stampin' Display Boards

 So, this is our last port of call on our Stampin' Up Alaskan Cruise. Victoria, British Columbia was such a beautiful city to explore.

We had booked a bus tour that took us around the city and to various neighborhoods around Victoria. We ended with a double, double at Tim Hortons. Then, back down to the city to explore a little more.

Victoria is the capitol of British Columbia and located on Vancouver Island in Canada.

Victoria is very much a lovely city to retire to, much like Naples, Florida in the US. The temperature never goes below freezing or above the 70's. Which means that it rarely ever snows here. Go figure! However, they were having unusually hot weather while we were there- in the high 80's. The tour guide told us that no one has air conditioning, as its not needed. The month of July was really rough on them, because the temps were so high.

A couple charming neighborhood houses on our way up to the scenice overlook.

Quite a few celebrities have homes here. We did see a few hockey players homes while on the tour. Our tour guide mentioned that it would be difficult to find a home here under 1 million dollars.

Scenic overlook. Looking down on the city of Victoria. We were told that Victoria is a very expensive place to have a home. I can see why. Everywhere we went, everything was beautifully manicured and clean and especially gorgeous, being that its right on the water.

There's our ship in the distance!

Next stop, Tim Hortons. I have always wanted to go here. I know we have Tim Hortons in several US cities, but none that are anywhere near me. So, I was excited to go. My friend Lynsay, who is Canadian, tipped me off on what to order. She said to definitely get a "double double" which is just coffee with double cream and sugar. I always drink my coffee black, but wanted to do as the Canadians do- so I went for it. Its so very Canadian! I even won a prize on the bus for knowing what a "double double" was. Thanks for the tip Lynsay!

Oh, and of course lets not forget the yummy, timbits, which are the left over donut holes from the donuts. So good!

So, back down to the city we go. This is passing through Victoria's China Town. Its the second oldest China Town in North America, San Franciso's China Town being the oldest.

We were dropped off in front of the stunning Empress Hotel in Victoria which is situated on the waterfront.

This is the beautiful tea room inside the hotel. The last time I was in Victoria we had the Royal Afternoon Tea here. It was divine to say the least.

The amazing chandelier.

Victoria is known as the Garden City and prides itself on its glorious flowers, trees and gardens all over the city. 

 Of course we had to get fish n chips, shrimp and lobster rolls for lunch. The seafood is so fresh and so good.

We ordered this bacon wrapped shrimp on forks, just because it looked cool. Glad we did because it was delish!

There was a lovely street market, horse and carriages everywhere and houseboats docked all around the waters edge.

The houseboats stay docked all year, because the water never freezes.

They were all so cute and colorful.

Had to pose with a Canadian Mountie Moose while in Canada....

So, we decided to take a Water Taxi ride around the bay. It was pretty cool. We even saw a few float planes land on the water.

Our cute little water taxi.

Here comes a float plane...

In for a splash landing.

We did a little more shopping and ended on Fishermans Wharf where Maci endulged in some sushi.

 We have one more stop, and that's Seattle! We had a fabulous time there as well. More about that later.

For now, I'll share some of the display boards using sets from the New Holiday Catalog. Enjoy!

Beautiful Candy Cane punch displays by Amy Combs

Thanks for checking out my blog today.

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!

Stampin' Up! Alaskan Cruise- Part 4 and some display cards!

Well, the last place I left off on the Alaskan trip was in Skagway, where we had the White Pass Railway train ride and then the amazing helicopter flight to the Denver Glacier to ride a dog sled and meet the sweet Alaskan huskies.

So, the next day was a sea day, and we were in Tracy Arm Fjord, which is located 45 miles south of Juneau. It was glorious and so peaceful to witness all the beauty of nature while sitting on our balcony of the ship.

We woke up bright and early to sit on our balcony and have coffee as we entered the fjord.

Tracy Arm fjord lies within the Tongass National Forest that I talked about in part 3 of our trip.

It consists of two deep and narrow fjords: Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm and covers over 650,000 acres.

What a sight to wake up to.

The suns reflection on the water was stunning. You can see the glacier in the distance, it was still a little dark, but check out the blue ice to the left - its a little more prominent here.

Chunks of ice floating everywhere.

We made our way up to the top deck of this ship and pulled up a couple lounge chairs. We had a fabulous view from the back of the ship where we just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery.

Waterfalls were everywhere we looked. Some high, some low, but all so amazing.

I could have sat on the deck all day. We were only in the fjord from 7 am- noon that day, but we enjoyed every minute!

I think Chase was glad that he bought new binoculars before we came to Alaska. We were able to see a lot of wildlife in those mountains.

This photo below was actually early in the morning.. still a little dark out but still a beautiful sight.

It was an absolutely breath-taking morning on the fjord. There's truly nothing like it.

Check out this wall of fog later in the day- it looked so cool. The captian blew the fog horn every few minutes as we passed through.

We did a lot of fun things while we were at sea. Played Trivia, went to the spa (several times) attended a Mystery Dinner Theatre, watched a magic show, gathered with friends and did some fun Stampin' Up! stuff.

80's Trivia was so fun. We didn't win, but I learned that my kids know more about music that I grew up with, than I do!

This was the first time we've done a Mystery Dinner Theatre. It was a blast- so fun and so hilarious!

The cast was so entertaining, we loved them!

Always doing something unexpected and fun.

 Maci just happened to be wearing a bright yellow outfit that matched Big Teddy.

The Advisory Board gals had a special little event while we were on the ship. These are my "sisters" and some of my most favorite people!

I feel blessed to be a part of this special group of amazing women.

Cute favors made by my friend Cindy Baughman, which were given out at our event on the ship.

These were our awesome table mates every night on the cruise. We made some new friends and had some great conversation each night, comparing our adventures of the day.

A histerical magic show and pretty great magic too.

 And of course more card displays and samples in the Stampers Base Camp.

Well, that's all for now folks. Next stop, Victoria, British Columbia- yes it really is as royally beautiful as they say it is.

Stay tuned for Part 5.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until the next time...

Keep On Stampin' and Come back again soon!

 

 

 

 

Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise Part 3

Its time for Part 3 of our Stampin' Up! Alaskan Cruise trip. This was my most favorite day of the trip. In Part 2, we left off in downtown Skagway.

So, after we took the train and bus tour, we then had another excursion to Denver Glacier. We boarded a helicopter that took us over the mountains, forests, glaciers and the most amazing scenery on our way to Denver Glacier to go on an authentic dog sled ride!

But, first we all had to wear these fancy Glacier Boots to walk on the glacier snow and ice. The boots fit over top of our regular shoes. We also had to wear belts that had a floating device attached because we were flying over water.

Waiting to board. We were all weighed beforehand as the weight had to be evenly distributed on the helicopter.

We then boarded the helicopter. I was so excited. I rode a helicopter once before in Hawaii (on our honeymoon) and I got so motion sick. This time, I was prepared, because I wasn't going to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. I was so excited for my kids to ride for the first time and witness their reactions.

We all had headphones so we could hear and converse with the pilot.

I must have been praying in this photo.

All thumbs up and ready to roll!

The beauty of the Tongass National Forest, down below was breath-taking.

The Tongass National Forest is the largest National Forest in all of Alaska. It covers over 16 million acres!

The Tongass is also the largest Rainforest in North America and the 5th largest rainforest in the world.

We soared over glorious glaciers and majestic mountains with crystal clear lakes in view.

We can see the dog sled camp, coming into view. The camp is directly located on the Denver Glacier.

And... we have landed!

This is the housing and transportation on the glacier. The campers live in these huts all summer long.

It was super sunny and warm that day. The best weather they have had in forever. In fact, the tour guides told us that this particular tour always cancels due to weather. We were lucky to get to take the tour as it doesn't happen often.

We were able to meet, make friends and cuddle with these sweet natured dogs as soon as we arrived. These are Alaskan Huskies, which is actually a mixed breed dog. That's why they all look so different.

There are many college students who work their summers at the dog sled camp. Everyone we talked to loved working with, playing with and taking care of these high energy dogs. These dogs live to run- they couldn't wait to take us for a ride.

This is cute little Juneau napping in the warm sunshine. They really love the snow and the care takers mentioned that it was a little too warm for their liking.

These dogs are THE dogs that run the famous Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. So, they are pretty famous pups!

It was cool to hear the mushers explain each of the dogs personalities and who liked to have their ears scratched or which dog preferred their belly rubbed. They knew these dogs so well and we could tell how much they loved their jobs.

It was time to take a ride. We each had a turn at being a junior musher and got to help "drive" the sled.

There are always 12 dogs pulling the sled. 

There was one other person on our sled ride with us, besides the musher. He was from Mexico and this was his VERY FIRST time seeing snow! That's going all out on your first sight of snow- don't you think? It was fun to watch him. He kept giggling and giggling as he felt the snow in his hands.

And we're off! These dogs could not wait to run! In fact, the two lead dogs kept fighting over who was the real leader of the pack.

It was glacier, snow, mountains and sky, for miles and miles as far as the eye could see.

In fact, the camp workers fly to town only once a week to get a shower. Now thats what I call, "roughing it!" They do have a chef on the glacier that cooks all their meals, so that kind of makes up for the lack of baths. Right?

Afterwards, we got to "love" on the dogs again.

And cuddle puppies...

We had such an amazing experience with these friendly dogs and fabulous camp crew. We learned so much and experienced something that is beyond words.

Now, back into the helicopter we go.

More glorious scenery to be seen.

Flying over ice fields and glaciers...

and Rainforests and lakes..

Ready to land and we see our ship, Royal Caribbean, Explorer of the Seas, in the distance.

I think you can see why this was my most favorite day of the entire trip! And its not over yet!

Next, we were off to get dinner. Chase said he wasn't leaving Alaska until he had Alaskan King Crab legs. So this was our next stop.

These were the biggest Alaskan King crab legs we've ever seen. Even bigger that the ones Maci and I had the day before.

One and a half pounds each, to be exact!

We were pulling out chunks of meat the size of golf balls. Yum!

The shrimp wasn't bad either!  The restuarant was right on the water, so the seafood was literally scooped out and plopped on your plate!

And since this was a Stampin' Up! cruise- in case you forgot... I've leave you with a few samples from the displays on the ship, featuring the new Holiday Catalog!

Country Home stamp set.

Trick or Tweet stamp set.

Pleasant Pheasants stamp set.

I hope you enjoyed Part 3 of our Alaskan Cruise adventure. I have more to share and will do that soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!









 

Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise Part 2

I'm a little behind in my blogging. Getting caught up on classes, workshops and team meetings. So, I'm ready now to catch you all up on part two of our Stampin Up Alaskan Cruise incentive trip. I left off in beautiful Junea, where we had such a great time. Next stop was Skagway, Alaska. This was my most favorite of all days. We started off early in the morning-7:00 am to catch the White Pass Railway train that would take us all the way up to the Yukon. The Yukon is actually in Canada, so we had to have our passports with us.

Ready for our 3 hour tour.

This railroad began construction in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush. The railroad linked Skagway to Whitehorse, the Capitol of the Yukon.

The railroad is 107 miles in length and was completed in 1900 as a means of reaching the gold fields.

The scenery was absolutely stunning. We were literally driving on the edge of the mountain. Kind of scary when we looked up at the mountain, after the fact.

So very close to the edge... oh my, thats a long drop.

I think I found Big Foot... can you see the shadow in the middle of this photo? Hmmm...

Gorgeous views at every turn.

We were able to stand outside between the railroad cars whenever we wanted. Loved the view from here.

This was an old part of the track, no longer in use... thank goodness. ;)

This is how close we were to the edge. This shot was looking straight down from where we were sitting on the train.

We took the coach on the way back. It was kind of scary- we had a 22 year old, driving and talking with her hands, while driving down the super winding cliff side road back to Skagway. But we did make it back safe and sound. We stopped to take a photo when we crossed back into Alaska from the Yukon.

US port of entry back into Skagway, Alaska.

Beautiful Scenery on the bus trip back down.

Little houses and a 120 year old log cabin in Skagway. Its a very expensive place to live, with only about 1500 residents. Average price of homes are $350,00 to $500,000, just like the ones seen here.

The little Log Cabin in town, 120 years old.

Waterfalls are everywhere. Here's a random one on a hillside going into town.

Main Street, Skagway where we ate and did a little shopping.

Alaska is known for its many totem poles carved by Native Americans and Alaskans.

The most photographed building in Skagway. Arctic Brotherhood Hall was built in 1899 from 8,800 pieces of driftwood.

Thats all for our first half of the day in Skagway. We then hopped on a helicopter and flew to Denver Glacier to dog sled.

That is Part 3 of our trip, which I will blog about next. So be sure to come back to read all about it!

Until then, here's a little sneak peek of products in the New Holiday Catalog, coming in September!

These are some of the items, our co-founder, Shelli Gardner demonstrator on the ship.

How cool is the new corrigated emboss folder? Looks like a log cabin, doesn't it?

That's all for now, folks.

Until the next time...

Keep on Stampin' and Come back again soon!