ebdacaua: August 2010

Paper Cowboy Hat

Cowboy Hat

Cowboy Hat Large

Bonjovi Cowboy Hat

Strawcowboyhat Net Straw Cowboy Hat Kenny Chesney Sinature Cowboy Hat Palm Leaf Straw

US Cowboy

Cowboy Hat

Paper Cowboy Hat

Leather Cowboy Hat FS2 A3

Popcorn the bear wishing you a merry christmas

Popcorn is back for one more appearance before I move on to other projects. Popcorn and his anonymous bear friend have been joined by a cute little duck to sing Christmas carols. I wonder if they realize with one more character they could be Barbershop Quartet... Just sayin'.

If you guessed that these Christmas cards are for my friend Ruth you would be correct. I took them to her on Tuesday and she was very excited to see her Popcorn cards. I think when all is said and done she will have about 12 cards; for some reason I manage to mess up one out of every four....

I used one of my favorite like of SEI Christmas papers on this card as well as a Stampin' Up stamp and punch. I finished the card with ribbon and a button before adding pop dots to POP the bear image.

Don't forget that I have AMY CHOMAS sponsored blog candy to give away on Thursday.... Sign up under the blog hop post from Monday. Also, do go by and check out all of Amy's amazing products.

Follicle Healer Giveaway

We're back! Thanks for hanging in there while we took a little break. Dr. Miracle's has teamed up with us to celebrate our return to blogging. One lucky reader will win the entire New Follicle Healer Line by Dr. Miracle's.

If you don't know a healthy follicle is essential to healthy hair growth. The Follicle Healer system is designed to energize your follicle leading to soft, shiny healthy looking hair and scalp. The new scent is much lighter than the original Dr. Miracle's scent, it's got a hint of citrus but it still has a medicinal scent to it. The four-product line complete with pomade, hydrating oil, deep conditioning treatment, and creme to energize the scalp.

Ready to win? This giveaway is open to US residents only. The last day to enter is Tuesday, September 7th at 6pm EST.

There are 2 ways to enter:

1. Enter to win by leaving a comment on this post!

2. Enter by commenting at the end of this post that you tweeted about the giveaway and provide the link to your tweet. Follow me (@antihairslave) on Twitter and tweet the following: Follow @antihairslave and RT to win Dr. Miracle's Follicle Healer! #AHSgiveaway

The Selby Project

I have so much blogging and business to catch up with after a week away from the internet and the office.
Hopefully I will get back to reading the bazillion or so blogs that I follow in the next day or two.

In the meantime I leave you this video from Vanity Fair with portrait, interior and fashion photographer Todd Selby who shoots creative people in their natural habitats. The video focuses on his collaboration with Louis Vuitton but check out his website The Selby if, like me, you love interior design and are just a t'wee bit voyeuristic.
Yes, I admit it, I love to see how the creative hipsters from London to Los Angeles, from Milan to Mexico, live.

Popcorn the bear wishing a happy birthday

Popcorn the bear is back to wish you a happy birthday! This little cutie is going to my friend Ruth as part of her series of bear cards. I created two similar versions of this card, each using core'dination cardstock and my Stampin' Up punches.

The packages were time consuming to color with my Copic markers, but were actually a great coloring exercise. I learned a lot about what my markers can and cannot do. I really enjoyed the plaid package - easy to do one color at a time. I used my white gel pen to add the dots to the blue package.

I added a small Party Time phrase to the front of the card using a stamp that came with the Popcorn set and Stampin' Up ink and oval punch. I finished the oval with dots and dashes in white pen.

I finished off the bottom edge with a Stampin' Up border punch and a bit of lime green ribbon. I actually made two versions of this card and did not use floral print ribbon on the other card. I was hoping that the floral ribbon feminized this card a bit.

We're Back!

Tomorrow marks the date that we are officially back from VACATION! I wasn't really on vaca for a whole month, I was just taking a break from blogging but tomorrow I'm back on the blog grind and of course we're celebrating with a GIVEAWAY! In fact, we have giveaways lined up for the whole month of September, so look out for all of those.

Dress Fashion 2010

Luxury Party Dress

Elegant Yellow Dress

Georgewu Winter Clothing 2010

Green Fashion Everlasting Hope Harem Pant

Jettoman Fashion

Spring Maxi Dress

Garden Party Dress

Heart Truth Celebrity Fashion Show Image

Street Style

....

Palmilla - The One and Only Way to Vacation in Cabo San Lucas

Have I ever mentioned to you that I love Cabo San Lucas?
With only a short 2 hour flight from noisy, cold and traffic bound Los Angeles you arrive in a quiet, warm and calm paradise at the tip of Baja California where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez.
It's magical, it really is.
I have vacationed along the Cabo Corridor several times before but this was the first time that I stayed at the magnificent Palmilla, part of the outstanding One and Only group of resorts where attention to detail, customer service and quality of experience reign.

The resort is situated on the edge of the Punta Palmilla on the coast where each room has a blue water view.

The overall design I would describe as Hacienda 'lite' with classic Mexican style elements such as dark wood furniture against white walls and Mexican tile and stone work. My room was a spacious 2nd floor suite with high ceilings, a step down sitting room and large terrace.

The grounds are lush with tropical landscaping, green lawns and palm trees are everywhere.

Except for the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks the resort has an overall sense of quietness. The staff is dressed in muted off white Mexican style outfits that evoke more of a spa-like ambiance than that of a busy international hotel.

The Palmilla welcomes families yet the resort doesn't feel overrun by unruly kids. By providing both a family pool and an adult pool you can choose your level of ambient activity.

But wherever you decide to place yourself, the pool, the beach, the spa, the gym, the restaurant, the library, your room, you will be amazed by the service of the staff. For example, whenever you sit by the pool or under a palapa on the beach, you will be brought an ice bucket with bottles of water. Sitting by the pool you will be offered homemade fruit popsicles and frozen yogurt. Your room will be restocked everyday with water bottles, fresh fruit, snacks...and a special tequila. You will be offered water, lemonade, coffee in the library. Your treadmill in the gym will be equipped with a fresh towel and water. There is wireless service throughout, and even the palapas have electrical outlets so that you can plug in your laptop...if you are insane enough to take your computer to the beach.

Did I mention that a butler that comes with your room. I had the fabulous Isaac Armentilla who was there to take care of whatever I needed. I offered to take him home with me but he preferred to stay at the Palmilla...who wouldn't.
The service just goes on and on and on.

The food...well it is everything that you would expect. Not that I would go all the way to Mexico to go to Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Market restaurant or Larbi Dahrouch's Mexican-Medeterranean restaurant, Agua, or to have incredible sashimi and ceviche at Nobuo Iwaseya's sushi bar, Suviche, but it is nice to have that choice of cuisine. My Mexico style is more margaritas and guacamole while looking at the view from the outdoor Aqua bar.

For me the decision to go to the Palmilla rather than to any of the other spa/resorts along the Cabo Corridor was the fact that it had a swimmable beach. So instead of lounging around the pretty pool, I was more than happy to stay on the beach and swim in the warm clean water of the Sea of Cortez.
While I enjoyed my vacation in Aix-en-Provence last summer because I spent time with friends who are dear to me, I have to admit that the One and Only Palmilla resort was so much better than the Aquabella hotel/spa in Aix and surprisingly priced about the same or even less. Not only was it off season in Cabo when rates are down there was a terrific 4 nights for the price of 3 package which you would never find in France.
I totally recommend the Palmilla and would happily stay there again...anytime.
And if I ever find myself on the other side of the world I will try the One and Only resorts in Dubai and the Maldives.

Blog Hopping, Blog Candy, and a BBTB2 card... WOW

Happy blog hopping BBTB2 Monday! I have a lot of information to share so I should get typing. Welcome to the monthly BBTB2 Blog hop. You probably arrived here from Karen's blog. If not, think about jumping over to BBTB2 and starting the blog hop at the beginning (after you finish reading my post, of course!). The challenge cut this week was selected by my wonderful design team sister, Penny Shuberg. Penny chose the apron cut on the FROM MY KITCHEN cartridge.

I decided to use a recipe card cut from the same cartridge as my base card. I welded a rectangle to the recipe card and scored down the middle of the weld to create the card. I used Basic Grey's kitchen line of paper. Ironic, huh? The base card was cut using the cupcake print. This worked well because the back side of the paper is a nice solid medium pink - perfect for the inside of the card. The base card was topped with two matting cuts and wrapped with a ribbon before the apron was attached with pop dots. I printed a recipe for Pasta with Shrimp and Crabmeat that I am going to mail to my son's girlfriend. Crissie is learning to cook and Aaron loves seafood!

In addition to the bow near the bottom of the card, I also added a scalloped tag to the upper right corner of the card. I used one of my favorite products to create the top layer of the tag - the Amy Chomas mini gel pen holder and glitter pen set!! I love Amy's products, the gel pens and holder as well as her embossing kit. Awesome products!!! With the gel pens you simply remove the blade housing from your Cricut and replace it with Amy's gel pen holder loaded with a mini pen. The Cricut will then write your image instead of cutting. Cool, huh?

In addition to a new BBTB2 project here, I also have a new cake recipe to share on my sister blog, Busy with the Cricky Cake. Be sure to check the cake blog today for the recipe and again tomorrow to see the completed decorated cake.

Did I mention BLOG CANDY? Yes, indeed there will be blog candy this week!!! Amy Chomas is sponsoring my blog hop this month and is providing FABULOUS blog candy: an Amy Chomas Mini Gel Pen Holder and Pen set!!! Seriously! This is a great product and I love it. Anything with Amy's name attached is sure to be fabulous!!

Leave a comment below to register for the blog candy. You should go by Amy's site and see her fabulous projects using her products.

Now that you have left a comment (you did leave a comment didn't you?), your next stop on the blog hop is at the blog of the AMAZING Lori Warner. Lori is a very gifted designer and a wonderfully nice woman - have fun at her blog!!! Have a great day and remember to visit Amy's site!!

Oh Honey

So many different hair divas I know, love honey. They add it into their conditioners, use it with their pre-poo's and are always looking for new products featuring honey. Why? Honey has been known to add shine and moisture to hair. For those who aren't regular mixologists, Nick Chavez Beverly Hills has created a product line featuring honey.

Ultra Shine Honey Peppermint Shampoo: combines the benefits of honey and peppermint for a rich, deep nourishing formula that gives your hair healthy, long lasting shine and luster. Will freshen your scalp and leave your hair bright, full and bouncy.

Ultra Shine Honey Peppermint Conditioner: will help moisturize and replenish dry or damaged hair from chemical processing or environmental damage. This unique formula penetrates every strand to restore condition and shine, leaving hair renewed and healthy.

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Honey Glaze Styling Gel: this one-of-a-kind hair care product provides hold, body and tremendous shine, with no flakes while resisting humidity. Infused with natural honey for a deep, rich, long-lasting shine, this product will enhance the style and luster of any type of hair.