Paper Crafters Sampler ~ August Issue

 

Click {HERE} to visit Paper Crafters Sampler

 

Do you find when school is ending for the year that we are all hurried a bit to make it happen more quickly?  The kids get a break from studying, parents don't have to worry about whether homework is completed, and most of all, summer vacation.  Oddly, by the time summer has ended, we're just as anxious for it to get back in session.  The return of school offers a much needed break for those parents whose home was tagged the 'summer hangout'.

This month the design team has put together some really amazing and extremely varying projects for our "Welcome Back to School" theme. Not one project is alike and yet they all offer an eye-opening take on clever back to school projects. 

 

This months template is "My Little School Desk".

Here's a SNEAK PEEK

Stop by Paper Crafters Sampler and pick up your August issue.

 

Mr. & Mrs. Card - FMS147

Hello There!!!

Happy Sunday!!! My hiking weekend flew by!!! Today's hiking was soo fun and phew, thank goodness it's not taking over some of my crafting time anymore and my body is adjusting...so today's fun is a wedding card - I'm running low on it so needed to stock up hehe

I hope you guys stacked up on some DSP when SU! had it on sale - buy 3 get one free, I know I sure didn't miss out. One of the four sets I got was SU! Lullaby DSP - it's a really super-duper cute set you'll want to add to your collection of millions of papers ;) hehe It's just adorable and you know how much I love small little hearts, well, hearts in general...but heheh cute little ones are cute cute!!! here goes...

[-- Mr. & Mrs. Card --]

[-- And More Views of the Card --]

This card was super fun to make and it's always fun to heat emboss, whether you're doing the "chalk board" technique or heat embossing in general. It always add that extra pop elegant fun look to your card ;) 

This inspirational card came from Freshly Made Sketches 147 sketch. I love playing along with this team, they are all so inspirational and creative! Hope you'll also tag along with the fun! 

Will be back soon! Thanks for dropping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend ;) 

Love always, SMILE!!!

MUI HOANG, Stampin' Up Demonstrator

Shop at my Store: My SU! 24/7 Online Store

E: muihoang0708@gmail.com

[The Goodies Used]

SU! Stamp Set: Label Love, Cheers to Love  SU! Inks: Whisper White, Whisper White Embossed Powder, VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad, Gold Embossed Powder SU! Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Gold Glimmer Paper SU! DSP: Lullaby DSP SU! Accessories: Twine, Dollies, Gold Sequin Trim, Scallop Border Punch, Hearts Border Punch, SU! Project Life Curve Corner Punch, Label Punch, Heat Tool, Hot Glue Gun, Snail Adhesive, Multi-Purpose Glue, Big Shot, Score Pal

Hiking: Stevens Trails 07.26.14

Hi All,

Another late post...Saturday, July 26th, 2014 hike.

Today's hike trip is another close to Sacramento favorite of mine...Stevens Trails....it's full of history and how cool is it that you walk along the canyon?!? Somewhat scary when you think about being on the edge of the mountain over a thousand or so feet high...but FUN! hehe

|-- STEVENS TRAIL --|
Location: Stevens Trail, Colfax, CA 95713
Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 9 miles round trip, 4.5 miles one way, takes about 3-4 hours to finish
Parking: Free
Overview: Hike along the side of the canyon/mountain and enjoy the breathtaking view of the North American River. This hike is rich in history. It was used as a toll road for miners that needed to get from the mining town of Iowa Hill to the railroad town of Colfax. Along the trail, you can see the Union Pacific Railroad, which was constructed by Chinese workers in the 1860's as part of the original transcontinental railroad.

|-- Resources I've Used --|
- Every Trail: Stevens Trail Colfax - I kept going and stayed left until I can't go no more. =)
- AllTrails: Stevens Trail Colfax

|-- My Recommendation for Today's Hiking --|
GO THERE EARLY because it will get hot during the summer! Beside the usually good hiking shoes and a nice lunch or some power bars and other things, also remember 2-3 bottles of water/gatorade is a MUST especially during summer. Carry sunblock as you may need to reapply. Oh, OFF!, bug spray too!!! Also because trail starts off declining, meaning on the way back, you incline up!!!

Trail is nicely mark, so you won't get lost. Some areas of the trails are narrow, so be careful. A tip for this trail is stay on your left. Continue left until you can't continue anymore...at the end of the trail...there are some campers there or at least the last 2-3 times I've went in 3 weeks. Once you are at the opening of the river, that's the end of your trail, then retrace your step back. I would not recommend bringing kids until you try this trail.

|-- My Today's Hiking Adventure Overview --|
Time: Started at 6a.m., Finished a little after 9ish a.m.
Weather: about 70ish, breezy in the morning, going back the sun started beating on us, light wind
Our Overview: This is the second time I've taken my mom and she said by starting our hike earlier made it a lot easier than the first time when we didn't start until almost 9am. The trail is super easy to follow. You start off declining through a very shady 1-2 miles, once you hike along the canyon the trail is pretty flat with no shades until you reach to the end of the river patches of shade. That's why I really recommend going there early. There is a cool cave, take some photos there too. Also once you reach to the end of the North American River, I believe you can go for a swim too. I've seen people swam...the water is super clear and super nice ;) This is a really nice hike, I would go there soon if anyone is up! ;)

|-- My Today's Hiking Adventure Pictures --|
Look at how cute my mommy is and of course my lovely sister, Elaine Hoang - who super looks like our mommy...she is mini-mommy! hehe I'm so glad my mom has been enjoying hiking with us. I've been bring her hiking ever week for the past month or or so and she've been loving it since... her face just lighten up....or maybe that's her glow from the sweat hehe. She actually wants more hiking days too - I see where I get my hike craze from haha!

 

|-- Special Thanks --|
Thanks Elaine for driving!!! And my mom for giving me more time to spend with her ;)

|-- Please Note --|
Pictures were approved before posting. This is based on my personal hiking experiences. Make adjustments as you go on more hikes, personal research, who you go with and the weather makes a huge differences. In my opinion, no trail is too hard, as long as you enjoy, plan it, take it easy, and most importantly HAVE FUN!!! You'll be GREAT! And what is a better way to combine hanging out and exercising and enjoying a good time.

Let me know if you have any questions. Please feel free to use the comments for questions. Your questions might be useful for others. Always feel free to share your photos too! Thanks!!!

Thanks for dropping by!!! =)
Love always, SMILE!!!

MUI HOANG

E: muihoang0708@gmail.com

Hiking: Mount St Helena 07/25/14

Hi All,

Super late post from Friday, July 25th, 2014 hike.

So, for the past 2 months almost haha almost every weekend (Sat & Sun) and sometimes Friday going on hiking trips, and a few short trips here and there and a recent fat-gaining cruise during 4th with along with some birthday celebration lunch/dinners and a lot of cakes (YUM!!) and more eating, and then a wonderful experience first time attending Stampin' Up Convention...my body is finally getting use to all the crazy things that's been going on and I'm starting to get back into gear with posting. Sometimes you really do need a little break...so then you don't get too overwhelmed and it's okay to take a little break, but also good to be back blogging, especially crafting! Well, I have been, designing and crafting making duplicates of wedding invitations ;)

Today's hiking fun is...MOUNT SAINT HELENA...with my friends, Jennifer and Jessica. We had a wonderful time and man it was a good way to build our endurance ;)

|-- MOUNT SAINT HELENA TRAIL --|
Location: Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, 3801 St. Helena Hwy, Calistoga, CA 94515
Difficulty: Difficult, but to us it was moderate
Length: 10.0 miles
Parking: Free. Heading from Hwy 29, you'll see a sign "Robert Louis Stevenson State Park" with an arrow pointing to the trail, parking is to your right (opposite from the arrow pointing to the trail).
Overview: A gaze upon the stunning breathtaking panorama view of Napa Valley wine country, but also the High Sierra and San Francisco Bay is at the top of 4,342 foot summit of Mount St. Helena. For the first easy mile, the Stevenson Memorial Trail winds through the forest. The next 4 miles in a well-graded fire road with little shades leading to the summit passing through power lines and transmitters and within that last half mile or less is a nice good steep incline to the beautiful view.

|-- Resources I've Used --|
- Every Trail Mount St. Helena
- Parks & Recreation - Robert Louis Stevenson State Park

|-- My Recommendation for Today's Hiking --|
Beside the usually good hiking shoes and a nice lunch or some power bars when you reach the summit to enjoy, also remember 2-3 bottles of water per person, carry sunblock as you may need to reapply, start early so you can also explore and have time to enjoy Napa Winery!

Oh! During the trail always stay on your right when you hike. After about 2 miles into the hike, you'll see an arrow pointing on the ground, follow that. Then about another 2 miles into the hike, the trail opens up two paths, there is a sign on the right covered, so take the right trail. The trail is easy to follow. Once you reach up there, there are a lot of transmitters, you'll know you've reached to the top to enjoy the beauty of the view of Napa Valley ;)

|-- My Today's Hiking Adventure Overview --|
Time: Started at 7:30ish a.m., Finished a little earlier than 1 p.m.
Weather: about 70ish, breezy in the morning, going back the sun started beating on us
Our Overview: Today's hike is with Jennifer and Jessica - the hikers (weekly)!! We actually woke up at 4am, started heading out at 5isham. The drive was nice but once you started heading up the mountains, the road is a little windy so please drive safe. We got there at 730ish am and started hiking. Crazy? Yea, maybe a little. But we SUPER enjoyed it! And we were glad we started an early hike, because once we got done at around 12ish, it got hot and the sun was beating on us. The hike was easy to us and a good trail to train our endurances too, but maybe that's because we've been hiking and we compared to other hikes we've done, like Mission Peak, Stebbins Cold Canyon, etc. Mount St. Helena compared to Mission Peak , it's easier since it's steady gradual incline. We would recommend trying this trail first than hike Mission Peak. I enjoyed this hike since we were able to plan the rest of our day enjoying Napa Winery and some wood fire yummie pizza. It's a great way to start off your morning hiking with your friends and then go and eat some carbs and enjoy Napa! ;)

|-- My Today's Hiking Adventure Pictures --|
Look at how silly we were! It's always fun to go hiking with these two! and I'm so glad they're not shy at all to KICK some poses and play STARRING or NON-STARRING contests ;)

|-- Special Thanks --|
Thanks Jennifer and Jessica!!! I had a lot of fun and thanks for dinner Jennifer at Azzurro Pizzeria at Napa, CA and Jessica for Dutch Bros Coffee near Davis, CA on our way back home ;)

|-- Please Note --|
Pictures were approved before posting. This is based on my personal hiking experiences. Make adjustments as you go on more hikes, personal research, who you go with and the weather makes a huge differences. In my opinion, no trail is too hard, as long as you enjoy, plan it, take it easy and most importantly HAVE FUN!!! You'll be GREAT!

Let me know if you have any questions. Please feel free to use the comments for questions. Your questions might be useful for others. Always feel free to share your photos too! Thanks!!!

Until soon! ;) Thanks for dropping by!!! =)
Love always, SMILE!!!

MUI HOANG

E: muihoang0708@gmail.com