Happy Halloween!

Can't believe that today is Halloween! Today's post will be a little longer than usual because I want to share some cute Halloween raks and show you what has been keeping me busy!
Got this cute Hello Kitty take out box from my GF Cheryl. It was filled with yummy candies, which of course, is already gone (yummy!) I love the Halloween colors! Thanks Cheryl! What a treat! Got a call from my GF Joni last weekend telling me that she was dropping off something small for me...thank you so much Joni! I love it all!

Here are just some of the 30 treat bags I made for my mom and dad to give to the nice people at the Kaiser Koolau Clinic. Mom and Dad go quite a bit there and the peeps there are always so nice to them. They were really surprised when mom and I dropped them off yesterday. BTW, Dad cut all of the fancy favor boxes out for me using my Big Shot!

What a surprise I got from my GF Joy last night...she got the idea for this cute box from Maria Bell's blog...Maria always does awesome projects and soooooo much detail, she even shares awesome tutorials! I love my treat box, thanks so much Joy!! Had so much fun creating and that digi page of Taelyn's BOO performance really turned out good, if I could say so myself! LOL!! I hope you post it.

Of course it's too late for me to dust off my cricut and my HK cartridge to make this cute Hallo-kitty...got this cute card from my GF Enjoli. Love it! Thank you so much!

Such a sweet card from my sweet GF and DL, Tia. What a surprise to receive this in the mail yesterday, I love it!!

Thanks for sitting through this long post! I was trying to make up for the missed days of posting this week. I only went to work one day this week can you believe it? I'm sure I'll be paying for it next week. It will be a full week without a Furlough Friday, which will be good for me to catch up on my work! I've been feeling a bit better, but am moving slower than usual, but I'm good. Thanks for your visit! See you soon!

Blog is on Hold

Computer Update: Looks like I'm getting my computer back on Monday afternoon, Nov. 16th. Hopefully, I'll have a new Blog entry on Wednesday, Nov. 18th. Stop by then.

Pete S

Bennie Allen Obituary

ALLEN, BENJAMIN AUSTIN 91 - of New Gretna, went home to meet his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. Born in New Gretna on December 10, 1917, Ben was a lifelong resident of New Gretna.

He was a veteran of WWII, serving 14 months in the Pacific campaign, including battles on Leyte, Guam, Ohau, and Okinawa where he, acting in the capacity of a lead scout, was severely wounded. He was decorated for the Asiatic, Pacific, and Philippine campaigns and received the prestigious purple heart.

Ben worked in the local Bass River CCC camp during the depression and, after the war, was self employed in the gravel business and also worked in the bay. He received the Hurley Conklin award from the Tuckerton Seaport in 2001. Ben is particularly remembered by multiple generations for plowing gardens throughout New Gretna.

Ben was predeceased by his parents, Harry and Ray Etta Allen; two brothers, Leon and George Allen; and two sisters, Anna Newman and Sara Ware. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Elaine Bangert Allen and a son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Helen Sirmon Allen of Robertsdale, Alabama.

A viewing will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of New Gretna, 19 North Maple Avenue on Saturday, October 31st from 10 to 11am, followed by a service and burial at Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. Arrangements are by Maxwell Funeral Home, 160 Mathistown Road, Little Egg Harbor. Donations may be sent, in lieu of flowers, to the First Presbyterian Church of New Gretna, P.O. Box 144, New Gretna, NJ 08224.

Invasion of Spider (Boxes!)

Sorry I was MIA yesterday. I went to work because I was worrying that there would be so much to do and I was right! I also wanted to deliver these special Halloween Spider boxes to my friends at the Hawaii State FCU Alii Branch tellers and staff because they are sooooo nice to me! Here's the boxes that I made. Sorry the photo is a little blurry, but I took it with my cell phone... I hate myself for being such a procrastinator because I ended up sleeping way too late just to make these boxes. Actually, the truth is that I had to put the spiders on the box before I started work! I hope they liked their treat boxes! Well, we will be off today as we take our second furlough Friday...I will use it as a catch up day, I think. Please come back soon because I have a bunch of RAKs to share and I gotta show off my OCS cards! To the ladies who were partnered up with me, so sorry...I am tardy this month! This back pain really does something to me. Anyway, thanks for looking today! and Happy Aloha Friday!

Anyone for a OCS for November???

Aloha friends! Just curious to find out if anyone is interested at all in a OCS for November and December...if everyone wants put this on hold because of the busy holidays, we can start up again in January...
I'd love some feedback...if I get at least 10 yes to the OCS for November and December, we will go for it...your input is important!!

Stephen Appleby-Barr

This is Stephen, one of my closest friends. The girl in the photo is my room mate Adrienne, who happens to be Stephen's girlfriend.


Back in 2005 I moved into a studio apartment up at Dupont and Ossington, and Stephen was my next door neighbour... At first we didn't really like each other, but after about a year we were ok with each other, then we eventually became friends. When I moved back from Italy and had nowhere to stay, Stephen and the rest of the Team Macho guys let me sleep under their ping-pong table... I would often wake up to the sound of the guys playing ping-pong, which is more relaxing than you would expect...


Anyway, the point of the story is that tomorrow (Thursday) night, Stephen has a solo show of his paintings at Narwhal Art Projects. It's his second solo show, although he has done several shows as a group with Team Macho... Anyway, his work is really good, so if you are free, you should come. I'm linking all of the show info, it can be found..... HERE!

A Farewell to Bennie Allen

Scripture tells us, so eloquently written by Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that everything has a season and a time for every purpose. No one knew that more than Bennie Allen, a master gardener and a bayman. Throughout his long life he has seen many seasons, always acknowledging, witnessing, and appreciating God's wonders in nature and in the many blessings in his life.

Solomon's words came rushing through me yesterday, as my cherished friend, Bennie Allen, went home just before noon.

Benjamin Austin Allen

(December 10, 1917 - October 27, 2009)

Ecclesiastes 3 - To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pull up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace . . .

Yesterday was, indeed, a time to die, a time to lose, and a time to weep and mourn; but it was also a time to heal and a time to embrace Elaine, his wife, and others who knew and loved Bennie and are also going through the grieving and healing process.

I know two sure things about Bennie Allen - He knew His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and he is now in His Father's glorious presence, free from his frail earthly body.

Passing from this world is just the beginning of life, not its end. It is the birthing process to eternity. So, this is indeed a bittersweet time. Yes, we will greatly miss our dear friend, Bennie, but we should also celebrate (a time to laugh and a time to dance) his life, comforted by knowing where he is today. And, above all, it's a time to love. Bennie wouldn't want it any other way.

So farewell for now, old friend. Until we meet again.

Pete S

Goblin Greetings

Thank you to all of you who left me such sweet comments and advice on getting better...It means alot to me to know that you all read what I write and to know that I have so many friends.
Here's a card that I worked on the other week but didn't get a chance to share. All products are SU except for the stickles on the bat and the scallop oval die for the sentiment. A peek at the glittery bat...

I can't believe that Halloween is this week already! Hope all of you finished your treat making unlike me...but it will be done! Thanks for stopping by today!

detail

So I've pretty much figured out when my next show will take place... It will be in February at Fredericks and Freiser Gallery in NYC. Once I figure out a specific date, I'll post it on here...

Only 3 months to go, this is pretty much the point where I stay up until 7 am and crash on the studio couch for a few hours every night. But I've been stashing audiobooks to listen to for months, so I'm good...

Here is a detail from a recent piece... click it and it gets bigger...

A card for extreme Surfers

This image did not jump out at me when I was turning the pages of my SU catalog, in fact, I never even noticed it. While blurfing one day, I saw a card that attracted my attention with this image only to find out that it was a SU image! There are other extreme sports stamps featured on Page 80 of the catalog but I purchased Extreme Surfing #115173 which was a perfect image for Hawaii! Great guy card too since we all know how hard it is to create good guy cards (at least for me anyway). Here's my card... I used the sentiment from the One of a Kind set and a few silver brads to dress up the card. Gotta keep it simple for the guys, right? I sponged three different blues on my whisper white CS (taken with teal, bermuda bay and ballet blue). I really liked the way it turned out.
Over the weekend, I met up with my friend Donna who lives in New York. She and her hubby spent a week on the Big Island and then the weekend on Oahu before flying back to NY. We went out to dinner at a local chinese restaurant...they are no strangers to the island and we had a great time catching up!
I've been out of commission (again!) and this time it's my back. Went to the doctor today and he told me that I have osteo arthritis - eeks! what the heck?? I took an x-ray of my lower back just in case there was something else...OMG, I am just aging over night! It's kind of depressing getting old. I am on Aleve daily and was told not to aggrivate my back with too much standing - I usually craft standing. I suppose too much sitting will aggrivate it too, so I guess I have to really watch and be careful. I'm sure I'll be okay once the Aleve kicks in and I'm on it regularly and the swelling goes down. This is the reason why I missed Monday's posting! I had to ice my back and lie down...**sigh** I can't believe that I still have a bunch of Halloween things to finish up and Halloween is this weekend!! Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble and I'll see you again tomorrow!

Illusive 3

The Illusive 3 book from Die Gestalten has just been released, and contains one of my drawings. Also, if you haven't seen Amanda Nedham's show at LE Gallery yet, then you should go this week. I think it's incredible, and that's not just because we are friends...

Have I Got A Summer Home For You!

The slowing down of our present economy has created an adverse situation in the housing market. Houses just aren't selling.

Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to make you an offer that you can't refuse on a beautiful furnished waterfront home for just $6,490. Interested? Well read on . . .

Early advertisement for a fully furnished Mystic Island home. Date and newspaper unknown.

July 16, 1980 Philadelphia Inquirer

Following is a 1956 flyer advertising the many exciting recreational opportunities in the beautiful, new Mystic Island development, "America's most fabulous seaside resort".

Here's another 1956 flyer

And, finally, here 's the answer man to tell you how Mystic Islands got its name.

Well, by now you must have noticed that there is a catch to my bargained priced home. You'll need a time machine to get that $6,490 price.

Pete S

More Halloween Fun

Here are the other 2 cards that I created when I was on a Halloween roll! I love the way this card turned out! Here's a close up...don't you love the spider web?

My favorite part about this card is the sentiment...don't you love it?? I'm sad that Halloween is about to end because I love making Halloween stuff!

I'm still working on my Halloween treats, so I'll end it here. I have friends visiting from New York, so we will be seeing them too...more reason to crack the whip and finish up my projects!! Thanks for visiting today!

Creating for a fun Halloween

I was asked to create some samples using some new Halloween stamps and of course I just had to! Here's the first card...I've been seeing this cool pumpkin all over the place and just HAD to make one! For the pumpkin that I created, I punched out 5 circles with my marvy circle punch (blue), folded all of them in half and adhered them together. Then I used my flourish punch to make the stems. The frame is a nesties die that I got from my girlfriend Cheryl. It was painful cutting out the cute racoon...Here's a different view of the pumpkin, I love it!

I just love this Halloween sentiment...look at the feet, you can see the lines indicating that the feet is smelly! How hiliarious is that? Since this stamped image/sentiment was kind of long, I decided to go with the 2-4-6-8 box and added a handle.

Yay! we made it to the weekend!! I hope I get alot done...I really need to. See you tomorrow!

Soccer Thank You Card

Happy Aloha Friday!! I just have to start off by saying that I'll get back on my SU track real soon, promise.
Meanwhile, I want to share this thank you card that I had to make for our team mom and dear friend, Jan. Last weekend was Nolan's last game this season and of course, I totally forgot that I had to make a thank you card and even also forgot to buy the giftcard! Yikes!! Good thing I have some giftcard holder ideas still floating around in my head. Here's what I made. I used the digi image from TGF called Soccer Ian. The sentiment came from a SU set called Trendy Trees - so perfect for my card. Here's the card opened up. I used a large gluedot to hold the GC in place and added a star (SU punch).

Thanks for letting me share with you today. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. **sigh** I'll have some cool Halloween cards to share with you. I hope my SU fans are not disappointed in me, but I was asked to help make some samples using some really cute Halloween stamps and you know me, I love the challenge!! Please come back so you can see what I made!

Tag Giveaway Winners!

Mochiko says, "Are you asking me who won the tags??" Sorry, I just had to add a photo with this post. Hey, thanks to all of you who took the time to post a comment on this post and for the links to some WOW projects! I love being inspired!
Well, in checking my stash, I found enough to send a set of tags to all of you who commented with links! I will be sending the tags to you next week...I have addresses for everyone except for Laura and Lorna, so ladies please send me a email with your mailing address so I can mail you your prize! Thanks for playing!

My Cousin Ricky - The White Shoes Connection

I posted a photo of Bud Steele who owned the Atlantic gas station in town on the January 5, 2009 Blog entry (See photo below). He is holding his son, Ricky, who was wearing white shoes.

Little Rickie Steele helped his father "Buddy" out at the Atlantic station from time to time. Notice the white shoes on Little Rickie. Must be before Labor Day. (Photo courtesy of Almira Cramer Steele.)

Well, it seems that, as a result of that Blog posting, a new nickname, Ricky "White Shoes" Steele, was born in the old New Gretna tradition. Evidently, some people in town, including our postmistress, have been addressing Ricky with that new moniker. Of course, I've also joined in here at the Blog. Never let it be said that I don't enjoy a little kibitzing among friends. And Ricky doesn't let me forget it.

Now, it appears, that the last laugh may be on me. I was going through some old Stemmer family photos the other day and came across two photos of me wearing, of all things, white shoes!

Nicholas and Madeline Stemmer, in the summer of 1943, holding their new son, Peter, who I must say is looking very fashionable.

I'll match my white shoes with Cousin Ricky's anytime!"

The surfacing of these Stemmer family photos poses two questions - (1) Does that make Ricky and me cousins by white shoe proxy? and (2) Can two people have the same nicknames, according to New Gretna tradition? My vote is NO!

Pete S

PS- Unfamiliar with the Bass River tradition of nicknames? Click on the link below to read Almira Cramer Steele's "Bass River Gazette" article (Issue #2, October, 1998 - page 4) on Bass River nicknames. Ironically, Almira is Ricky "White Shoes" Steele's mother.

http://bassriver-nj.org/pdf/h-gazette02--oct-1998.pdf

OCS to me from Joy D.

Isn't this super cute?? I love this cute image and look! another acetate card! Received this card from my girlfriend Joy D. as she was one of my partners this month for the OCS...thanks so much Joy! I love it! Here's what the card looks like opened up.

Looks like I gotta try to make an acetate card one of these days!! Hope you are having a great week so far! Thanks for stopping by!

Brownie Treat Holder

Halloween is right around the corner and I'm still working on stuff to give out and I gotta say that I procrastinated all this time even if I made all of these projects to post - haha! Bet you all thought I was all done - nope! Anyway, Here is an idea that I lifted from my girlfriend, Michelle. We got together earlier this month and she did this really cute make and take for us. This is my take on her project with some adjustments to the size because I used a brownie inside instead of the two square tins she provided for us with her M&T. Here is what I made: Here's a side view..

And here is the little tote opened up.

This project started when my girlfriend, Kris asked me how I was going to wrap up my brownies to give away since we just bought some fundraiser brownies...so Kris, this is for you! See you tomorrow and thanks for dropping in today!

All supplies are SU!

Last Chance to Play!

Tomorrow is the last day to send me a WOW link to be qualified to receive a set of my Christmas tags and a bunch of other goodies that I'm gathering up! Here are the tags that I'm giving away... Thanks to all of you who sent me links to view some WOW projects! I was very inspired with those projects!! I'll be picking a winner Thursday morning, so be sure you reply to this post to enter!