Family and Friends
I love spending time with family and friends during the holidays. One of my favorite holiday traditions is going to the Nutcracker performed by Ballet Hawaii. I have been going to the Nutcracker for the past 10 years to watch Aria, my friend Karin’s daughter, dance ballet.
Aria made her Nutcracker debut as this precious angel at the age of six.
Aria’s Nutcracker Debut
Aria is now 16 and this year we were blessed to watch her dance in one of my favorite scenes where she was a Snowflake.
Aria in the Nutcracker
Hasn’t she grown up to be a beautiful ballerina? And she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
After the performance family and friends gathered outside the stage door to congratulate her. My friends and I discovered that we were all very unintentionally color coordinated!!
Sisters
Cindy and I found a gift to give to Aria and I wrapped it in this cute ballerina themed wrapping paper. Since the paper was pink, I made a card to match.
Family and Friends ballerina card
I created this card using a brand new stamp set called Family and Friends. This photopolymer stamp set has 40 unique pieces that you can use to create people with different hairstyles, bodies and facial expressions. This set will be available on January 3rd , 2019 when our new Occasions Catalog is released.
To create the ballerina I had to stamp the body, hair and face separately. I used my Stamperatus which made lining up the different parts a breeze!
Family and Friends Ballerina Card
Since Aria’s costume was white, I didn’t color the top of the body. Instead, I brushed the top with a Wink of Stella to add shimmer.
Family and Friends Stamp Set
The background has a layer of Sparkle Glimmer Paper as well as texture created by a brand new item, our Lace Dynamic Textured Impressions folder.
In 2016 Ballet Hawaii celebrated their 40th anniversary. That year they revamped the ballet to a Hawaiian rendition. I’ve enjoyed this beautiful rendition so much. It is so colorful and its fun to see how they’ve incorporated a Hawaiian theme to the ballet. I can honestly say for the past three years that I’ve watched this rendition it get’s better and better. That’s probably because I love Hawaiiana so much but know what I love even more??
Aria with her card
I love watching this sweet, kind and beautiful girl dance so gracefully using her God given talents to shine in whatever role she is given.
Next year will be her final performance and it will be a time for us to gather and celebrate Aria once again! I am so grateful for this special holiday tradition we get to share as family and friends.
