The Sampler Blog Hop Winners & a little sneak!

 

congrats to Ruth, Patricia & ScrappnBee! Email your shipping address at holly[at]scrapbookingsuppliesrus[dot]com so i can get your bundles out asap!

also, see that super fab ribbon there? oh thats part of the december kit from the sampler! its going to be a beautiful kit! i cant wait to show you guys the big reveal!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

happy holidays Echo Park

finally, the dishes are done! VICTORY! and there were some of you out there who doubted me... shortly after i managed to clean the house, i managed to completely demolish it again! this time with christmas merriment! the stockings have been hung and candy dishes have been filled. now i have a short list of just a few more extension cords and a christmas tree and the holidays are ready to rock&roll!

speaking of, tomorrow gifties from my anti-black friday, black friday shopping via amazon will start arriving. now i need to settle on wrapping paper. not sure i have enough craft paper for this year. BUT i think i might use white butcher paper and a bunch of bows.

speaking of holidays, i made a few layouts using the christmas lines from echo park. love how simple some of these papers are. the colors are great!

ok, still in love with the maya road pleated ribbons and the brads made with a spot of paper and my itop brad maker!

more maya road ribbon. noticing a trend?

the new jenni bowlin dabbers are fantastic. great colors! i used them to make my dots around this layout and amp'd up the shine on those ornaments with some glossy accents.

have a super monday yall! and do something festive today!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

my two days after thanksgiving, thanksful post...

the holidays brought me a whirlwind of good food, good company and a good pile of dishes. so thats where i've been for the past two days. standing in my kitching admiring the massive amount of dirty dishes i created and devising a plan of attack. that was this morning. next, as a reward for massive dish doing, its time to pull out more Christmas decorations! but first a few things to share with you!

i did these tags week before last as a make and take for my DE-stress fridays at Memories Live On. Something i am very thankful to be able to participate in! I always struggle with what i'm going to do with all the projects i get to create with all of our fabulous customers but this time it was a no-brainer! PLACE CARDS! i plan on doing tim holtz's 12 tags of Christmas if he does them this year and those will be our tags for Christmas dinner!

the day before thanksgiving i ran some errands with sarah while she only slightly panic'd into opening her store yesterday and we hit diaso. i love diaso. dont ever leave me diaso!



oh, so while i was away experimenting with telepathic dishwashing techniques, i was bestowed by not one, but two amazing bloggers a very sweet award! I want to thank Sharla and Vanessa for there kind words! The story goes that once awarded this little gem i need to award others the same title. this will have to wait until later today and after a little more thought. but i just wanted to thank those ladies right now!



its a long standing habit of mine to save images that outright blow my mind in the inspiration department. they catch my eye for a variety of reason, but ultimately leave me more inspired to make something of my own. i am very thankful to be able to live in an environment where i can nurture and develop my craft passions. i come on, this piece is amazing!



last but not least, i want to leave you with a few photos of a Hambly project i did a couple weeks ago. actually, i'm not entirely certain i havent shared it yet, but here it is. i really need to go back and do a huge post of the layouts i wanted to share but never found the time. i'm sensing a new year's resolution coming on...

anywho, this is our grandma joan. at her i believe 89th birthday. with two of her great grandsons. she is a very sweet lady and we love spending time with her.

products used: Hambly silk screened paper and overlay, American Crafts Thicker, Pink Paisley Artist Tape, & notebook paper from the stash!

i hope everyone has had a great thanksgiving and a wonderful weekend. I'm going to get on those Christmas decorations and pack up for the inaugural crop at Our Paper Place and have a great time!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly&

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme!!!

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
to be together. happy and healthy. for the adults to enjoy the simple moments in our lives and the children to plainly have simple lives while they are children still.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?
putting on A Christmas Story and opening gifts from santa with my husband and son. followed by a huge pajama brunch at our house with husband's family and more gifts!

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?
the hugest, most complicated digital SLR bundle in existence and photography classes to educate me how to use the darn thing!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
Pulling out old mini albums and scrapbook pages of Christmas past. Sitting on the couch and looking through them with my son. Oh and taking a walk around the block looking at holiday lights with the boy!

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
phase 10 and uno

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
having a seafood dinner of sorts on christmas eve.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip?
some kind of winterwonderland. a cabin covered in snow with a cozy fireplace. or maybe some place tropical where we can open gifts on the beach. or disney world. ;)

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
-definitely a new xbox console
-a cataclysm mouse because its crazy cool
- mario allstars because i love me some mario!

can i be thankful for forgetfulness?

so, i was playing with some imaginisce papers for an imaginisce sketch challenge a while back. some of ya'll might remember the layout i entered for the contest.

well, i didn't win for the sketch challenge, which is no big deal because the project that is win was GREAT! So i put my layout up at the two peas gallery and they happen to have an imaginsce challenge up as well! so i entered it there and was one of the 5 winning projects. the best part? the contest winners were announced on novemeber 1st, i just found out two days ago when i was a little bummed! so, i'm thankful for my forgetfulness... sometimes.. :)

now i'm going to go wash dishes so i can be thankful they kitchen is clean once i'm done. that still counts, right?

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

bless this mess (at my desk)

i am not an overly religious person. really not at all. i have faith, but its my own and i tend not to share with others. BUT, i need a "bless this mess" sign for my craft area. a really kitschy one would be best. so, last night i did was looking for some little embellishments and i discovered i had like 8 places for little things. so i consolidated.

kinda wish i could have kept it in a pile. instead i purged and reorganized into one container and i', pleased with my re-found ability to find my crap.

anywho, it's been raining for the past 2 days and still going strong. i love it! i need to make a costco run and pick up the 345 prints i had done yesterday. i'm nearly out of photos and that just will not do. this way i will have plenty to work on for Memories Live On's Black Friday Crop and Our Paper Place's inaugural crop the following day!

rainboots&tadpoles,
holly*

dreams of gum drops and sugar cookies...

i know we have thanksgiving to still be thankful for, but my mind its completely dwelling on christmas this year. so looking forward to making cookies and decorating and everything that goes with it! so much so that i've been pretty much scrapping christmas lately. i went a little nuts with my heart punch recently and some papers from elle's studio. cute papers, bad photos...

i hope to have a projects coming out of my nose right now. so its pretty well business as usual. working on a ton of holiday decor and hopefully tutorials to match! anywho, off to complete something else off the list!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

The Sampler's Sketch Challenge Blog Hop!

Welcome to my leg of The Sampler's Blog Hop! Super quick i wanted to share my take on this month's sketch challenge which you can find at the SBSRUS Contest Page and share some giveaway goodness!

i created a layout using this month's kit and what it naturally leans towards, THE HOLIDAYS!


The moment I saw the plaid pp, i was in love! I LOVE I TELL YOU! And the colors are traditional, but not traditional. ya know what i mean?


A combination of alphabets almost always end up on layouts! in November's kit what do you think i found? two perfectly coordinated alphas from basic grey. perfect sizes for jounaling AND titles. not to mention that that is the BACK side of a beautiful crushed velvet ribbon that happens to have the crochet on the back. love it! could hardly decide which side to use....


I love to use rub-ons on my photos for that extra bit of journaling, but often find that I have to press too hard to get them to transfer and end up leaving scratch marks on my photos. BUT, the rub-ons from American Crafts that are in November's kit are fantastic! Hardly any pressure and the entire image is transferred perfectly.

NOW, FOR THE GIVEAWAYS!!!

So here's the deal. We have a ton of giveaways for this hop! A TON! I know I will be giving at least 3 prizes away and there will be at least 3 more grand prizes! How do you enter you ask? leave me a comment telling me what your favorite part of the November kit is! You have from today until November 29, 2010!


On with the Hop!
Be sure to check out the other design team member's posts today!
Sandy's Kick Off Post

Alaina's Blog

Amber's Blog

Holly's Blog (YOU ARE HERE!)

Sarah's Blog
Whether I'm your 1st or last stop on our hop, I do hope you've had a fantastic time! Also, be sure to check out our current design team search as well!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

victory!

i found it! the atg gun has been found and i am no longer adhesiveless! this makes my world much more complete. today has been a great day. got some work done this morning before the little man woke up. lunch with husband and a co-worker of his.

i have some quick gift tutorials in mind including a break down of my DEstress fridays at Memories Live On and some super quick, super easy treat bags. Lately I have been loving Imaginisce. so many great papers and embellishments to choose from. and, omg, i {HEART} my itop. {HEART} i tell you! i put together this layout super fast after i stumbled into this photo of the boy at his 2 year old check up. i cant believe this was OVER two years ago. ugh. no fair!

in other very serious business news, i have an upcoming class for... wait for it... wait for it... a December Daily journal using The Sampler's November kit inspired by no one else but Ali Edwards herself.

In the class we will break down our kits and use them to create a mostly simple journal/mini album that will capture our holiday memories as they happen but with out the stress of all the creativity. hehe. of course, as with most classes with me, you will get the chance to play with some fun goodies (ie paints, inks and goodness knows what else i will drag in) as well! there will definitely be a sense of accomplishment at the end of the class and then at the end of every day you journal in december because it will be so simple to get it FINISHED! Get more information on this class and more at Memories Live On.

Why are weekends so short?

Really? It seems like there should be another Sunday. Or something. Ridiculous.

Since the disappearance of the ATG, I had a bit of time on my hands. So this weekend I managed to get some deeper than usual cleaning done (good stuff i know!) and made some super yum dinners for husband and his family. Husband's dad's birthday was this past week so a celebration was definitely in order. Phil's Fish House cioppino is one of my personal all time favs! but its pretty pricey eating it at phil's. BUT NOW I can buy the base frozen at Shopper's Corner for a fraction of the cost. a quick trip to whole foods and costco for select seafood delights and i can make a HUGE pot of cioppino for the cost of pretty much a single bowl at Phil's. i'm stoked. these crabs were not....



anywho, back to my plight of the missing ATG. i felt like i was taking crazy pills all weekend. seriously. BUT, apparently, crazy pills also have a dose of creativity because oh man did i create this weekend. I had a stash of 3 half used jumbo glue sticks, two mostly new mono adhesive tape runners, the better part of a roll of double-sided tape as well. i say HAD. its gone. Not to mention the two or so packs of glue dots i also finished off but that's a normal situation for this craft desk. but yah, mini albums and layouts were assembled en mass. as usual, a few need some details.... here are a couple quick things i managed to finish...

quickie layout using a pencil lines sketch. love it! lately i've been really digging sketches. even if i'm making the sketch myself. sometimes the paper just wont talk to me until i have a game plan. (sometimes it does... this is when we worry...) i'm slowly pulling out and scrapping my stash of polaroids. these came out a bit on the dark side, but Tyler brightens anything up. The sketch really let me keep this layout clean! Very pleased!

products used: The Sampler's November Kit!

i also worked on some mini albums and had some scraps. i have such a hard time parting with these tiny pieces these days. needless to say, my card collection is getting ridiculous because so so so many of them are turned into cards.

products used: little yellow bicycle "savor" collection papers and cardstock stickers




and omg, how cute is this guy!??!?! Imaginisce just released their new Enchanted Collection and its too adorable for words. Typically, i'm not one to go for the super cutesy, BUT i can see spring in this line! i highly recommend you check it out!

anywho, i have a couple details to add to my layout for this friday's blog hop project for The Sampler! Not to mention, work on packaging MORE giveaways! i'm up to 14 packages already with all kinds of goodies from kits past, present and future! good times!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

M.I.A.

dear peoples of the internet!

i have officially impressed myself. i have lost my scotch ATG gun. L.O.S.T. gone. vanito. (that's not a word, huh?) its out of here. no where to be found. and OH have i looked for that bright red hunk of plastic. i mean really, ITS HUGE... The adhesive selection is getting pretty grim right about now. last night i went through all of my old mono adhesive runners and some random double sided tape. you know the kind with the white backing. and even two craft bond glue sticks! we're talking adhesive dark ages here people!

 

here is the last known photo of the adhesive gun in question. if found, please giggle under your breath and watch me squirm.

if not now, then when?

I have been thinking about these five simple words all week long since i read a post by Elsie. She makes a most valid point. If not now, then when? When I think about it, the phrase doesn't tell me to live for the moment, but instead pushes me to go with my gut and, well, just do it.

I whipped up a canvas to just remind me of this. The wall of canvas are coming together very nicely. This one i think will continue to instill that spirit of giving it my all and then a little more every day.

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

products used: pink paislee brooch brads, american crafts thickers, kaiser crafts paint

short and sweet

that's pretty much how today went. The little one got his flu mist stuff this morning and we hit costco for a couple things. i ending up walking out of there with a crock pot. not totally sure how i feel about crock pot cooking. i mean, it fits into my desire to do slow foods because, well, its slow... and i know that so many people swear by their crocks.... BUT, it just feels a bit on the lazy side. kinda. oh i dont know. it just takes up so much space on my counter and i have VERY limited kitchen space. well. for now. it has a counter to live on and i'm digging up recipes. it would be nice to come home and have dinner ready.

so i spent a good chunk of today cleaning up around the house and contemplating keeping the new kitchen appliance. short and sweet. a simple day spent around the house. those are the best.

i do want to share this short and sweet mini album that i will be making for this week's DE-stress Friday's at Memories Live On. very excited to make a few more of theses with everyone!

 

anywho, i think i will call it an early night and hit the hay. lots of work to do tomorrow.

sunshine&bunnies
holly*

happy

it seems like part of the internet is down. and i cannot schedule some posts at The Crop Spot that i have been working on. unfortunate. but i can take the time to share at least one layout with you guys that i finished up not too long ago.

Tyler really does love spending time outside regardless of his attire. the rain boots are classic. Love the latest We R Memory Keepers line not to mention how simple it is to use a touch of stickles and SRM stickers for easy, easy details.

For now, I think its time for some rest and to leave the rest of my blogging until tomorrow. If you havent already, check out the sampler's November kit, "Falala Yuletidings"! IT'S AMAZING!

its back!

this week has worked out BUT painful with out my lovely laptop. so many online shenanigans i have missed out on. blogs to read. projects to post. go go go!

while with out my laptop i did manage to get some rockin things worked on. big plans to take photos and share tomorrow! one thing i did make and managed to photograph was my pumpkin from halloween. it was a cute, fat little pumpkin that got a cute, fat little face.

 

anywho, just wanted to celebrate my laptop returning home. back to work for me!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*