12.02.2011

December Daily Coaster Winner!

I know I said I would post yesterday, but yesterday was INSANE. So its WINDY around here. or was. (not so bad right now) ...but when i say windy i mean WINDY. trees falling and power outages. not as bad as some places but kinda scary none the less... for it just being WIND. So the little town we live in was a complete zoo. gas stations and grocery stores were closed and people we're just jerks in general. so the boy and i wandered off, did our errands and were gone the whole day. Time flies when you're avoiding whack-OS apparently.  ANYWHO.... on to the main event... 
The boy picked comment number FOUR!

(Shoot me your mailing info and I will get those coasters out asap so you can use them!)

I love seeing the comments and project that are showing up for the december daily albums. i'm hoping to get my day 1 posted tonight. but another busy day is upon us. the boy is about to head to school, i have a lunch date with the MIL, then a few hours to kill (i.e. craft and do laundry) then head our for husband's holiday party for work. its alaways at the same boci ball place and there is always good food and drinks. while i wont be drinking this year, it will be nice to see some of his co-workers whom i have grown attached to over the past couple years. 

happy friday everyone and hope to see yall later on with some eye candy! 
sunshine&bunnies, 
holly*

11.30.2011

2012 December Daily (post:1)

Tomorrow is the official start to a project dubbed "December Daily". I hope to share the progress of my album daily if not close to that. So how about the cover?


For those of you who are unaware of what a "December Daily" refers to, its a daily journal that is semi made prior to the month of December so a person can capture all those little moments as they go by in a beautiful album with relatively little effort/pressure.

The holy grail of these journals is Ali Edwards and her journals. She leads the movement and has beautiful style.

As for the bits and pieces for this album...
*i ordered the Studio Calico December Daily add-on. I know. I have enough STUFF, but I thought it would be a nice treat.
*a few items from Cavallini. new "paper" tapes and an alpha stamp set will be great to throw in as i go, yet remain simple and travel well.
*in addition to the kit i ordered, i have some of my stash set asside. LOADS of Hambly, Teresa Collins and a little Basic Grey. Vintage doilies and lace.Paint Dabbers in neutral colors. 
**Last but not least i stockpiled Fujifilm INSTAX MINI film, obtained new memory cards for my little lumix (a faster and larger card finally) and phone (the old one seemed to have corrupted whatnots) and a new printer.

 {All I can say is YAY! for Amazon's FRUSTRATION FREE packaging options!}

Of course i have a pile of holiday goodies pulled from my stash AND the most amazing holiday kit from The Sampler to add in goodies as the month goes. The foundation pages (innards of the album) are mostly assembled, but i figured i would share those as i go. Kinda a before and after.I love the idea that this album could be considered DONE and allows to just record the memories as they happen... but at the same time, i can still go nuts and get crafty in it if the bug bites.


I do have to admit I am a little concerned at how FAT this album is already. Whoops. Eh, the album and I have this in common. We're both filled to the brim with love... (/end cheesey)

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

11.28.2011

its the most BUSIEST time of the year...

I am looking forward to this coming month so very much. parties, crafting, traveling, eating, enjoying! December is FULL!

Speaking of full, I happen to know for a fact that the Dec2011 kit from The Sampler is beyond FULL! I even have a teeny sneak peak to share! check out The Sampler's blog for a pre-release GIVEaway!


I'm looking forward to using this month's kit in my december daily album that i've been working on. My foundation pages are just about done, but all of the goodies in the kit will be wonderful to toss in as the month goes on.

This week we get to not only start on those december daily albums, but also get to start working on Tim Holtz's 12 tags of Christmas (yes, there will be a "class" at Memories Live On to help recreate some of the spirit of the tags... and yes, i am fearful again this year of another 24+ hour class) AND we get to bust out the lego advent calendar! This year we have the Star Wars Advent Calendar. i can't wait to show the boy. he loved last year's!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

11.26.2011

Who wants 'em?

Ok, its been super quiet around here these days because I have been super busy. working on a ton of projects to share non-the-less... BUT today I'm working on DEstashing a little and I want to share! RIGHT NOW i'm staring at these coasters I got in the SC December Daily Kit and I have no clue what to do with them other than give them to one of yall. So... WHO WANTS 'EM?!?!



So leave a comment, and i will random a number on the 1st when we're starting those december dailies!
Hope everyone finds this weekend treating them well!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

ps. The Sampler is hosting another GIVEaway as well! Be sure to check out the blog for more details! (its worth stopping by, trust me!)

11.14.2011

The Sampler Nov2011 Kit: Seasonal Sweets! (read on for HUGELY AWESOME giveaway!)


The Sampler's November Kit (Seasonal Sweets) and all its yumminess is on display over at ScrapbookingSuppliesRus! AND there is a HUGE giveaway over on The Sampler's Blog! I HIGHLY recommend!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

11.11.2011

The Sampler's 2012 Design Team Search!


 2012 
Design Team Search! 

We are on the hunt for new designers for the 2012 design team for The Sampler Kit Club! 2012 is going to be an amazing year, with amazing kits and an amazing team! Check out the call over at The Sampler's Blog and send in your application!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

11.10.2011

back to diapering post #2

Well, they got here...




The gDiapers gBaby Bundle, Newborn Diapers made their way here. I also purchased 1 package of the gDiapers Cloth Diaper Inserts ... BUT, upon further research, I discovered that there are bundles that come with cloth inserts as opposed to the disposable ones which came with the bundle i originally purchased.You can find the bundle with the cloth inserts over at diapers.com.

 What came in the bundle?
If you read pretty well any ordering information or even the box you will find that the newborn bundle includes 12 tiny gPants (i.e. newborn sized), 6 small gPants (up to 14lbs i think), 6 small gPouches, and 80 small disposable gRefills.

So those are inserts? 
Yup. two kinds. cloth.... 

and the disposable/flush-able...
 

The cloth liner definitely looks/feels more comfortable but also puffier.they are both rather long for the newborn and small diapers. (photo: disposable liner over newborn diaper)
                           

the disposable liner reminds me very much of the stiff feeling of a conventional disposable diaper. Not a huge shock. The disposable liner, however, can be flushed apparently. The instructions which came with the bundle informed me that a soiled disposable liner can be torn open on one end, shaken into a toilet, swished around a bit and flushed. Handy swish stick included in bundle with clever quote included...
  


so what about the diapers?
when looking at the gdiapers system, the diaper itself consists of anywhere from 2-4 layers. the gPant is the diaper cover basically. the newborn diapers are pretty well one piece. the small (and subsequently larger sizes) are two pieces: a diaper cover and a pouch. 

the pouch is what holds the insert, so the newborn diaper is basically a pouch with the cloth cover already attached and the larger sizes have a pouch that snaps easily in and out of the diaper. i'm not really sure why...

in the next photo, the cloth liner has been folded in half to fit inside the pouches and fits lovely in both instances. without a proper baby to actually try these on, i am unsure if this will actually be the way we use the liners on baby.

apparently this example of layering is a just fine and complete way to diaper a baby, but most of the bits i have been reading about cloth diapering all recommend another layer when using cloth inserts, a liner. the liner helps contain & dispose of solid waste, prevents some stains and would sit directly on top of the diaper stack shown below. then insert baby, fasten diaper around said baby and off you go. easy huh? for the small and newborn sizes it is undeclared as if a liner is truly necessary. i plant to use them, but have not acquired said liners as of yet so no photos for you! (...yet)

 more photos of the newborn sized diapers...
i think this is the back of the diaper...the velcro straps are quite elastic-y which i think will be perfect for a newborn tummy. 

these snaps on the front of are a great feature to a mom who folded down conventional diapers with a first child. for those of you who haven't experienced "the first child" yet, often for the first few days to the first couple weeks you avoid the belly button/umbilical cord with pretty well everything so it can dry up, heal and fall off on its own. folding down the diaper and then attaching it to baby helps achieve this belly button avoidance. the gdiapers come equip to do this as well by using those snaps makes the front of the diaper an inch or so shorter. this should accommodate for belly button spacing. 

ok, that was bundle number one and an overview of what i learned that 1st day with the gdiapers. no practical experience, but it certainly makes more sense to have at least this system  in house and hands on. I feel more prepared to diaper a baby bum when the time comes...

Additional Items To Research & Purchase:
Diaper Liners
Diaper Laundry Products
Diaper Laundry Storage

11.04.2011

who says Party Rock can't be pretty too?

despite being 6 months pregnant along with many other things that one does not expect out of a party rocker, I AM A PARTY ROCKER! at heart at least... in truth, my back aches entirely too much to do Party Rock justice. The Party Rock Anthem video, however, does...


BUT, to get a little cheesiness out of the way, i am actually inspired by these guys. i mean really, these guys literally Party Rock for a living. so i made myself a little reminder...


ok, so what if everyday i'm LITERALLY shufflin. still, everyday i'm shufflin.

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

10.23.2011

Random Envelope Mini Album Fall Edition

After seeing this post over at the Crate Paper blog i was inspire to make an album to stash all the Fall memories I've been gathering lately. On hand I had 6x6" envelopes which determined the size of the album along with canvas, burlap ribbon, chipboard, a few sheets from Jillibean Soup's "Apple Cheddar Soup" along with a hand full of pearls & other goodies!





Ok, i'm going to squeak a little and just say that I love how it shaped up! I left a lot of it very simple so i can add photos and other goodies as the months progress into winter. I also love that I can simply stuff more stuff like tags and memorabilia in the envelopes.

I can totally see cranking out more of these mini albums in all kinds of shapes and sizes and for different seasons/events/etc... Great tutorial over at the crate paper blog!

YAY!
Sunshine&Bunnies,
holly*

10.20.2011

The Sampler: Oct2011 Sketch Challenge!

There is a new sketch challenge up over at The Sampler's blog! Great sketch and always makes finishing a layout a touch easier for me!

sketch:


layout:


details:



i used the October2011 kit from The Sampler with a touch of ribbon from the September2011 kit! Speaking of the Oct2011 kit, as many of us do I love the products from the SMASH line and October's kit has some of the stickies! soooo... excited! thats where those bees come from! super cute!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

ps. if you havent already, be sure to join The Sampler's NEW Flickr Group!

10.05.2011

back to diapering post #1

ok so i am by no means PROmom. i have no parenting degree or even education other than what i've gained through parenting itself. i mess up. a lot. but, we live our life to the best of our abilities and take each situation as it comes, preparing as we can. i have experiences to share. while we each experience situations differently, i have found others who have shared their experiences (through personal stories on and offline) have helped me go through a similar situations.

ok, so now i want to share something with y'all, that was an issue with our 1st child and derail the crafting train. at least occasionally. diapering. you have a baby, you have to put something on it to contain the things that comes out of it. right?

how about some background?
with our 1st child (the boy, now five), we experienced some "minor" skin issues. we used conventional huggies from birth. at around 8 months we 1st noticed a few dry, red splotches on his diaper area, mostly his lower back/bum. they were very faint at first but then grew more intense as we entered summer and things heated up. no amount of diaper rash creams or sprays changed the rash. it started to seem that the rash was causing discomfort. it was time to take the boy to the pediatrician. he diagnosed a possible case of eczema and set him up with a steroid cream. the cream worked but i hated the idea of using a steroid cream on his little bum and, if we didn't use it constantly, then the rash returned promptly. so i started looking into what causes these kinds of skin issues and if there was anything i could do.

after reading and posting and reading and sharing, we started to gain some ground and started removing potential skin irritants. since the rashes were limited to his diaper area, obviously changing the diapering routines seem to be the best starting point. soooo... after a lot of trial and error we found a combination of products (Seventh Generation Diapers, chlorine/alcohol free wipes, and the occasional slathering of California Baby Calendula Cream) that improved our situation and the skin issues cleared up. neat huh?

i want to throw in here that i did try cloth with the boy around the time he was a year old and the rash was peaking with not so great results. looking back, it was the wrong time to attempt to transition to cloth. there was a heatwave, the boy's rash was at its peak and i was freaking frustrated already! never  mind that i had ZERO prior knowledge of cloth diapering and, while over all fairly simple, there are a lot of options and that crap is effing confusing. srs. 

ohay! we're having a baby!
so we're expecting our 2nd addition now and i know i am dreading diapering again. so, i'm also expecting our 1st set of gdiapers to arrive. our plan is to use the chlorine free diapers from seventh generation along with cloth diapers (read below for my initial cloth diaper choice) in hopes of preventing or at least lessening the possibility of skin irritation from day one.

the "green" factor honestly is a smaller portion of this decision than it seems others have. there are disposable inserts(not planning on using these tbh) which have a waste factor and even washing the cloth inserts leave some kind of footprint in terms of detergents, waste water and energy consumed... while reducing and reusing is in my daily thought process and obviously to benefit our children, but baby and her comfort are numero uno in terms of this decision.

why gdiapers?
well, i am the kind of person that will bend over backwards to not burden others will my decisions. husband is pretty well able to go with the flow on some things and willing to learn especially when it comes to the benefit of our children. BUT, what about others involved with our children? Grandmas? Aunties? Friends? we hope to share our children with our friends and family and that occasionally involves changing a diaper...

when i first told my mom we would cloth diapering at least part time, she pretty much just told me she would have a stash of disposables on hand. OK, one pampers isn't going to ruin baby forever, BUT it does defeat the purpose of this investment. I'm sure i will get her set up with the chlorine free disposables, BUT why can't a cloth diaper be as easy as a disposable diaper?

after poking around the internet, i pretty well became smitten with the idea and look of the gdiapers. they seem less bulky than some of the others. they come in bundles to help get you started. i can obtain inserts and accessories at the grocery store (whole foods and places of the like). they have velcro and vaguely look like a fancy disposable diaper. and, with a little effort, i bet i can pre-load the diaper covers with the inserts and liners so guest diaper-ers can just pull out a fresh diaper when needed. it seemed like a good jumping off point.

ps. some of the colors are really cute and i bet they would make for a great "diaper butt" and husband and i have coined it. we're a little obsessed with diaper butt. ah! cuteness!  

So, here we are.
I am waiting on our 1st shipment of gDiapers (the newborn bundle to be specific) so I can get back into practicing and see if i can gain a little confidence with this system. i do have plans to report back and share the experience. hopefully with photos. this post is dryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

10.04.2011

a goodbye and a hello...

so, while i wasn't paying attention very closely, the gals over at Sassy Little Sketches made the tough decision to refocus their creative energies and close their sketch sites. While its sad, they are having a huge send off and celebrating the whole month FULL of sketches and awesomeness.

I created a layout using their sketch #1 and I love how it turned out. I will miss SLS and the wonderful sketches! Best wishes to all those involved and their future ventures...




to end on an up note, we have a huge hello to the "Mrs. Weasley" kit from The Sampler! Its a very lovely kit and i can't seem to put it down. The layout above (yes that is our new addition at a startling 9weeks, development from cells to baby is nothing short of amazing) is using the october kit and i love it! the embellishments in this kit really do it for me!

check out the sampler's kit page for full details on the kit and the sampler's blog for all the inspiration in the world (literally) using this month's kit!

sunshine&bunnnies,
holly*

10.02.2011

this weekend:



pumpkin patch was visited

small sewing projects were created

pumpkins were transformed (pie filling and roasted seeds, NOM)

bacon, lettuce, avacado sammiches were made

brownies devoured

fellowship of the ring was watched

family time was well spent

noses were picked

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*
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9.23.2011

sundays are for showers

this past weekend we gathered in honor of my sister in law to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. it was a beautiful, warm day full of all sorts of awesome...














happy friday!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

9.22.2011

Christmas Memories

I have a new favorite set. It's wonderful. The Christmas Memories set. Just wonderful vintage-y goodness. I haven't gotten quite in the swing of Christmas card making just yet, BUT I did find that this set was perfect for a layout!



Over all the layout is fairly plain and simple. But, the details turned out lovely... On the base of the layout, i stamped the starburst image in a similar color distress ink. i found the pine needles matched my cardstock the best.


On white cardstock, I stamped the ornaments and embossed them with gold powder then tying them up with a bit of red bakers twine. Little drops of glossy accents hold the curls in the bakers twine in place. the "Merry Christmas" was stamped in distress ink (pine needles) and cut out leaving a thick border. Tracing the letters in glossy accents really make the color pop.


I also stamped the large santa from the set on white cardstock in fired brick distress ink. After cutting out the santa leaving a thing boarder, i coated the santa with glossy accents. ok, so this takes pretty much forever to dry, but thats ok! the end result is so worth it. the glossy accents causes the ink to bleed a little bit, which totally adds to the vintage look/feel of the image. LOVE IT! i would LOVE to see this santa (or really the whole set) in mini versions!

The whole layout comes together with just a few layers of hambly screenprints under the photo and a bit of foam adhesive.

I find that i do not stamp much on layouts other than creating a textured background or maybe a phrase here and there. Using so many stamped imaged to create pretty well all the elements of this layout got me thinking. i should use stamps more. simple thought, but i think its worth thinking about.

do you use stamps often in your layouts?

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

9.19.2011

The Sampler: Everything is WONDERFUL!

Another layout from the September kit from The Sampler! I find myself creating simpler layouts these days. The kit really helps me on this. Not having so many choices, which i have the whole crafting world to choose from it seems, really helps to get the job done.

Every year we head to a Christmas Tree Lot and pick out the tree that we will celebrate the season with. Oh i LOVE a fresh Christmas tree and i LOVE to document the finding and decorating and simple enjoyment as well. This past year the boy really got into it to. In fact, he picked out the tree and I have the photos to prove it! Now, I can finally get them into my scrapbook!



Using the "simple joys" patterned paper, I cut the lines apart and set aside the red and green ones. Along with those i also cut out little circles from the "forever" dotted paper. Easy and quick to assemble!










I did think the layout needed a bit more fussing up. So, I used the Gold Pearl Pen to dress the whole thing up by simply covering little dots at random with the Gold.

I know its early to be thinking about the Holidays, but, what can i say? its my favorite time of year!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

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