Sneak Peak from The Sampler!

Well, now that the holiday madness has ended, its time for new madness to commence. January beings a lot of stuff for us. From a fun Disneyland trip to CHA to getting down and dirty working on an auction to raise funds for the boy's elementary school... All good things.... All a lot of work... I think I will keep January's kit from the sampler close by to get 2013's project life album started with some love. Speaking of love, how about a sneak peak?

check it out! The Sampler in Dec2012!

This kit is amazing! Totally rocking this for my december daily. an AMAZING value only $29.99! Blows those near $100 kits totally out of the water! Grab yours today!

sunshine&bunnies, holly*

tradition

This is becoming a serious tradition for the boy and his great-grandma (aka. moomoo). When my German grandmother (aka. moomoo) wed my Czech grandfather, they adapted to one another's traditions. He became a Lutheran and she learned to make kolaches. (at least this is how I understand the arrangement. lol)

Moomoo has since taught her daughters, her grand-daughter and now her great-grandson to make kolaches. 

Since the boy was about 2 we've been making kolaches with moomoo. He's gotten pretty dang good.Its always a highlight for our Houston visits.

Crap, now I want a kolache!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

those eyes

Little lady is getting so big. Tonight I watched he stand up in the middle of the living room. Alone, not a huge feat. In fact, she's been standing in various ways for months. BUT, tonight, she stood up from sitting with out touching or grasping ANYTHING. Her independently walking is too close. So is her leaving for college...

I will always have the memories though... sunshine&bunnies, holly*

is that... pink?

Lately I've been noticing a color sneaking into my projects that once was perma-banned. pink...

obviously not so perma-banned after all, huh?

i suppose it is only to be expected that pink would sneak into my crafting arsenal eventually after the birth of pip. who know it would go monotone?

BTW, totally created this layout in a snap by combining the powers of The Sampler Kit Club's Oct2012 kit AND a FABULOUS sketch from Heather Landry! If you haven't checked out her blog & sketches yet, RUN DON'T WALK!!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

HAPPY Friday with HAPPY Ladies... dammit.

This week started off way lame with uber hot weather and my very much loved escape taking its last gear shift for me. Monday and Tuesday were just the pits. Wednesday night we bought a new car and Thursday was spent dealing with insurance mans and trying to figure out what the heck we were going to do with the escape. so, today being friday, we are happy... dammit. lol. I have a few projects that I haven't shared but thought this happy Friday was a great time! Both use mostly bella blvd and totally bring a smile to my face...

so the boy was invited to the LSS owner's daughter's birthday party a while back. Gah! The pressure to make something was intense. lol. I did have fun decorating her bag. Bells Blvd's washi tape and stickers made this bag perfect!

I love pretty well all things rainbow (UNICORN POOP!) and I love making rainbow layouts, cards, minis, canvas, whatever. Bella Blvd has some great cardstock stickers that are all in the same color family. i.e. shades of yellow/orange or pink/red or blues or greens or even black/white. Anywho, I love them!

Now, off to finish peanut butter cookies for the boy's teacher. They're her favorite!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

making things...

...always makes me feel amazing. Typically I make things for a scrapbook or a small gift or something small for around the house or even something to wear. A few weeks ago I made something BIGGER, something completely practical, something involving a drill and two by fours! A potting bench!

 

No, its nothing fancy. In fact, the majority of the construction utilizes old fence boards from our fallen (and replaced) fence.  Building this bench was VERY simple. There were no plans, just an idea, a few simple measurements and an hour. Its not like we have a HUGE yard. We have a teensy yard actually. BUT, this simple bench wrangles the few things I have for our little yard/garden and it gives husband a surface to put things when he's grilling. 

I am super stoked on this boring bench because of its organization appeal and the simple fact that I MADE THAT! bare hands! very cool. that AND i ACTUALLY FINISHED a project, in one setting. start to finish... RArr.

Now, if only I could get a few more things done...

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

Challenges in Sept2012

here we are again, I have a couple new and an one old challenge this month. seems like i can't get the garage finished. Between business trips for husband, other crap to clean and just life in general, the hopes of transforming the garage into a viable workspace have been placed on the back burner... again.

With the start of 1st grade for the boy, I haven't had a spare moment to do anything it seems. The upside, no REAL challenges other than brushing our teeth and eating breakfast before class starts.... Well, squish has taken to sleeping weird times. like from 6pm to 3am, then waking up for fun times. That IS proving challenging...

 This month I played along with The Sampler's layout sketch challenge. I'm also finding it challenging to scrapbook anything but pictures of pip (mostly sleeping) these days....

Head over to The Sampler's Blog for your chance to win a sampling from The Sampler! Hope your challenges are proving more fun than a struggle this month! sunshine&bunnies, holly*

something not so new...

I have EXCITING news for Bay Area kit club subscribers and project lifers!

If you happen to be in the Bay Area, contact Memories Live On for more information and to sign up for The Sampler's 1st Crop!!! I know I cannot wait to work on a few projects and share some time with other members!

THANK GOODNESS FOR LISTS!

I have a full week planned out this week. This means I have lists everywhere. I have my normal sticky notes on my desk...

I'm working on a stash of project ideas to do with the boy's class every Wednesday. Art is soooo limited in his school that I would really love to be able to bring whatever amount of art to them I can. This week we're doing tissue paper stained glass windows. No its not Picasso but its SOMETHING!

I have a super cute mini album up over at The Sampler Kit Club! I made a LIST JOURNAL! Its been very fun to work on! I posted a few of the pages I've done so far and I definitely look forwards to doing more! Head over and check it out!

Ok, time to start on those to do lists... hope everyone has a great Monday. I know, always hopeful though!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

EEK! a SPIDER!

more like SQUEEEE! because this spider is super cute. I've been ramping up the fall/halloween decorations a little early this year. Thanks to a fairly tiresome pregnancy last year, I didn't really put out decorations last year. sooooo... that means overkill for this year. YAY!

So i've made a couple little things add to the stuff i already have and both came out quite nicely imo.

1st off, a spider web canvas. i saw THIS on pinterest and wanted to make one immediately. BUT i lacked a large enough frame to do it right atm. but i did have a random, yellow canvas and loads of twine taking up space in my stash so i gave it a try.

i do love how it turned out. the little spider was cut from my cameo and made the perfect little touch. i kinda want to add a word bubble above his head and write "EEK!" in it. idk why i want to do it so bad, but i'm refraining thinking that Coco Chanel was right and you should always take off the last thing you put on. the rule clearly applies to scrapbooking too...

the 2nd thing i managed to get out of my head and onto my mantle is one of these fabric pumpkins! last year, i started seeing the tutorials for crushed velvet pumpkins that looked AMAZING. so, at the end of the season, i plucked off all the stems from our pumpkins and said "OMG! I'M TOTALLY GOING TO MAKE THOSE..."

 fast forward to almost A YEAR LATER and only ONE (of at least 10) STEMS made it. This stem has been moved around my kitchen and craft desk COUNTLESS times. but here it is. YAY!

Making this thing was like making a GIANT yo-yo. super easy, but something like 14" diameter. once the yo-yo was put together, i filled it with a 1/2lb or so of pinto beans (the uncooked kind for sure...) and cotton fill until i got the shape i wanted. after that, I tightened the floss holding my yo-you together and put a healthy amount of 3in1 on the stem to adhere it to the pumpkin.

and now i have awesome!

Both of these projects were created spur of the moment with things I had laying around. I've been very big into de-stashing lately and i think these project being created this way make me even happier with them. i highly recommend!

While I have you here.... 
DON'T FORGET to hop along with The Sampler Kit Club's Wrap Up Blog Hop AAAANNNDDD take part in the August2012 Challenges while they're still up!! AMAZING prizes are awaiting you at both stops!!

sunshine&bunnies,


holly*

REVEAL DAY @ The Sampler!

September's here and there is a new kit up over at The Sampler Kit Club! LOOOOVE some of the goodies in this month's kit. (and i have to throw in that i CANNOT believe that this kit is only thirty bucks plus $5 flat shipping! nuts!) Not to mention, that this kit is a DREAM for ANYONE missing fabulous products from Hambly! This kit has loads! LOVE IT!

 Anywho, I have some great projects to share with you super soon, but I am trying to relax over this beautiful holiday weekend! Be back soon!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

a quick card, a FREE m&t!

I am back at it with my DEstress Friday Make & Takes at Memories Live On! Tonight I will be making a super cute mini banner card using some loveley paper tapes from Bella Blvd, teeny flowers from Petaloo and super shiny glam and glitter from Tattered Angels. If you're in the San Jose, CA area, swing by from 7-9pm! As always its free and, more importantly, SUPER FUN!!!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

The Sampler's "It's a Wrap" Blog Hop!

Hey all! Welcome to my stop!! I have loads of projects to share... some old, some never before seen, ALL AMAZING! also, this is not even everything i created with this one kit! seriously, AMAZING!

This layout i made using my kit and the very end of my stashed Sassafras foldables (AHHHHHH!). I really like using neutral/monotones on a single layout. The floral and sickers added just enough color but really let the photo stand out.

I LOVE how that peak of the Hambly overly sits against and softens this grey ledger paper. Not to mention, how it helps the layering with the stickers. Can't go wrong with a Hambly overlay!! *sniff, sniff*

The overall feel of the August2012 kit from The Sampler is a dusty, almost shabby chic look, BUUUUT... I still managed a layout for the boy and one of my favorite photos of him. THAT FISH IS SMILING AT HIM!!!

If this canvas wasn't for Pip before, it is now... that's what happens when you lick something, right? lol! 

This last layout is the layout I did for this month's sketch challenge, WHICH is still goin down! check it out!

Before you head out, don't forget to commented, liked for follow for your chance to win a great bunch of goodies from The Sampler Kit Club! 

It was lovely having you here on my blog, head on over to Amy Coose's blog to see what else has been created with the August2012 kit!

Also, have some links JUST IN CASE this wasn't your 1st stop!

 Shaunna Farral
Holly King
Amy Coose
Amy Sotolongo
Nancy Keslin

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

keeping busy, keeping secrets

With school about to start, we've been busy just trying to get a routine together. We're not super awesome with routines... but we're doing ok... as i type this at 2am when i have to wake up in 4 hours.... ugh

. 

anywho, we have been keeping busy between running errands, making 3 meals a day for 3 people (and countless others for the littlest one, but we're not counting for her since i'm pretty much on auto pilot with her meals other than our experiments with baby lead weaning... GO BOOBS!), cleaning, CRAFTING and just getting ready for the school year to start.

Summer has been fun. It will be missed. BUT, it will be kind of nice to have more structure for all of us. We've had our fair share of melt downs simply due to the fact that the boy just doesn't know what is expected of him....

I have made a record number of projects this week. I've even photographed most of them. BUT many of the are TOP SECRET... for now. keeping my fingers crossed that its all for good reason... I do have a layout i did last night with some Simple Stories...

I LOVE this photo of the kiddos. Its not often one of both of them is captured and this one blew me away when i saw it. It definitely reminds me that TOGETHER is the best place to be.... even when we're apart. 

Have a super tuesday!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

all smiles, all the time.

I have a layout up over on The Sampler's blog today! Swing by for a few tips and because you love me! Ok, at least for the tips...

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

i made a canvas for PIP!

Go check it out over on The Sampler's blog today!! Super cute and super fun! I also talk a lot about glue. You know, if that stuff is interesting to you...

sunshine&bunnies,
holly

my challenges in august2012

Here we are again. Another month and another set of challenges! How about the fun stuff first?! OHHHHKAY!

The Sampler has CARD AND LAYOUT CHALLENGES up for all to play along with! I made one of my first TRULY girlie layouts (because I have a little lady now... i should do things things? pfft) using The Sampler's August2012 kit. 

I highly recommend heading over to the post on The Sampler's blog and playing along! Lots of good ideas coming from those sketches and the other designers have made some wonderful projects too!! Really, they have!

Other challenges this month are generic "omg i have no time" type challenges. I've been trying my best to have a good summer with the boy. which is awesome, BUT causes my eye to twitch at all the unfinished projects around the house. Oh well, one more week of summer and he will be a FIRST GRADER! Very excited for him. He is looking so forward to school but very apprehensive about his behavior of all things. Don't get me wrong. We have the *cough* occasional listing issue, but all round he's a great little guy. I am fairly certain he will get off on the right foot and it will be a great year! Once we get the school year going, I'm going back to the gym (holyshitballs! i bought a 1year gym membership for $55. THANK YOU LIVING SOCIAL) this means I will have to work on giving pip a bottle (i have a HUGE stash, even after donating quite a bit, of frozen breastmilk for those wondering...) She hasn't been completely resistant to bottles as of late, but certainly doesn't take them with the same gusto she does with the breast.  go figure. Oh well, grandma can sort that one out in time...

anywho, have a great day!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

currently 8.18.2012

listening: sounds of husband&pip sleeping

eating: a bit of a wonderful dark chocolate

drinking: water

touching: a warm laptop

watching: Eureka... again... and again

reading: How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm... by Mei-Ling Hopgood

wearing: black linen pajama bottoms & cami... its kinda late.

feeling: excited!

weather: dark, clear & cool

wanting: a few extra hours in the day!

needing: a few extra hours in the day!

thinking: if only i had a few extra hours in the day! 

enjoying: having husband back home

looking forward to: finishing up the backyard and "craftroom" redo (aka. project "eff it, i'm taking over the garage)

have a great weekend!

sunshine&bunnies, 

holly*

currently 8.11.2012

listening: flobots pandora station

eating: a fluffy english muffin with homemade strawberry-nectarine honey jam

drinking: a lovely iced coffee

touching: husband's epic naga mouse. shhhh....

watching: a holiday episode of Warehouse 13

reading: nothing atm. need to load up my kindle again...

wearing: jeans, black top

feeling: overwhelmed but content. (because that makes sense)

weather: clear skies. slightly on the hot side. what is weather?

wanting: :my order from printstagram!

needing: time and more hands and to dye my hairs

thinking: netflix mixed up the seasons/episodes of drop dead diva (don't judge)

enjoying: a few hours to gather my thoughts and laundry

looking forward to: a drive up into oakland with the MIL to visit SIL and cutie patootie niece 

missing: my grandma and her fried chicken

wondering: if i can make grass grow. silly yard...

have a great weekend!

sunshine&bunnies, 

holly*

biggering and biggering

taking a break from expo preparations overdrive and thought i would swing by ye olde blog and post a couple layouts i did a while back but never posted.

little man is getting so big. he's not outgrowing his clothing every other month anymore, but the thoughts and ideas that come out of the boy are amazing. i really do need to get back to capturing more of his little moments again...

 for instance, the other day the boy was building a fort using the little lady's play gym. when he was done, i asked him to clean up which he did. (VICTORY!) upon completion he said "mom, this mat is now operational again".... good to know little man, good to know....

speaking of little lady, she had been nothing but completely amazing. she's been busy biggering herself as well. the past 6 months have been a complete blur of smiles and spit up and diapers and slobbery kisses...

a few months ago, a good friend of mine took some amazing photos of our squish. she looks so new still here. its great to have friends who not only love us, but have nice cameras and a good eye. :)

SIDE NOTE: best twitter feed ever or best feed ever? go forth and follow!

 have a wonderful friday!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

Its always nice to be where your stuff is...

Home again! It is always so sad to leave our family behind, but always so great to get back home where the routines exists (sometimes) and the laundry smells like us. After a long trip away from home, I always dream up all kinds of crazy projects to work on when I get home. This trip I was focused on our backyard (ugh), what i could make for dinner (the eternal question), christmas crafts (yay homemade!), and pintrest execution (seems to be going around the internet these days.)

The bad news: looks like, as always, I'm putting a little too much on my plate. or am I? the good news: I've already made some headway!

I was working on meal planning 1st, which happen to go along with pinterest thanks to the gobs of amazing looking recipes posted by the second. Here is a jpeg of the meal planner i half made/half borrowed from a word template.

Here is a jpeg of this week's menus. Feel free to borrow. Oh, and recipes and critiques to follow!

 The backyard has also been weighing on my mind lately. We have a very tiny, very pathetic yard. Its about 20x20ft and a train wreck. More about that in a later post, BUT I was working back there to create a family friendly space before I left. So i got to obsess create a plan of action while i was away. Here is to hoping to get the ground tilled over the weekend and plant grass the following week. then we wait. speaking of waiting, i made things grow already! never thought i was one for a green thumb, but there it is...

While in Houston I did manage to work on a trip mini album a bit. Over on The Sampler's blog i posted the beginning of the album. Swing by and check it out what's up so far! Its also the 1st of the month so that means its REVEAL DAY! August is "All Gussied Up" and amazing!

Ok, enough blogging and time to get life back to normal. Have a great wednesday!
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

Keepin busy, eatin bluebell

 

We visited the bluebell ice cream factory yesterday. It was a great day trip in the beginnings of Texas hill country and I highly recommend to anyone within an hour or so driving distance. A beautiful drive, neat (quick) tour and ICE CREAM! 

hope everyone is finding some summer fun out there!

sunshine&bunnies, 

holly*

challenged in july2012

I was so looking forward to this month while at the same time dreading it beyond belief. This month marked our 1st flight with the squish. i packed and planned and prepared myself, but, bottom line, it was going to end up however it was going to end up...

Now that we've accomplished our flight and are currently having a lovely time visiting family and friends, I can report that the flight was CAKE. the boy and squish we're wonderful travelers. now i just get to dread the flight home and hope that the 1st flight wasnt just a fluke....

now on to the FUN challenge! This month The Sampler is featuring TWO sketches! A card and a layout sketch. I participated with the sketch challenge...

i snapped these a-little-too-dark photos of the boy on a flight to houston last summer. it was the 1st time i got to bust out my cameo on a layout and i was just having fun playing! keeping it simple and with just the touch of color made me happy on this layout!

to see the sketches, check out inspirations from the design team, and play along, head over to The Sampler's blog ASAP!

a little sneak peak...

well, we're out of town having big fun, BUT all i can think about in our down time are the projects I left on my desk!

The Sampler Kit Club will be at the Santa Clara Scrapbook Expo in august and the last thing i was working on was a make&take for the booth! using bits from the august kit on an adorable little baby birdhouse....

it was coming along quite nicely and i just wish i had sucked it up and brought it with me. oh well... next time...

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

cheers: grapefruit margaritas AND sangria!

a couple weeks ago we celebrated a monumental occasion. my brother-in-law's 39th (holy shit, OLD! tehehe!) birthday to celebrate. I always like to make something for our get togethers and lately (now that i'm not the knocked up family member...) that's been mixed drinks!

First mother-in-law told me she was making cheese enchiladas to feed the crowd she was expecting. So I instantly thought MARGARITAS! from there I started planing how i would find the time to juice the 5lbs of limes I would need for a healthy sized pitcher (while i have a demanding 5 year old, infant and out of town husband...) then I remembered the grapefruit juice I already had on hand! PERFECT!!

GRAPEFRUIT MARGARITAS IT IS!
2c grapefruit juice (fresh squeeze is always preferred)
2c 100% agave silver tequila
(2/3)c grand marnier
(2/3)c simple syrup
juice from 2 limes
pinch of salt

mix all ingredients thoroughly in a pitcher and serve over ice. give to husband.

Then i wasn't sure if this would be enough festive for the festivities...  so i looked at what i had on hand again... wine... misc booze... an orange... lots of wine... misc booze... pounds and pounds of limes...


WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LIMES MAKE SANGRIA, SANGRIA
1 bottle white wine (really any wine will do. red, white, pink...)**
1 large orange, sliced
4-6 limes, sliced
2 shots flavored rum**
2tbsp sugar
 mix all ingredients thoroughly in a pitcher and allow to hang out in the refridgerator over night or as long as possible... 


immediately before serving add:
12oz ginger ale
fill pitcher with ice

serve in glass and use fruit as garnish.

** two quick things about this recipe. 1) you can't f*ck it up. really use any wine you would like. any booze you would like. any fruit you would like. it will be fine. i choose an abandoned bottle of white wine from our racks because MIL likes it and idk when husband or myself would actually drink it. Same with the flavored rum. You know how to finally use those tiny bottles of flavored rum you keep getting in your Christmas Stocking? this is how! :D

 ok, enough talk about booze! hope these recipes find you well and in good spirits. if not, follow above instruction. just in time for the weekend, right? :D

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

just some stuffs... in the form of a list.

1. Inspirations 

2. Reminder:  The Sampler is hosting a challenge over at Ideas for Scrapbookers that you do not want to miss. COLOR CHALLENGE, HO!

3. Favorite meme of the month: BEAR STUFFS!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

noms oatmeal smoothies

if i haven't said it before, i don't have a lot of time on my hands. especially to spend on myself. even to do silly things like eating. between breastfeeding and a general awareness of my own health, I've been trying to eat things that are not only good for squish and myself but also promote healthy lactation. on a recent whole foods run, i was grabbing a juice when i saw "NEW" oatmeal smoothies and i thought "HEY! i can make those!" so i did...

my 1st batch were raspberry honey... the following recipe was built around the size of my mixing container. The beauty of these kinds of recipes is that its not rocket science. add as much or as little of something to make it appeal to you and your tastes...

 

in your blender container add:

roughly 1c old fashioned rolled oats
1Tbsp Chia Seeds


pulsed (i use an immersion hand blender) these ingredients to a fine powder. in the same container add:

fresh or frozen fruit
1c greek yogurt
1c. milk
a bit of honey

pulse all ingredients together until smoothie is... smooth...  transfer into a drinking vessel (i reused a couple of dressing containers for portability) and store in the fridge over night before drinking. allowing the smoothie to rest over night will give the oatmeal time to absorb some of that liquid and soften. 

please note that this recipe makes a rather thick smoothie so proceed with knowing that. also, have some fun experimenting with different flavors. so far i have made blueberry, blueberry-peach, peach, raspberry-honey, strawberry, plain honey and even one with cherry jam! the possibilities are endless and its an awesome breakfast to wake up to especially when you didnt think you had time for breakfast...

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

things we learned @ the maker faire 2012

maps are important

 

fire is hot

 

squish <3s accordions

 

unicorns are even more awesome when combines with funny bikes

 

dont let husband close to the booth where they sell these

 

popsicles are mmmmmmm....

sunshine&bunnies, 

holly*