{discovering} life

Scallops & 'Mix It Up' Kit

Sorry it's been a few days...things are busy around here! :) I just wanted to share this layout. The Weekly Challenge at Two Peas this week was to use scallops on your project! I love Scallops! I use them on nearly everything I do - so I totally wanted to play! I also have been dying to play with the the September Kit of the Month and used this chance to play with the chipboard shapes (that awesome 'amazing' text and the scalloped square are chipboard from the kit) and the cool cloudy acetate pieces (the large flourish under the photo and the flourish on the very left side of the page). I LOVE that kit! If your on the fence - Get it NOW! It is incredible and has so many versatile pieces that can be used on all your projects! Did I say that I love that kit? :)

Also - quick reminder - if your intersted in coming to the Stampin' Up! Girls Night Out at Jen Gallacher's home on Saturday, Oct. 4th at 7:00 pm - please let Jen or I know asap! :) We would love to have you there!

Ok, gotta run! Have a good night! Grey's Anatomy! YAHOO!

Neighborhood Gift Cards @ Two Peas

Thanks for everyone that came by my chat yesterday at Twopeasinabucket.com! It was super fun!

Here is a link to my card class and you can download the PDF that has photos and step-by-step directions.

Here is a link to the chat if you have any questions about the class.

The cards were really simple for my style, but in creating small 3x3 cards in mass for neighbor gifts...these were the perfect solution! Wet embossing is super fun and makes an elegant card in seconds! Check it out! You can create your cards and upload them to the gallery by the end of the month to win a 2Peas gift certificate! Cool! Be sure to check on the Challenge box for my class to qualify!

Ok - busy day! I got lots of scrappin' to do today - so much to get done before we head up to SLC at the end of this month. So much to do!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! :) :)

Random things...

Hello! :) Just wanted to share some random little things today.

I've got a card and page up at the Hero Arts site using that awesome Birds & Branches new clear set. Click here to see the layout/card and all of the other awesome samples for this week using the same set! So fun!

AIso...wanted to let you all know that I will be chatting on Friday, Sept. 18 at 11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET at Two Peas and a Bucket's Education Board for the Greetings from Two Peas Event. There are a lot of fun things planned - many Garden Girls have prepared Holiday Card ideas for you with downloadable PDF's for you to use. There will be challenges, prizes, lots of inspiration and fun chats both Friday and Saturday. See here for the chat schedule and here for more info about the event. And I hope that you'll stop in for my chat - hopefully some people will be there so I'm not all lonely! :) :)

On another note, with the Greetings from Two Peas Event going on this weekend, they are having a sale on all card making/stamping supplies. I thought I would link you to some of my favorite stamping things right now that are even on sale! :)

This alphabet is a fav of mine! It reminds me of my favorite font, Uncle Charles. Love that!

This tree is darling! Love the small size of it! I used it on some bingo cards that I altered for the GG blog - you can check them out here if your interested.

This ink pad has a permanent place on my desk...a must have! I love love love it!

These are a great staple to have in your stamp collection! They work great for everything!!

and these circle ones too - another great staple to have.

For my holiday cards that you'll see this weekend at the Two Peas event, I used these stamps...

Big Holiday Words - my fav Christmas stamp right now.

Snowflake Background stamp

Versamark Ink pad

Geez - I didn't plan to do some much linking! Happy Shopping! LOL!
Ok - gotta run! Jaxon just woke up - early!!! His bottom two teeth are now up and he is soooo fussy and sad. I thought when the teeth broke through the gum was when it hurt the most for them - I guess not. Poor little guy! Have a good day!

SketchBook Challenge

This month, I had so much fun creating a layout and challenge for the fabulous site, The SketchBook in New Zealand. Megan has such a fabulous thing going there - if you haven't checked it out yet - be sure too! I created this layout and challenge for this month - you have until the beginning of October to participate and win a prize package. You can check out more info about the challenge, prize and deadline right here.

Do you remember the '3 Product Challenges' from back in the day? Well, I took that same challenge and brought it back. For this challenge, you need to create a layout using these 3 products. You can add more if you want to (I always do! :), but it's a great way to jumpstart your creativity. I always try to choose 3 random things and have fun putting them together!

The three items for this challenge are:
1. a monogram (letter)
2. 4 colors of cardstock
3. a hand-cut title (using Cricut, Silhouette, Cuttlebug, Sizzix, but by hand, etc.)

Check the link to the gallery to upload the layouts too!

On my layout above, I included the monogram 'm' for my daughter, Madisyn's name. I cut the letter 3 times with my Cricut (Plantin Schoolbook font) and then I glued them all together to make it look like a chipboard letter. I love to do this!

I used a few different pieces of cardstock here: pink, green, blue, yellow, brown and kraft. I love cardstock! I love pulling pieces for fun color schemes and going for it!

I hand cut the title. I love to include the middle of the letters to make it solid - it's a fun look.

If you look closely, I hand cut the flowers out of some Heather Bailey patterned paper (from Autumn Leaves). I then cut out some of the petals of the flower and backed it with another piece of patterned paper. I glued the top flower on pop-dots so there is some dimension. I fun, simple thing to do with cut-out shapes and designs.

I hope that you'll have fun and be inspired to participate! Thanks again Megan for the invite to play with all of you this month! So fun!

Hope your having a good weekend!

Sew Seasonal Class

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your kind comments about the GG gig! I really appreciate your love and support! So THANK YOU!!!

I quickly wanted to let you all know that my online video class is up at Scrapbooks, etc. website. It is called 'Sew Seasonal' and it is so fun!!

The class is focused on fun sewing techniques...both by hand and with a sewing machine. It is a mini book with each page being 5x7 in size (or you can adapt it to a size that works best for you).

The mini album is about your favorite photos through the seasons of the year. You will have a 'season' card (so 4 total) that will be created in the class using all sorts of fun sewing techniques! I promise you you'll learn new techniques and lots of fun stuff!

So, I hope that you'll jump on board and come and take the class! I think it's super cute and I hope that you'll enjoy it as well! It uses mostly cardstock and things that you'll have on hand so anyone can do this class!

If you have any questions about it, please let me know and I'd be happy to help you out in any way I can!

And...don't look at me in the video - just watch the techniques! Ahhhh...I so hate watching myself - yuck, yuck, yuck! Arghhhhh! :) :) :)

ALSO...

Stampin' Up! now has online ordering!!! You have to order through a demonstrator still but how cool - you can go directly to my site and shop the catalog and place your order there! How sweet! I think it's going to be so cool! So, check out my site here and go to the tab at the top that says, 'Stampin' Up Products' and then 'shop'. The first 3 people to place an order over $50 will get a goodie bag of assorted SU sizzix die shapes in all sorts of colors...like the Top Note die (label) that I used on the layout a few posts below.

If you have any questions about anything - just let me know. I'm always here to help!

AND...

I've got a back to school page up at Hero on the blog here and you can see more details and the supply list here.

More to come later today or tomorrow. I've got a fun challenge up at a great online site that I'll share with a layout that is fun! :) Have a good day!

Changes & Growth

This past month has been full of changes, full of growth, full of a mom that wants her kiddos to stop growing up so much!

Jaxon is crawling - he actually started getting up and moving forward on 8.8.08 - before he could even sit up! He learned quickly and is full on crawling now and in the past week, has finally learned to sit up! LOL! Isn't 6 1/2 months a little early to be crawling?

Now, he is 7 1/2 months old and has his two bottom teeth coming in. He has a kinda crazy laughing face in this photo - but I love that you can see those two teeth on the bottom breaking through.

My other kids did all this stuff soooo late that I feel like he is just growing up way to fast! I seriously can't stop holding and kissing this little guy - he is my best little buddy!

I finally saw Mamma Mia yesterday with a friend and that was so fun! We were the only one's in the theater - so funny! But, that brought up a whole new slew of emotions about Madisyn and our relationship! Great show!

And...I've also joined the Two Peas in a Bucket Garden Girl Team! So exciting! I'm excited and nervous - I hope that I can inspire everyone there in my new role just like the other amazing girls on the team do month after month! It's going to be fun though and I can't wait to get started! Thanks for all the congrats - you guys are all the best! I'm honored to join them - so thank you Kristina for having faith in me and asking me to join the crew!! :) :)

So, back to school month, Jaxon changing and me joining the Garden - it's been a crazy month! But, lots of fun things to come from it all. Change = Growth! Hugs!

You are Invited!!

Hey Utah girls...your invited to a fun Stampin' Up! 'Girls Night Out'! Wanna come and play! The fabulous Jennifer Gallacher is hosting at her home and we are going to stamp and create some super cute projects with all new goodies from the Stampin' Up! catalog. Fun fun!! Here are some details:

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2008

Time: 7 p.m.

Place: Jennifer Gallachers Home

Cost: $10

There are 20 spots available for this adults-only activity. In order to reserve your spot, you must pay by September 27th. Payment can be sent to Jen or to me. The Cost covers 4 super cute projects that we complete that night. Please respond to this post if you are interested in attending (or shoot me an e-mail). You can also contact Jen on her blog to sign up as well.

I hope that lots of you Utah girls can make it! It would be so fun to meet many of you and we are going to have a super fun night!

If you want to check out the Stampin' Up! catalog, you can see it here. We will need to close the party that night so if there are items that you want to order, please try to plan and have your order ready at the party. That will help things to run smoothly so we can get orders placed, create all the projects and have fun! You do not need to place an order to come to the party if you do not want to - the $10 pays for the projects that you will complete.

If you have any questions, please let Jen or I know. I hope that you can make it! :)

And...

Huge thank you's for your kind comments about the layout below! I loved hearing from each of you so thank you so much! It was fun to create! Hugs!

 

Some Goodie Box & Stampin' Up! Love

Happy Labor Day! :) We have been taking it easy today - cleaning up the house and relaxing. We had a busy, busy weekend! We went out to eat at Chili's and ran a few errands on Friday and then Saturday, we went to 'Peach Days' in Hurricane and then hit the mall for a few things. I had to speak in Sacrament Meeting at church on Sunday so I had to work on that as well.

I did want to share with you a fun layout and card that was done for the Goodie Box website for the month of September. I just love Talia and Kim and was so lucky to meet them 2 years ago - has it been that long?? I was honored when they asked me to be their first Guest Designer on their awesome challenge blog! The challenge for this month is to use stamping on your layout - and you know I'm always up for a stamping challenge! Be sure to check out the challenge and great ideas over at their blog and I hope that you'll dig into your stamps and participate this month! I'm planning on putting something together for them to giveaway too! :)

I had so much fun creating this layout! I cut out a bunch of label die-cuts with the new Top Note exclusive die from Stampin' Up! I LOVE THAT DIE!!! It is my new best friend! :) :) I stamped on the blue one with the polka-dot stamp and embossed with clear embossing powder. I also did it on the pink and red strip of cardstock. On the green die shape, I stamped those awesome new flourish stamps from Autumn Leaves and embossed with clear powder. 'Enjoy the Journey' stamp is Hero Arts. The title 'beauty' is stamped with these awesome stamps from Purple Onion Designs and then colored in with colored pencils. Added lots of fun ribbon, and other fun things too. So so fun! I had a blast just playing around with this layout.

Also  - I can't stop using these awesome colors from Stampin' Up! They are the new In Colors (besides the green and yellow on the layout). That Baja Breeze blue and the Riding Hood Red are my favs ever! That red matches my studio wall color exactly! The buttons are also SU! You can see the full supply list at the Goodie Box website as well. The layout is vibrant and fun - the colors got a little off in the photos - sorry!

Here is a close up at the layout:

And I also made a card with the same papers and supplies while I had them out on my desk. Again, using that Top Note die from Stampin' Up! I cut it out of Riding Hood Red Textured Paper and folded it in half to create a little mini note on top of the card. I stamped the 'thank you' on a transparency and clipped it all to the folded label to hold it in place. The clip is also new from Stampin' Up! and a I love it tons!

Tomorrow, Sept, 2., is the day that the Stampin' Up! Big Shot machine and exclusive dies (as well as a bunch of other awesome Sizzix dies) will be available to order. If your interested in getting some, check out the brochure here:

Download BigShot_Cust_US.pdf

and drop me an email. You can click on 'email me' link under my profile photo here on the blog! You'll want these dies-I promise! And they cut through anything - oh the possibilities!

Ok, enough about that. Can you tell that I'm excited? :) Hope you all have a great day! Hugs!

 

By the way....if you are looking to get a Cricut, I just put one up on ebay with a great bundle. You get 3 cartridges, a brown and black marker to use in your machine, 3 paper pads, 5 cutting mats, machine, blade, etc. You can check it out here if your interested. And if you win and your from my blog, let me know and I'll throw in some scrappy goodies for you! :)