Hello, tulip.

Label Tulip, that is. Here they are... my pages in full view!



A super-fun summer layout using some of the slip 'n slide pictures from my visit to Illinois a couple weeks back.



I've really been trying to scrap my way through an old box of family photos, and this month's kits really lend themselves to those beautiful old photos. Very vintage-inspired! This is a photo of my grandmother, Hazel, who my daughter is named after.





There is a beautiful folder from Cavallini & Co. in this month's main kit. Coincidentally, I discovered on a trip to Anthropologie last week that you can also purchase the folders there. Anyhow, this month's challenge is to use that folder to create something fabulous. I used mine to make this little tribute to my great aunt's and great uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. I'm considering giving it to them for Christmas. Or, maybe not.



This is my version of this month's member lift... my favorite layout of them all! The original layout comes to us from the talented Leah Findell. Here is her inspirational layout...



So fun to lift! Thanks for checking out my pages, and I hope you enjoyed them. :0)

Sneaky, sneaky...

We're busy around here... saying our final goodbyes to my husband before he deploys. But, I wanted to give you a peek at the rest of my projects from Label Tulip using August's kits. My gallery will go live later on this evening, so be sure to check out the LT gallery! I'll be back tomorrow to post the full view of my pages, but here's something to tide you over in the meantime...









Until tomorrow, my friends...

Here we go...

I guess it's about time that I posted my layouts from Label Tulip this month! We have been so busy these past few days, blogging has been at the bottom of my priority list. 'Tis the season for CHA project deadlines, summer BBQ's, and *dream* DT call try-outs! ;0) But, I decided to take a break for a few minutes to show my blog some love. And, the LT kits truly deserve their due attention this month 'cuz they are *A*mazing!



This month's challenge was to scrap about one of the most exciting moments of our life. One of mine had to be when I got to meet Tori Amos. If you know me at all, you know how much I love my music... and Tori has always been one of my favorite artists.



This is my take on this month's member gallery lift, which came from the talented Amy Coose. Here's her beautiful layout...



Gorgeous, isn't it? It was so much fun to lift!



A quick little card.

And, then there's the project that ate up nearly all my product and time from this month's kit. LOL! My mini-book about our trip to Disney World...

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You can view the book in its entirety here. A couple of fun tips for working with Donna Downey's Prima fabric albums...

If you have A LOT of pictures (like me) that won't all fit into the book in a larger format, sew little pockets into the plastic page protectors included with the book. Then, you can print out lots of smaller photos, back them with some pretty patterned paper, and label them on the back with what the photo is of...



To make pretty backgrounds on the fabric pages, lay a piece of lace cardstock (like the Little Yellow Bicycle travel-themed one in this month's kit) over the fabric, and spray over it with some Maya Mist from Maya Road...



The creative possibilities are endless with this kit! Another great month with Label Tulip. :0) I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I'm off to finish up my Pink Paislee projects for CHA. You're gonna' LOVE their new goodies! And, I'll be back tomorrow with a little foodie post. Until then...

*eye candy*

Just a couple of last-minute Label Tulip sneaks!







Be sure to check out the Label Tulip gallery tomorrow at 6pm PST to see the full reveal of all our talented Tulip Girls' work this month!

Happy birthday to you!

Label Tulip is turning 2! Wow... that rhymed rather unintentionally. Nevertheless, we want you to help us celebrate!



And, we're kicking it all off with a stamp sale!



Get your fix for all those LT exclusive stamps right here! And, stay tuned to the blog and the forum for more exciting activities and your chance to win some fabulous prizes!

full-on

**Edited to include you chance to win a Label Tulip kit (see bottom of post for details)**

Finally! I've been dying to share my June Label Tulip creations with you all. This was one of my favorite kits of all-time! I loved the colors, the embellishments... EVERYTHING. And, I'm sure you will too! So, here they are...



That up there ^^^^^ has got to be my favorite new layout! Those Prima glittered star picks... BRILLIANT! I've been begging Cathy to put those in a kit for the longest time... thanks, Cathy! :0)



A page about 2 of the most fabulous ladies I've met in the entire 3+ years that we've been at Fort Bragg.



I snapped that picture last fall of a bluebird perched atop one of the birdhouses that I adorned. I've been waiting for the perfect products to scrap it with, and this kit was IT! That Cosmo Cricket chipboard birdie... too perfect!



Loved hand-cutting that CC paper into my own little "garden" on top of the page!



Since this kit's colors were so rainbow candy-liscious, I gave all of the kits sugary sweet names: Sugar Shoppe, Rock Candy and Saltwater Taffy. And, in honor of their confectionary goodness, our challenge this month was to create a project or page centered around something sweet and yummy. My project was this mini-recipe book. I made it to put away for Hazel when she is older. It is filled with 5 favorite family recipes, and if you want to view the mini-book in its entirety, check out the Label Tulip gallery here. Please note that the recipes themselves were removed from the book for photographing purposes. But, not to worry, I'll be sharing them here over the next couple of days. ;0) Until then...

P.S. Want to win one of this month's Label Tulip kits? Check out what our fabulous designers did with all of the GORGEOUS Cosmo Cricket goodies in this month's kit at the Cosmo Cricket blog. Leave a comment there to be entered for a chance to win one of this month's Label Tulip kits!

*productivity*

For once, I'm ahead of the game. Maybe I should pretend that every month, on the 20th, I am going to leave for an out of town trip for 2 weeks. Then, I might not find myself procrastinating until the last minute. It feels really good to have almost everything deadline-related complete... only one more project to go. Then, I can concentrate on the last-minute details of a fabulous vacation. I have lots of things to share before I leave, so we'll try to space them out over a couple of days.

Today, the last 3 of my Label Tulip sneaks...







Trust me, June's kits are AMAZING! You'll want to snag all 3 of them! And, tomorrow night at 6pm PST, you'll get your chance! In the meantime, don't forget to upload your projects to the LT gallery for May's challenge: Scrap something nobody knows about you. You have until the 18th, and then I'll select the winner for this month's RAK.

Not only the challenge projects, but anything you upload to the Label Tulip gallery will have the opportunity to be selected for our monthly member lift challenge. Each month, one of our Tulip Girls selects an outstanding layout from our member gallery for each of our designers to "lift." You'll have your name, photo and project featured in the monthly Label Tulip newsletter and the monthly gallery. In addition to seeing all of the fun interpretations of your layout from our Tulip Girls, you will also receive a $10 gift certificate for a future Label Tulip purchase. So, get those pages uploaded! You might just see your creation front and center next month!

I'll be back tomorrow with more eye candy! But, if you need something else to tide you over, today was my turn on the Pink Paislee blog. I did a fun little shrink plastic tutorial, which you can read here. And, once you've mastered your shrinking skills, you can put it to use by creating this altered frame project:



You can download a PDF project tutorial here. Enjoy!

The kiddos might think they're cute...

But, these little guys are a pain in my butt!



I feel like Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh because, seriously, these guys touch NOTHING but my carrots. Every other morning, I spend about 20 minutes diligently picking tons of these fellas off the stalks of my carrots. Keeping in mind that this is a totally organic garden (not even a fertilizer other than composted soil has touched my precious veggies), any suggestions? I refuse to use any type of pesticide, and was hoping someone would have an organic solution. I haven't had time to do much online research right now, so any ideas would be helpful. My dad suggested trying some BT (bacillus thuringiensis... try saying that 5 times fast), but I can't find it ANYWHERE. We went to a ton of nurseries, Lowe's, and Home Depot yesterday. Nothing. And, since we're leaving for Disney World in a few days, I don't have time to order off the internet right now. So, the search for a solution continues...

My other veggies are doing splendidly! Tons of cucumbers...



A few green beans (not enough to do anything with yet), lots of little bell peppers starting, tons of tomatoes that are nearly ripe, banana and jalapeno pepper plants that are getting bigger everyday, green onions, and 3 measly pieces of okra that are plugging right along. I have to say, I am enjoying this vegetable gardening thing immensely! I've done flower gardening for years, but this is insanely more rewarding. I'm hoping to have Bryan build me a second raised bed before he deploys in a couple of months. I want more, more, more! And, I'm thinking of adding some fruit trees and blackberry bushes soon. YUM!

Well, I'm busy, busy, busy with creative deadlines over the next few days before we leave for Disney. So, I'll leave you with some Label Tulip sneaks for now. I'll be back to share more soon!

LT Lovin'

Have you checked out all of the fun goings-on lately over at Label Tulip? We're giving away 2 fabulous prizes that you'll definitely want to get your hands on! Your first chance to win? Check out the LT blog for a simple little challenge that I posted today. And, when I say simple... I mean S.I.M.P.L.E. Just link me up in the LT blog comments section with the most fave of all pages that YOU have created lately. I want to see all of your pretty creations! You don't have to sub to LT kits... just be sure to get in on the action before 11:59 pm PST on Saturday to be entered into a random drawing for these goodies:



Your other opportunity to win? Check out the "Challenges" section of our forum for the "May Challenge" thread. Every month, I create a challenge for the Tulip Girls to participate in as part of their projects using the monthly kits. After we share our creations on gallery reveal night (the 15th of every month at 6pm PST), we pass the challenge on to you!

May's challenge? Scrap something that nobody knows about you. It doesn't have to be an earth-shattering secret... just something that not everyone might know. For instance, I'll bet a lot of you didn't know that I used to own and show hunter/jumpers for many years when I was younger...



You can check out the beans spilled by the other TG's here. Then, spill your own secret. Post it to the Member's Gallery, and then link it up here. You have until June 18th to participate in the May challenge, so get to creating so that you can be entered to win this nice little RAK:



And, as for me... I'll be busy cooking up lots of fun projects with LT's GORGEOUS June kit over the weekend. I'll be back soon with sneaks!

Label Tulip Stuffs...

Time to share my monthly projects with the BEAUTIFUL May kits from Label Tulip! I loved, loved, loved this month's kit! It was packed with bright, colorful papers and lots of unique embellishments. PLUS, our very own Alexis Hardy designed the most amazing mini-book kit! Here's what I did with it...









It made a great mini to scrap all of the photos from my cruise! I had tons of pictures that wouldn't have fit in most books. But, the little envelopes inside this mini were perfect for stashing all those extra photos!



This month's challenge was to create a page about something that most people don't know about you. Most people probably don't know that for years, when I was younger, I used to own and show horses!



A fun little page using pictures from this year's Easter egg dying party (gotta' love that LT exclusive paint splash stamp)!



And, finally, our member lift for this month. Tulip Girl, Christina Clouse, selected this layout from our member, Marianne Hope:



And, here's my spin on it...



Well, that's all she wrote for this month. I've had a wretched cold, and I've been traveling a lot. So, there wasn't a lot of creating time this month. :0( Better luck next time, right? Happy weekend!

This time around...

I really surprised myself with this Label Tulip kit! It is chock full o' Pink Paislee, which made me worry a little that I wouldn't be able to come up with anything insanely cool or fresh. Obviously I love, love, love Pink Paislee... but, I DO work with it a lot. ;0) Usually, my LT kits are a chance for me to dip my hands into a pool of supplies that offer a break from what I'm usually working with. So, I made it my own personal challenge this month to take all those pretty Pink Paislee goodies, mix 'em up with the rest of the kit, and come up with some things that were really outside the box. And, I actually ended up with some pages that I adore!



This month, we are featuring a mini-book project kit designed by our reigning Tulip Girl technique queen, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. The products in this kit, Metropolis in Bloom, will blow your mind with the endless creative possibilities! Instead of a mini-book, I was inspired to use one of the chipboard buildings to create my own little city scene layout. I had the best time figuring out ways to turn the products into pieces of a picture... metal gears for flowers, the letterpress card for the sun, the fabric and trim for a dress, etc. See what other items you can spot from this month's kit that were turned into part of this city scene:



Our challenge for April was to come up with a layout, card, or project that was in a monochromatic color scheme. Here is my interpretation:



And, finally, our Member Gallery lift for this month was from the fabulous Anna Sigga! Here is her original page:



And, this is my spin on it:



This month's kit ended up being one of my favorites, and I hope you'll agree! Thanks for checking out my work this month, and don't forget to take a peek at the gallery that includes the debut work of our 4 new, insanely talented, Tulip Girls!