Testing, Testing... 123...

Moves, babies, family stuff... over the last four years, there have been a lot of events that have side-lined me from blogging, crafting, and doing all of the things that I used to so enjoy. I've gone back, and forth with re-designing my blog. Are blogs even relevant anymore? Sometimes it seems like all of the social media platforms available nowadays (Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook... the list goes on), have made blogging an obsolete form of expression. But, as for me... I miss it! I have made so many great friends through blogging over the years, and it is a great way to network with other crafters who enjoy the same hobbies that you do. So, here's to getting back on this horse, and seeing where it takes me this time!

In the spirit of re-inventing my crafty self... I have applied for the Doodlebug Design 2015 DT! I have always loved their bright, playful products... and their glitter! Because, let's face it... no project is complete without a little sparkle! So, when I saw on Facebook that they were looking for new DT members for 2015, I figured there was no time like the present to dust off my scrapbooking supplies, and get to work!

They require 1-2 layouts...

I just love their "Frosty Friends" winter line! Teal has always been my FAVORITE color, and purple compliments it so well. 

Their "Friendly Forest" collection has such bright, beautiful colors... and OWLS! Owls are my absolute favorite, and I love to collect them! This was the perfect product line to use with my photo of the kids in their owl costumes from last Halloween.

We also needed to submit either a mini-book or an altered project. While I love mini-books, altered projects have always been my paper craft of choice. I love the flexibility they allow in my creative process. So many possibilities! Like using Doodlebug's line of craft supply storage in conjunction with their "Santa Express" line to create this quick, fun little snow globe...

And, last but not least... we needed to submit 1-2 cards. I've never considered cards to be my specialty. But, I'm pretty satisfied with how this one turned out...

So, I have written out my e-mail, detailed my scrapbooking resume, compiled all of my social media platforms, and hit "send." My projects are on their way to the inbox of the powers that be at Doodlebug. Now begins the waiting game. I secretly really missed this part of working in the scrapbooking industry... waiting on DT's to be selected. And, no matter if I make it or not... it felt good to push around some paper and glue again. It definitely renewed my love for the hobby!

*A quick shout-out to the gal that re-designed my blog, Rebekah, the owner of Le Charmed Boutique. She does absolutely amazing work, and it was such a pleasure doing business with her. She's great with communication, and speedy turn-around time! So, if you're in the market for a blog re-design... check her out!*

One for Mom, one for Dad, and one for everyone in between...

With all of the holidays swirling around us lately, I have been busy making A LOT of cards. And, fortunately, I have A LOT of American Crafts goodies to play with! I'm finding that their 3-dimensional "Remarks" stickers are the PERFECT thing for making cards!

My mother absolutely adores bird-watching. So, this one is especially for her...



And, this one is perfect for that special man in your life on Fathers Day...



Last, but not least... I'm sure we all know someone with a birthday coming up. This card is bright, playful, and just right for the young ones in your life...



I encourage you to check out the entire line of 3-dimensional "Remarks" stickers from American Crafts. There is literally something for EVERYONE. Cats, camping, circus, snowflakes, birds, Matroyshka dolls... you name it, and they probably have a sticker for it! And, like I said... these are great for cards (or to add that little extra pop to your layouts)!

I will be back on Wednesday with a "Dear Lizzy" spring-inspired banner. Hey... better late than never! ;0)

xo,
Holly

Hello... is this thing on?

Wow. It has been quite a while since I've ventured out into blog land. But, I had to come out of hiding to share with you an awesome opportunity that I had this month. The insanely talented (not to mention totally sweet) Kerry Lynn Yeary invited me to be the guest designer for February over at Kenner Road!

I had a blast playing with all of the beautiful, inspiring product that she sent my way. Lots of new Crate Paper goodies! And, I would like to share with you! So, here they are...

















Stay tuned later this month to the Kenner Road blog for a special project tutorial that I am working on!

a picture...

is worth 1,000 words.



That picture... that whole layout pretty sums up how I've been feeling lately. I haven't blogged in, oh, about 3 weeks now. I just haven't had it in me.

For the most part, I consider myself a pretty strong woman. I get through deployment after deployment... and all the little things that go along with that. I rarely cry about it. I don't whine constantly about wanting my husband to come home. I married an army man... I knew what went along with that when he slipped the ring on my finger. You just have to pull on your big girl panties, suck it up, and carry on. After all, what does crying really do to solve anything? Not much, in my experience.

But, then you have a month where... Your stove breaks. Your heater clunks out. Your 5 year old is cutting molars, which makes her an incredibly difficult little girl to deal with. The military shorts your paycheck $250 (at Christmas-time no less). Your kids catch the flu... twice. You end up in the emergency room with one child whose temperature you can't get under 102. You get sick yourself. You have a frightening health scare which, after all, turns out to be nothing.

You can't help but want to throw in the towel, and call it quits. You don't feel particularly creative. You force yourself to make SOMETHING for your deadlines anyway. It feels like the perfect time to throw a pity party. And, I did just that. But, then, like every other time... you get over it. You pull yourself up by the boot straps, so to speak. You start to feel a little bit better. You remind yourself for all the things you are grateful for in your life, and you get on.

So, this is me... getting on. I'm determined to make the most of this Christmas. To help my children enjoy it... even with their dad thousands of miles away. I'm gettin' my mojo back. The lovely new "Letterbox" line from American Crafts helps a lot in that department. You can't help but make beautiful things with such beautiful product...





It's all availble on 2Peas now. So, head on over and grab some up!

As for me, I'm diving head-long into the holiday joy... I'll be back to spread some around here over the next few weeks. Can you believe it's already DECEMBER?!?

*stuff it*

So, I've finally got my Christmas cards done. Well, some of them anyway. I've got to tell you... I LOVE these snowflakes from Sketchbook Designs! Marie sent me so much awesome product to work with, but I just can't put these snowflakes away. There are so many possibilities... cover them in glass glitter (like on the "Noel" card), add little rhinestones, or just use them in all their beautiful simplicity! The fabulous mirrored letters on the 2nd "let It Snow" card are also from Sketchbook Designs... so pretty!







So, now that I have cards, I need some pictures to stuff them with. Hazel, by herself (even with the dog), takes a pretty cute pic...





But, add Luka AND the dog into the mix? Forget about it! Even Luka and Hazel by themselves ends in a lot of botched pictures. I got two that are pretty darn cute...





I'm having a hard time deciding which one to use in the Christmas cards. As cute as the kissing one is, I think my family would appreciate the one where they can see their faces and how they've grown. I just wish Luka would smile more in pictures, rather than that blank expression. So, which picture do you think I should use?

On to Friday Fill-Ins...

1. Snow. I miss it. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without it.

2. I'm looking forward to Hazel's cheerleading competition tomorrow.

3. Orville Redenbacher's Cracked Pepper Natural Popcorn is the best popcorn ever! I'm sooo... addicted!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is Designing Women. I know. Embarrassing, right?

5. I'm done with quite a bit of my to-do list for this week. Finally!

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is the food. Food, glorious food! I'll be starting my diet on Jan 1st.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a lot, tomorrow my plans include Hazel's cheerleading competition and building her dollhouse for Christmas and Sunday, I want to put up our outside Christmas lights!

That's it. Happy Friday peeps!

Brought to you by the letter "S" for "Stickles"

Okay. I don't know what my obsession is with these yummy little tubes of glittery gooeyness... but I think they made their way into every single Label Tulip project for this month. Actually, there is one page that doesn't have them. But, I'm starting to think it needs so. Wait. Put the Stickles down and walk away, Holly. I think it's because it's the holiday season and, to me, glitter goes hand-in-hand with Christmas. Whatever the reason, see if you can spot the Stickles in each project...tee hee!

The first-ever project kit being offered by Label Tulip: a banner kit. Sorry ladies, it's already sold out. :0(




Hazel as Fancy Nancy...



My December Daily album... all set to fill up with memories next month. I'll be posting my inside pages throughout next month, so be sure to check back. ;0)







Our member gallery lift this month came from Jennifer Yates. Here is her page:



And, here's mine:



I'm really not feeling that page of mine, but you can't win 'em all. On the other hand, I think this is one of my favorite pages of all time. I love this photo of when I was little, and I'm so happy with how the page turned out!



I finally got to scrap those fun pictures of Sake and Mr. Bumbles from this summer. And, how perfect is it that the Basic Grey "Patchwork Quilt" paper with the bees was included in this month's main kit? Pretty perfect.



And, the final LT piece for this month is from our challenge: scrap what you're thankful for.



One more layout from the current challenge at Say It In Scrap: The Games We Play...



Well, that's all for today. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Seriously. Everywhere you go. I love this time of year... the best time to get crafty. And, if you've got a Sam's Club within driving distance, you're in luck! Sam's Club? What? Stay with me, I'm actually going somewhere with this. This holiday season, Chatterbox has come out with a holiday crafting kit exclusive to Sam's Club! It's full of gorgeous goodies to get your Christmas craft on with. For more information on kit prices and contents, check out this entry on Melody's blog.

Now, for the good stuff! I've created several cute holiday cards from the goodies in my kit:


For the "Joy" card, I used one of the large cardstock die-cuts, a felt flower, one of the jeweled brads, a button and some patterned paper from the kit. I also added some ribbon from the "artsylicious" line. And, of course, I can't make cards without my trusty pop-dots and Stickles!


Another one of the cardstock die-cuts was used to make the "Happy Holidays" card. I cut out the bird from the wreath, and added some Garnet Stickles to the edges. Then, I added the bird back to the wreath on top of a felt flower, and some holly leaves that I traced (using the Doodle Genie from the kit) onto some patterned paper, cut out, and embellished with, yes, MORE Stickles! The wreath itself was also outlined in Lime Stickles, and "berried" with some red jeweled brads, and regular little red brads... all from the kit. Those cute little letter stickers... also part of the kit. Finally, everything was layered onto the card using various thicknesses of pop-dots, and the edges of the card were distressed with some "Old Paper" Tim Holtz distress ink.


The trees here are another cardstock die-cut (apparently, these are great for card-making... lol!) again, lined with Stickles. They are layered onto a piece of patterned paper and a strip of cardstock sticker borders has been added to the bottom. The little trees were finished off with some jewels on top. And, I added a little bow of ribbon from the kit along the spine of the card.


And, a bonus quickie project:


Some little gift tags all made by tracing various designs from the Doodle Genie onto patterned papers included in the kit. Each tag is finished off with assorted bits of embellishments from the kit, and with a To:/From: Stamp (part of a rolling stamp with several designs).

Hope you enjoyed the projects! Be sure to check out The Chatterblog for more inspiring projects using this exclusive kit.

And, be sure to check back here in the next couple of days for some Label Tulip sneaks... including our FIRST EVER project kit that I have nearly completed working with. I promise you will LOVE it! See you back here soon!