Real Simple

I love that magazine. I anxiously await its arrival in my mailbox every month. And, I think that one of my favorite parts of each issue is where they ask readers what they would do if they had an extra $100 to spend. They totally break it down . I love that little peek into someone's life. So, I thought it would be fun to work through that little exercise myself. I even got down to the nitty gritty by adding in the sales tax...LOL! And, away we go...

$6.68 for this yummy little candle. On sale... can't beat that!

$35.50 (with shipping) for this pretty wreath from here:



Too bad "quantities are limited," and I don't have the $36 bucks to spare right now. Bryan probably wouldn't be too jazzed with a pink wreath on the front door anyway (ask me if I care). Ha!

$12.00 for a quick nacho dinner for Bryan and me at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

$6.96 for this adorable little owl stamp (gotta' love Her Arts):



Hey, you really didn't think I was going to make a list that didn't include some sort of scrappy supply, did you? And, a girl's gotta' make some cute Christmas cards! Right? As it is, I have no designs in mind, and little enthusiasm to make them. I'm thinking it might just have to be boxed cards this year. Eek! Did I just admit to that?

$18.73 for the extra-large "Seal of Approval" squeeze punch from Fiskars.

$10 for a can of my FAVORITE treat that is only available during the holidays: Candy Cane Almond Roca... ALL. FOR. MYSELF. *drool*

And, $9.99 to download the new album from these guys (The Fratellis):



That about sums it up. Literally. Wow. Looking at what I have here, $100 seems to go so much further on paper than it does in real life. Because, let's be honest, if I actually had $100 right now, it would be spent on Christmas presents. Oh, well.

I'll be back with something crafty to share soon. I've been on a bit of a creative hiatus lately... lots of holiday prep to get taken care of! Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving? I know we are. Only one more week! Really, how did that happen? How is it already turkey time?

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!

One week later...

I didn't mean to be gone for so long. Life just got away from me this last week. It didn't help that I spent Saturday-Tuesday hunkered down in bed with a nasty cold. Fortunately, Bryan had a 4 day weekend for Veteran's Day, and was able to help with the kids. But, I digress. I told you I'd be back with more Label Tulip sneaks, and I'm hear to fulfill my end of the bargain. ;0)


**The acrylic album used for the above project is not included in the LT kits, so don't get your hopes up on that.**



Well, that's all she wrote for this month. But, I'll round out this blog with a fun little Q&A from Gigi's blog. Feel free to play along. Your answers can only. be. one. word.

Where is your mobile phone? broken
Where is your significant other? work
Your hair colour? brown
Your mother? generous
Your father? retiring *Seriously. Today. Happy retirement, Dad! Hope you're enjoying your last day at work. :0)*
Your favourite thing? sushi
Your dream last night? nada
Your dream goal? Europe
The room you're in? cold
Your hobby? crafting
Your fear? airplanes
Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
Where were you last night? home
What you're not? selfish
One of your wish-list items? camcorder
Where you grew up? Texas
The last thing you did? scrapbooked
What are you wearing? pajamas
Your TV? on
Your pets? snoring
Your computer? laptop
Your mood? exhausted
Missing someone? always
Your car? Jeep
Something you're not wearing? cosmetics
Favourite shop? UO
Your summer? lackluster
Love someone? much
Your favourite colour? turquoise
When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
When is the last time you cried? dunno

That's all, folks! Have a great Friday, and I'll be back tomorrow with the full reveal of my Label Tulip projects. Laters.

How about...

some Label Tulip sneaks? This is the fastest I have ever worked through a kit, and I'm not even close to finished yet! So, I'll show you what I've got for now, and be back with more towards the end of the weekend. How 'bout that?




And, here's a special little peek at Label Tulip's very first project kit...


Hopefully, that will tide you over for eye candy until the end of the weekend. ;0)

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!