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!

Dear Santa,

I know it's about 6 months too early, but I would be ever-so grateful if you slipped one of these into my stocking this year:



After watching Yes Man last night, I decided this was a must-have camera (it's what Zooey Deschanel shoots with throughout the movie... in case anyone saw it, and was wondering what camera it was). And, you can purchase it here.

I've always loved Polaroid. But, now that it is somewhat defunct, the Fuji Instax is about as good as it gets... for now. I say Polaroid is only somewhat defunct because they actually seem to be reinventing themselves:



That's the Polaroid Two, and you can read more about it here. Sounds pretty interesting, but isn't available in the US right now. Bummer. Well, I'm off to create some more LT pages... hope to have some to share tomorrow or Saturday!

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!