still me

summer saturday

Here is a little peek into last night’s party for Connor. I LOVE pool parties! So EASY, and everyone has FUN!

Made this little banner last minute. I got a ‘pirate’ banner at the $1 store, and cut it up to add to mine.

If you have a summer party in your future… here are a couple hits from last night: Have you seen these Solo cups? Each cup has a peel off sticker that reveals a chalk board like name plate where you can scratch your name in with your fingernail. HOW AWESOME!?

And for the party favors, I found these cute microphones at Target that were a HUGE hit to kids of all ages! They are on the party aisle, bottom row- $.99

Eric and Colton took off this morning for camp Geronimo. Eric has been a scoutmaster or assistant scout master for our entire marriage, and he is SO excited to finally have one of his kids in scouts.


Happy summer Saturday everyone!! have you seen this at House of 3?

 I’ll be posting how-to info and photos next week!! get taking some great SUMMER pics! How do you CAPTURE summer? Leave a comment, i'll be giving away  of these Summer Template kits Monday!

birthday yudu action

The party was a delight tonight! We had a pool party and ordered pizza, had cake and ice cream, the kids dove for coins and played tag and fun was had by all! I will share a few photos later… but I am having a problem with my Photoshop!! If anyone has any suggestions: when I use my ‘rectangular marquee tool’ and select a portion of the photo that I want to crop- when I release the mouse, the dotted rectangle turns into a dotted oval, and the option to crop is no longer there. Also, I can’t select any area to create a brush preset. I can’t figure out what I did.. and I have tried restarting etc, and that is not working. PLEASE leave me a comment or email me if you know what the heck I am doing wrong!

So for the party, I wanted to design a screen for my Yudu to put on some t-shirts as well as a little book documenting the party,etc. well, so I put together 2 different screens and burned them last night. These are the screens:

 

We did kinda a pirate party…but I was playing around with some different skull and crossbones art. I had fun, and probably spent too much time on the whole design part.
Picked up a bunch of t-shirts at Target (Hanes are like 5 for $6) and just went for it. Eric was helping me as I was just using one color, and placing jewels on the girl/pink ones. We ran out of t-shirts and didn’t have enough sizes for those who wanted them-so it was back to target and then the party was underway, so eric took over the screening.


 I guess that Cory suggested they start adding more colors, and by the 8th t-shirt, they had ALL the colors on the screen from white/black, yellow and pink to gun metal and silver metallics. And they turned out SO cool! The trick w/ the Yudu, is that you have to be willing to play with it a little-get the feel for it. we screened about 20 items this afternoon- including the back leg of my pink shorts that i picked up at target this afternoon as well for $9bucks, just behind the knee.

these are all the colors that they were putting on the screen by the end...i NEVER would have tried that. but i am in love with the result! as you can tell by the looks on their faces, they are hooked! (liz, are you impressed?)

I loved watching the creative juices get flowing as the Yudu possibilities start to swirl. Guess what Chanel… eric screened the shirt you sent- it turned out awesome; the metallics make it look sparkly! we are officially out of the hot pink ink.

today...

lots going on today... but the MOST important part is that we are celebrating this sweet boy:

his REAL birthday was on tuesday 7-7, but we are partying today! happy birthday sweet connor! just can't even imagine life without this kid... he is an absolute ray of sunshine and is my only cuddle bug. of course, he is my baby, and always will be! (even if it's only by 11 months). i have been thinking about his little  life- how fast it's gone by and how much has transpired... he was only 2 months old when we moved across the world. it's been a blink!  we LOVE you mr. connor!

just in case...

you need more convincing that you need to grab the new House of 3 'dingbats' font... Rhonna posted this on her blog, and it's SO cute, and totally inspiring me!!

you have to jump over to her blog and see the cute little ads she made for the new House of 3 fonts. FABULOUS!!!

and check this out toO!

new at House of 3!!

Congrats… Traci Severson  YOU WIN! Email me so I can get you a House of 3 GC.
Thanks girls, for sharing! Keep up the good work!! You will LOVE learning what you can do!

So, some NEW KITS are up at House of 3… check out this A M A Z I N G card set that Janet put together… here are a couple examples of some I made. I  used the printable files and printed the tiles out on transparency and the card backers on white and light grey cardstock. I put some tiny dimensional glue dots behind the corners of the acetate windows positioned over the words.  There are a total of 20 different tiles - so the digital kit is packed with stuff: card templates, png and brush files...YUMMY!

There are also 5 fonts that we have just posted.

i am in LOVE w/ the dingbats font... SO many cool little images! a 'dingbat' font is when each key delivers an image instead of a letter. so you have to check the upper and lower case... it's different images for both. there are fun casual images, as well as fabulous swirls and even some little words that are in my handwriting. so cute! ... the House Magnet font is an 'all caps' font where the upper and lower case are the same, just upper is larger. The numbers in that font are my handwriting.  Design District is one that we use a lot at House of 3, it's a mixture between 2 different font styles, a serif and a sanserif. The cool thing about this font is that if you are typing and you want the other font, you just hit the caps and it will deliver the opposite font. it's cool to play with.  The House rules font is Rhonna's creation, and i just love the vibe. so fresh!  and to me, 'brush strokes' has summer written all over it!  they are all $2.99 : SWEET DEAL!

by the way... Rhonna has a great post about brushes today... check it out here!

....good day

i am going to bed feeling pretty productive tonight…feels good. I am juggling several projects; both stuff I have to do and stuff I want to do! it always feels like there are a million things in both categories. I did some photography for the Creative Escape book, and had another look at all the projects: good stuff!  I am excited…it’s going to be here before we know it! I have been helping a friend w/ her wedding album and it’s  been fun and refreshing to work on something with/for someone else. Lots of ideas flowing. 
I have had an idea for a project bouncing around in my mind, and today I sketched it up and started playing around with papers…I am loving this combo of my ‘love notes’ collection mixed with some Pink Paislee this and this  and Fancy Pants.

I also printed off a bunch of photos from over the weekend, and need to get them into my 4th book……

I have also discovered I have a new favorite product that I find myself reaching for over and over… it’s a little unexpected, but I have been using it in lots of colors (especially this happy ‘sunshine’ yellow).

The paint DABBER by Ranger. SO, the dabbers have been re-formulated and the paint is thinner, and works way better through the applicator/valve deal. ( I am sure there is a special name for it)… but if you have never tried this paint- it has a little valve in the top that allows the paint to come through the sponge for easy application…well in the past when I had them, the paint got all hard, and it wouldn’t come out, and the bottles were really hard, so you couldn’t really squeeze them- now, thinner paint flows great, and bottle is softer so you can squeeze it a bit through the valve, and I am hooked. I like the more intense colors and the white. Right now, I am loving the butterscotch, sunshine, watermelon and white. I will be sharing some of my favorite techniques with it later this week.

(images feature a new font from House of 3...coming soon! house edges and July no.4 brush set)

jessica sprague's digital photography class...

so many of you are probably participating in the FREE class that is going on at Jessica Sprauge's site right now! House of 3 provided a sampler kit for students to try out while they are learning all the cool stuff you can do!! i'd love to feature your new skills if you would like to share!! and give you $10 worth of FREE DOWNLOADS from House of 3 if you are selected!!

i am going to start with my cute sister... she actually doesn't know that she was even entering to win by emailing me a link to her blog! so go and see what KATIE learned to do HERE... and kates... i'll get you a litte coupon! wink...

once you learn the power you have with the digital elements... you will be ADDICTED to the fun stuff you will find at House of 3!!

SO: post your work on your blog, and email me the link so i can see... be sure to blog about what you did, what you learned... and maybe you will be selected to be a lucky winner!

happy fourth...

Whew… what a fabulous holiday weekend… I actually ‘holidayed’!!
We didn’t have any big plans, and here it’s so HOT, that the only option is WATER… well, some friends of mine invited our family to come and stay at the Ft. McDowell Casino/Hotel! They got us a sweet hook up with rooms, food and FIREWORKS! When we got there, they had laid out this HUGE goodie basket complete with pool toys, flip flops, towels and TONS of candy!! The kids thought they had died and gone to HEAVEN! It was the cutest thing. I was totally BLOWN away!! (a HUGE thanks to Ernestine, Meghan and Dale… you guys ROCK!).  The resort is only about 25 minutes away from our house, so we just packed an overnight bag and drove over. It was SO fun to have an ‘in-town’ vacation! What a fun surprise, and blessing!
We came home Sat morning, and started purging through boxes, re-packing and organizing… so by the afternoon, we were ready to party for the 4th.  we swam, grilled and made homemade strawberry ice cream. I was dead set on the ice cream, and when we could only find part of ours…we borrowed one- and it was dead…so ended up running to Target to get one- worked like a charm and I was SO happy to have homemade ice cream on the 4th… it’s just such a tradition!
Capri and Connor have been taking swimming lessons and have turned into little FISH and they LOVE to be in the pool!

Of course, as we were celebrating all weekend- listening to all the USA lovin’ music and surrounded by friends, family, convenience and freedom… my heart was SO full of gratitude. I was constantly thinking about the contrast between here and life in China;  truly, we live in a great nation. As we sang songs, hymns and listened to music, tears ran down my cheeks as I thought about the lives lost both creating the freedom, preserving the freedom and trying to provide that freedom for others. It’s so easy to take it for granted- to expect it and think it’s just always going to be there no matter what. But this life, and life style is fragile. It’s a gift. A privilege. I am thankful and proud to be an American. Our constant prayers are with the soldiers and their families that make the daily sacrifice for that freedom. I am so thankful to be here, and enjoy those freedoms, and opportunity and life with my family and the people that I love. We are so blessed. God bless America. Forever.

recent purchases...

it’s late on Thursday night, and I just have needed some time to regain control in my creative space… it’s been a huge mess. I want to thank everyone that attended my classes yesterday and today at Scrapbooks, ETC… I had a great time teaching and learned and figured out a lot! It’s always tricky teaching a new class that you have never taught, and especially 3, and 3 hours each too! It was a lot! You guys were great sports as I was working out some kinks, and refining the content… as well as putting up with my kids! (Colton, Cory and Quincy were all fighting over who got to come and help!)

Just spending time in such a great store is creatively motivating! Usually I am on such a mission when I go in there, that I don’t have time to browse and look around…so being there for 8 hours 2 days in a row, I managed to do a little shopping… wanna see what I picked up? These I am planning on combing into something special for someone special in my life that has a big birthday this month.

bazzill flowers
bazzill dotted swiss
sassafras lass paper pack
bazzill envelopes
cosmo cricket gracie book
7 gypsies 'Certify' 3 part stamp
bazzill magnet frame
prima essentials flowers 4


i am loving this stamp... especially the circle w/ little stars.. ( the bottom stamp).

This came in at the scrapbook store today

… and I wasn’t really sure how it worked, and I am sorry to say that I had never even heard of it… but I could see that with it you can make your own custom-covered brads.. and I was sold. Happy to try to figure it out. I’ll share more, but you can see the video about it here. The detailed instructions are inside the packaging.. but it really is super easy... but i did buy this too.. the punch that works w/ the largest brad:

once i got home tonight... i played for just a minute, and made this... i like it!


like, i really like it! cute with this Fancy pants paper! you don't HAVE to buy the punch-you can use a template... and there are 3 sizes of brads... you must buy the tip for the tool  if you want the large size, and the metal components that make the brad pieces. SO FUN! and i can't get enough of the Sunshine dabber (used on the edges)

i posted more 4th of July ideas using this printable kit over on the House of 3 blog…

happy 4th!!

creative OVERLOAD!

i have been on a kick... and i LOVE it when that happens! i have been in the zone.. and it feels great. it seems like it's been a long time, and it causes me to wonder what has been the super-charge? i guess it's just the natural ebb and flow of creative energy! ...take it while you can get it.  for me, creating classes, and ideas that i can share makes the creative process so much fuN... as a result- soo many new ideas!

it's the big holiday week here, and most people are leaving town! with temps looming above the 110's, who wouldn't want to take off. but we are sticking around! i have mentioned that i am teaching Wed and Thurs of this week... 3 brand new classes, as well as HKS secrets... here's a look at the projects:

totally techniques (WED 1-4pm)

we are using everything RANGER, and my INVISIBLES. in addition to learning 7 techniques to use w/ the invisibles, we'll make this super cute FRESH book...

House of 3 Project Central (WED 6-9pm)
in addition to the 'celebration countdown' project, we'll be making the ALL NEW 4th of July book i featured here a couple days ago! perfect for the NOW!

HKS Secrets is a Masking/layering class and we'll be making 5, 12" layouts. (see some of the projects here) FUN! (thurs 1-4pm)

"We are Family" featuring the YUDU (thurs 6-9pm)

we'll be using the Yudu to create this fun book, full of summery papers from my Summer Sun line, and an EXCLUSIVE set of clear embellshments that i have created for this class on the Yudu.  i love how the inside turned out, i have been adding photos into this today.

ok, so in May at the CE preview day, Tim Holtz was there and showed me his new "tiny attacher"... i had seen it at CHA winter, but it wasn't until i played with it at preview day did i realize that it was truly a fabulous stapler. now, i have been thinking about it since then, and finally just had to get it...especially to attach the clear elements in the "Family" book i just made.  ok, this is an absolute MUST HAVE!! you might think.. how is it different from just a 'mini' stapler-aside from the size... holy cow, it's awesome!

REASONS i LOVE it!:
#1 goes through everything like butter; even chipboard and acrylic, ribbon and fabric.
#2 staples totally tight, so the item you staple holds secure, even with one staple. (although i am a double stapler)
#3 you can see and control EXACTLY where you want the staple to go- good for attatching tiny things (imagine that)
#4 the grip makes it easier to use than a big bulky stapler or a small travel one.
i absolutely think it's worth the $15.99
DRAWBACK: it's not pink. (i'm over looking that, wink!)
if you don't have one... get one! buy it HERE... get the staples refills too!!  put it on your wish list... you will LOVE IT!

Want some FREE blog couture?? just in time for 4th of July celebrations... download HERE!
compliments of House of 3! We have been creating more ideas to use THIS for your big 4th parties...
sharing tomorrow!

OH.. if you are interested in more information about the classes THIS WEEK ... at Scrapbooks, ETC here in Mesa, AZ you can call them at : (480) 854-2303

i will be selling extra kits for the House of 3 Project Central... email me if you are interested in more info!