still me

guess what?

if you have been wanting some new fonts..
or maybe some fun brush sets to play with....
perhaps you have some fab summer photos you want to put into a quick easy SUMMER book;

i know, you need a quick card set, or some INSPIRATIONAL quotes...

or just maybe you have a new baby either here, or on the way...and you just have to have THIS new little book kit for the first year created by Janet...

and you might even be looking for something to spice things up and accessorize your studio, or dorm or even wedding party!! the wall art is SO fun for so many reasons!

FRIDAY is yet again "5dollarfriday"..

the way this works, is that you shop for something totaling at least $9.99 and then when you are ready to check out, you type in '5dollarfriday' (all lower case and no spaces)into the coupon code, and you get an automatic $5 FREE!!!
and not sure if you have checked it out, but at House of 3, you can get a lot for $5!  you can even use it toward the purchase of wall art! ANYTHING!

if you are needing a little inspiration... you can browse back through the House of 3 Inspiration House BLOG, or even Rhonna's blog  (find out about all new TWITTER BACKGROUNDS) and Janet's blog ..(she's just days away from delivering baby #4, and enjoying bed rest- wink wink ; can you ever really enjoy bedrest??)   it's good one time/one per customer!
happy shopping!

family pics

Family photos are stressful. They have to reflect the overall joy and love in your family- the true perfection that represents the true character of everyone pictured!!
First, you have to choose the clothes; the colors, the style; coordinate with everyone!! making sure that there is the perfect balance of lights, darks, prints and a little pop of color!
Second, pick a venue; easy access; not too long of a drive. Lots of options for backgrounds.
Third, choose a day and time that everyone can come, at optimal light.
Fourth, stock your purse with no-mess treats, that can be used as bribes and encouragement.
Fifth, lecture your kids all the way there about the critical importance of getting a great photo, and how they better be on their best behavior; no goofing off, no running off etc.

This family photo was of particular importance. The last photo we took was LAME, and this would be the only photo with EVERYONE since the newest addition to our family was born in December- but more importantly, my folks leave in a week for Fiji for their 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints… so this has to be p e r f e c t. as if that wasn’t enough pressure, it was my mom’s 60th birthday, and ‘all she wanted for her b-day was a great family photo’.

I took my camera along, and caught a few ‘behind the scenes’ shots… they really turned out cute! We chose a ‘blue’ color theme… because we have so many blue eyes in our family! out of all of us… we only have 3 brown eyes, and only 2 brunettes! I always like to have a little pop of color- so this time we went with yellow. And for neutrals, we chose brown and white.  My mom wanted it to look nice, and like we made an effort, but not too dressy… of course the little girls look super cute in their little dresses! We wanted a casual outdoor setting, so we went to Murray Park. It turned out to be an awesome place to take family photos… there is tons of different types of areas to shoot in, great shady areas… nice little river and flowers etc. it was perfect.  As for treats, I like to use smarties. (not the chocolate Canadian kind)…worked like a charm. As for the lecture, I thought the kids were pretty well behaved! It’s the adults that get all tense and freaked out! LOL…i was!
Here is a little peek at some of the images. I can’t wait to see the real ones.

***still addicted to these collage storyboard templates!! and this H of 3 Dingbat font

CE news!

Crazy.
That is the word that so typically defines my little corner of the universe…
We are feeling more and more settled, and thanks to much help from many – most of our boxes are unpacked, our electronics set up, internet functioning as well as TV. We have our mail forwarded and next on the list is DMV. (fun!)
Last night we went up to Albion Basin and hiked up to Cecret Lake. It’s absolutely gorgeous; full of wildflowers!  The place is breath taking no matter the time of year! I am thankful for being able to get out and have a little fun!

SO, have you seen this?? Our venue has expanded, and it’s allowed us to open up 100 spaces for Creative Escape! The clock is ticking, and the final preparations are being made. It’s only a MONTH away! I am so excited… I LOVE CE time, and this year is going to be amazing… at preview day, the buzz was that this was that this year was the best YET! We’d love you to join us!  so check it out here! recruit a sister or friend, or just come alone! The hotel is absolutely beautiful and the convention center is SO perfect for our event! Right now I am working on altering this ikea lamp… we will be raffling it and about 20 others (all the present and past teachers have created a lamp for the cause)  to benefit the Lymphoma foundation… I am SO excited to see how they all turn out!
Be sure to read over all the exciting stuff that is going on… you have to see the CUTE charm necklace I put together just for the event…

 as well as this year’s t-shirt! And THIS cutest little mini-book that I am creating an EXCLUSIVE House of 3 kit to add to… 
Scrapbooks EtC. has all the necessary items available for pre-order, and all you have to do is place your order, and it will be waiting for you at the hotel!! (perfect!!)

Ok, we are having our family photo taken tonight… much to do before then including haircuts!!

happy birthday MOM!!

today was my mom's 60th birthday! i hope that i age as beautifully, and gracefully as her! it's been such a treat for us to all be together today to celebrate! we had a 'luau' party...complete with slip and slides, water balloons, coconut cake, (virgin) pina colada's with little umbrellas, and hawaiian punch!
i snapped a bunch of photos , and i have been playing with my new favorite toy, the Collage story board templates (for Photoshop).  i took SO many photos, but these are some of my favorites:

ok, so i have a LOT of favorites! i LOVE these collage capabilities... i am going to get them printed out, and play with them a little more. Tomorrow, in continuing the birthday celebrations for mom, we are heading out to Lagoon... (i LOVE Lagoon)...if you aren't familiar...Lagoon is an amusement park here; not HUGE, but still, highly enjoyable. my LOVE for this place has been passed on to my children! so FUN.
i had Liz make a really cute bracelet for my mom as her gift, that had each of the grandkids' names engraved. looks awesome, i need to take a photo of it. (you can see it on her right arm in the photo just above this.  jeesh, i am T I R E D.  really tired.

SIDENOTE: the house of 3 website is undergoing a security upgrade, and is offline at the moment, hopefully it will be up and running again tomorrow!

big, long, past due update:

 

Well, this truck pull out from our house earlier this evening carrying everything we own, headed for SLC, Ut.  You’d think that we LIKE to move! (insert deep breath)… onto the next chapter in this ‘adventure’ section of our book of LIFE! 
We sold our home, which is an absolute miracle in this market-and as we have been contemplating all the options, Eric has decided to complete his Chinese degree at BYU. It’s kinda feeling like ‘full circle’!  but he is so excited, and things have fallen into place perfectly. We have been kicking ourselves for not finishing school 14 years ago when we decided to take a job that moved us to Vancouver, BC. He is only short by a couple classes, and now’s the time. i am excited to live close to my side of the family for awhile. My siblings live around SLC and I am excited to get to hang out with them. I am excited to live closer to my extended family, as well as some old friends: Solitude, Brighton, Alta and Snowbird. We’ll be living near the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon, a mere 10-15 minutes drive to the ‘Greatest Snow on Earth’. My childhood/adolescent playground. My dad taught me to ski when I was 3 years old, and I can’t wait to get Capri and Connor up on the hill- since I can’t even keep up with Colton and Cory already!  I LOVE the mountains, and indeed, it’s been a LONG TIME!  I am excited to live closer to a couple of my House of 3 partners! (much closer to Provo than China!) 
Some additional UTAH perks (in no particular order):
Italian Village for Pizza Benders
Hires Big H
Fall foliage
White Christmases
My grandpa’s cabin in Oakley, Utah
Mtn Biking in Milcreek Canyon
Hiking familiar trails
Knowing my way around everywhere
So many temples
Attending KJ’s Halloween party
30 miles from Park City (I LOVE PC)
exploring UTAH w/ my kids- camping!
LAGOON
I have been filled with mixed emotions. When we moved back, we weren’t really sure how things would play out, but I can see the hand of the Lord in our life, and can’t deny the many blessings and tender mercies that have directed our path and truly blessed our family. As I am sad once again leaving friends and family that are here in AZ, it’s comforting knowing we aren’t going as far away as CHINA! And we have lots of reasons to visit…

I have been getting several emails wondering about  CHA, new products and my relationship with Advantus…
Right now, my focus is on House of 3… and I am LOVING it!  I have needed to change, grow, expand, try something new…etc. The ‘creative spirit’ is a very fragile thing; and you have to listen to it, and follow it. There is that saying ‘follow your bliss’. And there is a lot of truth to that. You just can’t fight change- you have to accept it, embrace it and take what you have learned from the past, and apply it to the future.
I will not be attending CHA, and I do not have a new product release at this show.  The Heidi Swapp brand will continue through Advantus… I will continue to teach classes, travel and promote it along with House of 3. Our relationship will move forward on a per-project basis.  I have been tremendously grateful for their support.

My days of creating new (physical) products are not over! (I do have some things in the works!!)  But I must admit, I have hit a bit of a ‘reset’ button in my creative soul.  My capacity to work isn’t the same, my ability to stay up all night working and then functioning without skipping a beat the next day has diminished! The demands of my family is ever increasing, as is my desire to meet those demands and enjoy my role in doing so. I will also admit that all the change and adjusting (of the last couple years)  has not been easy, or without significant stress. However, I believe that there is a purpose behind all things; and I have felt so empowered and energized by taking a leap, and venturing into something unknown…it’s strengthened me, my marriage and our family in ways I’d never imagined.

SO, there it is in a nutshell… I don’t even know where the good scrapbook stores are in SLC surrounding!? I know that I am in good company there… Rhonna, Margie, Elizabeth, Teresa, Robin, Jefra, Nichole, Sarah, Rachel, Layle… I do know that there is a movement going on there … of women who create in all different ways- because they just feel it inside; that desire to create beauty all around them. I’m excited to join in.

Best part: I know it’s where we are supposed to be right now. That is all that matters!
(big smile, tired body)

instructions:

ok, instructions and how-to for this summer book are posted HERE!

Here are the new "Hello" tags; this style reminds me of the 'hello teacher' kit- and those happy apples!

and Here is the new collage storyboard kit... there is a tutorial on using the collage templates Here and another one Here.  even I got it all figured out!! you can TOO! there is both sizes for blogging and for printing!

BIG DAY today... i'll fill you in later.

for the love...of summer

i do love summer... the heat is a little obnoxious here in AZ, but i love the pool, the flip flops, the late nights and the easy going pace.  this is a little book that i have created- more info to follow tomorrow on the House of 3 Inspiration House blog... but just wanted to post a little heads up!
if you purchased the 'you are loved' valentine book, then you have the templates already, and all you need is the summer add on kit... if you need it all, you can grab it here (and the design district font is a bonus).

THANKS FOR PLAYING...

Chiara Osborne
Whitney Seeman
Erin Whelan
you girls need to email me and i'll send you the links to this kit!
more details on this project  tomorrow! stay tuned!

ps...go check the inspiration house blog... i created the above template using one of the new "house of 3" collage kits... it's SO fun, and so EASY- for use in Photoshop.  the kits will be posted SOON!  i just learned how to use them last night, and it made me SO happy!

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!