still me

holly jolly...

I am SO excited to show you my new ‘limited edition’ charm that I designed for bcharmed! Ok… so it just came in the mail, and I got it on Friday… and I haven’t taken it off since I got it! I adore it!

In October, the bcharmed folks contacted me and asked me if I’d be willing to design a charm for Christmas, and immediately my favorite ‘Santa’ image popped into my mind.  One side is Santa himself with a red and white chevron pattern in the background, and the other side says “holly jolly”.  The charm is 1.25” circle, and has a couple little gems dangling as well! I love how Santa’s beard kinda sparkles with clear glitter and there is a little gem on the back in the Holly Jolly.

 

 

 

 

 

They asked me to write a little blurb about the charm

When I was asked to create a keepsake charm for Christmas, I immediately thought of this cheery Santa. This cute guy was a part of a vintage collection of holiday seals that belonged to my great-grandmother. He reminds me of the Christmas magic I knew as a child--a time filled with wonder, and magic, and pure child-like joy!  It's that same little piece of magic I love to see in my own children's eyes... and even allow myself to believe in as I give in (sometimes reluctantly) to the season of giving and love.   Truth be told, Christmas stresses me out. So many things going on, and every year it weighs me down. I wanted a piece of jewelry that I could wear the whole season as a reminder to BE "holly jolly".  I hope that when people wear this happy charm they will be filled with the joy that comes from giving, and the magic that comes only from the true meaning of Christmas.

*********************

if you are anything like me, and you need a constant reminder to turn on the 'holly jolly' (i woke up this morning needing an extra dose of "jolly" and "holly"... i have been working like a mad-woman on other-than-christmas projects for the last 3 days, so i need to dig deep to make some magic here around my house. we did have a new friend arrive "Elvis" the Elf.. my kids were SO excited, and have been wispering all kinds of secrets they want him to tell santa!

ok... my friends at bcharmed have given me a "Holly Jolly" Charm to give away to one of my bloggy friends! so i am opening my comments here on my blog today- and Thursday i will be choosing a lucky winner and someone will have this beautiful and happy charm to hang on your neck through this holiday season, and be a sweet tradition each year!

if you want to purchase one of these GORGEOUS charms for yourself, and your bestie... and maybe your daughter...it's only $25... click HERE

please leave a comment, and share with me what YOU do to shake the holiday blues... and stay 'holly jolly'?!

day 4 (december)

It’s December 4^th, and our Christmas Tree was not up! Now, granted – I have a strict no-tree-up-before-thanksgiving-is-OVER policy…but with our little trip to Cabo, we definitely got behind the standard time-frame of getting the décor in place! The kids have been counting Christmas Trees in windows for what seems like weeks! Truth be told, I was a little worried about getting Christmas all set up! Last year, Christmas had only but ended when we were in the midst of packing up our things and moving! We had a grand total of about 3 days to make it all happen, and the Christmas stuff got shoved in here, and there and I hadn’t seen it ever since. I was vaguely aware of where the Christmas tree was… but the lights for sure were a mystery, and I couldn’t be sure of what I actually packed and kept.

Nonetheless, once we got home from church, the kids were chomping at the bit to get started. First order of business, rearranging and putting the basement into some kind of order—this might have been the part that we really (eric and I) were avoiding!  Soon, we had isolated the boxes and bins that looked like Christmas gear and we had cleared away a space that would accommodate the tree in the family room.  Once we had the tree up, and the fluffing had taken place, facing the light problem made it necessary for me to really access the boxes, and see what we had gathered up. It seemed like something was missing, but what? 

The STOCKINGS!

You might remember, last year I got super crazy and made stockings from scratch and yudued them and they turned out so fab!  I love them. And they were missing! I tried to think what else could be missing, and somewhere in my memory, I seemed to recall a pink sequin tree skirt that I added to my collection last year- but it was no where to be seen!  I was frustrated…and went through all the bins in the basement—on the upside, I found my food processor and my pie tins, as well as 4 presents that I bought last year, and must have hidden really well! 

Still, I was freaking out about the stockings.

But… I had bigger problems. Tomorrow I am filming at My Craft Channel and I am almost ready, but frankly, worrying about the stockings would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon.

Enter Cory: resident finder.

Approx 20 minutes later, I heard some kind of victory dance down below, and I am not sure how he did it, but he located an entire box that I hadn’t even seen! And it was FULL of all my goodies from last year!  (including the sparkly pink tree skirt! I knew I had one!) 

I explained to the kids that our festive decorating would resume tomorrow evening, and started putting the littles to bed.  But I could hear the boys laughing, laughing…and when I came downstairs, the trimming of the tree was complete (according to their standards).  Every ornament and bauble hung on the trees with adorable boyish charm! 

Quincy kicked butt cleaning up the basement.

Cory totally found the missing gear.

Colton made the measly 4 strands of lights that I could find work…

And (for now) the tree is trimmed.

 

I did break it to them that I would be ‘re-arranging’ a few things.

And Colton said, “cory totally called that”.

Feeling really grateful for my kids tonight.

1. cause they get me
2. the accept my crazy, and work with it AND around it.
3. they love Christmas décor! It’s important to them, and makes them happy.
4. and most helpful, they categorized their Christmas lists into “stocking stuffers” and “wrap-ables” (who does that?)

 

 

 

 

 

save the date!

It’s been a LONG time since the regular weekly House of 3 webshows! I am super excited because NEXT Saturday December 10^th at 8pm (Mountain Time) I am doing a ‘hybrid holiday’ LIVE WEBSHOW!! I have a few fun things to share putting the 2 new collections from Jessica Sprague and I to good use!!  Here is a little peek at the holiday album that I’ll be instructing—

i'll be adding my 'december daily' photos in as we go... it's adorable! i love it.. it’s a clever little book… I’ve never made one quite like it! you will NOT want to miss! It will be so much fun! … so consider this a “SAVE THE DATE” for next week! I can feel myself switch into ‘webshow’ mode!  I have some really FUN things planned!!  Now that I am back home from vacation, this week will be full of pulling out Christmas décor, and working to get our Christmas cards pulled together! But I also have a full day of filming ‘my craft channel’ …so LOTS of going on! 

 

leaving...already

only 4 days ago, eric and i arrived in Cabo San Lucas... and tomorrow...we are heading back home! back to the cold & crazy! this has been the most delightful and wonderful few days of R&R!! i can't believe we have to leave!  this is my 'dec 1' photo...a few of my favorite things here in cabo: "pinatas" (virgin pina colada), chips, salsa and guac, amazing views and SUN! bye bye cabo... we'll miss you!

this just in!!

just look at that SUPER CUTENESS!! i think that this little kit somehow feel off the truck when we were loading things into the JessicaSprague.com store!! and we were missing it!! yay!-- i have had several emails wondering about the words that i showed a few days ago, and here they are! here you will find vintage looking banners, little phrases on old paper and word and word brushes... 52 in all! and you will be SHOCKED at what a good price they all are... it's definately Christmas prices... so don't miss it!! SO cute, and great for ALL of your holiday projects for sure!

and in case you didn't see, here is a link to Jesscia Sprague's blog and she has posted some super cute, super easy projects to get some fun inspiration!

photo cards?

are you making holiday cards this year!? YOU BETTER BE!!  everyone loves getting christmas cards in the mail! and let's be honest, people LOVE getting a photo! you might be making 150 handmade cards with glimmer mist, and ruffles sewn on...with inks, stamping, and all kinds of steps and layers; or maybe you are simply uploading your photo to an online photo  lab, and having a christmas postcard printed...wham bam!! whatever you choose to do- DO SOMETHING! people want to see/hear from yoU! facebook or no facebook, NOTHING can replace finding a cute card in your mail box that is neither a bill or junkmail! break down and get your card making on!  for me, making cards really gets me in the christmas spirit! cute photo... clever card. i love it.  for the sake of a little inspiration, i designed a few cards using the new collections that Jessica Sprague and i collaborated on: 

these elements come from the 12 Days of Christmas Full Collection.  (the striped paper is in the bonus papers folder). for this card, i made a 9-square collage and masked each of the photo in so they are the same size.

this 'format' for the card is a great way to feature each member of your family, and a good solution for if you don't have a 'family' group shot that you might like... these papers are from the Winter Wonderland Full Collection. That Snowflake Garland is awesome! love it. love it so much, i used it again here:

(see... capri is doing the 'peace sign' thing- perfect!)

this dotty paper has to be one of my favs of the whole thing- love the colors! 

There you go! just thought i'd spread some holiday cheer in the form of inspiration!!aren't they lovely! so easy to make! if you don't know how to make these... and you are thinking that you would LOVE to know HOW to make these-- (it's really pretty easy!) make it a goal to take the first INTRO class over at www.jessicasprague.com!  in fact, head over there, and sign up for her FREE CLASS-- and get a feel for how the classes work.  i am here to tell you that the classes Jessica teaches are AMAZING, and ANYONE  (yes, you too) can learn how to be a masterful photoshop phenom!  you will LOVE knowing how to make stuff like this, and contiuing to learn, and grow some photoshop wings!  oh, and BTW... this is the time of year to buy classes at JS.com!! the classes are on SALE right now! you can gift them, you can buy them for yourself! they are an amazing deal. 20-35% off! spectacular.  THIS is your chance to learn a few basics to get you going! if you haven't ventured over to her site,  you might want to check it out- great deals on all the digi goods, as well as the classes... and get this- if you don't know what a 'photoshop friday' is, well- find out! there is a way to register for the SUBSCRIPTION! this is all new and WOW!! there is also an all new 'rewards program'.  i'm just sayin...learning how to do this stuff changes your life! it's worth it. and jessica makes it so do-able.   put it on your resolution list, and make the purchases while they are on sale!  classes make great gifts (for yourself and others!)

let me tell you this-- i have a little surprise planned at the end of Jessica's FREE CLASS... it's scheduled for Sat. Dec. 10. EVENING-ish.  SO-- get registered. and just kinda keep your evening open! you won't want to miss! wink! :)

 

 

using 'mobile' wallpapers...

 

after posting the wallpaper freebie yesterday, i have recieved several emails asking how to use them! so i thought that i'd give some quick instructions for the iphone.  i don't know how to add wallpapers for other devices, so if anyone would like to email me, or post instructions on my facebook wall, that would be great! i'll post it here.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. download the custom wallpaper- it's a .jpg file

2. email it to yourself, and open it on your phone

3. when you see the image inside your email, tap the image, and select 'save image'

4. open your photos, and you will find the image saved there.

5. tap on the image for the wallpaper, and tap on the icon in the bottom left corner that is a little box with an arrow coming out of it (it means share)

6. select 'use as wallpaper'

7. it will allow you to 'move and scale'; here you can be sure you like how it looks (zoom or center)

8. when you are happy, tap 'set'

9. it will ask you if you want to:

        1. set lock screen (this is the screen you see first, when you unlock your phone)

        2. set home screen (this is all the screens behind all your apps. you might have several pages)

        3. set both

10. select the lock screen

now.... touch the button on the top of your phone, to make it sleep (no need to slide it to off...just put to sleep) and wake it up by pressing the bottom circle button ... and walah! there it is!!!

these are a little addicting! it's SO fun to have them change... note: also works on ipad. same instructions!

and here are 2 NEW wallpapers that you can find on Jessica Sprague's wall on Facebook.

12 Days Wallpaper

 

thanksgiving and BEYOND (exciting announcement!)

It’s over… thanksgiving… all that anticipation and planning, and looking forward… it comes and goes SO fast! We really had such a great holiday weekend!

My kids were out of school wed, thurs and Friday—so we really did have a legit long weekend that was full of family and friends! It’s awesome to live so close to family – we have so much fun together!  We all got our assignments for our feast, and planned out our day- the men in our family all went to shoot guns in the morning, and the littles and the ladies did some fun crafts.  (thank you Pinterest!... I mean, how awesome is that!?) We made more of the Oreo Turkeys, the paper cup Pilgrim hats and some SUPER cute turkey napkin rings...  ... i quickly whipped up THIS Caramel Corn really quick and filled the cute hats. cute stuff! and the kids had a great time crafting!

We did squeeze in a movie, a couple workouts, and slept in!! it was definitely enjoyable!

And guess what…? I totally boycotted Black Friday! I am sorta regretting it—I mean, I could be all “done” with Christmas shopping by now. But- it was totally stressing me out! I was felling all this pressure to make decisions! I was getting a million emails about every store offering all these sales- it freaked me out!? SO… I have to face it. I think I am all about ‘cyber Monday!’

I do have something super fun and exciting to share… a couple of weeks ago, Jessica Sprague came to town on business, and we got to spend some time together—we got talking and imagining… like we do when we are together, and decided to whip up a ‘christmas’ collection of digi papers.  Well, one collection morphed into TWO collections (ok, we couldn’t help ourselves, the green and red combo came first, but we both love turquoise and grey so much for the holidays!)  that we ended up with 2 amazing—MIND BOGGLING collections for your crafty pleasure to celebrate the season!  Jessica is prolific in her creative and photoshop genius; and every time we work on something, she teaches me something new. It’s amazing! (I am ‘growing my skills’)

SO… let me show you…each collection has 20 backgrounds.

“12 Days of Christmas”  by Jessica Sprague & Heidi Swapp

(and that is not even ALL that is included!)

 “Winter Wonderland” by  Jessica Sprague & Heidi Swapp

You will have to head over to the shop at JessicaSprague.com to see ALL the kits… because you can buy elements that match, and different kits that can be mixed and matched with BOTH collections- you can buy smaller kits, and you can also buy the BIG sets that contain ALL the papers, and ALL the matching Elements PLUS a set of BONUS papers in each collection (that are only available in the mega pack)...take a look (for example) at all that is included in the MONSTER pack:

 

Ok, so all this week… I will be posting things that I have done as I have been playing with these DIGITALLY, and I also have a  couple hybrid projects I can share…  To kick things off this week… you can   grab this image...... you can set as your phone wall paper to get you in the holiday spirit! This is just a small image that is perfect for iphones an other mobile devices! ENJOY!! And … “you better not pout
”

 

So, be sure to head over to the JS.com website shop and take a look at these fabulous kits! They are SO awesome. I am in LOVE!  And be sure to check back for more inspiration and ideas for putting them all to good use! i've got cards, mini-books, candle art...etc!

black friday

we had SUCH a lovely, wonderful, happy, delightful Thanksgiving day! complete with all the family favorites cooked to absolute perfection, as well as our fair share of thanksgiving craftiness to adorn our table! i snapped a few photos, but am just feeling too lazy to download them, so hopefully you can count on some more sharing from me later in the weekend. 

the festitivies went from food--to the movie theatre--to dessert--to newpaper ads for black friday specials! (insert holiday anxiety!) phew...are you ready for this? we drove home and the Wal-Mart parking lot was ridiculous! not hitting the 'doorbusters' tonight- i have this twinge of a sinus infection that i am using as an excuse!

alas, i am having NO PROBLEM sitting by the fire with my trusty (yet somewhat archaic) MacBook Pro on my lap doing some surfing, shopping and cyber door busting of my own!  With the holidays, brings holiday get-t0gethers... and the need for festive flower pins! be it for the hair or the overcoat... they just make everything feel more festive and fabulous!  this year, we are offering 40% of everything on the Blossom Couture Site...so head over and grab one or 2 in your favorite colors, and pick some up for gifts as well! these make wonderful hostess and teacher gifts, as well as looking beautiful on the tops of holiday packages... the code is simply: BLACKFRIDAY2011 and the offer is good through Next Thursday Dec. 1.

another really amazing gift for scrapbookers, photographers... friends, sisters and women alike is a comfy camera strap... City Straps is also having a 40% off their shop through Dec. 1st with the SAME code: BLACKFRIDAY2011

here is a peek at a few of their styles to choose from... 40% off is an AMAZING deal... i like to change my strap out a couple times a year, as it just seems to bore me after awhile! they are washable, and they get SO dirty. Wash them, and good as new! you would be amazed at how much nicer it is to carry a camera around your neck with one of these straps on! they are fully padded, and slide right onto your existing camera strap. These are just a few... go directly to their site to check them out!  they are regularly around $30, so this is an awesome price, and a great time to pick one up as a gift (but you might want to add one on for you, and slip it under the tree.....or put an "open christmas eve" tag on it! you can put it to good use on Christmas morning...)

as i mentioned, i am taking Maggie Holmes' new December Daily Photography class, and i decided to treat myself to a NEW camera strap for the holidays!  after much deliberation, i settled on the Grey Dot with Red Ruffle, to keep me motivated for taking great photos! 

again, both codes are: BLACKFRIDAY2011 

sale ends Dec. 1st 2011

thanksgiving eve... and a WINNER!

Happy thanksgiving EVE!!  Today was absolutely a beautiful fall day—my kids were out of school so we had a full house, and much craziness all around! Just a pre-cursor into the rest of the weekend! I have a few things to make tonight.. and not just ‘pretty stuff’ ---also "yummy stuff"

Couple of things…in all the commotion around here, I forgot that it was Wednesday, and that I had a new Episode on My Craft Channel air today!  It’s a fun one… those of you who have a Yudu will defiantly want to check it out, and those of you with a Yudu on your Christmas list should take a look as well!  I show off some GLITTER sreen printing techniques!  And even show how I make a ZEBRA print in glitter—and it’s SO easy, you have to see it to believe it! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: after that episode aired, I learned that I need to heat set the glitter for at least 3 minutes- if you want to be able to wash it.

 

Second order of business… I picked a winner from my Official Heidi Swapp Facebook page for Maggie Holmes' class!   The WINNER is “Sarah Sullivan”… you are the big winner of Maggie’s December Daily photography class!! CONGRATS!! email me!!i also gave you a note on facebook! message me so that i can get your info to Maggie!

hope that everyone has an AWESOME thanksgiving day! i have much-o to do... ENJOY!!