http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/digital-kits/carina-gardner/
Kristina’s Picks at Two Peas in a Bucket this week is a full review of MeadowLark™. I was thrilled to see the papers, cards, and die cuts shown in detail! If you’ve been hankering to see the line up close, check out the video by clicking on the image below!
I can’t believe it is the week of Thanksgiving! My, how time flys! I have two events to report. The first is that my 2 year old and 5 year old officially started fighting over who got what cereal box to look at as they ate breakfast this morning. Do you remember doing that as a kid? I mean, what was so GREAT that we all had to stare at the back of the cereal box at 7:00am in the morning?
The other big event is that Siri has her first loose tooth! I officially feel old (although it may just be the impending 30th birthday that is one week away).
In celebration of just, well, life…my digital scrapbooking store at 2pe
as is having a 25% off sale all this week. Yep, all 213 products. Not a bad deal.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m planning on lounging in pjs for the parades and then an early family dinner. Oh, and I have a great Christmas project I am working on this week that I will post over the break! Yes, that means some free goodies for you! So stop by between your shopping schedule for a great download.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Halloween is just a week away and I finally have finished my Spider’s Web Bat Wreath. I used my paper version (produced by My Mind’s Eye), but you can also pick it up digitally. I picked up this wreath from Michaels. These twig wreaths are relatively inexpensive ($4, I believe). I then had my silhouette machine cut out these bats for me. I few hot glue gun sticks later, and I was in business!
My kids are going to be a witch and a pumpkin this year (if I can convince her). We are in a new neighborhood, and I excited for the kids to trick-or-treat in this super kid-friendly street.
Hope you have a happy halloween!!!!!
It’s glittery and oh, so pretty! My darling Love Nest Glitter Pad that you can grab exclusively at Hobby Lobby! This is my first glitter pad and I am so excited about all the projects I have waiting for me! There are 18 patterns and 54 papers in all! You can also grab the digital versions of Love Nest (for all you digital scrapbookers!!!) in the Sweetheart, Love Nest, and Love Nest 2 Paper Sets (although some designs have been changed for print). You like this in paper? I’m going to let you in on a little secret…I’m currently getting love nest ready for FABRIC! Northcott will be producing the line (which takes a year to manufacture so this is very early news indeed), but I wanted you to look forward to this happy little line that I will certainly be making lots of little girl’s goodies out of!
Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about Halloween. In fact, I already finished my batty wreath using Spiders web…just need to get around to taking a picture of it! Spider’s Web can be picked up in digital or paper.
Love the Spider’s Web line? Be sure and check out the My Mind’s Eye Blog! They’ve added some of the most adorable projects on that site using the line including some scrap-happy layouts and a haunted house fold out album! It’s all so very yummy!
Finally! After a crazy two days I have a chance to write about DSE! Thursday afternoon I taught an Illustrator class at the Digital Scrapbooking Experience in Provo, Utah. Jen Allyson flew in from San Francisco to help me out.
I had a WONDERFUL time with the students! After teaching 5 years of college, I had completely forgotten how wonderful it was teach students who are eager to learn (and everyone in my class was!). Thank you ladies + Gary for participating in my class! I’m glad I did it because it opened my eyes to what people can do with a little bit of education on the programs. I’m constantly asked about becoming a designers and I may have just had my eyes opened to some new possibilities for these people. I’ll let you know on the developments.
I also hosted a table with a cute little flower make-and-take, candy, and my papers from My Minds Eye (and if you haven’t figured it out yet, papers that get printed can also be bought DIGITALLY from me). Jennifer Allyson and Garden 
Girl Gennifer Bursett both helped me. In fact, I probably owe Ms. Gennifer since I managed to forget my camera and I all these photos are hers! I showed off my digital book that was printed from My Pic Tales and Silhouette Machine, which made all my make-and-takes (and I couldn’t live without at this point!).
You can make our make and takes too! All you need to do is go to the Paper Flower Wreath post and download the pdf. The flower shape we used can be used as a pattern and hand cut out, or I also provide .gsd files for you to use on your own silhouette. Here’s 
photos of Jen and Gen sporting the barrette version you could make. We also had laundry clips and pipe cleaner for attaching to badges or making wristlets. The papers we used for the table all came from my Paris and Co. and Bella Bella Paper Pads that can be bought exclusively at ACMoore.
Some of my favorite moments at DSE? I loved meeting the other instructors (I was so happy to see Crystal Wilkerson there!), I throughly enjoyed Jessica Sprague’s Keynote address, and (my most favorite moment of all) when one of my students (of whom I will refer to as the “Atlanta Gelato Queen”) slipped a chocolate gelato onto a box I was carrying out.
Thanks for all the fun everyone! I could only go to one day of DSE (sorry everyone! I just couldn’t get up there yesterday and today is packed!) because we closed on our house yesterday! Yippeee!!!!!! And now, the work begins…or might I say, the true Project Mania begins! September might end (and I have a few projects yet to finish up!) but in October I’ll be posting all my house fix ups.
With my fantastic silhouette machine from quickutz, I made these darling die cut happy birthday cards that you can pick up at 2peas. I made them originally for my two brothers-in-law that share a common birthday. These boy-happy papers are from my Bella Bella line. Super easy to make with the files in this folder!
So what have I been up to? I’ve been a busy bee as I have been working on a new fabric collection. It’s been going well, and I’m hoping to be able to wrap it up by the middle of next week. I know, you are asking yourself, “But I haven’t even seen a first line.” Sneak peeks coming very soon! I promise! It’s amazing how long the time line on a fabric line is, but I’m so excited to get those bolts of fabric into my hands to show it all off to you! Patience…
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It’s the season of change. I’ve been feeling it more and more as my oldest child heads to kindergarten. It seems even more imperative to capture these fleeting moments, and what better way than with an ABC photo book of my little darlings. It seems appropriate considering the time of year.
I like homemade ABC books because they are so personal. They capture a moment in time, and my children adore looking at themselves in a little hand-held book that seems made just for them. It also can be a valuable learning tool.
For this little project, I tried to accomplish two things. First, I wanted a new ABC book that included Felicity, my youngest daughter (I made one for Siri when she was a toddler). Second, I wanted to give Siri a tool to learn new words as she learns to read. I also wanted it to be fun, so the girls and I went on an “alphabet scavenger hunt” to gather the items we photographed.
This hybrid project uses my ABC templates, which are 4” x 6” templates that you drop right on top of your photo, My Mind’s Eye’s Penny Lane Papers, and pink stamp ink, which I rubbed along the edges. The final book is 5” x 6.5” (that’s the size I cut the papers I mounted the photos on). I got the whole thing spiral bound at Office Max.
ABC books can be used for more than just learning the alphabet…try these fun ideas!
• Capture a vacation using the alphabet. Not only will it be fun to figure out things to photograph using the alphabet, but the book will be fun to look at when you are finished!
• Capture a child or family’s year using the ABC’s. It’s a great way to get a snapshot of your year!
• Use the book as an opportunity to capture things that you love in your home. I made sure to include “red blankey” for Siri and “white blanky” for Felicity because these are their lovies. When do we ever take the time to capture these meaningful everyday items? In 10 or 20 years, long after those blankets are in rags, I know my children will be happy to have these photos.
A couple of helpful hints when taking photos for this project:
• If you are taking pictures of your kids, a second adult is really helpful because one person can hand the items to the kids and one can photograph.
• Remember you need lots of foreground/background…aka…empty space to fit your words and letters!
• Take photos all with the same background for a cohesive look. I used a brick wall in front of my house. If doing a vacation book, you won’t necessarily want to do this so you can capture all parts of your vacation.
• A mix of closeups and full shots make the book more dynamic and interesting.
• Laminating your book makes it more durable for little hands.
Want to buy the template I used for this ABC Book? Go here:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/digital-kits/carina-gardner/_abc_book_/
To see the entire ABC book I made, visit my flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/carinagardner/sets/72157612650193775/
Want to see more Project Mania projects from me or anyone on the blog hop? Or want to join the blog hop? Go here.
I’ve been a digi designer for a year and a half now and I finally feel like it is time to buckle down and finish a full book! Because I like consistency, I’m working on a book that covers 2009 and I am only using Sproutlets, Sproutlets Album, Imprints, and PhotoCuts. It makes the book look put together (and definitely helps the flow!). Sproutlets covers my paper and color scheme, Imprints takes care of my brushes, and PhotoCuts helps me with on my frames and masks. It’s an easy combination that will make me several beautiful layouts really easily.
Hopefully, I’ll have this book finished for Project Mania next month and get it printed to show off. But for now, here’s a peek…
Check out today’s Warehouse Walk at 2peas with MellyPea. You’ll notice the awesome shout out by MellyPea for my new Spider’s Web line out in paper and just barely hitting stores! Oh, and digital folks, don’t think I have forgotten you on this one…just a few more weeks…
I love Sundays. We usually get together with family and friends and I usual spend a part of my day cooking or baking. Today, we want to my in-laws baby blessing for little baby Grace. It was a beautiful blessing with Gracie crying loudly the whole way through it. Unnerving for the parents, but hilarious to the rest of us!
These are some pictures from the brunch afterwards. I wanted to highlight the little cards I made for the table with Grace’s name. They are so simple and I used the Imprints Collection to make them. Specifically, you’ll notice I used the frames and calendar stamps (for a light background). These Imprint kits hit the store this Tuesday.
I know there aren’t any photos of baby Grace here…you’ll just have to check my Flickr to see more. And if you haven’t looked in the Creative Team’s Flickr account recently, you should check it out! The girls have put some fabulous layouts up! I know you can’t see the photos in the sidebar (I still haven’t managed to figure out how to have 2-3 going!), so I just wanted to point it out!
Happy Sunday! I’m gearing up for a crazy Monday and then hoping for sanity by the middle of the week.
So the big news is that I actually got around to a layout today! This layout took me just a few minutes to put together because I used simple brushes from my Imprints collection and a paper I am always reaching for from my Simply Solid Collection.
This photo is of my daughter Siri and my niece Caroline…who decided to dress up like twins! I even did their hair the same.
Jen came into town so the 2pes peeps came out to play. This was my first 2peas sighting and man, it was a doozy. I’ll need another one soon ladies to remember people’s names!!! It really was a blast and my only regret is that the table was long and I didn’t really get to talk to people on either end very well.
Important things I learned tonight: The NSBR Board can be brutal, Nephi the waiter is a patient person, that much cheese fries + ice cream doesn’t kill you on the spot, and Aunt Skiddy never comments on 2peas but always READS everything…so beware! Oh, and possibly I see a 2peas Karoake Party going down at my place (that would be after I buy a house, which I HOPE happens in the next 3 months). Be warned!
Thanks for the fun night ladies!
I hardly ever have sales…it probably happens twice a year now. So take advantage of this one if you have been eyeing a product over $10 at my 2peas store! Starting tomorrow, all of my products that are $10 and up will be 10% off for a week! Have fun!
We’re getting started a bit early here (Project Mania officially starts on September 1st!), but I wanted to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate! I’m giving everyone a head start here so that if you have any big projects that need starting or need to clear out your schedule to make way for some great projects in September, you have the time to!
This is a BLOG HOP! Here on my blog, I’ll be posting a plethora of new projects, tutorials, and free downloads to help inspire you. If YOU have been working on some things and want to share OR if you’ve needed a kick start, this is it! Time to get your hands dirty and get going! We all want to see what you’ve done! Whether it is scrapbooking related, sewing, home decor, home organization, crafts…if you’ve been meaning to do it, let’s get it done this September and post it on our blogs! You’ll definitely see plenty from me on these fronts all September.
So you think you want to share what you’re going to be doing September 2009? We’re starting a list right here! First thing you need to do is grab this html code and the little banner to put on your blog. It will relocate you back to this post for the most up-to-date list on blogs/websites participating in Project Mania.
<a href=”https://carinagardner.com/2009/08/06/project-mania/” target=”_blank”><img class=”alignnone” src=”http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee297/diginirvana/projectmania1.jpg” alt=”” width=”200″ height=”150″ /></a>
Next, you need to send me the name of your blog and the link you want it to go to so that we can all drop by and see what kinds of things you are getting into! Send it to carina@diginirvana.com.
Here’s the list of everyone participating! Go visit and see what these Project Maniacs are up to!
Brought to You By The Letter B
It’s Tuesday and my small Antique Jar collection hit the store today. To give you a preview of the new collection hitting next week and the week after (I think you’ll like it!) is iMPRiNT! It’s a lot of yummy stamps and brushes!
I also thought I’d give you the heads up…I’ve declared SEPTEMBER to be Project Mania Month here at the CG Studio! I’ve already gotten started and I’m excited to bring you a whole month of blog posts that are project oriented! Get ready for some great downloadables, holiday projects, organization tips and more! I’m pretty excited about as it will get me in gear to really finish some half-way finished projects and get a head start on the holiday season.
I’m sure that if you are like me, October through December is booked! So I’m hoping by having a Project Mania month in September, you and I both will feel inspired to get a headstart.