Five more days until Old Saint Nick squeezes himself down our chimney and the 'silly season' is officially in full swing. Harvest is motoring along and the farmer is getting closer to being finished with each day that passes. I'm busy making sure he and our farm workers are well fed, still doing school run as it doesn't finish until this Friday and constantly chasing a newly crawling baby around the house.

Teddy's world has opened up to him now that he is 'on the move' and he has been busy investigating every nook and cranny. His favourite place just happens to be under the Christmas tree because he loves to reach up and grab whatever comes off easily. However, he does have a favourite ornament in the 'jingle bells' with a bright red bow. He happily shakes them about to hear them tingle and has whacked himself in the face a few times but that hasn't perturbed him... he still keeps coming back to find them.

I don't mind the traditional Christmas colours of red and green but throw in a dash of aqua and you've got me! Jillibean Soup's Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup has the perfect blend of traditional and non traditional Christmas colours along with a whole host of snowflakes, stars, festive sentiments etc.

I'm still learning my way around the Jillibean products but what I have noticed is that I seem to always have a very lengthy supply list at the end of each project. This is mainly due to their products being so co-ordinated that I find myself using various soup collections rather than just the one range of products.

I can honestly say I'm no longer daunted by using stencils because I have taken a slightly easier path in using Pan Pastels rather than permanent inks. This way I have the ability to rub off any mishaps... and yes, there are quite a few! This template is from Crafter's Workshop and is called Mini Punchinella which not only has the stars, but hexies and circles all on the one single template.

I have finally found a mist that bleeds the way I want it to. Maya Mists are just beautiful to use because you only have to drop a small amount on your project and it bleeds perfectly, whereas other mists I've tried haven't bled at all and have just frustrated me.

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Patterned Paper:  Country Pumpkin Chowder/Toasted Pumpkin Seeds; Grandma's Lima Bean Soup/Bite Size Bits; Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup/Bite Size Bits, Cheese Tortellini, Garlic Flakes, Stewed Tomatoes; Soup Staples/Brown Salt, Red Salt

Coordinating Cardstock Stickers:  Coconut Lime Soup, Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup, Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Pea Pod Parts:  Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Soup Labels:  Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Alphabeans:  Blended Black, Roma Red

Other:  Maya mists (Avacado Metallic and Dragonfruit Pink), Mister Huey's Opaque White, Doodlebug Mini Pearls, Pan Pastels Brown, Crafters Workshop Template, Mini Punchinella, Spellbinders:  Shapeabilities Little Leaf Set.

You can never have too many Christmas tags! I seriously need to consider making these all year round so I don't end up having to spend half of December making enough to go on all the gifts. I loved how these turned out so ended up making a whole pile more exactly the same... yep, the old production line in progress again!

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Patterned Paper:  Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup/Cheese Tortellini, Fresh Baby Spinach, Frozen Peas, Stewed Tomatoes; Soup Staples II/Brown Salt, Red Salt

Coordinating Cardstock Stickers:  Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Alphabeans:  Braised Brown, Pickled Pink

Kraft Tag:  Shipping

Bean Stalks:  Red Baker's Twine

Other:  Doodlebug Mini Pearls, Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

The Jillibean Soup blog has been full of beautiful Christmas projects so if you are after holiday inspiration pop over and take a peek HERE!

And one last project before I finish... a little card using the Jillibean Soup Staples cardstock which is fast becoming one of my favourite patterned papers... in every different hue! The card was a simple design but hand cutting the sun took me a bit longer than it should... I seriously need to open my Silhouette box and get that machine out and working!!! Looks like it might be a New Years project.

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Patterned Paper:  Macho Nacho Soup/Bite Size Bits; Soup Staples II/Gray Salt, Yellow Salt

Pea Pod Parts:  Macho Nacho Soup

Alphabeans:  Organic Orange

Bean Stalks:  Gray Baker's Twine

From farm to you...

Every now and again I play around with different products, colours and techniques than I use on an everyday basis. This layout is one of those moments that I felt like a change as I had been sitting on this Sweet Afternoon collection from Teresa Collins waiting for that rainy day. I must confess, I really loved creating this layout!

Gail created these sweet flair badges (Greatest View) with a small banner where you can add your own sentiment simply by using a rub-on or small alpha stickers. I added the word 'Moments' to this little badge with a rub-on which went on so effortlessly and has stuck permanently!

I was having a wee dabble with my Pan Pastels which I used to add a soft hint of colour to the WOW (Words or Whatever) chipboard title piece. I must say I'm a bit of a fan at having my title all mapped out for me!

Another new addition to the Greatest View store is the twine with silver or gold thread which adds just the right amount of sparkle without being too obvious.

Sequins hold such specials memories from way back when I was a child and used to play in the dress-up box full of the most amazing gowns adorned with sequins and beads. When Gail sent me some of her latest sequin packs I was flooded with all those old and wonderful memories. How sweet do they look scattered onto pretty paper? I can honestly say this little trend will become a bit more of a regular occurence in my scrapping as I love how they look and also how they give that extra hint of sparkle.

Products Used:

Teresa Collins Sweet Afternoon Patterned Paper:
In the Garden, At the Picnic, Flying Kites,
With a Book, Going Downtown, By the Pond
Sweet Afternoon Decorative Brads

Sweet Afternoon Die Cuts

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The Greatest View - Flair Badge
The Greatest View - Sequins

The Greatest View - Silver thread Twine

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WOW (Words or Whatever) - The Smile Says it all chipboard title

Kaisercraft rubons

Martha Stewart Border Punch

Amy Tangerine Date Stamp

Pan Pastels

Embroidery Thread

From farm to you...

I am so thrilled to be back on the Doodlebug Design team for another term and also very excited to be working with a few new faces along with some of the loveliest and funniest girls, who just happen to be extremely talented too... he he! So a big thankyou to Doodlebug, Cynthia and Lori for this wonderful opportunity.

And without further ado, here is the new Doodlebug Design Team for 2012 to 2013:

Amanda Coleman (Idaho)

Amy Chappell (Utah) - Card Specialist
Jodi Wilton (Canada)

Kathy Martin (North Carolina) - Card Specialist

Melinda Spinks (Australia)

Monique Leidtke (Netherlands)

Sherry Cartwright (Texas)

Shellye McDaniel (Texas)

Stephanie Buice (Alabama)

Tamara Tripodi (California)

Tiffany Hood (Utah)

Tya Smith (Utah)

Wendy Sue Anderson (Utah)

I have a layout to share that was created using Doodlebug products for the Scrapbooking & Beyond magazine's 'Embellish your Style' feature in the Spring Edition earlier this year.

It has great sentimental value as it was my very first ever 'cover' layout and my daughter has several copies in safe keeping!

Recipe:

Doodlebug Colorwheel Paper – Fancy Floral, Evening Garden, Poppies, Pocket Full ‘o Posies

Doodlebug Classic Paper – 4x6 Cutout

Doodlebug Petite Prints Dot/Grid Paper – Bumblebee, Limeade, Cupcake

Doodlebug Sugar Coated Cardstock – Sweetpea, Pistachio

Doodlebug Colourwheel – Sugarcoated Cardstock Stickers

Doodlebug Doodle-Pops – Maple

Doodlebug Mini Jewels – Cake & Ice-cream, Welcome Home

Doodlebug Jeweled Braddies – Bubblegum Blossoms

Doodlebug Crushed Velvet Brads – Bright Assortments

Doodlebug Oodles – Bubblegum Little Ladies

Doodlebug Boutique Buttons – Cake & Ice-Cream, Welcome Home

Doodlebug Welcome Home – Cardstock Stickers

From farm to you...

It's Happy Mail challenge time again sponsored by Doodlebug Inc, although I don't think mail of any kind is getting to its destination with any great speed due to the Christmas back-log. Well it will be a nice surprise for recipients in the New Year.

Today's Big Picture Challenge is all about congratulating someone for a job well done, or perhaps their graduation, engagement, impending nuptials, a new home or a new baby.

My card is just that... a card to celebrate the announcement of a little one that will be making its way into the world in 2013 which is very exciting news for our friends. And the colour of my card is a little bit of a give-away as to what paint our friends will be using in the nursery.

I wanted to keep the card simple so I cut out the pregnant belly shape using a handheld compass and added foam pop dots to the back of the cardstock. I then placed a row of Doodlebug Paper Frills in an ombre style pattern down the left of the card and positioned the cut-out piece over the top. A simple sentiment was added and a velvet heart brad.

If you have someone that is in need of congratulating for any reason at all, then why don't you join in with the challenge over at Big Picture Classes. Entries can be uploaded HERE.

From farm to you...

Never before have I taken so much notice of quotes since I began documenting  photographs on my scrapbook pages. Little snippets of wisdom in just a few lines can really capture the essence of a layout by telling a story which brings the photo to life. Which is the reason why I am so thankful for my Pinterest account because it gives me a place to store all the wonderful quotes I find floating around in Cyber space.

The big bean 'Jill' at Jillibean Soup set us the task to go quote hunting and find the perfect quote for our projects and I didn't have far to look as I knew I had this quote already pinned.

I just love this photo of my two boys which is something I'm still getting used to saying out loud. I'd never imagined having another baby at this late stage and had resigned myself to the fact that we had been blessed with 'one of each'. Now that our surprise package has entered the world it has opened up a few new roles within our family... and Benjamin is loving his new job of 'big brother'.

Having another little play with my Panpastels and a new template from The Crafter's Workshop called Mini Punchinella. It has tiny hexies, tiny spots and tiny stars so I get three different uses from the one template... gotta love that! I'm really enjoying the whole process of adding different mediums into my projects. I know I'm just a beginner when it comes to mixed media but you've got to start somewhere.

Jillibean's Hexies... how cute are these little hexagon stickers in all colours and patterns. A new product for me but one I'm sure to use over and over.

Recipe:

Jillibean Soup Patterned Paper:
Country Pumpkin Chowder (Toasted Pumpkin Seeds)

Macho Nacho Soup (Bite Size Bits)
Soup Staples II (Gray Salt)

Jillibean Soup Coordinating Cardstock Stickers:

Macho Nacho Soup, Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup, Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup

Jillibean Soup Alphabeans:
Braised Brown, Grilled Gray, Kut Kraft, Newberg Navy, Yam Yellow

Jillibean Soup Hexies:
Forget, Memorable, Remember, Today
The Crafter's Workshop 6x6 Templates (Mini Punchinella)

Studio Calico Mister Huey's (Opaque White)

Pan Pastels (Yellow)

Embroidery Thread

Don't forget to pop over to the Jillibean Soup blog to spy more layouts from the design team which you can view HERE.

From farm to you...