Hampton Arts

If you missed this on the Jillibean blog Friday...it's pretty exciting.

Everything pretty much stays the same but better. Jill has more time to generate ideas and market, I get to work alongside her developing product and generating the art. It's a win-win for all. Lots of great stuff on the horizon! Just wait until you see what we cooked up for CHA Winter 2013! Can't wait to share!!!

Five on Friday

1. Halloween is only 12 days away and the boys haven't picked out their costumes yet! We usually start mid-August. Yikes! My Pirate Booty page was featured on the CK Blog yesterday along with some other great costume pages!


2. It took everything in my power to resist buying these at Walmart last night when Emmitt and I were buying the Halloween Candy. "Laina, do not buy the Peanut Butter Kisses. Your kids hate them and you will end up eating the entire bag." Conversations I have to have with myself every day.


3. Lots and lots of drawing. Anyone upgrade to CS6? I have the program, just haven't had time to install and play. I think Sunday is the day! I've been working on the new Jillibean collections all week. Jill's ideas are once again superb and I am having a ball creating patterns and pretty stickers. I can't wait to share. In the meantime, head on over to the blog for a fun game and giveaway today!


4. Getting ready for another Friday Night Lights tonight. Bay versus North Ridgeville, who luckily has had as bad of a season as Bay. It's been a struggle this season for Max as a player and for the entire team. He has battled a severe ankle injury, a losing record and some not so nice or effective coaching. Trying hard not to wish it over since it's his last season. Sigh. The good news is that he has finished and submitted applications to Case Western, Wittenburg and Ohio Northern. The Denison application needs a little more work but we are almost there. Max has been working his tail off between school, football and the application process. I haven't broke the news to him yet that we need to start applying for scholarships in November!


5. Starting my Christmas lists for the boys. It's going to be tough this year. The little guys are at the age that they don't need anymore toys than what they already have, yet Emmitt still believes in Santa. (Cooper the 5th graders is of course pretending that he still does to trick me into buying him more gifts. I got his number.) The y are both technology nuts and have way too much product awareness. Steve and I are struggling with what to give them. Probably an inexpensive laptop for them to share and some sort of flipcam. I still need some Santa stuff for under the tree but don't want to waste money on toys that won't get played with 5 days after Christmas. Emmitt is obsessed with WWE right now. All four of the males species I live with are. Emmitt the most though. Not my favorite show at all. The only thing he can tell me he wants is this belt. Great. I look forward to seeing it on him every day this Winter. Not!

Have a great weekend!!!

Christmas Already!

When I was at Target this week I noticed that they are starting to stock holiday lights in the row behind Halloween. You can tell they are itching to sell that spooky stuff out and go full guns on the Christmas decor. Good thing I finally just finished my holiday pages from last year!

Happy Holidays Concert uses a bit of Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup as well as Banner Bites (my favorite Jillibean Stickers ever)! Little Emmitt has grown so much since this picture and his glasses make him look so much older. A very good reminder of why I make these pages and record their quickly fleeting childhood.

Cards!

It's a monumental occasion when I actually sit down and make a card. I have about $3 trillion dollars worth of card making supplies at my disposal and yet I never make any handmade cards!!! My goal for 2013 - make cards. They're easy, people love them and I need to use up what I have rather than give more money to Hallmark.

Jillibean has been celebrating their 4th Birthday this month. To impress the boss lady, I made a couple of Happy Birthday cards to help celebrate.

These were made out of our new Soup Staples II and the new Flag Stickers. Easy as pie! I was feeling so happy when I made these that I even added glitter!

A card I plan to give my Dad...he's the best. used Macho Nacho on this one. I think I could scrap with this collection all year and never tire of it!

Back later this week with some pages to share!

Jillibean News!

Have you stopped by the Jillibean Blog lately? August has been a busy, busy month and September has even more to come!

First up - Jill and Kimber are looking for new Design Team Members! Great products+great people=FUN!

The next big thing...Jillbean shapes in the SILHOUETTE Store! Oh yeah! Jill and I have been adding new shapes to the store and have lots more planned!

One more cool thing...a NEW website! Compliments of our very talented (and Design Team Member) Teka Cochonneau. She did a fantastic job. I couldn't be more happy with how she blended Jill's vision, my patterns and her great eye for graphics and icons.

Mixed Media Winner and a little CHA update!

Sorry I'm late announcing the winner...it's taken me a few days to get back into the swing of things after coming home from Chicago. It's really almost easier for me to pack and take my family with me on a trip than prepare and plan for them to be without me for a week! Food, laundry, practices, etc. It's a lot to plan and prepare ahead of time.

The winner of the Mixed Media Special Issue is:

7
Random numbers generated Jul 25 2012 at 16:44:1 by www.psychicscience.org  
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

Katie Bolinger said...

your pages look so fun. I need to try some new things, thanks for the chance to win the magazine.

I will send you an email very soon to get your address!!!

Now a little on my Chicago trip...

Going to the shows is a lot of work but I absolutely LOVE every single minute of it! It's the only time I get to see many of my scrapbooking friends and socialize. The Jillibean girls are my coworkers but my very, very good friends too.

This trip was unique too because instead of flying, I roadtripped with Nicole Harper all the way there and back. We seriously talked without pause the entire 5 hours there and back! Nic lives about 20 minutes away from me so it made sense for us to ride together and have some fun to boot!

All photos in this post are courtesy of my friend Summer Fullerton. (do you read her blog? You should! She's one of my FAV scrappers and one cool chick) I am absolutely HORRIBLE about taking photos at the shows...probably because it's the only trip I ever take without my kids and just feel like taking a break from being the photographer. Hopefully this will change once I get the new iphone and ditch my crummy Droid.

When I arrived at 11:30 on Monday, the girls were almost done! We have such a great team and they have setup pretty much down to a science. All I had to do was put up signs and stuff catalogs. I got off easy. Those crates are not fun to unload. We were done so early that Jill took us out for a late lunch at The Ram Brewery and to Woodfield Mall to see Magic Mike. Yep, five slap happy mommies watching Channing Tatum in the middle of the afternoon. It's hard to go to work for these company some days lol!!!

Macho Nacho board:

Jill and Patty prepping for the 3 different make and takes! Patty works at the Jillibean office full-time and pretty much takes care of anything and everything. She is dedicated and hardworking...I love her to pieces. And she is a pretty darn talented crafter as well.

 Don't you love the way Jill displays the Unity Stamps?

 Grandma's Lima Bean Soup

This wreath by Lisa VanderVeen was the talk of the booth!

 Jill is usually swamped before the show and has very little time to create with her own products...this show was different somehow and many of the projects and cards were created by Jill herself. She is very talented and it was nice to see her get a chance to express that side this time around. The ticket board and tags are by Jill!

 Monday morning! Kimber and Jill are ready for our retailers!

The best part of our trip was the fact that we met a lot of new retailers opening stores. It was great to hear that as the economy recovers, people are still willing to invest in this hobby and keep it alive.

You can see even more pictures of the booth and a post from Jill right here!

CHA Summer Sneaks have begun!

Love this time of year...new scrapbook product debuts from all my favorite manufacturers! Jill and I have been hard at work the past few months preparing all of the new collections. I think you will love what we have come up with!

Jill posted the new Soup Staples II on Tuesday! The original Soup Staples collection was a hit and many have asked for a new set to compliment the first. This new line contains 10 colors of chevron with mini dots on the reverse. I think these are a must have for anyone's paper stash!

The Alphabeans from Winter CHA were so popular that Jill decided to add 5 new colors to the mix! Denim Alphabeans? What's not to love?!?! You can see all the new colors here!

Head on over to the Jillibean blog to enter a chance to win these great products before they are in stores! More Sneak Peeks later this week!

Jillibean Pages

Time to get caught back up sharing some of my Jillibean Projects! I believe these should count as girl pages for once!

she said YES!

My son Max had the nicest and prettiest girlfriend last year. She is in the dance squad for our High School marching band, Max is the starting center. Cute or what? He wanted to ask her to homecoming in a unique way. We made a sign and hung it from the bleachers before a home game. As the band marched in to take their seats, they marched right by the sign. It was priceless to see her face and the rest of bands snickers as they read the sign. Max got a lot of ribbing on the sidelines from his teammates during that game. A local reporter was at the game and put a picture of the sign and a short story in the local paper. The girls at school loved him while they guys were ready to punch him lol!

dance date

Photos of the happy little couple before the Homecoming Dance. I loved that Megan looked extremely pretty and wore a dress appropriate for her age. You would not believe what some of the girls where to these events! Sadly, Max broke up with her before Christmas. He needs a lot of guy time, plays many sports and is extremely involved as a leader at his school. It caused conflicts for them and he simply did not have enough time to manage a steady girlfriend. Fingers crossed that when he does, he picks another just like her. 

Macho Nacho Soup!!!

I thought we debuting Friday....but it is sooooo exciting, it's up today! Introducing Macho Nacho Soup!!! Jill and I had an absolute blast creating this collection for you. She shared her vision and idea for the line and it somehow came together for us in a snap. This is absolutely my favorite creation we have collaborated on together to date. Hope you like it too because you will see me use it alot in my projects!

Stop on over to the Jillibean Blog to see the entire collection AND for a chance to win it before you can buy it!

Winner, Pages, a SALE and More!

The best part of these blog hops?!? I get to see new people visit my blog and visit theirs too! Lots of great inspiration for me! It's about time I re-do my blog, I have never really been happy with the layout. Visiting everyone else's is getting me inspired to work on mine!

Without further ado...The winner of the Creating Keepsakes May/June issue is....#8 
Random numbers generated Apr 23 2012 at 8:14:51 by www.psychicscience.org
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

Rhadonda said...

Thanks for not only sharing the issue but the stickers. Great page.April 19, 2012 3:01 PM

Rhadonda - Send me your address so I can get your issue to you ASAP! lainalamb1 at gmail.com

More sports page anyone? Can you tell how I spend the majority of my free time when not designing?

Last fall was the the MESSIEST, rainest fall I can remember. Both little guys played Saturday morning flag football. Many of their games were cancelled from the extreme cold and rain - and they never cancel football lol. The games that were played were an absolute mess. The field was a complete mud pit and got worse each game. Not that my boys complained though. They thought it was great. I am completely convinced this football season cost me a washing machine. Ours died after only 5 years! Needless to say, I bought a very heavy duty, high capacity replacement version.

Basically, two versions of the same page here...one for each of their school/activities books. Titles cut on my beloved Cameo machine. Everything Jillibean - Game Day Chili!

Speaking of diecutting...It's been forever since I have added any new Digital Diecuts to my store at TwoPeas. I love creating digital cuts but sadly those have fallen behind due to other design commitments. The good news...I have finally created some new kits and will be releasing at least one a month. Be sure to check out my current kits if you haven't before. TwoPeas is running a one day sale. Click on the link below to get 25% off all digital products today only!

Earth Day Digital Sale - One Day Only - receive 25% off all digital product with up to 50% off select closeout digital product. This offer is valid only on Monday, April 23, 2012.


I'll be back tomorrow with another GIVEWAY! Hurray!

Another Sports Page!

I probably will never run out of sports pictures to scrap...good thing I have plenty of Game Day Chili in my stash! This is probably the funniest football picture of Max ever! As the being one of the smallest centers in the conference, he has had to face some pretty large defensive linesmen. When they played Elyria Catholic in October, he face the biggest high school student I had ever seen. To make matters worse - this player was a FRESHMAN! The family joked with Max that he had to play Michael Orr in the game. Despite the odds, Max never gave up blocking him. I'm just so glad I got this picture!

CK Winner and a Page!

The lucky winner of the Creating Keepsakes March/April 2012 is....

#6
Random numbers generated Mar 26 2012 at 9:46:37 by www.psychicscience.org
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

rush said...

i would love to win a copy of this magazine. there are so many sources of inspiration, and this is sure to please. rush88888 at gmail dot com

March 22, 2012 6:18 PM

I will email you to get your address!

Every month on the Jillibean blog, Jill hosts a designer challenge. They are fun to participate in and the themes make me break out of my usual box. This month's theme was to scrap yourself! Ack. I never take photos of me  - so this was definitely a challenge!

I used a lot of new Jillibean goodies on this one. Mainly from Coconut Lime and Chicken Dumpling Soup. Be sure to check out all of the other DT girls pages for this challenge as well!

Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop!!!

Last month I was asked to contribute to the Sizzix Fresh Vintage and Epiphany Crafts Blog Hop! I was so excited to join the amazing group of crafters helping to promote Eileen Hull's new designs for Sizzix.



I was sent the Sizzix Bigz Leaves die to work with. I loved the shape of these leaves. They are the perfect size for pages and cards. After I cut my shapes with my BigShot, I added an embossed line down the center of each with my Scor-Pal Board. I then added texture to the leaves by fringing the edges with my Martha Stewart fringe scissors.

I made this page first...and liked how the leaves turned out so much that I went ahead and made a card too!

The page uses the Epiphany Crafts Round 22 and 14 Button Maker, the Card uses just the 22. The button maker was the perfect size to highlight my Jillibean Soup apple and date stickers.

Supply List:

Leaf Die - Sizzix

Epoxy Buttons and Button Maker- Epiphany Crafts

Fringe Scissors - Martha Stewart

Border Punch - Fiskars

Pop Dots

Jillibean Soup Supplies:

Apple Cheddar Soup (milk, sharp cheddar cheese, green peppercorns)

Homemade 6 Bean Soup (navy beans)

Christmas Eve Chowder (boiling water)

Dutch Mustard Soup (cornstarch, wholegrain mustard)

Apple Cheddar Soup Stickers and Diecut Shapes

Kraft Cardstock

Soup Labels (Apple Cheddar, Journaling)

Corrugated Alphas Rockin' Red

Stained Canvas Chipboard Letters

Bakers Twine Red/Brown

Sugar Picks Red/Brown

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you would like to see more great projects made with the Sizzix Bigz Leaf Die, simply click on the blinkie on the right column of this blog.

Scrapfest

I'm heading out to Scrapfest at Mall of America later this week to teach a Jillibean class. Jill is teaching a card class and we both will hosting a crop too! Are you going too?

Here is a new layout using Sweet and Sour Soup, my most favorite Jillibean collection to date!

Cards on Monday!

I'm on my second cup of coffee this morning...Crazy week and weekend. My middle child Cooper had an accident that required 5 stitches in his ankle and then the youngest Emmitt caught a stomach virus. I've been nursing kids for the last 6 days straight. I have forbidden Max from being sick or injured this week. No one is allowed to stay home from school!

I have a card and these quick bookmarks up on the Jillibean Blog today. Head on over to see some other great cards too!

The Card Kitchen!

It's here! The very first Card Kitchen Kit is up and available for purchase as a Subscription or Single Kit! Head on over to check out the fabulous cards designed by my friend Kimber McGray!

a Jillibean Page

This one went up on the Jillibean Blog Thursday. I mixed papers and products from Blossom Soup, Spotted Owl Soup and Watermelon Gazpacho to get that Red, White and Blue color scheme. you would be surprised at how many different color schemes you can achieve by mixing up the collections already in your stash!

Summer Projects

While I was gone last week a few of my Jillibean projects were up on the Jillibean blog as well as the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog! Thanks to Catherine for sharing my work!

Pinwheels by Laina Lamb

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Patterned Papers:  Watermelon Gazpacho/Watermelon, Watermelon Gazpacho/Sprig of Mint, Watermelon Gazpacho/Seedless Cucumber
Diecut Shapes:  Watermelon Gazpacho

Other:  Tin baskets from Target, Styrofoam, fabric, Epiphany Round Epoxies, wooden dowels.

Strawberry Basket by Laina Lamb

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Patterned Paper:  Chilled Strawberry/Cup of Sour Cream, Chilled Strawberry/Frozen Strawberries, Soup Staples/Red Sugar
Journaling Sprouts:  Chilled Strawberry 

Other: Template from My Favorite Things, Cardstock, felt, floss, scallop punches, ribbon, wooden dowels.

CHA Setup

Whew! I've been in Chicago since Saturday and it's been a whirlwind of work and fun. Jill is always the most considerate person and course had a goodie bag of treats for each of us at the hotel including my very own gnomie tshirt!
Almost as soon as I got off the plane, Kimber, Summer and I headed downtown to see the Barenaked Ladies play at the World's Largest Block party. We had a blast at the show and it was so fun to hang out with my friends before all the work began.
Sunday was our first day of setup. Gnomie showed up but he hasn't been much help. He keeps leaving the booth to visit other teams. We are right across from our friends Bella Blvd. Setup went really well and we finished early this afternoon. Now to unwind, go out to eat and get ready for our first day of CHA.
PS The show pictures are compliments of Summer since I was too lazy to bring mine.