Wednesday, December 28, 2011

"Out With The Old Me...In With The New"- Doodlebug Design Layout

(Update 1/9/12:  I've added instructions for the background at the bottom of the post.)

About two years ago I was inspired by Robyn of "My Pink Stamper" to change my life and become healthier.  I've always wanted to be in better shape, but never knew how.  Robyn shares her story of getting into shape on her blog under the link "My Pink Loser", and I knew that if she could do it, I could do it too.

It took me another year and a half to convince myself that I was worth the effort and that I could, if I decided to, make myself into whatever I wanted to be.  Earlier this year, a couple of months before turning 30, I decided that "now's the time" and that I would just try for 2 months and see what happened.  I put my heart and soul into becoming the person I'd always wanted to be.

It was so much more for me, though, than just losing weight.  It was also about becoming more confident, less insecure, and healthier.  I know what my family history has in store for me, so I want to be as healthy as I can to help prevent some of those things from happening to me.

I did it.

I reached my goal in 7 weeks of losing 20 pounds.  I learned how good it felt to exercise every day and eat healthier, and when I was given the assignment from Doodlebug Design to create a project with the theme of "Out With The Old, In With The New" I thought it was the perfect topic for me.
  This is the first layout I've ever done about myself.
I've always done layouts about me and my family, or me and my friends.... but never about just me.
The journaling reads:
This year I turned 30
and I decided to change my life
I tried things I’ve never tried before
I made myself more important in my life
I made tough decisions
I fought for what I wanted
I decided life was too short
I became more confident
I finally understood how important it was
to take care of myself
I lost 20 pounds
because I made up my mind that I could
and that I was worth it
I went outside my comfort zone
broke down my barriers
I found myself.
No more insecurity
No more doubt
I can do anything I put my mind to
I will not live another day with regret
I will reach and fight for every dream I have
I will love myself, and love others
I am confident, beautiful….
I am proud to be me

Out With The Old Me...In With The New

Reaching any goal takes a lot of hard work, but more importantly, it takes the decision that the goal is worth it, and the decision that you are worth it.  It takes a lot of patience, and perservenence, but if you decide you want it bad enough, reach for it.  Follow your dreams.  What better time is there than right now?
Take whatever goals you have for the New Year and go for them.

Supplies: Cardstock- Doodlebug Design Classic Collection
Doodlebug Design black, silver, and white flocked and sugar coated cardstocks
Doodlebug Design Classic Collection Icons Stickers
DoodlePops Sticker- Lily

Edited to add instructions 1/9/12
I received a comment asking how I did the background.
Here's the steps (I should have photographed each step as I went):

You'll need 2 12x12 pieces of paper, one to cut up and one to glue your triangles onto.
You'll also need lots of different patterned papers, I used the "Classic Collection" by Doodlebug Design as well as several other Doodlebug black, silver, and white cardstocks.

I took one 12x12 scrap piece of paper and used a grid mat and a long ruler to draw the intersecting lines onto the paper.  The grid mat is a rubber self-healing mat with a grid on it (mine's a huge grey one by Martha Stewart Crafts).  Then I did it again, exactly the same, on another 12x12 piece of paper that would be used as my base for my pieces.  At this point, both pieces of 12x12 paper should look exactly the same.
One at a time I cut out each triangle from the first 12x12 page using an X-acto knife and a metal ruler and used them as a template to cut out the black and white patterned papers.  I layed the triangle onto the patterned paper along the edge and used the X-acto knife and the metal ruler again to cut out each piece.  After cutting one out, I adhered it onto the second 12x12 piece of paper (the base for my page) in the exact same spot.  To keep track of which triangle goes where, I numbered them as I went, and I did them one at a time.  It took a couple of hours to make both templates, cut out each triangle and adhere them all.  Hope that helps.  I can clarify if I didn't make sense.

Thanks so much!

-Tiffany

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Family Christmas Card 2011 & Win an iPad 2!

Merry Christmas to all of you!
Here's my family Christmas card this year.  I made it using Stampin' Up!'s digital design program "My Digital Studio" as well as Echo Park's Sleigh Ride digital kits and of course, Lifestyle Crafts photobooth props found HERE.

The photos were a blast to take (you should see all the outtakes :) the kids were hilarious.  They couldn't stop laughing.  Usually you have to try hard to get kids to smile for photos, but this time we had to tell them to hold still and try not to laugh and smile "less!" Best family photo experience EVER!

Also, it's Week 8 in the "I Made This" Campaign, and Lifestyle Crafts has another giveaway:
 December 20-January 3, we'll be giving away an iPad 2!
To enter, just share the contest link on facebook. You get an extra entry for liking Lifestyle Crafts on facebook and writing about the contest on your blog. (Make sure you leave a comment on this post on L Blog saying what you've done to enter and tell them "Rhinestones and Ribbon sent me").  More information can be found HERE.

And just in case you forgot what the I MADE THIS Campaign is, check out this post to learn how you could win the Grand Prize of a digital SLR camera, printer, mac computer, craft space and more just by adding projects to the Lifestyle Crafts community gallery.

-Tiffany

Friday, December 16, 2011

Imaginisce Design Team Announcement!

Even more exciting news!
{From the Imaginisce Blog today}
 

It is with great pleasure that we introduce to you the
2012 Imaginisce Design Team.


Abby Laubenstein (Illinois, US)
Adora Concepcion (Washington, US)
Cari Locken, DT Co-ordinator (British Columbia, Canada)
Diana Fisher (New York, US)
Guiseppa Gubler (Utah, US)
Heather Leopard (Texas, US)
Ilene Tell (Delaware, US)
Mary Ann Jenkins (California, US)
Shelley McDaniel (Texas, US)
Tiffany Hood (Utah, US)
Rebecca Keppel (Arizona, US)
Rosangela Philippsen (Curitiba, Brazil)
Regina Mangum (California, US)
Rhonda Van Ginkel (Minnesota, US)

I can't tell you how excited I am to be working this year on the Imaginisce Design Team.  This is a fabulous company, from right here in my hometown, who's products I love and adore.  I can't wait to get to know all of the other women, and most of all, I can't wait to meet all of you!  I feel so blessed to do what I do and share what I love, and so lucky that I get to do it for my favorite companies.
This will be an exciting journey, and a wonderful year!

-Tiffany

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Doodlebug Santa's Village Home Decor and Gift Idea

I got some exciting news today!! I'm getting published for the first time!!!  I've never submitted anything for publication so I thought I'd try.  I submitted a card and a layout, so you'll see them in May 2012 in the Create: Idea Book- All About Baby.  YAY!! :)

I'm also super excited to share this cute project with you that I made using the Santa's Workshop collection from Doodlebug!  I was inspired by this ad that's in Scrapbook Trends magazine.  
 I saw this cute house in the ad and I thought "I want one of those!"

..... so I made one :)

Here's some of the items I used to create this project, so when I mention one of them you'll know what I'm talking about.
(Doodlebug's Chunky Sugar Coating Glitter in Lily White, white acrylic craft paint, sponge brushes, Mod-Podge, Aleene's Glitter Snow, Diamond Dust and a hot glue gun.)

Are you ready?
Here's my project!

Told you it was cute! ;)

It's made of wood and the storefronts are cut using the Cricut and the My Community cartridge.  The original buildings were a bank, a market, etc and I used my gypsy to remove a lot of the lines and writing on the buildings so I could make them my own. I cut out and assembled all the pieces except the Doodle Pops stickers, traced them onto wood and cut them out.  Then I painted the wood white, and Mod-Podged the storefronts onto the front of the wood the same way I did with the Turkey tutorial.  If you want to see step-by-step how to do that, see the tutorial  HERE.
When the Mod-Podge was dry, I added the Doodle Pops stickers.

The rooftops were "snowed on" using Aleene's Glitter snow.  It's like toothpaste that you can apply any way you want and it dries hard as a rock.  To get the "snow" look I dabbed it on with a popsicle stick and let some of it fall over the edge.  Then while it was still wet I sprinkled it with Doodlebug's Chunky Sugar Coating Glitter.
 The wreath is a Doodle Pops cardstock sticker, and the other characters are all from the Santa's Workshop cardstock sticker sheet.
 I also used the Fancy Frills stickers for various things, like this white door "awning," and see the cute candy cane doorknob?  It's a brad!

I hot glued the stores onto the base board before moving on to the rest of the snow.....

Doesn't this snow look nice and soft and fluffy?
Well it's not- it's hard as a rock, too.  I ran out of Aleene's Glitter Snow, and of course since it's winter time it was sold out in the store, so I found Diamond Dust, which looks like a jar full of clear shards of glass, and mixed Mod Podge with it and spread it all over the base of the board like frosting a cake, using a popsicle stick.  Then again, I sprinkled it with Doodlebug's Chunky Sugar Coating Glitter.
 I love how the glitter's iridescent, and has pink and blue hints to it when the light hits it.
 Santa and Mrs. Claus!  Cute, huh?  The doorknobs on all the buildings are all brads.
 And the sign's a Cute Cuts cut-out.
This rooftop has more Fancy Frills stickers.  The snowflake is a Doodle Pops sticker.
 and this elf is a Doodle Pops sticker, too, as well as the tree with the rhinestones.
 Here's what the rooftops look like close-up with Aleene's Glitter Snow.
 This building I added the chimney to, cut by hand.  The top of the building, and window awnings, and the trim at the bottom are all Fancy Frills stickers, and the poinsettia is a Doodle Pops sticker.
 More cute doorknob brads.

I hope you like it.  It's sure brightening up our house!
I hope your holidays are merry and bright, too!

-Tiffany

Countdown!

Lifestyle Crafts newest release of cutting dies debuted today on the L Blog
This release is all about party planing, celebration, and fun!

Here are some of the projects I created using this new release:

Patterned paper by Bo Bunny


Recognize this?  Here's the full view of my layout.  Isn't the paper divine?  The black velvet chenille paper is Doodlebug and the other papers are Making Memories and Best Creation.  I even made more of my own custom paper to match using the L Letterpress, Damask printing plates, and silver letterpress ink.

For Time and All Eternity
 The pearls are Prima and the tulle flowers are Making Memories.
 The clock die is my favorite of this new release.  Here I cut it using vellum.

 And this is an "Edge It's" die.

The Labels die makes it fun and easy for you to create custom party favors and labels for anything.  Here I used the labels die on this bottle, and also on.....
 This card.  The labels have die-cut slits in the side to slide through ribbon.
This card also features the L Letterpress and the Damask and Flourish printing plates and black and silver ink.
As always, you can get 20% off your entire order with the code: RHINESTONES at checkout from the

Don't forget about this week's giveaway that I mentioned yesterday,
a $500 shopping spree. 
You can enter starting today.  Just go to the L Blog post HERE to learn more about it and enter!

-Tiffany

Monday, December 12, 2011

Lifestyle Crafts Embossing Folders Release

Lifestyle Crafts has some beautiful new embossing folders that are featured today on the L Blog.  Here are some of the projects I created with these folders.


The first card features the Edge It's dies as well as the Wildflower Gift Set dies.  The third card features the Foliage die from the Be Stuffed release.

I LOVE embossing!  Dry embossing, as seen here, and also heat embossing, which you've seen before in some of my stamped projects.
These cards all feature My Mind's Eye patterned papers and elements from the Wild Asparagus, Tres Jolie and Signature Life collections.  I went for a more vintage, weathered, shabby chic look by using sanding blocks over the embossed areas to enhance the patterns and let the core of the paper show through, and also sanded other areas of the cards as well as using inks for distressing, and of course, ribbon!

Here is the new collection.  They come in sets of two.
Floral Collection:
Whimsy Collection:
Dainty Collection:
Classic Collection:
As always, you can get 20% off your entire order with the code: RHINESTONES at checkout from the

 And we're in week 7 of the I Made This giveaways!
We are offering a $500 Lifestyle Crafts shopping spree!
To enter, all you have to do is make a facebook status about the contest, then go to the L Blog TOMORROW (Tuesday, December 13th-Monday the 19th) and let them know you did it, add a link and tell them "Rhinestones and Ribbon sent me".  
The contest will run December 13-19. 
Additional entries are listed below:

-Like Lifestyle Crafts on facebook
-Share the contest on facebook
-Tweet about the contest
-Mention the contest on your blog

Good luck!

-Tiffany

Friday, December 9, 2011

Lifestyle Crafts Design Team Call

I just learned today about a fabulous opportunity.
 Lifestyle Crafts is having it's first ever open Design Team Call.  If you've ever considered trying out for a design team, or even if you haven't, it's a great opportunity to expand your creativity, use the latest tools, and showcase your talents.  The best part, for me, of being on a design team is showing the companies you love to the world, and also the wonderful friends you meet.  I've met some of the most kind, supportive, encouraging, great people through my two design teams, and though I may never be able to meet most of them in person, they are friendships I will always cherish.

Don't be afraid to try if you've never applied to a design team before.  Everyone who is on a design team started somewhere.  I joined my first team (Lifestyle Crafts) this past May, and applied for my second design team (Doodlebug Design) in September.  It's been the most fun I've had (creatively) in a very long time.

If you're a creative person who is good with deadlines and want a fun, challenging, and exciting opportunity, click HERE to learn more.

-Tiffany

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A Sneak Peek and Another Giveaway!

Lifestyle Crafts has a fun new release coming soon.  Since I can't show you my projects yet, or the dies, here's a sneak peek at one of my projects.  It uses some of their nesting dies as well as the dies in the release.  Do you recognize the flowers?

And it's "Santa's Workshop" week at the Doodlebug Blog!  There's plenty of fun inspiration and a giveaway!  Be sure to stop by!  I love this collection, and you'll see my home decor project on the Doodlebug Blog next Thursday using this collection.  Can't wait to show you!  Makes me even more excited for Christmas!
Doesn't Doodlebug just make you smile?

And another giveaway from Lifestyle Crafts.  We're in Week 6!  This week.....

Week 6 of I Made This: Win an Instax Camera, Holga Lens, & Film!

By participating in the I Made This Giveaway this week, you could win the Fuji Instax poloroid camera, a Holga lens, and film! All you have to do is subscribe to the Lifestyle Crafts newsletter.  If you already subscribe, you can still enter this giveaway by participating in the additional entries.  Please leave a comment on this blog post telling us which entries you participated in.  Mention that "Rhinestones and Ribbon sent me" in your comments.

For additional entries,
-Mention this giveaway on your blog
-Tweet about this giveaway (mention @lifestylecrafts)
-Share this contest on Facebook
-Like Lifestyle Crafts on Facebook
Click HERE to subscribe to the Lifestyle Crafts newsletter!

-Tiffany
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