silly as it sounds...

TwoPeas Community Contest Today Only...

come join in!

today's contest is super easy and do-able, given the busy holiday season we're all navigating!

 

Link to Contest Here:  **Picture a Holiday Story 2008**

Hi everyone, Tia Bennett here!

Are you snowed in, too?  We've had so much snow, I stopped counting the inches after 12!! 

If not home-bound due to some crazy weather, are you simply cozied in; enjoying playing hostess to a house full of family and friends during this holiday season? 

Are you traveling?  Are you still working, just counting down the hours till your time off? 

Are you still making gifts or (*gulp!*) still shopping?!?!  LOL

Let's have fun with the situation--whatever situation we find ourselves in today--and just stop for a few minutes today to record it!

For today's Community Contest, simply take a picture telling the story. Illustrate your current situation, in relation to some of the suggestions above, and post it in the gallery.  Be sure to mark the box indicating that it is for this Community Contest (**Picture a Holiday Story 2008**), and you will be automatically entered into a chance to win a prize from Two Peas!

Here's my photo, illustrating the uncharacteristically snowy weather we've been enjoying in Washington state! 

 

If you have a few spare moments today, you should jump in!  A winner will be randomly chosen from the contest entries for a prize from Two Peas.  Come share your Holiday Story photo!

You have until 11:59 p.m. CST to post your entry.  Happy snapping! 

And whatever situation you find yourself in, I wish you Happy Holidays and a Very Merry Christmas!!!

xoxo   tia

have a happy monday!

(all images copyright 2008 www.twopeasinabucket.com)

self-portrait

this one is called:

"the kids grew out of last year's snow stuff and took all mine."

ha!

we're on snow day #2 here in western washington.
yesterday was a delightful aberration.
today it is still somewhat of a novelty.
if it happens tomorrow, however,
we are approaching annoying!

new *indie pops* digital goodies!

it's my new collection of digital scrapbooking designs,
called
indie pops!

the first release is already  here !

origami ornaments

here's a fun way to use up a lot of paper scraps at TwoPeas today:

Japanese kusudama flowers

also, i'm thinking?
a "fun" way to keep little or kind-of-still-little hands busy as beavers
on cold snowy icy days....
*wink*

happy holidays!!!
xoxo
tia

snow!

we're pretty excited here...

we've got snow!
granted, it's not much...
but we'll take what we can get!
happy sunday, all!

epson aritsan 800

This thing ROCKS!  Have you heard the buzz lately about the new wireless printers that are on the market?  This is one of them...and it is DIVINE. 

It is Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectable, and functions as so much more than just a printer.  It has the awesome Epson 6 individual ink cartridges, which is so great for the budget since you are only having to refill the specific color you are out of, instead of a whole full-color cartridge.  It also has this "vivid" ink technology that I didn't quite understand the value of until i printed some color photos.  I SWEAR I could reach out and touch the flowers on that picture...it was so real!  That totally amazed me.

OH.  And it also functions as a copier (that does multiple pages with a multi-page feed on top!) AND a fax machine AND a top-line scanner, too.  

and can you see that touch screen there in the photo above?!  yeah.  how cool is THAT?!

oh my gosh...and are you ready for this?  it also:

• prints on top of printable CD's (photos, text, you name it!), AND

• prints both College and Wide Ruled Lined Paper with a button.  seriously.  there is a setting where you just "beep", push a button, and it will print lined paper in seconds!  AND graph paper.  HOW COOL IS THAT?!  my daughter was doing homework the other night and up came the inevitable "Mooooooooooooooooom!  I need some more paper!"  And so I got all giddy and ran to the machine and, SHAZAM, printed her some lined paper.  Just like that.  It was awesome!  (Moms need little reason to celebrate these days....LOL!)  Even she was impressed! 

Those frames in the above picture I printed out onto textured cardstock and added to this holiday journal album I made recently....

(the frames are from a digital kit at 2peas by danielle thompson)

i was going to use the album to record my journaling for Shimelle's "Journal Your Christmas" class that i am taking, but my dear friend Rachael liked it so much, i gave it to her!  (are you writing in your journal, rach?!)  ;0D

i have a few christmas projects i am working on with this new "tool" that i'd like to share in the next coming days, so more to come!  :)

in the meantime, i want to share Stuck In Customs, an AMAZING high dynamic range photography site that rachael just pointed out to me...i am totally awestruck by some of these images.   and he's a Nikon guy, which is cool...i'm a Nikon lover at heart!  :)  but anyway....i love the emotive quality of this kind of project!!!!  i'd love to try it.  i have to re-read the tutorial, though, cause he lost me at "buy Photomatix". lol

holiday + banner

looking for a fun way to brighten up a double-door way for the holidays?

a banner is a quick and easy way to get a lot of bang for your buck when decorating a large swatch of horizontal space.  and a great way to get rid of bits and scraps of craft left-overs, too!

a link to the class i taught at Two Peas is right here:  Class

but i'd like to share the step-out photos here with you on my blog, too!

(images copyright www.twopeasinabucket.com)

1.  Cut some tree shapes from four different green tone-on-tone patterned papers.

2.  Cut large scalloped circles from textured green cardstock.  I used the Quickutz Silhouette to cut my trees, and the Quickutz Revolution to cut my scallop shapes.

3.  Cut more scalloped circles, slightly smaller than the first cardstock ones.  Ink edges with brown chalk ink if desired. 

4.  Adhere the smaller circle to the center of the larger circle with 3-D foam adhesive.  (that stuff is like my scrapping crack! haha)

5.  Add embellishments: 
    a.  paper die-cut stars or flowers to tree tops with jewels in center and
    b.  vinyl cut letter stickers to centers of trees to spell desired phrase/word.

6.  Punch 1/4" hole on right and left sides of finished piece and thread together onto a large-width satin ribbon.  Feed ribbon down into the hole from the top of the piece, then across the back behind the scallop, and then up through the other hole from back to front again; repeat.  Fluff and shape ribbon between each circle to keep it pretty and straight (it has a tendency to twist if not tweaked).

7.  Leave 12"-18" of ribbon on each end of the banner.  Cut a "v" shape in the ends of the ribbon to prevent fraying.

8.  Hang in one large swag (if making a shorter banner), or connect once in center (as I did when hanging mine) if banner is longer.

9.  Enjoy!  :)

xoxo
tia

P.S.--Come leave a comment and share a link for my readers (and me!) if you make one, or even if you make some other kind of Christmas banner; I'd love to see them!  I'm totally in love with banners!  :0)

globes

the genius ms erica hernandez did a really cool ornament project at two peas a bit ago, and in her samples, showed a humongous sized ornament variation....that i ADORE!

my friend amy and i are making a bunch of them to use for decorating some christmas parties we are in charge of this season, and i am so excited about how they are turning out! 

each one measures about 16 to 18 inches across.

we plan to suspend them from the ceiling as floating centerpieces at large round tables.
i can't wait to see how it all turns out!

anyway, i had them piled in my entryway and just happened to pass through with my
camera out, so i snagged a quick picture of them.  i ended up totally loving the shot!

tokens + jewelry

hooray!!!!!!!!!
it's finally here!!!!!!!!

i am so happy to share with everyone a project i spent many, many hours on this past summer.  i had the opportunity to design some jewelry for Blue Moon Beads for a line called "Tokens", sold exclusively at Michaels Craft Stores.  The line is brand new this month, and it looks like both websites haven't been updated to include the collections yet, but i have snapped a few photos of some of the charm pendants i made to share with you!  they are still in their packaging, my apologies, but i will share more photos again when i have jewelry creations finished to model!

the idea behind 'tokens' is the notion that you want a little token of something to remind you of special memories, be they people, places, hobbies, or things.  and that's what 'tokens' supplies!  there are a plethora of charm pendant pieces and just loads of really cute, trendy, fun charms from a huge variety of subjects to add to them.  there are also matching findings and such included with the collection to help you create a quick and easy jewelry piece on the spot.

i was at my local Michaels last night, and they are actually having a HUGE sale on beads and beading supplies right now, so now would be the perfect time to go!  i was both excited and sad to see that the majority of the Tokens collection i really wanted extra pieces of was sold out at my local store, so i am hoping they get more stock in soon so i can pick up a few more things!  :)

if you happen to pick up some of these and make a creation or two, send me an emailed photo and i will put your piece on my blog!  :)

noche de paz

whenever i hear the tune of 'silent night' during the holidays, the words in my head are in spanish first.  i don't know why; it's not something i do regularly with anything else.  for some reason, the song 'noche de paz' is just like that for me.  :)

i've created some religious themed digital kits for sale at two peas using this theme.

my favorite card is the one to the center-right; it simply says:

"How silently the wondrous gift is giv'n"

from, of course, the christmas carol 'o little town of bethlehem'.  i don't think that phrase
has ever jumped out at me like it has this year.  it is one of those thoughts that is so
profoundly simple; the kind that makes you really think about what things in your own
life have been given so silently.  without pomp and circumstance, without fanfare, void
of any kind of heraldry.....but all the while, oh, so very much more important than most
all else.

i'm also having fun with this one...another version of some cards for cozy christmas.

has your christmas been cozy so far?
here's to a very cozy christmas.
:)
xoxo

the undiscovered nativity

today i will share with you
a lesser known chapter in the nativity story,
one of the undiscovered, unsung allegories
that takes place during the advent of the holidays.

this piece takes place in my backyard,
in the present day.

and it came to pass that there were
golden retrievers in the backyards,
grazing in the fields,
keeping watch over their digestion
by daylight.

and lo,
the mother of the household came unto them
and said,
stop that.
and they did harken not.