Introducing Happy Day

We would like to introduce Happy Day. Birthday cakes, candles and party hats too! Patterned papers feature varnish and glitter accents. This collection offers inspiration for parents and kids to make their party extra special. Perfect for creating decorations, birthday party invitations and thank you notes.


HINT: Check back tomorrow to meet Jocelyn's friend.

Introducing Jocelyn

The time has finally arrived! We would like to introduce Jocelyn. She is trendy, glittery and bright, with colors like pink riot, aqua shock and chocolate fix. What would be better for a gal than to create personalized layouts or artwork for her bedroom and locker?


HINT: Check back tomorrow for a Happy Day.

Write Your Goals

Last year Dotty gave us some tips on setting goals. So here are few reminders:
1. Write it down.
2. Pick only a few.
3. Look at them often.

I am going to add:
4. Be specific.
5. Keep track.

I made this book to help me keep track of my goals this year. I chose to use papers, ribbons & epoxy stickers from the En Route collection as a reminder that life is a journey and goals keep us heading in the right direction. I am going to write each goal on the front, then use the inside to track my progress. Do you have any tips or goal ideas to share?

-Maria

P.S. Don't worry we will start the sneak peeks TOMORROW!

Happy Holidays!

photo from this blog

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! We hope you are enjoying this holiday season with friends & family. We want to thank you for all of your support. As our Christmas gift and to show our thanks, we want you to be among the first to preview our new collections. Please check back next week to see them!

3rd Thursday - Juliette

Club SEI's January kit will feature Juliette. This collection has soft, romantic colors and versatile patterns. The papers are treated with glitter, pearl, and pink pearl. Click here to see what club members can make with this kit. If you aren't a club member, you can still sign-up and receive this kit until Monday, December 28th.



These coupons were made using the click-n-prints from January's club kit available to club members only. Happy 3rd Thursday!

Nearly Ready

Well it's past midnight so I guess officially it's Christmas Day - Merry Merry Christmas everyone! I'm fluffing around doing last minute chores for tomorrow's festivities and waiting to play Santa Claus. I've been trying to keep the Gingerbread Houses from going stale, and I even cleaned the oven - not sure why exactly. After being very relaxed about the whole thing I've developed an eleventh hour conscience and realised I should do some preparations.

I've even started to set the table - this year our placemats are old Christmas record covers and I even recognise a few from my childhood.


I think I'll try filling the stockings now - have a great day everyone.

Wine Holder

This wine holder was sent to us by Memories from the Heart. We love how it shows what can be done with a little creative thinking. Look around for simple packaging that can be dressed up with pretty paper, ribbons, & tags. One of our favorite things about this wine holder is when you open it up you are greeted with a holiday scene from our Christmas Mint paper collection.

Hmmm Yum.

WHAM RAP!

We had dinner with some friends tonight and, of course, it involved dancing! There's no better way of fitting in extra dessert than daggy dancing around the backyard. One of the tunes was Last Christmas by Wham! which made me ask if they had Wham Rap. They couldn't remember it - can you believe it - so here it is for their education and your enjoyment.

Giveaway Winner

Thank you for all your comments on Amy's blog posts. We are going to have to agree with them. The Mod Podge banner is amazing and those pugs are pretty silly! The giveaway winner as selected by random.org is:


Congratulations Tina! Now all you need to do is send your mailing address to us at seiblog(at)shopsei(dot)com to claim your WinterSong goodies.

Worse than Jean Shopping...

I have set aside today to buy myself new bathers - I have put it off numerous times but as we leave for the beach in a couple of days I can procrastinate no longer. Wish me luck.

Jeans Watch

Reece Witherspoon is right up there with Jen Aniston when it comes to knowing how to rock a pair of jeans.

Snow Banner + Giveaway

By this time you are probably thinking that I was completely going to skip over Mod Podge – but no way! Mod Podge got me where I am today, so for my final post I bring you a banner made with Mod Podge. This banner is in honor of winter and to celebrate my week here at SEI.

This banner is simple to make, really. I simply painted wood banner pieces (from a local craft store) with red acrylic paint and then dry brushed them with silver. I cut out letters in my own funky handwriting and Mod Podged them to the banner pieces – 20 minutes later I coated the whole banner with Podge. After all was dry, I used this tutorial from Mod Podge Rocks! reader Theresa to make flower embellishments with brads. Glue those on with craft glue, string onto a ribbon and you are good to go!

Thank you so much for having me this week. Have a wonderful holiday season and please enjoy your winter celebrations. For inspiration and to visit me, swing by Mod Podge Rocks! any time. I post a new Mod Podge project nearly every day. Thanks again and I can’t wait to see you soon!

Thank you for a fun week, Amy! We can tell that you are such a fun gal and really love to make all kinds of creative projects.

Readers, which post was your favorite this week? Leave a comment answering this question and you will be entered into a giveaway to win some of the WinterSong products Amy used throughout the week. Just leave your comment by Sunday December 20th at midnight and we will announce the winner Monday. Be sure to check back next week to see if you are the winner because if we don't hear from the winner by December 28th we will pick a new winner!

Winter Birthdays

I just love receiving cards, a very important part of having a winter birthday! We winter birthday babies need to know that in the midst of Christmas, Hanukkah and other holidays that you didn’t forget about us. We like to have our special days. I dedicate the card above to my Grandmother Beverly, my mom’s mom. She was the only other winter birthday in the family, and she died of colon cancer at age 57. I always remember her birthday on that day (January 8th), and I will forever.

One of the best birthdays I ever had was a photo shoot with my best friend, Cody. We bought 80’s sweaters from the thrift store and dressed up, taking photos up and down the street in front of our apartment. It was silly, it was fun and it was something I’ll never forget. Lesson? Don’t forget to document those fun and silly times – they WILL inspire you later. Here’s a few photos from that shoot, and in typical Seattle fashion – no snow.

Loving This!!

I Can Has Snow?

Winter celebrations are perfect for scrapbooking! Or should I say, scrapbooking is perfect for winter celebrations? I’m known amongst my friends for doing photos of my dogs to commemorate those “special times.” Cute outfits are a must! I love the anticipation from friends and family as they wait to receive the e-mail with my most recent picture. The reactions are awesome, and I always look forward to the next one – although I can’t say the same for my pooches! Check out some of my favorites:




Back to the scrapbooking page. Keep in mind that although you can’t see it, I have painted the snowflakes running down the right side (punched with my Martha Stewart snowflake punch) with Silver Glitter Mod Podge. It adds the perfect glimmery touch.

One last note – the “I Can Has Snow?” saying is a spin off of my favorite animal blog, I Can Has Cheezburger. If you haven’t been there, go and be prepared to laugh your socks off. Animals in funny positions with captions . . . it doesn’t get much better.

Gift Ideas

Remember I said I was going to focus on winter celebrations, like birthdays? That’s what I’m doing the whole week, and I’m going to be using SEI’s awesome WinterSong for my projects. For my first, I bring you a gift box. Lately I’ve really enjoyed putting together the packages I give gifts in almost as much as giving the gifts! After the holidays, there is a tendency to have about 15,000 metal tins lying around that housed nuts and delicious peppermint bark. Don’t give them away – reuse them!

Speaking of gifts, I’d like to share with you a gift guide I put together. If you are a weirdo who likes blue, you may like all of these. If you are a blogger, making a gift guide is a great idea for your readers – I personally love gift guides! If you are neither a weirdo who likes blue nor a blogger, putting together a gift guide is still purposeful. You may find your next cool craft idea!

Clockwise: Home Sweet Gnome t-shirt from Mod Cloth, $24.99

Japanese Chapeau Animal Mug from Fred Flare, $26

Block Clock by George Nelson from All Modern, $335

Gap Rugby Striped Sweater, $54.50

Red Heart Pomp-a-Doodle Yarn, $4.99 per skein

Mochimochiland Elves in Snow Cross-Stitch Pattern, $5

Just Hello Kitty Necklace from Zales, $150

Urban Outfitters Velvet Poof Pillow, $28 (and it’s not blue!)

Inspiration, if you please.

There are so many things I am inspired by in my life, and I don’t just mean creatively. Life is busy; I know it is for you too – I frequently forget to give thanks to the “little things” that keep me going. Those things that I can fall back on when I’m exhausted and feel zapped of inspiration. The things that recharge me.

I worked at a construction company for a few months long ago (one of my many interesting jobs), and the woman who did the accounting was a friend of my family. Christie and I used to do this exercise first thing in the morning – we would write down five things we were thankful for. It was a great way to start the day, a great way to get re-inspired if you need it. Here are my five.

1. My dogs.



These two crazy weirdos, also known as pugs, run my apartment (which I call Mod Podge Command Central). If they could, they would put me in a maid outfit and make me serve them food constantly. I’ve never met two living creatures who were more food motivated – or more loving. Their snuggle snorts might be loud to some, but they are joy to me. Thanks Roxie and Nellie.

2. Bold colors and patterns.


I like loud clothes – there’s really no other way to say it. If it’s bright and especially if it’s blue, then I want it. If you aren’t really a loud person, I totally understand. But every once awhile, try a bold striped pair of socks under those jeans with your tennis shoes. It’s kind of fun and liberating.

3. Other creative people.


First, I have to thank the Mod Podge Rocks! readers for all of their support – for, over the last year, helping my baby blog grow into what it has today. I get inspired every day by you, so thank you. Secondly, I am thankful for creative people in general, specially those people who think of things that I don’t. To capture those things I see, those ideas that stretch my imagination, I keep an inspiration book. If I see something I like (for instance, the picture above), I cut it out and paste it into the book. I also past in patterns, color chips, words . . . anything else that motivates me. When I’m short of ideas, I flip through. If you don’t have a book like this, get one today! They are fun to put together and can get the creative juices flowing in a pinch.

4. Buttons.


It sounds weird, but they are honestly what started me on this crazy, crafty ride. I played for hours with my great-grandmother’s button collection when I was young. I don’t think it’s possible for a kid to have more fun – sorting by color, by size. I really believe it’s made me the creative person that I am today.

5. Winter birthdays.


I am a January baby, born at 6:18 p.m. in Bellevue, Washington just outside of Seattle (see little me above). My mom always had a funny tradition when my four brothers and I were young – it wasn’t officially our birthdays until the time that we were born hit on the clock. We would have so much fun checking the clock. . . “Is it time yet Mom?” Luckily none of us were born in the middle of the night, right? I’m so excited about my upcoming winter birthday that I’ve actually devoted all of the projects I’ve done for SEI to winter celebrations. Keep reading over the next few days to see what I’ve got cooked up.

No More Kinder - EVER

It's been a busy couple of days for Moondoggie - life's a whirlwind when you're 5.

Rumballs to make for the teachers,

School Concert to support his sister,

Gymnastics presentation and performance,

Christmas shopping for elusive lego for Dad,

Christmas Party,

and today he had is LAST EVER day of Kinder!

No longer is he a 'kinder kid', now he's a 'school boy'.

CONGRATULATIONS MOONDOGGIE

We love you to infinity and beyond.

I Went To See Keith Urban Last Night

I gave myself the best Christmas present ever, and spent the evening with Keith Urban - unfortunately there were a few other people there as well but he and I knew who he was singing to!

He came and sang at the end of our row of seats and once I had recovered from the shock of being 8 foot away from him I snapped a couple of pics. (hands were shaking so sorry about the quality).

This year two other friends joined me and we decided that it was, hands down, the best concert EVER!!!! Glad there were others there to confirm it this time. (see here for my review of the last concert)

Guest Blogger, Amy Anderson

This month we are thrilled to have Amy Anderson as our guest blogger. She is a very crafty gal with tons of great ideas to share. Her blog is full of creative projects so go take a peek at Mod Podge Rocks.

I’m honored to be featured here at SEI for December! Here’s what you should know about the girl behind the Podge:

My mom taught me to sew at a young age, perpetuating the creative gene. I’ve been knitting since I was 15 and decoupaging for only two years. I love making things!

I love polka dots and stripes and wear one or the other every single day.

I really enjoy talking to people and learning what motivates and inspires them. Meeting creative people is honestly my favorite part of running my blog.

Blue is my favorite color, and it makes me happy to wear it. My days are better in blue.

I love to write; it’s how I express myself (besides crafting) and I find it to be therapeutic.

I come from a bigger family. I’m the oldest and have four younger brothers – and because of that I’m a bit of a tomboy. I love fast cars and action movies!

I’m known amongst friends for a large sock and shoe collection in wild colors. Move over Imelda. . .

On the 12th Day...

On the 12th Day of Christmas SEI gave to you 12 scrapbook layouts & calendar pages. Don't forget to take lot's of pictures this Christmas and throughout the year! If you are like me, it is hard to keep up on your scrapbooking. So, just take it one page at a time.

To encourage you, we would like to challenge you to scrapbook 1 page each month in 2010. To help you accomplish this, each month (on or before the 12th) we will post a FREE monthly calendar download and a single-page scrapbook layout. Simply create the layout, print off the calendar page & slip them into a sheet protector. Then you will have a calendar to display with your own photos. Plus, next December you will have twelve great layouts completed to represent the year!





To make it even easier for you, we will have all the items you need to create the layout listed with a link to the items on our website. Now that you have a plan to stay caught-up, all you need to do is check the blog each month & take lot's of pictures!

January 2010:
WinterSong assortment pack
WinterSong ribbons
WinterSong chiplets

We hope you had as much fun with the 12 Days of Christmas as we had creating the projects. Don't worry, the fun doesn't end now. Check back tomorrow to see who is this month's guest blogger. Next week will be another special week for the blog!