Friday, August 29, 2014

Our First Amazing Doodlebug Design Team Retreat - The Condensed Version.

Hi Doodlebug Friends!  It's Wendy Sue here with you and today I have a post that's a little out of the norm. I am not sharing a project...instead, I'm going to share a little recap of the amazing weekend-long design team retreat we had at Doodlebug Headquarters last weekend!  I hope you'll come along and enjoy the journey as I relive it through photographs...after all, we know that photographs and stories are some of the things we love most!  Grab a snack and come along with me...all the way to Salt Lake City, Utah!

Several of our design team members were able to coordinate schedules and get away for our design team retreat.  We all met up at Doodlebug HQ on Friday afternoon...some of us already knew each other, but many of us were meeting for the first time.  It was so fun to meet the girls we've been getting to know over the last several months, but we sure missed the gals who weren't able to join us.

From the moment we walked in the front door, we felt so welcome!



The design room was just down the hall, and just look at how fun it is!!


As you can imagine, we were all pretty much in colorful Doodlebug heaven!


We were completely spoiled.



We spent a little while "meeting and greeting" and then we headed out for some fun shopping at Gardner Village - a quaint little shopping center full of retail specialty shops which are located in restored cabins, houses, and buildings nestled adjacent to an old Mill that was original to the property. 


If you're ever in Utah, you should definitely stop by...and take your credit card and an empty car trunk (or a moving van), because it's loaded with fun shops, stores, and products you're going to love!


After we got our fill of shopping, Cynthea treated us to a delicious dinner out at Behihana!  Yum!  A couple of us were even treated to birthday candles in our ice cream and a happy birthday song from our friends...which really makes getting a year older seem not-so-bad! ;)


After our late dinner, we returned to Doodlebug HQ where we spent the rest of the night getting ready to share our projects the next day, being silly, and having fun!  Here's a peek at just a little corner of our sleeping quarters, before all of the air mattresses were blown up - what a site that was - I wish someone had taken a picture of that! ;)


We woke up bright and early the next morning, Saturday, and started preparing for the day.  I bet you didn't even imagine that the towels supplied to us came in Doodlebug colors!!  How awesome is that?!?


 We were treated to a delicious breakfast before heading down to the design room to get creative!


This is when the creative wheels started turning and we all got into our groove - the energy in the room was almost palpable.  It. Was. Awesome!  Of course, we all took plenty of photos, told lots of stories, and had loads of laughs all day long.


Does it seem like we did a lot of eating at our retreat?  Yeah, we did.  But seriously, when food is this cute (and equally delicious), it's IMPOSSIBLE to resist!  Yummy sandwiches and Italian Sodas for lunch:


And incredible snack centers all throughout the day:



Oh, did I mention the all-night-long Chocolate Fountain?!?  Three words - chocolate cinnamon bears. mmmm.



We spent the entire day working on fun projects!  Each of the "local" gals put together a project for the entire team to work on.  And some of us squeezed in a few of our own projects too.  Here's a look at the fun project Tonya designed for us:

First, we created these darling home decor wood projects from our friends at The Wood Connection. We loved how different everyone's turned out!! Can you guess who each set belongs to?


Here we are...how did you do?


Cynthea made the sweetest little Christmas Shadow box:



We each got to make our own to take home:


Lori taught us how to make our own custom pillows...and she held our hands all the way through - especially those of us who don't normally sew on fabric! ;)


You knew this was coming, right?  What's a sleepover without a pillow fight?!?


Tya and I put together some fun little paper projects for everyone to work on...but you only get a little sneak peek of them, because they are coming to the blog with all of the details very soon - keep an eye out!!


And the perfect finale to our amazing weekend?  An absolutely incredible brunch, catered (and prepared on-site) by the amazing Chef Andrew from Bubble & Brown Bakery!  Seriously...it was SOOO good!
And then it was time for all of us to head home...back to our families and "real life" but with loads of memories, fun projects, and rejuvenated creativity!  Thanks so much to Cynthea and her amazing team for putting together such an amazing weekend for all of us!!  I, for one, have been inspired to really make the little details count, and I want to add a little bit of that fun doodlebug spirit to my life every single day!  

Happy Doodlebugging to all!!





Thursday, August 28, 2014

Inspired by Project: Washi Tape & Stitching by Kathy

Hi Everyone...it's Kathy today with my "Inspired by" project.  The ladies of the Doodlebug DT were asked to find a project done by a past or present Doodlebug DT member and to create a project inspired by it.  Honestly this was a tough task...there have been so many inspiring projects!  After pouring through my Doodlebug pins I found a beautiful layout by current DT member Melinda Spinks.  It truly is one of my all time favorite layouts!  First, here is my "inspired" layout   ( I LOVE this quote from the book Mathilda by Roald Dahl! ) And here is Melinda's Original....just lovely!!!!  
I love the Lily White background and the use of washi for color,  along with the black and white photo on Melinda's layout . And I must say the stitching on the Washi Tape is inspired!  I chose to use all of these elements on my layout.  Below is my stitching on the Swiss Dot Washi using some white Doodle Twine.

In place of Melinda's flower brads, I created some flowers using Doodlebug Sequins and some White Sprinkles.
That's it for me ...be sure to check back and see what the other DT members have created.  I'm sure you will be doubly inspired!  Thanks for stopping by today!


Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Inspired by Projects: From Cards to Canvas

Cards with Burlap Embellishments

Every time I turn on the computer, I am constantly inspired by the scrappy creations of others.  Waaaay back last September, Doodlebug DT member Melinda Spinks created a trio of CAS cards with burlap accents.  I feel in love with them the minute I saw them!  Inspired by her creations, I created a trio of cards using bits of burlap from my stash.  

As I sorted through my odds and ends in preparing to make these cards, I found a few fun shades of burlap.  I paired the burlap with my favorite Doodlebug stickers to create a trio of CAS cards with burlap accents. 


I used my favorite cupcake Doodle Pop sticker to create a pretty little birthday card.  I sandwiched a piece of burlap between two pieces of patterned paper and placed the sticker on top.  This is a super quick and easy way to create a focal point for a card.  


Because I used a white sentiment on a white card, I placed a few coordinating rhinestones near the sentiment so it wouldn't be missed. 


Although typically brown or ivory, burlap comes in several bright colors.  I paired this happy hedgehog with a scrap of red burlap that I found with my ribbon scraps. 


And just for fun, here is a really big picture of that cute little hedgehog.   


Doodlebug trees are some of my favorite icons.  I paired this green tree with an earthy piece of burlap to create a clean and simple hi card. 


Like Melinda's cards, I stuck with white on white sentiments.  While it doesn't come across quite as crisp in the photograph, the big hi sentiment looks lovely in person. 

Who inspires you?  

Supplies: Doodlebug Kraft in Color collection, Happy Harvest collection, Flower Box collection, Sweetheart collection

Grateful For You Canvasby Sharm Nidyanandan

Fall is just around the corner and with that, comes Thanksgiving! This year has been one with more downs than ups..from my father's health to many more unforeseen circumstances. But, all these have left me with so much to be thankful for. My father is on the road to recovery and the other matters have pretty much settled...all with God's grace, leaving me with lots of things to be thankful and grateful for.

Layout by Jodi Wilton
So, in celebration of Thanksgiving, here's a little something I made as a deco piece for my home. A little altered canvas inspired by the very talented Jodi Wilton's Autumn Princess layout.

Without further ado, here's my canvas :)



Some closeups 






Materials Used:



Monday, August 25, 2014

Inspired by Project: Pirate Buddies Layout


Hello Doodlebug friends! We are sharing our scraplifted projects this week. I chose one of my scrapbook buddies who I find inspiration from on a daily basis and her name......Monique Liedtke! 


The layout that I chose of hers to scraplift is one from last year's Home For The Holidays collection called Snow Fun. Her title work is what really caught my eye! I loved everything from the big title with a smaller title inside to the twirly twine stapled on! Pure perfection! Here is her layout: 


And here is my layout called Pirate Buddies. I followed her title work pretty closely but I did add another section of arrows to the right side of my title and left off the banner part of the title. 


Here is a close up shot of how I recreated Monique's title.....




Thanks for joining us today! If you are looking for some more inspiration from past and present Doodlebug DT work, just check out the Doodlebug Pinterest page! You'll spend hours delving into all of the wonderful projects created from the Doodlebug girls!!

Friday, August 22, 2014

Inspired by Rainbow Layout by Jodi Wilton

Hi everyone! Jodi here today to share with you a fun layout inspired by our very own design team member Melinda Spinks.  I marvel at her work! I have always loved her unique style and last year when she posted her layout,  Make Life a Big Adventure. I couldn't wait to try it out. Here is the layout I created and the layout following in the Melinda's:



And here is Melinda's layout:


I loved how she kept the colors in four spots in the circle, and to make this technique work for me I decided to go for a square and then use the colors in the photo to blend it all together.



I used a variety of embellishments: Stickers, Sprinkles, Buttons, Twine, Washi Tape from a variety of Collection New & Old!  That is my most favorite thing about Doodlebug... the colors of old and new collections can always be combined for something unique, fun and fresh!


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