MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

Amy Tan & Studio Calico Online Class:: Giveaway

Hi there friends! I have a fabulous giveaway for you today! I have been super absent here on the blog so this is a great way to kickstart my return!! I promise I will be back here regularly from now on!!

Are you ready to jumpstart the way you look at supplies?  Tired of letting your kits pile up month after month without touching them?  Ready to pull out the tools you have on hand and put them to use? Amy Tan is here to help show you how to see the Studio Calico Main kits in new ways and get those supplies onto your pages.  She’s ready to share tips and tricks on making your kit supplies stretch to create beautiful page after page.

Known for her playful and innovative pages, Amy is the perfect teacher to help you stretch your kits.  She’ll walk you through ideas for breaking open those brown paper bags and seeing your kits in a fun new way.  Amy and Studio Calico kits... what a great combination!

Amy is joined by creative powerhouses Kelly Goree, Celine Navarro, and Jen Jockisch who will all share inspiration for using ONLY the Studio Calico Main kit.  You’ll see their process for getting started on a layout, selecting which supplies to pull from the kits, and tips for using their favorite tools and techniques.


                        START DATE: FEBRUARY 1, 2012                              

PRICE: $30.00

You can find out more information and register at Studio Calico right here.

TO ENTER: Please post here in the comments and tell me something you are interested in seeing here on my blog.... I'm gearing up for lots of posts in 2012 and I'd love to hear what you want to see. Whether it is photography, home decor, scrapbooking stuff, family posts.... anything and everything. Let me know and I'll get working on it!! I'll be back to draw a winner at random in a few days!

December Daily Photography Workshop

Here it is.... my newest online photography class that I have been soooo excited to launch! 

This one works differently than my other 2 photography workshops. The class is an email based workshop in which you will receive 1 email per day for every day in December. The class is inspired by Ali Edwards' wildly popular December Daily Album concept in which you create an album that includes photos/thoughts/memories/memorabilia/etc for each day in December.

In case you aren't familiar with this you can find a lot more information about the December Daily Album concept on Ali Edwards' site.

The only glitch I have ever run into with my December Daily albums is keeping up with them and staying on track in order to finish and complete the whole album. For me it is a super crazy busy month and I am sure it is for most of you too. So, it is easy to forget about it or get stuck and not know what to take pictures of, what to document, etc and then we give up.

My photography workshop is designed to help you stay on track with your album and it also takes the guesswork and confusion out of the equation when it comes to taking your photographs. The daily emails will be a great reminder to take your photos and you will also be inspired with examples and ideas. This will keep you from falling behind and then being stressed about not having photos for some of the days.

:::Here are a few more details, and answers to questions about the class:::

If you struggle for ideas and creativity when it comes to taking the photos each day for your December Daily Album, this class is for you.

If you struggle with not knowing how best to capture the details, like the twinkling Christmas lights at night, close ups of decorations, etc, then this class is for you.

If you are looking for easy and applicable tips and tricks on how to improve your everyday photography, this class is for you.

There is no certain camera required for this class, although I will give technical information on settings when it is applicable. You can take this class no matter what type of camera you will be using to take your photos. In fact I will be using a mixture of cameras including my digital SLR, point and shoot, instax cameras and Iphone. My photos, ideas, inspiration, tips and tricks will be varied amongst all of them.

You don't have to be doing a December Daily Album to take this photography workshop. Anyone can join in. You can simply come along for the inspiration and ideas and use them in your own creative way. You could also take my class and simply create an album that is only photos using the ones you take each day with me. Whether you create a detailed Dec Daily Album or something super simple, the things you learn will apply!

Not all of the emails will be Christmas focused. The December Daily Album concept is about documenting your life each day in December, not just documenting the Holidays. My class offers a nice balance between Holiday related photography and non-Holiday related photography.

If you have any other questions, let me know! Registration is open now and class starts December 1st!! 

Way too long...

Seriously a month? I can't stand that I haven't blogged in such a long time! But instead of beating myself up over it I am trying to remember that this seems to happen each year around this time. Not only am I busy doing my normal things - being a mom, wife, studio calico, my online photography classes, etc - but it is the craziest time of year for my photography business. Every year I try to gear up for it and think I am going to stay on top of it all but it seems like something has to give and it ends up being the blog. :)

I do keep up with posting on instagram, twitter and facebook so if you don't follow me and want to keep up with the little day-to-day things that are going on around here you can find me and follow me by clicking on the links or by looking me up on instagram under maggiehdesign.

I have lots of exciting things to share with you today!!

1. Elizabeth is almost 6 months old! Hello! Where does the time go? She is an absolute joy and is the happiest baby on earth! She is rolling around now and her first little tooth just poked through as well!

2. I was featured as the guest designer for Crate Paper this week! You can see the post along with my layouts here on their blog! I'm not sure why my layouts look all pixelated over there though :( They don't look that crazy in real life!

3. Did you see the 2012 Creating Keepsakes Dream Team announcement yet? I will be back for another year and couldn't be more excited about it! 

4. I will be launching some new online workshops at Maggie Holmes Design very soon and can't wait to share the details with you!! I will still be offering my current photography classes which start back up again in January 2012 so no worries, those are not going away! In fact, the first one is almost full so if you are thinking of signing up, do it quick! It might be time to snag yourself an early Christmas present!! :)

And just to tease you I will give you a little hint about one of the new classes - It has to do with documenting December......... any ideas?? Stay tuned! I will be back to announce it soon and link you up to the registration page!

 

 

Colorful Kisses....

Heading back up to Utah for SPARK this weekend! I will be demoing and selling the latest Studio Calico products including the mists, masks and stamp sets!! I hope to see you there!!

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In case you missed it, my NEW WEBSITE is now live!! Please go there to purchase my PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS (for the most current versions) and to register for my ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY CLASSES! We are in the middle of my last class for 2011 but I have some 2012 classes open for registration already and people are signing up!! It's the perfect thing to put on your Christmas wishlist.... just make sure to give your list to your hubby or mom or best friend early so you get signed up before it fills up!

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It rained a lot and even SNOWED when I was up in Utah with my kiddos for fall break! They sure loved making snow balls and playing in it but I was a little upset that it interfered with my plans for taking LOTS of pictures while we were there at all my favorite Utah locations! I had even scouted out some new ones that I wanted to try but it didn't happen so I guess it will have to wait! Boo!

On our way out of town..... literally...... we stopped really QUICK to take some last minute pictures. I haven't even looked through all of them but I just saw this one and had to open it and do a quick edit. I am in LOVE with the COLOR and the KISSES!! These two are like 2 peas in a pod -- very similar personalities!! When they are not driving me a wee bit crazy with their ENDLESS energy, they are making me smile and laugh and they most definitely always make me feel LOVED!

Hope you have a colorful weekend!! If you need some creative inspiration come see me at SPARK!!!

Studio Calico Kit Winner

The winner of the October Studio Calico Kit -  Field Guide is:

Natalie said...

Oh, I'd so love to get my hands on those SC exclusives! love the way you used this kit but then again I always love your baby layouts :)

October 14, 2011 at 12:10 PM

 

Congrats Natalie! Please email me asap with your address so we can send your kit to you!!

Thanks to everyone for entering and for your sweet comments and feedback on my layouts!!! You are the best!!!

Studio Calico Blog Hop and Giveaway!

We (the Studio Calico Design Team) are doing a blog hop and a giveaway that I think you will LOVE!!

This month, for the first time ever, we all did a layout using only the Main Kit Field Guide! Typically I throw everything together and mix it all up so it was a bit different for me but it was a fun challenge........ a challenge that wasn't actually a challenge at all because each kit is designed so that you can use it by itself and you really don't need anything else!!

Here is the kit.....

I already ranted and raved about the SC exclusives that are in this kit... the butterflies, the paper, the journaling die cuts, the stamps.... oh my!!

Here is my layout again that I did using only the main kit:

and a close up:

I journaled on one of the die cuts and then I misted on another one to use it as more of an accent piece.

What I love about the fact that we all created a layout using only this kit? It really shows how versatile these kits are!! It amazes me how many different layouts can come from the same set of products and how you can come up with lots of different things by simply using a little creativity in putting it all together!

The best part about this Blog Hop??? The GIVEAWAY! We are ALL giving away this kit!!! Yes, that is right, we are each giving away the October Main Kit - Field Guide!! To enter, you need to leave a comment here on this blog post and then I will be back on Monday to draw a winner at random.

You can (and SHOULD) go to the Studio Calico blog to hop/link to all of the other designer's blogs where you will be able to see their layouts that they did using ONLY the main kit and to enter their giveaways as well!! Yes, you can enter to win on all of our blogs which means you have lots of chances at winning! 

The fine print: you can only win once so if you win on more than one blog, we will choose another winner. The prize is the October Main Kit.... if you are already a subscriber or you already purchased this kit, then you will still win this kit. You will not be able to swap it out for a different kit. For me it would actually be a bonus to get this kit even if I already had it because I love the SC exclusives sooooo much and after the kit is gone, those products are gone too!

Good luck!!!!!!!

 

Studio Calico October Kit: Field Guide

I can't believe the Studio Calico October main kit isn't sold out yet!! I LOVE the exclusives so much this month - the chipboard butterflies, the arrow stamp and the papers! I die over the patterned papers that Studio Calico and Sassafras Lass partnered on! They are really so me, especially this one that I used for the background on the following page.....

Good Morning Sunshine:

This one uses the main kit only. See what I mean about this paper?? Don't you love it? I loved the alpha stickers but I also wanted more pink so I just used my trusty Mist to spray them and turn them pink! The color Piglet is in stock right now and it is definitely a favorite!!!

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This next one turned out to be one of my favorite layouts I have ever created! We decided to do a Pinterest challenge amongst the design team this month. What it meant was that we each chose something from the Studio Calico pinterest boards to use as inspiration for one of our layouts. I had such a hard time choosing because as we all know, pinterest is amazing and there is endless amounts of inspiration at your fingertips!

I finally settled on the image below my layout and pretty much created the same type of tree but with patterned papers, stickers and buttons etc! I think I will frame this one and hang it in my house for sure!!

Here is the link to the pin on our boards with link to the artist etc. The painting is by Liz Tran. Isn't it just beautiful?? LOVE! Thanks for the inspiration pinterest and Liz!

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Next up is a layout about Tyler getting contacts recently! This background is the patterned paper from the main kit! I loved it so much and didn't want to cover it all up so I kept this one pretty simple and used the actual design of the paper to guide the design and layout of the page.

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Last is this one that I went crazy with Mister Huey's mist on!! I misted on the background (another one of the exclusive Studio Calico papers from the main kit) with Piglet mist because I wanted it more pink than peach. Then I also misted the chipboard butterflies and the kraft envelope. The white mist is seriously amazing!! Such great coverage! Oh and I misted these alpha stickers as well... they were white and I wanted them blue so I used the Bonny Blue mist. I think that is one of my favorite things to do lately - use mist to make my alpha stickers customized to fit my layout!! So easy and works perfect to satisfy my cravings for particular colors!!

That's it my friends! If you haven't snatched up this kit already, I am completely enabling you! It is a good one and I typically use more of a consistent mix from all the kits but this month I found that I really kept going back to the main! 

New Website: Maggie Holmes Design

I have a NEW WEBSITE!!!

I have been working on this for what seems like forever and am so excited that I finally get to announce it!

Maggie Holmes Design

Along with the website redesign comes a new logo, new branding, new pricing for photo shoots, new photography galleries, new scrapbooking gallery, etc etc. 

I worked with a company called Moselle on this and they have done a fabulous job! I can't even begin to describe how awesome it was to work with people that were able to design what I was envisioning and what feels totally and completely "me."

I am beyond excited and hope you will head on over there to check it out!  

To celebrate I am also doing a giveaway today! One person will receive a spot in my next Photography 101 Online Workshop.... valued at $250.00!

To enter you will need to go to my new site, check it out and then come back here to tell me what you think! Also, you can enter more than once if you share the new site with others on your blog, facebook and/or twitter. After sharing it in one or more of those places you can come back here and enter again by telling me where you shared it! I will be back later this week to draw a winner at random!

Studio Calico Glee Club Kit Layouts!

Hi there! I wanted to share my layouts from the Studio Calico September Kits with you! 

I love the stamp from the main kit Glee Club!! It is adorable!! I used it on this layout:

I sprayed the Pink Paislee Mistables ribbon from the Home Ec Add On Kit with Mister Huey's in Bluegrass and Bonny Blue. Lots of American Crafts stuff on here too from the Debate Team Add On Kit. I especially LOVE the fabric chevron paper from Amy Tan's line!

This next one uses some of the Sassafras Foldies from the Pep Squad Add On Kit. They are super cute although I found myself cutting them all up and layering them with other flowers from the kits instead of actually folding them where indicated. :) I used lots of the American Crafts stuff on this one too! Love the Amy Tan fabric covered buttons from the Main Kit!

Last we have this one:

I sprayed the Mistables trim with Mister Huey's Piglet and then some Maya Road pinks. I think I used 3 or 4 and just layered them until I got the color I wanted.

Sorry I haven't gotten to the Q & A post yet.... I was at Creative Escape last weekend having way too much fun!!! I will keep compiling the questions to do a post soon!!

SC Kit Giveaway Winner & Some Sneaks!

The winner of the Boardwalk Kit from Studio Calico is:

Amy P. said...

Love your layouts!!
Would love to win the Kit!!!
It looks awesome!! Been thinking about subscribing to SC, would love to win so I can see what all the excitment is about!! :)

ReplyAugust 18, 2011 at 07:50 PM

 

Congrats Amy!! Email me with your address to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone that entered!! I always enjoy reading your comments and appreciate all of the kind feedback and sweet notes!! I have the BEST readers!!! :)

I just finished up creating my layouts with the September kits!! So many things that I loved!! The stamps are super fun this month too!!! Yay!!

Here are some sneaks just to get you thinking!! I pretty much mixed all of the kits together as usual!!

Also, I am heading to Creative Escape tomorrow! I hope you are coming!!! I have a display booth at the Bazaar that will take place tomorrow so I hope to see you there! I have been a busy bee creating and printing a bunch of things..... all with my NEW branding!!! I can't wait to debut all of it and it also coincides with the launch of something new and fun that I have been working on forever!!!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for all of the details!!!! I'm giddy with excitement!!!