We're back from CHA....Trend Report 2015

Good Morning Friends!!!
Miss Tracy and Kristyn here...

We just returned from the Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show in Anaheim, CA. We were hoping for sunny days but we were met with rain instead...so our first purchase of the show was Hotel Gift Shop Umbrellas...LoL! 

We had sooo much fun checking out all the new goodies that will be available over the next few months. Miss T placed oodles of orders for the upcoming year and we came back SO inspired!!! We will be posting more in the following days about our Favorite Finds but for today...We want you to know what's Trending in our Creative Industry...Here are some Big Trends we saw for 2015! 

-Big Trends 2015-

"Go for the Gold"
Gold is bigger than ever before... you will see gold accents on just about everything in 2015. Metallics in general are HOT this year...but GOLD seems to be the front runner...

"Clearly Awesome"
This year you will see Clear Acetate, Acrylic, even Vellum is making a come back!

  

"Do it Yourself - Projects"
Fabulous trendy products for the DIY and the Pinterest Inspired Crafter...Miss T loves this trend!!!!

"Party Hardy"
Along with DIY, Companies are creating products perfect for every type of fun party you will be hosting or celebrating this year! Dies, Stamps, Papers, and so much more all geared towards DIY Party!!!

"Watercolor World"
WaterColor is huge this year!!! It's springing up in lots of paper collections and DIY surfaces-- plus Lots of art supplies to create your own watercolor techniques in your Mixed Media projects.

"To DIE For..."

Stamps with coordinating dies are still a BIG focus and you will love the versatility of some being released in 2015!! ...and wait till you see the dies for Flowers this Spring!!! 

"SCRAP-HAPPY"

 Scrapbooking is still going strong...bright, fun colors and samples! Styles seem to be trending to a less dimensional look...saw lots of samples with mini embellies all layered up to make a Scraptastic statement! ...and we loved the new Fuse Tool!
(more on that in a future post)

Pocket Pages continue to be a huge trend as well as loads of Insta-FUN minibooks ... 

We could go on and on...
 (but there's lots of work to be done)

We'll be posting more recaps on our TOP PICKS later this week...so stay connected. Follow/Subscribe to the LBH blog so you don't miss out on the FUN!!! 

 New Products will be arriving Soon... We appreciate your support of SMALL BUSINESS. Thank you and we hope you continue to SHOP BLUE!!!!!!

Keep Creating,

Miss Tracy & Kristyn

LBH Designer Spotlight

Good Morning!
Today begins the first of many Designer Spotlight posts! We want our viewers to get to know each of the designers and educators at the Little Blue House! So over the next couple of weeks we will be posting a Designer Spotlight on each member of our fabulous team! Today the Spotlight is on the dynamic duo team of Cat and Nat (Cathy Grigsby and Natalie Sheeran)....Together, they are the Blue Crew! They are members of our new LBH Media Team and will be designing for our Front Porch Kit this year. Read on and get to know them!
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Meet Nat & Cat...the Blue Crew:

Hey readers!  Cat and Nat here We are The Blue Crew.  Our blog started as self-proclaimed #1 fans of our local scrapbook store, The Little Blue House.  You see, the LBH holds a special place in our creative hearts as that’s where we (Cat and Nat) met, at a Page Builder class.  We’ve been inseparable since.  Most people that meet us think we’ve been friends for years and years……..even sisters.

Designed by Cat

When we started the blog, we used it as means to keep our followers (mostly LBH customers and fans) up to speed on LBH happenings as well as share some of our creative ideas (and blunders). This year, we are taking a new approach.  We are still The Little Blue Houses #1 fans, and as members of the new LBH Media Team, we will still be able to let you know all the fun happenings going on at LBH. We hope our followers enjoy the changes we have coming up this year.  We are very excited to share it all with you!

In addition to the LBH Media Team, we are designers for the LBH Front Porch Kit and LBH Page Builder Bundles.  We’ve also been guest designers for Queen & Co. We hope in the coming months to host some workshops and/or classes at the Little Blue House.  We host make & takes during Miss Tracy Create-a-thons and have a BLAST in doing so.

Designed by Cat

We couldn’t be further from opposite.  Nat has a son, so she leans more towards the “boy” palette of colors. Cat has 2 nieces, so she leans more towards the “girl” colors.  Nat has more of a “freestyle” approach to creating. She will use a picture as inspiration and build a page haphazardly from that picture using lots of layers and clustering of papers and/or photos.  Cat is more of a methodical scrapbooker. She likes to plan her pages, cut her papers and place everything accordingly. Ironically, designing together has never been an issue. Our two different styles somehow play really well off one another. Cat is able to go with Nat’s “let’s just do this” approach while Cat offers that final seal of approval with her classic editing.

Designed by Nat

While our creative processes differ, our tastes in products don’t. It’s generally assumed that if Cat is buying something, Nat is buying the same. Some of our favorite brands are Fancy Pants Designs, Echo Park and Simple Stories.  Nat is more of a stamper, so she has a soft spot for Reverse Confetti, Avery Elle, Lawn Fawn and Paper Smooches. Nat is also a collector of ephemera. Cat can’t pass up a Fancy Pants collection kit and all the matching embellishments.  Cat also tends to buy a collection pack and then multiples of her favorite papers.  Cat has also never met a bling or epoxy dot she doesn’t love.

Products we can’t get enough of right now:

Anything metallic gold

Wink Of Stella

Designed by Nat

Products we can’t wait to get our hands on:

Queen & Co Headliners

WeR Fuse Tool

We are looking forward to an awesome 2015 and will work hard to keep you inspired this year!!!

Cat & Nat
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 I hope you have enjoyed this Designer Spotlight
and please check out the Blue Crew's Blog at 

www.lbhbluecrew.blogspot.com.  

Next up will be a Designer Spotlight on myself and Kristyn McElroy PLUS a great recap on our recent trip to CHA!!! 

Keep Creating,

Miss Tracy :)

Join us for Art Journaling next Tuesday!

 

The inner artist in you will love coming out to play at this fun monthly workshop!
Come explore the world of Art Journaling and you will enjoy learning lots of artsy techniques using all the latest and greatest lotions & potions! Come get messy and have fun playing with art! 

 

“MAKE IT PERSONAL -
ALTERING PHOTOS”

 

Art Journaling is all about you - your ideas, your images, your voice. Let’s take it even further this month by using a few photos of yourself, either current ones or ones as a child. I will show you several ways to alter photos and to integrate them into very personal, artsy journal pages.
We’ll collage and paint, color with Distress Inks and even make our own stencil.
Let’s start the new year off together making fun, messy and colorful ART!

 

 

Instructor: Susan Tidwell
When:  Tuesday Jan. 13th
 Time: 10am-1pm or 6pm-9pm $25 

Come get Artsy with us... Call or Come by to Reserve your Seat!
817-431-7930

 

 

For more Details & the "What to Bring" List visit our Website (HERE)---See you on Tuesday!!

 

Susan Tidwell



Meet the LBH Media Team!

Meet the LBH Media Team!

We are so excited to announce our new LBH Media Team members! These talented designers will be sharing their love for paper arts with you on the LBH blog in 2015!

Angie Barrs

Hello everyone! My name is Angi Barrs and I am so happy to be here. I am a busy mom and junior high school teacher. I have two daughters in college. We have so much fun traveling together. Our favorite travel spots are California and Hawaii. I started my blog, Cokie Pop Paper, after family and friends commented on how much they loved my party and gift creations. I enjoy making party favors, home décor, sharing gift ideas, and making Project Life scrapbook pages. I am so happy to design for Little Blue House.
I am also excited that they are based in Texas (my hometown)! Follow me at: http://cokiepopaper.blogspot.com

Nadine Carlier
 
Hello my name is Nadine; I have been scrapbooking for about 18 years now with 12 x 12 layouts and cards being my favorite things to create. Scrapping helps me keep my sanity! I would say my scrappy style would best be described as eclectic but I also love creating grungy pages too. A page just isn't complete to me without some kind of a mist or paint on it. I am so excited to be a part of The Little Blue House Media Team and am looking forward to hopefully inspiring you and also being inspired by you all.
Please come by and visit me on my blog:
 My Scrap'n'Stuff

Vicki Chrisman

My name is Vicki Chrisman. I live in Nebraska with my husband and two extremely spoiled dogs. We have two grown sons and a daughter in law. My other interests besides paper crafting are, photography, decorating gardening, canning, Flea Markets and repurposing Thrift Store finds. I am a lifelong crafter but have been active in the Craft Industry for the last 12 years, or so. I enjoy teaching and sharing my love of paper crafting with others. I also love working with new and different products, and trying new techniques. I am so excited to be a part of the talented LBH Team.
Follow me at: "This Art that Makes Me Happy" vickichrisman@blogspot.com 

 Susan Tidwell

 I am a mixed-media artist living in Ft. Worth with my husband. We have five grown children, two grandsons and two more on the way! I have been crafting all my life but discovered rubber stamping and paper arts over 15 years ago. This interest propelled me into mixed media and art journaling about 5 years ago. I love getting inky, painty and messy. I also love to recycle and reuse old things, giving them new life in my art.  I enjoy inspiring and teaching others and have taught paper arts classes for over 6 years - at The Little Blue House since we opened in 2010 and before that, at Anthologies, Create Joy and Recollections. I look forward to working with the new LBH Media Team!

   Follow me at:
http://susan-artfulmusings.blogspot.com/

  Lindsey Banner

Hi. I'm Lindsey. A creative kinda gal who loves vintage ephemera, postcards and rubber stamps. Mixed media collage and snail mail make me swoon. An admirer of typography old and new. Sewing, painting, making, changing is my happy place.
Follow me at: http://www.pinterest.com/lindseybanner/
http://instagram.com/laldenban/

Cat & Nat aka The Blue Crew

 I’m Cat, let me tell you a little about myself.  I have been married to my wonderful husband Cary since September 2006. He is all kinds of wonderful and I don’t know what I would do without him. I don’t have any kids, but I do have 2 fur babies: Precious is almost 20 and Birdie is 4. They are cats, their moods change daily and that’s about all I can say on that. I have two nieces who are pretty much the most amazing little girls in the history of ever. Miss Makenna is 7 and Maddie Sue is 3--- CANNOT get enough of those girls and you will see plenty of them in my design work. I have the most handsome little nephew named Carter. We like to go on Chick-fil-a dates. I have a best friend that is crazy. I am crazier than her. True story.
I’m Nat and probably the “calmer” and “quieter” one of the Blue Crew duo. I have been married to Jerry for almost 12 years and we have a son, Carter, who is 5. We live in Ft Worth, Texas. While I work outside of the home, I try to take as much time to scrapbook and create as possible.  Cat and I have been friends for over 3 years but if you’ve met us, you would think our friendship spans well beyond that. She’s my looooooobster-friend.
As far as designing goes, both of our design aesthetics lean toward clean, simple lines with lots of layers and textures.  But, our approach to designing couldn’t be more different.  Cat is a Careful Creator and likes to pull all of her supplies, precut and arrange without gluing anything down until everything is ‘just so’.  And as cautious as Cat is, Nat throws that caution to the wind and be more of a Daring Designer. While we create for our own personal benefit, we love to create together as a team.
We are so excited to be part of the LBH Media Team and look forward to working with such a talented group of designers.  We are excited to be challenged and inspired by everyone on the team. I know they will encourage us to reach outside our normal design aesthetic.
Follow us at: www.lbhbluecrew.blogspot.com

Susan Liles

Hi, I'm Susan Liles (otherwise known as susiestampalot online).  I am lucky enough to teach, design and work for The Little Blue House.  I'm also lucky enough to live in North Fort Worth, less than a mile away from there, too!  I'm married to Eric and we have 3 daughters, Shelbie (22), Lindsie (14) and Audrie (11).  I've been crafty ever since I can remember, dabbling in everything from sewing to painting, but really found my passion in paper.  I started scrapbooking 20 years ago, then found a love for stamping and cardmaking.  I've designed and still design for several companies, been selected as Stamping Royalty by Paper Crafts Magazine, served on the Dirty Dozen DT for Splitcoaststampers and have been published several times in various other publications. I'm excited to be joining this team, look forward to inspiring YOU, and hope to expand my crafty horizons even further Follow me at: http://susiestampalot.blogspot.com/

Valerie Bishop

I'm thrilled to be apart of such a talented group of ladies to inspire and be inspired!! It's going to be a fun team to work with and I can't wait to get started creating!!
I also design for the Little Blue House Front Porch Kit Team 
Follow me at: http://myhere-rightnow.blogspot.com/




Kristyn McElroy

 I'm Kristyn. I am the Marketing and Merchandising Manager for The Little Blue House. I have worked in the Craft Industry since 2009. I will be managing the Blog and doing a lot of the behind the scene work for our Media Team. I'm so excited to start our first ever Media Team! I can't wait to see these talented ladies inspiring creations!
Follow me at: https://www.pinterest.com/kristyn_curry/ 




Miss Tracy (Tracy Pounds)

Hello all...I'm Miss Tracy, Owner and Creative Director of the Little Blue House! I am happy to say that I will also be a part of the LBH Media Team! I am truly looking forward to working with this amazing team and can't wait to get started! For those of you who don't know me, I've been crafty for as long as I can remember! I love all forms of Creative Play...especially Paper Arts! I also have a special place in my heart for all things Junque-y! I love to repurpose and upcycle new life to old things! I have an awesome hubby, have 5 wonderful kiddos, 2 son-in-laws, and 2 super-cute Grandies! You'll be seeing them alot in my photo-feature projects! I just began a new personal blog...
You can follow me at: www.misstracycreates.com

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about our Media Team! We will also be featuring a few Guest Artists from time to time in 2015 and coordinating some fun Company Sponsored Events! 

Soon to come... We will be Spotlighting all of the fabulous Designers that are featured at the Little Blue House! 
Subscribe to the LBH Blog today so you don't miss out on all the wonderful Creative Inspiration, Tutorials, Product Reviews, etc.

 We have SO much to share with YOU in 2015...
Prepare to BE INSPIRED!!! 

Keep Creating!
Kristyn

Illustrated Faith Workshops at the LBH

Bring your Faith and your Art together in the form of Faith Journaling. Shanna Noel has started an "Illustrated Faith" Movement within the Art Industry and the Faith Community!

We are so excited to announce that Shanna Noel is coming to The Little Blue House to teach us all about "Illustrated Faith" on
 January 16th and 17th. 

For years, Shanna struggled to read her bible in a meaningful way. "I always wished I was more like that, that I LOVED to read my bible, that i even wanted to, but the truth is... often times i felt like it was more of a chore than anything else," she says. One day, though, she saw an image of a Bible all marked up, highlighted and underlined, and something about that struck a chord in her. 

She went online and ordered yet another new Bible-- but this time it was a Journaling Bible. "When I started to use my Journaling Bible, a light blub went off!" she explains.
I needed to have a place in my Bible for Reflection, Creativity, and Journaling and that is exactly what this new format provided." 

Now Shanna has taken her discoveries and is presenting them in a cohesive manner.
Join her as she shares how she uses her Journaling Bible in a colorful and creative way that allows for personal growth, reflection and illustration. 

Registration for Shanna Noel's Illustrated Faith Workshops
begin Tuesday, Dec. 16th!!!  We have several times for you to choose from:

Illustrated Faith Workshops
Cost: $45

Friday, Jan. 16th
9am-12:30pm and 6pm-9:30pm

Saturday, Jan. 17th

9am- 12:30pm and 1:30pm-5pm

You will need a Journaling Bible when you come to the Workshop. You may purchase Bibles from the Little Blue House. 

They are $37.99 each (available now at the LBH). More info will be made available soon regarding the Workshop
and supplies being used in the class.

We hope you will make plans to join us for this unique opportunity! Let your Faith arise and your Creativity flourish at the Little Blue House in 2015!

Stay true to your Passion--Keep Creating!
Miss Tracy 

Santa Savings at the LBH

  

We received a letter from Santa today at the Little BlueHouse! He told us that all our customers were on the NICE list this Year!!!
We were shocked!! hahaha...just kidding!
 Santa told us that our customers deserve some special gifts before Christmas! Of course we agreed! Our customers our the nicest of them ALL!!!

LBH Santa's Savings
begins Thursday Dec. 11th 

Every day, leading up to Christmas Day,
we will have a Special SALE!!!
Valid for that specific day only.

Here is a Peek at the Upcoming
Santa Saving Days... 

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Thursday Dec. 11th 
Cardstock is 40% off! 

Includes: American Crafts and Bazzil Cardstocks plus Bazzil Card Shoppe- (heavier weight) cardstock 

Friday Dec. 12th 
All Ribbons and Trims are 50% off 

Includes: All Ribbon by the Yard, Spools of Twine and Packaged Ribbons

Saturday Dec. 13th 
All Tim Holtz Distress Products 40% off

Includes: Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Re-inkers, Glitters, Stains, Paints, Markers & Mini Inks, etc.

Watch for more Santa Specials coming next Week!!
​These Specials are "In Store" only...
Web Specials to come soon!

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Make The Little Blue House part of your Christmas Day!
Send your friends and family to the LBH for Gift Certificates, Stocking Stuffers and More! 

The Little Blue House

118 W. Olive St.
Keller, TX 76248
(817) 431-7930
http://www.thelittlebluehouseonline.com

Store Hours:
Our House Hours:
Tuesday: 10am-9pm
Wednesday: 10am-5pm
Thursday: 10am-9pm
Friday: 10am-5pm
Saturday: 10am-5pm
Extended Night Hours on Tues & Thurs. 

LBH 2015 Media Team Call

LBH 2015 Media Team Call

We are very excited to announce our first ever Little Blue House Media Team! The LBH is a fabulous Paper Arts Studio and Store located in Keller, TX. We are looking for a small team of Designers who have a passion for all things Creative!!! Creating with a variety of unique products and mediums from the Little Blue House and a strong understanding of social media.

What we are looking for in our
LBH Media Team Member:

-A joy for paper crafting and/or mixed media arts
-An original design style: Creating projects with a variety of
unique products and mediums.
-Good Photography skills for taking project photos
-A love for social media and an understanding of sharing & tagging
-Experience creating photo step-out tutorials
 (video tutorials would be a plus)
-Willing and Able to commit to creating 2-3 projects/posts per month

LBH Media Team will receive: 
-A variety of products featured at the Little Blue House which will include items such as paper collections, embellishments, lotions and potions, etc…
-Recognition as an LBH Media Team Designer and Spotlight Promotions
-Compensation (Details to be shared with the final team)
-Media Training and Support when needed.

If this is you…. E-mail us at lbhmediateam@gmail.com with the following information:

LBH Media Team Application:  

Share a little bit about yourself:  your name, where you live, etc.

How do you define your design style? 

What types of projects do you love to create the most?
(layouts, home décor, gifts, mini books, ect.)

Please share at least 3 of your favorite projects, from within the last 6 months,
that you feel speak to your style as a Designer.

Please describe at least 2 ways that you would utilize social media
to support The Little Blue House brand.

Please provide links to all your accounts for the following: 

-Personal Blog, Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram
-Twitter (if you have one)

The deadline for all applications to be received is
Sunday, December 21^st  11:59pm 
 If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail us at  lbhmediateam@gmail.com

To learn more about the Little Blue House,
explore  our Blog and Website:

www.thelittlebluehouseonline.com
www.thelittlebluehouseblog.blogspot.com