6 guys & a gal

Celebrate!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:13:00 +0000

I have a new digital kit collection to share with you today. I'm really excited because I have wanted to create a birthday themed kit for a long time. I finally got my butt in gear and created it! ;)

If you are familiar with my digital work, you probably know I am a sucker for fun, bright color schemes. This one has to be one of my favorite palettes I've worked with. As a mom of all boys, these colors are just perfect for all things boy. I'm thinking about creating a few add-ons for this collection. Think....vehicles...cars, trucks, airplanes...and maybe even tools...Fun!

You can save $4.00 by purchasing the entire collection....

but wait there's more..... *wink*

here's a free set of 4x6" journal cards for you....

and here is some lovely inspiration for you....

3 cards by Melissa Elsner

New digital kit - Lovely

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:51:00 +0000

I know, I've been a bad blogger....AGAIN! lol Time just seems to go so fast lately. My life has been super busy. But, with a family of 7 (almost 8 with a wedding coming up!), that's to be expected huh? I have been creating, planning and doing a lot of "behind the scenes" type of things.

So, wanna see some of what I've been working on? Here's a new release that hit the store this week...just in time for your Valentine's Day projects...

Lovely - The Kit

Lovely - The Papers

Lovely - The Elements

Lovely - The Alpha

And here are some of the amazing projects the my Creative Team and the Two Peas Creative Team came up with using these kits....

Aren't these all just amazing? There are even more to look at if you check out the kits in my store. Be prepared to be inspired! :)

a New Year with new direction!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0000

This year starts a new era for me (so to speak). I have decided to start the new year in a (somewhat) new direction. With great sadness, I have said goodbye to all of my design team obligations. But with that, I able to concentrate fully on my passion to design. I will still be scrabooking, cardmaking and creating what I love so don't worry about that. ;) I will just have a bit more time to concentrate on my digital design career, enabling me to create more, learn more and do the things I just couldn't find the time to do before. I am really excited to see what 2012 will bring!

Have you made any New Year changes? any resolutions? I would love for you to share them with me. Happy New Year everyone!!! :)

Holiday Kits :)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:50:00 +0000

In almost a month it will be Christmas! Isn't that hard to believe? Have you started shopping yet? I have purchased one little gift so far.

This week it's already Thanksgiving. We will be spending the day with family and eating all sorts of yummy food. What's your favorite holiday food? I love stuffing...and broccoli rice casserole...and sweet potatoes...and mashed potatoes...and my aunt diane's whipped cherry salad recipe...Mmmmmm!

Yep, now I'm hungry. Before I go, I thought I'd share a few projects with you using my new digital kit, Holiday Story...

by jbarksdale


by jbarksdale

Aren't these all so cute?! These ladies are so super talented!!!

I hope that all my US friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :)

GG Blog Hop Winner :)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone! First of all I want to thank you for all the love you left on my blog during the last week. You guys are so awesome!

Without further ado, here's the random winner of a $15 Two Peas GC from me....

Chunyuan said...
beautiful LO. Thanks for sharing.
dahliamemories@gmail.com

11/01/2011 1:10 PM

Congrats to you! I hope that you will have fun shopping! (you should be receiving an email from me in the morning.)

This week I have a couple of new releases. Here's a peek:

and here's a freebie for you! It's for 11/11/11....There are 11 photos!

CT announcement! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:58:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

If you are here for the Garden Girl Blog Hop you will find that post HERE.

Today, I am so excited to announce my new Creative Team! But first I just want to say how absolutely honored I am that so many of you decided to apply. I sincerely can not express enough how grateful I am that you considered dedicating your time and talents to my products. It takes a lot to serve on any team and the fact that so many of you applied for mine is very humbling. Thank YOU so much! I believe that I have contacted every applicant but if you haven't heard from me for some reason please let me know. I have a little gift for you. :)

So, without further ado.....Here is my new team of absolutely amazing ladies! I look forward to working (again for some of them) with all of them!!!

Amanda Caves
Angi Barrs
Barb Hogan
Jan Gervais
Janet Carr
Jen Richards
Karen Cole
Katherine Hansen
Katie Hyser
Kerry Stewart
Laura Bassen
Liz Jutila
Lorell Rogers
Melissa Elsner
Miranda Assenberg
Rosalie Vos Tulp

Thank you all so much!!!

Garden Girl Blog Hop :)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Welcome to the Two Peas in a Bucket Garden Girl Blog Hop! A Garden Girl is the title we receive as designers for the Two Peas website. As Garden Girls we create projects, host challenges, teach classes, and participate in events all designed to inspire your creativity. This week the Garden Girls are sponsoring special projects and giveaways on our personal blogs. Be sure to follow the list below as you hop from one blog to the next. Each Garden Girl is hosting her own giveaway so be sure to read the instructions for how you can participate in each contest.

Wendy Sue Anderson

Julie Campbell
Jenny Chesnick
Laura Craigie
Nancy Damiano
Jennifer Gallacher
Lynn Ghahary
Jen Jockisch
Shimelle Laine
Jen Martakis - YOU ARE HERE :)
Kimber McGray
Becky Novacek
Kandis Smith
Jill Sprott
Shannon Tidwell
Lisa Truesdell
Rebecca Trump
Jaime Warren
Kristina Nicolai-White

So, I have some projects to share with you! I couldn't decide if I wanted to do paper or digital for the hop so I decided to mix it up just a bit. ;) I created 2 layouts for you using paper but, I used my upcoming digital templates as sketches for them. (You'll be able to purchase the templates starting next Tuesday, November 8th.) Also, make sure to scroll down all the way to the bottom of the post for the supply list. :)


These are the digital templates that I used as sketches for the above layouts. These will be available for purchase HERE in my store starting November 8th.

Now for the super fun part....I am giving away one $15.00 gift certificate from Two Peas! All you need to do to enter the drawing is leave me a comment. Also, if you are so inclined, feel free to become a follower. ;) :) :)

Next in line for the hop is the super-duper talented Kimber McRay. Make sure and head to her blog for some gorgeous inspiration!

Thanks for visiting!

ready to be inspired?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:33:00 +0000

...because I am! Starting at 11pm tonight (CST) the Two Peas Garden Girls are going to be bringing you projects to drool over and giveaways that will help you make them yourselves! Join us for the.....

I am so excited! I can't wait to see the eye candy! :)

Until then though, I have some other projects to share....(click on images for full credits)

Also, I have a Fancy This post up on the Fancy Pants Designs blog...wanna a little peek?

If you want to see the entire layout and get directions on how to make your own you'll need to click HERE.

Do you have any trick or treaters tonight? I have the cutest shark ever and a sneaky little bandit. I can't wait to take pictures. I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween!

Oh and don't forget, if you are interested in applying, today is the last day to submit your application for my Creative Team. ;)

Creative Team Call

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Guess what? It's time for a new creative team call. Yep, that means I am looking for designers to work with my kits! Do you think that you may be interested? Click on the image and read the details. I would love to hear from YOU!

Feel free to email me if you have any questions. Also, don't forget that I'm having a sale this week on digital kits....

I hope you are having a great "hump" day. I'll leave you with a few projects that I've been busy with (click on images for full supply lists)....

Sale & New Kits

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:07:00 +0000

Hi there! I hope that you are having a good week so far. Considering it's only Tuesday, I'm having a pretty good one. ;)

This week, I have a new collection in the store - Halloween. You can purchase the entire kit, or the papers and elements separately.

Here are a couple of other kit releases that you may have missed:

And....Last but not least....make sure you check out my sale this week!

Fancy Pants Card Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:37:00 +0000

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is World Card Making Day and Fancy Pants wants to celebrate!

Here are the details....

Join us in our challenge to create a greeting card. Here is what you need to do to enter.
Simply create a greeting card with any theme that you'd like—make sure to use at least some Fancy Pants products—and post it to our Facebook Wall between now and Oct. 8, 2011.
We will judge the cards and select three winners to each receive a prize package. The winners will also have their card featured on the blog.
*We will accept only one entry per person. Challenge is open to US and International residents. Entries are due by midnight MST, Saturday, October 8th, 2011. Cards posted to our wall prior to Sept. 30, 2011 do not qualify. We will post the three winners here on the blog on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won.

Here is a card I created with Fancy Pants Supplies a little while back....

For more card inspiration, make sure to visit the Fancy Pants blog. I promise you will fall in love. ;)

Oh, and while we are talking about Fancy Pants...I have a couple of new layouts to show you...

I really LOVE the new Off to School Collection. Aren't those glasses just the cutest? Thanks for stopping by!

ER visit...new layouts...new kits....

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:57:00 +0000

....yesterday, I spent all day working on DT requirements for the end of the month. I finished everything up at about 3:30. I went to pick up the middle two boys from school. We came home, did homework and misc. stuff around the house. At a little before 6, I sat back down at my computer with a tall glass of sweet tea, ordered pizza online, opened up Illustrator...and then got a phone call....It was Nick (my husband, who was at an important work meeting), telling me that Steven (our 16 year old) just got hurt at his soccer game. He was hit in the chest and is coughing up blood.

I'm pretty sure that I don't remember much of what happened between hanging up the phone and getting to my son. He said that he blacked out twice, his fingers were numb..he was really a mess. As soon as we walked into the hospital, they whisked him away while I got him registered. I walked into the room and he was already hooked up to an EKG machine and the nurse was getting an IV started. His vitals were looking good and the doctor came by a little later to tell us that his EKG was good too. He was sent for an x-ray. Meanwhile, his whole soccer team showed up to the ER, even the coach. They were all really concerned. I went to the waiting room and assured them he was doing alright. They wanted to make sure he knew that they won the game. When Steve left, they were tied with the other team and going into overtime. This win means that they made it to the finals. :)

When the x-rays came back, doc said everything looked really well. It seems that he probably has a pulmonary contusion (bruised lung) and that he will have a bit of pain for a couple of days but he will be just fine. Thank God. That was wonderful news. The bad news though is that he has to sit out of the games this weekend when the tournament starts. I know that is gonna be hard on him. This is the best season his team has ever had.

Well, other than that "excitement", I've been doing my usual, working on projects and creating kits. Here are a few of my recent Garden Girl projects for Two Peas. I've been mixing it up lately, playing with both paper and digital. I really love them both! Click the links for credits....

And here are my newest digital releases.....

Just Smile - Paper Set 1

Just Smile - Paper Set 2

Just Smile - Paper Set 3

Just Smile - Element Set 1

Just Smile - Element Set 2

Just Smile - Element Set 2 - FREE!

Just Smile - The Collection - Buy them All & SAVE!

and here are a few layouts for some inspiration...


by Aussiekat


by ~Karen~

by Miranda Assenberg

Aren't those fabulous?! Enjoy your Thursday! :)

Journal Stamps

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:15:00 +0000

Hi everyone! Just wanted to make a quick post to let you know about a couple of new digital releases in my store. I released two great Journal Stamp kits. They are a fabulous tool for your journaling needs, both digital and hybrid. The kits come with png and abr files so you can have the flexibility to use them just the way you want to. :)

Here are a couple of projects by the super talented jbarksdale at Two Peas:

I just adore how she she used the stamps for both a digital and hybrid project. Isn't that invite just darling?!

Last day of August?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:44:00 +0000

It's the last day of August? EEK! That is just crazy isn't it? The summer has gone by so quickly. My kids have been back in school for almost two weeks now. Drew, my little guy is trying to adjust to not having his older brothers around.

In my digital world...I have a "new" collection (it released earlier this month) Summertime Bugs. It's full of cute little bugs and fun colors. Yes, I said cute bugs. lol

You can purchase the entire collection HERE. Also, if you prefer to purchase the elements and/or papers separately you definitely can. :)

If you are here for some scrappy inspiration, take a peek at some of my recent projects...

Supplies: Fancy Pants Off To School - Cards pp, Favorite Teacher pp, Learning pp, New Shoes pp, Numbers pp, Glitter Cuts, Design Embellishments, Rubons, Stickers, Chipboard Pieces.


Supplies: Fancy Pants Summer's End - Abundance pp, Harvest pp, Glitter Cuts, Trim. Baby Mine - Filter Paper. Bazzill, Helmar 450.

Supplies: Fancy Pants Summer's End - Harvest pp, Cider pp, Oak pp, Design Embellishments and Rubons. Bazzill, I-top Bradmaker.

Well, I hope that your last day of August is a good one! :)

an almost new week ;)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:15:00 +0000

Today is Tuesday but feels like Monday to me. I am actually a big fan of Mondays. Crazy right? Don't get me wrong, I love my weekends with my family. But there's just something enticing about a fresh Monday morning to me. It's my time to get my week planned out, look at deadlines and get started. Yeah....I guess I'm a weirdo. Oh well. ;)

Here are a couple of new layouts in the Garden that I have to share. One is paper and one is digital. I've been asked many times which I like better. To be totally honest....I really have no idea. I love them both. It's like asking me which do you prefer, pizza or ice cream...um...the answer would be YES!!!

So....what's your favorite day of the week?

and the winners...

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:37:00 +0000

Good Thursday morning! I am a fan of Thursdays. Are you? First of all...that means it's almost Friday. :) Secondly, Thursday evenings are special for our family. We have been getting together for dinner with our extended families for years now. My husband's mom, sister and kids all come over and we spend the evening together. Nick's mom makes dinner, Danielle (his sister) makes a yummy dessert and we usually play cards or dominoes and drink coffee. It's really a great time. All of the cousins get to play together. It's really nice and it helps our families stay close. Do you have any special weekly traditions?

Okay...on to the business at hand....I had 29 comments on my blog post for the giveaway plus I had a comment from lizj over at two peas saying that she was unable to post a comment here because she doesn't have a blog. (what a bummer! I checked out my settings and it's set to supposedly let anyone comment...anyone know why this would've been a problem?) Anyway, I put her in at #30 for the drawing. So...that means I have 3 kits to give away. Yay! I went to random.org and here we go....

Winner #1,,,

madelineas said...Takeing care of my garden and my yard. Taking Shimelle and Ali's classes now. Keeps me going
Blog looks great Jen

7/27/2011 10:43 AM

Winner #2....

Christa said...

Beautiful Jen! I am in DESPERATE need of a makeover on my blog too!

7/27/2011 6:12 AM

and Winner #3...

Linda Beeson said...: Oh how I love those colors! I have been looking for a digital houndstooth paper!
7/26/2011 1:57 PM

Congrats ladies! Send me your email addy's (jmartakis@hotmail.com) and I will get the download link to you. Thank you to everyone that commented!

And, of course, if you would like to purchase my Simple Starts Kit 1 you still can. :)

Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:39:00 +0000

For months....I have wanted to makeover my blog. Time was not exactly on my side though. I have been swamped with deadlines, planning my oldest son's open house and last week we were on vacation. But....yesterday with CHA over, I was able to sit at my desk and DECIDE what I wanted to work on. I *heart* days like that. After I waded through a weeks worth of email, I thought I would update my poor neglected blog. When I signed in and looked at my blog, I realized that it had been 24 days since I last posted. That will just not do. I am getting my butt in gear and am going to keep up with my blog posts. Yep, I said it. And I'm going to do it! lol

After posting about a zillion layouts yesterday to catch up with showing you what I've been up to, I got to work on my makeover. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I really love the colors. So....how about this....leave me a comment telling me what you've been doing this summer and I will enter you in a drawing to win the kit that I used to create it, Simple Starts Kit 1...

I will leave the giveaway open until Wednesday (7/27/11) evening. And....I will give one full kit away for every 10 comments that I receive! So....what have you been up to this summer? :)

the end of July...

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:56:00 +0000

...already? This summer is going very quickly. In roughly a month, my boys will be back in school. Do you look forward to a new school year or dread it? I have mixed emotions. I love having my boys home but I long for some quiet time too. ;)

Have you seen my newest digital kit? Simple Starts Kit 1 is available now. I really love the color scheme! You can purchase the entire kit or the papers and elements separately.

Here is some awesome inspiration for you created by my Creative Team and the Two Peas Creative Team...

I have also been busy creating both digital and paper projects....

For Fancy Pants - their Summer CHA 2011 releases...

For the Garden at Two Peas...


© Two Peas in a Bucket (photo by Susannah Waechter)

Thanks for taking a peek! :)

up for a challenge?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Come join me in the Snap & Scrap Your Summer Event at Two Peas. I share some of my favorite summer photos, projects, products and offer a challenge! You have until July 6th to upload to the gallery for a chance to win a cool prize package from Two Peas in a Bucket. :)

has it really been that long?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:10:00 +0000

*sigh* It's been almost 2 months since I last blogged. I apologize to my readers for that. Life sometimes gets in the way of the things we enjoy doesn't it? I have had a stressful couple of months with health and family situations but *crossing my fingers*, everything seems to be back to normal. Whatever normal is, right? lol

I wish I could say that I've been super busy with lots of new crafty stuff to show you but reality is that I've only been able to keep up with my design team assignments. I can show you those though. :)

For Two Peas....(click on images for credits and supply lists)

For Fancy Pants...

Here's a sneak peek at wall art that I created. You need to visit the blog to see the entire project, with instructions. :)

and here are a few more...(click on images for credits and supply lists)

For Creative Memories...I have several new layouts in the new Spring/Summer 2011 catalog. Here are a few...(click on image for supply lists and instructions)

I hope that you have enjoyed your visit and maybe even been inspired to create! Hopefully I'll be blogging more often again. :)

New Digital Kit and New Fancy Pants :)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:55:00 +0000

I have a new digital kit in the store....A Little Cuckoo

Here are a couple of super adorable layouts using it...

Beautiful by Miranda

My Little Love Birds by Cayla

And here are a few layouts that I created with the brand new Fancy Pants releases for the CHA Winter show...(for full credits click on the image)

It's the Little Things

Beach Babe

Beach Bum

To The Moon

Well, I hope you enjoyed a little peek at what I've been up to lately! We're expecting quite the snow storm this afternoon/evening. If you're getting it too....stay warm! :)

Want to win?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Aren't these absolutely gorgeous? Core'dinations is giving away 50 packs of this beautiful cardstock!

Click above to enter to win a NEW Fancy Pants Designs Core Impressions pack by Core'dinations.

Giveaway Winner :)

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:51:00 +0000

Happy Monday everyone! I know I'm a few days late posting the winner. I wasn't feeling well the end of last week and I sincerely apologize for the delay. Thank you so much for your entries and interest in Nancy's new book. So, without further ado.....Our winner is.........

comment #5 from Kelly Massman! Congrats Kelly, you should be getting an email from me shortly! :)

Cosmo Cricket & SRM Stickers Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:00:00 +0000

It's time for another blog hop featuring SRM and Cosmo! This time we are featuring Cosmo's new Circa 1934 Collection. If you are just jumping on-board the hop, make sure you start HERE at Tania Willis' blog.

I was so excited to play with this collection. I am in LOVE with the colors and beautiful patterns. The theme that we used is "Focus on the Family". I decided to create a layout about my husband and I and how we are the foundation of our family.

Supplies: SRM Stickers - Express Yourself Everyday Life #42038 and Sticker Sentiments Spring #51010. Cosmo Cricket - Circa 1934 Crafting Kit, Ginger, Garbo, Borders, Rette and Elements. Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Stickers (Black). Creative Memories - Custom Cutting System - Jumbo Wavy Square Pattern, Circle Maker, Foam Squares, Basic Black Fine Tip Pen.

For a chance to win Cosmo's Circa 1934 Crafting Kit and a SRM Stickers Prize package, make sure to leave a comment and visit all the other blogs on the hop starting with Tania's. If you've already been to the other blogs, your next stop and last is the SRM Stickers Blog. Enjoy the inspiration! :)

almost December?

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Martakis) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:58:00 +0000

***ETA...there's still time to enter the giveaway for Nancy O'Dell's new book...Click HERE and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. :)

My goodness the time is flying by! I can hardly believe that it's almost Christmas. So much has been going on in my life lately that I guess I'm losing track of time. Anyone else have that problem? ;)

So...today the long awaited Creative Memories Design Team Announcement has been posted. I am so excited to say that I made the 2011 team. CM has been a true blessing in my life. I feel that I have grown so very much in the years that I've been creating for them.

Here are a few of my digital submissions for the call....

These were all created using Creative Memories Very Merry Digital Kit. The photos used were all taken by my very talented friend and photographer Susannah Waechter.

Make sure and take a peek at all the wonderful projects (both digital and traditional) in the CM Project Center HERE.

Also....I have a few new releases in my digital shop so make sure to stop by there too. I have a new Simple Starts template that's free and here's a printable family planner that you may find useful...

I hope that all of my US friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!