Hi there!! :o)  Kylie here to announce the ‘winner’ of Kim’s awesome HERE WE GO A-CAROLING recipe challenge!  Thank you all SO MUCH for participating and joining in the musical fun!  

You guys definitely ‘rocked’ this latest challenge!!  We LOVED looking through all the entries (see more here!) and truly think every single one is a ‘winner’!  Each and every layout is so special and wonderful…plus there’s just something so joyful about adding music into the scrapping mix.  So, choosing our winners was NOT EASY, not at all!  (I know I went back and forth a million times before making the final decision for this very post…at the eleventh hour I might add!!)  We fell in love with ALL of them!  And, we really did not go by any specific criteria for choosing the ‘fave’ three layouts – it had to do with everything from design to journaling, etc.  Sooooo, HERE ARE OUR THREE WINNING LAYOUTS for our caroling challenge (in no particular order)…

First we have the gorgeous crysowens and her twinkling Oh (giant) Christmas Tree layout.  Full of fun and sparkles and merriment!!  This awesome layout sure does brighten our little Shabby Shoppe world with it’s ‘presents’…hee, hee!!

Next is O’ Holy Night (also shining ever-so brightly!) by the lovely jltanner.  The whole page is truly precious…especially the photo of the beautiful nativity set, complete with gorgeous bokeh!  Love the design, love the stars, love all the fonts…and love, love, love the carol!

And finally, the super-cute 2 Front Teeth by the sweet and very talented Amber.  Little Emily’s adorable photo is showcased wonderfully – all the perfect trimmings…and then some!  And on a personal note, I too have been singing this song to my youngest niece lately…but I’ve swapped the ‘two’ for just ‘one’! ;o)

CONGRATULATIONS, girls :o) You should have each received a $10 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe (be sure to check your SPAM folders) via email – have fun shoppe-ing :o)  AGAIN, thank you SO much, to everyone, for participating and joining in the challenge fun!  EVERYONE did an amazing job with our little ‘scrap’ recipe.

Tomorrow, Shabby Princess will be sharing her DECEMBER projectSCRAP check-in with you all!!  Very much looking forward to that one!! :o)

KylieOther Challenges, Shoppe News, Uncategorized 5 Comments

hey guys!  SP here today…with a fun and silly (and somewhat impromptu) post, lol :o)  Nothing super inspiring or newsworthy for ya, lol…but I did think it might be fun to share some pics and stories from a recent, partial team meet-up :o)  So…a few weeks ago…on a trip to visit family…I found myself only a few hours away from the wonderfully sweet Beckie (who I have gotten to know via email and phone)…and I just could not pass up the opportunity to get together!  And, around that time, we had just added the fabulous new girls to the team…and I learned that Kim was pretty close, too!  Sooooo, it was the perfect chance to take a nice little road trip for lunch and shopping (and chatting)!  We had sooooo much fun…both Beckie and Kim are everything I imagined they would be…both inside and out!  Super sweet, funny, beautiful - and we got along so well…not even any awkward, silent moments, lolol!

So there we are!  I apologize in advance for my editing of the photo(s)…because while *I* am that pale…these other two beauties are not…I just had a tough time with the lighting in the pic (but no complaints, because some very nice lady stopped to take the picture for us…and she was really sweet about it…thank you, kind stranger lol)!  Anyhoo…there we are!  Now, I also feel the need to explain my hair, rofl!  I know the girls will laugh at me…but seriously – it looked BAD!  It got RAINED-ON that morning and then I had a long drive and there was nothing I could do for it…so there ya go :o)  Of course…Beckie and I both went on and on about Kim’s PERFECT hair (no joke…it is perfection!)!  Moving on…

So, we had a wonderful lunch…and then did some walking/shopping to make up for it!  Fun stores like Anthropologie, Neiman Marcus, Banana Republic, Loccitane (yeah, all kinda posh…but fun to browse, lol) – as well as some fun and funky little boutique stores (always love those)!  While in Neiman’s…I had to pick up some Chanel foundation (which I am in LOVE with, by the way…it came highly recommended to me and I have to say…all of the raves were true!  kinda pricey…but it will last me FOREVER, lol)…and we thought it would be fun if Beckie and Kim got makeovers (I had on plenty of make-up myself, and NO WAY I was going to let them see me without any…even if only temporarily – hey, Kim DID have her camera…and although she certainly seemed as trustworthy as can be…I was taking NO chances, rofl)!  Well, when I was at the counter to pay for my purchase…we found out they ONLY take Neiman’s and AmEx cards…HUH?  Seriously…we couldn’t believe it…no debit cards!  THANK GOODNESS I had some cash on me (which I never have…but my sweet hubby who thinks of everything and worries about me going on long trips – had put some in my bag…thanks, sweetie!)!  So…yeah – the foundation is my pick from the day as I truly do love it!  And…if you are like me…and find yourself challenged by FOUNDATION (especially liquid makeup, on me – it always seems cakey, or it separates and just makes me look older…which I do NOT need)…it is worth a try!  But…good news – if you actually read through my entire post (thanks in advance if you make it that far, lol)…you’ll have THREE, glowing recommendations for THREE, totally unique foundations :o)  It really wasn’t the purpose of the post…but hey…it’s a great bonus, lolol!  It’s not often that *I* ‘hear’ about foundations that women actually love (I could easily list about 20 that I have tried and really, really disliked, lol)!

Anyway…after that, we decided no makeovers at Neiman’s!  And that could only mean one thing… we were headed to MAC!  lol!

So…there we found ourselves in the MAC store…with one of the sweetest make-up artists ever :o)  He was a lot of fun (and had AMAZING lashes!) and got started on Beckie first!  Kim and I were watching and laughing because he began only doing one side of her face…and we were wondering if we were going to have to walk around with her like that all afternoon, rofl!  Of course…he finished her off beautifully – and we even learned something about Beckie during that makeover!  The girl LOOOOOOOOOOVES sparkles, lol!  She will forever be ‘Beckie Sparkles’ to me now :o)  It was so cute!  Anyway – she was beautiful before…and even moreso after (did I mention that she has such a PRETTY smile and the PERFECT, high cheekbones?)!  K, so then it was Kim’s turn!  Her main focus was her eyes…she wanted them to POP!  Let’s just say…even without anything – they POP because they are the most beautiful shade of green (oh…and Beckie and I also decided that she must be around 12 years old…she truly doesn’t look a day older…yes, we hated her and loved her at the same time lolol)!  The talented artist guy did his magic on her as well…and she just glowed after he was finished!  Oh yeah, I should mention that they were both going for a very natural look – which worked very well for THEM (not so much for me…I simply NEED more, lol)!  Alright…none of this would be any fun with before and after pics, right?  So…here ya go (aren’t they GREAT sports?!!!)!

 CUTE CUTE CUTE!  And, I thought I’d share some of Beckie and Kim’s favorite buys from their MAC experience (I know Beckie has told me a couple of time how much she LOVES her foundation…it will be my next to try if the Chanel fails me one day, lolol)!  She REALLY loves it (she just told me again…and says she still wears it EVERY single day, which is a record for her…AND, best of all – it stays on all day)!  So…here are Beckie’s picks:

• Matchmaker Foundation - yep, this is the one she is loving – it covers great…looks super natural, and lasts all day!
• Viva Glam Lipstick (shade is VI) – she says that surprisingly, the lipstick was her fave buy of the day (she has convinced me to give it a try…even though I am a total gloss girl, lolol)
• Paint Pot in Bare Study
• Foundation Brush (she totally loves this as well!)

 And now we move on to Kim’s picks :o)  Like Beckie, she LOVES her new foundation (and it is completely different from what Beckie picked up) – but her faves from the day were the new eye shadows she purchased (and I agree…they looked awesome!)!  She told me that she had been sticking with beiges and browns and greens for a while…and is loving her new pinks and purples :o)  Isn’t it fun to try new stuff?  And…as a new mommy (well, for the 3rd time, lol)…I’d say she deserved some cosmetic FUN, right?!  So, here’s what she picked up…

• Studio Tech Foundation (creamy…and she loves it)!
• Eye Shadow in Star Violet (a gorgeous, plummy pinky brown, lol – VERY pretty)!
• Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in Plush (it really is a perfectly pretty purple!)

 After that…we did a little more walking and shopping and chatting (and yep, there’s me with my empty Starbuck’s cup, I LOOOOOVE the LITE salted caramel frap lol)…and then it was time to part ways :o( 

 I can’t tell you how much fun it was and how happy I was to meet a couple of the ‘girls’ in person!  Again…my dream would be to have the ENTIRE team get together one day…but I know that logistically…it’s not likely :o(  I will say that while I know that my long, lost sister Kylie was there in spirit…I certainly missed her!  She is such an integral part of the team and the blog…we just HAVE to MEET soon (yeah…she’s across the pond – but we’ll make it happen) :o)  LOL!  I feel so blessed with each and every member of the team…and even if we never meet face-to-face, the friendships are still quite ‘real’ and cherished!  You are ALL the BEST!  And, special thanks to Kim and Beckie for taking the time to meet-up…and for all of the fun and laughs :o)  XOXO –sp

Shabby PrincessBeauty & Fashion, Shoppe News, Uncategorized 19 Comments

HAPPY FRIDAY everyone!! :o)  It’s Kylie here…and it is my absolute pleasure to share some extremely exciting news with you!  I’m soooo excited I can hardly type straight, LOL!!! ;o)

We have four amazingly talented, super-creative, and very special ladies joining our already FABULOUS Shabby Artist team!  You could say that each girl is already so much a part of the Shoppe family…we have been admiring their beautiful galleries for quite some time now and they never cease to inspire us all!  Each of these ladies brings something unique and fun to the Shoppe…and are all total sweethearts.  We are sooo lucky to have them!!  Sooo without further ado please join me in ‘officially’ welcoming Kim, Jenelle, Rosy and Casharina to the team!  YAY!!

  SP has done a gorgeous job of updating our team page…be sure to check it out!  You will learn a bit more about the AMAZING girls that make up our gorgeous little team and are sure to be inspired by what you see in each artists’ gallery!! :o)

The girls will be posting here on the BLOG soon!  (Also…with more team members comes even more FUN and INSPIRING blog posts for everyone to enjoy each week…joy, joy, joy!!)  And you don’t have to wait long at all…the lovely Rosy will be here on Monday with her first Layout of the Week.

Thanks so much for stopping by today…have a wonderful, wonderful sunshiney weekend and we hope you all get to scrap a page or two!! :o)

KylieShoppe News, Uncategorized 16 Comments

 Hi there :o)  SP here today with an exciting bit of news, lol!  I have just added a NEW KIT (GRACIE) to the Shoppe…along with some gorgeous easy-as-pie templates (Laundry Day)!  Seeing as how I have spent many (and then some, lol) hours on the newsletter…I won’t re-type it all here…but wanted to share the NEWSLETTER LINK with you…just CLICK HERE for lots of inspiration and other fun stuff :o)  THANKS SO MUCH – hope you are all having a great week (remember…the blog is on vacation right now…but we’ll be back soon – see Kylie’s post below for more info)!  XOXO — SP :o)

Shabby PrincessShoppe News, Uncategorized 9 Comments

HAPPY FRIDAY everyone!! :o)  It’s Kylie, rounding off a very busy week here at the blog!  Today is just a little post to let you all know that the blog is taking an itty-bitty VACATION for the next two weeks. Just like this time last year, we are giving ourselves an end of summer ‘breather’ in honor of the super-busy back-to-school period. We will be back on September 19th…all re-energized, full of inspiration, and ready to rock the BLOG!!  And, we’ll be returning with all your favorites, starting with a super-sized LOTW post…so don’t stop uploading your gorgeous layouts to the gallery. Also, you won’t want to miss a fun product spotlight…a project SCRAP check-in & some awesome new template freebies…an extra-yummy Food Friday…and much, much more! Oh and don’t forget about our very first FAST & FABULOUS SPEED SCRAP on the 29th of September – it’s going to be F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S!!

While the BLOG is on its two-week break, SP will still be working behind-the-scenes (as will the team – we’ll be scrapping) - so, be on the ‘lookout’ for a NEW RELEASE (yay!)!  So that you can be the first to know…make sure you are signed up for the SHOPPE’s NEWSLETTER! Trust me, you won’t want to miss out! …do the words ~ ‘brand new kit’ get you excited?!!!! :o)  I’m sure she’ll also BLOG a little about it, too – so check back late next week (hint, hint)!

HAVE A WONDERFUL TWO WEEKS!  We’ll see you back here before ya know it!! :o) 

As always – thanks soooooo much for being with us…and for being a part of the Shabby Shoppe!

P.S. Have a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday!…in Australia (and any other country that may be celebrating, too!) Need a last minute gift card…check out these fantastic freebies posted on the blog earlier in the year! And to all of you in the US, enjoy your LABOR DAY weekend! :o)

KylieShoppe News, Uncategorized 6 Comments