H{ippity} Hop-a-doodle Do!

Yes, I'm in a silly mood. Sometimes I just can't help it, especially when I'm happy. VSN was so much fun this weekend! I am exhausted, but it was worth it! As of the time this post goes live, there will be 14 hours remaining for people to get their cards up and still be eligible for prizes. A master challenge thread is posted here, so if you didn't get a chance to catch it live, you still have time to play along with one or two challenges!

I overdid it again - which happens pretty much every time there's a VSN, and my back is very cranky today. I'll probably be moving a little slow all week. Thank goodness for ibuprofen is all I have to say.

So for today's {ippity} hop, I pulled out another stamp set I hadn't yet inked up. Yes, I know. I have too many of those, which is a situation I'm working hard to rectify. This one is Fishy Philosophy. I went with sleepyinseattle's salted background technique challenge from Saturday evening. This is a really fun technique! I used my Distress Ink pads and reinkers to get the ocean-y colours I was looking for.So, in addition to the VSN challenge and CPS sketch 182, this is also for EIC103. I used the fish on this cute little bracelet, which I'm tempted to order for one of my girls to set aside for Christmas. No, I'm not saying which daughter, since they sometimes read my blog.

And InStyle Stamps has their colour challenge for this month, based on this photo. Those drinks sure look cool and refreshing - just what we need, since the weather turned super hot again.
The {ippity} blog has a list of everyone participation today. Head on over for a full list. Check it out. There are some fantabulous peeps sharing their talent.

It's a Pink Friday

Hey everyone! It's Friends with Flair Friday and I'm feeling very pink today. As usual, check out the Unity blog for a full list of participants. Someone is hiding a blinkie that could net you 25 random Unity stamps.

Now, before we get to my card, I have a quick announcement. This weekend, starting tonight at 6pm, is VSN over at Splitcoaststampers! That is Virtual Stamp Night - a big gathering of people with challenges, chat and fun. There are prizes to be won for each challenge. You don't have to be present to win, but you do have to post your project no later than 10pm EST on Monday, Aug. 30 in order to be eligible. I will be there during most of the event, but my challenge time slot is 2pm on Saturday, so I will be at the keyboard, chatting away and answering any questions you may have during that hour. I hope to see you there!!

My card today uses another stamp set I hadn't gotten inky yet. It was one that had gotten packed away before our move. The box was unearthed last week (and the knights rejoiced!), much to my pleasure. I've rotated Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try and cracked open my Basic Grey Olivia paper. I just love this Donna Downey quote.I'm also entering this in the current All Things Unity challenge, to show your style. The only problem, really, is that my style changes as often as my mood. Isn't that a woman's prerogative??

TE Blast From the Past

Hey everybody!! It's time for another Taylored Expressions Blast From the Past Blog Hop!! If you've come here from my totally awesome friend Katie Cotton, than you are on the right track!! If not, head back over to the Taylored Expressions blog so you can start at the beginning and not miss a single thing!

This morning, I am finally getting my The Places You'll Go set inky. This is one of the first sets I bought - and the quote I'm using today is one of the reasons why. The other reason is this set is one of TE's The Giving Tree sets. I bought it during its three month period where $7 was donated to the Books for Kids Foundation. Anyone at all who knows me knows just how much I read - and how much I have passed my love of books on to my children. The sheer number of books in my house drives my mother up a tree.
For those who want to know, the current Giving Tree set is Pet's Place and it benefits the Humane Society. A new Giving Tree set will be out next month. I can hardly wait!!

Thanks for stopping by today. I am truly grateful and I love it when you leave a comment!!

H{ippity} Hop Beginnings

Good morning! It is bright and early here today and school has begun. DD#2, Hannah, is off to high school today. Wow.

This is the only picture in which I could get her to smile this morning. She was on her way out the door to head to the bus stop. DS#2 (Taylor) will have his first college class this evening, as he graduated high school in June. He and Cody (DS#1) will be attending the same community college that I do. They have 2 classes together, which I hope will help Cody.

Now for the real reason you've come to my blog today, since I know you don't really want to hear me brag about just how proud I am of my kids. Today is the weekly h{ippity} hop. A full list of participants is listed on the {ippity} blog.

My card this morning uses Get Sketchy #52 and JUGS 47, which is a colour challenge based on Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely paper (ooooh, I love this collection!) In honour of Hannah's first day of high school, I pulled out The Simple Things, using the sentiment "New Beginning." It's appropriate for so many different occasions. This is a gorgeous set. In this card, it's really girly, but the last time I used it, August 2, it was very CAS.I have one kit left in stock, but I'll be placing a new {ippity} order shortly, so if there are any {ippity} kits you've got your eye on, drop me a line and I'll hook you up!

Etsy Inspired #102 - Global Child Collection

Morning everybody! Ashley is deep in the middle of her move, so I told her I'd get a card together as soon as I got up this morning and post it for EIC102. This week's shop is a really fabulous Eco-friendly shop, the Global Child Collection. They're currently having a fundraiser with funds going to the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf Restoration Fund. How awesome is that?
I used the sun imagery from this nursery rhyme poster:
and the colours from these adorable little owls:and came up with this card. The sketch - because you know how much I love sketches! - is Jen del Muro's August 14 SFYTT.
Stop by the EtsyInspired blog to get the DT's links and see all the eye candy they have to share. Don't forget to hit Ashley's blog and leave her some extra love. Moving is tough - and she has two little ones, which really makes it a lot harder. BTDT...lost the t-shirt in a box somewhere.

Simply FWF

Ever have one of those days when nothing is working? My card today looks almost nothing like it started out. Well, except for the sketch (Get Sketchy #51) and the mushrooms (EIC#101: this apron) - but the colours and the papers? All different. So is the sentiment.
It's Friends With Flair Friday, so check out the Unity Blog for a full list of participants. Find the blinkie and you could win 25 random stamps.

My family is heading back to school on Monday. Things are about to get really crazy around here. It should be fun.

Thinking of Alice

Hey everyone. It's Friday, which means Friends With Flair time. I'm sorry I'm late getting this up this morning. For a full list of blog participants, check the Unity Blog. I had the blinkie last week. I wonder who is hiding it today...

Tomorrow is the Celebration of my friend Alice's life. It's been nearly 4 weeks since she passed away and it hasn't really gotten any easier. I'm looking forward to the memorial in some ways, but in others...it just makes everything that much more final. Some of us are working on knitting 12" squares to make into a blanket. It would have been for her, but will now be for her husband, Barry, in remembrance.

So I was thinking of Alice when I made my card today. I took the image from this bird pendant in this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge shop. The colours, dark brown, green & beige, are from the Play Date Cafe, Challenge 42. I also used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #86.

Deets:
Stamps: {ippity} Because of You and Just Wanted to Say...
Ink: Unity burnt umber
Paper: beige SU, dk brown PTI, Basic Grey Origins

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for all the support you've given me the past month.

EtsyInspired Meets CPS

Hey everyone! Don't be too shocked, but here's my third post this week! With the Etsy Inspired Challenge's big 100 this week, I thought I'd try to make at least one card per day anyway, and today I have one that's kind of special. A week or so ago, Ashley asked if I might consider being the Featured Stamper over at the Creative Inspirations Paint blog at some point. Um, me? Featured?

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I babbled my acceptance. Well some point became this week! That meant I needed a project to show off those yummy paints. And since I'm all about the EIC this week, I looked there for inspiration. I saw this Soar pendant and it brought to mind the balloons cute little Jolinne is holding. I used the sketch from CPS #179, some Memory Box Jubilee dp and some pretty pink ribbon that I got from Kimme. I painted Jolinne's shoes and her sash with the same pink as the darker balloons, but it is over Copics, which gives it a slightly different shade.

I tell you, I need some more of this paint!

Another Early Birthday Card

Lately I've been trying really hard to use stamps (and other items) that have been sitting around unloved and unused. With that in mind, I thought I'd play along with one of the StampTV challenges from this weekend. It was a sketch challenge for a birthday card. No problem, Hannah's birthday is next month.

Since this week is Etsy Inspired Challenge's big 100th challenge party, I'm trying to make at least one card for that challenge every day. So I hit this week's shop, Cathy Walters, to see what I could find to use as inspiration. My first thought for Hannah was one of the Eiffel Tower pendants, but that didn't say birthday card to me. So I started looking at the colours in Cathy's creations and she has this pretty green and yellow sunflower pendant. Aha! Hannah loves green...and I have an almost full pack of Basic Grey Origins paper. I can work with that!

I took the Basic Grey, some SU Summer Sun and some Bazzil yellow for the texture, and GinaK's Best Friends stamp set, and added them to the sketch.
I'm also entering this card in Cute Card Thursday Challenge 124 - whateva. Cute Card Thursday requests that people enter their cards in no more than 5 challenges, including that one. I've entered this card in a total of 3, so I'm good to go!

Back again tomorrow!

{ippity} Do Dah

Good morning everybody! Guess what! Several weeks ago, I added my blog to the Stamping Top 50. It was sort of a lark, but I did kind of want to see how I rated. My first ranking was #773! As of the time I write, I am now at #496! I have broken the barrier into the ranks of those who are actually listed by blog name! Thank you to all who read and who comment, as it is because of you. I do treasure every comment I receive.

Okay, now that I'm done gushing for the day, it's H{ippity} Hop time! A full list of participants is listed on the {ippity} blog. The Design Team will have some previews of the new releases, which will go live on Thursday, August 12. I've seen them and you guys are gonna love 'em! Yes, I will have them all available to purchase, and I will have some specials going up on my {ippity} blog as soon as the new goodies arrive.

For now, I have a card with a stamp from the last release. It's called Books a'Flutter. When I saw this one, I just knew it would be a favourite! The ribbon and white butterfly are from the Caffinated Cropper kit With a Cherry on Top. Other supplies used are Neenah Classic Crest, Script & Swiss Dot Cuttlebug folders, Copic Markers, Weathered Wood Distress Ink, Nesties Labels 8 and Frosted Lace Stickles.Enjoy the rest of the hop and have a marvelous week.

Challenges this card is for:
Etsy Inspired #100: Inspired by this butterfly journal
All Things Unity #12: Back to School (we just bought college textbooks. OUCH!!)
This week's Sketch For You to Try (and Ashley is this month's guest DT!!)
Oh Alice, Chapter 25: make an all white card (with the exception of the main image)

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Random.Org has spoken...and the winner is #4.

DE!!! You are the winner!!

Please email send an email to jimmi.mayo at gmail dot com with your full name and address and let her know that you've won 25 random Unity stamps from the Flair blinkie on my blog!

TGIF and FWF

TGIF and that means it's time for Friends With Flair! You all know what that means, right? Yup, it means it's time to check out the Unity blog for a full list of participants and, as usual, someone is hiding that ever-elusive blinkie. Leave a comment on the blog where you find it and you'll be in the running to win some Unity rubber!

I think I've overdone it a little, between chatting on Hip Hop, stalking the Dare to Get Dirty Challenge Queen threads over at SCS, and all of the paperwork for getting myself and my two sons registered for the fall semester. It's weeks like this when I really wish they'd been diagnosed much sooner than they were so they'd had the benefits of early intervention. It just means we have to work that much harder now to deal with the Asperger's Syndrome they both have. The worst part, at least for Cody, is that I started asking doctors to help me figure out how to help him before he was 6 years old. He was not given a full diagnosis until he was 12.5, and even then, we were not given much help by way of treatment.

Anyway, I digress. I'm playing with challenges again this week. Surprise! The first challenge I worked with was All Things Unity, which was a sketch challenge this time. They have a great team over there and I need to remember to play along more often. Secondly, it's Etsy Inspired's 99th challenge. I chose this bingo hat at Becky Kazana's shop. I'm not entirely sure if this counts for the Play Date Cafe's Challenge this week. Does navy blue count as a neutral in cardmaking like it does in fashion? I just don't know.

The stamps I used (the bingo card and FUN) came from the very first Stampin' Store kit, 100% Happy. A few places may still have them in stock, including my LSS, but you might have to hunt for them. It's one of my most used kits.

I hope you like my card for today. I had fun putting it together. Oh, and remember what I said about that elusive blinkie? Guess what!

It's been hiding here all along. Leave a comment and I'll let random.org pick a winner. You have until I get up tomorrow (Saturday) to do it and be in the running, at which time I'll post the winner. Don't forget to check back to see if it's you!

{ippity} Day

Morning everyone! It's another {ippity} day. This is the last card I made for the Dare to Get Dirty challenges. I didn't get a chance to enter it and I needed 3 sketch cards, so I fell short by 4 of the 33 challenges, but I got a call last from a friend who was in need of company and, well, friends are more important than challenges.


The stitching stamp is from the Unity Stampin Store kotm and the sentiment is from the {ippity} set The Simple Things.

Check out the {ippity} blog for a full list of today's hop participants - and don't forget to wish Maria a very Happy Birthday!!