Last FWF of 2010

Happy New Year's Eve, party peeps! Welcome to the very last Friends With Flair of the year! Where on earth has this year gone? Has it been as crazy for you as it has been for me? Soooo much has happened this year, it just seems like I've barely blinked and the whole year has flown by. I wonder what's in store for all of us for 2011.

Unity has a special year-end sale going on. Some of the kits will be retiring, so if you're looking for any of the first year Kits-of-the-Month, get them now before they go away for good. I'll be picking up the only one I'm missing. Shh...don't tell The Spousal Unit, okay??
We just got back from a fantastic visit with my mom and step-dad in North Carolina. Jerry's (step-dad) birthday is this coming week, so I thought I'd make him a Unity birthday card. I pulled out the Samantha Walker/Unity co-branded kit Retro Road Trip and came up with this card, using CPS sketch #188, which I rotated.
That's all from me today. Time for you to hit the Unity blog to see who is participating today and to see if you can find the ever elusive blinkie. Someone who leaves a comment on the blog with the blinkie will win 25 Unity stamps.

All Things Unity will be back with a brand new challenge on January 9...and I'll be back tomorrow with my first official EtsyInspired post!!!

My deepest wish for all of you out there in blog land that 2011 will be the best year yet. May it bring you peace and joy.

Friends with Newsy Flair

Hey everyone!! It's Friday Friends with Flair and I have news! I am super-duper thrilled to be able to share that I am one of 4 new members of the design team for my favourite challenge!!! The official news is posted here on the EtsyInspired blog. Can you say "bouncing off the walls"??

So of course, my FWF project is EtsyInspired, right? I have new Unity/Bella Blvd stamps and this gorgeous necklace from Tzaddi Shop reminded me of one of the Bella Doilies. I pulled the sketch from this week's CAS97 challenge on SCS. It just seemed perfect for the Bella Doilies, so I went with it. I topped off my challenge trio with the Play Date Cafe's Challenge #60, black & white with a splash of yellow.Before I go, there are two things I'd like you to remember. First of all, of course check out the Unity blog for a full list of this week's participating peeps. Find the hidden blinkie, leave a comment, and you could win 25 random Unity stamps! Not bad for a little blurfing, eh?

Second, the All Things Unity challenge blog is in full swing and we'd love to have YOU participate! Full deets on the most recent challenge are here. What are you waiting for?

On The Rocks

My son, Cody, sent me this video months ago and I found out a few days ago that this group is on the show The Sing Off - which airs again tonight. I wish I'd caught the first few episodes, but you can bet I'll be watching tonight - and if they've made it through, I'll be voting for them.

On The Rocks is an a capella ensemble from the University of Oregon. I think they're pretty fantastic and this video went viral, so you may have already seen it. For those who have not, sit back and enjoy the ride.



BTW, I have some news, but I can't share it just yet...I'll post as soon as I can!

Taking Joy in All Things Unity

Hey there peeps. I'm back online after a few days taking care of my eldest daughter, Meagan. She had some pretty massive oral surgery on Thursday. It's not often that a 16yo needs her mother. Heck, with my own medical garbage, she often takes care of me, so you can bet that I was going to do anything and everything in my power for her.

Anyway, it's time for a brand new challenge at All Things Unity! For Challenge #21, we're looking towards Christmas and we'd like you to design anything but a card.

I made a little flap-lid gift box, decorated with some Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses dp and stamps from the Unity/Jillibean Soup kit 'Tis the Season for Joy. I used Copic atyou Spica markers to colour in the Joy stamp and make it sparkle. Somebody in my family will be receiving a little giftie in this for Christmas and I'm not saying who!!
Now go check out what the rest of the team has made - and when you're done, hit All Things Unity to enter your own new Unity or {ippity} creation! You have two weeks, until December 25, to enter!

Cathy
Lynn
Sara (on break)
Savannah

My project is also for Allsorts week 82, last minute Christmas.

Paper Makeup December Fan Blog Hop

Zoinks, is it December 7 already? Where is this year going???

If you're coming here from Christi T's blog, then you're in the right spot. I'll have a full list of all participants at the bottom, just in case you get lost, but if you'd like to start at the beginning, head on over to the Paper Makeup Stamps blog. You can get all the deets about prizes there, too.

The project I have today is something I made quite some time ago, but I really love it, and haven't shared it here yet. I used a template from My Time Made Easy, for the Cutesy Cover (it's a freeby, too!) and the PMS set Caffeine Trip, which I just adore! The box holds a set of the little notecards.Remember to leave comments...I don't know where Katie's going to be choosing the prize-winners from. Now it's time to head on over to Shaela's blog.

CAS-tastic H{ippity} Hop

Good morning, peeps! How are you this fine Monday? Ready to h{ippity} hop your way to seeing some fantabuliciousness? Yup, I'm makin' up words today. I'm just feeling that good. I did not make the team for the CAS challenge at SCS, but I did get one of the guest spots. In fact, I got the first spot, which is TODAY! The challenge is Ways to Use It: Bows.

Of course I had to see if there were any other challenges I could incorporate and EtsyInspired #117 was the first place I went looking. Check out this wordy birdy from this week's shop, Paper Seeds. Doesn't he make a great inspiration piece? The word bird stamp comes from the {ippity} kit Sing a New Song. I used Tim Holtz's technique of making my own stamp pad (shown here, among other places). I didn't do it as well as he does, but I don't think I did too badly for my first time! I wish I'd had a better green to use, but it turns out my bottle of bundled sage is really tumbled glass!The colours I used came from Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #32, red & green, which is also the challenge this week over at Elephantastic. The layout started out as the sketch from FTL119, over at Clean & Simple Stamping, but it sort of morphed a little bit.

I have one of each of the two {ippity} kits I used in stock at the moment. They are currently $15 each, plus shipping.

Head on over to the {ippity} blog and see what this week's challenge is. There's a prize attached, and we all like the chance to win, right? Then check out the rest of the participating blogs, because there's another prize to be won and we won't know which blog it's from until Thursday!

Hope you all have a great day!!

I Love FWF

Good morning everyone! Sheesh, but I can't type today. I hope I catch all the typos I'm bound to make. It only took me 4 tries to properly spell "everyone" - dyslexia of the fingers. Would that be dysgraphia? Anyway...it's Friday, so that means it's time for Friends with Flair at Unity! Yesterday we hopped until we dropped. For some of us, that was pretty darned literal!

So today I have a CAS card for OWH. They're taking Valentine's Day cards through December 7th. I went with the Play Date Cafe's colour challenge #58 and used *only* red and white, which is fine with me. I think it's a super fresh combination. Love it! Then I checked out this week's EtsyInspired Challenge #116, Heartsong. Check out this pretty wire hanging. Wouldn't that be lovely in any room of the house? The word Love has a heart in it. Hmm...so does the word Love in a certain stamp I know...Got it. I know what to do for my card!
Oh! Almost forgot. The flower is for this week's CAS challenge (CAS95) on SCS. It's a "ways to use it challenge" calling for flower accents.

I'm just a bundle of acronyms again, aren't I?

Be sure to check out the Unity blog for a full list of participating peeps. Remember, somebody is hiding the blinkie. Find it, leave a comment, and you could win some Unity rubber - and that's always a Good Thing™.

Joy

I thought I'd post another challenge card. It was made mostly for the CAS Winter DT challenge, which was an inspiration challenge. I chose a very pretty ornament to be inspired by. But you guys know me...if I can find a way to work in multiple challenges - without ruining the design, I'll do it.So without further ado, here are the challenges I managed to include:
Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #31: use a bow - I tried a couple different ribbons...liked this one best
GingerloftChallenges #7: bows (see above)
Tuesday Throwdown #27: embellish it - I pulled out the crystals
Stampavie and more #119: snow - I used my Snowflakes embossing folder
The Crafty Pad #99: snowflakes (see above)
Alphabet Challenge - E: E for Embossing - I went both ways this time
and lastly
Creative Cottage said no traditional Christmas Colours, Alvin!! Okay, Dave!

Wish me luck. This was Round 3 of the DT Search and the results will be posted Friday night. Oh - and finals are next week. YIKES!!!