EtsyInspired #132 - Fresh Metal

Hey everyone! Are you ready to be EtsyInspired? It's another week and we've got a fantastic shop for you!! Fresh Metal Jewelry has got the COOLEST flower pieces made out of fabric. I just LOVE them!! She upcycles bits for as many of her pieces as possible, all of which are inspired by vintage necklaces and brooches.

This one is my favourite.

For my card today, I chose to be inspired by all of the floral pieces in the shop. I used Memory Box stamps, cardstock and patterned paper. Oh, and yes, this is another card that will be heading off to Operation Write Home as a part of my 40 cards for Lent.

Our sponsor this week is Amber Ink.
AmberInk was started by a mother and daughter team. Amber lives in the East, Pam lives in the West. Amber is an Emmy nominated children's animator and illustrator, who creates from her Brooklyn, New York studio. Although they do carry some clear stamps, the company runs by the premise that their customers are more brilliant than patient. If you've been a diehard clear or rubber-stamper, they can even help you with the transition to digital. And don't worry about asking a silly question, because as a retired public high school teacher, Pam has already seen it all. Check out the ever-increasing tutorial links, which you can find on the homepage. Hailing from the Hawaiian Islands, the Aloha Spirit is alive and well at AmberInk.com.

Now it's your turn! For all the prize deets and to link up your project for this week, head on over to the EtsyInspired Blog. You've got until Friday, April 1, at noon, Pacific time. Before you go, though, check out the rest of the EIC team...

Angi
Ashley
De
Emily B.
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Libby - March Guest DT!!
Ruby
Savannah
Sherry
Virginia

Friends With Flair - March 25

Hey everyone. I hope you are all having a really good week. The boys have been on Spring Break, so that's been nice. Today and Tuesday, the spousal unit will be taking the civilian form of the language test that he's taken yearly for the military. His results could net him a job, so I'm on pins and needles. It would truly be a wonderful thing for him to have a job offer prior to his final military paycheck on 1 April.

Anyway, it's Friday, so time for another episode of Friends With Flair! For a full list of participants, check out the Unity blog.
For my card today, I used the sketch from CPS#210. The colour combo is from the Play Date Cafe #74. The stamps are from an older kit I don't recall the name of and Simply Said. I get my Unity and Memory Box patterned paper at Paper Maniac.

Have a great weekend. Good luck finding the blinkie!!

Blast From the Past March Hop

Original title, huh? Yeah, I know. Not so much. Anyway, I'm super glad to be back for real this month!! A big thanks to everyone who left get well wishes last month. They definitely helped.

I'm still working on my 40 card challenge for OWH, so this is another card for that, this time using Discover Your Wings and CreativiTEA. The sketch comes from OWH Stars & Stamps.

Keeping it short, since there are so many places to visit. Have a great day and enjoy the hop!!

H Cubed

Happy H{ippity} Hop! That's HHH - or H cubed! I'm being a little geeky today. It's Spring break for part of the family this week. The girls won't be on their spring break for another month. I don't know why the college and the county schools are not on the same schedule, but it's a little on the irritating side. Oh well.

Today did not go how it was supposed to have. Neither did my card. I got the colours wrong for the Play Date Cafe's challenge (I used melon instead of yellowish-orange and my pink was off, too) and then my sentiment went slightly cock-eyed even though I used a stamp-a-ma-jig. I guess my hand slipped or something. It's just been one of those days.
It's still kinda cute, and I'm going to remake it with some different paper, particularly since it's the OWH sketch and I'm still working on my 40 cards for Lent challenge and a few of these would work rather well to send to them. I've got a few of the items to win set up - and it includes a set of nesties...just in case anybody is still thinking about working on it.

Head over to the {ippity} blog to check out today's hoppers. Have a good one!!

Bling it On with All Things Unity!

Hey guys....four days in a row! I'm still not at 100%, but I'm definitely getting there!

All Things Unity has a brand new challenge today!
It's time to
Bling It On!!!

That means gems, rhinestones, glitter, pearls...stickles...use any or all of those! Well, and of course a Unity or {ippity} image!

I went with a sentiment from a past KOTM (September 2008 - "Love. Friendship. Miracles.") The same sentiment is now available on its own, called Almighty God, but it's about twice as large!

Deets:
Stamps: Unity
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Sketch: Mojo Monday 182

Since there were a few entries this past time that did not follow the rules, I thought I'd post them again just to be fully clear.

• First of all, have fun!!
• Second, please create something new for the challenge.
  
• Please use ONLY Unity or {ippity} stamps on your creations.
• Link back to All Things Unity and use our challenge photo (when one is provided).
• When uploading to online gallery, please use ATU##. (This week is ATU27)
• Please link to your specific post--not your entire blog.
• OPTIONAL - Please display our NEW ATU badge on your sidebar and in your posts. You don't have to, but it'd make us really, really happy if you did!!

Eligibility for MONTHLY prize::
All entries must be linked before 11:59pm EST the Saturday completing our 2 week challenge. You can link as many creations as you want (the more you link/create--the more chances to win). On the first of every month, we will post a winner of the prize package.

If you do not follow the above rules and guidelines, your creation will be ineligible and thus deleted.

NEW CHALLENGES are posted at 12:01am EST every 2 weeks on Sunday.

Eligibility for Challenge Blinkie::
One or two players will be featured on the Wednesday following the challenge end. The playersʼ creations, along with a link to their blogs, will be included in this post. These players will get to display this blinkie on their blog.

**NOTE** :: Receiving this blinkie does not mean you won the monthly prize.

There, now that all of that is out of the way, 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! To be eligible for Challenge #27 - Bling It On!!, you need to link your creation no later than 11:59 on April 2.

Cathy
Sara
Savannah

EtsyInspired #131 - DollBirdies

Happy Saturday! Are you ready to be EtsyInspired? I sure am! This week our shop is DollBirdies, a shop with the cutest handsewn totes, pouches, wallets and toys! Not only are they practical, but they range from stylish to whimsical. There is truly something for every taste, plus, I ask you this: who can't use another bag?? I know I am always looking for something to carry my latest project in, since inevitably what I need has something in it already. (No UFO comments from the peanut gallery, okay? I'm working on 'em!)

When I first saw this particular bag, I just loved the pink and brown combination. Then I started thinking too hard about whether or not my flowers matched and got all bogged down in the details. Finally, I had some sense knocked into me (thanks Ashley!) and I went back to my original thoughts of sticking with "flowers, pink and brown." Much better. Yes, I went with a lighter pink, but let's not quibble, shall we?

The sketch is from clean & simple stamping (#132), but if you'll note, it's also a variation on one of my all time favourite sketches, found on Nina B's blog here.
Our sponsor this week is SRM Stickers. SRM Stickers are not your ordinary, plain-old blah stickers. These are super cool! They're widely use by many papercrafters. There's a great blog with posts every weekday where you'll find paper crafting projects using stickers! Bookmark it, follow it, subscribe, or all of the above...you don't want to miss a tutorial, feature, challenge or giveaway!

Now it's your turn! For all the prize deets and to link up your project for this week, head on over to the EtsyInspired Blog. You've got until Friday, March 25, at noon, Pacific time. Before you go, though, check out the rest of the EIC team...

Angi
Ashley
De
Emily B.
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Libby - March Guest DT!!
Ruby
Savannah
Sherry
Virginia

FWF - March 18, 2011

Hey peeps! What's up with no Hip Hop chat yesterday?? Anybody else as bummed as I was? Oh well. Maybe next week?

So today I've got a quick card I made using the CPS sketch for this week (#209). It's my last one for All Things Unity's Birthday/Celebration challenge - which you still have time to enter...you have until tomorrow night, 11:59pm Eastern. Of course, this is also one more card in my own personal challenge of 40 cards in 40 days for Lent. I'll be sending them to Operation Write Home when I'm done.

Deets:
Cardstock - Kraft
Paper: Girls Paperie
Stamps: Unity Encompassed Grace
Ink: Versamark
Etc: Stampendous EP Claret, Mini pop dots

Head on over to the Unity blog to see who all is participating today. You may get lucky if you find that elusive blinkie! Good luck and I'll see you back here tomorrow with a new challenge from EtsyInspired!

H{ippity} Hopping With My Party Hat On

Well. It's Monday. At least there's an {ippity} Hop to look forward too, right? I think that's the only really good thing about Mondays. I'm really glad I'm participating this week, too. It's been a little while.

This week I'm stepping in for All Things Unity and the birthday/celebration challenge. There are 5 more days to play along - until 11:59pm Eastern on March 19.

My card uses the {ippity} kit Party Hat Wishes, to make a completely different card than the one I did on Friday. Still CAS, but a totally different feel. I think this one has a much more feminine feel, even though the other one had a big, pink bow. I used Twisted Card Sketches #50, which I like a lot for a CAS card.
Check out this morning's {ippity} blog for a full list of hoppers.

OWH Blog Candy Winner

Hey everyone. I haven't forgotten about the blog candy...I was just having a teensy bit of trouble getting this image saved properly.

#62 is this comment: AllisonG said...

Love your card - purple is my favorite color!

Thank you to everyone. You all left such sweet comments!! I hope you will all join in my charity card challenge. I've set it up to coincide with the days of Lent, so it will end with Easter. OWH is my focus and I hope many more cards are sent to our soldiers.

EtsyInspired Challenge #130 - Artwork by Lori

Hey everyone! It's time to be EtsyInspired!! This week we're coming to you with a really awesome shop called Artwork by Lori! Lori is a fabulous artist. I mean seriously! This shop has just her paintings and prints. She has TWO other Etsy shops! The Royal Bead has all of her jewelry and hair designs and Hip Heart carries all of her graphic designs. This is a talented chica, and one lucky person will win a print with a value of up to $14 - winner's choice!!

We've got a sponsor this week, too. Charleston Scrapbook Company is providing a $10 gift certificate for one of our winners!

So earlier this week, I realized that it was going to be the 2 year anniversary of my friend, Bill's, death. Bill Wyatt was a wheelwright. I own two spinning wheels that he made, so I thought it would be fitting to honour his memory by spending March 8th spinning. I hadn't chosen a project yet for this week, so it occurred to me that I might have something that would fit in with Artwork by Lori. I have a bit of a fibre stash (hey, they don't call me FibreJunky for nothing!!), so it didn't take me too long to find something appropriate, once I'd taken a good look through the shop.

First I found this lovely print.Then I found this Coopworth/Alpaca blend that had been dyed with madder.

There was 8oz of it. That ended up being more than 4 full bobbins worth of singles, which I spun on my Pegasus wheel, a 30" production wheel made of mesquite. It has my name on it, slightly misspelled, as Bill got it wrong in 2004 (the plaque says "FibreJunkie"). It is signed and numbered on the bottom. It was the 6th Pegasus he made. I'm not sure how many he completed before he passed away, but I was able to work with him for a little while (before he got a real apprentice, Myles Jakubowski, who now continues Bill's work), and I had a hand in several of his wheels, which is a source of great pride for me, even though my part was very, very small. For expedience, I chose to pull out a different wheel for plying. I have several spinning wheels. My Lendrum has a gigantic plying head. I was able to get almost half of the fibre plied onto one of the Lendrum's huge plying bobbins. For any other fibre people who may notice that this doesn't look like a typical Lendrum, yes, it is one of the 25th anniversary walnut wheels. And lastly, I skeined it up. I'll skein up the rest later. I don't know how much yardage I have yet. I haven't measured it, but the first skein is huge. The fibre originally came from Handspun by Stefania last year at the MD Sheep & Wool Festival. I don't know what it wants to be now that it's all grown up into yarn. If anyone has any suggestions, send me a shout-out. Now that I've totally talked your eyes off today, head on over and see what the rest of the team has to share today. You've got until Friday, March 18, at noon Pacific time, to enter your own creation on the EIC blog.

Ashley
De
Emily B.
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Libby - March Guest DT!!
Ruby
Savannah
Sherry
Virginia

Friends with Birthday Flair

Good morning! I think. Well, actually, let me rephrase. It's morning. I'm up but I'm a little worried about some people on the other side of the world (hi Opal!)

My heart goes out to everyone affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan and elsewhere.

It's time for Friends With Flair and I have another card for All Things Unity's Birthday Challenge. I'm using this week's Hip Hop Sketch Challenge (HHSC48) and the color combo from the Play Date Cafe (PDCC72.)










The stamp set is {ippity} Party Hat Wishes. I have one kit currently in stock.
For Unity stamps, head over to my favourite retailer, Paper Maniac! She has all ribbon on sale (35% off!!) for the month of March.

Check out the Unity blog for a full list of FWF participants.

Lenten Challenge

Hi everyone. There was a thread on Facebook about what people were giving up for Lent. I had just seen a post from my Aunt Kathleen where she mentioned that she would be donating $5 to charity for each day of Lent when I read a comment from Tenia (one of my fabulous teammates at Paper Maniac) stating that the Deacon at her church said it was allowable to add something. This fit right into Aunt Kathleen's donations, and it sparked an idea in my head.

I have challenged myself to make a card for Operation Write Home for each day of Lent. Oh, and, of course, to actually get them in the mail - since I'm really bad about getting things mailed. Ashley (who is about the most awesome person I know!) is going to join me.

So, what do you guys think? I'm going to open this up to any charity that is requesting cards. Leave me a link at the end of 40 days, with the completed challenge, and I will draw a name and send out a goodie package in thanks. I don't yet know what it will be, but I'll add that info as soon as I figure it out.

Remember, do not add your link *until* the end of Lent! If you wish to send cards as you make them, that's fine, just be sure to take pics! And if you are sending cards to OWH, please keep in mind that for Easter, the deadline is March 18, and for Mother's Day, they need cards by March 31.

All Things Unity Celebrates Birthdays

Good morning! If you haven't hit the bunny trail and hopped along with OWH yet, I hope that you will! There are a lot of posts to see this weekend - and some amazing projects along the way.

Graphic Courtesy of Lettering Delights

This morning, it's time for All Things Unity Challenge #26 - and we want to see Birthday or Celebration cards (or projects!!) I pulled out two older sets, Sweet Yummy Cupcakes and Birthday Chic, to make this card for my goddaughter's impending birthday.

Deets:
Cardstock: Stampin Up
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Euphoria "Cool", Sugared "Delectable", Urban Prarie "Straw"
Ink: Versamark, Versacolor Wild Berries
Embossing Powder: Ranger Clear, Adirondack Eggplant, Stampendous Claret
Challenges: SCS CC311, Sketchy Sunday TG009

Now it's your turn!! Choose YOUR favourite Unity or {ippity} stamp and create something. Link it up to the ATU blog no later than 11:59pm on Saturday, March 19, and you'll be eligible to win this month's prize/and or the challenge blinkie.

Speaking of this month's prize...it's this set of fabulous Jillibean Soup papers and cardstock stickers!! Nice!!
Check out the rest of the team and see what they have to share with you today. We've got a brand new Guest Designer, the amazingly talented Megan Lock joining us as a second guest DT for the month of March!! Please help us make her feel welcome!

Cathy
Megan (March Guest DT)
Sara
Savannah

Here's hoping you have a great day!!

Operation Write Home Bunny Hop

Quick note - for my EtsyInspired post, please check here. Thanks!!

If you started at the beginning of the Bunny Hop and have made it all the way through 133 other blogs, I thank you greatly for sticking with it! If you've just stumbled upon my blog (or you're a regular reader) and you're curious, or lost, head on back to the beginning at OWH Stars & Stamps. You should be coming here from Angela's blog, Midnight Crafting. If so, then you are definitely in the right spot!!

Important information first - there are a couple deadlines coming up. For Easter cards, it is March 18. For Mother's Day cards, the deadline is March 31. Those dates will be here before you know it, so get those cards in the mail! Our soldiers and their families are counting on all of us.

Have you guys seen the new Saturday Seminar Series? I missed the first one while I was sick, but the second seminar starts in a couple weeks and it looks like it's going to be extremely helpful for any of us who are interested in bettering our card design skills. You can still read the information from the first "lesson" here, and while some of it may seem very basic, I think it's always good to get a fresh perspective.

Okay, I'm done being a blabberpuss. You came to see a card and maybe to think about some blog candy, right? I originally posted this to the Paper Maniac blog just over a week ago, and hadn't posted it here yet. The main image uses Heartfelt Creations stamps, which I coloured with Copic markers. I think it would work for either Easter or Mother's Day.
Yes, I did mention blog candy. I'll be giving away the {ippity} set Sing a New Song to one lucky commenter. I may have an extra Unity Itty Bitty to throw in there as well. I'll take comments until after class on Wednesday (noon, Eastern), after which time I'll let Random.org choose a winner.By the way, I've been very fortunate. I've been an Air Force wife for almost 20 years. My husband enlisted while I was still a senior in high school, and we didn't marry until he had already served for several years. His retirement will be official on 1 April - and, although he has served just over 24 years, because of his specific job he has never been deployed. We are lucky. Incredibly lucky. The children and I know it.

There are those who have not been so fortunate, and I thank each and every one of you for the sacrifices you have made. I also thank those of you who care enough to continue send cards and write letters and to do all that you do for the many families who are affected.

Your next stop on the hop is the OWH Homefront. Thanks again for stopping by my blog!!

EtsyInspired #129 - Desired Things

Good morning everyone! Are you ready to be EtsyInspired?? This week, we're coming to you from Desired Things, a super cool shop with quirky jewelry and abstract art. I love her paper charms and altered notebooks!! I could get lost in all the beautiful colours...

For my inspiration this week, I chose this beautiful bracelet in greens and blue-greens. It reminds me of leaves and the newness of spring, which I will be very glad to see stick around for a while. After some beautiful weather, it dropped to a high of 38 on Thursday and lows in the 20s this entire past week. EW!

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd make a spring-y card. I pulled out some GinaK stamps and StampTV Sketch Spotlight Challenge #15 and went green.

Deets:
Stamps: GinaK StampTV Kit Autumn Splendor
Cardstock: Prismatics Classic Yellowgreen, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: VersaColor Rainforest
Etc: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, hand-dyed rayon crinkle ribbon

Check out the rest of the DT and then head over to the EtsyInspired blog to link up your own project. Full challenge deets, including information on this week's sponsor, Sparkle Creations, as well as this week's prizes, are on the EIC blog.

Angi
Ashley
De
Emily B.
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Libby - March Guest DT!!
Ruby
Savannah
Sherry
Virginia
EtsyInspired Blog (LINK YOUR PROJECTS HERE!)

FWF - March 4, 2011

Hey there, party peeps!! Thank you all SOOOOO much for the good wishes the past couple weeks. I am finally starting to feel almost human again. Now watch me overdo it and send myself back to square one, right? Well, I'll try not to do that, but I've got some serious catching up to do, and I'm starting with FWF.

I made a really quick card using Singing Souls and this week's Hip Hop Sketch Challenge (HHSC47).

Deets:
Cardstock: Memory Box Blueberry
Ink: Distress Ink Faded Jeans, Palette Moulin Rouge
Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages & Prima

Head over to the Unity blog for full deets on this week's participants. Good luck at finding the blinkie!

OOOH!! This just in...Paper Maniac now has in stock the three new Cosmo Cricket patterned paper pads, which coordinate with some of the newest Unity Itty Bitties!