Growing in Unity - Day 2

I'm back with Day 2 of Growing in Unity. Thank you for the kind words you left yesterday. They always bolster my spirit.

For those who may be looking for the AiFactory Challenge post, scroll down one post, please.

I'm in alter mode today. Some of you know that I swap on Swap-bot. One of my recent swaps involved creating something - as long as it included an owl in a Santa hat. Unity to the rescue!

I took the larger of the two owls from Owl Always Love You and gave him a hat, courtesy of the Cricut. The little notebook was one that came from the Philly Candy Show. Eldest son says it looks "much less boring" now. Coming from him, that is a huge compliment.I also used Snowflake Border from Bright & Merry Christmas Wishes and the inside has Worn Music stamped tone-on-tone using the same red paper. The whole thing is based on Card Patterns Sketch #39. (did I mention that I'm on a sketch challenge kick?) I hope my partner likes it.

AiFactory Tuesday - Challenge #10

Guess what? It's AiFactory Challenge day and this week Erin challenged us to a free-for-all! Yup, she gave us free reign to use any image from a prior challenge - or one from the AiFactory Store that we'd been hankering to try. I really like Alicia Goes Snowboarding so I'm using her again.

Speaking of hankering, does that word make anyone else think of that old commercial "hanker for a hunk of cheese" or is it just me? For those who are too young to remember, here it is.

Okay, so back to the challenge. Erin did have one teeeeensy little caveat. No cards. We had to alter something. Okey-dokey. I can do that. That I can do! Uh oh. Now I'm quoting A Chorus Line. I'll try to behave myself.

I've seen several "stamped" candles lately. I think they're really cool and would make neat Christmas/Hannukah/Yule/insert-your-holiday-of-choice presents, particularly if done in sets and presented in a nice, decorated box.

I wasn't exactly sure this would work - but it did! Because this is a digital stamp, it works a little differently than the tutorial I followed, written by Katie Renz. She did make a really cute gift box to go with her stamped candles. I haven't got any acetate, unfortunately, but it's on my shopping list! I placed my image in Photoshop and rasterized it. Using the paint bucket and the colours from Color Throwdown #66, I filled in the different areas to get a fully coloured Alicia. Isn't she cute??Check out the rest of the team and see what they've got to share with you this week. We've got another new team member, so please help us welcome Betty to the fold! She's going to be a great addition to the team.

Angie
Betty
De
Erin
Fink

Kerry
Lola
AiFactory Challenge Blog (Link Posts HERE)

The short rules for playing along: you do not have to use an AiFactory image, but we would be thrilled if you did. Freebies are available here if you're still a little leery of digital images. If you post your project to an online gallery, please tag your photo(s) with AIF010. The prize this week is a digi-paper of the winner's choice. For full rules, and to link your project, head on over to the AiFactory Challenges blog.

Lastly, AiFactory has a new Monthly Kit Club. It's on special for $5 this month. All the deets are here. Check it out!

Back later with my Growing In Unity post.

I'm Growing In Unity!

Good morning everybody! I'm hosting Growing In Unity this week. I'm super excited about it because this week is the first anniversary of Growing In Unity! It started out with a bunch of people who love Unity stamps doing projects for a week to showcase their love for the stamps and the company - and now it's been growing strong for an entire year! Not only that, but people have signed up to take weeks through next April! Now that's dedication! But we love our Unity!!

I've got a little Christmas card today. It's the first time I've used Spellbinders' Petite Borderabilities - and they're fun! I'm still on my sketch kick, so this one comes from The Sweet Shop's Saturday Sketch, #28.
The stamp comes from Bright & Merry Winter Wishes. I'm loving this set! A shout out to De S for the Bow-Easy. Once I got over being fumble-fingered, it worked great! Thanks, De!!

I'll be back tomorrow with two posts - one for AiFactory and another for Growing in Unity! See you then!!

Friends With Flair Friday

Good morning Peeps! It's Friday, and that means it's time for Unity's Friends with Flair! Yeah, I'm late. It's been a week. We're shutting things down at work, so I've been cleaning up the machinery, moving boxes, and lifting a bunch of stuff that I shouldn't have. I hurt so much it's just not even funny - so I took a flexeril after work. And then a vicodin. Yup, I brought out the big guns. And then I slept until 10:30 this morning. I kinda missed class, too. Oops??

On the good side of things, I'm going to have an awesome new desk here at home on which to create. And I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon to adjust the medications so I can get something that won't knock me out. I really, really hate taking anything that strong.

Anyway, This week's card is doing double duty again. It's my card for Etsy Inspired #59 - The Little Red Door, and I've just been waiting to post it. I love this little shop - and as soon as I saw it, I knew exactly which stamp I was going to use. Of course, it was going to be Unity! This is the darling little house I used as inspiration. Isn't it cute??

I used the little house stamp from May's Kit of the Month, ...another sweet day! This is truly one of my favourites! The sentiment comes from one of the newer kits, Bright and Merry Winter Wishes.

For the card itself, I used Sketch Challenge #35 at Stamp TV. The patterned paper is some I got from Jan (tweetybugshouse) back when I first started stamping and had nothing. So a big thank you to Jan!!

I'll be hosting Growing in Unity next week, so don't forget to come and see what I've got planned. I hope I don't disappoint.

Poll for School - Blog Candy Involved!

Hey everyone. I need to do a little bit of research for a school project. I've decided the best way to do that it to ask my readers. In return, I will send someone a little surprise.

Here's what I need to know. What is your favourite kind of ice cream? Please leave a comment with your favourite flavour and your age range. For bonus entries, ask your family members too.

Age ranges: Under 18, 19-25, 26-40, Over 40.

Also, in the case of family members, if you could note the sex of the person answering, that would be fabulous.

Thank you SO much!!

AiFactory Tuesday - Challenge #9

I am very sad as I post today. This is the last week that my dear, sweet friend, Ashley, will be a part of the AiFactory DT. So, while this is my favourite of the projects I've made so far as a part of the DT, I can't quite be as thrilled as I might have otherwise been.

This week, De challenged us to use this adorable Bee and Flower image. In addition, she requested that we use CPS #138 and, if we had them, Shimmerz. I admit, I've had a couple jars - okay, 3 - sitting here for quite a few months without even being opened. I will also admit that I was a teensy bit afraid of them. Now I wonder why I was ever nervous. Oh, and I want more!

The first image is a close-up. I wanted to show the sparkle in the wings and the flower. I used Frosted Lace stickles for the wings, a spica marker for the centre of the flower and burgundy Shimmerz for the petals. I don't think the petals show up very well in the photo, but they sure are pretty in real life.
The card itself is coloured with Copics. The patterned paper comes from Basic Grey's Eva collection. It's a bit more pattern than I normally use at once, but I felt kinda wild today.Here is the inside of the card. I just chose a font (this one is called Kendric), printed it out, trimmed it to size and adhered it.Now, remember, you do not have to use an image from AiFactory to participate in this week's challenge. There is a prize involved, but you have to play to win. When you post in any online gallery, please use the tag AIF009. I'm sure the folks over at the CPS blog would be happy if you used CPS138, too. You can link your projects to the AiFactory Challenge blog or here at the AiF community.

Thanks for checking out my blog today. As always, I truly appreciate it! Check out the rest of my teammates. They're listed on the left side of my blog. Leave some extra love for Ashley. Her littlest one has been super sick. And a big welcome to Fink (aka Sheri), as she joins the team.

I hope you all have a super day!

Quick Note about AiFactory Challenges

There seems to be a little confusion over the AiFactory challenges, and part of this is my fault for not specifying, so I wanted to clear this up. I'll be putting this information into my AiF posts from now on, but just so it's out there, this is one of those challenges where you can make a card, a layout, an altered project...as long as it fits the challenge guidelines, go for it!

In addition, you don't have to use an AiFactory image. Of course, we would totally love it if you did! But it's certainly not mandatory. If you don't have any yet, (and what are you waiting for, hmm???) Mia has some freebies at the AiFactory Store. Digital stamps are really cool. There is one major plus - they don't take up any space in your house! Trust me, I know how much of an issue that can be. Remember, I have five kids and live in military housing.

So come and play along. Combine it with another challenge or 10. If you manage ten, I'll be uber impressed. The deadline each week is 11:59pm EST, Monday. Oh, and if you want to come and hang out with us, we're always happy to have more company at AiFactory/AiVault Land.

EtsyInspired #58 - Unity Friends With Flair

Good morning, peeps! I'm combining two posts today, as I run out the door. First off, it's Friday - and that means it's time for Unity's Friends With Flair! I know you know how much I love my Unity stamps! Check out the Unity blog for a list of everyone participating and for a run down on Angela's "garage sale" - there are, as usual, some excellent buys to be had.

In addition to FWF, it's been several weeks since I joined in the EtsyInspired Challenge, but it's one of my favourites. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, EIC was one of my first thoughts.

This week's shop is Linkel Designs. Kelly and Linda create some absolutely gorgeous jewelry pieces. I could get into some serious trouble spending money there. Oh, and I absolutely refuse to show it to my daughters until closer to Christmas! I don't want them to fall in love with anything that might be sold too early. When I'm ready to shop, though, the older two are going to be checking it out. Hannah, in particular, will go bazonkers.

For my inspiration, I chose these sweet little heart locket earrings, which they have named Fondly.

I'd been working on some other vintage-type cards, so had already been looking at my Unity Stampin' Store kit. When I saw these earrings, I immediately thought of the little hearts on the measuring cup and spoons, and the matching love sentiment. The designer paper is from Graphic 45 and reminds me of an old kitchen tablecloth. To add to the vintage feel, I ink-distressed the edges of all the internal layers of cardstock with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I'm still on a sketch kick, and this one is CPS #137.
There's still time for you to participate in this week's challenge. Deets are on the EtsyInspired Challenge blog.

Don't forget to check out all the awesome Unity creations, too. There are some amazingly talented folks out there, and I'm fortunate enough to call some of them friend.

AiFactory AIF008 - Part Deux

I was right - DC traffic was hideous!! But Bethesda itself wasn't so bad at all and I got to see a very nice doctor. Short version: I have osteoarthritis in my back and fibromyalgia. It could be a lot worse. It could have been lupus.

So anyhoo...my card. You'll remember that part of our challenge was to use the colours Erin chose from the Kuler website. Well, the rest of it was to use either the Ivan-goes-snowboarding or Alicia-goes-snowboarding digistamps.I decided I needed a Christmas card, so that's what I made.When I printed this out, I used the draft setting so the ink-jet ink would be lighter. I then used Krylon Workable Fixatif over it. I no longer have trouble with my printer ink smearing when I use Copics. I am a happy camper in this regards, let me tell you! I was having a devil of a time before, but, as you can see, that is one problem solved!

Of course the team would love it if you would all join along. Full deets at the AiFactory Challenge Blog. Don't forget the keyword is AIF008. I know I'm looking forward to seeing what you make! Links to the rest of the team are on the left side of my blog. Leave 'em some love!

PS. I almost forgot to put this in here. I've been on a sketch kick and this one came from Jen del Muro's Sketch For You to Try for this week.

AiFactory Tuesday!

Good morning everyone! Today we're snowboarding with Alicia! Or rather, she's snowboarding and I'm out at Bethesda Naval Medical Center seeing a rheumatologist. Somehow I think she's having much more fun than I am.

Erin challenged us to use this colour palette. It's called Sh! and she got it from the Kuler website, which is a really neat place to check out. I'm having trouble seeing things lately, so I went in and made this handy little colour sheet. I just took the Kuler colours and made squares, then filled in the colours using the bucket. I did it in Illustrator, but it could be done in Photoshop just as easily.
Ack - have to run. DC traffic is going to be the death of me this morning. Back as soon as they're done with me - and will get the pic of my project up asap!

Friends with Flair - HHH style!

Wowie, I can't believe just how much I missed the Hip Hop chat. I don't know if it'll be back again, but I'm sure glad I was able to participate. I may well regret it this weekend, but I don't really care! It was worth it!!

This is the first real card I've made in 4 weeks. Yes, I am going crazy. Why do you ask?? I don't think that twitch is permanent...

Kidding. Little stressed - not crafting at all is just crazy-making! I'm sure you guys all understand that one. I need to do something creative every day. It's a balm to my soul.

So, first non-digital card since the last time I participated in FwF Friday. Digi-cards are cool. You always have the right colour, you don't run out of adhesive half-way through a project...but there's nothing like getting your hands all inky. Today I pulled out the first Unity Stampin' Store Kit from August, ...100% Happy. I love this one - and finally my favourite local shop, The Queen's Ink, is carrying them!! Woohoo!!!!! No more having to mail order these particular kits. I can go local now. I think the ferris wheel makes such a statement on a card. It's such a fun image, too. The patterned paper is from Graphic 45. The ribbon is actually Dusty Durango polka-dotted grosgrain from Stampin' Up, which I just turned upside-down so that it would match the paper better.

Now, if you haven't been there in a while, now's the time to get shopping at Unity. They've got a gigantoid sale going on this weekend.
I should be back to blogging much more regularly now that I can type again and now that I can actually stamp. Rejoice with me people, this is a happy day!!

AiFactory Challenge - Sweet Pea Fairies

Hi everyone!! I'm back! I have really missed creating and sharing with everyone.

This week, we're using the cutest digi-stamps! I've loved this set since the first time I saw it, and it may be my favourite at AiFactory. With a name like Sweet Pea Fairies, how could they be anything other than adorable?? We've got a second set that some of us are using this week - Hand Drawn Wings. These are gorgeous and I have visions of altered books and ATCs floating in my head for them.

Part of our challenge this week was to use either of those two sets (or both?) and to use the following sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping: Fall to Layout #43.
Because my wrists aren't quite fully healed from tendinitis, I went all digital this week. In addition, it's practice for CAT 118, my Digital Illustration class, so I can count my blogging as doing homework! Works for me. I used the Kuler website to help choose colours and then made a very subtle gradient as my background. I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are metallic gradients for the crown and the wings - though I reduced the opacity in the wings, since wings should be shiny or sparkly, but never heavy.Now it's your turn. You have until Monday, October 19, at midnight, to play along. All rules are at the AiFactory Challenge blog. If you post to an online gallery, please use the keywords AIF007 and FTL43. If you're feeling froggy, you might want to post to the CAS Stamping: FTL43 post, too. I'm sure the folks over there would love to see what you make!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT's posts. We all love getting comments!

Angie
Ashley
De
Erin
Kerry
Lola
Mia'
AiFactory Challenge Blog (LINK POSTS HERE)

Have a wonderful week! Now go create!!

AiFactory Challenge - Halloween Sentiments

Good morning! It's that time of the week again and we've got a colour challenge this week! The team is using the Haunted Tags & Quotes set, and everyone is trying to do something a little different. We hope we've succeeded in giving everyone some good eye candy to look at. If you want some real candy, feel free to Trick or Treat at my house on October 31 - but remember, I live in military housing and it's generally only allowed from 6-8pm.

Here are the colours Erin chose for our challenge this week.
In keeping with my party theme of last week, I decided that we needed some wine glass charms. Yup - time for the shrink plastic! If you haven't played with this since childhood, do yourself a favour and give it a whirl. It's fun!I had a little trouble with some of the printer colours, but overall, they came out pretty cute. Next time I won't use memory wire and I'll get some bigger beads for the sides, but sometimes you just use what you've got.
A couple quick notes - eldest son cut the memory wire for me. That was a big not-gonna-happen when I tried myself. Also, when you're recovering from tendinitis, don't decide that a project requiring lots of cutting and manipulation of jump rings is a good idea. It's not.

Now that you've had your moment to laugh at me for the day, head over to the rest of the AiFactory team and see what they've got to show for this week's challenge. The AiFactory challenge blog has all the deets.

Friends with Flair - week 3

Why is it that when you most need your internet connection, the whole thing goes kablooie? Mine shut down yesterday afternoon and I just got it back - nearly 15 hours later.

This is just a little CAS card using the bicycle image from the August '09 KOTM "Following My Heart..." It's a sweet set and this is one of my favourite images from it. It reminds me of a bike my grandparents had when I was growing up. Because the base of the card is so dark, I used the same light blue to line the inside and the patterned paper to accent the inner edge. I don't often do much to the insides of my cards, but I do really like how they look, so I may start doing it a lot more often.

Unity has come up with a new thing called "Who Does That?" They're as crazy as always, and have released 17 new kits and singles this weekend. Yesterday, someone won 551 stamps!

Who does that??

To see what else they've been up to, check out their blog. There's also a list of the other Friends with Flair participants - and I know they're just waiting to share their creations.

Have a great day!

Mary Travers

Earlier this week, Patrick Swayze passed away from pancreatic cancer, one of the nastiest cancers out there. Today we have lost a legend, this time from side-effects of a bone marrow transplant. Mary Travers, along with her partners, Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow, brought me many hours of pleasure through music. She fought for civil rights and against war. She was never afraid to speak out.

Mary, we hate to see you go.

AiFactory Challenge #3

Good afternoon peeps. Yup, the wrists are still taking a toll, but it's getting better.

This week our challenge is to make a Halloween project using this adorable Little Witch designed by Softpencil. How cute is she?? I wanted to do some paper piecing with her, but the wrists got in my way again (darn it!), so even though I have 3 of her coloured, only one of her got cut out. That's okay, though - I'll be ready to make something else with the other two closer to Halloween. I'm thinking maybe little candy bags for the younger girls' teachers?

Anyhoo....one of the things I like to do is to swap mix cds. I get introduced to all kinds of music I never would have heard that way, which I find fascinating. I've "discovered" several fabulous artists, and rediscovered some old favourites, as a result of these swaps. So this week, I made a cd holder. I followed this tutorial on YouTube for the base. I sponged the edges of the paper with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and coloured the Little Witch with Copics. Once she was done, I added some Spica marker to her clothes and the pumpkin's mouth for a little sparkle, because everyone needs a little sparkle.The other side has the opening flap, which is covered with the same sponged polka-dotted paper. I've left room at the bottom for the title of whatever cd I enclose. It's perfect for a mix of Halloween party music.

Head on over to the AiFactory Challenge blog for full deets on this week's challenge and prize.

Once you've done that, please check out the rest of the DT and their fabulous creations.

Annamarie
Ashley
De
Elizabeth
Erin
Kerry
Mia'

Etsy Inspired #52

Hi guys. It's been interesting trying to type or craft this week. I have tendinitis in both wrists - so it takes me about 6x as long to do anything. But...I still got it done! Barely.

Since we got to choose our own shop for inspiration, I went with haveitconfections. Warning - you will likely drool all over your keyboard. I didn't take any particular item as my inspiration. I want the entire shop. I thought, what goes with all of those lovely sweets? Coffee. Thus, my card.

I'm drinking a cup right now. I just wish I had some of the goodies from haveitconfections!

Now, off to do my card for Unity. Have a good one!

Friends With Flair Friday - Week 2

Hey everyone...typing from class...full post will be up later. Please come back to check this afternoon.

Thanks!

AiFactory - Cards for Kate

Welcome to Tuesday and the AiFactory challenge! This week, the whole team is joining a card drive for a sweet, 5 year old girl named Kate who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer at the end of July. Her story and that of the card drive can be found here.

The team is using Sweet Bugs in a Garden and we'll be giving away this cute set, too!

I decided to go all digital this week. I've been doing a lot of digital work for school, so thought it would be fun to see how it went with a card. This is actually my second attempt. I neglected to take into account the ink saturation levels when printing on coloured cardstock - learn from my mistake and keep that in mind!
The only thing on this card that did not come directly from the set was the font, which, for those of you who are in to such things, is called Sybil Green. I thought it was really cute and I matched the colour directly to the orange in the butterfly wings.

So, please, please play along this week. Even if you never do challenges, this is the week. You can win prizes, but you'll also be bringing joy to a little girl and her family. Entries are due for AiFactory's part by September 14. Of course, full deets on the challenge can be found on the AiFactory challenge blog.

Etsy Inspired #51

I'm back again for a quickish post. This week the shop is RedCrowArts. She makes clay pieces and mosaic art. There was a lot to choose from. I had a hard time narrowing it down. Eventually, I chose this cute little stoneware turtle.

I wanted to do something a teensy bit different this week - so I made something I hadn't in a long time. I made an inchie. This gave me a chance to pull out a darling little stamp from Karen Lockhart. Now, if you haven't seen her stamps, they're adorable, and they're one of the things that got me stamping. In fact, the first stamp I bought when I started stamping last year was her Itty Bitty sheep.
Although you can't see it in the photo, this little thing sparkles all over, except for the sand and the tree bark, from green, gold and clear Spica markers. Gotta love 'em! The actual colouring was done with Prismacolor pencils.

A neat thing to do with inchies is to add a little bit of magnet tape to the back of them and stick them to your refrigerator. Having your own bits of art adorning your fridge is a lot more fun than store-bought magnets, in my opinion. They're especially fun to use when putting up your children's art or school awards.

Don't forget tomorrow is the big EtsyInspired Birthday Bash. I can hardly wait!!

First Friends With Flair Friday

Hey everyone!! It's a new month, a new week and a new Friends with Flair Friday. Yup, Hip Hop Hangover is now Friends with Flair Friday and I am super excited to be able to participate!! It did feel pretty weird not to have Hip Hop yesterday, but we are assured that, beginning September 17, something new and wonderful awaits. Besides, much of the internet has been abuzz with the changes in the IDA at a certain other large stamp company.

I'm working on some swaps for Swap-bot, so I made my card for the Vintage Card Swap and used Unity's first Store Kit of the Month, 100% Happy, to make it. The apron image is so cute and my partner loves red, so that's where the card comes from.
Recently I was involved in a swap where we sent butterflies to the Holocaust Museum of Houston's Butterfly Project. These are two of the butterflies I made. One went to the museum and one went to my partner. I sent a few others to the project, but did not photograph them. I used one of the butterflies from Butterfly Beauty.I'll upload these to SCS and put full details there. Have a wonderful day!

Free Uggs? What??

Well, today is turning into a very interesting day. On the one hand, I believe that Stampin' Up! has just seriously shot themselves in the foot. I'm not going to go into that particular rant at the moment, however. Instead, let me point you to this little tidbit, which I read about on Ashley's blog. Whoogaboots is giving away a pair of Uggs.

Yes, you heard me correctly. Giving. Away.

I want a pair of pink ones. I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but I've wanted a pair for about 18 years now. But we've either lived somewhere where Uggs were inappropriate (can you say Texas?) or couldn't afford them. Now we're in a good climate for them and, now that I'm a bit older, my feet are always frozen in the winter. I think it's time for some pink Uggs. Maybe I'll win a pair. Or maybe you will!

AiFactory Challenge

Good morning everyone!

Today is my first morning on the AiFactory Design Team and I am super-duper excited!! There is a brand new AiFactory challenge blog and this week's challenge, while really the third challenge overall, is the first one with a semi-full DT. It's a really easy one, too. Anything goes. It doesn't get any easier than that! Now, of course we'd be extremely happy if you used an image from AiFactory. There are even some AiFreebies to get you started, and you can find them all here.

The prize this week is the Cowboy Digi-set, which the DT is using. You can see the entire thing on the site here. I did add a rubber sentiment to mine, but that's because my card is for our lovely founder and shop owner, Mia'. I think lots of good things will be coming her way.By the way, there is still a DT Call. It runs through Sept. 15, and you can find that info here.

Etsy Inspired #50

Quick little post here. I tried to get a card made. And I tried. And it didn't work. Nothing I tried was working at all. Until this morning, it finally clicked. Mrs. Kwitty's Cottage is the shop and this cute little tag set was my inspiration.

Deets:
Paper & Ribbon - Stampin' Up
Stamp - Unity July '09 KOTM
Ink - Colorbox chalk in yellow citrus

Hip Hop Hangover - for the last time?

Yesterday was the very last official Hip Hop. What is in store from now on is anybody's guess. Only Angela knows right now - and she's not telling. We have to wait for September 17 to find out. I have it on good authority that we will like it. Knowing Unity, I'm sure we will, but a little piece of me mourns the loss. I have made so many friends through Hip Hop. For this, I am eternally grateful.

It was thinking of these friends that led me to create today's card.
I do this for all of you. Thank you, all. Hip Hop!

EtsyInspired Birthday Bash!!

Hey there, everyone! There's a party coming up and you are invited! Etsy Inspired will be celebrating its first birthday on September 5th! There will be a big blog hop starting with Ashley at 7am Pacific. Then, at 11am Pacific, there will be a chat, with prizes and awards, at the EtsyInspired forum at Paper Craft Planet.

Now, here's the other news. Ashley has some blog candy up for grabs. You can enter until 11:59pm Pacific on September 4th. This is gonna be some massive candy, too. I've already got my fingers crossed and it's making it awfully hard for me to type! So, check out her website, be EtsyInspired, and join the festivities. The more, the merrier.

One teensy little thing before I go.

To Ashley and the team:
Congratulations on your One Year Anniversary!!!

Etsy Inspired #49 - MelissaKate

Guess what? Yup, two posts in one day.

I figured I felt mostly well enough to throw together a card for Etsy Inspired - and to take a picture of the one I did last week while I was at it - that I should go ahead and do it. So what if it was only an hour before the deadline and nobody was home to help me lift bins or reach things off shelves. Right? Okay, yeah, I overdid it, but it was worth it!

This week's shop was MelissaKate. I really love some of her photography, but it was this set of owl cards that was my inspiration.

I hadn't inked up this set yet, and I have a swap partner who likes red. Add owls and red and this is the card I came up with.

Deets: Unity stamps, Memento & Distress Ink

The penguins are from last week, but between school related stuff and my back, I didn't get to post it. The stamps are Memory Box, and I think the penguins are adorable. The inspiration for this card is a print called Togetherness from the shop vol25. If any of her prints look familiar, it's because she designs for both Unity and Stamping Bella!
A big GIGANTIC thank you to both Ashley, of Heart Hugs Designs, and Katie at Paper Makeup Stamps. And, of course, my sweet friend, JennyK, who played along last week, thereby making me eligible to win the $25 gift certificate to PMS!! Thank you ladies!!

Another Hip Hop Hangover

I know, it's been a couple weeks since I've participated in the Hangover Hop. It's good to be back!

Unity has an awesome new kit aimed at Scrapbookers and it's available for pre-order this weekend. It's called Le Chic Vintage and you should definitely check it out. I think it's going to be great for collaged ATCs, too, so don't be surprised to see it prominently on this blog. Also, Unity has a whole bunch of journalling boxes and a few other stamps at a deep discount this weekend. We spent less that expected on van repairs, so I got to spend a little that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to - like on that pre-order!

So, what have I got this week? Last weekend was VSN - Virtual Stamp Night, for the uninitiated. I was lucky enough to hostess an hour, even though I was rather medicated and needed a little assistance from one of the organizers (thanks Cav!!) My challenge was Paper Lasagna. Each card needed a base (noodles) and at least one mat (meat or veggies). For each mat, the card needed a patterned paper layer (sauce) and an image (cheese). To top it off, since lasagna wouldn't be complete without some sort of seasoning, there needed to be at least one embellishment.

When I first posted the card, I'd forgotten the embellishments. Remember what I said about being medicated? Yeah...not only that, but I was unable to lift or bend, so everything had to be brought to me. It actually went very well, all things considered.
But you can't have the hostess not follow her own rules! So I went back and, many thanks to my youngest daughter who got the Prima flowers and the rhinestones for me, seasoned my lasagna. I think it also tied the colours together better.
If you want to see what's been taking all my time lately, check out my school blog. The top entry is only one of 3 projects I've been working on the past several weeks.

Krafty Tweet Card

Happy Monday everybody. Yes, I'm being cheerful because if I'm not, well...sometimes you just have to laugh, right? Let's just say that it looks like it's going to be another Monday all week long.

I'm working on swaps again, in the middle of school projects. I am learning so much about Adobe InDesign that I'm dreaming about the program. The scariest part of that is the dreams are taking the form of video tutorials just like the ones that accompany the book Adobe InDesign One-on-One by Deke McClelland. Now, if you've ever heard Deke speak, you'd know why it's so scary and you'd all be laughing at me right about now.

Okay, so you guys are probably laughing at me anyway.

I owe my friend, Bobbi in San Antonio, a letter. I hate writing to people when I think I'm going to depress them, so I haven't written, but I need to just do it anyway. I'm making her a card to go with the letter while I'm making swap cards.

I don't know if this one will be for a swap or for Bobbi. I'm not sure it's quite special enough, although it did come out pretty cute. What do you guys think?

I'll post the deets for this one over on Splitcoast by the end of the week. I've got several to upload over there, so I'll just do a mass upload, but this particular one belongs to Sketch Challenge 237.

Etsy Inspired #47 - Julie's Jewels

Before I get to the cards, I just want to thank everyone for the good wishes. The spousal unit has been sent home from Combat Skills Training. He is doing okay and is under the care of a doctor. It's not nearly as bad as they made it sound to begin with, but they have determined that he is undeployable at this time. I'm glad, in a way, because I won't have to worry about him being in the sandbox, but at the same time I feel awful for the family of the man who now has to take his place. The spousal unit and I are both feeling some guilt over this one.

The children are ecstatic, however, so for this I am deeply grateful.

Now...cards. What have I been up to, other than holding my family together? Well...it's EtsyInspired time, of course! I have both this week's and last week's cards to share.

This week, the store is Julie's Jewels. JulieAnn sells lovely beaded jewelry and home decor items. The one I chose to be inspired by is this sweet bracelet with little silver butterflies. I pulled the colours out and used the floral images in the background.

Deets:
Stamps: Unity Butterfly Beauty & SU! Simply Said
Paper - SU! Almost Amythest
Ink - Stazon Cactus Green, Versamark
Etc: Silver embossing powder, MS Doily lace edge punch

Last week's shop was Artistic Flair. It's a neat shop with lots of fused glass pieces. Some of them are jewelry, but some are simply art. The one I chose was a really cool art piece of the Eiffel Tower. As soon as I saw the piece, I knew what I wanted to do, because two of my daughters are taking French, so I made the first of two Christmas cards for their teachers. I will make a second to match before December, though I may use a red base for the second one.Deets:
Stamp: Penny Black - Christmas in Paris
Ink: Versamark
Paper: DCWV, unknown glossy white
Etc: Obsidian embossing powder
Adirondack Alcohol Inks - Red Pepper, Cranberry, Meadow
Oregano and Gold Mixative

Don't forget to check out Ashley's blog, Heart Hugs Designs. If you are new to playing this week, please tell her I sent you. You and I will both be in the running for a $25 gift certificate from Katie Cotton of Paper Makeup Stamps. I don't know about you, but I love Katie and her stamps, so please mention me and my blog if you play!

Have a good one!

La-La Land Crafts

There's a new stamp company coming to town. It's called La-La Land Crafts. The grand opening is August 12 and the website will be open for business at 11pm. The blog has been showing sneak peeks of the new stamps. I am really looking forward to seeing them. They look like they're going to be darling!

To help celebrate, Irina is offering blog candy here.

There's a DT call, too. You can check it out here.

I'd like to wish Irina the best of luck in her new venture!

Etsy Inspired #45 - The Daily Pincushion

The spousal unit left for Combat Skills Training this week. Let's just say it's been a very, very interesting week.

This week's shop is called The Daily Pincushion and I want just about everything in it! They're all so cute that it was hard to decide which one to use as inspiration, but I finally chose this one:

Click on the picture to be taken to the store.

I used Unity's Folk Inspired to create a card, along with both the colours (sort of) and pattern from the Folk Art Mini pincushion pictured above, and the sketch from DTGD09One_Happy_Stamper Sketch Challenge on SCS (gallery here).
Tomorrow (Saturday morning) starts a new week with a new store for EtsyInspired, so don't forget to check out Ashley's blog for all the deets.

Hip Hop ATC Hangover

Morning everyone! Before I post my stuff today, if you haven't been over to Unity, Angela's released a cute new Halloween set this week, by my friend Lisa Hetrick, called Hauntingly Sweet. It is TOO cute! This weekend, all past Kits of the Month are $35 (regularly $45 unless you are a subscriber - and what a deal that is...$24 plus shipping! For a FULL sheet of deeply etched rubber. You certainly can't beat that with a stick!) - and everything in the store is 10% off!

Okay, back to my stuff. I've been working on getting out some Swap-bot stuff and some school assignments, which are still kicking my butt. And taking up all of my good crafting time. So EtsyInspired will be later today...but this week I've been working on ATCs. Bird ATCs to be specific. You saw one last week. I liked it so much, I was going to do them all the same. What I didn't like was cutting out all those little curly-cues. Yeah...not so much fun considering I still don't have a good pair of paper snips.

The first change I made was to use the same kit, Birds of a Feather, but to emboss the bird directly onto the background. I coloured it in with Copics, then used Spica markers on the leaves and the 3 dots by the curl. The backgrounds are all the same as last week. I like the way you can see the background through the bird. Thanks to Tanis for giving me the courage to do this!

For the next one, I used the owl from June's Kit of the Month, Perfect in Every Way. For this one, I once again stamped onto regular paper, this time with Versamagic chalk ink, coloured it in with copics, cut it out and attached it to the card. I added tiny alphabet stickers from Making Memories. They're from the Chloe's Closet line.

So that's it for now. I have 2 more to make and I'm not sure if I'll duplicate any that I've done so far or if I'll try something different. Right now, it's time to be a mom, but I'll be back later with an EtsyInspired post.

Catch you on the flip side!

Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite has passed away at the age of 92.

And that's the way it is.

Hello! How is everyone this morning? It's another Hip Hop Hangover. You know, I've never had a real hangover. I think I like it that way. I'm not fond of losing control - so I don't want to get drunk. Ever. Just one of those things, you know?

Unity is having a garage sale this weekend. Check it out, get some good deals... Don't forget to take a gander at the new Hodge Podge of Happiness. That's the set where all of the images were chosen by customers! Yup, we all got a vote. It's a fabulous set and I can hardly wait to get mine.

I finally got a challenge card done...and it looked like dog doodie. But fear not! I have a few other things I need to take care of, so I made an ATC. This one is for a swap on Swap-bot and I need to repeat it, as I have more than one partner, but I'm pretty pleased. I'm debating adding a word cut from a magazine or something, but I kind of like it just as it is. The theme is birds and I used an image from Birds of a Feather that Ashley of Heart Hugs Designs sent to me a long time ago - before I got the set myself. Thanks Ashley!!
Another quick thank you to my friend, Jimmy. The background is Mocha Rose Twinkling H2O's, which was part of my birthday present. See? I am using them and they're awesome!!

I have to run. There probably will not be an EtsyInspired post from me this week. I was inspired to make ice cream, since all those neat creams reminded me of a giant bowl of it. Maybe I was just hungry when I looked at the shop (Verbeena Custom Blends.) The names alone are enough to make a person drool. Anyway, take a guess at how long ice cream lasts in my house. I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Hint: long enough to take a picture is not the answer.

Have a good one!!