Oh My...News!!!!!!

Happy Thursday, Unity Peeps! Are you guys getting ready for Unity's 2nd Anniversary next week? It's Unity, so you know Angela and the gang have got some special things planned.

I have been sitting on my news for just over a week. Ever have one of those days when you think your world is going to end and then something happens and the sun comes out, the angels sing and you find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? All at once? Yeah. Last Monday of all days.I got a little email with the most amazing news. EVER. Jimmi says "how would you like to be a part of the Unity Anniversary celebration?" Like I'd say no. Picture me falling off my chair, my jaw dropping, and then a shriek that brought my son running from the other room. Can we say emotional roller coaster?

So yeah. My biggest dream has come true. I get to be a Special Unity Anniversary Guest Designer!! EEEP!!!!!! I cannot tell you how honoured I am!!So for my post today, I thought I'd show you guys what I do with my Kits of the Month. Now, in doing this, I discovered that it probably would have been a good idea to have some help with taking pictures. But, since I do this really just to get an overall idea of what the stamps look like as far as size and spacing, it isn't that huge of a deal that they didn't come out perfect.

Unity's Kits of the Month are a full sheet of deeply etched red rubber, so when I first get the KOTM, I take it out and ink up the entire sheet. Next, I place a sheet of white card stock over the rubber and, while holding it down at one corner, run the brayer across, using even pressure. This is a lot easier when not holding a DSLR in one hand.
When I've gone across the entire sheet, I peel the card stock off the sheet of rubber. I do my best not to let it shift. It shifted tonight, because I didn't hold it still when I used the brayer. I still got enough of the images that I can use this for a reference sheet.
Now that that's done, I'll take the stamps and store them in one of the Scraponizers that Unity carries. I keep these indeces at my desk so that I can easily flip through them when I'm looking for images to use on a card or other project.
I'll have a project up for FWF tomorrow and then I'll be leading off the Anniversary Hop on Monday! Woohoo!!!

Here's a little sneak-peek of the set I'll be playing with next week. Guess what...it's a brand new set!! And it's from Lady Talent herself, Tanis!! Wonder what it could be.....Check out the Unity Blog today to see what's up for Hip Hop and then head over to the Unity forum at SCS for chat and games and who knows what else! See you there!!!

I'm Back with AiFactory Animals

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who sent messages of good thoughts and prayers for my family last week. It was such a tremendous shock for us. We did find out the cause this past Saturday. Liz had Cardiac Amyloidosis. Although they did not find out the cause until after her death, it is unlikely they would have been able to prevent it had they known earlier. I am grateful that Liz was spared a protracted medical battle that she would have certainly hated.

The memorial was very difficult, particularly for Hannah. I've never seen my little girl so heartbroken. I have a hard time not crying now just to think of it. But we will get through this. Liz was a very strong woman with a zest for life. We will not let her down.
In an effort to jump back in with both feet, even though I have barely gotten back from our trip down south, I'm joining in with my Design Teammates at AiFactory. This week is Anything But a Card.

Okay, so I cheated a little. I went looking for inspiration and I found this cute fish mobile on SCS, which I thought would be the perfect thing to CASE, since I am working with cute animal images. Instead of bamboo skewers, which I don't have in the house, I, um, "borrowed" (with permission) some K'nex from my younger son. I think they work quite well!

Here is a close-up of the circles. I just printed them out on the computer and use my circle nestibilities to cut them out. Much faster than cutting them out individually! The set from AiFactory has 12-2" circles included. I used 10 for the mobile. Each strand has two, glued back to back with the ribbon sandwiched between. Not pictured are the dog, the tiger and the giraffe.
Don't forget to check out the rest of the team. All links are posted on the left side-bar. To enter the challenge for the week, see the details on the AiFactory Challenge Blog.

GiU Winner

I almost forgot to do this.

Random.org seems to be stuck on 4 today. It picked the 4th post (so day 4) and then the 4th comment.

So congrats to StampinCathy!!

Email Eryn and let her know that you won Growing in Unity for the week of April 5-10.

Not The Post I Intended

This is not the post I'd intended to write today. Nor is it the post I started. I started one about how my ippity journal pages were going and some other things that seem so unimportant right now. You see, as I was writing and editing the photos I was going to put up, my mother called. Liz, my aunt by marriage, died last night. When Mom started with "there's no easy way to tell you this.." I knew someone had died. I just never expected it to be Liz.

Liz was only 54 years old. (I originally wrote 56, thinking should would have been 56 this year. I was wrong.) She was an avid horsewoman. She, along with her husband Tom, invited my middle daughter into her home to stay, even though they never had children of their own, and were unused to having kids in their house at all, let alone without their parents.

This photo is of Liz giving Hannah a riding lesson on Vinnie.
December 26, 2009Elizabeth Ann Morris Caulk
May 18, 1955-2010

It wasn't supposed to be Liz. And I have one big question. How am I supposed to tell Hannah?

Day 5 - Growing in Unity = Friends with Flair

Hey there Party Peeps!! I am so loving having Hip Hop back!! I cannot tell you how much I seriously missed everyone. I am still just over the moon. Thank you Angela!!

Today is Friends with Flair - so there is a list of fabulous people participating over on the Unity blog. Somebody's got the blinkie. Find it and you could win 25 random Unity stamps!

With the fab response to yesterday's journal page, I thought I'd take a pic and share another one today. This is my first journal, and it's kind of an experiment, so there are a lot of what might be considered odd looking pages. Yesterday's and today's are all Unity - well, except for the pine branch on today's pages. It's Tim Holtz, because I just love that particular branch.

On the Unity side, I've used 2 different Christmas sets, just playing around to see what things looked like. No challenges today. Just a page for fun.
I was going to say that today was my last day for Growing in Unity. And it officially is, but I have one more thing to share and I'll try to post it tomorrow. So check back. And then come back Monday to find out who the winner of the Unity single is!!

She's gonna be mad at me, but I just have to do it. Here's a pic from her birthday on Wednesday. Not the best picture of her, but her siblings were teasing her - as usual. I dearly love this child! Happy Sweet Sixteen, Meg!!

Mother's Day at AiFactory!

Welcome to my weekly AiFactory post! This week we're working with Mother's Day images. The team has been divided into 3 groups. I've got a pretty flower to use for my project. We've also been asked to participate in at least one other challenge. Twist my arm, why don't you!!

You guys are really going to laugh at me. You would not believe the hours I spent looking through my stamps to find a Mother's Day sentiment. I mean really, if you had any idea just how many stamps I have, rubber, clear and digital, you would be shocked that it took me so long. And, of all things, it was finally a Stampin' Up set that came to the rescue. It was literally on the other side of my house from everything that I use on a regular basis. I had to dust them off to look through those sets. Whatever, right? It worked!!

So, for challenges, I started off by checking out the current colour challenges. Color Throwdown #87 caught my eye. Pink, grey and soft olive. Those sounded like good colours for a Mother's Day card. Then I saw Belli Challenge #88 - use some type of colour spray. I did this one last week (it's a biweekly challenge) when I used my Copic Airbrush system to recolour a button. This time, I thought I remembered having some grey Glimmer Mist. Woohoo! Yup, it's in the drawer! Awesome! While I was checking out the week's challenges, I came across The Pink Elephant. Challenge #61 is Nature. I think my flower counts.

There was another one I found last night (Wednesday) that called for something glittery or glimmery, but heck if I remember what it was. If anyone knows, I'd really appreciate it if you'd drop me a reminder.

BTW, because I had such a hard time with my sentiment, my original card was scrapped and turned into this ATC. I think it's kinda cute. The grey, when done in glimmer mist, ends up kind of silver, but I like it that way. The ink is Ranger Watermelon. The lighter pink didn't show up at all. So this is ATC #2. Sometimes is just happens that way.
Check out the rest of the DT's work (links are on the left sidebar) and then be sure to play along. Link your creation to the AiFactory Challenge Blog post for this week and you could win 2 of the 4 images shown on the blog as well as a chance to be a guest DT!! You have until 10:30 EST on April 14 (that's next Wednesday.) Good luck!!

Day 4 - Growing in Unity

Hi guys. This is a quick one. Only one challenge today - and it's my favourite challenge. Yup. Etsy Inspired! I saw this gorgeous pendant in Until it Ends Studios' Shop on Monday. I just went to get the link, and it's already sold! It sure is pretty, though.

I've been working on an art journal for a swap. Unity....dragonflies...that could make an interesting page. Here's what I came up with. BTW, the coupon is *old* - it expired a year ago March. No trying to figure out the code. The dragonfly is actually discontinued. I had to ask Angela because I'd forgotten which kit it was from. That's just how long I've LOVED my Unity!! It's been given the shrink plastic treatment! Gotta love shrinky dinks!
I'll be back later with my AiFactory post for this week. I'm moving slow as my wrists are still bothering me greatly, hence the brevity of this post.

Don't forget, tomorrow is my last day for Growing in Unity - and it's Friends with Flair Friday! I'll give everyone through the weekend and announce the winner for the Unity single on Monday morning at the Ippity Hop.

Day 3 - Growing in Unity

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!! You guys really made my day. The DMV...well, not so much. I learned a couple things. First of all, it's actually called the MVA here in Maryland. And secondly, due to all of the new Homeland Security laws, I need either a passport or my birth certificate in order to get a new "secure" driver's license. I had my birth certificate at one point early in my marriage. That was at least 12 moves ago. So I've ordered another one, all the while grousing that my military dependent ID is not proof of my identity. Whatever.

I went simple today as I kind of overdid it a little bit with all of the distressing on yesterday's card and my wrists are super sore.

I used the colours from both StampTV's Monday Color Challenge and this Star Magnet Duo from this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge shop. I went back to the sketch challenge from NinaB's bloggiversary because it is so CAS and elegant. I chose to pull out one of my {ippity} stamp sets, Regal Greetings. I do have this one in stock at my {ippity} shop, and all of my profits are going towards sending my eldest daughter, Meagan, to Europe this summer with a group called People to People. Meg is blogging about it here. Oh, and speaking of Miss Meagan, today is her Sweet Sixteen!The patterned paper and yellow cardstock both came from the Beeez Kneez kit from the Caffinated Cropper. Yes, I made a little booboo on the card, but I still like it. It's for my mom, because she got bitten yesterday. This morning she wrote, "they don't like to stitch dog or cat bites so only tacked it down with 8 stitches that were spaced out." Um...yeah. I don't like the way that sounds one bit, but she won't let me drive down. She's going back to work tomorrow. I'm trying not to worry. Much.

That's it for me today. Don't forget to leave a comment. Some lucky random commenter from this week will win a Unity single! Have a great day!!

Day 2 - Growing in Unity

Today is a special day for me. I think it's extra fun to host Growing in Unity during the week of my birthday. The first time I did it was during this same week a year ago. I was fortunate enough to host GIU on it's first anniversary. And now, on the anniversary of the first time I hosted it, it's my birthday! This is a week of birthdays. Yesterday was Sherry's birthday - if you missed it, head over to her blog and give her a little extra love. She deserves it!

So, since this is for my birthday post, I thought I'd have a little fun with the card. When I was checking out the Etsy Inspired Challenge a couple ddays ago, in addition to the ladybird , I also spotted this music charm necklace. Hmm, says I. I know just the stamp for that! It's one of my Unity favourites and it was designed by the ever-so-talented Lisa Hetrick. It's called My Heart Sings. I love it so much that I have 3 of them. Don't ask. Really.

I'm using this week's Mojo Monday sketch #133. To continue along with my regular theme of multiple challenges, it's time for this week's Oh, Alice! Challenge 7 is M.A.D. - monochromatic and distressed. Okay, I can do that, too.

While I was working on the card, I took a break to check my email. The FeedBlitz update from Barbara Anders' blog came through. She was posting about Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC61). Apparently it's "Bought it? Use it!" week. Well. Funny thing about that. I'd already dug up some Memory Box dp that had been percolating in my stash since Valentine's Day 2009, but I thought, okay, let me see if I can find something specifically for this. I haven't located a good ribbon yet. I'd already looked in several places, but hadn't found The Perfect Ribbon(TM). So I went digging further. What I found made me laugh, because Bar is on the MFT DT. In the bottom of one of my ribbon drawers was a ribbon "nest" from MFT. From last year. The end of April even. And the brown matched perfectly. Score!! So, thanks to Bar, I didn't settle, and I think the card is much better for it.

That's all from me today. It's super late and I get to spend my morning at the DMV. Yippy...Not.

Day 1 - Growing in Unity

Hey there, party peeps!! I am back for my third round of growing in Unity!! Yes, when I say I love Unity stamps, I really mean it. If you guys could see the, er, collection, I'm not sure if you'd be impressed or appalled. I often have to force myself to use stamps from other companies. It's not that I don't like them. I have some that I dearly love. It's just that I get into that "Unity Zone" - and it's where I'm comfortable.

So, for my first project this week, I'm staying within my comfort zone and playing along with a few challenges. I'm sure you're utterly shocked, right? Of course I had to start with my favourite challenge, Etsy Inspired! This week, the shop is called Until It Ends Studios. When I say the items there are adorable, I'm not kidding. I chose this cute little ladybug crystal charm necklace as my inspiration. I'm such a sucker for ladybugs that there was no doubt that I'd do at least one ladybug card this week!

I used Nina B's Blogiversary Challenge sketch. She's right - it's a really good one that is very versatile. Other challenges I chose to follow are Allsorts #46 - no DPs, and Crazy 4 Challenges #31 - make the base Kraft (hahaha, that's almost too easy!)

Deets:
Stamps: Unity March KOTM "Rockin it Unity Style"
Cardstock: SU Kraft, GinaK Luxury Black
Ink: Black Soot Distress Ink, Pearlescent Poppy Brilliance
Etc: Stylized Flowers Cuttlebug folder, GinaK ribbon, clear embossing powder, Copic/Spica markers

Now, two things. Don't forget to leave a comment each day for a chance to win a Unity single. Secondly, dear Ashley is taking part in a contest over at TGF and we would both appreciate votes for her group, most of whom are newbies who are local to her. They're called the Stampin Divas and their card is here. Voting for this round is only through Tuesday, April 6, so please hurry!!

Thanks and I'll see you back here tomorrow with more Unity goodness!!

Hip Hop, it's Friends With Flair!

Did everyone love having Hip Hop back yesterday as much as I did??? I was so glad to see everyone again! I have missed you guys!

It's Friday, and that means it's time for Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop. To see the list of participants this week, check out the Unity Blog. Somebody will have a blinkie. Leave love on that blog and you could win some Unity Stamps!!

Along with the return of Hip Hop, we were given the first Hip Hop Sketch Challenge. I thought it would be perfect to use that for my FWF post, especially since I've been absent from the FWF hop for several weeks.

Of course, being me, I had to see if there were any other challenges that would help me create my card. First of all, I found this purse from Ponder & Stitch, which is this week's Etsy Inspired shop. When I saw it, I was reminded that this week's SCS Colour Challenge (CC264) called for So Saffron, Bermuda Bay and Basic Grey. On top of that, CC264 has a dessert option - layered, crushed flowers. While I didn't really get the "crushed" part, I did layer a flower.

Bermuda Bay is kind of a teal-y green. Hmm...All Things Unity is asking for "green" projects. Hot dig!

When I was looking up challenges, I found one that asked for flowers. I just can't remember where it was! Next time I'll write it down.

And lastly, Gingersnap Creations issued a Blue Moon challenge yesterday, GCSP3, which was to take on a tutorial. I chose Distressing with Hels. I'm not sure if you can tell, but the butterfly was stamped and embossed with Distress Ink & Distress Embossing Powder in Mustard Seed. I also ink distressed the edges of the patterned paper layer.

Deets:

Stamp: Unity Bevy of Butterflies
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest and SU
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Mustard Seed
Etc: Bermuda Bay ribbon, Distress EP, Prima flowers, yellow dew drop

Enjoy the hop and have a fabulous weekend. I'll be back on Monday for an entire week of Growing In Unity!! Don't forget to check back starting Monday morning!

AiFactory Flourishes for Easter

Good morning everyone! This week is kind of a nutsy week. The DT was given our regular challenge and then Angie upped the ante by offering a prize to the DT member who was able to enter her project in the most challenges. You guys know how much I like multi-challenge cards, so I was definitely game for this one. I don't know if I've succeeded, but I certainly gave it my best shot.

For AiFactory Challenge 30, we got to use some brand new clip-art flourishes. I chose to take one of them, duplicate it, and colour it green before printing it onto card stock. I already had two challenges in mind as a place to start. The first is Mojo Monday 132. I went with the square version of the sketch. The second is my all-time favourite challenge, Etsy Inspired. Challenge #81 comes from the shop Ponder & Stitch. This time I chose this bracelet, with it's yellow, purple and green. I even used the button!

I'll list the rest of the challenges after the card, but I figure if I talk too much first, you guys are going to get bored. So, here's the card!

Deets: Flourish - AiFactory & Photoshop
Stamp: Memory Box
Ink: Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, Copic Markers
Cardstock: Yoyo yellow & Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Etc: Clear embossing powder, Nestibilities Labels 3, SU Soft Suede ribbon
All else is from the Caffinated Cropper Beeez Knees kit (dp, button, thread and doily)

Please check out the rest of the AiFactory DT and their projects. If you play along you could win your own set of flourishes. I only used one, but there are four different flourishes in the set. Links are on the left sidebar.

Other challenges this card is for:
Oh, Alice! Chapter 6 - the fine print: the 3rd dp is printed, although it doesn't show as much as I would have wished.
Stampin' Bees Challenge 51 - use purple, green & yellow
Rosie-D's Challenge #67 - green, yellow and white
Color Throwdown #86 - yoyo yellow, garden green (or old olive) and soft suede
Pink Elephant #60 - pastels
Digital Tuesday Challenge #52 - Scrap It: I used scraps of 3 dps, plus the digital flourishes
Daring Cardmakers - How Egg-citing: Not only do I have an egg, but I also used chocolate brown on my button
Res-Q Challenge - A Visit to the Ob/Gyn: Eggs!
Dare U 2 Digistamp Challenge 34 - Easter: How much more Easter can you get than eggs and chocolate?
Fussy & Fancy Challenge 7: Easter
Stamp Simply #132: Easter (I see a recurring theme here)
Paper Cutz Challenge #34: Easter, but no bunnies or chicks
Stampin' For the Weekend #35: Easter (and a digi image)
Stamin' Royalty #13: Easter
Creative Craft Challenges #10: Eggstatic (Easter)
Lexi's Creations Challenge 10: Easter
Going Grey Challenge #3: Easter
Corrosive Challenges: Easter
C.R.A.F.T. 43: Easter
Stamp with Fun Challenge #51: Easter
Magical Crafts Challenge #11 - Spring/Easter
Charisma Cardz #12 - Spring has Sprung
Everybody Art Challenge #83 - Spring
Digital Tuesday#51 - Happy Spring
Little Red Wagon Challenge #22 - Rolling into Spring
Belli Challenge #88 - Colour Spray: That button used to be ivory, but I used my Copic Air Brush on it
Caardvarks - Lacy Days: one lace doily
Cute Card Thursday Challenge 105 - Dimensions: I went with layers.
For Fun Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations Challenge #61 - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Open challenge
Practical Scrappers - use something you've had over a year: the yoyo yellow cardstock

How's that for a lot of challenges in one card?? I think there are 34. This is definitely a record for me. Have a great day - and if you feel like it, check out the Unity Forum on SCS for a return of Hip Hop!

The Beeez Kneez Blog Hop

Good morning everyone! I'm still moving a little slow, but I had to participate in this blog hop. My friend, Amy, the Caffinated Cropper, has started her own kit business. The first kit, the Beeez Kneez, is nearly sold out and I can see why! There are so many goodies in this kit, from stamps all the way down to hat pins.

If you've come from Debby's blog, you're in the right place. If you get lost on the hop, go back to the Caffinated Cropper for a full list of participants. Don't forget to leave some love at each stop - you could win a mini Beeez Kneez kit of your very own!

There are only 2 things on my card that did not come from the Beeez Kneez. I used some Frosted Lace Stickles on the bee's wings and the sentiment came from Unity - because I needed to make this a thank you card for my grandmother, whose favourite colour is green. There was no way I wasn't using this kit for her! The centre of the sunflower has Cinnamon Stickles and those came with the kit! I popped up the little bee for some added dimension, but it doesn't show well in the photo.

Challenges this card is for:
All Things Unity - ATU02 green (perfect for this kit!)
NinaB's blogiversary sketch
Cute Card Thursday Challenge 105 - dimensions
Crafty Ann's Challenge #11 - card for someone special
EtsyInspired #81 - Ponder & Stitch (this one for green and flowers)

Next on your trip today is sweet Ashley, who is not only a good friend, but a member of the Caffinated Cropper Design Team!

AiFactory Dances

Hi and good morning everyone! This week is Challenge #29 at AiFactory and we've been challenged to make an easel card. Yikes! The team was split into two groups, with each group being given a different Ella image. I got to play with Ella the Ballerina.

This is my first easel card, and I'm working with a wrist brace on, so please be gentle. Ella is coloured with Copic markers. I placed her on a background of Basic Grey dp from the Sugar Rush collection, topped with more pink cardstock cut with a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendants die. The sentiment comes from the current Unity Kit of the Month and I stamped it with Pearlescent Orchid Brilliance ink and heat embossed it. The candy dots are by Pebbles.

This card is also for the following challenges:
PaperPlay Challenges Week 11: Good Luck/Thank You
Stamp & Scrap Saturday: masking or heat embossing
Little Red Wagon Challenge #21: inspiration photo - I used pink and blue from the linens, plus Ella's ruffly tutu reminds me of the lace and the pillow sham ruffles in the photo.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the team and see what they have for you. Links are on the left sidebar. You have until March 31 at 11pm EDT to play along and post your project on the AiFactory Challenges blog. AiFactory images are not strictly necessary, but if you have 'em, why not use 'em?

Blooming in Pink

This is going to be a quick post, as I'm super behind and barely feeling human.

I made this card for a Swap-bot swap called Spring in a Frame, which called for a card to celebrate spring. The twist was that there had to be a stamped frame of some sort. I used this pretty necklace from this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge shop, designsbycathy. It uses Arranged With Love, one of Melanie Muenchinger's sets by GinaK Designs, which plays off the botanical nature of the necklace. I used silver embossing powder to mimic the silver of the necklace. The layout is from Sketch Saturday #95.Deets:
Stamps: Arranged with Love - GinaK Designs, Sentiment is JustRite Curlz font
Paper: Basic Grey Sugar Rush, SU, MFT Perfect Paper Panel
Ink: Versamark, Distress Ink Spun Sugar
Etc: Detail Silver embossing powder, Copic markers,
Martha Stewart Doily Lace edge punch, Love My Tapes adhesive

Other challenges this card is for:
Challenge Up Your Life: "flower compliment"
Allsorts Challenge Week 44: Spring is in the Air
Crazy for Challenges C4C29: Make a spring card
Creative Cottage Challenge #2: Flowers
Little Red Wagon LRW20 : Copics
Simon Says Stamp: A Splash of Green
Paper Garden Birthday Challenge #3: spring or Easter colours
Crafty Catz Challenge #24: Spring
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #75: Spring has sprung
Frosted Designs: Think Spring
Stamp & Scrap Saturday: masking or heat embossing

EtsyInspired #78 with Maigan Lynn

I think I've mentioned before that EtsyInspired is my favourite challenge. I love it so much because it's always different, I can use any stamps - or no stamps at all, and I get to learn about new artists on Etsy. Sometimes, however, there are artists I already know about and it's fun to celebrate them, too. This week (#78) is a great week for me to be able to play again because I adore the art of Maigan Lynn. This is one talented lady, and if you haven't seen her stuff, go. Now. Seriously. Especially if you like fantasy-oriented art.

So, on top of it being an EIC challenge, I needed a birthday card for my goddaughter, whose birthday is this week. YIKES!! I do not know how she's getting as big as she is, but she'd better stop growing or I'm going to cry.

So I chose this beautiful piece from Maigan Lynn, called Nivia. And yes, I just so happen to have a Nivia stamp. You guys know me. If I can hit more than one challenge at a time, I'm going to. Oh Alice is one I've been wanting to try, because my friend Ky is on the DT. This week, the challenge is to create something using red, blue and purple. Awesome. I can do that!

Then, because I absolutely hated my original plan, I thought I'd see what 2 Sketches 4 You had this week. I was thrilled to see dear Ashley under the "2S4Y hearts This Blogger"!! At that point, I had to use this week's 2S4Y sketch! There was no way around it!

How's that for a long-winded way of saying "here's my card and I hope you like it"?

Deets:
Stamps: QKD Nivia, GinaK Designs Wishes & Dreams Sentiment
Paper: Prism Twilight Dark, Basic Grey Euphoria
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Barn Door
Etc: clear embossing powder, Circle Nestabilities, Copic Markers

It's Lily Week with AiFActory

Hi everyone. I'd like to thank you for all of the good wishes this past week. They are definitely helping. I did go to the doctor and she said it was just a bad strain again. She switched me over to vicodin sso that I could function instead of just sleeping. I'm not at 100%, (and it's making my kids laugh at me when I walk), but I"m getting there.

For AiFActory Challenge #27, we're working with the Lily Collection, which is being reduced to $5 for the whole collection, and the challenge is to make a simple card with some sort of clear element to it. It can be a clear embellishment, clear embossing powder, acetate...whatever, just as long as there is something clear on the card. Since I love embossing so much, I used clear embossing powder to emboss my sentiment.

My lily was the Mariposa Lily. I'd never seen one before, so I googled images to see what they looked like to get colouring ideas. This is the image I used for inspiration. They're such pretty flowers. I used the sketch from CPS157. The dp is from Basic Grey's Origins. Card stock is the lovely new green (the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger!) from GinaK , as is the sentiment. I coloured in the lilies with Copic markers.

Please go check out the rest of the team and see what they've done. There are four different lily images in the set, so there are a good variety of things to see. When you're done, head over to the AiFactory Challenge Blog for full details and upload your own creation by 11pm EST on Wednesday, March 18.

Cheri
Kerry
Angie
Penny
Erin
Monica
Fliss
Fink
Carlie
Laurie
Lola

My Back Hates Me

It's out again. On percocet and flexeril. And a heating pad. Back as soon as I can.

Oh Wow!

I was going to post about some mixed emotions for today. You see, I'd forgotten that my term with Softpencil was up at the end of February, so last Thursday's post was my last as a member of the team. I'm kinda sad about that. I had a wonderful time, and I adore Elizabeth's images. There will be more from me in the future, they just won't be on a schedule.

Thank you to Elizabeth, Kerry (the DT coordinator) and the rest of the team. You've been fabulous to work with.

Friday, I was a hostess at VSN on Splitcoaststampers. This was my challenge:

Each Winter Olympics has its own official sweater. The Lillehammer, the Torino, and others are designed by Dale of Norway. I've always wanted to created one of my own, but the time it takes to knit one is extraordinary.

This year, the Hudson's Bay Company has produced a contemporary twist on a traditional Cowichan sweater, which is a long-standing Canadian icon. Although there is a sweater designed by Dale of Norway, the Official Olympic Sweater for Vancouver is this one, and it is this sweater that is the inspiration for this challenge.

We can't knit a sweater in 45 minutes, but we can certainly create
a card! Use the colours from the sweater in your creation. For a bigger challenge, use maple leaves, elk, or other patterning.


Participation in my challenge was fabulous! This is my third time as a VSN hostess, and although I'm guessing that a large part of the turnout is due to the prizes offered by Spellbinders (why did I offer to host this time?? I'm not eligible for any prizes, darn it!), I'm still very happy to see so many people chose to play along.

As of this writing, 7 hours remain to upload a card and there are 98, including my own!! That is just amazing! This one is mine.Deets:

Cardstock: GinaK Soft Sand, SU cream
DP: Jillibean Soup
Stamps: Unity leaves from Simple Blessings
Etc: Distress Ink Fired Bric , clear embossing powder

To further mix my feelings, I lost a filling last night. A big one. I now have a dentist appointment at 8am tomorrow. So freaking out a bit about that. I have valium to take in the morning.

But then I was heading over to Stephanie's blog just to see what she was up to today. I'd completely forgotten today was the day she was announcing the winner of her blog candy. Major shock!! I won!!! I am thrilled!! Thank you, Stephanie!!

Christmas All Year Long - the February Edition

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Magnolia-licious Christmas All Year Long blog hop! If you've come here from Barb's blog, you're in the right place! If you get lost, or just happened to come visit my blog for other reasons and would like to check out the hop, start here at the Magnolia-licious ChristmasAllYearLong blog.

This is the image I had coloured for last month's hop. Then root canals happened, along with the accompanying vicodin. So I saved her for this month. I'm kind of glad I did, because in the interim, I've acquired liquid applique - and I love the texture it gives to Tilda's snowsuit! It looks neat and it feels really cool, too.
I used Jen del Muro's Valentine's "Sketch for You to Try", Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses patterned paper and some mystery cardstock. The sentiment, which is by A Muse stamps, is done with Peeled Paint Distress Ink & clear embossing powder. Tilda is coloured with Copic Markers, liquid applique and Frosted Lace Stickles (her wings.)

The card is also for Incy Wincy Challenge #31 - texture; Lexi's Creations Challenge #8 - anything goes; Flutter By #98 - anything goes (plus butterflies, fairies or angels); Creatalicious Challenge #7 - create a little something; and lastly, Color Throwdown #81.

Keep on hopping your way over to Charlene's blog. Enjoy the rest of the hop and have a great day!

Softpencil Thursday - Fav Medium

Hey guys. This week Kerry challenged us to use our favourite colouring medium. I jokingly asked how many of us she thought would use Copics. I'll be doing a count as I read the team blogs. We were divided up into groups. The group I was in got this sweet little Japanese Girl to work with. I wonder if Kerry already knew just how obsessed with Japanese culture my eldest son is. If not, she certainly does now.

I decided to make this card for my Mom. I haven't made one for her in a while - and Cody owes her a thank you. Since he is the heretofore mentioned obsessed son, I think this will be perfect for him to send.
As is my usual wont, I'm playing around with a few extra challenges. The first is Digital Tuesday's Challenge #47 - for mum. The believe token is an addition just from me, since my mom has always believed in me. Next is Flutter By #98 - anything goes (plus butterflies, fairies or angels). Then there is the ABC Challenge - O is for One Paper. The last is Color Cue Challenge #1 - red, white, turquoise and brown (or kraft.)

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Softpencil Design Team. All blogs are listed on the left sidebar.

If I can get my printer to behave, I'll be back later with my AiFactory post. If not, please check the AiFactory DT, also listed on the left sidebar, to see what they have to show today using these cute recipe cards.

Softpencil Thursday - No Card, No Problem!

Good morning! This is not the project I expected to be sharing. I seem to be in one of those spots where everything I start mutates halfway through. I've learned to let that happen rather than force what I'm making into any preconceived notion of what it "ought" to be. Most of the time I end up with something much better than my first ideas and I always learn something.

Our mission this week? Create Anything But a Card. The artwork? Softpencil's Bichitos set.

The first photo shows the top of the matchbox. I chose 3 of the images from the set, printed them, coloured them, and then cut them out. The top image was cut out and matted with oval Nestabilities.


On one end is a ladybird, and on the other end, a dragonfly. The box is already full of some little trinkets and a shrink plastic dragonfly charm I made about a year ago, ready to be sent to a Swap-bot friend in England.
Check out the rest of the team's creations by heading to their blogs, which are listed under the Softpencil Design Team on the left sidebar.

This little box is also for the following challenges:
Belli Challenge #85: Butterflies & Dragonflies
StampTV's Inspiration Challenge: Inspire11 - What's Your Style? I think CAS fits this and most of what I create.
Pile it On #6: Let us See Flowers

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

When is a Calendar Not a Calendar?

How about when it's an ATC? This week for AiFactory, the team was challenged to use this 2010 printable calendar - as anything other than a simple printed calendar. I sort of missed the part about it needing to be a 3-D item, which was added after I read the original post from Mia - I'm sorry Angie!

I'd had an idea on how to do something more digital, but it didn't work the way I wanted it to, so that got completely thrown out the window after several hours of frustration. Let's just say I need a lot more practice before I can pull off some of the ideas in my head.

So I turned to ATCs. I'm working on a swap that calls for "anything with wings" and Tim Holtz techniques. Okay, I can do that. Out came the Distress Ink, some leftover Bristol Board and some other goodies I had laying around. Here are two of them.
The blue/red one has Rock Candy distress stickles covering the medallion. It doesn't show terribly well in the photograph, though. The grungeboard flower is covered in distress crackle paint in Fired Brick. The blue/green ATC has sponged Distress Ink and and extra pine branch stamped over the top.

See? Digital stamps can be used with traditional stamps and the stamp police will not come and take your supplies away.

Check out the rest of the team's projects this week and see what they've come up with. Then head over to the AiFactory Challenge blog to play along!

• Angie
• Carlie
• Cheri
• Erin
• Fink
• Fliss
• Kerry
• Laurie
• Lola
• Michelle
• Monica
• Penny

In addition to AiF#24, these ATCs are also for the following challenges:
Pile it On #6: Let us see flowers - the blue/red ATC has a grungeboard flower
HFOS #16: Open the Fun
Polka Doodles #6: Hearts & Flowers - the red/blue ATC has hearts in the medallion in addition to the flower
OCCC: Something Old that's New - I've had the red brick distress crackle paint for *months* - and just opened it for this atc. finally.
Etsy Inspired #75: Spin Designs - this bird mobile

Friends with Flair - This one's for Shannan

Good morning everyone. This is one of those cards nobody likes to make, but they're among the most important cards we can do. Earlier this week, Shannan Teubner lost her best friend and life's companion, her husband, Josh. So this one is for her.

Deets:
Stamps: Growing in Unity and discontinued Unity
Paper: all SU
Etc: Nestabilities & Borderabilities
Challenges: ColorQ#19,stvscjh11

Check the Unity blog for the list of who is participating in the FWF hop today. Someone on that list will have a blinkie and you can win 25 random Unity stamps!

Double DT Post

Hi everyone. I'm taking a page from Kerry's book today and posting both of my cards together, since both images are designed by Elizabeth of Softpencil Designs. AiFactory happens to carry some of her images, which is just fabulous as far as I'm concerned. I think they're darling!

For AiFactory, we were challenged to make a card with as many hearts as possible, using A lovely couple. These two are just adorable, holding hands. I used this week's CPS 153 and some Sugar Rush paper, which is just full of hearts, and came up with this square card.For Softpencil this week, we were challenged to make a spring card with Michu in Be Mine. When I first read the challenge, I had an entirely different idea in my head. I thought Kerry meant something like this, which turns out to be called a spiral pop-up card.

I had a really hard time with this one and all of the folds. My scores on the first piece of cardstock tore, so I had to redo it. Perfect? Me? Not even close! I think it came out pretty cute in the end, though. I used MME Be Loved and Prima flowers.
This card (Be Mine) is also for the following challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges - Be My Valentine
Pile it On - To One You Love
Fussy & Fancy - Hearts

Don't forget to visit my fellow DT members. Both AiFactory and Softpencil DTs are listed on the left sidebar. Stay safe and warm.

Caffeinated Challenge Card

I hope you guys are staying warm. Here in Maryland, we've had near-record snowfall. Believe me when I say it's a tad chilly out there. Schools are closed and the kids are getting a little bit of cabin fever. I'll post some snow pics so you guys can see just how crazy it is in my front yard.

We lost our electricity twice. The first time was about 2:30 am, Saturday morning. It came back just after 6pm. So much for crafting or homework...or just about anything else, really. That was a day to stay under covers with lots of extra clothing on. I'm sure I looked exceptionally silly with my bathrobe on over my clothes, and then a scarf and mittens on top of that. Fashion was not the goal. Warmth was.

The electricity went back out later that night. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have our electricity back - and how spoiled I am by our heater! I'm still cold, but it's a lot warmer in here now.

I got started on this card last night. It's another multi-challenge card, using Paper Makeup Stamps Caffeine Trip, the sketch from Limelight Papercrafts, and this week's Etsy Inspired Challenge shop, Traveling Mama. (this card and this set)
In addition, PMS's Makeup 4 the Weekend #15 was to use pink and lots of bling. My SEI paper is all sparkly. I added 2 pink rhinestones to the upper left corner and, though you can't really see it in this photo, Rock Candy distress stickles to the sugar cubes.

Other Challenges:
ABC challenge: N is for New - the SEI paper and the rhinestones are new
Fussy & Fancy: Hearts
Crafty Calendar Challenge: love/friendship with hearts
Raise the Bar: Heart to Heart
Fun with Shapes: Hearts & Stripes

Special hugs to Robyn Weatherspoon, who lost her father this weekend and to Shannan Teubner, who has lost her husband. My deepest condolences to both of these dear ladies and their families.

Etsy Inspired AiFactory

Welcome back again. I thought I would post a couple of the projects I missed while I was out. You guys know I love the Etsy Inspired Challenge. This week is an adorable shop called EliesHappyHats. These are darling little crocheted baby hats, and some booties, which are just perfect to use as inspiration, since I wanted to make a gift for my friend, Becky, who worked with me at Deloache Chocolate. Between the colours and this cute little face, I found my inspiration in the Crochet Earflap Blue Cotton Beanie. I think it could easily be unisex.

Becky gave birth to a darling baby boy on December 23.

For AiFactory, we were to use the Nautical Collection Clipart Graphics set. I think it's perfect for this welcome baby page.

Congrats to Becky and Richard, and welcome to little Leo!!

Paper Makeup Stamps - Favourite Image Challenge

I think this might just be a record for me. Three posts in one day. Guess I'm starting to make up for lost time.

Katie, at Paper Makeup Stamps, has issued a challenge for everyone to use their favourite PMS image. For a lot of people, that's a really hard task. If it weren't for this special image, it would be extremely difficult for me, too, but the Baylee fairy just touches my heart so deeply, I can't even convey it in words.

Deets:
Image: Baylee digital stamp by PMS
Cardstock: Prismatics & Neenah Classic Crest
Designer Paper: Memory Box
Etc: Copics, Spica glitter pen, ribbon
Challenges: CPS-152
Flutter-by-Wednesday #95

Baylee Tadlock's memorial service was this past Saturday. Sweet Ashley was in attendance and has posted about it today, along with her own Baylee card.

As a reminder, all proceeds from the sale of this special stamp will go to Baylee's parents.

Soft Pencil Thursday with Two Cute Musicians

Hi, it's me. I'm back.

Anybody wanna guess where that's from? If you can guess without looking it up, then your sense of humour is just as weird as mine.

If you're looking for the AiFactory DT Blog Hop, please scroll down.

Two cute musicians, Michu and Ratini, are serenading us today! I think they are just the cutest things ever! I really do love Elizabeth's art. This week we've been given a 1, 2, 3 Recipe Challenge. I used 1 crocheted flower, 2 different patterned papers, and 3 buttons. I also used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge (MTSC59) again.


Please join us over at the Softpencil forum on Papercraft Planet and try your hand at Challenge #17.

Oh, and and it's a new month, which means we have 4 new guest designers joining us! Check 'em out! They're listed along with the rest of the DT on the left hand side bar.

AiFactory - Meet the DT Blog Hop

Hey everybody!! I hope you've arrived straight from the AiFactory Challenge Blog because I'm the first stop on the blog hop today! I'm really excited, as this is my return to blogging after a 2 week hiatus, courtesy of my dentist. We want to introduce everyone to the new and current design team, who will be serving from February through April. You'll note some familiar faces, as well as some new kids, some of whom may also be familiar to many of you.

This week I'm using the darling Alicia & Ivan on the Moon and the current sketch from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge (MTSC59) to make this card. I had flowers on it, but they looked really bad, so I took them off before I glued them down. Trust me. It's better this way.
Don't Alicia and Ivan look so cute sitting together on the moon? I used Spica markers to make both the heart and Alicia's shoes all nice and sparkly.

Now, make sure you comment on everybody's blogs. It's always nice to leave a little love, but this time you can win a $20 gift certificate to the AiFactory store. One comment will be chosen from all comments left - and we don't know from which blog it will be. It's going to be completely random! The drawing will be held at 11:30pm EST on February 10, so don't wait too long!

Next on your trip is my friend, Cheri, way up north in Alaska! I am SOOOO happy to welcome her to the AiFactory DT! Welcome to Cheri and to all of the other new girls. I can't wait to see what the next few months bring.