Shout Out to Limelight

This is just a drive-by posting, but I really want to give a shout out to Mandy at Limelight Papercrafts. There are people in the crafting world who go out of their way to give good service and who really care. Mandy is one of them.

She's also really talented and has an awesome design team. You can check out the Limelight blog here.

So Mandy, thanks for being you.

Friends with Sheetloads of Flair

Hello and happy Friday! I hope everyone out there in blogland is having better weather than we are. It's just rainy and yucky here - but my mom is on her way up and that makes it all better!

Did you guys see the fantabulous Donna Downey set that Unity released yesterday? Yup, that's right. I said fantabulous. That's the word you have to use when discussing anything and Donna Downey! That is one awesome lady! It's called The Artist in You, and it's on sale this weekend! If you haven't visted her blog before, you are seriously missing out!

So I took it a little on the easy side and went for a Christmas card. I used the sketch from this month's Sheetload of Cards. This is only a photo of one of them, but I did make more. The big branch from Christmas Bough stamp fits perfectly. It's stamped in a combination of Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks. The sentiment is Fired Brick. The lovely striped patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Wassail collection. The ribbon is from work. It's leftover from the chocolate making biz.

Check out the Unity blog for a full list of peeps participating today. Spread the love around.

Multiple Challenges R Us

Hello everyone! My mojo took a slight vacation, but I think it may be back? This card is for several challenges and a swap-bot swap.

First of all, Etsy Inspired Challenge #61. JaredKS's Fine Art Nature Photography is the shop for the week. I was inspired by this photo of a magnolia blossom. I just love the pinks!

Next was the Whimsical Ink Saturday Challenge posted by Ashley, which was to use a butterfly. Lorali is a butterfly mermaid. Got that one! In fact, I've had Lorali coloured for days. It was just the rest that was stumping me.

Enter the Paper Makeup Stamps Release Challenge from this past weekend. It's a recipe challenge.
foundation: use textured cardstock (prism, bazzill, or embossed);
blush: use the color pink;
eyes: use the color black (like mascara);
lips: use something shimmery/shiney (like lip gloss)

I'm covered! My core'dinations paper is definitely textured. Then I embossed it with the divine swirls Cuttlebug folder and sanded over the top for some added dimension. The card was pink before I even started anything else, so check that one off, too. Oh, and because I was colouring with Copics, I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink. That's three...and to finish her off, I added some sparkles with Spica markers, which I adore.It was the sketch challenge from Just Us Girls Week 6 that was my lifesaver. The little butterflies are also Queen Kat and come from one of the monthly kits. I just don't remember which one off the top of my head.

And lastly, for the first time, I managed to pull off a Pile it On challenge! This week's was to use a leaf or leaves. The flower in Lorali's hair - has two leaves.

Whew! I hope the person I'll be sending this to likes it. It's not going to be an easy one to send away.

AiFactory Tuesday - Challenge #11

Good morning everybody! It's time for AiFactory Tuesday! This week it's Live Free with Brads and Eyelets! We're challenging everyone to use one of the freebie images in the AiFactory store and to incorporate brads and/or eyelets into the design. The design team is doing it Splitcoast Stampers CAS38 style, so we're keeping it clean and simple this week.

I chose the snowflake scatter brushes. Bet you'd never have guessed! It took a little bit of playing around, since I'm not quite used to playing around with different brush styles just yet, but I got the snowflakes to show up in the sizes I wanted, changed their colour - several times, actually, until I was happy with how they appeared. Then I printed them out, chose the ones I wanted, and used a circle punch to cut out the few that I wanted. I CASE'd this card. My sentiment is a traditional rubber stamp by Karen Lockhart, but the snowflakes? All digital, baby! Oh, and how do you like my new card stand? It's my Unity A handle. I couldn't find my card stand the other night and couldn't get the card I was trying to photograph to stay put. This worked brilliantly! Why not, right?

Okay, so the gory details. You have until midnight next Monday (11/16) to play along. This week we are requiring that you use a freebie from the AiFactory Store. It should also include brads or eyelets and be Clean & Simple. We don't ask for much, do we? Don't worry. I know you can do it!

This week, someone will win the Christmas Decoration Tree digi stamp! So get cracking, okay?? Don't forget to link your project to the challenge blog. When posting to online galleries, please use AIF011, aifactory and CAS38.

Now it's time to head over and see what the rest of the team has for you to see!

Angie
De
Erin
Fink
Kerry
Lola
AiFactory Challenge Blog (Link Posts HERE)

Growing in Unity Winner!

ACK! I almost forgot to post this! It's been sitting on my desktop since Sunday night.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2009-11-8 23:28:32 UTC

So, by my count, the winner is...

Monika in VA said...

Love that 'tree'! Can't wait to see what you have in store for us this week!

November 2, 2009 8:37 PM

Monika, drop Eryn an email with your choice of Unity single!! Congrats and thank you for the sweet comments!!

Growing in Unity - Day 5 is Friends with Flair!

Hi everyone! Today is my final day of Growing in Unity. I have had an absolute blast this week. Please remember to leave a comment for your chance to win a Unity single of your choice. I'll wait until Sunday evening before drawing a name just to give everyone a chance to make the blog rounds.

I hope everyone has enjoyed this week as much as I have. I can hardly wait to see what next week will bring - and who will be the lucky stamper to be hosting.

For my final card this week, I chose a stamp that is very dear to my heart. It will always remind me of Hip Hop and all the friends and fun that went along with it. We all know that it's always All About the PIE!!The stamp is, of course, from Hodge Podge of Happiness, the ultimate stamp kit with all stamps chosen by Unity customers. This particular stamp was designed by Lisa Hetrick, of pie-loving fame. DP is by Graphic 45. The sketch (yup, the sketch kick continues) is Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #105.

Unity has some awesome sets on sale through Sunday. {ippity} is here, too. Check it out.

Thanks to all for being so supportive this week. You guys are awesome!

Growing in Unity - Day 4

Oh my wow! Did you guys see what Unity has up their collective sleeves now?? {ippity} is finally here and you can bet your britches that I'm signing up for this one! Or rather, I already have! This is super exciting!

Today I have a birthday card that I put together using Mojo Monday's challenge for this week. It gave me a chance to use a stamp I got from the ever-so-sweet Miss Ashley, Unity's Horn Honker, and to play with the Fleur-de-lis Borderabilities.
The DP is from Basic Grey's Lemonade and the sentiment is from Birthday Chic, which, along with several other kits, is on sale through Sunday!

Funny little story about Birthday Chic. I knew I had it somewhere, but could not for the life of me find it - and the birthday sentiment from Love in the Air was just too big for what I wanted this time. I had finally given up when I noticed it was sitting on top of the drawer to my craft table. Under the table.
This is the view from my computer chair. I have no idea why it was sitting there. I can't explain it at all. You may all laugh at me now.

I'll be back tomorrow with my final Growing in Unity post!! See you then.

Growing in Unity - Day 3

I know...finally. Card first. The tree is the same one I used on Monday, from Bright & Merry Winter Wishes. The sketch is from a challenge at Stamp TV, and the presents are from a GinaK kit (designed by Gina's daughter, btw. Talented kid!)
Tomorrow Angela is supposed to explain "ippity" to us. I don't know about you guys, but I am super curious. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be interesting.

One thing I really like about Growing in Unity is that it really forces me to take the time to create, no matter how tired I am. It never fails to make me feel better, either. So even if you're stressed out the wazoo (yes, that's a technical term!), do yourself a favour and make something! I don't care what it is. Heck, make reservations, but make something. You'll be glad you did.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more Unity goodness!

GiU- Day 3 delayed

Have to run into work - and it's not gonna be fun. I'll get this up as soon as I get home.

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!!