Too early for Halloween?

Hi ya, Friends with Flair Friday...UNITY friends, of course! 

If you're joining in on today's hop and want to start at the beginning...make sure to go to the Unity blog! You can take a look at those sneak peeks of all the new fabulous stamp sets too...exciting! 

BTW, did you see Angela's pictures that she posted from CHA? Tons of pic's every day and it sure looks like they are having such a great time...thanks Angela for allowing us to be there with you from your pic's!  How fun!

I'm still fooling around with this blog and seriously was so frazzled with my changes (deleted some stuff in error, made everything post all over, still can't get my Hof3 b/g to fit in my columns...ack!!!), that I had to just take some time off and get totally away from my blog! I will slowly keep making changes, and I'm glad at least that I changed to a lighter background...easier on the eyes, especially when you get to be my age..ha!

Do you think it's too early to share something for a Halloween birthday? I looked in my 'stash' and found a few of these little paper mache bags...they hold gift cards perfectly! I re-used the plastic from the star bling, cut it up on the edges, put on some Glossy Accents, and placed it behind the sentiment as a layer.  This is entered into the Unity Hip Hop Sketch Challenge and the Play Date Cafe Colour Challenge (info below).

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Here's a close-up of the sentiment and the green drink filled with Glossy Accents from Unity's "Cocktail Party" stamp set. I made the Glossy Accents kinda 'dripping' on the sentiment too (since it's a Halloween gift card holder):

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Stamps: Unity 'Cocktail Party

C/S: SU Ghostly Greetings DSP, Neenah Solar White
Ink: Memento Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Glossy Accents, Kaiser Scrapbook BlackStars, Heidi Swapp Jet Bling, EK Success Fibers

It's for two challenges:

1) AJ's Unity Sketch Challenge HHSC18; and

2) The Play Date Cafe PDCC40...

THANK YOU for coming by today!  Yay Unity and Play Date Cafe!

~FORGIVE THE MESS...'STILL' WORKING ON MY BLOG and OTHER THINGS~

NOTICE:  Please ignore this mess...I'm STILL working on my blog AND my craft room and have been unable to post any creations!
 
Thanks for understanding and have a FABULOUS DAY! *smile*
This post will stay at the top till I'm back.

~~Friends with Flair~~

Friends with Flair Friday
...oh my, I know we all say this at times...but how did the week go by so fast?

Maybe 'cause I absolutely love Unity and {ippity}, and am always amazed at the INCREDIBLY FASCINATING DESIGNS THAT YOU ALL CREATE and...I'm still looking at them!

It's been a heck of a week and I was supposed to update my blog last weekend...so hopefully, I'll get this blog mess finished up by this weekend!

I'm sharing another card I made for the Unity Addicts Challenge, "poppin' flowers" and entered it into the Moxie Fab 'classy and elegant' challenge:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

I figured a burst of color with Patina Glimmer Mist should make my Patchwork Petals flower 'pop'! I used the papercasting technique again, as in my other post on Wednesday {below, which also has the instructions}. The stem is from the Birdie Inspiration set, and the sentiment 'You Amaze Me' is from the Simply Said set.

Here's the other card that I made which was posted on the Unity blog on Wednesday (but I didn't post it on my blog). Used Flower Soft for the center of the flowers for some dimension:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

THANK YOU for coming by, and for putting up with my messy blog!

Happy Unity weekend!

Unity Addicts Challenge "Poppin' Flowers"

It's Wednesday and it's time for another Unity Addicts Challenge!  And guess what?  I am the guest for the challenge this week...woohoo!

Okay, so I never thought that I would use bathroom tissue on a card, but yep, I did today!  And, no no no...not 'tissues' that you take out of the box...I used 6 little 'toilet' tissue squares...ha!  Have you ever heard of PAPERCASTING? Well, this is Papercasting, but it's for a small project, so using the 'toilet tissue squares' work great for a rubber stamp!

First, a little about my card...the stamps I used are from the Unity May KOM 2009 '...another sweet day'!  The background uses the emboss resist technique, a little Lumiere for the flowers, and then Glimmer Misted with 'Mustard Seed and Gold'.

Then you see the popped up flowers with the ribbon tied around it...yep, you guess it, that's the 'tp' which I painted with Lumiere, Stickles, and then Glimmer Misted too.

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

BTW...that fabby ribbon....it's from Really Reasonable Ribbon...I love the two colors on this ribbon...it's 'Sheer Iridescent Parrot Green' Organza!

Okay, here's a quick and simple blurb about the 'tp' PAPERCASTING:
*Take six single squares of 'tp' and lay them on top of each other; 
*Place the entire stack of 'tp' in a container filled with water (just use a small bowl, but make it is big enough so they don't fold and can retain the square shape). 
*Quickly and gently lift out the 'tp' and squeeze out a little bit of the water (be careful they could tear) and place the entire stack of 'tp' over your stamp to cover the entire image (on the red rubber).
*Use your fingers or small cloth to gently press the 'tp' into the red rubber stamp (into the crevices) being careful not the tear the tissues, until you see the stamp image completely through the tp. (I found that by using a small cotton cloth, it helped absorb some of the excess water from the 'tp'.)
*Put it aside and let the 'tp' dry on the stamp for about a couple of hours.
*Gently lift the 'tp' off of the red rubber stamp (it retains the stamp image shape) and set it aside to dry overnight.

Then you could paint, spray, or do whatever you want to the papercast of the stamp.  Be careful not to use any medium that is too wet, or your image may go flat! Oh, and also cut off any excess 'tp' from the edges for the shape you desire.

That's it! I didn't take photo's of the process, 'cause why re-invent it, if it's aleady done, right? 

I must give credit, where credit it due...take a look at this site HERE...lots of fabby ideas and there is a step by step PAPERCASTING tutorial...especially, if you're a 'visual' learner...this helps a lot!

Oooh, here's one more card I made without the papercast and it has a LOT more Glimmer Mist (and I centered the embossed flowers):

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

So, hopefully my flowers 'pop'; and thanks for coming by...have a wonderful Wednesday!

2S4Y and Unity Addicts challenges...

Hey there! 

I'm sharing a quick card today using some Unity stamps from the Time for Travel set:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

I made this card with the 2S4Y challenge in mind and the Unity Addicts colors challenge.  I clear embossed the palm tree in the background and then used my chalks to create the sand and the sky.



Here's the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge, Kazan's Sketch #57.



And the Unity Addicts Color Challenge #9 is to use Teal, Orange and Navy Blue.



Well, I hope you have a fabulous day!

~Merry H{ippity} Hop Monday to you! ~

Yes, I said "Merry" to you...'cause this is my first official Christmas card that I made in July! This is an accomplishment for me...I have NEVER made my first Christmas card in July! *smile*

To see all the H{ippity} Hop inspiration today, make sure you catch everyone by starting at the

{ippity} blog! 

One of the {ippity} challenges last week, IHHC32, was to CASE an {ippity} card in the SCS gallery. So, as I was browsing through the gallery, I loved Heather Rolin's black and white beauty HERE, and just had to case it, but I created a Christmas card:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

I used the {ippity} Season of Joy set....love, love, love this set!  Thank you Heather for the inspiration!

That's it for now...hope your day is {ippity} and Merry! *wink*

Patriotic Daisy for Whimsy Haven and RRR~

Hello and happy Wednesday! As you know, Whimsy Haven is taking a little break on the blog hops for summer, but the DT can still post creations from Lindsay's FABulous images.

I realized that I have not used this daisy in the 'Summertime' set nor the banner in the 'Sweet Tooth' set, so I decided to make a  card. Then I realized that Really Reasonable Ribbon has their latest challenge up to use ribbon on a 'patriotic' card...hence, my Patriotic Daisy!

From Whimsy Haven

Whimsy Haven Digital Images: Summertime set (daisy); Birthday Star set (celebrate); Sweet Tooth (banner)

Really Reasonable Ribbon: Blue w/Red Stitched Edge

C/S: SU Night of Navy, Real Red and Neenah Solar white

Ink: COPICS

I appreciate that you dropped by today! 

Take the time to 'celebrate' something and have a daisy of day!

Love my {ippity}!

It's the weekly H{ippity} Hop today...woohoo!

It was so fun with GIU last week, but I am still waaaaaay behind in my commenting on blogs...I'm sincerely sending my apologies to you gals 'cause it really bugs me that I haven't been able to finish getting to everyone' blogs yet...do you ever feel the same guilt?

I'm sharing a card today using {ippity} Regal Greetings--'Missing You' sentiment; and Sweets Thoughts of Spring--'the flowers'. If you would like these sets, I have them in stock and can ship them immediately! Just click on my {ippity} blinkie on my left sidebar!

I made this for

Kelly's {ippity} 'four for the fourth' challenge IHHC31,

and the Color Throwdown #100 challenge!

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Stamps: {ippity} Regal Greetings, Sweet Thoughts of Spring
Ink: Copics

Here are the colors for the Color Throwdown Challenge #100...and you have to go take a look at the celebration going on for this challenge...woohoo!!!...the big 100~!


For the {ippity} four for the fourth Challenge, it 's to use something 4 times...so I used my bouquet of flowers four times.

You are all so terrific....'gracias', and I hope you have the best day ever! *smile*

'Thank you My GIU Friends' and 'Winners'!

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed my week for Growing in Unity!  THANK YOU SO MUCH for your kind words and your comments!  I have definitely fallen behind on my commenting on your blogs and will be doing that all this weekend!

I'm sharing my last project for this week's Growing in Unity, which is a double layout...yea, can you believe I'm actually posting a layout? *smile* I have 12x12 books for my son and I know I don't post my pages often, but I try to add to his books as much as I can. (I do need to add my journaling, which will be handwritten along the bashful blue c/s and on the kraft by the tags...I'm going to just journal all around.)

So have you heard of a progressive scrapbook page? Let me explain...it's when you first create a 6x6 page, like this one:

And then add the 6x6 page to an 8.5x11 page like this one (you probably can't tell, but I stitched the flower stem):

And then you add the 8.5x11 page to a 12x12 page like this one:

And here's my second page:

This process makes it much easier for me to create a layout and I don't just stare at my blank pages all day long!

Stamps: Unity Frame this Alpha, Everyday Adorable, Tiny Trinity; {ippity} A Moment in Time

And now for our Growing In Unity Winner....

drum roll please....

My Angel!

My Angel said...Love this!! Great Colors!! Love the metal, never have used metal, will have to try it!!

My Angel, please send me your email address so I could give you the information for your choice out of the four Unity stamp sets....jenstampin4u at aol.com!

.........

 

And now for the winner of my extra set of Unity's Time for Travel

second drum roll please...

REGINA!

 (comment #17 on Thursday)

Regina said... Such a cute pail -- love all the detail! I really HAVE to learn more about paper piecing (which I have sometimes referred to as paper piercing - eeks) - love the look of it.

Love that you're having a giveaway - very exciting!

 

Regina, please email me at jenstampin4u at aol.com with your info so I could send this set to you right away!

Woohoo...CONGRATS ladies! 

Thank you everyone for such a fabulous time this week!

p.s. And remember your next week inspiration for

Growing in Unity...

Tracy is going to be sharing her creativity at

Tracy's Stamping Blog

...so don't forget to go visit her next week!

Just fyi...Post for Winners will be up by 8a PT!

Wow, I printed all the comments and need to cut them up and put them in a bowl to pick the winner...lots of work, but I'll announce the winners by 8a!
Thank everyone!

FwFF and Final day for GIU Comments!

Note: I totally forgot to sign up for Friends with Flair Friday, and it may have been too late. So if I didn't end up on the list, please don't forget to visit the Unity blog for the list or FwFF participants...some awesome stuff I tell ya!

Hi everyone! This was the first time that I hosted Growing in Unity, and boy, it seems like it flew by...so fast! I was nervous, but yet I had a lot of fun! Everything I created this past week has actually been made for someone, and you know...it felt good to do that...not just for a challenge, but to know that I intended to give it to someone!

Thank you so much for letting me share with you this week! And do you remember the old saying...'who would do that?....YES, UNITY WOULD DO THAT! Okay, maybe it's not that old of a sayin', but Thank you Unity for giving me the opportunity!

Okay lovely ladies...this is the final day for comments on my blog to win your choice of one of these awesome Unity sets: Margarita Moments....or Which Direction....or Berry Good Life...or Grow Yourself Extraordinary! I will post the WINNER tomorrow (Saturday) with my final creation (progressive scrapbook page) for this round of GIU!

Here is a bookmark that I made out of twill ribbon...I stamped with Memento Ink and colored with my Copics 'cause I wanted it flat and not to make any marks in my books (I don't like making any marks in my books...yea, I'm like that!):

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Here's a card that I created for two challenges...Hip Hop Sketch Challenge HHSC15, and Unity Addicts Recipe Challenge UAC8--to use 2 buttons, two flowers and one bow:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

The inside sentiment:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Stamps: Unity Rain & Flowers Set

And you're in for a treat next week for Growing in Unity...Tracy is going to be sharing her creativity at Tracy's Stamping Blog...so don't forget (but I'll remind you again tomorrow)!

And a big shout out to Maria over at Ria Creations...thank you for taking on the GIU scheduling and posting and stuff...you are awesome and appreciated very much!

So don't forget to come back tomorrow to see who won their choice of the Unity sets and my extra Unity set on my post yesterday!

P.S. I need to share...I've been entering some challenges recently, and oh my I'm so excited...my latest win was for Play Date Cafe...see my right side bar...yay, I'm just so excited! *smile*

Growing in Unity...Summertime Trees

Wow, has this week flown by or what?  Today is Unity's Hip Hop...have you see the AMAZING creations by the Design Team using Unity + Graphic45?!!!  You've got to see it all...visit the Unity blog for the DT hop...you won't be sorry!

Did you realize that for Growing in Unity this week, the random winner could pick any one of these stamps sets from Unity...Margarita Moments....or Which Direction....or Berry Good Life...or Grow Yourself Extraordinary...how awesome is that?!!!

For today's Growing in Unity, I have altered a pail.  It's for a friend's daughter, it's her birthday and I have some fun jewelry to place inside. I filled it up with white confetti for now, to try to prevent the glare from the camera. Since it's 'summertime', I thought I'd use my favorite Unity trees and papers from

Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety:

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Here's the lid:

Here's the tag:

Here's a view of all angles of the pail:

I did a LOT of paper piecing on this and the paper strip was almost 14 inches long...the bottom 'chick's border' is from the Cosmo Cricket paper strips, I cut

grass into it and then adhered it to the paper pieced tree scene. Here's what it looked like before I put in inside the pail (just a quick observation from me...do the Hackle Berry Point Trees look like pickles?...heehee, I used some misc SU papers on those):

Stamps:  Unity Wood Slides: Oaky Doke Tree, Burberry Tree, Hackle Berry Point Tree, Shurberry Tree, Shade Tree; bird and 'sunshine' from Flirty Flower set

C/S: Cosmo Cricker Garden Variety papers and stickers; misc SU DSP

 
And one last thing for today...I HAVE AN EXTRA UNITY SET OF MY OWN TO GIVEAWAY...

Time for Travel:

I will pick a random winner for this set from TODAY'S comments and will announce the winner on Saturday!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my Growing in Unity today!  Have a sunshine of a day!

Let's have a Cocktail Party for GIU!

What a fabulous Wednesday it is today! And it's my 4th day of Growing in Unity!

As you know, I have been playing with 'metal' and hand embossing some stamped images.  I created a 6x3 book of recipes for a "Cocktail Party" using another Unity wood stamp 'Wine Rack':

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

I stamped the image with Staz-On (so that it would not rub off) on the Ten Seconds Studio Spiced Rum metal sheet. Then, I embossed the images from the top and flipped it over to emboss the images and give them some dimension. Tip: if you want your 'dimension' to stay, you really should invest in the time to use spackle to fill in the images, so that they don't go flat. Then I used one of my Ten Seconds Studio boards to emboss the design below the Unity stamp, and sanded to remove some of the color.

For the back of the book, I used the same metal, but used my black and silver alcohol inks to add some varied color. Another tip:  if you are creating a book cover, make sure that the chip board or book that you are covering is pretty sturdy, not too thin and flimsy. Otherwise, when you cover it with metal, it will show all lines and folds that you don't want to show...the metal picks up all the details behind it!

I used my Unity Cocktail Party set for my sentiment and tag (attached with black elastic band).

Here are the tools that I used for working with this metal:


Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into the GIU drawing!

Again, thank you for coming to visit!

p.s.  Tomorrow I have an altered paint can to show you!
p.s.s.  Have you ever heard of a "progressive page"? Stay tuned on Friday, OMG, yes I did scrapbook!

GROWING IN UNITY!

Here we are again...GROWING IN UNITY!  Thank you for coming by today!

So, a friend of mine wanted some simple cards for her daughter to write quick notes to send off in the mail.  Now, if you are as old as me, do you remember those tri-fold cards?  You write on the inside of the card... the outside was decorated...then when you folded the card (tri-fold), it became an envelope...remember? And, to top it off you put a sticker on the ends to keep the card closed.  Okay, maybe you don't remember, and I'm probably the only one who remembers these...ha! 

Anyway, this tri-fold card has to be simple, because there is no envelope to hold anything inside. 
In a sense, these are really CAS cards. 

Well, here is my rendition of these tri-fold cards...since I couldn't put any embellies, all I could do was stamp and color.  The white card in the back of this picture is the full card opened up; the Crushed Curry card in the middle has one end of the card folded; and the Bermuda Bay card up front has it completely folded.  You could see how they each have an area to write the address and place a stamp on it...ready to go.

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

All Unity Wood Slide Stamps Used: Owl Journal Box 'Who are you?"; Retro Bubble Frame; Tell Me About; Flowers from Neverland;, Itsy Bitsy Giggles; Linden Branch; Wispy Grass; Burberry Tree; Shade Tree;

C/S: SU Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Neenah Solar White

Ink: Copics

Again, I appreciate that you came by today...while you're here please leave a comment to be entered into the drawing for a Unity prize!


P.S.  Come back tomorrow to see another 'metal' creation that I made!

Growing in Unity and H{ippity} Hop!

H{ippity} Hop Monday = FUN!

Growing in Unity = MORE FUN! 

Growing in Unity + {ippity} = FUN DAY MONDAY!

 *insert excitement here*

Yes, I am so excited to be hosting Growing in Unity too! I don't want to be too 'wordy' on my post, so if you want to see the details about how GIU works, please see yesterday's
4th of July post!

For this H{ippity} Hop...if you've missed all the blogs before me, please go to the beginning at the {ippity} blog for lots of fantastic {ippity} inspiration!

I have been playing with 'metal' again, and have a few of these creations for you this week.  Here's one of those projects for you today...

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Stamps: Unity--Everlasting Romance, {ippity} Just Wanted to Say

C/S: SU Textured Basic Black, Neenah Solar White, Ten Seconds Studios Periwinkle Metal

Ink: Memento Noir, Staz-On Black

Techniques: Metal hand embossing and distressing

I stamped the Unity Everlasting Romance stamp on a Periwinkle Metal Sheet, then hand debossed the front and hand embossed the back; then distressed by lightly sanding on the metal to remove a little bit of color. I added my ribbon treatment (layered organdy and grosgrain ribbons), and then used some Glossy Accents to 'shine up' the bird on the sentiment.  I didn't want to add anything more, for fear it would take away from the metal decor.

This card is also for Jenny's "Free for All" Challenge #13, over at Wee Memories.

I appreciate that you took the time to stop by today!  Try to come back tomorrow to see what else I've done with Unity stamps (and don't forget to comment for your chance at a prize!)!
 
Has anyone told you today that...'YOU' are so AWESOME! *smile*

Happy 4th of July!

WELCOME!!! I am so excited to be hosting

Unity Stamp Co's " Growing in Unity"

(GIU) this week and am so glad you stopped by today!

(I PROMISE NOT TO BE SO WORDY EVERY DAY!) *wink*

I have been a Unity fan for over a year now, and love that we have a huge variety of stamp choices!

I love red rubbah, and I love the quality that Unity Stamp Co offers to us! Woohoo, Unity!

And, to think that Unity not only has the best products, but truly has the best peeps...from the owners and peeps in the front offices to the Design Team to the artists to the peeps making and baking and shipping the red rubbah...I'm sure you agree too! *smile*

"GIU" is actually Monday through Friday,

but I wanted to get a head start and post a single card, especially since it's

Happy 4th of July! *insert fireworks here*

Here's how it works:  I will have a Unity post every day this week, and all you need to do is make a comment on these posts.  On Saturday, I will randomly pick one of the comments to win a Unity prize! Isn't that easy peasy?!!!

So my little share today is a card that was also easy peasy and celebrates Independence Day by showcasing fireworks in the blue sky. I used the words "always remember, Free" from the Unity Confession: i {love} Unity set; and the Blossoms from the {ippity} Now and Always set (don't they look like fireworks in the sky?):

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Stamps: Unity Confession; {ippity} Now and Always

C/S: SU Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Neenah Solar White

Ink: SU Brilliant Blue, VersaMark

Techniques: Heat embossed with Heat & Stick Powder for the Romantic Red glitter, and VersaMark for the Iridescent Ice embossing powder.

I made this card with the sketch #45 from Get Sketchy:

Thank you so much for coming by!  Don't forget to come by tomorrow to see what I have to share!

HAVE A SAFE AND FABULOUS

4TH OF JULY!
p.s. this is the last day I will be using the red, white and blue colors...so future posts won't be so hard on your eyes!

...believe

I ...believe in Friends with Flair Friday...do you? Well, if you do then you started at the Unity Stamp Co blog, and if you got this far, you are near the end!

I used my new Donna Downey set "She Said" which has this wonderful quote...hope you like it!

From Unity and {ippity} Projects

Stamps: Unity-Donna Downey "She Said"

C/S: Stampin' Up Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Bella Rose DSP, and Neenah Solar White, vellum

Ink: SU Real Red, Pretty in Pink

 Challenges: UHHSC14, PDCC36

Techniques: I used the emboss resist technique for the word believe and separated each letter from the quote onto little tags that I had. I then sponged two colors of ink onto the tags and added a little pearl to each. Added the tags to the ribbon for a hanging efffect. I distressed some of the edges and added a piece of vellum using Martha Stewart's Lace Doily punch.

I created this card for two challenges:

Unity's Hip Hop Sketch #14
by Jimmi











The Play Date Cafe #36
by Julie





Oh, before I forget...didn't Savannah do a spectacular job in hosting Growing in Unity this week?  I do adore her creativity and sweetness!  I surely hope that I can keep up with all the Growing In Unity FABULOUSNESS, so come back on Sunday, 'cause guess what?

I'm hosting Growing in Unity next week! 

Thanks for much for visiting today and 

HAVE A FANTASTIC 4TH of JULY!