Totally missed VSN this weekend....

So, I totally missed the "Crush" VSN (Virtual Stamp Night) with my Splitcoast friends this weekend. But, the reasoning was sooooo worth it. My little angel was terribly sick with a fever and stomach flu (don't want to be gross, here) all weekend and I was taking care of her....and enjoying all the cuddles as well. It was a nice, slow, sluggish weekend and I loved it!! Minus the sicky part. ;-)

Anyway, I pulled all the challenges up, and decided, that they are too awesome to pass up, even though the VSN is over. So, I will be posting some of my challenge cards this week, on my blog.

Click on the link above for a description of what VSN is all about. Basically, challenges are posted every hour all weekend, and you have 45 minutes to complete them. The cards can be uploaded until 10pm on Sunday evening of the VSN weekend. Sounds fun, right?? The next VSN is February 20-21, called "What's Love Got to Do With It??" Check the VSN Forum at Splitcoast for more chat and details.

The card above is from the "Cast Away Love" challenge. Frances challenged us to create a card from our scraps, called a "scrapling." This was so much fun to create. Scraplings normally measure 1.25" X 4.25", since this is usually the size of the scrap when we cut our card paper for a square card. These are meant to be very narrow cards, and technically not ones you would mail out. I see them as excellent little cards to put on gifts or tie to gift bags, etc.

My scrapling measures 1.5" X 5" when folded. It came from a piece of PTI white paper that I had left over from making a 5"x7" card. I found a piece of PTI Pure Poppy in my scrap bin as well, that fit perfectly on this, and the DSP is unknown, as it also came from my scrap bin. The stamped images come from Unity Stamp Co, a new set that Angela created, herself, called This is the Time. For this card, I used the mini set, which is great to use on cards and smaller projects. She also has a HUGE, This is the Time set, which is great for scrapbooking. The images are stamped in Black Memento ink and the ribbon is SU Wasabi stitched.

These little scraplings are just so darn cute. I will definitely have to make some more of these. Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a wonderful day. HAPPY STAMPING!!!

Mojo 69 Challenge

OK. Finally getting back into the swing of things and taking part in some challenges again. YAY!! This is a card I created from last week's Mojo Monday Sketch. You have to check out the Mojo Monday blog, Julee (from Verve Stamps) posts a new sketch challenge every Monday. I am a HUGE fan of her sketches!!
My card uses a PTI white card base, layered with PTI Aqua Mist, ColorMates Heritage Grey, and Basic Grey Designer Paper- Urban Prairie. Don't those trees resemble the stamped image?? The stamped image is from Unity Stamp Co, and is called Serenity Tree, the words, "Lots of Love," come from the Unity stamp set called Mix Up of Cuteness. The serenity tree is stamped in Black Memento ink and then paper pieced with the Urban Prairie DSP. I used Yellow and Waterfall Stickles for accents. The circles are popped up on dimensionals and then dotted with yellow stickles as well. I distressed all the edges of the card and then inked the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink.
Thank you so much for stopping by. HAPPY STAMPING!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! (TLC 202- Glitter Card)

Mom's Birthday was last Wednesday, and this is the card that I made for her special day. It sparkles ALOT, just like she does. :-) I LOVE the Splitcoast Technique Challenge 202, which is the glitter card technique. It is so much fun to make, and really makes your cards stand out and sparkle.

This card uses a Papertrey White base, and is layered with Stampin Up Pink Pirouette and Lovely Lilac papers. I used Martha Stewart Glitters and Tacky strip for the lines on the glitter piece. The stamped image is from Unity Stamp Co and is called Scrappy Flower. I stamped the image with Black Memento ink and colored it with Copic markers. The center of the flower is painted with Pink Shimmerz paint.

Thanks for stopping by, HAPPY STAMPING!!!

Love is...

I just LOVE this Unity Stamp!! That quote is soooo true! I made this card using some scraps of the Stampin' Up Designer Paper- "Sweet Always" that I had sitting on my desk, and was in a pink mood, and voila, here is my card. LOL.

The card base is Papertrey White, then layered with Stampin Up Regal Rose, and Pink Pirouette and of course, the "Sweet Always" paper. (Love that series). The stamp is from Unity Stamp Co. and is called Love and Meaning... I stamped the image in Black Memento ink and colored with my Copics. The flower accents are embelished with Shimmerz paints and Stickles.

This stamp is going to be great for Valentine's day cards, and could also be used for weddings, showers, invitations, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks for stopping by, HAPPY STAMPING!!

LOVE

WOW, I can't believe I have not blogged in soooooo long. I have been so completely wiped out lately, and trying to get back into the swing of things. So, I decided to start with the Unity Addicts Challenge, which we bring to you on Wednesdays. Today's challenge was picked by the lovey and talented Sarah. (Check out her blog for some great inspiration). Her challenge for everyone was: to decorate a card on the inside and out. I love this challenge, because its becomming a growing fad lately to decorate the insides of our cards as well as the outside. If you play along with us, please upload your card to the SCS gallery using keyword: USC19.

My card is also my attempt at the Splitcoast Technique Lover's Challenge (Mondays). TLC202, which is called Glitter Card. This is a super fun technique, and really makes a card stand out. Definitely one of my favorites, now.

My card uses the following- Papers: PTI White, Kraft, Pure Poppy. Stamps: Unity Stamp Co: Argyle Heart, "love," and on the inside of the card, "xoxo." Ink: Stampin up Real Red and PInk Passion. Accessories: Martha Stewart Glitters, Dimensionals and red rhinestones.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please HIP HOP with the Unity girls tomorrow, starting at 10am Central time on the Unity Blog, is the Design Team blog hop, followed at 11am Central by the new releases, specials, chatting, challenges and just plain fun on the Unity Forum on SCS.

Happy Stamping!!

My Mojo is SLOWLY coming back...

My oh my, does anyone else have this problem right now: I simply cannot get my Mojo back after the Holidays. UGH! I have been completely wiped out from all the holiday hoopla, that when I go to my craft room and TRY to create, nothing happens. Today, I challenged myself. I just HAD to get something done! This scrapbook page is what I came up with. It's not quite what I envisioned going into it, but I guess it will do. LOL. I was happy to get to use some new Making Memories papers my hubby got for me for Christmas. This is the Fa-la-la collection. The page base is Bazzil Basics (chandelier) and the DSP, Letter stickers and big canvas letters are all from Making Memories. I journaled on the computer, using St. Nicholas font, which you can get at Kevin & Amanda. I inked around the edges of the journaling with Pure Pomegranate ink. Thanks for stopping by, hoping the mojo gets flowing real soon for everyone. HAPPY STAMPIN and SCRAPPIN.

U Are...

Yesterday, I spent most of the day in a vegetative state. I guess the holidays must have finally caught up with me. So, after sleeping most of the day away, I was WIRED late at night, and I created this page about my daughter. This photo captures the very essence of my daughter: fun, sweet, energetic, and the list goes on. That's when I decided I wanted to make a page describing how wonderful she is. The paper is Jenni Bowlin ("Numbered Die-Cut Label"). I used a Fancy Pants Design transparent overlay on the photo and then just dressed up the page with some journalling, using the computer and my Copic markers. The chipboard U is from Making Memories and the letter stickers are from Stickopotamus (which come from my stash-I wonder if these letters even still exist??) Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are all having a wonderful Holiday season, filled with family, fun, friends and most of all, LOVE!!
HAPPY STAMPING!!

Growing in Unity- Day 5

Today I had to bring you some scrapbook layouts. These are from an album that I created for my Mom, for Christmas. I had about 200+ pictures from her wedding in June, that I wanted to put in an album for her. I didnt want it to be just any old album, though.
Here, I used a regular "2-up" photo album, but embellished some of the pages as scrapbook pages and then left some of them remaining as the 2-up style, but just added a little decoration to the white spaces on the sides of the photo slots. This is a really quick way to put together an album if you have tons of pictures you need to scrap in a short amount of time.
I used various Unity Stamps throughout the whole book, since, Unity stamps are GREAT for both Scrapbooking and Cardmaking. On the pages you see here, I used the following Unity Stamps: Diva-lish, My Sister My Friend, Queen for a Day, and Fun Night Out. SO, if your in a hurry and need an album done, fast, try this out. Its FUN and quick. I could not believe how fast I scrapped 200+ photos!! Thanks for visiting my blog for Growing in Unity week. Check out the Unity blog to see who is next. There are such wonderfully talented Unity girls waiting to show you their creations. Happy Stamping!!

Growing in Unity- Day 4- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
here is ANOTHER ALTERED PROJECT!!!! I can't believe it...since I rarely create altered items. I am having so much fun with it this week!! This is a picture frame, altered into an inspirational decoration. I used My Minds Eye designer paper for the frame design, embellished with ribbons and a Prima flower. The stamped image, one of my favorite quotes, comes from Unity Stamp Co: Beauty of Dreams (this stamp is HUGE). I then sewed a silly design on top, and zig-zag stich on the bottom of the quote. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas day!! HAPPY STAMPING!!

Growing in Unity- Day 3- CHRISTMAS EVE

OK, so who doesn't look at the adorable wooden Unity tags that come with the stamp kits, and wonder, "what can I do with these??"
Well, I thought these were the perfect size for drink coasters!! I made a "his and hers" set of 4.
To do this, you will need:
four of the Unity wooden tags,
four corkboard coasters (you can usually find a multi-pack at Walmart for real cheap!!)
and whatever kinds of papers and embellishments you desire for decoration.
Oh, and Mod Podge too!
I started by first gluing the corkboard coaster to the back of the wooden tag. Use a craft knife to trim the edges off. Next, flip over the tag and begin painting the Mod Podge in an even coat, over the front of the tag. Place a 4X4 piece of Designer paper over the Mod Podge and firmly press any bubbles out. Trim off the excess, and sand edges, if necessary. Then, I painted Mod Podge over the DSP as well. Once dry, I stamped in black Staz On ink, right on the Designer paper side. Embellish as you desire. Here, I used foof-a-la buttons on the boy coasters and Rhinestones on the girly coasters. The stamps come from Unity Stamp Co: Dads of all Kinds (check out that kit, its 50% off!!! WOW) Fun Night Out, and Cocktail Party. Thanks for stopping by. HAPPY HOLIDAYS and HAPPY STAMPING!!

Growing in Unity- Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of "Growing in Unity." Here is a fun card that I made late the other night. It was quite therapeutic cutting out all the little details for this card. LOL. The card uses a PTI white base and Stampin Up Berry Bliss DSP. The stamped images come from Unity Stamp Co: Bitty Christmas Tags ("magical") and November KOM (large tree). The tree is paper pieced from the Berry Bliss DSP as well. It is embellished with stickles, pearls and mini pink pearls. Following the "magical" feel of this card, I decided to make my grass pink as well. Its just a strip of pink pirouette paper cut 3/4 of the way down, then I folded the slits in different directions to make it look grassy. Thanks for stopping by, wishing you the BEST Holidays with you and your families. HAPPY STAMPING!!

Growing in Unity- Day 1

Hello everyone!! This week (12/22- 12/26) is my "Growing in Unity" week. All the Unity girls are showcasing Unity Stamp Co. on their blogs for one week each, in what we call Growing in Unity, Day by Day, Week by Week. Every week a new, talented, Unity friend will showcase their amazing artwork created with Unity Stamps. Be sure to check the Unity blog each week to see who is next!!
This is a card....errr....ornament that I designed from Ally's sketch, for So Sketchy. I thought it would be cool to go outside the box on this one and decided to hang it on my tree. (Far away from the lights, peeps!!) I kept it nice and simple, since I didn't want to take away from Ally's sketch at all. The star is a 5.5" start cut from the Cricut machine, and layered with a 5" star. The papers are Stampin up Pink Pirouette and Cranberry. The stamped images are from Unity Stamp Co: Bitty Christmas Tags, and are embossed with white EP. I used a white gel pen for the dotted accents. Pink grossgrain ribbon is the "ornament hook." The button comes from Foof-a-la. Be sure to check back this week for, what I hope you will find, some FUN stamping and scrapbooking projects. HAPPY HOLIDAYS and HAPPY STAMPING, friends!!!

OH Holy Night....

Another beautiful sketch from Ally of So Sketchy, helped me design this card. Again, I went with a Holiday theme. I still have NO IDEA what I am going to to do for Christmas cards this year. OOPS!! This card uses an Old Olive base with PTI Pure Poppy and SU Dashing DSP for the layers. The stamped images come from Unity Stamp Co. The white, embossed image on the large circle is called Prince of Peace and the Pointsettia image comes from Bitty Christmas Tags. The pointsettia is stamped in real red ink and then colored with shimmerz paints and gold stickles, and then popped up on dimensionals. I placed random buttons all over the Dashing DSP. Thanks for stopping by, wishing you a happy, healthy Holiday season. HAPPY STAMPING!!!

Winter Sparkles for SO Sketchy

Here is another card that I designed for SO Sketchy. The sketch for this card is super cool and I had fun working with it. Im definitely starting to get into the swing of the holiday season, after all Christmas is only 2 weeks away! It must have been all the holiday music Amanda and I were listening to over the weekend. For this card, I used PTI Kraft, and Avacado cardstock, and Basic Grey designer paper (Figgy) for my layers. I distressed all the layers on this card, and then sewed with my sewing machine. The stamp comes from Unity Stamp Co, and is called Trinity Trio. The image is stamped with versafine black ink and then colored with Shimmerz paints. I embellished with May Arts ribbon, a huge glittery, chipboard snowflake and blue dew drops. Thanks for stopping by, wishing you and yours a happy, healthy Holiday season. HAPPY STAMPING!!