Weekend Inspiration

Hello and happy weekend to you! I made a couple cards to share today:) My honey was off golfing so it gave me a great excuse to get in the stamp room! Oh, I also went back to the Copic store and bought another boat-load of Copics, yeah! They make me so happy:D

Okay, back to my cards! This first card is for today's Inspiration Challenge #169 on SCS! Here's my card (based on THIS picture). I used my Tea Time Toile background by Unity for the three panels (Raspberry Fizz by PTI and Ballet Blue and Kiwi Kiss by SU!) The sentiment is from the "Friends till the End" set by PTI.

My next card is for this Beate's Weekend Sketch! And it's not actually Beate's sketch this week, it's Lori's! This one was SUCH a fun sketch, I love it and I'll be saving this one for sure! Don't you love that flower? It's another image from "Friends till the End" by PTI! I am SO in love with this set! The images and sentiment and fonts are all so wonderful:) The colors I used are Baja Breeze and Black by SU! and WHite by PTI! The black gingham ribbon is also by PTI:)

Hope your weekend is going by slow and relaxing, lord knows they always go by too fast!

Sayanora, friends!

Viva la Verve!

Today is the first day of the new March Viva la Verve challenges! Kathleen Curry won our February Challenge and won the WHOLE NEW MARCH VERVE RELEASE! THAT, my friends, is a HUGE prize! Verve is releasing 8 new sets in March! The release party is on March 8th at 8:00 pm EST! Come hang out with us for some fun, games, and prizes!!!
Here's today's sketch:
The {TWIST} this week is to use BUTTONS on your card! Here's my sample:
I love color blocking and this layout lends itself nicely to do just that! I used dsp from the Parisian Summer pack by SU! and Kraft and Baja Breeze cardstock. The stamps are from "Thankful Blossoms" by Verve! This is a really fun set, I love the fonts of the sentiments, they're really unique yet really versatile:)
Verve is having a sale through February 28th to make room for the huge March Release! See the sale {here}!
Don't forget to visit the VLVMar01 Challenge Thread in the SCS forums for details!
Have a great weekend, Viva la Verve!

A JoYfuL Hip HOP!

Oh I am sO happy to *see* you today! Hip Hop Thursdays are one of my favorite days of the week, I just love to hop around and check out all the rockstars awesome work, chat with the Unity Addicts on the chat thread, and see all the great deals that Angela has every Thursday!

Today we're focusing on the February KOM, Endings and Beginnings! This is one FAB-u-LOUS kit ya'll, if you only subscribe to one (which you won't, cause they're like Lay's Potato chips, can't have just one!) you GOTTA get this one! Deer, Mushrooms, Houndstooth, Eggs, Birds, this kit has it ALL! And for only 24.00! You can't beat that with a stick!

Here's my card using stamps from this kit:

OMG! I had WAY too much fun (okay, there really isn't any such thing!)with this card! The stamps really just kinda took on a life of their own, lol! The base is White and I also used the new color by PTI "Melon Berry"! This color is exactlyl the same as last years In color by SU! "Groovy Guava", love it! I stamped the LUSCIOUS Deco Hound background in Versamark and then clear embossed it. That yummy houndstooth frame? OMG. I'm going to MARRY IT! It's so fabulous and I'm going to use it on every card from here on out, lol! The sentiment is also from the kit!

Angela is offering a WICKED AWESOME deal on the February KOM! {Sign up} for this months KOM by MIDNIGHT February 27th and you can pick ANY past month KOM for 24.00! All past KOM's are offered in the store but they're sold for 45.00 so you can see how great a deal this is!

Angela is releasing a new stamp by Lindsay Spencer called Feel the Joy! Go see the Unity blog to see the stamps! I'm sure they're FAB! I don't know what they look like yet either so you can BET I'm gonna go see em:D

In celebration of this release, we're all sharing 5 things that bring us joy!

1. My husband!

First and foremost this guy gives me SO much to be thankful for. He's a wonderful husband, he lets me buy whatever craziness I want for this wonderful hobby of mine and he doesn't ever say its too much, he is a great doggy-daddy, and he's just a really huge inspiration to me. I don't know how I ever make it when he's gone but now he's home and I have him around for awhile:) He's even watching American Idol with me right now, I mean COME ON! How awesome is he?:D

2. My dogs!

If you know me at all, you know that Luke and Jesse are the centers of my universe. Luke is my Yellow Lab and Jesse is my Chocolate Lab. They are absolutely my little kids and I love them to pieces! I come home for lunch every day just to be with them. They make me smile and they make me so happy, even on a bad day:)

3. STAMPING! I am CONSTANTLY thinking of stamping! I can't be the only one? Colors, things, layouts, I see them EvERYWHERE and I ALWAYS want to STAMP! I'm so thankful for this hobby and often wonder what I'd be doing with my time if I didn't stamp? Maybe be a little thinner caues I'd be working out, be closer to my college degree, I don't know, but I'm completely happy with where I'm at right now:)

4. Friends! I have many great friends and I count all of my cyber friends just as I do my "IRL" friends:) I love you all and can't wait for the day I can meet you:)

5. AMERICAN IDOL! Oh, I love this show:)

What are you thankful for? Let me know and I'll pick a random winner to receive a grab bag of Unity!!!!!!!!!! I'll leave it open for comments until Saturday night, Midnight CST!

Okay, I know you peeps are ready to hop along so hop on over to Sweet Laura's blog! Have a fantastic Thursday!

Fluttering by with my card for the sketch challenge:)

Hello blog land! I have a Verve card to share today, w00t!
I made this card for today's fun sketch challenge on SCS! I wanted to use these butterflies so I had to make my card horizontal instead of the tall card shown on the sketch thread.

The stamps are from "Fluttering By" and is still one of my old faithful sets I go to alot! I just love the butterflies (can you tell I'm in a butterfly mood lately? LOL! Must be spring fever?) The colors are Lemon Tart and Spring Rain by PTI.

There are only 2 more days to get your cards in for the February Viva la Verve challenge! Remember, in order to qualify for the GRAND PRIZE (the HUGE March Release, all 8 sets!!!) you have to complete all four February sketches! See the sketches {HERE} and get them uploaded for your chance to win! Your cards have to be uploaded no later than midnight CST on 27 Feb! I'll announce the winner on Friday in the Contests and Challenges forum. Good Luck!

Also, don't forget to check out the Verve sale for the rest of the week, lots of GREAT sets on sale for ChEAP! Get em while supplies last!

Have a fantastic day ya'll, see you for some HIP HOP tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer Kiwi Pie!

Doesn't that sound good? I want a Kiwi {or a pumpkin pie} now! Summer Kiwi Pie is the color combo this week at SCS! That's Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, and Pumpkin Pie! Here's my card:

I used the stamps from the Unity Stamp Co's February KOM, Endings and Beginnings! I just got it today and let me tell you how awesome it is! VERY! The stamps are all huge and beautiful:) This kit is available for the next 5 days at the great price of 24.00 but if you wait until March, it will be a collectors edition and the price goes up so get it while it's hot! There may be a super awesome deal for new kit subscribers around Hip Hop Thursday so if I were you, I'd definately be stalking The Blog for the next few days;) Also, while you're there, check out the "New Releases" section, there have been alot of fun releases this month!

It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but I stamped the background "different dreams" in Summer Sun, love that stamp!

I stamped the swooshy butterfly in Rich Cocoa (Momento) ink and then stamped again and cut the butterfly out. I stuck him down and then covered it in Cinnamon Stickles. Looks AWESOME IRL! Too bad the sparkle never comes out great in pictures!

Well that's all I have today, I have a Verve project to share with you tomorrow. Check out the Verve store for a huge sale going on RIGHT NOW to prepare for next weeks HUGE release! Verve will be releaseing 8 new sets! The release party is on Sunday, March 8th at 8 pm EST! I'm sure you'll want to be there to see the unveiling and to join us for some fun chatting!

Moxie Monday!

Good Monday morning! I have a couple Unity projects to share with you today! First off, it's Moxie Monday! Do you know what that is? Well it's a blog that was started by Cath of Papercrafts! She shares trendy products and inspiration from the scrapbook industry and her blog and has chosen to showcase Unity today! Head on over to her blog, Moxie Fab World, to see what it's all about. She's also giving away a couple pretty large blog candies! Go for it!

In honor of "Moxie Monday" I made this card:

It uses the kit called "Shine On"! I love this kit, the lamps are so fun and has a few really cute sentiments!

The rest of the Monday Challenge Chics are showcasing Unity today as well in honor of Moxie Monday:) Check them out!

AJ

Brooke

Jeanne

Buckie

Maren

Also, welcome to Jimmi Mayo! She's joining our crazy lil Monday Challenge club, go see what she's got for ya today:)

Okay, today being Monday is also Unity Sketch Day! w00t! Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I used the big cupcake from Ginormous Cupcakes and the sentiment from the old Hey Cupcake kit (which has now been switched and moved into another kit called Mix Up of Cuteness and I notice that the sentiment is no longer available! Sorry:(

See THIS thread on SCS to play along with us!
Okay, a couple last cards I made for this week CAS challenge! The challenge this week is a sketch and we all know I love those:) I made two cards for the challenge because I wasn't sure if this first one was CAS enough, lol!
And here's my second one:

Okay ya'll, I have had quite an exhausting day and am ready to go to bed! I hope ya'll have a fantastic UNIFIED day and get some time to create:)

Sayanora!

VSN Day 1 Cards

Well I don't know about you, but I think this is the BEST VSN to DATE! I have NEVER completed all the challenges for the day, EVAH! But this VSN is so much fun and the challenges *ALL* rock! I just couldn't stop creating today, love days like that:) So here are my cards:
Challenge 1&2 -
This card uses the sketch for challenge one and Christi Snow's color challenge! I like dark chocolate the best so my colors are Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, and Chocolate Chip! I adore this color combo and will definately come back to it:)
The stamp set I used is called My Punny Valentine by PTI!
Challenge #3:
For this challenge, we were supposed to ink up an unloved set we have collecting dust on the shelf! Well I bought this set, Classic Backgrounds by SU!, a couple years ago and had yet to use it! So I thought today's challenge was just the reason to bust it out:) I also used Starlight, Starbright by Verve for the sentiment.
Challenge #4
Split Negative! I've never tried this technique before so this was fun! I used the SU! set called Essence of Love. The cardstock base is by PTI and is called "Summer Sunrise". Such a dreamy color, I love it:) The ribbon is also by PTI.
Here's my card for the monochromatic challenge:
I was trying to decide what color to use for my card and as I was going through my scraps, these three colors fell onto my lap! It was fate! Tempting Turqouise, Taken with Teal, and Pacific Point! I used "Butterfly Kisses" and "Polka Dot Basics" by PTI!
And the last card of the day is for my friend Christy's "As you Wish" challenge! We had to be inspired by the movie "The Princess Bride" for our card. SUPER FUN!
The card base is Basic Gray. Love that color! I used the stamps in the "Three Little Words" set by SU! That big red flower was cut with my Slice from the Noteworthy cartridge. On the inside of the card, I have a computer generated sentiment that says "...happily ever after", cause that's how the movie ends:)

Well I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of my VSN cards! Off to leave some love in the gallery!

Hip Hop! Love is in the Air!

Happy Hip Hop ladies! Are you having FUN? Have you heard that Donna Downey is hip hopping with us? She's not participating in the blog hop, but she is using some Unity and show-casing it on her blog! Check her out {here} if you haven't had a chance yet! I can't wait to see her put her spin on the stamps!

I have a couple cards to share today using the amazing "Love in the Air" kit! The hot air balloon in the kit is SO FUN! It's unique, the only hot air balloon stamp I own and I *LOVE* it:)

I used this weeks sketch on SCS for the layout for this card. Isn't it awesome? Just a great layout I never could have dreamed up, lol!

The paper is from the Urban Prairie collection by BG, as are the buttons! The "thanks" sentiment is from "Thank you words" and the hot air balloon is of course from "Love in the Air". The ribbon is Not Quite Navy 1/8" grosgrain by SU!

Okay, onto my next project!

This was such a fun card to make! This is actually the envelope:) I found this project on the resources page on SCS {HERE}! That place is a gold mine for fun techniques and projects! Go check it out:)

Anyways, I followed the tutorial to the "T" so I won't bore you with details that are already written out so much better than I could post:)

Here's the insert to this card:

SO fun to make:) Not sure who I'll give it to since it's DEFINATELY to girly for DH, lol! Oh well:)

Your next stop on the hop is the lovely and talented LAURA!

Enjoy your hip hop! See you in the forums at 11:00 CST {HERE}!

Unity Sketch Challenge and a Color Challenge!

Top o' the mornin to ya! *Oh my, did I really just say that?*

So I have Unity's sketch challenge for the week (a day late) and my sample (also a day late)! Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

The stamp set I used is called "Beach Days and Sun Rays", isn't that fun? The kit is awesome, lots of fun stamps in there! Perfect for a beachy scrapbook page too, of which I have several that need to be made! The paper I used is from Good Morning Sunshine by SU! If you want to play along with this weeks sketch check out {THIS} thread for the deets!

Have you heard that *THE* DONNA DOWNEY is going to be Hip Hopping with us this Thursday? I KNOW! So amazing, I really admire her, every project she makes is *wow!* I can't wait to Hip Hop with her! Make sure you stop in on Thursday for what I'm sure will be a Hip Hop for the record books! Also, if you love to blog hop, check out the World Record Inspirational Blog Hop that Angela is putting together! We're trying to get 200+ people to participate, wouldn't that be a fun blog hop?

Okay, my next card is for today's Color Challenge 206. These colors sound really odd together, but I actually like how they look! More Mustard, Rose Red, and Kiwi Kiss!

I used a new {to me} MFT set called "Who's that e-Girl?" LOVE the sentiments in this set! I'm actually sending this card out too, yeah me! LOL!

The image was colored with my Copics and the rhinestones are by Heidi Swapp. Everything else is SU!

Okie dokie peeps, I'm off to do some blurfing:) Have a great day...

FAVORITE holiday!

Well, my FAVORITE holiday is Christmas, but I'm still stuck in a Valentine's Day card making mood so I'm gonna go with V-day:) Today, the Monday Challenge Chicks are creating cards based on our favorite holidays! Here's my card:

I decided to pull out my old faithful set "Always" by SU! for this card, that bird is one of my favorites! I used alot of odd's n' ends on this card but had tons of fun doing it!
Check out the rest of the girls' cards for some more inspiration:
AJ
Maren
Brooke
Jeanne
Bucky
Okay, the other card I made today is for today's CAS challenge on SCS! I would link the challenge thread here but as I type, SCS is not co-operating with me, I hope it's not just me but I havent' been able to get in for a couple hours! HORRORS! OMG I am so dependent on that site it's rediculous, lol! I GOTTA HAVE MY FIX!
Anyhoo, the CAS challenge for this week is to use ONE button! CHECK! Not a problem for this chick because I love me some buttons! The challenge was in only using ONE, lol! Well here's my card:

The card base is a piece of Chocolate Chip. I stamped the tree and sentiment from Thoughts and Prayers (SU!) on a piece of Whisper White and then mounted it on a piece of Kiwi Kiss that I also trimmed using my scalloped edge punch! The ribbon was tied on with one lonely button (lol!) and then I added a row of brads as well. I finished the card off by stamping the scallops (from All Scallops by SU!) on top in Whisper White. I am not much of a CAS stamper as you well know, but I had alot of fun with this card and I'm going to be participating in these CAS challenges alot, I just know it:)

Christy and I (and her hubs and a couple other peeps) went to see The Tales of Despereaux today. It was just okay for me, kinda cute, the mouse was *adorable* but the story was just kinda blah. I'm glad I went though, it was still fun:) Billy and I are sittin here with a glass of wine watching Cars, LOL! I love this movie, 'Mater is my favorite, I love him:D
Have a fantastic President's Day, later taterz!

Some *late* Challenge Cards!

Well I have been a really horrible stamper this week! I haven't got alot done and that makes me sad:( I think by the time I get off work I just feel like vegging out, kwim? My creative muse has not been with me this week! BUT, my dear sweet hubby swept me off to an overnight stay at Okuma (the little *vacation* resort on the island for military families) and we had a BLAST! We checked in to Okuma and then drove up north another 30 km and visited Hedo Point which is Okuma's norther most tip. The views were AWESOME!I have more pics and I'll post them later. I haven't edited them yet and I'm to lazy to do it right now, lol! We had an amazing little room, with the Pacific Ocean right out the window, had a great dinner and conversation, had some drinks, then played mini golf (where I lost BIG time!) and then went through a maze and didn't get lost! So yeah, we had fun:) Then when we got home today my creative muse started coming back so I decided to look into some challenges I hadn't gotten done yet and settled on this weeks Color Combo and today's Featured Stamper!
First up is my Color Combo card!
The colors for CC205 are Perfect Plum, Pink Pirhouette, and Kiwi Kiss. LOVELY color combo, I had lots of fun with this one:) The stamp set I used is called Upsey Daisey, another one of my all-time fave SU! sets:) Can you see the fabulous corderouy brads? OMG these things are AMAZING! I'm putting in another order today just so I can buy more:D They are so fun! I also punched some vellum butterflies with my MS punch, I love vellum butterflies, they're so dainty:)

Okay, next card is for today's Featured Stamper challenge! The Featured Stamper this week is JulieMLacey! Her gallery is so phenomenal, I had a hard time picking a card out of all the beauty that is her gallery, but I decided to CASE {this} one! I loved the layout and the buttons:) Okay, so here's my card:
The colors I used are Basic Black and Whisper White by SU! and Summer Sunrise and Raspberry Fizz by PTI! The stamp set I used is another new one called Garden Greetings, LOVE this set:) The buttons are by Basic Gray and I'm not sure who makes that ribbon. I also cuttlebugged my RF layer, the flowers are kinda similar:)

Well there you have it! That's all for right now, if we don't watch a movie tonite (I bought "The Rocker" with "Dwight" from the office, I love that show and love Dwight to PIECES!) I may stamp some more:)

Ya'll have a fantastic Sunday!

It's TIME!

Time for HIP HOP! I love Hip Hop! Angela is full of surprises on Hip Hop day so I can't wait to see what she has for us TODAY! In case you just got back from planet Mars and didn't know about all the AWESOME sets releasing this week, head on over to Angela's blog to find out what's new and to start your Hop off right!

My card today uses one of the new sets, Love in the Air! I *LOVE* this set SO much! The set was designed by Lisa Hetrick, is that chick talented or what??? I'm so glad she shares her talent with us, I just love EVERY. SINGLE. DESIGN.
Okay, on to the card!

I absolutely love this card! I wish my preggo friend was closer to being due so I could give it to her, lol! Maybe I still will, it's too cute to not get any love:D

The card base is white cardstock by PTI. The Spring Rain (also PTI) was stamped with the Baby Boy Plaid background in Bashful Blue! I added the scalloped piece (Barely Banana by SU!) and then tied some Spring Rain ribbon around the card. That "B" is cut using my new SLICE! I LOVE that puppy and was super happy to be able to use it:) I stamped the "aby" with the Just My Type alphas, they fit PERFECTLY! The star stamp is from the January KOM!

Well I hope you enjoy the Hip Hop today! There are TONS of new stamps available today and I just KNOW you're going to see most of them on your way along the Hip Hop trail! Your next stop is over to the ever so adorable, talented, and sweet BROOKIE! Enjoy and have a fantastic day:)

PTI Sketch!

Have ya'll been to the PTI blog lately? If not, you should! To celebrate their 2nd anniversary, they are hosting one heck of a celebration party! SO many awesome give-aways! I just had to play in this sketch challenge, it was fun! You have to download a little connect-the-dots game and then follow the sketch it creates:) Here's mine!I used Ripe Avacado for the base of the card and then used "Father Know's Best" for my main image, I love the trees in this set and the sentiments are SO great for dads and grandpa's:) I think I'll send this one to my dad, just because:)

Viva la Verve!

It's that time of the week again! Another Viva la Verve sketch with a {twist} challenge! Here is your sketch for this week:

The Twist this week is NO DP! That's right, you can only use cardstock! It's not really as hard as it sounds, so stop yelling at me through your computers;)

Here's my card for this sketch:

I used the Plain Jane, Phillipians 4:13 for my card, it's such a great verse:) The base is kraft and I also used Chocolate Chip (SU!) and Shimmery Gold (PTI). The YUMMO ribbon is from Michaels. I love their ribbon during the holidays, so many beautiful shimmery ribbons!

My Guest Design Diva this week is Amy, otherwise known as Devlinwhite on SCS! Here's her card:
Isn't it a beaut? I love how she stamped the balloons and then layered a piece of vellum over it, then stamped and embossed the sentiment! Such a clever idea! Amy used the balloons from Birthday Surprise, the sentiment from Fancy Florals Remix!

Click {here} to go to the VLV thread in the SCS forum and find the contest details! We'd love for you to play along, even if you don't have any Verve stamps!

Hope you have a VERVALICIOUS Friday!

It's a HIP HOP REWIND!

HIP HOP! If this is your first hip hop and you just decided to come and visit me, make sure you start at the Unity Blog for any special deals Angela might have for you and to start the blog hop! Follow your way through all the blogs and there will be some blog candy waiting at the end of the hop for you! w00t!
This week, we're focusing on OLDIES BUT GOODIES! With all the AMAZING stamps released thse past few weeks, some of our stamps get a little lonely and sit uninked {GASP!} So today we're busting out our older sets which are every bit as good as the new sets:D I decided to rewind ALL THE WAY TO THE BEGINNING! Way back in the day when I was doing product reviews for SCS, Unity was a new company and was one of the first products I got to review! Angela sent each of us a stamp set to play with and to write our review about. Spring has Sprung is the kit she sent me and I still love it *to this day*. It's no longer a kit, but is broken into singles now!


Here is my card, using "flower with stem" which used to be part of the kit:
I paper-pieced the flower petals and leaves with bits of the dp and cardstock I used on the rest of the card, it's SO much faster than coloring and I was a bit lazy today;)
The dp I used is by October Afternoon and the cardstock I used is Vanilla, Summer Sunrise (PTI), and Kiwi Kiss (SU!) I also added some dew drops, because they're just so easy to add and I love the texture they add as well:) The ribbon is by PTI and the butterfly punch is by Martha Stewart!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your HIP HOP REWIND today! I'll see you in the forums for some HIP HOPPIN' FUN! Head on over and check out my girl Patter's Blog and see what kind of gorgeousness she has for you today:)