It's time to CELEBRATE!

No special reason, other than it's UNITY THURSDAY!:)
I still don't have my KOM so unfortunately I don't have any fun KOM creations for you, but I DID pull out my favorite bday set, "It's Your Day" I used this weeks Mojo Monday sketch for the layout, isn't if fun?
I love the polka dot paper! It's from MME in the collection called Garden Party. You can't really see the sparkle, but I used some pink glass-shard glitter on the cake, it's super sparkly! I aged the card a bit with Old Paper Distress Ink, it's one of my fave distress ink colors. JUST enough dirty to make it look soft and vintage:) The ribbon is Spring Rain by PTI, as is the blue cardstock!

That's it from me today, I'm off to watch more Dexter!:)
Make sure you stop by the Unity Blog to see what kind of fun and sales Angela has waiting for you! You'll also see a list of the other DT girls who have worked hard to bring you more fabulous-ness:) MWAH and have a GREAT day!

Beautiful You

At last, my Verve card:)

I played in today's sketch challenge on SCS! This was a super fun sketch challenge, if you have time, head over to the thread and PLAY!

I wish the colors in my photo were better, but it's a little yellow:( Bad lighting, that's what I blame it on!

I pulled out Beautiful Kindness and Celebrating You by Verve for this sweet little card:) Aren't those butterflies fun? There is also a smaller butterfly in this set, which I started with, but they were much too small and it made this card really unbalanced. I'm very happy with how it turned out with the bigger butterflies (I used to call them birdieflys when I was a kid, how funny!) And I realize maybe the buttons are overkill? But ya know what, I love them and that's all that matters, lol! The sentiment (from Celebrating You) was cut out with my large oval punch (SU!) and layered on a fun tag die from spellbinders! I love how easily the ribbon slides through the flourishes:) The gorgeous paper is from Mellissa Frances, so dreamy and perfect!

Okay, that's it for me! Christy and Lee should be here in couple hours to pick up there pups so I gotta round all their stuff up:)

Have a fabby day, ya'll!

Color challenges galore!

I don't know what you did in your craft room today, but I was inspired to play in a couple color challenges!

First off, I have my eyes honed in on the PTI blog permanently these days, every day Nichole brings FANTASTIC sneak peeks of new products, stamps, and challenges! I am seriously so excited for the 15th (my credit card, not so much, lol!)! Today, Nichole announced new ventures by Heather Nichols and Dawn McVey! Oh, I'm totally ecstatic about these!

Along with the reveal, Nichole issued a fun color challenge! All of the PTI DT posted their personal favorite color combo and we were to choose one and create a card with it! I am a HUGE fan of Betsy's (well, I'm a huge fan of the whole DT, but time is a luxury, lol!) so I chose her color combo of Sweet Blush, Kraft, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy! Here's my card:

I used alot of fun PTI stamps and papers on this card! The flourishes are from Fancy Flourishes, the hearts on the Sweet Blush cardstock are from Background Basics: Hearts, the sentiment is from Daily Designs Elements! The Aqua Mist patterened paper is from the Pretty Pastels pack. Fun right? I love this color combo! It's staying in my tool box;)

Next color challenge I participated in was today's CC from SCS! Betty chose Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango, and Sage Shadow! This sounds a bit daunting at first, but the more you move the colors around on your card, the more you'll love them;)
My card base is Rustic Cream (oh how I love this color) and I stamped the floral stems from Life (PTI)in Dusty Durango and Mushroom. The main image is by Crafty Secrets, isn't it gorgeous? I bought a whole bunch of these and the cotton scraps and I can't wait to use them all up:) The sentiment is from Big and Bold Wishes by PTI:)

I'm so happy to be getting my PTI stamps inky lately, they're so beautiful and FUN! I know I promised Verve today, but my inspiration took me in another direction, and like a man, I didn't think anything of it, lmao! Oh that was mean!

Okay, I seriously need to pick up dog toy guts from all over my house! Christy's and my dogs have been having *WAY TOO MUCH FUN* together! I don't think there is a toy left in tact, lol! Whatever keeps them happy, there are alot more of them than me, I don't want them turning against me! HA!

PTI Play Day!

Even though I buy up all the stamps, faithfully, every 15th of the month, I don't pull my PTI stamps out often enough! Well, my dear sweet husband left this morning for a 2 month deployment to the Phillipines, so I had to console myself with some stamping therapy:) PTI is having an AWESOME countdown for their 3rd anniversary release and there have been challenges every day! So I got a couple of those done, plus the new CPS sketch that PTI is sponsoring!

This first card fits PTI's CPS challenge, and also fits in with our Monday challenge, to create Valentine's Day cards! I'm really on a Vday kick so it was really no problem for me;) This card is my entry for this weeks CPS sketch too...
I'm so excited about the new 100% felt that PTI will be carrying, so I broke out some felt from my own stash:) I cut it twice with my scalloped heart nesties and then nested a Rustic White heart inside, with a sentiment from Say it with Style. The background is stamped with the text background from Background Basics: Hearts! Fun right? See what the other Monday chicks came up with for this month of love!
AJ, Brooke, Jimmi, Maren, and Jeanne!


My next card is for the emboss resist challenge that Nichole issued a few days ago! I used the new Through the Trees set for this card, along with some Melissa Frances papers. I embossed the leaves with clear ep and then sponged some pink and ocean ink (Versamagic) chalk in on top and wiped away the excess, I love the effect it has!
The sentiment is from Lisa Johnson's new set, Daily Designs Additions.



Last card for today is for TODAY's PTI challenge, Paint by numbers! How fun is that! I actually had a hard time with this color combo, 5 colors is a lot to cram onto a card, lol! But I managed, and I'm happy with what I came up with!
My username on PTI is......go ahead and guess....... AMBER! I know, I'm way creative, and so proud:) Ha!
So based on my username, the colors I had to work with are Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart, Vintage Cream, and Kraft! Love these colors, but like I said, it was a challenge getting them all on! So if it looks like a couple of the colors were after-thoughts, they sorta were, lol!
I embossed the vintage cream piece with my cuttlebug ( I forgot the name of this folder). I think it gives it a more "natural" feel:) I also used some of the new Pretty Pastels dsp (the spring moss piece). The stamps used are Turning a New Leaf and Say it with Style!

Well there it is! I'm turning in for the night, Christy's two labs plus my two labs are wearing me down, lol! They're a fun bunch, but holy crap they're little bundles of energy! See ya tomorrow with...I don't know...something, probably some yummy VERVE!

Lovely Bits and Baubles

Hey there! Today the DT is showing off the new February Kit of the Month! It's called "Nothing but Blue Skies", isn't that just *SO* UNITY? So uplifting and happy, I love this company:)

Unfortunately, I don't have my stamps yet so I had to play with my OTHER favorite, Lovely Bits and Baubles! I am LOVING this fun new kit! It's not available YET but will be SOON!

I decided to go a little shabby today, mostly because I don't have my mojo with me and I love how ANYTHING shabby is AWESOME, lol! I didn't even have to try to hard, lol! The dp is from "The Very Thought of You" by Sweet Shoppe Designs! I printed it on HP Everyday Matte photo paper:) Also got to use some of my new Prima bling! I love this stuff, I thought it was going to be hard to peel off the acetate sheet and that it would break, but it came off in one piece, yeah! It's the little things that make me happy, lol!

Don't forget to stop by the Unity Blog today, I bet Angela is up to something and has a good sale up her sleeve;) You'll also get to see a list of all the chickies playing today!

Thanks for stopping by!

New Unity Releases!

So, now that most of the Unity crew is back from CHA we can get back to our regularly scheduled UNITY THURSDAY! I miss them all when they leave! Mostly because I'm SUPER jealous I can't be with them! Someday, once I'm off this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I'll be at CHA!;)

I've been playing with a few of the new Unity releases this week! They're not available *quite* yet, but they should be soon!

The first three (I know! THREE!) cards are using stamps from a gorgeous, fun new kit called "Lovely Bits & Baubles" It's got some fun heart images, a flourish, fun sentiments, and a couple heart border stamps! Doncha love it?

This purple card is for this weeks sketch challenge on SCS and Melissa Phillips' inspiration challenge!

And finally, a kind of masculine card using a fun birthday kit called "It's your Day"...

I know I threw alot at ya, so I won't bore you with all the teeny details;) Make sure you head over to the Unity blog to find out what kind of sales and FUN Angela has planned! She'll also have a list of all the girls participating today:) Hope you have a fantastic day!

***just a quick note: the links for the two stamp sets I linked up have prices that are for wholesale only! They have not been released for retail sale yet, so don't freak out over the price, lol!***

Pretty Melon Blossoms!

Well, long time no blog:) I'm neck deep in work these days so it doesn't leave much time for crafting! We have our big hospital inspection next week (the one that accredits the clinic, if you are in the medical field, you feel my pain!) so we have been super busy at work making sure we're ready! I think we'll do fine, but it's still nerve wracking, I HATE inspections!

Okay, well I had to get crafty for a bit tonite, I miss it if I have to skip a day or two! My day just doesn't seem complete until I get a card made, ykwim?

Betty asked me to make a sample for today's Color Challenge on SCS and I happily accepted! Only problem: I miscalculated the time difference by 12 hours so I wasn't ready when the challenge went up, lmbo! I'm such a stooge sometimes! You'd think after living here for the past 2 years I'd be good at the time differences, but I'm really not. So, I'm terribly sorry to Betty that I wasn't ready when I said I would be! Maybe she'll give me another chance next week;)

I really LOVE the colors she chose this week! With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I'm lovin pink! The color challenge this week is Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, and Blush Blossom! Isn't that a gorgeous combo? The dessert (yes please!) is HEARTS! AND, if you want to add red to your card, it can ONLY be in the form of a heart! Fun stuff:)

My card base is Pretty in Pink cardstock, stamped with a background stamp from Background Basics: Flower Power by PTI! I stamped it in Pretty in Pink so it would leave just the slightest bit of a pattern. Next, I added my Blush Blossom piece, and layered some hearts on top! The sentiment stamp is by Verve, it's the "Be Mine Plain Jane, "totally fun stamp with a totally fun font! I also added a Hambly sheer frame, buttons, twill tape, a fun crystal pin, and a sticker from Heart Warming Vintage by Crafty Secrets!

I'm lovin' the shabby-ness of this card, SO much:)

I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch for the layout this week! She always has the FUNNEST sketches, I love them:)

Well thanks for popping by today, it makes my day when you stop by and visit:) See ya tomorrow with a sketch card {hopefully!}

Have you heard the news?

Jessica is here to STAY! WOOHOO! Jessica Diedrich has been the Unity guest designer for the past couple months and we are SO excited that she's going to stick around on a permanent basis as a Unity ROCKSTAR! Isn't that awesome? She's really a perfect fit, love that girl! AND I'm excited to announce that I get to MEET her next month! EEEEKS! I'm going to her neck of the woods for a conference for work and I'm thrilled that she lives so close, yippppeee! Welcome to the fold Jess!

Okay, quick card from me tonite! I've been studying *half-heartedly, I admit* for my promotion test in March so my mojo is kinda zapped this week:( I worked on this card for an hour and a half, seriously. Do you see how simple and uncomplicated it is? Why WHY did it take me so long? LOL! Oh well, I still like it, event though the picture is kinda dark...

The sentiment stamp is from the January KOM! There are all kinds of fun stamps in this months kit, check it out before it's too late;)
The dp is Garden Party by MME, LOVE this paper! I also spritzed some Pashmina glimmer mist on the sentiment panel. It's really sparkly IRL but didn't come across at all in the photo! I tied some twill ribbon around the card front and tied that in a cute little bow and added the scalloped heart (EK Success) embellishment to the front!
See, super easy, yet it was soooo hard and time-consuming today, lol! Oh well, hopefully next time it won't be so hard;)
Stop by the Unity Blog for this weeks specials and fun! See ya around:)

It's the TEAL deal!

Hey! It's Monday! A "no-work" Monday too! Those are the best;)

Today's Monday Challenge is Valentine's Day cards! Super simple since I'm ALL about Vday lately! I paired this challenge up with the CAS challenge this week!

The title of today's CAS challenge on Splitcoast is "It's the REAL deal" but since the challenge is to use teal, white, and one other color, I thought "TEAL deal" sounded better, heehee!

Christy was over stamping at my house today, we had so much fun! She brought over some of her cricut carts and we cut bunches of fun stuff out! I'll get to my Cricut card after my CAS card!

She also brought a couple of her new SU! stamp sets, so I borrowed them for this card:) It's the heart set and I can't remember what the name of the set that sentiment comes from either, and I'm too lazy to run upstairs to look for my mini:)

I told Christy to tell me when to stop because I really have a hard time with CAS. Well, she didn't want to let me add buttons, but I couldn't help it! I don't think it makes it less "CAS" either, at least I hope not:) Hey, for me, this is CAS baby!

I also made this one, using the same color combo! I meant for it to be another CAS card, but I couldn't get a layout I liked and I simply HAD to use these sweet pandas! I cut them with Christy's Pagoda cartridge (So I should thank Vicky too since she bought the cart for Christy, ha!)

How fun are those pandas? I so love them:) The kanji writing on the heart says "Love" and that's also on the Pagoda cartridge (the heart is from Plantin Schoolbook). I did a little sewing, added some ribbon and buttons, and an edge punch and finally got a card I love:) I'm happy I got it done too, cause I promised Christy I'd post it today, rain or shine!

Check out what the rest of the Monday Chicks did:

AJ, Jeanne, & Maren

Okay, I have another card! Yes, I made three today, I was on a roll, lol! This one is for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge! This was a totally fun sketch, I'll be using it again!

I used the super fun Comfy Cozy set (this link takes you to the wholesale section, I only posted it so you could see the kit, not be scared by the price which is obviously for several sets sold to stores, lol!) by Unity! This was the incentive kit for ordering the December KOM so it's not currently available; however, I believe Angela will be re-releasing it for sale after CHA! There is another super fun sofa in this kit along with some other fun sentiments, I totally love this kit:)

I used the Shanghai digi paper kit by Designer Digitals for the paper. I printed it out on Epson Matte photo paper.

Alrighty, my eyeballs are going cross-eyed from all this typing so I'm gonna wrap it up:) I'll be back later this week! I need to be studying for my promotion so I may not post as often as I'd like, that is if everything is going as it SHOULD, but it probably won't because I hate studying with a PASSION!:)

Verve Release, Viva la Verve, and Dirty Dozen!

Have you seen the New Verve release? If not, you really need to go check it out! VERY romantic and lovey-dovey sets this month;)
Here are a couple cards I created with them!
This is using the two new Plain Janes, Heart Flutter and Valentine Be Mine!
The embossed background was made using a stamp from Accent Notes! LOVE that set for background building! You will too;)

One more, made using Love's Flower (My NEW FAVORITE!)
That fun triple-heart stamp on the background is from Heart's Desire.
Don't you love these sets? I've had so much fun with them and I see LOTS more fun in the future;)
Head on over to the Verve Store and shop your little hearts out! If you shop before 31 January, you can get ALL the new releases in a bundle for a discount!!

This week's Viva la Verve challenge is also up! Click >>>HERE<<< to see the challenge!

Also (whew, this has been an exhuasting week!) the January Dirty Dozen gallery "Flirty, Feminine, and Floral" is OPEN! Click >>>HERE<<< to see who the new Dirty Girls are! You will LOVE Them!;)

Off to watch Mr. Monk with my honey! Have a great day:)