Happy Birthday UNITY!!!

Well, if you have not yet heard...Unity has been having a big birthday bash all week and you still have time to enter several of the challenges for your chance to win some great prizes (check them out HERE), not to mention the 30% off all orders this weekend! Yesterday I had plenty of time to hang out in the Hip Hop thread and even got my Over the Edge challenge card done too. I really love the card I created and hope you enjoy it too! :)

I thought this would be a great card to give to a couple for their wedding. The base of this card is Stampin' Up Barely Banana which I used decorative scissors on to create the scalloped edge. Then I added the beautiful Cosmo Cricket Everafter paper and tied some May Arts and American Crafts ribbon around the top of the card. For the circle tag I used my Unity dream tree to create the flourish background and then I stamped the man and woman image from Unity's Just my Type set. Finally, I stamped my sentiment, from Unity's Simply Said set, onto the patterned paper.

Thanks for visiting today! Be sure to check out Angela's blog to see a list of all the other talented ladies posting projects on their blogs today!

More blog candy!

Well, lots of people seem to be celebrating lately! De has some great blog candy up for grabs on her blog so be sure to pay her a visit! :)

I promise I will be back tomorrow and Saturday with cards to share! I have been busily working on scrapbooks for my son's Kindergarten class (22 of them!) and haven't had much time to create anything else. What was I thinking when I signed up for scrapbook committee?! Enjoy the rest of your day...'see' you tomorrow! :)

Playing Around

Last night I was a little too tired to work on any major projects but I did decide to bring some of my embellishments over to the couch and play around with creating my own unique embellishments. Here is what I came up with:

So, what do you think?

That's all I have today but I will be back in a day or two with an actual card or project. I'm off to spend the day at school with my oldest son...hope you all enjoy your day!

Another Amazing Giveaway

Just a little post to let you all know that Steph from Much Ado About Nothing is giving away some major blog candy right now. And I just might have some things to give away in the next two weeks too, so keep your eyes peeled! :)

Etsy Inspired Challenge #33

This week the featured Etsy shop is Opalescence which offers beautiful jewelry and handspun yarn which is so gorgeous it makes me want to take up a new hobby just so I can use it! :) So, can you guess what I was inspired by?!

All these beautiful shades of blue inspired me to pull out my scraps of various blue cardstock and create a monochromatic card.

I stamped Unity's worn grid background stamp in VersaMark on the first 3 panels. Then I used Papertrey Ink's Beyond Basic Borders set to create the center panel. For the finishing touch I added Kaisercraft aquamarine rhinestones to the tree.

For more inspiration be sure to visit the rest of the DT:

• Ashley (link your projects up here)
  
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kristen
• Lee
• Shannon
• Taylor
• Tiffany
• Tonya
• De (April Guest Designer)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I am off to my oldest son's baseball game this morning and later this evening my LSS is having a big event where someone could win a $500 shopping spree! Send a little luck my way! :)

A Fantastic Graphic Giveaway

For all of you who have your own Etsy shop you should check out THIS blog post by Dana of Lily Bean Designs. She is giving away a $25 gift certificate to her Etsy shop which offers custom graphic designs for Etsy shops, business cards, etc.

Hip Hopping into the Weekend

I just can't get enough of Unity! And although Thursdays are always the big Hip Hop day in the Unity forum, you really can find stuff going on in the forum and great inspiration in their gallery all week long. And now...Unity has it's own special ning network...check it out HERE.

Yesterday I was able to spend some time chatting and even managed to do one of the challenges. Here is the card I created for the Earth colors challenge:
I thought these colors would make for a nice boy birthday card and my son has several friends turning 6 this year so that was my inspiration. First I stamped Unity's worn grid with VersaMark. Then I stamped Numbers, Etc. in SU Not Quite Navy and highlighted the number 6 by tracing around it with a white gel pen. Finally I stamped the happy birthday sentiment (from Flirty Flowers), matted it, added the button/twine, and popped the panel up on foam squares for a little dimension.

Next up is a card I created for this week's SCS color challenge.
For this card I used stamps from Unity's Something Within set and some Creative Cafe felt flowers, along with a few brads.

Last night I also managed to finish a layout using Jennifer Buck's CAS Scrapbook Challenge #5. I realized after I created it that her post says part of the challenge is to use a little designer paper. I hope that she meant 'use some designer paper' not 'just use a little' because my whole layout is designer paper! I won some fabulous Pink Paislee Captivating papers from Marcee and I couldn't wait to use them. I thought the colors were perfect for this picture.

Here is a close up:

The chipboard pieces are Cosmo Cricket and I did use Unity's journal lines stamp (from the old Amazing Me set). I love this stamp because I can create a journal tag/box out of any paper/shape I want.

If you are looking for more eye candy be sure to visit Angela's blog for a list of all the other talented ladies posting projects today! I will be back tomorrow with my Etsy Inspired card!

Spring is Here!

Well, Spring has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest! We had some beautiful weather over the weekend and although today is a little overcast I think we are at least finished with snow! :) So, I thought today would be the perfect day to share a Spring Album that I have been working on. My LSS had a mini album class using a Maya Road 6 x 6 album and Bella Blvd. paper/stickers. I completely copied the cover but the inside pages are all me. Here is the adorable cover...I love the tulle wrapped around the binding...very fun and frilly!






There are two other pages but I still need to add a little something to them. I thought it would be good to leave some pages open to allow the recipient the freedom to decide what size/how many pictures they want to put on a page or if they want to add some journaling.

I hope you are having a lovely Spring day! Thanks for visiting!

CAS Card

This week's CAS challenge on SCS was to be inspired by something from JC Penny's bedding section. HERE is the bed set that caught my eye...I just love the bold and colorful flowers against the white. However, as I went to create my card it was just not coming together quite right. This is the first card I created.
I think I captured the feeling of the bedding with all the bright flowers but I didn't really LOVE this card, nor did I think it came out looking very CAS.

So, I made a second attempt which is definitely CAS style and I like it better too! Sometimes I just have to start stamping/putting together my card before I can visualize where I really want to take my inspiration.


Thanks for stopping by! I hope to be back tomorrow with a mini album!

Amazing Blog Candy

Debbie over at a Passion for Crafts is generously giving away some fabulous crafting goodies to celebrate her one year blogoversary. So go pay her blog a visit and be sure to check out her beautiful cards while you're there too! Have a great evening!

School Mini Album

Well, I have been working on a few mini albums this past week and thought I would share one of my favorites with you today. This album came together pretty quickly. I used a cute orange scalloped mini album by Creative Imaginations and Pebbles Inc. School Days creative pad.


Don't you think this will be a great little album to capture some cute moments from a child's preschool or Kindergarten year?! You could even get a little sample of the child's writing on the lined paper.

Thanks for visiting today! I hope your week is off to a good start! I will be back in a day or two to share another mini album...just need to finish up a few details first! :)

B is for Baby

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend! We have been having some nice weather and family time. Some of you may remember THIS card that I shared two weeks ago. Well, I thought it was so cute that it needed a matching bag to go with it. Here is the bag I created this week:


I really love this paper by Three Bugs in a Rug...in fact I think I need to go get some more of it since I originally purchased it for my son's baby book! :)

Thanks for visiting today! I have been busy creating this weekend so keep checking back to see what I've been up to!

Etsy Inspired Challenge # 32

Are you looking for some inspiration? Interested in winning an adorable necklace? Then this week's Etsy Inspired challenge is for you! :) Angel Face Designs has beautifully hand stamped sterling silver necklaces with some of the sweetest sayings.

I was inspired by this piece...



For my card I incorporated the circle and cross elements and added a few touches of silver. I also used a verse about faith from my Unity Something Within set (which the cross is also a part of). Here is what I came up with:

I stamped the background with a Unity stamp that I received free with an order one time and I don't know the name of it (I think it is a discontinued stamp). The ribbon around the edge of the card is some trim I picked up at Joann's awhile back. Thanks for stopping by to see my Etsy Inspired project! Be sure to visit the rest of the fabulous DT!

• Ashley (link your projects up here)
  
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Kristen
• Lee
• Lindsay
• Shannon
• Taylor
• Tiffany
• Tonya
• De (April Guest Designer)

And if you have never participated in an Etsy Inspired challenge before make sure to click HERE for all the details. We always love to see you in our Papercraft Planet group too, so if you get a chance come by to introduce yourself and show off your EtsyInspired creation!

Also, Heather from Angel Face Designs is generously offering ALL of you free shipping if you write Etsy Inpsired in the notes to seller box! How great is that?! Enjoy your day!

Sharing some Unity love

Well, I didn't get to join in Unity's Hip Hop as much as I would have liked yesterday but there is always next week, right?! I did, however, manage to complete one of the challenges which was to use a bow on your card. I used Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge sketch #63 to get me started and my Unity Something Within set to come up with this card:
I really like the blue/brown combination and I just think the frame in this set is absolutely gorgeous. The ribbon and tiny twinkles are from Taylored Expressions. The paper is misc. from my stash...trying to be good about using up what I have. :)

Last night I worked on a layout using Jennifer Buck's CAS Scrapbook Challenge sketch #4. I was so inspired by all the Mom cards and projects from the Unity blog hop yesterday that I created a Mom layout of my own.
I am pretty happy with how it turned out...I just don't like how I did the title. Oh well! What's most important is the pictures and memories, right?! I used Unity's Just My Type set (which happens to be on sale this weekend) to spell 'Lucky' and the journal lines are from Unity's Amazing Me set (the old one). I really like the patterned paper...so cute and a different color combination than what I usually go for. I took a few of the squares and popped them up on dimensionals for added interest. I thought these two pictures of me with my boys perfectly captured my love for them and the joy that being a mother brings me. They are both such blessings and I thank God every day for them!

Hope you have a blessed weekend! Make sure to visit Angela's blog to see all the specials and the list of wonderful ladies posting more Unity projects today. I'll be back tomorrow with my EtsyInspired Challenge card...hope you will stop back by and join in the fun!

A little more than a card

As promised, I have a special card to share today. Deanne's April Sketch was the beginning of my inspiration for this card. You can see her sketch along with the rest of the design teams' work by clicking HERE. It was definitely a challenging sketch for me this month and it took me awhile to figure out what to do with it but then I came across a pretty little kit I had stored away from K & Company. Can you tell what the surprise is?

I loved the lantern tag and thought it would make for a beautiful bookmark! So I threaded the tassel through the hole and used one of SU's library clips to attach it to the card.
The 'so happy together' panel is popped up on foam squares so all the recipient has to do is take off the library clip and slide the bookmark up off the card. I really think this turned out well and will probably make more of these in the future. How great would it be to use a card like this when giving someone a book as a gift?!

Thanks for visiting today! I am in a really creative mood this week so hopefully I will have another card to share tomorrow...but if not, I will definitely be back on Saturday to share my Etsy Inspired card! Have a great day!

Monochromatic CAS

Happy Wednesday! Today I have a clean and simple card to share with you all. I combined the SCS CAS challenge (monochromatic) and this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge (one layer + base & embellishments). Here is what I came up with:


The thing I love the most about CAS cards is that they come together so quickly which leaves me time to create more! :) I decided to make six of these little cards so I would have a cute notecard set. The cardstock is SU Lavender Lace and the stamp is from Unity's Flirty Flowers set.

Thanks for stopping by today! I will be back tomorrow with another card that includes a small surprise for the recipient!

A Little Note

Last night I had the energy and desire to do some crafting but just couldn't get started so I searched the web for some challenges that might help me kick start a project or two. After seeing Kristina Werner's color challenge I knew I wanted to give it a try...I love when a challenge helps to take me out of my comfort zone. And I also used Mojo Monday sketch #82 for this card.

The flower stamps are from Papertrey Ink's Out of the Box set. The sentiment is a Studio G stamp and I just used my white gel pen for the dots. The flower square is popped up on dimensionals. I also decorated the inside a little. Here are two pictures of that (sorry it's not the best picture quality...my camera was having issues):


Hope you all enjoy your day! I am off to help out in my son's Kindergarten class...they are making some special Mother's Day gifts with clay today...should be fun! :)