November's New Store Kit!

On the first Saturday of every month, the Unity girls get together to showcase the newest Store Kits!  This month's sets are called A Mother's Love & Wishes & Kisses.  Make sure to check out the Unity Blog today to find out more!

 

I just LOVE these delicate hearts from the Wishes & Kisses set!  I used a sketch from this week's CPS challenge & some paper from Studio Calico's Napa Valley kit.

And... I just had to try out that adorable gingham bow from the same kit.  It makes a perfect accessory!  :)

Hope you have a super weekend!

Hip Hop! Thanksgiving Table Decor

Have you seen the latest Kit of the Month by Unity?!?  Take a peek at this fun new set!

The ledger/paper/scalloped image just ROCKS!  And... I love that set of frames!  It's so super trendy!  This entire kit is just jammed packed with awesome stamps!  You can find out more about Unity's KOM club HERE.

This week's Hip Hop theme is Thanksgiving Table Decor.  I dusted off my Build a Turkey set from last year and came up with such a fun and easy fall craft!  I think these would be adorable sitting on our family's holiday table & the kids can even help make these!  .

I just stamped several tail feathers from the set onto various fall papers and stapled them together at the ends.  I popped a glue dot on top of the staple and applied it to the back of cup.  The front of the turkey was paper pieced too.  You could easily stamp or use stickers to spell out each family member's name below the turkey.

Now... make your way to see what Thanksgiving crafty-goodness is in store for you at 

Jen Erickson 's blog:

New Spellbinder's Holiday Dies!

Morning!  :)  As part of the Splitcoast Product Review Team, I got to try out some new CUTE dies from Spellbinders Holiday collection!  You can read the full review HERE... and here are a couple of projects I made using the new Nested Mittens dies:

Aren't these wintery mittens so sweet?  :)  They pair so perfectly with the White Christmas paper by We R Memory Keepers too.

I layered the mittens onto brown felt and slipped a small piece of white paper through the die-cut slits on the top. The white doily is by Martha Stewart Crafts.

I've had these Blackboard boxes from Cosmo Cricket forever & they came in so handy when I needed to pretty up a batch of homemade cookies!

The paper I used is from TPC Studio's So Delish collection. I was SO excited because these dies coordinate perfectly with the oven mitt patterned paper!

The center of the box was stamped with an image from Papertrey Ink & topped with a felt brad from the same TPC collection.

Hope you're off to a great start to your day!  I'm preparing myself to get this pit I mean house cleaned up!  :)  Fun, fun!

Flip Flop Hip Hop! Heart & Home Picture Frame

Happy Hip Hop Thursday!  Today, the Unity girls are FLIPPING and using Ippity stamps on all of our projects.  I wanted to make a home decor piece & found this dollar store frame in my stash.  This would make SUCH a quick & easy gift!

I used one of my favorite Ippity sets - What Matters Most.  I love the adorable hand drawn details of this trio of houses!  So cute!  I stamped the image onto some of We R Memory Keeper's Maple Grove paper & colored bits with my Copics.  The sentiment is a rub-on by Melissa Frances.  I think it was made for this stamp!  :)

If you haven't been to the Unity blog yet today, make sure to check it out!  I heard a rumor about new Jillibean Soup stamps and a HUGE SALE!?!  Eeek!  :)  Also... the new kit of the month will be here before you know it!  Here are a couple of sneaks to give you a taste of what's to come:

From here, hop on over to see what Jen Erickson has for you!

Hip Hop - Teacher's Gift + A Video Tutorial

Hip Hop!  Yes, it's Thursday again!  For a lot of you, school is just around the corner... or may already be in session... so, I thought I'd share a tutorial on how to make a super easy school-themed project.  I used one of August's Stampin Store Kits by Unity called Learning {Year by Year}.  The design team will be featuring this set (as well as the other Store Kit) this Saturday, so make sure to check back in to see more fun ideas!

Here are a couple of photos of the school-themed note pad I made.  I know these aren't 'new' to the stamping community, but it was the first time I've tried them out.  Michelle Wooderson makes them in every color and theme & really inspired me to try one out for myself. You can make several in one afternoon and have little gifts on hand for the entire year.  (The patterned paper is from the Show & Tell collection by We R Memory Keepers.  I purchased my notepads from Papertrey Ink.)

Here is a video I made for any of you who are visual learners like I am.  :)  (These videos are being featured on the Unity Blog today too.)  I had to break them up into two segments because I rattled on forever and a day.  ;)

I wanted to also let you know that there is a huge release party going on today for Ippity at Splitcoast!  The people at Unity sure know how to throw a party... so don't miss out!  :)

Also, I have a long list of stamps for sale on the post below.  Make sure to check it out if you like a good bargain.  :)

From here, hop on over to to Jen Erickson's blog!

Hip Hoppin Fun!

Hip Hop!  I can NOT believe it's August already!  The month of July just flew by!  We just got home a few days ago from sunny Florida & I'm trying to get myself back into a routine (and doing a lousy job of it!)

First up... I wanted to show you Unity's new kit of the month for August!

I don't have my set yet... but I do have this adorable Itty Bitty that was released at CHA last week.  It's so stinkin' cute!  (And the perfect size, in my opinion!)  I made a quick card for my nephew who will be turning 1 on Saturday.

Now, please make your way to Jen Erickson's blog!

It's Jiffy Time!!!

Hey guys!  Today I get to share the card I made for this month's Jiffy Girl Challenge!  Just to recap... each month, a group of my super crafty friends and I get together to make a card using the same basic supplies.  One girl picks a stamp for us to use, and another chooses patterned paper.  No one knows what we're going to work with until it arrives in our mailbox.  I love seeing everyone's style being played out in such unique ways!

This month, I was the 'paper picker' and chose the Blueberry Hill paper from We R Memory Keeper's Vintage Blue collection.  Alli chose our image, the funky and cool chair from the Chair-ished set by Papertrey Ink.  I really loved the combination of the two!  :)

I kept my card pretty simple, letting the paper and images speak for themselves.  Make sure to check out the other girls' blogs to see what they came up with!  I can't wait to see for myself!  :)

• Michele Boyer
• Carole Burrage
• Kim Hughes
• Alli Miles
• Lori Craig
• & our super awesome guest this month, Dana Seymour

Hip Hop! Unity's New KOM for July is HERE!!!

Hey guys!  Can you believe it's JULY already!?!  Wow!!!  And... to kick of the new month, Unity has brand spankin' new kit for you called Happily Ever After. 

Also... in true Unity fashion, I have a stamp set to give away!  Comment on this post for a chance to win the set Comfy Cozy!  (Leave me a second comment if you follow my blog for an additional chance to win.)

I am so pumped about this new set!  It's full of so many unique images & sentiments!!!  For my first card, I HAD to break in that doily frame image.  OMGoodness is it gorgeous!  I stamped mine in Versamark & heat set it with white embossing powder.  And... do you see that yummy variegated green flower?  I made it using some of my hand-dyed wrinkly crinkly ribbon.  I just LOVE making this stuff!  It's so quick and easy!  I'll be working on a video tutorial soon... so you'll be seeing that later this month.  :)

The beautiful sentiment is also part of the new July kit.  I added some rub-ons from October Afternoon (deer) & We R Memory Keepers (leaf & swirl) to dress it all up.

Well... I hope you love the new kit as much as I do!  I hear that Unity is having a big sale today, so make sure to check out the blog for more information.  And... from here, hop on over to Jen Erickson's blog to see what scrappy goodness she's created with the new kit. 

Birthday Wishes In a Jar

Hey guys! :)  I have a new card to show you... but first up, here's another Sneak Peek at the new July Kit of the Month from Unity!  I love how creative this sentiment is.  :)

As soon as I saw the new jar stamps from Papertrey Ink... I knew I was going to have to have them.  I love any of the sets inspired by Michelle Wooderson.  She's a girl that really 'speaks my language'!  I love how she incorporates vintage items and flee market finds into her crafts.  It's making my heart go all pitter-patter just thinking about it.  :)

So... here's a card I made... packaging up all of my birthday wishes into a vintage Mason jar.  :)  And... I had to pull out some denim fabric for my card front.  I love that country feel and soft texture.  

Supplies:

• Stamps: (Friendship Jar) Papertrey Ink
• Ink: (Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa Memento ink, Versamark) Tsukineko; (Tea Dye Duo inks) Papertrey Ink
• Embossing Powder (clear) Ranger
• Cardstock: (Rustic White) Papertrey Ink; (Pool) Paper Source
• Dies: (Jar & Lid, Jar Toppers) Papertrey Ink
• Embellishments: (Pink Vintage Style Buttons) Jenni Bowlin; paper doily; crochet thread; denim fabric
• Tools: sewing machine & thread; (small corner rounder) EK Success
• Markers: Copic

Instructions:
1. Make card from cardstock.
2. Tear edges of a panel of denim fabric.  Adhere to card.
3. Adhere plaid patterned paper.  Machine stitch edges.
4. Ink edges of blue cardstock.  Machine stitch to card front.  Adhere paper doily in place.
5. Stamp “jam” onto purple patterned paper using watermark ink.  Heat emboss with clear embossing powder.  Trim and adhere to die cut cardstock. Stamp jar outline onto panel.
6. Stamp lid onto die cut cardstock.  Stamp lid once more onto patterned paper and paper piece.  Color remainder of lid with markers.  Stamp sentiment.  Adhere lid to jar using dimensional adhesive.
7. Adhere stamped images onto green patterned paper.  Round bottom corners.  Ink edges.  Tie button in place using crochet thread.  Adhere panel to card front.

You're Such a Treat! + blog candy!

It's Thursday, and that means the girls from Unity have some eye candy in store for you today!  Speaking of candy, I pulled this adorable 'penny candy' stamp out of my stack of 'desperately needing attention' stamps.  I've always loved this image, but had yet to ink it up!  The sentiment is from another older KOM set... & they seem to make a perfect pair!  I love how the kits all work so well with each other!

Here's a close up of my candy jars in all their shiny glory.  (They were coated in a layer of Glossy Accents)

I've been recovering from the flu & I meant to post these earlier this week... but here are a couple of cards I made using this month's kit, called Fly Free:

So... since this post has been all about candy... how would you like a chance to WIN some???  I have the cutest wood-mount stamp up for grabs called Bottled Blossoms.  To have a chance of winning, just leave a comment after this post!  Would you like two chances to win?  Just sign up to be a 'follower' of my blog (in the right side column) & leave a second comment letting me know.  I really love & appreciate all of you who come and read my blog.  I wish I could give each and every one of you a special treat!  :)

Now... make your way to Jen Erickson's blog, which is your next stop on the hop!

A Little Unity Love...

Hey everyone! Hope you're all keeping warm! We just got our first big snow of the season and school's out --- so I've got an extra boy at home who's a little stir crazy. :)

I was shopping at Joann's during Christmas break and found some of the cutest folksy ribbon! I'm such a sucker for anything 'folk'... and couldn't wait to try it out on a card. So... I paired it with one of my all-time favorite Unity sets - Folk Inspired. (The white eyelet trim was a Joann find too!)


Have you seen the latest Unity Kit of the Month?!? It's packed with such COOL images!

I had this ruby red, sparkly glitter lace from We R Memory Keepers' Merry & Bright line and... once again... was drawn to the 'folk' feel of it. I wish my camera could capture it better, because it's such a pretty product! I wanted to keep it simple, so I added one of my favorite sentiments from the KOM and glittered the heart to match.

For those of you who are card makers - Winter Sims is having a Valentine's card drive for the kids at St. Jude's. I'm a pediatric nurse at a children's hospital in Indianapolis & a mom of two little guys... so this project really touched me. I hope to make several kid friendly Valentines and mail them off to her. If you'd like to learn more about how YOU can participate, click on the picture below. :)