Happy Hip Hop!!!

(card goodies: paper -Daisy D's, stamps - Unity "Birdie Inspiration" set, buttons - Stampin' Up)

Hello there, happy Hip Hoppers. How are you on this lovely Unity Celebration week? Thanks so much to all of you who shared sweet birthday wishes to me yesterday . . .you helped to make my day extra special!

And don't forget, there's still time to comment on THIS POST for a chance to win one of my FIVE Unity giveaways. . .seriously chicas, I am sharing a LOT of stamps - you definitely want to get in on this one!!!!

And now, continue on your happy hip hop, to . . .

***AJ***

Happy. . . .

Happy Birthday. . .to . . ..MEEEE!

Thanks for stopping by to party with me today, as I celebrate my birthday! (and my wedding anniversary too! Pretty fun, huh?)

I have a birthday card to share, just for the occasion . . .I used the CUTE CUTE Kim Hughes stamps, at Cornish Heritage Farms. This is actually part of an 8-card set, that I made for an auction to benefit Parker's Pals. (Check out this sweet organization started by my friend Jamie, in memory of her son, Parker.)

I'll share the other cards in the set later this week!

So I have to tell you, I have THE sweetest husband. Not only did he get me one of those giant pregnancy pillows (the ones that take up half the bed, but are SOOOO comfy!) but he TOTALLY and COMPLETELY surprised me last night with a surprise party at the park. I had NO idea. Not even a stitch of suspicion. A whole bunch of our friends were there, and we had BBQ catered, and a yummy cake. . .it was SO much fun. (And the kids got to run around on the playground, so it was awesome for them too!) It was a blast. So today, we are layin' low, and eating leftover BBQ!!!

Don't forget to leave a comment on Monday's post, for a chance to win one of my Unity giveaways!!! I have some GOOD stamps to share!!! :) And check out Angela's blog to see what design team members have KOM sneak peeks for you today.

Have a GREAT day!!!!

Unity SNEAK PEEK!!!!

It's Day Two of Unity's CELEBRATION. . . .and I am thrilled to have a sneak peek of the May Kit of the Month to share with you. This is my VERY FAVORITE stamp and sentiment in the kit . . .I see myself using this cute house OVER and OVER and OVER again! I paper pieced the house and sentiment with Prima paper, from the Dude Collection. (Love it!) Many of the other design team members have sneak peeks for you too!!! Head over to Angela's blog to find all the links!
If you didn't leave a comment on yesterday's blog post, be sure to read it, and answer my questions for a chance to win one of my FIVE Unity gifties! I'll draw names on Saturday.

Have a great day!

(Will you come back tomorrow, and party with me on my birthday!???)

Christmas in April (time to PARTY!)

Are you ready to seriously PARTY with me this week?????

It's Unity's birthday. . .and it's MY birthday too!!! Unity Stamp Company turns ONE on May 1st, and we are celebrating all week long in the SCS forum. . .challenges, giveaways, and games galore! My birthday is on Wednesday, so I am especially ready to PARTY this week!

In honor of all the birthday festivities, I have FIVE. . .yes FIVE, little packages of Unity stamps to share with FIVE of you! Just leave a comment here on this post, and on Saturday I will pick some names and share some stampy LOVE!

In your comment, I have TWO questions for you (just because I am nosy.) 1.) Do you own any Unity Stamps? (Don't be afraid to admit it if you don't!) 2.)Are you a member of Unity's monthly kit club? At least one of my packages is going to go to one of you who DO NOT own any Unity stamps. Be honest!!!!

Okay, about this card. . .did you ever think you could make a CHRISTMAS card from the April Kit of the Month? I used that fun swirly vine to make my tree, and added the flower to be a pointsietta. So fun!!! (the paper is from We R Memory Keepers)

Be sure to check around the Unity girls blogs, because there might just be some sneaky peeks of the MAY kit of the month!!!! I'll have a sneak for you tomorrow! Don't forget to leave a comment and answer my two questions, to win one of my FIVE giveaways!!!

CPS 113

CPS is being sponsored by Cornish Heritage Farms this week. I have probably already admitted a thousand times, that I am completely addicted to the Kim Hughes stamps, carried at CHF. This week I had a chance to play with some of the other beautiful stamps by CHF. . .what fun! This BEAUTIFUL set is NEW, and it has really lovely images, that stamp clearly. . .and my favorite part - sweet sentiments!! On this card, I stamped pretty much everything you see, (Including the background!) And yes, those are my fake brads again. Why? I HAVE black brads. . .but this is so quick and easy, and I just like it. (Fake brads = black Sharpie and dimensional glaze.)
Be sure to check out the beautiful work on the CPS blog this week, and see what the other designers created! Have a great Sunday! I am off to church, and brunch with the family! XOXO

The name.. ..

We finally started making some big decisions about this little baby on the way. He has a name now. . . are you ready?

Tanner Everett.

Everett is a family name, and Tanner. . .well, we just like it!

I also picked out some bedding, after MUCH debate and searching. We found this in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. So we'll get a twin bed quilt for the daybed in there, and some Euro shams to go along the side. We're going to get that green polka dotted canvas basket, for books. . .and believe it or not, the rocking chair I already have has a cushion that matches too!! (And when I got it, it didn't match anything in our house! I just always loved it!)
So now I am getting started on some polka-dotty fun artwork to hang on the wall, and maybe some sort of mobile thing to hang from the ceiling. I am always SO inspired when I go into Pottery Barn Kids. . .I see so many things, that I think "Oh that's so cute. . .but i could SOO make that!" Except that then I never do. Well this time - I'm doing it!

Thanks for listening to me ramble today! If you see anything fabulous and matching that I "need" for Tanner's room, let me know! I promise I will be back with some artwork in a day or two!! Have a TERRIFIC weekend! XOXO

Happy Happy Hip Hop!

Can you believe it!? Unity is turning ONE!

Happy Birthday Unity Stamp Company!!!

To celebrate, be sure to join in on the GAMES. . the CHALLENGES. . .the PRIZES. . .the SNEAK PEEKS . . .and the FUN, all week long! Starting April 27th, we will party it up, Unity style!

(And I just might have some Unity goodies of my own to share with you next week . . .so be sure to check back here on Monday!)

And now, without further ado, hop on to

***JIMMI***

(card goodies: patterned paper - Scenic Route, stamps - Unity, ribbon, ink - Close To My Heart)

a couple of my favorite things. . .

This card includes a couple of my favorite things: Scenic Route paper (can't go wrong with that!), Unity Stamps, paper-piecing, the color RED, and dots (maybe circles is a better description, but close enough!) I did this card a few weeks ago, and I have been SAVING it for. . ..TODAY! Why not!? I hope you like it! It makes me happy to look at! (I love it when that happens!)

(card goodies: Unity Stamps (March and April KOM), Scenic Route patterned paper, CTMH ink)

Be sure to come back Thursday for Unity's Hip Hop. . . we have some SERIOUS fun in store. . .and an invitation . . .its a BIG ONE!!! ;)

hello, hello . . .it's saturday!

Happy Saturday, my friends!!!! I had such a hard time deciding WHICH card to post for Thursday's Mother's Day blog hop - this one might have been a better fit, rather than the other black and ivory card I shared. . .but here it is TODAY!

I stamped these images (from Unity's April Kit of the Month, of course!) in black Staz-On ink. I colored it (VERRRY carefully) with a gold Sharpie paint pen, (whose tip was really too thick for what I was doing, but thankfully I didn't screw it up too much!!!) I thought the gold details would be a neat touch! I hope you like it!!

I can't think of anything else interesting to share with you today . . .life is delightfully a-okay right now (aside from a four-year-old with some serious tantrum issues all the sudden) and the usual aches and irritations of pregnancy. But all in all, we are doing just fine. We got Mario Kart for our Wii last week, so we've been race-car driving QUITE a bit lately!!! (That game is SUCH fun, even though I am SUCH a bad driver!!) I THINK we've decided on a name for the baby . . .but I will wait until we decide 100% before I share it!!! I am also trying to find a nice quilt for the new baby/guest room. I need a color scheme!! Any ideas???

Have a TERRIFIC weekend!!!

She's one Hip (Hop) Mama!

If you Hip Hop with us frequently, you know we like to celebrate holidays a little earlier than most. . .it gives you some time to be inspired, and create for whatever the upcoming holiday may be! It's just the way we roll . . .tryin' to help ya out! So today, we are celebrating MOTHER'S DAY! Have you started thinking about your cards yet???

This card could easily be a Mother's Day card. . .or something completely different if you'd like! I used the April Kit of the Month, and some Kaiser Craft paper scraps. I used my "faux brad" technique on this card too (Sharpie polka dots in the corners, with a dot of dimensional glaze on each one!)

Your next stop along the hop is

***Natalie***

Have a great day!!

yo ho, yo ho!

Arrrrrr. . .another pirate card for ye today.

I used beautiful GCD Studios papers on this one, but worked with basically the same stamps as my CPS card. This pirate set (from The Cat's Pajamas) has a bunch of cute sentiments and pirate themed stamps. I will surely be getting a lot of use out of this set!!! (Finally a FUN set for making some masculine birthday cards!!!)
The second picture, shows the sentiment I added to the bottom corner of the card.

Now that my child has finished his major tantrum, (I did a terrible thing, by pouring the milk in his cereal, before he asked if he could help. He wanted me to DUMP out his cereal and start over. . .I think not. But now I've been paying the consequences!!!) I think I will try to eat some breakfast and get us out the door to run some errands!!! Have a great day!!! Meet me back here for Unity's Hip Hop blog hop tomorrow!!!

XOXOXO

a little more easter. . .and pirates?!

Okay, I promised you my CPS card today. . . and here it is. Our sponsor, The Cat's Pajamas, has SUCH trendy, fun clear stamps. I got this pirate set, which is really quite fun to play with! (I have another card I made with it, that I will share tomorrow!!!) I used some GCD Studios paper, and kept this pretty clean and simple.
And here's just one more picture from Easter, taken after church. I had to show you my little man's bowtie!!! Someday, he will look at the pictures from this Easter and say, "MOMMM, I cannot BELIEVE you made me wear that BOW TIE!" But I will just smile and say, "You know what, you LOVED IT!!" (And he really did!!!) You can click on it for a closer peek! ;)

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter!!! I don't have an Easter card to share today, but I have a Spring-y card for you . . .I used the tree from the Unity new release I shared on Thursday . . .but all I used was the tree. I just cut it out, without the sentiment, paper-pieced it, and added a different sentiment (this one is from Hero Arts, along with some CTMH paper.)
I thought I would also share my latest and greatest Photoshop trial-and-error learning experience. I FINALLY figured out how to create spot color, on a black and white photo. I have tried and TRIED to figure out how to do this. And I did it!!!! (Now I'll just have to figure it out again the next time!!!) I am looking a little rough in this picture, but with a freshly hair-cut four year old, and some bright and cheery eggs, it can't be too bad!!!

And now I better hop along to get ready for church!!!!

Have a WONDERFUL Easter!!!!!

I'll meet ya here tomorrow, with my CPS card for this week. . .we have a REALLY fun sponsor (do I always say that??) You can check out the sketch, the sponsor, and the first batch of DT cards today at CPS!!

Time Warp. . .fast forward, four years.

No, really - let's NOT fast forward four years. Because in four years my little man will be EIGHT. But for the sake of pretending (and for the sake of a magazine call that is looking for kid's birthday party invitations,) here is my FAKE (very VERY fake - please note, NOT my real phone number, people!) party invitation to Bryce's eighth birthday!
I typed it all up on the computer, printed it on cardstock, and then layered it together, adding my favorite little monster and skateboard from Kim Hughes, at Cornish Heritage Farms. (I paper-pieced him, by the way. SHOCKING, I know.)

I got the font from a GREAT website, called Kevin and Amanda.com
They have some SUPER cute FREE fonts there. (This one is called Jailbird Jenna!)

Have a great weekend!!

Peace, Love, and Hip Hop

We're feelin' LOVE for the earth today, on this fine Hip Hop Thursday.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE (did I say LOVE?) this new stamp being released today.

(And this card makes me SO happy, I must say, I've been looking at it all week long - Scenic Route Paper Co. never fails to bring me ridiculous amounts of happiness!)

Have a wonderful, GREEN Hip Hop today!

Head on over to . . .. .

***Linsey***

and see what cuteness she has for you today!

One classy peacock!

Would it be appropriate to give someone a peacock card for their wedding? Or anniversary? I am trying to figure out what exactly the occasion would be for this card. . .I'd love to hear your thoughts!
When Unity's January Kit of the Month came out, I was SO excited to play with this peacock. . . .and this week (yes, THIS week) I finally did. It's just embarassing, that it took me so long - I was sick for umm. . a long time people, let us not forget. ;)

I have had some pretty good sized scraps of this beautiful Kaiser Craft paper, leftover from a card kit . . .and it was begging to be used - or trashed - and I couldn't let that happen, so I got busy. (You'll see some more cards with this paper, throughout the next few weeks!)

One more thing I'd like to point out on this card . . .my newly developed, highly technical Faux Brad technique. (Sounds fancy and important, doesn't it?) Here are the difficult instructions: make a dot with a black Sharpie. Put a dot of Liquid Glass (or some other clear liquid dimensional substance) on top. Let it dry. Ta-da, faux brads.

I colored this lovely little peacock with colored pencils, and added some pizazz with a Sharpie gold paint pen. That's it folks!! Pretty simple, and completely ocassion-less, but awfully cute :) So, DO TELL. . .what kind of ocassion would YOU give this card for????? Help me out here!

What is it about stick people??!

What is it about cute little stick-figures? I just love them! These WERE some new stamps from Close To My Heart. . .but I made these cards so long ago, that as the NEW Summer catalog comes out, I'm not so sure I can still call them "NEW" . . . .but they sure are stinkin' cute. You can see the whole stamp set HERE.
I used the same basic design for these two cards, which made them pretty quick and easy. They are 4.25x4.25, so they still fit in a standard invitation envelope. The papers are "new" from CTMH (new as in, from the Spring catalog) and I colored my little stick-figure friends with Prismacolor colored pencils.

In other scrappy news, I was happy to see my name on the list of 40 designers who will be spotlighted at GCD Studios sometime in the next few months. They just announced their new Design Team and I was so happy to see my pal, Angie's name on the list!!! Hooray Angie!

In NOT scrappy news. . .Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people in the world. . .KARISSE! (Go visit her, and tell her Happy Birthday!) She is one of my dearest friends, and one of the most inspiring people I've met. She sees injustices in the world, and doesn't just sit there and wish they'd go away - she's doing things to STOP them. She's simply unique and beautiful, and has an amazing story to tell. She's experienced more in the last ten years than many of us will in a lifetime. But she perseveres, and doesn't give up, and I am constantly amazed by her strength and resiliance. I love you Karisse-imo!!! XOXO

Have a great day, everyone!!!

CPS 110 - Hero Arts!!! Ooh La La!! :)

Good morning! I'll keep this short and sweet this morning, as we are walking out the door to church. CPS is being sponsored by Hero Arts this week. . .man, HOW FUN! We each got to pick out some FABULOUS stamps to work with this week, and I just LOVE the sets that I got!

I did a bit of paper-piecing on this card. . .all the leaves on that tree. Call me crazy. It was really only because the first time I stamped it on the oval, it didn't come out very clearly. (Not because of the stamps, but because of the stamper!!!! ;) So instead of coloring, I paper-pieced!

My little man is saying "CAN WE LEAVE NOWWWW??" so I better get out the door. . . .be sure to pop over to CPS and check out the other cards this week!!! (And be sure to play along. . .there's going to be a GREAT giveaway this week!!!)

Hip Hop Winner. . . and another card!

Yesterday Angela offered up a prize for a comment on each blog on the hop. . .and my winner is SHEMAINE!!!! Please email eryn@unitystampco.com and she will get your prize out!

Shemaine said...
that elephant stamp is tooo cute!
April 2, 2009 8:45 PM

CONGRATS Shemaine! And if you've never been to Shemaine's blog. . . you should go check it out! She has some beautiful projects there, and lots of great inspiration!

Here's just one quick card to share today, from Unity's April Kit of the Month. I used one stamp for the background, using two different shades of green ink. The center image I colored with markers (just my crummy 10 year old Tombows - nothing fancy!) to blend the colors, and then I colored over and blended it further with colored pencils.

Hope your weekend gets off to a TERRIFIC start! We have been painting all day . . .doing wall touch-ups. After almost 4 years (and with a 4 year old in the house) our white walls were SERIOUSLY showing some wear and tear!!! It already feels lighter and brighter in here! Now I just need to clean the baseboards!! YUCK!

XOXO

It's Hip Hop, BABY!

Oh baby! As if I didn't have BABIES on the brain already, the theme for Unity's blog hop today is BABIES! It's funny that I made a baby BOY card for today - because I did it long before I knew that our new little one is a BOY! (I'm just a LITTTTLE excited!)
(Oh, and if you're just joining in, head over to Angela's blog to start hopping at the begining!)

card goodies: stamps - (Unity elephant - Wild and Crazy Bunch, party hat -Here's My Thoughts,) letter stickers (GCD Studios) patterned paper (GCD Studios and My Mind's Eye) brads, ink, ribbon (CTMH)

I am also SUPER excited to share a card from the new April Kit of the Month with you.

card goodies: stamps - (Unity April KOM) patterned paper (Daisy D's) colored pencils (Prismacolor) cardstock, ink, brads, ribbon (CTMH)

I also have a photo of ME as a baby, for our little Hip Hop BABY game today.

This is me and my aunt, sitting on the kitchen floor. I LOVE this picture.
I know the rest of the girls have some BEAUTIFUL work (and cute baby pictures!) to share today! So. . .
now, hop onward to Lynn!

April First? That must mean . ..

it's time for a NEW Kit of the Month and a NEW Guest Designer at Unity Stamp Company!

In honor of the new kit, some of the designers accepted a little design-team challenge this month - you can see what they did with the NEW kit, on their blogs:
AJ Otto
Christi Snow
Jeanne Streiff
Jimmi Mayo
Maren Benedict
Amber Height
Chelsea Cook
Patter Cross
Robyn Weatherspoon
Heather Brown
Brooke Lien
Jen Erickson
Jennifer Buck
Julie Campbell
Renee Morris-Dezember
Wendy Chang

You may have noticed a new name on that list. For the month of April I am thrilled to have Julie Campbell on the team with us! She has been one of my favorite cardmakers for a long time! Welcome Julie!

But wait. . .that's not all! There's also big news about a contest that YOU can participate in, starting next month. You can find all the info HERE!

And I'll be back tomorrow, for Hip Hop and some projects that I did with the new April Kit!