Going, Going, Gone!

Today is the last day of February and that means that this is your last chance to grab this gorgeous kit of the month....

Only $26 plus s&h for a full 8 1/2 x11 sheet of gorgeous rubber stamps!!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Nothing But Blue Skies

*Cosmo Cricket Material Girl papers

*Making Memories trim

*Nestabilities labels die cut

*button

*burlap string

*Stazon Jet black inked

*watercolor pencils

It's Fairy Tale Day!

Good Friday Morning!

It is time for our Friday Fun Challenge and today's challenge comes to us from Sherry:

Feb 26^th is Tell a Fairy Tale Day

….so choose your favorite Fairy Tale and make a card based on it.

Show me your Princesses, Dragons, or anything Magical.

Supplies used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Arianna the Princess Fairy

*Great Impressions Once Upon a Time stamp

*Imaginisce paper collection

*corner rounder

*StazOn Jet black inked

*glue pen

*Prisma glitter

*Fiskars border punch

*Marvy Uchida oval punches

*MM ribbon

*watercolor pencils

Wanna play along?

Friday Fun Challenge #71

Be sure to check out the other Friday Fun Girls blogs for more inspiration. We would love for you to play with us- just use keyword FFC71 when uploading to your SCS gallery.

Jimmi
Sherry
Kimme
Sara

Doing Spring with Unity...

Spring is coming!

Have you felt the tingles yet?

A step outside when it feels just a tiny bit warmer than you expected.

Spring is coming and it cannot come soon enough.

I saw my first robin yesterday...

my dad says that is a sure sign that Spring is right around the corner.

I so hope that he is right.

So in honor of the eminent arrival of Spring, I created some cards using some definite spring colors using Unity's Feb kom, Nothing But Blue Skies.

For this first card, I used this week's CPS Sketch, #155...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Nothing But Blue Skies

*MME papers

*ribbon

*Marvy Uchida circle punch

*Recollections bling

*StazOn jet black inkpad

For the second card, I used this week's SCS Sketch, #SC269. I just turned this sketch on its side.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Nothing But Blue Skies

*MME papers

*corner rounder

*ribbon

*Fiskars border punch

*Martha Stewart bling

*StazOn Jet black inked

Be sure to go check out the Unity Stamp Co. Blog for all the exciting happenings this week.

A little bit about my bookmarks....

I know that you all have noticed a trend lately of me making bookmarks. A lot of you had assumed that I was laminating them. That's not actually the case.

Many, many moons ago... I was a Close to My Heart consultant. When you are a cardmaking consultant, you quickly find that you need to place many, many orders from Clearbags.com. ;o) On one of these such orders, I ended up ordering these vinyl bookmark sleeves. They were not what I thought they were. Back then, clearbags.com didn't have photos...just sizes so I was shocked when I got in 100 of these vinyl sleeves. I have since learned to love them, which is good since I have a lifetime supply of them. Hehe!

This is the photo of the bookmark that I included within my Secret Admirer swap package.

Supplies used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Buggy Sayings

*Paper Makeup Stamps Read a Book

*Paper Makeup Stamps Dream Big

*Scenic Route paper collection

*book paper

*Martha Stewart border punch

*Nestabilities Labels 4 diecut.

Right now, I am reading voraciously. One, sometimes even two, books a day and I am reading some really good books...romance novels if you like that sort of thing. I have added a widget to my sidebar that I update with my ratings and sometimes reviews of what I am reading if you are interested. I have just started utilizing goodreads.com, but I am loving that it's a great way for me to track what I am reading and what I like because when you read this much, it is very easy to lose track. ;o)

Rethinking....

Part of the Paper Makeup Stamps month-long birthday celebration has been that all the designers are taking their first PMS card and remaking it.

This was my very first card and it was made for a PMS challenge to use the PMS colors (pink and grey) in a card. I had just gotten in all my fun new stamps and used three of them...a bit of overkill...LOL!

I have never really liked this card although I did just find it in my card bin and have to admit it looks much better in person than it does photographed, but that's not saying much. hehe!

For my remake, I went with much brighter coloring and papers than my original although I tried to keep the same overall coloring scheme. The overall design of the card is also much more streamlined....more my current design style...

Supplies used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Lauren in Love

*Paper Makeup Stamps Hugs & Kisses

*Cosmo Cricket paper (grey)

*MME paper (pink)

*Recollections bling

*watercolor pencils

*StazOn Jet black inked

*Fiskars border punch

*Spellbinders diecut

*brads

Be sure to watch the Paper Makeup Stamps blog all this month to see all the DT remakes. It's been fun to see how everyone has evolved.

****************

And just so you know, I realize that I have been a bit more absent this week.

That is liable to get worse before it gets better.

Ben is coming home in less than 2 weeks (after over 6 months gone) and I am so excited that I can't hardly stand it. It is making me behave a bit ADD and I haven't been able to create hardly at all this week. I am hoping to do a bit of cleaning in my stamp room today and see if that helps to calm me down and find my creative muse... Wish me luck!

Good morning Unity Stamp Co. Peeps!

This is blog post #2 for the day.

If you are looking for my Limelight Papercrafts sketch post, it is located below this one.

Today's card features a bit of baby-love goodness and was based upon this weeks SCS sketch challenge. I love this new stamp kit from Unity, Could I be any Cuter, and that elephant just screams baby card to me.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Could I be Any Cuter

*October Afternoon paper collection

*Marvy Uchida square scallop punch

*burlap string

*button

*cardstock

And while I was taking project photos this morning, Little Miss Cuteness herself thought I needed one of Elmo (and yes, he is really that big...LOL!)

Be sure to check out the Unity Stamp Co. blog for all the latest happenings around Unity!

Limelight Sketch Day!

Good morning!

It's Thursday and another jam-packed blog day around here.

This is post #1 of 2 for today!

This post is all about Limelight Papercraft's Sketch Challenge!!

Here is today's sketch....

The Deets:
**Use the sketch above and try to incorporate your favorite SENTIMENT!!
**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC041.
**Post a comment with a link to your card on the Limelight blog on the challenge post by Sunday, February 21, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday).
**PRIZE ~ One lucky winner will receive a sentiment stamp of their choice!!

And here is the card that I created with this wonderful sketch. I just got in a fun little box of goodies from Limelight Papercrafts so I had to put it to good use!

Supplies used:

*Cosmo Cricket Material Girl

*Unity Stamp Co. Feb kom, Life is Fabulous

*Basic Grey buttons

*burlap string

*scallop deco edge scissors

*Marvy Uchida scallop circle punch

*StazOn Jet black inked

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Limelight team has done with this challenge:

Limelight Papercrafts Blog- Mandy

Caffeinated Cropper- Amy

Taylor-Made by JenMarie- JenMarie

Dahlhouse Designs- Lisa

My Little Creative Escape- Lisa

An altered Valentine...

Warning: this post has a TON of photos.

(which are better seen if you click on them to see them larger)

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but then all the neighbors started shoveling so I was guilted into going out and shoveling about 2 hours before I had actually planned to do it. Then, I never got back on the computer all day long....but I did read 2 books!?! I have got to stop doing that so that I can get SOMETHING else done around here. Hehe!

Like I mentioned in my first Valentine's Day post (you can see what I received on that post), we did a Secret Admirer exchange within the design team for Paper Makeup Stamps. This post is about what I made for my admiree, Tangii... an altered inspiration portfolio folder.

(outside cover)

The overall idea behind this project is the idea of an inspiration board.

I started out with a 7gypsies large portfolio folder and pulled some papers (mostly Scenic Route), stamps, and ribbons and simply started layering it up.

(detail of the cover)

Stamps used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Moody for Art

*Paper Makeup Stamps Art is Life

*Unity Stamp Co. Donna Downey Inspired

This is the first section of the folder. I had inserted another file folder into the interior of the portfolio to add more pages to it. Luckily that additional file folder was already this great black & white floral that worked so well with my existing color scheme. I just had to cover the monogrammed "S" on the cover of it.

(rub-on corner from Prima)

This portfolio was supposed to create an inspirational look, but it also contained my gift for my admiree so there are bits and pieces like these ribbon tags inserted throughout the portfolio.

The detail of how I covered the monogram "S" on the cover of the file.

Most of the items in the portfolio were attached using ribbons for easy removal without destroying the entire project.

This is the interior of the added file folder. Lots of bits/gifts in here.

Simply some of the decorative details.

This is a 7gypsies library envelope. Inserted within it were some Tim Holtz tags tied up with string.

Simply some added embellishments. Notice they are in a ziploc that I added with the zipper exposed so they coulee be removed easily. That "Artist" is a Tim Holtz stamp.

This little sack held a tag full of antique buttons.

Another rub-on detail from Prima. This is the top of the glassine envelope that was on the right side of the interior of this file folder. It held a Unity stamp kit. I had it set up so that you could simply slide the top off and pull the stamps out, but I have a feeling that was harder said than done, so this probably got destroyed in the unwrapping...which is totally okay. ;o)

This was the final page of the portfolio. That gift wrap section in the center was a pile of 6x6 papers. There was a final flap over there on the right where I added a bookmark. I have a separate blog post for it that will be up later in the week.

I hope that you have had fun looking at this project. I had so much fun making it!!! Luckily when I bought this portfolio, I bought several of them, so you should be seeing more of these in the future!

The Military Wife...

This was sent to me this morning from another military wife and on this Valentine's day with my husband deployed, it just seemed appropriate to post it here. {there is another Valentines Day post below this one too.}

Military Wife

Lots of moving...

Moving...

Moving...

Moving far from home...

Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.

Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;

Moving curtains that won't fit;

Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.

Moving away from friends;

Moving toward new friends;

Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting for housing.

Waiting for orders.

Waiting for deployments.

Waiting for phone calls.

Waiting for reunions.

Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.

Waiting for him to come home, For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better: She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;

Handle the yard work;

Fix a noisy toilet;

Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.

She can file the taxes;

Sell a house;

Buy a car;

Or set up a move...

.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.

She reinvents her career with every PCS;

Locates a house in the desert,

The Arctic,

Or the deep south.

And learns to call them all 'home'.

She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...

They leap into:

Decorating,

Leadership,

Volunteering,

Career alternatives,

Churches,

And friendships.

They don't have 15 years to get to know people.

Their roots are short but flexible.

They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:

They connect over coffee,

Rely on the spouse network,

Accept offers of friendship and favors.

Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:

The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands;

his commitment is unique.

He doesn't have a 'JOB'

He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...

He's on-call for his country 24/7.

But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign

TDY

PCS

OPR

SOS

ACC

BDU

ACU

BAR

CIB

TAD

ABU

And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.

She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;

the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:

She wants to wring his neck;

Dye his uniform pink;

Refuse to move to Siberia;

But she pulls herself together.

Give her a few days,

A travel brochure,

A long hot bath,

A pledge to the flag,

A wedding picture,

And she goes.

She packs.

She moves.

She follows.

Why?

What for?

How come?

You may think it is because she has lost her mind.

But actually it is because she has lost her heart.

It was stolen from her by a man,

Who puts duty first,

Who longs to deploy,

Who salutes the flag,

And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,

She will remain his military wife.

And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown