Not going to CHA? Come play!!

We were chatting/commiserating on Facebook the other night about those of us not going to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) meetings in California and decided that it would be fun to do some challenges over the weekend.

We have 3 challenges for you to play with this weekend to get your creative juices flowing instead of feeling sad about not being in California!!!

1.  from Amy Ferraro Castellano: create a project inspired by your favorite CHA sneak peek collection! (keyword: PLAY1)

This is the card that I created for this first challenge....

It was inspired by this sneak peek of Lily Bee's new collection, Happily Lost...

I loved the colors in the collection and since today's sneak peek for the Unity Stamp Co. kit of the month was a cute bicycle, I thought that this would be perfect for today's card.

It seemed wrong to be inspired by those gorgeous papers and then use someone else's patterned papers on the card, so I simply layered textured white cardstock and let the colors carry the inspiration.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Feb kom (...the best is yet to be)

*cuttlebug embossing folders

*watercolor pencils

*corner rounder

*ribbon

*pop dots

Here are the other 2 challenges. So far, I haven't had a chance to play with them, but have hopes to find a bit of stamping time tonight (although my parents are here visiting so it may not be possible over the next 24 hours.)

2. from Amber Hight: use the colors of CHA (C-Candy Apple Red; H-Honey; A- Aqua) on a project (keyword: PLAY2)

3. from Christi Bryant-Snow: let the attached photo inspire a project (keyword: PLAY3)

I hope that you will be able to come and play with us!! Here is the link to the challenges on my Facebook page... HERE.

Fabulous Friday Fun with one of my favorite color combos!

Hola, Unity Peeps!! Jimmi has been in charge of our Friday Fun Challenges for the month of January and this week, she just happened to choose one of my favorite all-time color schemes... 

January 28^th – Sunny Days Challenge.  I am sure we are all tired of this COLD weather, I know I am, so lets make a card using the following colors that remind me of Summer: Turquoise, Yellow, Tan (you can add other neutrals, black, white, brown, etc.)

And here is my card...

The "tan" part of the card is actually a bronze metal sheet from Spellbinders. Dh bought me some fun spellbinders supplies for Christmas and these metal sheets were part of them...I love the effect that it has on the card and it was so easy to emboss and cut!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Melody Ross She Sprouted Wings

*Unity Stamp Co. Melody Ross She Did it Anyway

*Melody Ross paper collection

*Spellbinders metal sheets

*Nestabilities labels die

*Cuttlebug embossing plate

*Martha Stewart border punch

*lace trim

*corner rounder

And did you see that ca-ute sneak peek for the February Kit of the month?? Love those cups!!!

Be sure to go check out what the rest of the girls have made with this kit:

Jimmi

Kimme 

Sherry 

And go check out the Unity blog for the entire list of FWF participants for today!

Unity Hip Hop- Jan 27

Good morning, Unity Stamp Co. Hip-Hopping Peeps! I think that I am getting into a very spring-like frame of mind. Both my cards today are very bright and springy looking.

My first card is using this month's Kit of the Month, To the Moon & Back.

For the design of the card, I used today's Hip Hop sketch...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. To the Moon & Back

*MME paper stack

*Nestabilities dies

*StazOn jet black ink pad

*watercolor pencils

*Fiskars border punch

*brads

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

This week we are showing sneak peeks of the upcoming Feb Kit of the month, {...the best is yet to be.}

For my card, I used both sneak images from yesterday and today and then added in a sentiment from Jan's kom, To the Moon & Back.

Supplies used:

*Unity STamp Co. To the Moon & Back (jan kom)- sentiment

*Unity Stamp Co. The best is yet to be (feb kom)

*MME papers

*Martha Stewart punch and pom stickers

*watercolor pencils

*seam binding

*corner rounder

*bling

Now you need to hop on over to Emily's beautiful blog...

CHA is coming AND a new kit of the month!!!

Hey girls!!

It's hump day and everyone is heading out to California for the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA!) *sigh* I am going to make it to one of these SOON!! But for those of us staying at home, we have a little bit of fun planned with Unity Stamp Co. Sneak Peeks of the Feb. kom...

^^Here is today's peek^^

Love those lanterns. I need to go play with this and start creating something with it! Be watching around. ..We will be posting sneaks all week!

And hey, I know that some of you are readers...

 Amber Hight is starting a book club, the Chick-lits. Our first book for Feb. is Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros. I will be leading our discussions this month. I hope that you can come join us. This is a fabulous little chick-lit read that was soooo good!!!

And if you are just looking for some recommendations of some good chick-lit/romance style books, I have read some awesome ones lately...you can check them out on my book review blog...Smitten with Reading.

A Couple of Challenges...

I have been so busy reading lately (check out my book review blog HERE), I fell really behind on my blog-reading. This morning I took a bit of time to catch up and was really inspired by a couple of this week's challenges to create this card using some of my Paper Makeup Stamps...

The layout design for the card came from this week's Mojo Monday Sketch...

The colors for this card came from this week's Curtain Call Color challenge...

Supplies used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Caffeine Trip set

*Basic Grey paper (pink)

*Kaiser Craft paper (purple)

*American Crafts ticket

*watercolor pencils

*Marvy Uchida scallop circle punch

*Nestabilities Lacey Circle die

*ribbon

*pins

*StazOn jet black ink pad

I hope that you all are having a fantastic Monday!!

altered notebook...

Good Sunday morning everyone!!! 

How is it going in your corner of the world? 

It is awesome here. I am coming out from a fog from reading an amazing book series...the Fever books by Karen Marie Moning. You can read about it on my Smitten with Reading blog...soooo good!! Definitely some of the absolute best books I have read in years!!! I cannot recommend them enough!

But before I started reading those books, I had created a little altered notebook that I haven't shared with you yet.  I just got in some of those gorgeous Marah Johnson stamps in and I simply had to put them to work to pretty up this little writing notebook that I have.

This is a three-ring binder...half-size.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Art & Soul

*Unity STamp Co. Moxie

*7gypsies paper

*Basic Grey lace tape

*MME embellies

*Pink Paislee paper (blue houndstooth)

*Terrifically Tacky tape

*red glitter

*Amer. Crafts brads

*Nestabilities frame die

*hang tag from Kat's clothes

^^That tag is a tag off of a shirt that I bought for Kat.^^

I just decorated the backside of it.

Have a great day everyone! 

I am off to re-organize my stamp room to get ready for another new week of fun creating!

Jan 21 ffc

Good morning girls!! Jimmi is in charge of our Friday Fun Challenges this month and for today's challenge, she sent us a little kit of supplies...

*Unity Stamp Co. Itty Bitty A Thing of Beauty

*3 6x6 pieces of Bella Blvd. paper

*2 ribbons

and told us to create with it.

This is the card that I created. Pretty CAS for me, but I like it that way...

The touch of prisma glitter around the image frame adds just the perfect little POP and goes so well with that scalloped ribbon that also has just the tiniest bit of bling woven into it.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Itty Bitty A Thing of Beauty (Jimmi's kit)

*3 6x6 pieces of Bella Blvd. paper (Jimmi's kit)

*2 ribbons (Jimmi's kit)

*Nestabilities Lacey square dies

*prisma  glitter

*Fiskars border punch

*CTMH blush ink pad

*Palette burnt umber ink pad

Be sure to go check out what the rest of the girls have made with this kit:

Jimmi

Kimme 

Sherry 

And go check out the Unity blog for the entire list of FWF participants for today!

New Marah Johnson- Unity Stamp Co

Good morning! Today I have 2 new cards to share with you that feature one of the newest unity stamp co. co-brands, Marah Johnson....her Harmony kit.

For my first card, I loosely designed it after yesterday's SCS sketch (#316.)

Supplies used:

*Unity STamp Co. Marah Johnson- Harmony

*DCWV mat stack

*MM butterflies

*Fiskars border punch

*Terrifically Tacky tape

*fine glitter

*string

*Heidi Swapp bling

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

And here is the second card...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co Marah Johnson- Harmony kit

*Anna griffin paper

*MM envelope

*Terrifically tacky tape

*fine glitter

*martha stewart border punch

*Creative cafe button

*palette burnt umber ink pad

Now you need to hop on over to ***Emily's gorgeous blog***

Paper Makeup Stamps January Card Kit!!!

This month, Katie came up with a card kit over at Paper Makeup Stamps that could have simply been made entirely for me! ;o) I LOVE this KIT!!! Pink and Black and French?!?! Ooh La La! What is not to love!?!

So far, I have made 3 cards from my kit and I haven't even made a dent in my supplies. I still can EASILY make another 6-9 cards...at $20 for this kit, that is a SERIOUS BARGAIN!!!

Included in the kit:

22 sheets of 6x6 double sided patterned paper

8 sheets of 8.5 x 11 coordinating cardstock

1 Fairy Stamp named Cheri

4 French sentiment stamps

5 Pre Printed tags (will vary with each card kit)

4 yards of coordinating ribbon

Set of Headpins and Beads 

Glitter Flowers with rhinestone centers 

So I decided to pull out my kit and play with some of this week's challenges.

This first card is from today's CPS sketch (#201). I just turned the sketch to work with my pre-printed tag...

Supplies Used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Mon Cheri kit 

*Martha Stewart border and butterfly punches

*Bazzill bling

*corner rounder

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

Card #2 was created using Paper Sundaes sketch #45 (was from November.) They are celebrating their 1st birthday this week and have a ton of sponsors (PMS included) for you to come and play with one of your favorite challenges from their year.

Here's a look at the sketch which was posted in November...

Supplies used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Mon Cheri kit

*KaiserCraft Gems

*Martha Stewart border punch

*watercolor pencils

*corner rounder

*Terrifically Tacky taper

*prisma glitter

***********

Card #3 was created using last week's Mojo Monday sketch...

Supplies used:

*Paper Makeup Stamps Mon Cheri kit

*Martha Stewart butterfly punch

*Nestabilities scallop oval dies

*Bazzill gems

*string

Have a great Sunday everyone!