Trying to be Productive...

We have been in the house now for 2 weeks, but I am still having issues getting my creative muse to work for me. I have my room completely unpacked, but it is definitely NOT in a functioning state yet. I still need to work on having my essentials within arm's reach and even finding some of them (like my pop-dots...I cannot figure out where the heck I put those!?!)

But life does go on, whether I am ready for creating or not, so I have been working a bit on some Unity creations. Tomorrow night at 8:00pm CST, Unity is hosting another release party over in the Splitcoast forum. This time they are releasing 5 new kits and one of them happens to be my favorite new stamp kit (which makes my creative muse's disappearance all the more frustrating!)

Tonight I have just a couple of sneak peeks for you, but you will have to check in tomorrow to see the full reveals plus a couple more...

smiles,

Christi

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

...I just got buried in boxes and packing paper for a bit there. But we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and are starting to think about doing things other than unpacking...like blogging and even a bit of sight-seeing!

But first a bit about the house...I don't know if you all remember how stressed I was back in the March/April timeframe...a lot of that was because we were trying to rent a house online (without actually seeing it in person) and doing a LOT of long-distance emails between North Carolina (where I was), Iraq (where DH was), and Illinois (where all prospective houses were.) It was a bit crazy and really harried/stressful. But it all came to fruition when we walked into our house...we LOVE it!!! It could not be a better house for us...the floorplan just fits our needs perfectly! We really love the way that it is laid out and are thinking about rebuilding it again later for our retirement. How lucky is that considering we were just working/renting from photos? We feel VERY blessed.

But unfortunately, the move did not come without a cost...my PC died so we are temporarily working with the laptop as our main computer. My gorgeous red 12-cup coffeemaker also appears to be on its last legs. If you know me, you know that these 2 items are my life-blood to my daily life so I am mourning them a bit and resisting the need to replace them right now...denial is a good thing.

This is the view into our new office (it's supposed to be a formal dining room, but we prefer another room for storing books!) And that in the corner is DH's new recliner....it's soooo comfortable. We are supposed to be finding a more feminine version for me in the other corner, but so far we haven't found anything that seems just right to complement this one so we are still looking.

And here is a quick view of one of the vignette's of my stamp room. It is finally completely unpacked and I am anxious to get in there and get stamping. It has been several weeks so I hope that my muse cooperates with me.

DH actually goes back to work Monday. He hasn't done anything but move and travel since getting back from Iraq so we took a couple of days in the last week to do a bit of the tourist/relaxing thing around the St. Louis area. Of course, we had to go see the arch.

It's so good to have him home and to be having fun with him and as a family again.

The kids were watching a group of ducks by the pond in the park at the base of the Arch.

We found some new hats this week for $1...she looks so cute in them and knows it. She will pose for you as soon as you put it on her head. LOL!

Then yesterday we took the day to go visit an old pre-Revolutionary era fort located on the Mississippi, Fort De Chartres. The architecture and stone reminded us so much of many of the buildings in England and France. It was gorgeous!

At the entry into the fort...

The guys going up the tower at the entry...

Another cute new hat.... She really started walking the first day that the packers arrived at the house. Unfortunately, from that point on, she has been held more than anything so she is just now getting back to where she was developmentally with walking a month ago now that the boxes are out of her way. She is loving the stairs in this 3-story house and scaring momma to death.

Love this teen who will still humor me and pose every once in a while....

I should be around more from here on out...

smiles,

Christi

We have made it to Illinois!

Well, after a VERY long week, we are finally in Illinois (still in a hotel, but here nonetheless.) We have seen our new house (that we rented without seeing it over the internet), but it was locked up tight so we are anxious to get the keys for it in the morning to see what it really looks like.




Surprisingly enough, we are actually supposed to be getting all of our household goods tomorrow morning too. They are supposed to arrive within an hour of us getting the keys so it is going to be another crazy week as we try to get settled and unpacked. I am hoping to have our internet up and running by Tuesday evening so hopefully within a few days here life will get a bit closer to normal and I will be around here a bit more. :o) {I miss you all!}


But the Simply Scrapbook Sketch Challenges for Unity go on so I have a new sketch to share with you tonight...









This is the layout that I created from the sketch:








This is a photo I took when I was home in Texas over Spring Break. I love it's misty look, but had no idea how to show it off on a layout. I liked the overall simplicity of the layout of this sketch to show it off.


Since I took the photo during Spring Break, I felt that the spring color pallette was a good choice and used a few of the papers from the Scenic Route Lynden paper collection as well as coordinating-colored cardstocks.


I love the variety of stamps in the Unity mini-kits and used Small Elegance for this layout. The interesting {and wonderful} thing about these stamps is that for Unity's norm, they are mini's, but compared to any other stamp companies stamps, they are still really substantial and great for scrapbooking.


Supplies used:
*Unity Stamp Small Elegance
*Scenic Route Lynden Collection
*various cardstocks
*MM metal embellishments and blossoms
*Prima flowers
*white sharpie
*Zig Writer
*Heidi Swapp bling and chipboard
*Diamond Glaze

smiles,
Christi

Checking In...

Hi, everyone! I am still here. We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Alabama and now are frantically trying to get everything ready for the packers that are coming tomorrow to pack us up for our move to Illinois. It's crazy around here, but it's a good crazy. We are having lots of fun just all being together again even in the chaos.

But I quickly wanted to share with you this week's sketch for the Unity Simply Scrapbook Challenge.

With the upcoming move, I created a whole bunch of my sketches, but did not have time to create using them to make sure that they really work so they probably will all have a few modifications on the final layout...even on my versions. :o)

I wanted to do a layout about just where Kat is and her interests at age "1" and this is what I came up with. For the stamping on this, I used 2 kits: Amazing Me (the journaling tags and the number 1) and Little Labels 2 (the detail around the edge of the large circle and the band that goes across the page). The band was colored in using colored pencils.

Supplies Used:

*Unity Little Labels 2

*Unity Amazing Me

*MM Noteworthy 2 Collection

*K&Co. Amy Butler paper

smiles,

Christi

Fun Stuff!!!

I love the first day of the month over at Unity because it always brings such fun stuff!!! First, you all have got to take a look at this, the July Kit of the Month...

Is that not just the cutest kit ever?!?! I REALLY love it!!! If you love it too, you have until the 15th of the month to order it because that is when they are mailed out. There is more info about all that HERE.

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The other big news for the 1st of the month over at Unity is that Elizebeth Neuman is our Guest Designer! I love her work and can't wait to see more of it!!! Congratulations Elizebeth!!!

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We are about to head out of town for a couple of days (if I ever manage to actually get packed...LOL!) But I promise to check back in before the packers arrive on Monday. Crazy weeks ahead!!!

smiles,

Christi

And the Chaos Ensues...

Life has been crazy for the last few months, but now the real chaos begins. After a ceremony on base this coming Wednesday (we think...the AirForce is holding true to form and keeping us on our toes as we head into another move *sigh*), we are heading out to Alabama to see DH's family for a couple of days. Two VERY LONG days driving and two quick days visiting and then it will be back here so that the packers can come in and disassemble our home on Monday. I will try to check in and am desperately trying to figure out how to get my pretty new red Palm to work as a modem for my laptop (David, I think that you are my last hope on this one...I'll be calling you SOON!) so that I will be able to stay in touch and maintain my sanity.

But for now, I need to share my latest Simply Scrapbook Challenge sketch from the Unity forum over at Splitcoast.

Here is the layout that I created from the sketch...

For this layout, I used the Small Elegance stamp kit (swirl on the edges and that darling dandelion.) I created the edge detail by simply stamping the swirl and reversing the direction every time I stamped it.



For the dandelion, I added a bit of detail work with my white sharpie and flat-backed gems in the centers. The words are all Unity stamps too. The little single words along the edges of the photos are from Birds of a Feather and the title, Simply Adorable, came out of Mix Up of Cuteness.


Supplies used:
*Unity Stamp Co. Small Elegance kit
*Unity Stamp Co. Mix Up of Cuteness kit
*Unity Stamp Co. Birds of a Feather kit
*Heidi Grace paper (dandelions and embellies)
*Scenic Route paper (grid)
*ColorBox inkpads
*MM button Brads
*flat-backed gems
*Martha Stewart border punch

smiles,
Christi

Shake Friday....TOGETHER!

Many of you that have followed my blog know about Shake Fridays. These are something that we started when DH went to Iraq. When he left, he started a new super-healthy lifestyle which included eating REALLY well...no junk. Except for on Friday's when he would allow himself to have a shake. We decided that it was something that we could do as a family...just long distance, but together in spirit (besides we like any excuse for shakes!) :o)

Well, his eating plan worked...he is incredibly fit and lost about 35-40 lbs when he was gone (which btw, was never his intention...he was just trying a more natural way to reduce his cholesterol...NO ONE would have guessed that he could even lose that much weight cause he certainly was never overweight) so I am a new convert to his eating plan. I just finished my first successful week of "no chocolate or junk"...I know, it sounds like torture doesn't it, but I really haven't even noticed...which is even more unbelievable. But we are going to continue Shake Friday's so that we have a fun treat to look forward to in those weak food moments. I finally remembered to take some photos when we went out to ColdStone Creamery today...

I think that I have mentioned before that Kat is a HUGE Shake Friday fan. The hard part anymore when we go out and get a fountain drink is convincing her that she doesn't want that coke because she always thinks that a paper cup with a straw is a shake.

It's so wonderful to be able to do things as a family again. I love seeing them all together again. So go out tonight and get a shake with your family!!! {Your kids will love you for it!}

smiles,

Christi

Are you ready for the new Unity releases?

I am so excited about the new kit releases that are happening tonight over at Unity Stamp Company...and not just because I am on the Design Team, but because these stamps are so darn cute!

So far, the Unity stamp line has been aimed a lot at scrapbookers with oversized {gorgeous} images. Well, with this release, Angela wanted to give a little love to us cardmakers out there and WOW! I just love them all. There are 11 kits and they are all foam mounted to work with the acrylic blocks. The style and prices are just phenomenal...I can't wait for you all to see them! Angela will be posting the images at the end of the release party that we are having over on Splitcoast (somewhere around 11 EST.) Be sure to come join in on the fun. The party is going to go from 9-11 EST and there are going to be prizes and maybe even some discounts...

But without further ado, let me share some more artwork to give you an idea of what is coming.

Patter had posted a pre-release card sketch and this card is based upon that sketch.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Becoming Butterfly (sentiment)

*Unity Stamp Co. Floral Fantastical (New release tonight!- butterfly)

*Cosmo Cricket papers

*Adirondack Archival Black inkpad

*watercolor pencils

*ribbon from a package

*Bazzill Scallop Cardstock

This card was a really fun one to put together. As you can tell, I have had fun this week getting to know my watercolor pencils again and this little watering can is just darling! Wouldn't this be a fun card to get when you weren't feeling well? ...so bright and cheery!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Company Floral Fantastical kit

*SEI Black Orchid papers

*ribbon

*black brads

*watercolor pencils

*circle punch

*Adirondack Archival black inkpad

This is another card based upon Patter's sketch. This is absolutely my favorite stamp kit from all the new releases tonight. It wasn't one of my DT assignments, but I just had to get one of these cute little birds inky!!!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Birds of Feather

*Little Yellow Bicycle scallop paper

*SEI paper (black/white)

*Making Memories lace trim

*Watercolor pencils

*circle punches

This is my final project for the night. One of my assigned kits was Cupcakes a'la Yummy and of course, you all know that I have to do layouts so I pulled out some of Kat's first birthday photos.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Cupcakes a'la Yummy

*Unity Stamp Co. Bliss and a Birdie- June kit (oval frame)

*Heidi Swapp paper

*Watercolor pencils

*StazOn Timber Brown inkpad

*brads

If you haven't seen them, there are a couple more samples in the post below using the a couple of the new kits. I hope to see you tonight at the release party!

smiles,

Christi

It's Unity's New Release Day!!!

Yay!! It's finally here...Unity's Release Party Day! The party is tonight from 9-11 over on the Splitcoaststampers Forum and there will be giveaways, discounts, and tons of fun as well as the full-reveal of ELEVEN FANTASTIC NEW KITS!!


I have a bunch of projects to share with you using the new stuff that I will be posting throughout the day, but for this morning, I will share just a couple of them. This first layout is the one that I showed the sneak of yesterday. This layout features the new kit, Floral Fantastical.




Where's Your Nose Layout

I used four of the stamps from this kit on this layout.
Supplies Used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Floral Fantastical kit

*cardstock

*punches


*Black inkpad


*colored pencils


*making memories glimmer brads in black












My next project uses a cute little cupcake kit called, Cupcakes a la Yummy.

I am as guilty as the next stamper in having a really difficult time creating masculine cards. That's why cupcakes are perfect...not only are they incredibly yummy, but they are also gender neutral.

For this card, I stamped the cupcakes on the tan paper, colored the frosting in using my sharpie, and then paper pieced the cup using some Collage Press paper. I added a red flat-backed gem for the cherry.

Supplies used:
*Unity Stamp Company Cupcakes A la Yummy kit

*Heidi Swapp papers

*Collage Press papers

*Flat-backed gems

*Tim Holtz Grungeboard

*corner rounder.

I'll be back later with more eye-candy!!! I apologize for the wonky spacing on this post...blogger is being tempermental this morning.

smiles,

Christi

New Release Coming from Unity Stamp Co....

Hey everyone!! Unity is releasing 11 new kits tomorrow night and I have been given permission to give you a teeny tiny sneak peek...



But first a few details! The release party is tomorrow night over at the SplitcoastStamper forum. There are 11 new fantastically fun kits coming out. I can't wait for you all to see them. They are geared a bit more towards cardmakers in size, but they work fabulously for layouts today (the sneak that I am showing you today is, in fact, a layout.)



There are going to be giveaways tomorrow and I have also heard a rumor that there might be a fun discount (like 25% to the first 25 orders!?!?) And as always, shipping is $5 on every order. To keep you busy until then though, there is some fun stuff going on...

*Patter's sketch challenge (with prize)

*3 DT members are giving away blog candy (look for the posts from yesterday)

*ALL the DT members have sneak peeks up today so you can get glimpses of the fun stuff coming

Here's my sneak peek...I'll reveal the rest of this tomorrow, plus several other pieces! {BTW, a little hint for you...there are 3 different stamps shown here from one of the new kits!} :o)

Don't forget the new release party tomorrow night over on Splitcoast from 9-11 EST!!!

Smiles,

Christi