Hip Hopping from Illinois again!

Kat & I are back home and oh my goodness, my to-do list is very long! 

But first thing on my list is HIP HOP!!! Yippeee!!!

I received the Hodge Podge of Happiness kit in while I was out of town so I have barely had time to touch it, but I know that I am going to use this kit TONS!!! You girls did an amazing job picking out the images. This kit ROCKS!!!

I made a quick little card using that cute little rainy day gal and colored her using my watercolor pencils. The layout of the card is a version of this week's MojoMonday sketch (#95.)

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Hodge Podge of Happiness

*Basic Grey Lemonade Stand paper collection

*watercolor pencils

*Fiskars border punch

*brads

*American Crafts ribbon

Now you need to hop on over to the amazingly talented...

***Miss Julie's blog***

*** BTW, I haven't forgotten the drawing for the Birdie Inspiration kit...I just haven't had a chance to do it yet. The winner will be up on the blog in the morning.

Just a *little bit* late...

Still blogging with you from Texas...

Today I have a card to share that I made for my niece's birthday (who's birthday was in May, but she was VERY forgiving about the lateness of it!)

This was a super-quick and easy card, but I think that it turned out pretty cute...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Everyday Adorable

*K&Company Wild Raspberry collection

*watercolor pencils

*Memories brown inkpad

*brads

*ribbon

*Bazzill Kraft paper

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Our time in Texas is about to end. :o( But that means that I will get to see my guys again and hear about all of their outdoor adventures from New Mexico and I am so ready for that. I have REALLY missed them!!! They are swinging by here tomorrow night on their way home to Illinois to pick up the canoe that my parents have stored for us for the last 6 years...the joy of military life! Then we all head home Wednesday (the guys driving, Kat & I flying.)

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Some things that I have learned while home...

1. Hummingbird nests are tiny! My parents have one that you can see right out their kitchen window.

2. My family is VERY competitive when it comes to Farkle.

3. Jacob and I need to get some rainboots so that we can play in the puddles with Kat this fall.

4. I know what new lens I need for my camera now for football season (I'm planning on Jacob doing more than just warming the bench. Thanks for the advice, Dave & Kara!!!)

5. I need my guys around! I miss those 2!

6. There is a way to use my phone that is much easier and simpler (I've only had it a year and a half. 5 minutes with my brother and I know 100% more! I am so NOT techno saavy!)

7. I know what I am doing for my niece for Christmas so maybe I will actually be able to get it to her on time!?!?

8. My addiction to Facebook is a multi-generational family trait! I'm in good company!!!

In other news, I got all my fabric for Kat's bedding today!!! I will share photos of it when I get home where I can upload my photos!!!

My Summer Project...

Do you have any big summer projects planned?

This is my summertime project....

This is Kat's new bed and as you can see, it is not a normal size for today's bedding. It's about 100-150 years old and is about the same size as a cot. I figure it will be perfect as a toddler bed and then will graduate to a bench that I can use for decorating in my part of the house when she moves up to a full-sized bed. But for now it will be hers and we will decorate it as a daybed.

My plan is to create a plastic mattress cover (since we still have potty-training to go), then I will customize a mattress pad and sheets to fit the bed.

The new color scheme for her room is based off of these gorgeous pillows that I bought at Target. I plan on doing a simple patch quilt with *maybe* a ruffle edge and a whole bunch of matching pillows. (I am thinking along the style of what Alicia does with her patchwork.) I just have to find some perfect fabrics for the project. If you have any fabric suggestions, PLEASE HELP by commenting and letting me know (an added bonus of commenting is that it will put you in the drawing for this stamp kit that I am giving away when I get home)...

We continue to have a fabulous time in Midland. This morning Kat went out in the driveway in her rain boots and spent about an hour splashing in the puddles from the overnight sprinklers. Papa even joined in with her. I cannot wait to upload the photos and share with you all!

Nana held an absolutely fabulous tea party for the girls. You are going to die when you see those cute photos. Mom went all out and even picked up gloves, hats, and the perfect dresses for the party. SO DARN CUTE!!! I have taken about 600 photos since I have been here so it is time to get into serious scrapbooking mode for the rest of the summer! :o) LOVE THAT!

I hope that you are having a fabulous weekend!!

HipHopping From Texas!!!

Hey there HipHop Fans!!!

How's everyone doing this week? I am hopping from fabulous (but extremely HOT) Texas this week. Kat & I are at mom and dad's enjoying some family time which we just don't get enough of on a regular basis, while the guys are out in New Mexico backpacking (which means that I have no right to complain because at least I have air conditioning!)

Have you seen Unity's new alphabet stamp kit, Framed Alpha?!?! OMG, I am IN LOVE with this kit!!! Such the perfect size alphabet for cards, scrapbooking, anything....and such a cute, yet still classic font.

I LOVE IT!!!

Alphabets are so awesome for cardmaking because you can create ANY sentiment to create the perfect card! This card is for my hubby. I plan on hiding it in his luggage when he deploys. Inside it says, "keep it safe..."

That cute little heart is from the incredible July kom...I know that you all are counting the days until it arrives on your doorstep!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Framed Alpha

*Unity Stamp Co. July kom: A Pocket Full of...

*Basic Grey papers

*Martha Stewart border punch

*Signo Uniball white pen

*ribbon

*scallop deco scissors

*Bazzill

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Speaking of the July kit of the month, have you seen that there is a super-cute little kit, Stylin Stars, that you get free this month if you sign up to be a new member of the kit of the month in July? I loved this particular star...it reminds me of some styles from the 80's and this pink & purple combo just said happy & fun with a bit of retro-80's style too. The sentiment is from the July kit of the month.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Stylin Stars

*Unity Stamp Co. July kom: A Pocket Full of...

*Little Yellow Bicycle paper collection

*Fiskars Apron Lace Border punch

*eyelet lace trim

*brads

Now you need to hop on over to...

***Jimmi's Blog***

Mojo Monday on Tuesday (almost..)

Today's the day!

Kat and I are headed to Texas to visit my family! I cannot wait to see them all. There is just something about going home...it's wonderful!!! I cannot wait!!!

I created this card yesterday using this week's Mojo Monday sketch (#94) and the July Kit of the Month from Unity Stamp Co. I love this kit...it is just so useful. Every little stamp works perfectly for your project. I LOVE IT!!!

And did you see?? If you aren't a member of the kit club yet, if you join this month, you get that GORGEOUS stamp kit FREE!!! (You can see it down at the bottom of the kit club page.) OMG, I love that set and will have some fun to show to you later this week using it!!!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. July kom: Pocket Full of...

*Basic Grey Raspberry Lemonade

*ribbon

*buttons

*Bazzill

Thank you so much for stopping by and if you missed it, there is a giveaway posted in the blog post below this one!!!!!

Fashion Sense and a Pay it Forward...

This is the second post for today (I know, I have nothing better to do with trying to go out of town tomorrow... lol) so if this is your first time visiting today, there's another post below here.

First, I had to show Kat in her ensemble for the day as we were walking out the door. Now is that girl styling or what? ;o)

Second, I got some incredibly sweet, gorgeous mail today from the amazingly talented Tanis!!!! OMG, this girl has more talent in her little pinky. She is one of the incredible artists for Unity Stamp Co. and is in her own right an incredible papercrafter (regularily published, dt's, etc.)

Lately she has been making these incredible bookmarks that I just adore and have been gushing a bit on her blog because you know- They are awesome! So today I got a fat envelope from Tanis and immediately my heart started racing because I had an idea what might be in it... 

LOOK AT THIS AMAZING ARTWORK FROM TANIS!!!!

So stunning! Be sure you click on them so you can get the full impact of their beauty. Tanis is so talented. THANK YOU, TANIS!!!!

And just in case you are an blog/art skimmer and don't read the text (not that any of us ever do that, I know! ;o)...

The artwork in this post is from the incredibly talented Tanis because she is just a sweet gal! (go give her some love on her blog!!!)

So to celebrate a bit of fun mail, I want to send some fun mail to one of you. I am going out of town until the 15th. I will continue blogging the entire time that I am gone and then when I get back, I am giving this kit, Birdie Inspiration to one of my blog commenters. All you have to do is comment on any of my blog posts from now until the 15th and you will be entered to win this gorgeous Unity STamp Co. kit.

Monday Mumblings...

Yippeee! It's Monday...which means that early (and I mean REALLY early) tomorrow morning I will be winging my way home to visit my family in Texas with Kat. I cannot wait...now to just get ALL of the stuff on my to-do list done. **eek**

I have been working to get cards done so that I could continue to have blog posts all this week. Today's card is from this weeks CPS sketch (#123.)

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. July kom: A Pocket Full of...

*Collage Press paper collection- Knave of Hearts

*Fancy Pants Paper (green)

*MM paper (damask ledger)

*brads

*StazOn Jet Black inkpad

*eyelet lace trim

*Marvy Uchida Scallop oval punch

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I know I really shouldn't encourage her, but there is a music video on Noggin about rain boots.  Kat got it in her head that she REALLY needed some boots so we went boot shopping yesterday (and yes, stopped off for a Frosty too!) There is just something about a little one in rain boots that I love...just too cute esp. when they totally clash with her outfit. She now has a new shoe obsession...

And just to prove that she comes by her fashion sense naturally, I turned around the other morning and this is what I saw. I was VERY happy that I keep the camera by the computer...LOL! I love that goof!

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Remember....

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!!!

I hope that you have lots of fun planned for the day. 

A few friends.

Some good eating. 

A bit of sunshine.

TONS of FUN!!!

But just remember that your freedom to do so came at a price.

Raise your beer today in honor of a soldier...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Unity in America (available only at Memory Making Crafts)

*Unity Stamp Co. Worn Stars background (on sale this weekend)

*watercolor pencils

*Basic Grey paper

*silver brads

*Bazzill Kraft

*embroidery thread

Have a 

SAFE & Fun Holiday 

everyone!!!

A bit of Christmas today...

Did you see this on the Unity Stamp Co. blog this morning??? A new monthly kit exclusively for stores... can you believe how cute this is?!? I love it and know that I am going to be urging my favorite retailers to carry it...

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My thought process... if I actually start my Christmas cards now, I may actually get them sent out this year. Think that will actually work for me? LOL, no probably not. The better idea would be to just go upstairs and finish the assembly of last year's Christmas cards. *eek*

But anyway, back to today's blog post. I have been having some fun playing with Unity Stamp Co. new Christmas stamp kit, Bright & Merry Winter Wishes. This card was done using the sketch from Mojo Monday this week (#93.)

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Bright & Merry Winter Wishes

*K&Company Christmas collection

*Spellbinders die-cut

*May Arts velvet ribbon

*scallop deco scissors

*corner rounder

*white brads

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And here is my second card. I was trying for a more elegant look with the black and white effect... still not too sure that I achieved it.

I had some clear little plastic snowflake charms that fit this snowflake stamp perfectly so I added it and a flat back gem to the stamped snowflake to give it some extra dimension. It's hard to see it in the photos, but it is a pretty cool effect in person.

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Bright & Merry Winter Wishes

*PinkPaislee paper (blue)

*MM paper (black & white stripe)

*Spellbinders die cut

*plastic snowflake charm

*flat-backed gem

*silver string

HipHopping into July!!!!

Welcome to Hip Hop featuring the July kom....

 

This kit is so cute and so perfect for summer. I know that I am going to use it tons! When I sat down yesterday to do my project, I knew that it would be perfect for these bubble photos of Kat and my mom. There really isn't a story to tell here besides simply pretty day fun so it's a pretty simple and straight-forward layout.

This layout was created from a sketch, but now I can't figure out who's so I apologize for not giving the credit. If you recognize the layout, please let me know!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. July kom- A Pocket full of...

*Unity Stamp Co. Just My Type

*Fancy Pants paper collection

*prima blossoms

*corner rounder

*pop dots

*white pen (signo uniball)

Now you need to hop on over to...

***Wendy***

1st of the Month...

Whoa! How is it already July 1st?!?! The summer is simply flying by. But the fun news is that the first of the month means the reveal of the gorgeous Unity Stamp Co. kit of the month and the announcement of our Guest Designer Contest!! Yippee!

This month the contest is based upon this really cute sketch by Jennifer Buck...

You can find all the details about the contest in this thread here. Please come and play because there are some great perks to being a guest designer (can you say FREE STAMPS???)

For the contest, you are supposed to use May or June's kit of the month, but the design team gets to use July's (yes, the one that was just revealed today!!!)

This kit is so darn cute! 

Here is the card that I created from the sketch, but I did reorient the layout to fit lengthwise...

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. July kom, Pocket Full of...

*K&Company Wild Raspberry paper collection

*watercolor pencils

*Doodlebug brads

*Fiskars Apron Lace border punch

*Marvy Uchida Scallop punches

*ribbon

Go check out what the rest of the design team did with the sketch...

Jeanne Streiff 
AJ Otto 
Amber Height 
Maren Benedict
Kimber McGray 
Julie Campbell 
Jennifer Buck 
Lisa Henke

Yummy Homemade Ice Cream...

We got an ice cream maker this week for our anniversary (thanks Mom & Dad!) This is something that we have wanted to do for several years, we just never got it done so we went out and bought this one. It is a dual-use ice cream maker....it can be electric OR it can be a hand-crank model. It also makes a ton of ice cream...4 quart capacity! 

We started it out with the electric crank on it, but then someone thought that it would be okay to let Kat help with the water (I'm not saying who...I think that the photo speaks for itself) and she wasn't quite as careful as she should be so we decided that it would be prudent to let the motor dry out before we used it....

She was VERY handy with the ice...

This one spent most of the time crushing the ice on the patio with the hammer...LOL! 

Then the cranking began. It actually wasn't that bad at all and only took about 1/2 as much time as the book said that it would.

And darnit, there is supposed to be another photo here, but if I add it in now, then you won't be able to click any of these to make them bigger so you will just have to take my word at it and imagine how cute  the photo is... 

The maker was very squeaky when it was being cranked and Kat truly thought that it was music. She danced and clapped almost the entire time it cranked. So funny and sweet!!!

And here it is done! It was so good. We wanted it fairly soft so that we could drink it like a shake (much less messy with a 2 yo!) 

...and everyone enjoying their shakes...

...thumbs up from Jacob...

He liked it too! 

We still have a huge tub of it in the freezer leftover. Unfortunately Ben made the mistake of looking at the nutritional content of the cream this morning...5 fat grams/Tbsp and there are about 3 cups in here. And that's not including the half and half, 5 eggs, or milk or sugar that is also in it. I think that the rest will be eaten by the kids since I am not sure either Ben or I can eat anymore no matter how good it tastes...LOL!

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So last night, I felt like making something to go along with my ice cream theme for the blog this morning and just happened to have that cute Retro BBQ kit still sitting out on my table. Since I will be heading home next week, I felt the need for a new summery bookmark for my travels (I am thinking positively that Kat will let me read on the plane...I can at least hope, right?)

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Retro BBQ

*October Afternoon paper

*Fiskars border punch

*Marvy Uchida scallop oval punch

*ribbon

*watercolor pencils 

*Memories brown inkpad

Have a fantastic Monday!!!