Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and Merry Christmas!! I just have one more card for Christmas- I made three of these last night. (nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?) I am not sure I am totally in love with them- I think I should have used plain white card stock instead of shimmer white- but it was Christmas Eve and I had to get them done- so here is the card:

Stamps: Unity- Trinity Trio; Stampin Up- Warm Words

Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate chip, Shimmer White; Ski Slop DSP

Ink: Brown Stazon

Accessories: Top Note die, Brown 5/8 Grosgrain Ribbon; Red Stickles

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog today- I know it is a busy time of year. Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful weekend!

Last Minute Christmas Madness!

I'm a procrastinator for sure. This week I have been working like crazy to get everything done (and I'm not finished yet...) on time. Some of the projects I have been working on are Christmas cards and ornaments for my co-workers. I finished in the nick of time (last night) and gave them out today. I think they liked them. :)

My first card is made with Unity's Trinity Trio stamp. I love this stamp- I don't think I will ever get tired of it. I stamped it onto white card stock twice and colored the trees with Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and tempting turquoise (I used my ink pad and blender pen to lighten it up a bit since Soft Sky was too light and Tempting Turquoise was too dark...) Then the trees were cut out and popped up onto the original image. Silver Stickles decorate the large tree because for a girly Christmas Card like this- you gotta have some sparkle!

Stamps: Unity Trinity Trio

Paper: Kraft, Regal Rose, PTI White, My Minds Eye Be Merry Trim the Tree DSP

Ink: Black Stazon, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: Nestabilities, Regal Rose Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Stickles, Dimensionals

My next card was made special for my co-worker that loves Polar Bears. The image is from Inkadinkadoo Christmas Characters set. The bears are popped up for dimension and I added snow with white craft ink as well as with my white gel pen. I touched up the main image with Stickles in Xmas Red and Frosted Lace for a little extra oomph. (I have a hard time not adding some sort of glitter at Christmas time...I can't help it!)

Stamps: Inkadinkadoo: Christmas Characters

Paper: Kraft, Ski Slope DSP, Baja Breeze, Real Red

Ink: Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Real Red, White

Accessories: Nestabilities, Stickles, White Gel Pen, Red grosgrain ribbon

Here are the ornaments I made with the same Inkadinkadoo stamp set. I made a total of 12 ornaments and I am giving them as gifts to my co-workers and neighbors.





I have more projects to work on and if I get them done in time I will post those as well.

Merry Christmas!!

Friday Fun #15, Unity Addicts and a little bit if Hip Hop Hangover!

Phew! Time to get things done for Christmas is running short so I had to combine a few challenges into one. I am sure you understand because as you are reading this you probably realize there's at least one more gift you have to buy or make, Christmas cards you meant to make and send out over a week ago still not finished...a pile of laundry....school parties for your kids, etc. Yeah, I know my fellow stamping friends "get it." :) I know I am not alone in my procrastination and feeling of being overwhelmed.

First this card is for our weekly Friday Fun challenge in which I am the hostess. My challenge is to make a New Year's card. That's right. Besides, you know that if you haven't made your Christmas cards by now and mailed them you may as well just make them a New Year's card because it just ain't going to happen. LOL. Please play along with us and use keyword FFC15 when uploading to Splitcoast. You can find more New Year cards on the following blogs:

Jimmi: The Stamping Shopper

Kim: Papertastic Creations

Kath: Blame it on the Mojo

My card also is for this week's Unity Junkies' challenge. Amy was our hostess and she chose to have us make a monochromatic card. I love this challenge because it's fun and easy! Thanks, Amy!

I also tried a new technique on my card- Ghosting. (I told you I was fitting it all in one, didn't I?) I stamped the Dream Tree from Unity in Pacific Point onto Glossy White Cardstock as well as the sentiment from SU. Then I stamped the snowflakes from Unity's Batch of Bitty Fun set in Versamark all over the glossy cardstock. Next I brayered Baja Breeze on the whole sheet and wiped the snowflakes dry. Then I assembled my card and added ribbon and a snowflake charm I've had for a long time with nothing to use it on.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful Holiday!!

Friday Fun # 14

It's the 14th week of the Friday Fun challenge my Sassy friends and I do every week. This week it was Jimmi's turn to pick the challenge. She challenged us to use our Rubber Romance Stamps. You can still play with us even if you don't have any Rubber Romance Images- just use any Sassy stamp you have! We would love to see your creations so just use keyword FFC14 when uploading to the SCS gallery.

For more inspiration check out these blogs:
Katherine: Blame It On the Mojo
Kim: Papertastic Creations

Thanks for stopping by!!

Stamps: Rubber Romance

Paper: SU: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red; Water Color Paper

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Black Stazon, Blush Blossom, Close To Cocoa

Accessories: RHR Taffeta Ribbon, Martha Stewart Border Punch, SU Word Window Punch, Cuttle Bug Holiday Embossing Folder, Nestabilities, Aqua Painter, Silver Cord, Silver and Lime Green Stickles

Friday Fun # 13 and a Hip Hop Hangover

I have lots of stamping goodies for you today! It's the 13th week of the Friday Fun Challenge with my Sassy Friends. This week Kim at Papertastic Creations is our hostess and she challenged us to make a card with snowflakes without using the color blue! We would love for you to play along- just link your card on my blog and use keyword FFC13 when uploading to SCS. You can find more Friday Fun on the following blogs:

Jimmi: The Stamping Shopper
Katherine: Blame it on the Mojo








Stamps: Unity Snowflake JOY
Paper: SU: Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink; PTI White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: PIP Taffeta Ribbon, Circle Punches, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Silver Stickles



Now for Hip Hop Hangover cards. The first challenge was to use something gold on your card. I used Sheer gold ribbon and three gold brads.


Stamps: Unity: Ho Ho HO and Do Not Open
Paper: SU: Always Artichoke, Riding Hood Red, Basic Grey Wassail
Ink: Riding Hood red
Accessories, Nestabilities, Gold Brads, Sheer Gold ribbon


The second challenge was to use a phrase as the focal point on your card. I also combined this with the sketch challenge for the week (SC205)


Stamps: Unity: Jesus is the Reason
Paper: Riding Hood red, Basic Grey Wassail
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: RDH Ribbon, Nestabilities, Primas



Thanks for stopping by today!!

Unity Challenge Wednesday- My First Scrapbook Page

It's Wednesday and time for the Unity Junkies' Challenge. This week Joy chose our challenge and it is to create a scrapbook page. Gasp! I have never, ever made one- but I wasn't backing down from the challenge. I chose to scrap a very special day in my life: BLACK FRIDAY 2008!!!

LOL! (what did you think I was going to say- my wedding??...NOT!! LOL!) I used the Unity stamp set Shopaholics. I think it is definitely appropriate (especially the sentiment) don't you?

My friends Jimmi, Tiffany and myself got up at 2 am to go shopping this year- and it was GREAT! The picture of all three of us is at 4 am getting ready to go into our first stop- JCPenney. It was sooo cold but we were too buzzed on shopping adrenaline to care. :) The second picture is the back of Tiffany's GMC Acadia. You almost couldn't see out the back window for all the bags. It was great!!

Anyway- thanks for stopping by and checking out my first attempt at scrap booking. It was actually a lot of fun and I may try it again one day. Thanks for the challenge, Joy!!

Friday Fun Challenge # 12

I promised you that when I was recovered from the Black Friday madness of the morning I would post my Friday Fun Challenge card. This week Katherine at Blame it on the Mojo is our hostess and she issued a sketch challenge. Play along with us!! Just link your creation here on my blog or use keyword FFC12 when you upload to the SCS Gallery.

I turned my card on the side to compensate for the image I used. I knew when I opened this paper I HAD to use this stamp. It is Sleigh Ride from Unity. The only way to use it was to flip the sketch. I also added a circle element for my sentiment. But the basics of the sketch are the same- the tilted rectangle and 3 embellishments on the corner.

For more Friday Fun Creations check out the following Blogs:

Kim: Papertastic Creations

Jimmi: The Stamping Shopper

Stamps: Unity: Sleigh Ride; SU: AYC 1

Paper: SU: Baja Breeze, DSP, Real Red; PTI White

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa and Black Stazon

Accessories: Rhinestones, Nestabilities, Baja Breeze Ribbon, SU Circle Punches and Scalloped Circle Punch

Thanks for being patient and stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful weekend- I will be back to work on Sunday but this sure has been a SUPER week off! Yay!!

I've been tagged!!

My friend Jimmi tagged me the other day and so I must reveal 7 random facts about myself. I hope I can think of that many....

1- I like quiet. Sometimes I get up (on my days off) and go to my stamp table and surf the internet or stamp without turning on the tv or radio. Also, while I love music sometimes when I go home from work I just ride in silence. I will be half way home sometimes before I realized that I never turned the stereo on.

2- I have to wear pajama bottoms to bed almost every night. I cannot stand my knees to touch each other when I lay on my side at night- it's like nails on a chalkboard to me

3- I can't stamp or relax or do anything fun if there are dirty dishes in my sink or my floor needs vacuumed. I honestly think I need medicine for this- it's getting ridiculous

4- I used to be a major shop-a-holic. Now that I am divorcedI have had to tone it down considerably. I still miss it sometimes....

5-I HATE getting up early even though I have a job that requires me to be there at 6 am

6- Even though I drink wine frequently it only takes about two glasses to get me "toasty" It is also the only alcohol that will give me a hangover if I over do it.

7- I am seriously trying to think of something else and I can't. I'm not that interesting. LOL!

Ok. NOw I am supposed to tag 7 other people....but I am pretty sure at this point everyone I know in the blogging world (which is limited for me) has already been tagged. So if you are reading this and you have NOT been tagged- consider yourself tagged now! Post a comment with a link to your list so we can learn more about you! :)

Also- I am out in the Black Friday madness this morning but if you come back later I will have a Friday Fun challenge card for you. If you don't want to wait for me to come to my senses and come home before you can play- check out my friend Katherine's blog- Blame it on the Mojo. She will have all the deets for ya! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope everyone is having a fabulous day and eating lots of yummy food. My thoughts and prayers are with all my friends and family today- I am grateful for each and every one of you.

Here is a card I made for my brother and his girlfriend. I will be spending Thanksgiving with them today and I wanted to show my gratitude. I also wanted to play with my new toy- the Top Note die from Stampin' Up. he he. ;)

Stamps: Unity KOTM (Sept) Friendship, Love, Miracles; SU Holidays and Wishes

Paper: SU: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Hawaii Papaya DSP

Ink: Brown Stazon

Accessories: SU Top Note Die, Chocolate 5/8" Grosgrain

Unity Challenge Wednesday on Tuesday!

This week we are doing our Unity Challenge a day early since we will be Hip Hopping on Wednesday and stuffing ourselves with Turkey on Thursday. :)

This week Carole was our challenger. She told us to make a Thank You Card (in honor of Thanksgiving) and to make it Red and White (her son's favorite colors). Be sure to check out the other Unity Addicts (or Junkies) blogs for more inspiration. (see sidebar) We want you to play along so use keyword USC14 when uploading so we can find your creation!

My card didn't turn out exactly as I had pictured it but here it is anyway. I used Unity's Simply Said and the Monarchial Flourish Frame.

Paper: SU Riding Hood Red, RDH Prints DP, Shimmer White

Ink: Riding Hood Red

Accessories: RDH Taffeta Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

Friday Fun # 11

Wow- I can't believe it's the 11th week of the Friday Fun Challenge my friends and I do every week! This week I am the hostess. In honor of Thanksgiving I am challenging you to make a Thank You card. We would love for you to play along with us- just use keyword FFC11 when uploading to SCS and/or link your creation here so we can find it easily. For more Friday Fun inspiration check out these blogs:

Jimmi: The Stamping Shopper

Kim: Papertastic Creations

Katherine: Blame it on the Mojo

I am going to give this card to my very sweet and lovable boyfriend. He has been so generous to me this week and he is taking me to the beach for a mini vacation.

Stamps: Unity Beach Day; SU Small Script
Ink: Baja Breeze, Creamy Caramel and Brown Stazon
Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Naturals Ivory and Murfield DSP
Accessories: Foam tape and Hemp twine

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!!

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!! Ashley over at Heart Hugs sent me this wonderful goody pack. She gave this away in honor of her Blogaversary. Thanks so much, Ashley- I will have a lot of of fun with these goodies. :)

I also have a card to show you- I am trying to make up for lost time. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on my stamping and blogging.

This card uses one of my new Unity Christmas stamps Trinity Trio. I stamped it twice on white card stock and colored with my markers. (Riding Hood Red is actually colored with my ink pad and blender pen) Then I used Crystal Effects on the "ornaments to make them shiny. The Designer Paper is Basic Grey Figgy.

Thanks for stopping by- be sure to check out Virtual Stamp Night on Split Coast! I am hoping to get all my chores done in time to play a few challenges. It's CRAZY FUN!!!

Friday Fun # 10

Hi- I am back up and running again! Yay! To celebrate, I have some Friday Fun for ya. This week, Jimmi is our hostess at The Stamping Shopper. She challenged us to make a Christmas card without using any Red or Green. What a great challenge!! You can calso get more Friday Fun Inspiration here:

Papertastic Creations

Blame it on the Mojo

Here is my card:

I stamped All Santas Reindeer from Unity with Brown Stazon-on onto Naturals Ivory CS. I then colored him with my SU markers and detailed the antlers with my Gelly Roll Stardust pen.

Stamps: Santas Reindeer from Unity; AYC from SU

Paper: SU: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Naturuals Ivory; My Minds Eye DP

Ink: Brown Stazon

Accessories: Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Gelly Roll Stardust Pen

Thanks for stopping by!

I Miss Everyone

I just wanted you to know why I haven't been stamping and posting. My computer has been having issues since late last week and I am still working on it. (I am actually posting from my blackberry YIKES!) - hope to fix it today but until I do I just wanted my stamping friends to know that I miss you both here and on SCS. Hope to be back to normal soon!

R U Voting?

Tomorrow is election day here in the U.S. I hope you are voting as this may be the most important election of our lifetimes. Normally, I would never even dream of voting Republican or suggesting anyone else should either. This time however that is exactly what I am suggesting.
There are just too many red flags where Obama is concerned. He has associated himself with questionable people such as William Ayers and now evidence of an association with Rashid Khalidi has surfaced. And what about his former pastor? He was friends and followed him for years but denounced him while he was campaigning for the Democratic nomination.
You can certainly make your own decision tomorrow and that is why our country is so great. The question marks surrounding Obama however make only one choice an option for my vote- McCain-Palin.

Have a Happy and SAFE Election Day.

More info: http://thestampingshopper.blogspot.com

Friday Fun # 8

Happy Friday!!! This week's Friday Fun challenge is hosted by Katherine. She challenged us to use the following colors on our card:

Rose Red
Regal Rose
Always Artichoke
and a neutral if desired.

You can find more inspiration for this challenge here:

Jimmi: The Stamping Shopper
Kim Muhl: Papertastic Creations


I have a Hip Hop Hangover (even though I left early I reall think I DO have a hangover from it...Ah!) so I used this image from Unity. It is Joy Words. You can buy it as part of a set or as a single.

I also decided to try watercoloring. I used to do it a lot but haven't lately so I am quite a bit rusty on this technique. I think I threw about 7 or 8 attempts in the trash before this one finally took (somewhat). I also got to play with Liquid Applique for the first time. How fun!!

I would love for you to play along with our challenge. Just link your card on one of our blogs and if you upload to SCS use keyword FFC8. Thanks for stopping by today- I hope to have more stampy goodness for you once I get some energy. :) Maybe tomorrow!

Unity Wedneday- HOPE Challenge

It's Wednesday and time for the challenge I do with some fellow Unity Junkies (see sidebar for links to their blogs). This week Cyndi is our hostess and she chose a recipe challenge based on HOPE:

H- have a sentiment about HOPE or with HOPE

O- have ribbon ON your card

P- have something PINK on your card

E- EMBELLISH with something that starts with M for MAMMOGRAM

Here is my card and how I met my requirement (I must tell you though the embellishment that starts with an M threw me for a loop):

H- My sentiment is from Unity's August KOTM: Love Friendship and Miracles

O- I have turquoise ribbon

P- I colored my Angel Pink

E- I embellished my card with MONEY!! I shined up two dimes and stuck them on my card like brads or buttons!!

Feel free to play along with us on SCS. Use Keyword USC10 when uploading to the SCS Gallery. Thanks for stopping by and see you at Hip Hop on Thursday in the Unity Forum.

Hey Chick- Happy Monday!

Happy Monday to ya! This weekend was a huge stamping weekend for me. Saturday my friend Jimmi and I went to a stamp camp THEN went to a stamp show! It was so much fun. Saturday night was the Mini VSN so I got to play some more.



Today I wanted to share the card I made Sunday evening for Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge. This week Unity is sponsoring the sketch and it is a really good one. Of course I had to play along!



I made really girly card for this challenge with Unity's Hey Chick set.- I love this stamp set and you can really bling the image up. I used Black Diamond Stickles to jazz up my chick. I think I am going to send this card to someone who LOVES pink. ;) Thanks for stopping by today- I hope your week is off to a great start!

Stamps: Unity Hey Chick

Paper: SU- Basic Black, Shimmery White: K&C DSP

Ink: Black Stazon, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink

Accessories: Black Satin Ribbon, Nestabilites, SU Photo Corner Punch, Primas, Black Button

Friday Fun # 7- Roll with the Punches

Happy Friday!! This week for the Friday Fun Challenge that I do with three of my Sassy Sistahs it was my turn to hostess and choose the challenge. After a rough work week last week, I got this crazy idea in my head that it should be "Roll With the Punches." Pretty clever, huh? What that means for the challenge is this: You need to use a Wheel AND at least ONE Punch on your card. We want you to play along too- just link your card up here and if you upload to Splitcoast use keyword FFC7 so we can find it easier!

Check out these blogs for more Friday Fun Cards:

Jimmi: Stamping and Shopping

Kim: Papertastic Creations

Katherine: Blame it on the Mojo

This week in addition to the challenge I decided to try something new. I saw a lot of great clear acetate cards in the Unity Gallery this week and I had to try it myself. I used the SU Jumbo Wheel Stars and Swirls (the only wheel I had that looked remotely Halloweeny) and carefully WHEELED it with Black Stazon onto an Acetate card base. This card was my second attempt- the first one smeared very badly. I put a layer of Vintage Violet underneath the card front (to help hide all the glue dots) and layered some DP and black on the front. Then I stamped Edward (oops I mean the vampire) and Jacob (I mean the werewolf) from Unity's set Boo Crew and colored them. I PUNCHED them with the 1 1/4" circle punch and layered them with a punched out circles of Vintage Violet and Black scalloped Circles. The sentiment which is a Unity Single is stamped in Vintage Violet. I added ribbon to the top just because I love ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you play with us today! HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Unity Challenge Wednesday- the Recipe Challenge!

Happy Wednesday! This week our Unity Blog challenge is hosted by Lori and she is having uss make a recipe card. The recipe to follow is: Something/anything Clear (Button, crystal effects, acetate, etc.), ribbon, and to use something from your LATEST Unity Shipment.



For something clear I decided to try something new- stamping on acetate. Ribbon is easy for me- I love it and put it on almost every card so I chose my Riding Hood Red Taffeta. My latest Unity Shipment was my Kit Of the Month- Thinking about the Good Times.



My card is a 4 1/4" square card since the images from this kit are a little smaller than most Unity images. I stamped the flourishes from the KOTM on a 3x3 white CS square in Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette. Then I stamped the Sentiment: "We are the Music Makers & We are the Charmers of Charms" with black Stazon onto my 3x3 Acetate square and attached it to my card stock layers with pewter brads. I added my ribbon to my base then added some primas and voila! My card is done. I had a hard time getting a good picture of the card it looks better IRL.




Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out the other Unity Challenge Junkies' blogs (see sidebar) and feel free to play along. Just use keyword USC09 when uploading your card to Splitcoast so we can find your card! Happy Wednesday!!

It's time for some Friday Fun!

Woo hoo! It's FRIDAY!! I am happy for several reasons. It's been a long(er than normal) week at work; I am off tomorrow and I have "date" tonight with my sweetie! AND It's time for my challenge with my Sassy Sistahs Kim, Kath and Jimmi!!

This week Jimmi is the hostess and you can get all the details on her blog The Stamping Shopper. We would love for everyone to play along- just use the keyword FFC6 when you upload your card to SCS. I can't wait to see what everyone creates this week. Also, be sure to check out these blogs for more inspiration:

Katherine: Blame it on the Mojo

Kim: Papertastic Creations

Jimmi issued a Sketch Challenge this week. She created it herself and I am so impressed with it. I didn't know she had this talent- but I'm not surprised. She's got talent oozing out of her perfectly manicured fingertips!!

I flipped which side I put my scalloped circle (you could use a flower instead too) because I thought it worked better with my main image. I used the October Kit of the Month from Unity Thinking about the Good Times. Inside I stamped some images from the August KOTM Remember Happiness. (Love was never promised to be easy; I love you) I don't have a picture of the inside- I already wrote my sappy message to the recipient. Sorry!! I wish I had taken a picture first- I would love to show you just how versatile the sets are. They mix and match so easily! Unity has started offering the past KOTM kits, but they are much more economical if you join the club (about half price). So join the club already!! You get a lot of stamps for a little bit of $$.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will play with us and have some Friday Fun!! :)

Stamps: Unity October KOTM Thinking about the Good Times; Greatest of Friends

Paper: SU: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Hawaii Papaya DSP PTI White;
Ink: Brown Stazon, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango

Accessories: SU Circle and Scallop Circle Punches, Nestabilities and Cuttlebug