An Everyday Adorable Smile

I got some more time to stamp this week. I could get used to this! This week's Color Challenge on SCS (CC225) is to use Kraft, So Saffron and Night of Navy. When I saw those colors I just knew I had to play with some of my new Unity stamps. I used the kit Everyday Adorable for this card. (I love this kit - it truly is adorable!)
The bee and sentiment are embossed with Night of Navy craft Ink and clear embossing powder. then I colored it in with a Prisma Pencil. The Primas came from my stash- I was so surprised to find a Navy, yellow AND Kraft flower in the jar. It was like they were just waiting for this color challenge so I could use them. Seriously- I don't have any more Navy flowers left- that is the only one.
Thanks for stopping by - I hope you were inspired and will return.

Stamps: Unity Everyday Adorable
Ink: Night of Navy (craft)
Paper: Kraft, Night of Navy, So Saffron, SU DP
Accessories: Nestabilities, Clear Detail EP, So Saffron Ribbon, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Primas, Navy brad

This Kit is Perfect In Every Way!

I finally inked up Unity's June Kit of the Month Perfect In Every Way. It has been calling my name since it arrived in my mailbox a couple of weeks ago but other obligations (some fun, some not) have kept me from getting to play with it. But today was not the best day for me- I got some bad news and I decided I deserved some fun time just for ME. So while I have a ton of other things including other stamping projects that I need to complete I made this card just for the sheer joy of stamping. The sentiment on the card is so true and I have been reminding myself of how good life can be despite the setbacks that have been presented today. I thought the teapot would go well with that sentiment so I stamped it on white card stock and then colored it with my Prismascolor pencils. I stamped it again on the designer paper and paper-pieced the pot only. For the layout I used the SCS Sketch # 229.
Unity has this kit available at the club price for one more day only! Be sure to check it out- new members will receive a FREE Kit that is only available for Kit Members currently. It will be available to the general public in August. It's a FANTASTIC deal with no obligaton.

Stamps: Unity- Perfect In Every Way (June 09 KOM)
Paper: Kraft, Basic Black, White, Basic Grey Urban Prairie
Ink: Versafine Onyx
Accessories: Buttons, Nestabilities, Ribbon,

Thanks for stopping by today- I appreciate every one's comments and support. Have a GREAT Tuesday!

Happy Birthday to my Sweetheart!

Sunday is my sweetheart, Jeff's 40th birthday! I love this man more than anything (even stamping) so I hope he has at least another 40 more years to spend here with me. He is such a wonderful, caring man who makes me laugh and appreciate every moment. This picture is of us at Alex's graduation. He was so proud of Alex and so happy to be there with us. Since I love Jeff so much I wanted to make him the most special card ever for his birthday. It is no secret (if you actually read my blog) that I have been trying to figure out the whole Prismacolor Pencil technique after purchasing the full set of pencils several weeks ago. Well, they came out again today for this card. Here are my supplies- although I used baby oil to blend on my last couple cards I pulled out the Odorless Mineral Spirits again today.

That's the jar I keep my Odorless Mineral Spirits in. My friend Jimmi and I split a container so we could try out the pencils. A little goes a long way- I don't see me needing to replace the product anytime soon HOWEVER I may need to purchase one of those nifty pump bottles soon.
I do think I prefer the OMS to the Baby Oil for blending although both work well. In trying to figure out the technique I have realized that less is more, simpler is better. I was trying TOO hard and achieving fantastic results with the pencils is actually relatively easy.
I chose the fruit image from Stampin Up's For Father set because Jeff is a farmer in addition to everything else he does. Currently, he only farms one acre but starting next year, he will farm at least 50. It's his first love, besides me, of course.
I also used the Faux Wood grain technique on the two panels that I placed following SCS Sketch # 234. I used a leftover scrap to stamp the sentiment on and popped it up with dimensionals. Here's the finished product:

Stamps: SU For Father and It's Your Birthday

Paper: Old Olive, Real Red, Night of Navy, More Mustard
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Close to Cocoa, White
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Brads, Dimensionals, Cuttlebug, Weathered Stripes Embossing Folder, Nestablities

I really hope you and Jeff like this card. Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

Friday Fun- It's Ball Season!

Happy Friday! This week's Challenge is brought to us by Jimmi. Her challenge is: “Take me out to the ballgame”
Make a card using your favorite (or local) baseball team as inspiration! Our local team is the Norfolk Tides and since their colors also match my son's High School I decided to use their colors for his graduation card.

But FIRST I wanted to share with you something so much FUN I could hardly stand it! Last night, Jimmi and I went to see Kenny Chesney in concert in Virginia Beach. It was the most fantastic time I have ever had! It wasn't like a concert at all- it was more like a party hosted by Kenny for about....25,000 of his closest friends. It was breathtaking. (and so was the walk to the car -we were in satellite parking it was so crowded...LOL!)

Here's Jimmi and I enjoying all the fun and music (and trying not to get drowned in beer by the drunk guy behind us....) Please bear in mind that it was about 90 degrees outside and VERY Humid. But it was still the BEST time.

OK...now time for what you are stopping by to see. Below is the card I made for Alex's graduation using Unity's "This is the Time" miniature set. One day I hope to have the Larger version too but the miniature set is perfect for card-making.

I kept it pretty simple since it is, afterall for a teenage boy. I even used my Scor-Pal to do some fancy embossing. One day I will starting using that more often.
For More Friday Fun cards check out the following blogs:

Jimmi
Kim
Kimme and

Sara (still recovering from back surgery and may not post)

Feel free to play along- just use keyword FFC38 when uploading to SCS. Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT weekend!

New Goodies and a Get Well Card

I needed to make my son's Grandmother a Get Well card and I used that opportunity to play with my new goodies from Papertrey Ink. I could spend a FORTUNE at that store their card stock is sooo yummy. :)
My Ex-Mother-In-Law recently had hip surgery so I am sending her this basket of flowers which are colored with my PrismaColor pencils. I was originally going to use this week's sketch challenge for the card, but it didn't work out when I tried to put the sentiment on the card so I change my approach.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Vintage Picnic
Paper: Papertrey: White, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, PTI Summer Sunrise
Accessories: Summer Sunrise Vintage Button and Satin Ribbon, Nestabilities, Dew Drop, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Hemp Twine, Prismacolor Pencils

Thanks for stopping by today- I am going to go enjoy the sunshine. Have a great day!

Friday Fun For Dads!

Happy Saturday! As promised, here is my Friday Fun card. This week our hostess, Jimmi challenged us to make cards for our fathers OR any other special man in our lives in honor of Father's Day. Since I need a Father's Day card soon (I am not sending it to my Dad because he will be coming to visit soon so he can pick it up IN PERSON!!) I decided to make one for my dad. Since his birthday card was more serious I decided to with something more "cute" this time. This is Airplane Riley from Hanna Stamps. Riley is so cute, I should definitely use him more often. He is colored with my new Prismacolor Pencils. I am having LOTS of fun with them.
Be sure to check out everyone else's Friday Fun cards:
Jimmi
Kim
Kimme

Feel free to play along- just use keyword FFC37 when uploading to SCS or link your creation to my blog OR one of the above blogs. Can't wait to see what you make! Thanks for stopping by!

Stay Tuned for Friday Fun

Happy Friday. I do not have my Friday Fun challenge finished yet- sorry. (it's because for once in my life I am too busy actually having FUN!!) But check back tomorrow for my card because I will have one.

In the meantime check out the other Friday Fun Blogs:

Jimmi
Kim
Kimme
Sara

Terrific Thursday-I'm back in Action after TONS of Fun!

I hope everyone is having a Terrific Thursday! I apologize that I have been MIA but it has been super-crazy in my household the past week or two. My son, Alex graduated this past weekend. I am so proud and happy for him! He is growing up so quickly and into a fine, young man. He starts an Associates Program in Automotive Technology next month. He really enjoys working with his hands and has a great mechanical aptitude so I know he will do GREAT! Best of all, he will be able to earn a living at something he enjoys. I also got to meet my SCS friend Kimme (melenaprincess) in real-life on Sunday. Her family is vacationing in Virginia Beach and Jimmi and I went out to lunch with her then spent the afternoon shopping. It was so much fun and now I am pretty broke. LOL. Now that things are starting to calm down I can get back to the thing that I enjoy to do- STAMP! I am way behind on projects (Alex, I swear you WILL get a Graduation card one day....LOL) so this week is catch-up time. I recently broke down and bought the 120 ct. Prismacolor Premier pencil set. FUN!! I could not figure out how to get ALL the colors without duplicating the set that I already had, so if you know anyone who would like a great deal on a 24ct. of Prismacolor Pencils and some miscellaneous extras- send them to me. ;)

For my coloring experimentation I pulled out an old and neglected favorite stamp set: Stampin' Up's In Full Bloom. I love this set and will never part with it, but I rarely use it but it is the perfect set to try out my new pencils.

I used Odorless Mineral Spirits to blend. I do like the look, but I also want to try baby oil. The layout for the card is this week's Sketch Challenge over on SCS # 233. I just flipped it vertically to accomodate my image. The ribbon is from a HUGE ribbon share I participated in with Kimme. The Bee is popped up on dimensionals as is the flower which I stamped twice and cut out once.

Stamps: Stampin' Up In Full Bloom and So Many Sayings
Paper: SU Rose Red, Old Olive and Raspberry Tart DP; PTI White
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, SU Old Olive
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, Ribbon, Hemp Twine, SU Word Window Punch and Horizontal Slot Punch, dimensionals, Dew Drops

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope your day is PHENOMENAL!

Friday Fun #35 and a Hip Hop Hangover!

Happy Friday. Today's Friday Fun Challenge is brought to us by Jimmi. She is currently out of town visiting with her Papa who is very ill so she will not have a sample this week, but I hope you will keep her and her family in your prayers. We would love for you to play along- just use keyword FFC35 when up loading to Splitcoast or link back to my blog so we can see your creations. Also, you can still find samples and inspiration on the other Friday Fun gals' blogs:
Kim
Kimme
Sara (she is still recovering from back surgery so she is not posting)

Jimmi chose this photo as an inspiration piece:

I used the colors for my card and I also made it a tall card to reflect the height of the photo. Here is my card:

I used Unity's Linden Branch and the sentiment is from the May Kit of the Month ...Another Sweet Day. The colors I used are all Stampin Up: Soft Sky, Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla.

Next I have a card for my Hip Hop Hangover. This card was also inspired by Jimmi but in a completely different way. Jimmi is a total Television junkie and when this stamp- Unity's Love is Everything came out she mentioned that it should really be named, "TV is Everything." So I made this card with Jimmi in mind. The paper is Stampin' Up Tangerine Tango, Soft Sky and Riding Hood Red. The Designer Paper is from Cosmo Cricket. You can't see it that well in the picture but the TV Screens have Crystal Effects on them to make them look like glass.

Thanks for stopping by today- Have a great weekend and some Friday Fun!!

Unity Addicts Challenge # 38- Color me Yellow!

Happy Wednesday! This week's Unity Addicts Challenge is brought to us byMaggie. She challenged us to make a monochromatic card. I took this opportunity to ink up my May Kit of the Month, Another Sweet Day and also to use my Prismacolor Pencils. I bought them a few months ago and I need to practice with them more. I think you will see me using them more often since I find it very relaxing to color. It just melts away my stress and takes me to a happier place. ;) When Maggie issued the challenge, I knew right away that I wanted to use the color yellow. When I think of the month of June, for some reason I think of Yellow. Yellow, to me seems to be the perfect color for a warm, Summer day. So here is the card that I came up with:

I cut the Designer Paper on angle and added faux-stitching. I used my new Cutterbee piercing tool which didn't quite work as well as I had hoped. Oh well- at least it wasn't too expensive. If anyone has one and has some tips to get good piercing with it- feel free to share! I need all the help I can get. ;)
Thanks for stopping by today- be sure to check out the other Unity Addicts' blogs for more inspiration. Have a great day!

Stamps: Unity ..another sweet day
Paper: SU: So Saffron CS and DSP; PTI White
Ink: Brown Stazon
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Nestabilities, Cutterbee, So Saffron Ribbon, White Gel Pen