Unity Stamp Co. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun BIG new release!!!

There is a TON going on today at Unity Stamp Co. so let's just get started!! If you love to color like I do, you're going to love all the new stamps being released today - LOTSA girls and LOTSA coloring! :D I have to say there is ONE in particular AngieGirl being released today that has a hold of my heart which will be pretty clear when you see her - and that's also what I used in my project today!

Do you see what I see?! YUP, that is my very own CarisaGirl - seriously - isn't she adorable?! Angie does an amazing job creating this girls and I just love my very own. We were fooling around chatting one day with the Unity Girls and I jokingly put in my order for an Angie girl that had a big round pregnant belly, messy hair (cuz I hardly EVER do my hair these days. *giggle*) and bare feet - next thing I know, here she is! I love the sentiments in this set - especially She Procreates!! You've also got to love LisaGirl, the soccor mom and KelliGirl, the cook!!! LOVE them all!!!

(sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures - my camera is broken)

Here is my mixed media canvas using CarisaGirl. I've been creating some birth art and a pregnancy art journal and once I started coloring this stamp I knew I wanted to create something to have with me in labor. I love how it turned out - I'm going to make another one to give to my midwife as a gift! :D

And now for all the other awesome things going on today, just CHECK IT OUT:

Seriously, does it get any better?! How about those awesome new Fashionistas by Tracey Malnofski and the SASSY sentiments by Erin Schreiner!!! Of course, with every new release there is an equally awesome promotion so be sure to hop on over to the Unity Stamp Co. site to do your shopping when you're done. :D

And now you are off to Jen's blog:

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment on all the blogs and THREE peeps get a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Unity. 

Friends of True's - Swirly Spring Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the "Friends of True's - Swirly Spring" BLOG HOP! 

If you are here from Colleen Schaan's blog, you are in the right place. If you just happened onto mine you will want to head back to True's blog where it all starts. There will be a prize package donated by Inky Antics that includes  True's entire, newly released, Swirly Spring stamp line!

#11158MC, Swirly Easter Clear Set

I am so excited to be joining True and all her friends in this amazing hop to showcase her latest release with Inky Antics! I was so excited when True sent me this set above to use in my post today. I had so much fun I just couldn't stop at one card! I've been in a one layer card making mood lately so two of my cards feature that and for the last card I used some of True's new paper line along with the stamps. I don't want to chat too long because you have a lot of stops and I just want to share my projects!!!

I have been playing a LOT with Pan Pastels lately and that is how I created this one layer card! 

This card also features Pan Pastels for the sky but I also used Derwent Inktense pencils to color in the flowers. This is a new coloring medium I've been exploring recently. I love how this card turned out! That sentiment is just too cute and with all the flowers in the set, there are tons of possibilities! I just chose my favorite flower - tulips. 

This card kind of goes back to my roots of card making using Copic markers. I originally started out coloring the cross purple but then I thought OH MY GOSH, I should make them WOOD! So that is what I did and I love how it turn out. I was inspired by this beautiful pattern paper designed by Trudy to create this card. I stamped the sentiment directly on the seam binding ribbon and inked the edges with a Copic marker.

Make sure to leave a comment on every stop, to increase your chances of winning the prize package. One lucky commenter from a randomly picked blog will win all 6 stamp sets! The winner will be announced on True's Blog on Monday, March 11th.

Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Lara's blog. Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my cards today and are having a blast on the hop!

Here is a list of all of the links in case you get lost along the way.

Trudy Sjolander

Allie Gower

Sean Fetterman

Lydia Fiedler

Leah Lucescu

Linda Lucas

Bev Gerard

Dina Kowal

Colleen Schaan

Carisa Zglobicki (<---- are="" font="" here="" you="">

Lisa Lara

Bonnie Garby

Suzanne Dean

Joe Rotella

Judy Rozema

Lori Craig

Trudy Sjolander

Designed To Color & Lil' Inker Designs Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the Designed to Color and Lil' Inker Designs Blog Hop!!

This is the first stop on your inspiration journey!  We are so honored and excited that Lil' Inker Designs is our Hue's Who for the Winter 2013 issue of DTC that we just had to throw a celebration!  And because we just celebrated our FIRST year in your crafting lives, we thought having a birthday themed hop would be just the cherry on top!

So please, join the ladies of Lil' Inker Designs as well as a few sprinkles of the DTC Color and Challenge Crews.  

Complete the hop for your chance to win TWO stamps sets of the winner's choice from Lil' Inker Designs!  And of course check out Lil' Inker Designs blog for a prize as well!!!

To complete the hop, follow along the order of the hop and leave a comment on each blog's post.  Once you have done this, come back here and leave a comment that you have completed the hop.  You should only leave one comment per blog.

Prizes will be given out on March 8th.  The hop is open from March 5th to March  7th.  So don't miss out!!!

Now that you know the rules, let's get this party started!!! 

Here is my card! I absolute adore this stamp  set called Surprise. I love the vintage little girls and the matching expressions. One of my favorite sentiments is Belated Birthday Wishes because I'm forever forgetting birthdays! LOL I kept it clean and simple (I think I was channeling Lisa McKinney while I was creating!) and I love how it turned out. These would actually be really fast and easy to make a set of for a gift or if you were getting ready for a craft fair! I stepped out of my normal Copic zone and pulled out my Derwent Inktense pencils. I only have the 12 set so you can see you don't need all of them to create something cute! (Although, I am sure I will be adding to my collection as I really LOVE the look of them on kraft paper!) For their skin, I don't have a good skin tone in the 12 set so I used the peach color from Faber-Castell Gelatos. 

Supplies:

Lil' Inker Designs - Surprise stamp set

Derwent Inktense Pencils

Faber-Castel Gelatos

Water Brush

Archival Ink - Jet Black

PaperTrey Ink Kraft Cardstock

I hope you like it and thanks so much for joining us today!

Here is the order of the hop! Your next stop is Laura! 

Designed to Color http://www.designedtocolor.com

Carisa http://ladyguineveresinkyfaeries.blogspot.com/

Laura N. http://www.thecraftysister.com/

Lisa http://lisabeesponderings.blogspot.com

Alyssa http://critterlyss.blogspot.com/

Lizzie http://www.ohsnaplizzie.com

Kim  www.paperperfectdesigns.blogspot.com

Judith http://jgsnook.blogspot.com/

Susie  http://www.TheDiesHaveIt.com

Leah  http://thechroniclesoforange.blogspot.com

Mary http://maryjdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

Lis  http://mycraftblogumentary.blogspot.co.uk/

Taylor http://taylorusry.blogspot.com

Isha http://www.hobbyandideas.blogspot.ca/

Lil' Inker Designs www.shoplilinker.blogspot.com

Helmar February Challenge using Heidi Swapp Memory File

Hi everyone!

 

 

Did you know Helmar has a challenge EVERY single month and YOU have a chance to win an awesome prize package? Yep, this month we have an awesome sketch challenge and I wanted to put it into action with this new memory file folder I got in my Heidi Swapp warehouse package. I had never used them before but I can tell you right now, I want some more! Mine were the bare kind so I covered it with some Heidi Swapp papers and almost everything you see on my project is Heidi Swapp/Pink Paislee supplies and of course it is all held together using my favorite adhesives in the world: Helmar Premium Craft Glue and Helmar 450 Quick Dry!!

 

Here is the Helmar February Sketch:

 

 

Here you can see the inside of my memory file folder and how I used the sketch to display the ultrasound of our 4th baby due in June! We recently found out we're having another boy and I knew I wanted to create a keepsake with his pictures as well as some journaling to remember the day. This was no ordinary ultrasound - my husband lost his job 2 weeks before Christmas and we have been fighting for our cobra coverage ever since. His company was supposed to be paying for the first 2 months of coverage which was running out on February 8th. On February 5th, determined to get this ultrasound as I was already 23 weeks and after about 24 weeks it's a lot harder gets bigger to get all the measurments, etc. as the baby grows and honestly, I just wanted to know everything was ok with our baby.

 

After hours on the phone, I finally had insurance for 3 days and the only time they had available for an ultrasound was THAT day an hour from my phone call and the place was 45 mins away. LOL This mama was determined so I quickly called my mom to watch our other kiddos and rushed to the appointment. Since I had no way of getting in touch with hubby and I knew he wouldn't be able to come anyway (first time we'd have this ultrasound without being together) I grabbed a note card for the tech to write down the gender of the baby so we could all find out together as a family later that night. I kept that as well and tucked it into a little pocket on the opposite side of the memory folder.

 

I honestly couldn't believe it as our oldest opened the envelope and read what was on the notecard! I immediately burst into tears of joy as I really had hoped to give our son a little brother. I just know how special that is seeing the special sister bond between our 2  girls. It didn't take long for my hubby to start planning future boys vs. girls water balloon fights and other fun ideas now that as he says "we're even!" He was pretty outnumbered there for a little while. *giggle* We feel incredibly blessed right now and I'm pretty excited to meet this little guy in about 15 weeks or so when he decides it's time!!! Until then though, now that I'm finally feeling normal (I had a rough 1st and 2nd trimester with morning sickness - worst I'd experienced in all 4 pregnancies!) I'm just enjoying these last couple of months together, feeling him jump, kick and get the hiccups!

 

These ultrasound pictures never cease to amaze me! I loved seeing our little one bouncing around inside me as I was feeling him. In this picture you can clearly see his profile, a little hand above his head (he really likes that position) and his leg. The ultrasound tech kept saying our little guy has some really long legs! LOL Not surprising as my hubby is well over 6 ft tall. ;)

 

I just wanted to share a close up of how I used the February Helmar Sketch Challenge. I hope you will play along - you can check out all the details HERE!!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Chalk Art with Unity Stamp Co!

Hi everyone!!

Have you seen or heard about Chalk Art?! It's pretty much catching on in the craft world and I've seem some of the original chalk art that just blows my mind!! I've always admired beautiful lettering and it takes that to a whole new level! Well, thankfully, for someone like me, I don't have to brush up on my (non existant) lettering skills because you can achieve gorgeous chalk art like effects with your STAMPS!!! Here are a couple of my first attempts using stamps from Everyday Fairytale {KOM 12/12} & All Hearts and Love {KOM 1/13} 

 

Isn't it fun?! This one is my favorite - it is fun to add pops of color with colored pencils in this technique. I'm working on a video that will be ready next week on the two different techniques I used to get these cards so be sure to subscribe to UnityTV so you don't miss them or anything else!!

 

And now there is a LOT to go over that you DO NOT want to miss at Unity Stamp Co so be sure to check it ALL out:

 

NEW Exclusive Wood Mounted Stamps - SPECIALLY Engraved for Collector's!

St. Patty's RELEASE! Take a peek at ALL THESE on the WEBSITE right HERE. they are NOW AVAILABLE!

Also RELEASING! TWO new ANGIgirl Friends!

These girls are ADORABLE and will be RELEASING on a Monthly BASIS! Watch for the NEXT RELEASE on March 7th! Get THESE 2 NEW girls in the meantime! $10 all weekend long! We also have NEW RELEASES from Donna Downey!
CLICK HERE. NEW Donna Downey Stamps are not available at a discounted rate from Unity. You will also find these in STORES near YOU! :)

Here is the MOST fun part of the weekend if you are a Kit of the Month or SMAK Member!

YOU GET ALL past Kits for ONLY $18.

YEP!

YOU DO!

and if you are not a MEMBER YET...

YOU can SIGN UP TODAY and also be approved to buy the PAST KITS for $18!

PLEASE NOTE:

You are NOT ABLE to BOTH SIGN UP and SHOP FOR PAST KITS at the SAME TIME!

It is EASY to SIGN UP - and you MUST do that FIRST.

Once we see NEW SIGN UPS we will go approve you to shop for PAST KITS!

Sorry we cannot combine your MEMBERSHIP SIGN UP Kit and your PAST KITS ORDER.

You MUST do this as TWO SEPARATE transactions and you MUST pay shipping for BOTH TRANSACTIONS.

Thank you in advance for your understanding with this process.

Here are your LINKS!

Kit of the Month CURRENT MONTH MEMBERSHIP

http://unitystampco.com/shop/kit-of-the-month/

PAST Kits of the MONTH

http://unitystampco.com/product-category/kit-of-the-month/past-kit-of-the-month-2011-2012/

S.M.A.K. CURRENT MONTH MEMBERSHIP

http://unitystampco.com/shop/smak-kit/

PAST S.M.A.K. KITS

http://unitystampco.com/product-category/s-m-a-k-kit-by-unity/past-smak-kits/

Enjoy taking a peek at all of the kits!

THERE are SO MANY all the way back to 2011!

2008, 2009, 2010 RETIRED!

{if you are a member we will bring these back once in awhile on nostalgic thursdays at unity!}

 

 

 

Phew, so now it's time to check out Eryn's Blog - thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT Thursday!!

Hip Hop Thursday with Unity Stamp Co!!!

Hi everyone!

 

This week we've got LOVE on our mind so I hope you enjoy our Valentine Themed Hip Hop! I am trying to make Valentines for my whole family which is really easy to do with the January Kit of the Month and this cute stamp from this weeks Stamp of the Week. I love Kraft with red and pink so that's what you'll see in both of my cards. Don't forget to leave comments along the way as we'll choose THREE random winners announced on Saturday!

 

Smiling Hearts - Stamp of the Week

(you can still get yours through Saturday!)

All Hearts and Love {KOM 1/13)

 

I hope you enjoyed my projects today! Have you heard??!? NEW at Unity! Limited Edition WOOD ENGRAVED Unity Stamps. You can read all about these little beauties HERE on the Unity Website - are you a collector? GET YOURS FAST! :)

 

 

Now it's time to hop on over to Eryn Hannig's blog - I bet she has something super sweet waiting for you!! Have I mentioned how much I love this chica?!

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

7 Kids College Fund - Hexagon Challenge

Hi everyone! I'm so excited about our new challenge happening right now at 7 Kids College Fund Challenge Blog. I'm sure you've noticed hexagons popping up all over the crafting world right now from pattern papers, stamps & embellishments! I've used pattern paper and embellishments in my project today as we're asking YOU to use HEXAGONS to join us in the challenge this week.

Here is my card:

I'm new to Kraftin Kimmie stamps and I'm totally head over heels in love with them. I only have 2 at the moment but that is DEFINITELY going to change soon! You can see all the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps that 7 Kids College Fund carries HERE. I hope you'll join us in the challenge - as always, up for grabs is a $20 shopping spree to anything 7 Kids College Fund carries!!

Here is a close up of the image I colored using Copics. I also listed what the colors I used below! I have to admit, I was a bit unsure whether to color her eyes or not, it just felt off leaving them stark white with every thing else so I did give a light shadow using T1/T0 just to give them a little bit of depth. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I couldn't have done it without the help of the amazing fans we have on the Designed To Color Facebook page - if you haven't followed us there, I hope you will!! It's a fun place to be! 

COPIC LIST:

Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E11, R20, R01

Hair: C3, C5, C7, C8, B39, B41

Birds: BG000, BG01, BG02, R05, R02, YR15

Dress: R32, R35, R37, E09

Gloves: R30, R32, RV21

Wings: C0, C1, BV20, YG11

supplies:
Seraphina Kraftin Kimmie Stamp
Echo Park 6x6 Everyday Eclectic
Copics
Atyou Glitter Pens
Copic Xpress It Blending Card
Memento Tuxedo Black
Studio Calico Hexagon Wood Veneers
Washi Tape
Dovecraft Tea Party Lace Doilies
Distress Ink Old Paper
Bazzil Kraft Paper
Helmar 450 Quick Dry
Helmar Premium Craft Glue
Helmar Zap Dots

Thanks for stopping  by!

7 Kids College Fund Whimsy Stamps Blog Hop!!

The 7 KIDS Design Team has put together our first-ever blog hop featuring Whimsy Stamps, and you have the opportunity to win this awesome prize package!

Whimsy - Summer Fairy

Whimsy - Apple Blossom & Milkshake Baking

Hero Arts Notecards

Basic Gray 6x6 Paper Pad - Sweet Threads

Dew Drops - Spring Bloom

Bone Folder

This is the first of many monthly blog hops featuring great product lines from 7 KIDS and spectacular inspiration from the DT! Just start at the 7 Kids College Fund Blog and follow along, here is the order of the hop:

Carisa Zglobicki

Colleen Holmes

Hazel Brown

Karen Gauthier

Kim O'Connell

Lizzi Graf

Sharm Nidyanandan

Wondering how can you win? Just make sure you comment on EACH of the DT blogs as ONE of them (they don't even know) will have the prize hidden on their blog! Come back on Wednesday when we'll announce the random winner. I hope you have fun and be sure to invite your friends to join in the fun!

And here is my card that features honeybee & buzz stamp by Whimsy Stamps! Omgosh, is she a cutie or what?! I had a blast coloring her up with Copics and stickler. What fairy is complete unless she sparkles, right? And the bits and pieces of October Afternoon were just the perfect papers and embellishments.

Here is a close up of the stamp. Seriously cute! It has been forever since I've colored so don't look too closely. ;) I'd forgotten how much I missed and loved just sitting down to color an image.

Supplies:

honeybee & buzz stamp by Whimsy Stamps

Copics

Atyou Glitter pen

Stickles

Core'dinations cardstock

Copic Xpress It Blending Card

Cryogen Paper

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Dovecraft Tea Party Circle Doily

Liquid Applique

Sew Easy Twine Neutral

Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher

American Crafts Punch

Helmar Premium Craft Glue

Helmar Zap Dots

October Afternoon Farmhouse Flower Sack, Woodland Brad & paper (collection unknown)

Washi Tape

One Little Word: Peace

After a week of soul searching about what I wanted my 2013 word to be, it came to me. You see, I wanted the opposite of what I struggle with most which is worry & fear. I had an entire list of words:

brave

courage

faith

bold

calm

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

it went on.....

and then in a whisper it came......peace. 

You see, peace is the very OPPOSITE of fear and worry. 

the very definition of peace: 

freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

Freedom happened to be in my list as well......and I would say that worry & fear are very disquieting and oppressive thoughts.

so.....it came to me, after a restless night plagued with both worry and fear....I kept asking for calmness....peace.

For the bible tells us, 

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Just so happened, I also had a couple of bible studies I picked up at a Women of Faith conference in 2011. I took them off my bookshelf and looked at them, there again was my word:

I am looking forward to doing this bible study as I reflect on my word. I have always admired a simple life...a simpler time. I think these go hand in hand and I'm very excited about this. When you find your word, you just....know. 

I will share my One Little Word journey with you. If you are doing this, will you share your word with me, too? I'd love to follow along side you on your journey. Leave me a comment with your blog and your word!

In peace,

Hip Hop with Unity Stamp Co & Phyllis Harris NEW RELEASE!!

Hi everyone! If you've just arrived from Andrea's Blog you are in the right place! Wasn't her card awesome?!  

 

I told you I would be back with more posts this year and here I am already - joining Unity's weekly Hip Hop!!! Plus, I have excting news, if you love the Phyllis Harris line of stamps as much as I do, there are FOUR more releases coming out today! Watch the UNITY FACEBOOK page and WEBSITE for the FUN Phyllis Harris promotion this weekend. - starting at 3 p.m. central time, all PHYLLIS HARRIS will be UP FOR GRABS with a phenomenal promotion!

 

For my card today, I used the set Easier with YOU by my side. I just adore this little girl, but I have to admit, I am a little bit intimidated coloring large animals like that horse! I just took it bit by bit until I was done and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Plus, it was very relaxing to color this entire image. I was so happy by the time I was done and all my worries were colored right away!!

 

Here is a close up of the coloring. I hope you enjoyed stopping by my blog and are excited to see the rest of these fabulous stamps!

 

Your next stop is: ERYN who I just adore!!

 

Supplies:

Unity Stamp Co - Easier With You Phyllis Harris Co Brand stamp

Copics - Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20; Horse: T3, T5, T7, T9, 110, E17, E59; Clothes: E50, E53, E55, RV52, RV63, RV34; Grass: G40,  YG03, YG63, YG67; Sky: B34, B40, 0

Carta Bella 6x6 Paper Pad "Beautiful Moments"

Tim Holtz Paper Distresser

Copic Xpress It Blending Cardstock

Robin's Nest Dew Dros

Helmar Premium Craft Glue

Vintage Twine by Papertrey Ink

Core'dinations Cardstock