The Scrappy Chick

Festive Friday with Unity

OK, so everyone seems to be doing Festive Friday...lets get going early on those Christmas cards and projects that we all love to make but seem to put off til the absolute last minute...I know I am NOT alone in this!!  So I am jumping on the Festive Friday bandwagon and we'll see how it goes:)

But first, a bit of Housekeeping: the preview for the 3 new CC DesignsHalloween sets start tomorrow...and you do NOT want to miss those...these sets are all run to the mailbox squeelin' cute!!  We will feature one set each day for the next 3 days, then end with a party in the ATS fourm on Tuesday night!!

AND, if thats not enough, have you seen that Amy Rysavyhas her own line of stamps now??  They are being released by CC Designs, so that means I get to preview those for you too!!  Yippee skippee!!  Look out for that on Sunday!  But in the meantime click on Amy's name above for a peek today!

Today I am featuring a set from Unity Stamp Co  since I am the September Guest Designer, can I get a HIP HOP??!!  This is one of my favorite sets (do I say that about all the Unity sets?)...Christmas Joy...a set of 5 adorable images that are so much bigger than they seem (hint: look at the measurements on each stamp on the web page) and they are so fun to color!  Terrific for cards, or a scrapbook page!  So I have one of each for you today :)

  This stamp is probably my favorite image in the set...great for adding lots of sparkle and bling!!  I wanted some non-traditional colors today though so I pulled out my old Christmas paper from SU! last year and borrowed those colors: Sage, Celery, Soft Sky, and Artichoke.

I stamped the joy in Palette Noir onto Papertrey White and then used my Circle nesties to emboss only the circle size that I wanted.  Then I went over the embossed line with a circle coluzzle template and cut just the part where the word was not.  after trimming that out, I mounted it on some circles cut with the next size circle nesties:)  cool, huh?

Its colored with a mix of mainly copics, but I needed a touch of the artichoke so I had to pull out an SU! marker for that.  Then I went back with Frosted Lace Stickles and jazzed up  the dots and berries and ornament top...even the highlighted line on the candy cane "y".  Enlarge the image by clicking directly on it and its easier to see the shimmer, but I will also include a closeup pic here:  

Pretty cool,  huh?  I am such a braggart today, sorry.  It must be the leftover giddy mood from yesterdays Hip Hop!!

The ribbon at the top is all from Stampin' Up!: Certainly Celery wide, narrow Always artichoke, and Soft Sky double stitched (retired).  I then added a snowflake brad that is wrapped around the knot:)

Before I show you the page, I wanted to add... head over to the Unity blogfor more samples from me today...including a cool 6x12 page that I made!  What is that you say?  Something new and trendy...I was at Patter's sketch blog  last week and saw this size layout and it just spoke to me, KWIM??

ALSO:  Yesterday I know I added that Unity was supporting a cause with the Hip Hop Thursday orders..but guess what?  Angela hopes to do a new cause EVERY week!!  I am so blessed to be a part of the Unity family this month!  Unity is such a caring and loving group!!  If you still want to give to Operation Jonathan...head HERE to donate and to read the details.  don't know how long the donation button will be there, but it still is as of lunch Friday:)

OK, sorry to be so long-winded today!  On to the page: This came about as a CASE of one of my own cards that I wanted to turn into a scrapbook page.  Same set as above, different colors. 

 

This time though I used eh holly, tree, and ornament.  (Again you can click on the pic to get a closer image)  The borders are cut with jumbo scallop scissors...before I got that AWESOME new scallop border punch from SU!  The "believe" stamp is another fav...just can't use it on EVERY page, now can I??  The stamp kit is also from Unity called Believe...gorgeous font isn't it?!!

OK, so I guess I need to quit typing so I can get some more stamping done!  Thanks for popping in today!  Have a great weekend :)

-Cyndi

Scrappy Sunday

My favorite new set from the Fall/Winter Stampin' Up! catty...hands down its Just Jawing!  (well at least for this week, LOL)  I have been dying to create this page all week but have had too many other things to do, but I finally got it done today!  I just love the new PP too!!  SU! is finally getting back in the groove:)

For the layout of the page I used a sketch by Shanna Vineyard from over at Triple the Sketch,  a sketch blog owned by my blog buddy Patter.  This one is atually from a week or so ago, but it seemed just right for my photos and the skull.  The baby sized skulls at the bottom of the page are punched from the Ghostly Greetings DSP that I also used for all the larger pattern paper elements...loving all that Black and Basic Gray together with just a POP of color!  Oh yeah baby!

And check out that awesome kiwi button down at the bottom fro the new Button Bouquet...also SU!  I carried on the dotty theme from the webs and swirls on the paper by using my white gel pen and randomly adding some lines of dots to the large circles.  I wanted to keep this baby all Stampin' Up! (which I haven't done in a while), but otherwise I would have added some fun purple glitter to the skull eyes!  (I may go back and do that before it hits my book) 

OK< I am out for the night...check back in tomorrow for some news, bwahahaha!  -Cyndi

• Supplies: (All Stampin' Up! unless noted)

• Stamps: Just Jawing, Taffy alphabet

• Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black, Whisper White, Ghostly Greetings DSP

• Ink: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Elegant Eggplant

• Accessories: Round tab punch, 3/4" circle punch, Button Bouquet, Earth Elements Buttons, white gel pen, Elegant eggplant marker, Kiwi Kiss striped ribbon, Eggplant Ribbon, Gray ribbon (stash), Curvy Cutter (EK Success), C1 copic marker for shading

Scrappy Sketch Sunday

Good Morning!  I am back after a couple of weeks off with the next scrappy sketch for you!  Just a couple more weeks til my kids are back in school and life gets on a routine again and I will go back to weekly with these, I promise!

You know the drill by now <wink>...if you want to play along please send me a link so we can all see what you created!  Feel free to tweak the layout to fit your photos...or to just use one page.  Even I can't stick to my own sketch.  But I was pretty close this time :)

This week run over and check out my gal Lynn's sample...Libby and Heather both had a crazy week.

The first page turned out to be my favorite of the 2 by far.  I used the awesome Cogsmo paper that my buddy Heather (different heather) got me.  It is so perfect with these pics from Tomorrowland/Buzz.   I only used the papers and some buttons...thought the little cut out was perfect for an embellie.  The caption on this page reads... "SPace Ranger Spin...Our entire family's favorite Disney ride! "  And that is the truth...we would go late at night when most of the normal parents of little kids had theirs already tucked in for the night...and we could ride the kiddie rides over and over!  That is my best-kept Disney secret!

 

 

 

 

Here is page 2 for ya...I also pulled in a bit of chipboard for this one.  I used the pretty new monogram letters from CTMH...you get a bunch of different fonts of the same letter (of course I had to have the whole alpha!)  I also like that they are white chipboard and easier to color than the kraft color that SU! carries.  I simply took asponge dauber and a classic ink pad and voila!  Instant color!

OK, so now its your turn!  Go create!  Have a fab Sunday and Happy Scrapping!    -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: none (gasp!!)
• Paper: Tangerine Tango, Blue Bayou, Real Red, Bali Breeze (SU!); Cogsmo PP (Cosmo Cricket)
• Ink: Blue Bayou, Tangerine Tango (SU!)
• Accessories: buttons (CTMH &SU!); chipboard (CTMH), sponge dauber; Curvy Cutter (EK Success)

Never Forgotten

OK...bear with me this month...my cute and bright projects WILL be back!  But in honor of the Armed forces, and in memory of 9/11 we will have a bit of a salute here this month.  Here is my first card for this month using the awesome new sets from H&M Stamps.  Heather is releasing 2 stes on the 10th of August...HooRah and HooRah Sentiments...if you purchase both sets $5 will be donated to a special cause in the military...you can read more about it on her blog----> HERE.

For this one I focused on the flag image...there are so many different ones to choose from in this set...but I had to start somewhere!  I inked it up twice then pieced it back together.  I finally had a great use for my last cute star clip thats been hiding out in my stash!

Supplies: H&M Stamps HooRah & HooRah sentiments; Reminisce PP; SU! cs; Real Red & Brilliant Blue

I also put together a page using these same stamps.  The pic is of Lt McClary who was a motivational speaker at a convention I was at.  His story is phenomonal and so is his message.  We were all given his book "Living Proof"...the story of a young man full of life and outstanding in sports who went off to Vietnam and lost an eye, an arm, and had 30+ surgeries in order to live.  He has since devoted his life to The Lord's message while still serving the military.  A true life hero.

I have to say also that those of you who have left me stories of your heroes are truly pulling my heartstrings!  I won't respond to them all, but I am reading them all.  We have all been so blessed by the everyday heroes among whom we live.

Thank you all for stopping in today, remember to go to the previous post and leave me a comment for a chance at the blog candy!  Happy Sunday!     -Cyndi

CSS23: One Mission

{I'm sorry I am late.  I have had no internet late night or this morning...urgh...finally back on}

Here is the sketch for the week.  And as usual...even I have veered off from the original, so feel free to interpret it to fit your needs!  I wanted something long and squiggly for the "lightening bolts" but that is all I could find on my shape list...so bonus to anyone who actually can/does use the bolts, LOL.

This is week CSS23 if you upload to a public gallery...also please send me a link as a comment to this post if you play along :)

This is my 2nd attempt at the sketch...I like it way better.  I pulled out some pics from our annual Texas Roadhouse Managing Partner conference and this fun and fresh Scenic Route kit that I had from an online Scrapbbok KOM.  See, I am still trying to use up the stuff hiding in my stash!! 

Here are a couple of closups:

I used the graph pattern paper and the spiral punch from SU! to create a journaling piece.  I also did some bullet-type journaling around the entire page and over the title.

And this is the fun chipboard 'gear' that came with the kit.  I inked it with a red pad using a sponge dauber.  tabs and gear source unknown...sorry.

 

 

 

 

Here is the first page attempt.  I used somne pics of my cat Roxie when she had her claws removed.  She was so pitiful in her little "casts" and everyone babied her.

All items on this page were from the CTMH kit Blue Ribbon.  The swirls stamps are featured with the western paper kit, but I don't remember the name.  The chipboard letters i LOVE...the new monograms...only 3.25 for each letter and you get like 7 or 8 differnet sizes and fonts for each letter.  Way cool.

 

Anywho, thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to stroll over to See what Lynn and Libby have created for you :)      -Cyndi

A bunch of Layouts

I have a ton of scrapbook pages to share with you, but first...

Christine over at All That Scraps has outgrown her business home and is moving this weekend!  She will now have room for lots more products and wants to know what YOU want her to carry.  Head over to the ATS blog and leave her a comment with your wishlist.  She is picking a random winner on Tuesday to win a $25 gift certificate to the store!!  Just in time for the next new release from CC Designs...August 4th!

Now on to the pages.  I am not going to do a ton of explaining, or I wouldn't be able to share them all.  So email me if you have a question, k?

The first is for the Unity Simple Scrapbook challenge from this week  over at SCS.  This is Christi's  9th sketch already!  (SHe just moved too so send her some love!)  I have loved using these sketches :)  This one I turned into a two-pager so scroll down for the other half.

I used my fav Floral Fantastical for the leaves on the background page...I love that they look like rub-ons!...and for the other small elements.  The {heart} sentiment  (and the jounaling block) are from the new Its the Little Things July Kit of the Month (only available for 1 more week!!).  The sticker letters are American Crafts..the PP and puffy stickers are Fancy Pants "Floral Chic" line.  I used my new Pacific and Baja Breeze pads from SU! for the stamping and sponging.

This next one uses Unity stamps also.  I used my new Worn polka dot alphabet that I have been simply drooling over for 2 months!  I also pulled out the KOM from July again...using the owl, mushrooms and a journal stamp from the June KOM.   I had a ton of fun with these pages as I pulled out the trusty sewing machine again!  All those circles are zig-zagged on....yep, all of them!  The paper is from Crate Paper..the Brunch line.  Buttons are CTMH...the red ink is the new RidngHood Red from SU!  I dotted the centers in with a green copic to match the PP.

Now on to some really old layouts.  These are all pages that had been stamped during my classes or crops but had no pics on them.  I matched some up a while back and got around to completeing a few today.

This one might look kind-of familiar.  The left page was CASED from a 6x6 page in the SU! catty a couple of years ago.  I made it bigger and added a 2nd page.  It was the perfect colors for these pics of Taylor from when she went to the Modern Dance program at NCSA last summer.  She "hates" to have her picture taken, but still loves to pose.

This was an original design (with the help of my awesome friend Heather P)  that was created for one of my fundraisers last year.  I loved the page but wasn't sure what to do with it!  I found these photos from the day after Christmas last year with Michael playing his new guitar (sister got Guitar hero from Santa...he got an extra guitar)

OK< thats it for tonight.  I have more, but I'll share those another day!  Have a great weekend.  I hope to be back tomorrow, but if not check in on Sunday for my Scrappy Sketch!  Thanks for visiting!    -Cyndi

Fishing, Scraps, & Blog Candy

So what do fishing and scraps and blog candy have to do with each other??  Nothing!  But today they are all part of this post!  Here's a peek of the fishing page and then on to BLOG CANDY!!

I'll tell you more about it below ;)  It is time for some goodies for one of my readers...I haven't done any in a while.  Please leave a comment on this post (including your posting number) by Friday at 11pm  EST.  So what do you have to do?  Tell me whats on your ipod right now...or   what cd have you bought recently?  I need some new tunes to download so just give me some suggestions!

Thats it and I'll let you know on Saturday:)  Oh, you want to know what you win??  here's a peek at that: 

There is a new unmounted stamp set from Stampin' Up! (Sidekick sayings hostess set) , some 6x6 Fall Flowers DSP, a pad of PP from K & Co, a bunch of ribbon and 2 COPIC markers so that you can give them a try!! 

Now...I am back to the topic of scraps.  I know you are sick of hearing this this week...but I am on a mission!  I am trying to make cards with pieces from the scrap basket, and I am trying to force myself to use scrappin kits that I ordered way back when that have just sat there.  For this page I picked a kit.

Actually I picked the kit and told myself that I WOULD use it no matter what.  I wasn't really fond of the copper sticker letters or the chipboard pieces or even the patterns on the PP...too blah for me.  so I had to head off to my pics to see what might work. 

What I found was a pile of pics from Rachael's camping trip last summer with the Greene family.  These 2  pics were the right color for this page so I went from there.  The large circle was PP already in that shape which made that easy-peasy!!  did you notice that I actually pulled out the trusty old sewing machine for this one??  <<Gasp>>  I think it may live on the table for a while so that it gets used more often.  Its not that I don't like to sew on my pages or cards...the monster just takes up too much space in an already cluttered room.

Then all I did was use the pieces  that came in the kit and add a bit of jornaling.  Then I remembered the fishing rod in the new  "Cozy on Up" set from H & M Stamps.  Tada!!  Just what it needed :)  Thats it for now.  I will have some CC Designs cards for you tomorrow and I may sneak in a bit of Unity tonight...my last order just arrived!

Thanks for stopping in!  Happy Tuesday :)     -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Cozy on Up (H&M Stamps)
• Paper: Leather (Bazzill), White (Papertrey), PP (We R Memory Keepers)
• Ink: Palette Burnt Umber
• Accessories: sticker letters (Scenic Route), Chipboard shapes (We R Memoary Keepers), copper brads (SU!), markers, sewing machine

CSS22: Michael

 OK, here we go!!  The 2 pager first :)  From the minute I drew the sketch I knew that I wanted to use this fun paper from Kaleidoscope that I have had for like 2 years!!  I had no idea what pics I was going to use, but started laying it out anyway.  The page started on Soft Sky..then I pulled out these pics of Michael and decided to change the background to white.  (See, I never adhere anything until the whole thing is basically done...I change my mind a LOT!!)

The other thing that I knew I wanted to use was the fun little "Remember when" stamp over in the corner.  Its a Unitystamp from the kit "Bliss & a Birdie", the June Kit of the Month.  It has been begging me to get it inky all month!

Its such a fun little stamp.  It was kind of getting lost in the pale but oh-so-funky green, so I sponged the edges with some blue to help it pop a bit.  (thanks to Faithfor reminding me that I have a whole drawer full of sponge daubers that I have been neglecting).  I also stamped the image again on a scrap of the pattern paper and pieced the arrow back onto the image for a little extra somun-somun.  The circle stamp is again from the fun "Crcle of Thanks" kit from Unity...I stamped it on the orange PP, then randomly colored in a few of the dots with a white gel pen.

The hugely fun "M" is from a pack of chipboard that I picked up 2 years ago at CK Convention...it is from Rusty Pickle.  I have the whole alphabet and I have been seriously hoarding it!!  Shame on me, it is too fun to hide away!!  I covered the M with some of the same PP and then did some major sponging on the edges so it would pop out!!  The rest is pretty self-explanatory...I added a bunch of buttons, some clips, and ribbon then spelled out the rest of his name with CTMH letters that I just love!!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Check back for some serious BLOG candy this week...it is finally that time!!   Have a great Sunday and happy Scrapping!!     -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Bliss& a Birdie, Circle of Thanks, Amazing Me (Unity); Boutique alphabet (CTMH)
• Paper: WHisper White (SU!), Kaleidascope PP (MME)
• Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal (SU!); Kiwi, Breeze (CTMH)
• Accessories: chipboard M (Rusty Pickle); buttons (CTMH & Doodlebug); Autumn Terracotta clips (CTMH); Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain (SU!); white gel pen (SU!); glue dots; Curvy Cutter; Xacto (Cutter Bee)

the Scrappy Sketch is back!

I am back with a new Scrappy sketch!!   I meant to take off just one week, which turned into 2...sorry.  I will do every other week for the next couple of weeks...it is much easier on me and my cohorts til the kids go back to school!

The basics...please play along with us!  No need to follow the sketch to a tee...none of us ever do...it is just a springboard for your creativity!  You can use one page or both or even turn it into a card if you want!!  Just come back and link up what you created as a comment to this post so we can all see it!  If you upload to a public gallery like Splitcoast use keyword CSS or CSS22.

Heather is still chasing the kids in the waves at her summer cottage, so check back in at her blog in a week or so when she goes home.  But for today you can blurf on over to Lynn's corner of the web to see what she cooked up...AND I would like to give a big shout out to Libby, who will be joining us in our scrapping!!  Libby is a long-time bloggin' bud and I am thrilled to welcome her to our little "sketch team"!!

My page is ready to go, but of course my post isn't!  I am busy typing it now and it will be up shortly!  Hop back over in just a few!!

Storing my Unity Wooden Cassettes & a Layout

  Does anyone remember Patterr'spost last week that linked HERE...and showed you how to make your own Clip-it-Up??  (You haven't been???  well you just need to boogie on over and check it out!)  Pretty cool and great directions!!  Well, I kinda made the idea waaaaay easier.  I bought this Baker's rack a while back and had intentions of hooking stuff to it.  Well, guess what?  The side of the unit is the PERFECT place to hange all of my Unity stamps that are mounted on the thin wooden cassettes!!  I'll show you another day what I've done with all of my un-mounted ones.  (What I will do as the collection grows, which it IS doing...no idea!!)

But anywho, Is this cool or what?  Cost >>>less than $5!!  All I bought was a box of jumbo paperclips.  I split them open right above the loop with the wire cutter on my needle nose pliers that came in my SU! tool kit (did anyone know it had a wire cutter??  It took my 12 year old daughter to show me that...DUH!!)  Then they hang right on the loop!!  Here is the closeup:  

 Kinda cool, huh??  I am so stinkin proud of myself for figuring this out!! The space was already there and it is perfect...they are still almost in reach and better yet...in VIEW!!  Thanks Patter for leading me to that blog!! 

The original reason I got this rack is I was running out of room...yes, on the huge wall of built ins!!  still not enough storage!  The punch situation has driven me bonkers!!  BUT I finally have a solution I like :)  They are stored on this unit, right near my island (you can view my stamp island in THIS POST) and right beside my Wall Units (you can see those HERE).  Its just the extra room I needed!!  Here is one shelf of the large punches:

The rack is actually 6 feet tall so it gives me lots more shelves and storage!!  I'll share some more storage ideas this week and/or next :)

BUT, on to the page for the day!!  This page came together pretty quick.  I was looking at piles of pattern paper that I had sorted out from kits...wanting to just USE them and not re-file them to be lost again forever.  so I decided to make a pile that I would MAKE myself use this month!!  <<I'll let you know how that goes, bwaaahaha>>.  The paper for this one is a couple of fun sheets from Scenic Route that Ive had around forever.

The fun stamps are from Unity (am I in love with this company or what???)...Brooke just posted a fun page over at the Unity blogthis week using the same stamp from the same set (Best Friends).  Its a really fun set that I got from one of Angela's wild Random specials...they are so awesome!!   The pics are some of Perry...he is really hard to get a shot of anymore.  He would way rather be on the other end of the camera.  In fact he takes incredible shots...but I want just one or two of him once in a while!  But this is how you will normally find him at any point during the day...tucked behind his laptop :)

Thats it for today!  I have some more H&M for you tomorrow and my Scrappy sketch will be back on Sunday!  I have a new scrapper designing with us...can you guess who she is?  I'll let you know in 2 more days!

Thanks for stopping by!    -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Best Friends, Amazing Me (Unity)
• Paper: Not Quite Navy (SU!), White (Papertrey), Metropolis PP (Scenic Route)
• Ink: Not Quite Navy, Old Olive (SU!)
• Accessories: Not Quite Navy & Old Olive markers, black journaling marker (SU!), buttons (Basic Gray),

USS07: Cool Crutches

I am back in scrapbooking mode again!  I have gutted and cleaned and purged all week!  I ahve also decided that I am GOING to USE some of my old pattern paper if it kills me!!  I pulled out 2 large sized scraps for this one...yeah!!

I started with Christi's sketch over on the SCS Unity forumthis week...USS07.  It was a terrific sketch but I have to admit that I cheated again a little...I left an element out...kindof a swirly thing, but I did add a few things, so that evens out, right??

I have been trying to figure out what to do with these pics of Michael for like forever...and I love the way it turned out!!  IRl its way better...I get such a glare when I take photos of my photos...any suggestions??

The star and the cirlcle are both the same stamp...one of the circle images from the Circle of Thanks Unityset...it actually has a border around it, but I cut that off for the circle, then just punched out the middle with my star punch for the star!! 

Unity stamps are so AWESOME for making scrapbook pages..the images are HUGE!!  The bottom journaling piece is from the Kit of the Month last month...Bliss and a Birdie...LOVE that kit and can't wait for this months!  such a fun and eclectic mix of images by different stamp artists within Unity!  

Here's one more closeup and then the supplies:

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Circle of Thanks, Bliss & a birdie (Unity), Vintage Pop alpha (Pink Paislee)
• Paper: Orange, Yellow cs from stash (Bazzill), About a Boy PP (Fancy Pants), Brocade Blue (SU!)
• Ink: Basic Brown, Close to Cocoa (SU!)
• Accessories: sponge dauber, Jumbo star punch, c chipboard, Brocade Blue jumbo grosgrain (SU!); Gin-x brown coaster letters (Imagination Project); buttons (Basic Gray & autumn Leaves); glue dots

Thanks for blurfing by!   -Cyndi

Lucky and Lulu hit the Beach

Previews day 2!!  These cute little guys are just 2 of the 3 adorable images in one of the new sets Christine is releasing on the 7th over at All That Scraps!  Are they not just the sweetest??  Scroll down for a closeup of Lulu...I paper pieced her swimsuit and fins to match the background PP in the page (I did the same for Lucky too :) )  I stamped the letters for the title in black and then traced just inside of each with a marker to add just a touch of color.

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Summertime Fun (CC Designs), Pupcat Alphabet (Lizzie Anne Designs), Quirky Alphabet (Cornish Heritage Farms)
• Paper: Summer Travel PP (Marcella by K), White (Papertrey)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir
• Supplies: buttons (CTMH, Autumn Leaves), markers (Copic)

Doesn't she just make you want to go snorkeling?  hehe.  I had a great time on our daytrip to Discovery Cove, but we never did get a chance to snorkel.  I will have to share my dolphin pics another day though...that was like the coolest thing ever!!

I also have a card for you today, still using this cute Lulu image.  I used the sketch and color challenges for the week over at At Splitcoast  Stampers...aren't you proud of me??  The color combo just called out to me and  I couldn't resist... Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery, and Wild Wasabi.  what fun summer colors for a swimsuit and gear for this cute kitty, right??  I also wanted to have just the right color of brads, so I made my own with white brads and a copic marker!  Kinda cool, but they didn;t stay very shiny...any tips??

A couple more quick things about Lulu....I used my Sakura clear glaze pen to make her mask shiny and wet looking (and her nose!)...and added some stardust glitter to the fishies and starfish!  The pink background was made with one of the Big Ol Backgrounds stamps by CC Designs ... Polka Dots.

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Summertime Fun , Big Ol Backgrounds Polka dot (CC Designs)
• Paper: Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate (SU!), Certainly Celery DSP (SU!), white cs (Papertrey)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Pomegranate (SU!)
• Accessories: Glaze pen (Sakura), Stardust glitter pen (Gelly Roll), White brads from stash, markers (Copic), Purely Pomegranate Double stitched ribbon (SU!), circle punches (SU!)

Thats it for the day... Happy 4th to my American readers...happy Friday to my international buds!  Don't forget to stop in over at the ATS blogfor a chance to win this set for FREE and to see what all the rest of the DT created...they blew me away on todays post!!

-Cyndi

Friday Sketchers and a page

Happy Monday!!   I have a couple of things for you today :)  First is a card....I used the Friday SketchersBlog  card sketch from last Friday for the layout.  (#7)  

All of the stamps are from the Unity set Believe.  I used my SU! markers to ink up the stamp...then added some stickles to the centers of the flowers.  The small "believe" is from a larger stamp in the same set ...I just inked the little word that I wanted with a marker then punched it out.  The little swirls and flowers around the tag are hand doodled.  I also hand drew a border around all the panels with a blue marker.  I think the colors turned out really fun...I'm not a real Only Orange kinda gal...more Pumpkin Pie...but Orange was just right with these blues!!

• Supplies:
• stamps: Believe (Unity)
• Paper: Bliss Blue, Ballet Blue, Only Orange, Old Olive, Vanilla cs (SU!), graph PP (Scenic Route)
• Ink: Only Orange, Ballet Blue, Bliss Blue, Old Olive markers (SU!), Only Orange, Ballet Blue pads (SU!)
• Accessories: Styled silver Hodgepodge, circle punch, ticket corner punch, Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon (SU!) Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Next is another page for aa sketch from the Unity SCS forum...Christi has had some great ones so far!!  for this page I used 2 of the sets that I got in the Random Special #3...Amazing Me & Best Friends. 

I have been trying to figure out what to do with pink pictures from halloween...this will have to do!  I pulled out some wickedly wild and fun Fancy Pants paper for the color scheme, then muted it down a touch with Gray.

Thats it for today guys!  Thanks for popping in, don't forget to say hi...you guys ahve been really quiet lately!    -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Amazing Me, Best Friends (Unity)
• Paper: Kewl & Daydream (Fancy Pants), Basic Gray cs (SU!) White cs (Papertrey)
• Ink: Basic Gray, Orchid Opulence (SU!), Orchid marker
• Accessories: Circle punches, Pomegranate double stitched ribbon, Gray tafetta ribbon (SU!), Aqua Mist ribbon (PApertrey)

Just Dance

Sorry this didn't get posted last night...I am such a slacker!  But here is one of the pages that I made this week using my new Unity stamps!  I started with Christi's sketch challenge over at the SCS forum from a couple of weeks back (USC 4 I think??)

Once again I pulled out the new Believe set...this was the one that I got FREE with the purchase of the full handle set, and I absolutely adore it!  I stamped the flowers in Purely Pomegranate, then layered them over large Prima olive flowers.  For the oval element in the sketch I used the pretty vine/floral stamp...inking it in a nice muted green to match the PP, then I went back with a copic marker to add the Pomegrante centers to the flowers. 

The stitching along the top and bottom of the pages is DCWV Curly Q Stitched Rubons.  The rest of the stitching is faux too, but done with my White gel pen (Under the title, around the flowers).  I added some little stamped flowers (from Verve Floral whimsy) , then went back in and colored eh petals with the white gel pen.   The sketch called for a scalloped border, so I hand cut around the flowers in the PP. 

 

 

 

 

I had a few too many photos for just one page, so I had to turn this into a double page spread.  Unfortunately, none of the photos are really great...this was inside a somewhat dark room where I couldn't get a very good shot of the girls dancing during a summer program over at The School of the Arts last year.  But sometimes its all you havem KWIM??

Sorry for no sketch this week...I'll be back with one next week.  Thanks for hanging out today ;) 

-Cyndi

 

 

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Believe, Bliss & a Birdie (Unity), Floral Whimsy (Verve)
• Paper: Simply Neat PP (Fontwerks), Kraft (SU!), pink (BAzzill), White (Papertrey)
• Ink: Pomegranate(SU!), Kiwi (CTMH)
• Accessories: Stitched rubons (DCWV), letter stickers (Junkitz), buttons (MME), Oval & circle Coluzzle, RV19 copic, White signo gel pen, Olive flowers (Prima)

ScrappySketch #21: Believe

Hey guys!  I had this post all typed and ready a while back, hit save, and <<poof!!>> it was gone.  That hasn't happened to me in a while, but its so dog-gone frustrating!!  So, I will not be quite so verbose this time around.

I am switching things up this week and reversing the posting order...layout first, then sketch.

I finally got my Unity handles this weekend and let me just say....whoa!! Hold the press!  These things are da bomb!  They will require a whole other post :)

But...I did use all Unity stamps on this page, 2 kits plus the brand spankin' new Kit of the Month!!  (only available in June!)  The rest of the materials are pretty much from a Scrapbook kit of the month that I bought and filed away last year.  Well, it wanted to be used today!

As usual, I didn't even stick to my own sketch...which brings me back to wanting to talk about the sketches.  When I started these, and still now, I wanted to provide a sketch that was more of a skeleton...just basic placement of the major elements of the page.  I am not adding in every last ribbon, brad, scallop border, and mat.  I am leaving those to you.  I tend to get side tracked by those elements instead of the photos when I look at a sketch.  Also, I have always taken way too many photos and wanted the sketches to provide space for many pics.

I am just now starting to embrace the ideaof 1-photo, 1-page, but I know that many of you are not.  And I am still not totally there!!  So for now, I will keep providing you my basic-many-photo sketches.  Please let me know if you all still like these and use these.  I have not as as many people participating lately.

Supplies:

• stamps: Flirty Flowers, Bliss & a Birdie, Believe (Unity)
• paper: cardstock Bazzill, Magnolia PP (My Minds Eye)
• ink: Cranberry & Olive (CTMH), Pumpkin (SU!)
• accessories: wide Olive grosgrain (SU!), buttons (CTMH), circle punches, coluzzle, jounaling marker

So, the drill...use the sketch as a starting point...I did!!  I veered pretty far off this time.  If you upload to a public gallery use the keyword CSS21.  and leave me a comment here with a link to your creation!  don't forget to check out Heather and Lynn this week to see what they did with the sketch!

Thanks for stopping by today, have a happy Sunday, and Happy Scrapping!!

-Cyndi

Scrappy Sketch #20

I can't believe I have been doing this for 20 weeks now!  It seems like I just started yesterday :)  I can't be very chAatty tonight, so here is this weeks sketch for you.

A good scattering of 4x6's for you this week....or change them to any size you want, add more, etc.  Just take the sketch as a jump start and look inside for your inner creative angel...it is there, I promise!!  Please send me a link if you use the sketch, I love to see everyone's creations...and not many of you have been playing along lately.

You can check in with Lynn and Heather to see what awesomeness they came up with this week!!

For my page I had no idea what I wanted to do so I went to my stack of photos to be scrapped and looked for some that had a lot with the correct vertical vs. horizontal orientation.  I came up with these from Christmas morning of the kids and dad with our new WII.  everyone has enjoyed that thing soooo much I just can't even tell you!

I pulled out my retired pack of  Winter Bright. (colors: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, and Pretty in Pink)  I still love the pattern paper in that pack and wish it had come separate so I could have more of it.  I had a couple of packs and ended up with a ton of the stickers so I hated to order another.  Oh well.  There will be more fabulous Christmas paper this year I am sure :)  I also used the die cut stickers from the pack and  a ton of buttons.  I stamped the wii letters with the retired Tall Tales alphabet with white ink on white then cut them out.  I also once again outlined everything with a black jounaling pen...don't know why, but I really like this look: but it makes everything really stand out!

Thats it for now...we are going Cherry Picking this morning!  Have a great Saturday and Happy Scrapping!  -Cyndi

Simple Scrapbook Saturday with Unity

Here is a page I made last week for the Simple Scrapbook challenge on the Unity SCS forum..  I have enjoyed the sketches from the first 2 weeks challenges, but haven't had a chance to play along yet this week.

These fun pics are of my daughter on her 13th birthday...after she spent hours staightening then curling her hair into ringlets.  She NEVER lets me take her photo, but I took advantage of the fact that she liked the way she looked, hehe.  After a bunch of shots, she said through her glued-on smile, "enough!!"

For this page I used  a new CTMH paper pack Whoops-a-Daisy.  The stamps are from Unity Stamp Company., all from "Oh!  Happy Day".  I stamped the backgrounds off with the polka-dot stamp then stamped and journaled over the top.  From the detail shot below you can see that I added some Frosted Lace stickles to the butterflys.  I also added a bunch of doodling to the butterflys, around the paper strips, and in the flowers. 

The trail for the buterfly is actually part of the stamp with the smaller butterfly, I just masked off the part that I needed and stamped it right over the PP.

The button is Foo-fa-la and the ribbon is from All That Scraps, the number 13 is Stampin' Up!, from a retired set Tall Tales numbers.

Thanks for visiting today!  Have a great week :)

-Cyndi

Party time!

Anyone know how hot it was here in NC today?  98 degrees!   Miserable!!  and we had an outdoor party to go to...I just wanted to hop right on the slip-n-slide with the 5 year olds!  And whats up with 98 the first week of June, its usually mid July or August before it gets near 100...are we in for a whammy of a summer?  I hope not...

But, I'm finally back with my layout!  This one went together very easily...I knew I had a million pics of all the cute little smiling faces in Michael's class...squaring them off is a great way to get a bunch on a page.  I simply blew up the photo of Michael so that he would stand out. 

I added a bit of stamping on my accent elements...making use of some of my cute CC Designs stamps.  I used the sets: Monkey Love, Its My Birthday, and the new Froggie & Friends.  all the images are colored in with copics, and I doodled around all the borders.  Finally I added some DSP circles, buttons ( SU! & CTMH), and ribbon (SU!)  All of the DSP is Jersey SHore from Stampin' Up!.  The chipboard letters are CTMH. 

Colorblocking has always been a favorite pof mine for creating super fast, eye-appealing layouts.  so, give this weeks sketch a try and let me know if you did by sending me a link :)

Thanks for stopping by today, have a Happy Saturday!   -Cyndi

Unity Simple Scrapbook Challenge

Simple?  Well, of course that is all in the hand of the stamper taking on the challenge, now isn't it?  As you all know, I like to take on a sketch with few details so that I can visualize my own and add what I want.  BUT, sometimes I fall prey to one with all the embellishments all laid out for me.  I simply HAD to do this one...1> my first new Unity stamps just arrived last week (more on that later!!), 2> I like the sketch, and 3>Since it looks like I NEED all the Unity stamps available, thanks to Shannan, and I can't afford them all, I simply MUST try out for the DT.  And, this is the absolute BEST DT call ever...it comes with not only designing for a fab company, but a free trip to CHA this summer.  Well, thats just a DUH moment for me...

So, here is what I came up with using the sketch.  I really like the way it turned out!!  I started with the Unity stamp set "Flirty Flowers", one of my new purchases. ***Here is where I must brag on this company.  These stamps are HUGE!!!  They are perfect for scrapbooking!  As a stamping scrapper I find that as a HUGE source of frustration...loving a stamp set, but wishing the image was way bigger!!  Well, you absolutely won't have that issue here:) 

My background piece is a paper from Scenic Route with grid lines.  All of my ink and cardstock that I ended up using is from Close to My Heart: Bamboo, desert Sand, Hollyhock, and Blush.  The lphabet is Pink Paislee stamped in Sand on Sand, I went nback and outlined the letters inside (inlined??ha) with a white gel pen.  It looks kewl IRL, but here I think it looks kinda messy...whats a girl to do??

The photo is one of my absolute favs of my youngest daughter Rachael, taken while we were waiting in a line at Disney World...but I can't take credit...my son Perry snapped this one.  He has a true passion for the camera...and you can tell from my over 1900 pics from our last trip!!  Here is a closeup at the flowers and other small elements...( the "you are" is part of a "you are my sunshine" sentiment in this set) 

Speaking of sentiments, there are so many awesome pieces in each set, it is like Christmas opening the cute little bags!! I can't wait to play with all the other stamps in this set: sunshine, watering can...  But  while I was at it with the set and the colors out on my table, I thought I make a card as well, I can never have too many Thanks cards.  Here's the card using the same supplies: 

I think I got a little carried away with all the brads?  Bwaaahaha.  It was fun.  The border was created with the SU! slit punch, and the ribbon is Kraft tafetta, one of my favorite colors.

Wish me luck with this try-out.  This company has got to be more my style of stamping than anything else out there!!  Angela was calling my name out loud when she cretaed these great big scrapbook-friendly stamps!  I'll tell you guys more another day about the cool and unique stuff Unity sells and does, but now, I must work on my submissions!

I will not be doing my sketch tomorrow...but it will be back next week.  I have had too much going on this week, sorry.  BUT  the new CC Designs stamps are being released in a few days so I get to start sneak peeks tomorrow!!  They are so cute...be sure to check back :)

Thanks for stopping by!  Like my new banner, BTW??   -Cyndi

Scrappy Sketch #18

 

 

Its that time again...Saturday morning and time to scrap!  Go hide from your kids, your cats, your husband, and your tivo and pick up some pictures:)  I have a new sketch for you!   This one is very straightforward...lots of pictures, no circles, LOL.  The one I was planning to do was going to be quite a challenge, but in fact it was too much of a challenge for me to get the stinkin sketch in a program...urgh.  Note to self: must learn to use better software for this.

You know the routine by now...feel free to change things around or even just do one of the pages.  Send me a link back as a comment to this post so I can see what you did!  This is CSS18 if uploading to a public gallery:)

For my pages I used some new Close to My Heart papers and stamps...I know, this is my normal SU! weekly post, so don't get mad.  But there are just too many awesome products out there.  I promise to do at least 1 SU! project this week:)  The stamps Whimsical Wings (and Enjoy Every Moment by SU!) and the paper pack is Blue Ribbon.  I also added some Bold bright brads and white rick-rack.  I used Cloud scissors for the border.

Don't forget to stop by and check what Heather and Lynn have done with the sketch!  Thanks for stopping by...have a happy Saturday :)

-Cyndi

Turtle Talk with Bruce

First of all I want to thank everyone who came this weekend to scrapbook!  I had a blast and I hope everyone else did too!  And, I know you guys got a LOT accomplished and thats what matters, yeah?   For everyonw else, sorry I didn't get my page up yesterday.  But I have it for you now!  This was the sketch that I used for the Nemo page yesterday.