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

Hip Hop Thursday!

HIP HOP!!  What day is it????  Hip Hip Thursday of course...and I get to play along this week in the Unity  blog hop!!  If you stumbled straight to my blog, back up and head over to Angela's  first to follow the blog-hoppin' trail all the way to the FREE stamps!!  If you hopped to me from Patter's blog, then keep on reading!

Do you want the specials first or the eye candy?  We'll start with the cards first!  I have 2 for you today...one features a stamp from Simple Pleasures, one of the featured kit specials this week!

I stamped the cake on Papertrey select white cs, then colored it in with my handy-dandy copics!  I have been reading tons of tips from the copic lady and trying to practice more, but what I wouldn't give for a copic certification class to come to NC!!  The shadow at the base of the cake plate is an A Muse oval stamp, stamped off in Sahara Sand ink, which perfectly matches copic W1 :)  And I absolutely ADORE this yummy new paper by Sassafras Lass that I bought last week from All That Scraps...one of my new favorite color combos of orange and turquoise...mmm!  The scallop border is actually the border from along the piece of cs, I just cut it into a small piece and used it as is!

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Simple Pleasures, Remember Happiness  (Unity), small oval (A Muse)

• Paper: Kraft, Dark Chocolate, White (Papertrey); Soft Sky (SU!); Sassafras Lass PP

• Ink: palette Burnt Umber

• Accessories: Swiss dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); oval frame (SU!); jumbo brads (American Crafts); markers (Copic); Kraft tafetta ribbon, Oval punch (SU!)

Next up, I made this little birthday card for a sweet little 3 year old Isabelle, granddaughter of one of my BFFs.  (I am having a thing for sweets today huh?  Sorry...must be PMS)

This fun little yummy number is from Cupcakes A'La Yummy.  There are 3 of the MOST adorable ever cupcakes in that set plus a handful of fun sentiments of course:)  I used the one that says" Hey There Cupcake" but its kinda hard to see the pale color in the photo.

I cuttlebugged the soft sky piece once again wth Swiss Dots (I swear I have tons of folders...its just my fav!!)  BUT I did pull out one of brand spankin' new cuttlebug borders for the bottom of the card: Frills :)  very fun for a girlie card!  I touched over the dots around the scallops with a turquoise copic to pull it out a bit.  My cuppycake was punched with a 1 3/8" cirlce punch then matted on rose red with the scallop circle punch...I also added a touch of glaze to the cherry to make it really yummy looking! 

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Cupcakes A'La Yummy (Unity)

• Paper: Floral PP (The Paper Patch); White cs (Papertrey); Rose Red, Apricot Appeal, Soft Sky (SU!)

• Ink: Palette Noir

• Accessories: Swiss dots fembossing folder, Frills embossing border folder (Cuttlebug); Circle punch, Scallop punch , key tag punch (SU!); markers (copic); white grosgrain (Michael's); glaze pen (Sakura)

OK, so are you ready to hear about the specials yet??  They are fantabulous!  Hip Hop Thursday just gets better every week!  Hang on to your seat:

Singles FOR HIP HOP!

OH! What a Beautiful Morning Sentiment. $2.50
Queen for a Day! $3.00
Chancy Flower Post from Whimsey Flowers $5.00
Polka Dot Posy $3.00

With all orders over $25.00 (before $5.00 shipping) you can purchase EITHER of these TWO SETS for only 1 Buck! REGULAR $15.00!

FRIENDS FOREVER
SIMPLE PLEASURES

First ORDERS over $10.00 get FREE "Move Mountains"

Just write FIRST ORDER when prompted for the Discount Code

PLUS FREE RANDOM STAMP WITH EVERY ORDER!!

Newly Released Single:
hullabaloo $5.00

1/2 Price backgrounds:

ROYAL DAY BACKGROUND $4.00
Distressed Dots $4.00
Paisley Deco $4.00
Baby Boy Plaid $4.00
Polka Dot Jam $4.00
Deco Hound $4.00
Harlequin $4.00
Wavy Solid Mocha $4.00

ANd all orders over $50 will get Fanciful Dots for just a penny!  Hows that for a little summun summun!

AND as if all this is not enough...Unity has picked a cuause to sponsor today!  10% of all Hip Hop Thursday sales will go to the Operation Jonathan fund.  When you get to Heather B's blog during the hop today she will tell you all about baby Jonathan's story.

So, thats it from me...now hop on over to the awesomely talented one and only Jen Erickson to see what kind of eye candy she has for you today!  Happy Hip Hoppin' Thursday!  -Cyndi

 

Unity Addicts' Blog Challenge

I am back with the second week in our new Unity  Addicts' blog challenge!  This week  Cat picked our challenge...to create a project with Unity's colors, plus we could add one:)  I chose one of my favorite "old" stamps from Unity...Best Friends!  I picked this set up in one of Angela's first Random specials and I still adore it!!  I stamped the flower 2 times: once on Tempting Turquoise, once on Old Olive, and fianlly on Close to Cocoa.  Then I sponged all the edges, pieced the flower back together and added some random white dots here and there to all the pieces.

The "hi"sentiment is from another of my Unity favs: Floral Fantastical.  I stamped it with Turquoise on Turquoise cs then cut around the letters a bit.  The bottom line of dots is also in the Best Friends kit.  And...I actually pulled out the sewing machine for this one...gasp!!  I bought a cute little pack of different colored thread at Joanne's the other day...I was getting sick of just white and ivory...and that Turquoise thread really adds to it:)

So, take a sec out of your busy day and go hop through all the blogs of my fellow Unity junkies...the links are listed------> over there in the right column of my sidebar!  Do you wanna play along with us?  Check out the thread in the SCS Unity forum...and post a link to your project!

Also, don't forget tomorrow is HIP HOP Thursday at Unity and I get to play this week since I'm the September GD...HIP HOP!!  Start over at the Unity blog  at 10am central and follow the hop from there:)

Thanks for stopping in!  -Cyndi

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Best Friends, Floral Fantastical (Unity)

• Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa, whisper White, Old Olive (SU!)

• Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (SU!)

• Accessories: white gel pen, 1"  and 1 1/4" circle punch, sponge daubers, dimensionals, Turquoise ribbon (SU!), sewing machine

Some challenge cards and news!

Happy September!  What's so happy about it besides the never-ending heat??  Well, I'll give you a hint: HIP HOP!!  But, you came to see cards first, right??

First up today is my submission for Jen del Muro's  SFYTT this week.  I absolutely adore her sketches but haven't played along in a while...so I was happy when this one came together over the weekend!  I also got to play with my new Hawaii Papaya DSP from SU! and that made me happy too...I am in LOVE with Kiwi Kiss and Tangerine Tango, and this paper is just super yummy!

I picked out Tiny Trinity, one of my newer sets from Unity.  Its a small set, but full of style and potential...the little  trio of trees are all so funky and fun!  I had to really play with my copics to get the right match for Kiwi and Tangerine...but mixing those babies is another fun thing!  If you look below the trees you'll see that I again used my favorite new "grass" or ground stamp by Unity....the swirl on the journaling stamp from the July Kit of the Month.  I am just addicted to it, bwahahaha!

So, are you guessing what my news may be yet?  It has to do with the month of Septmeber...HIP HOP!  On to the next card first though.

Here's another card from a Jen SFYTT...but this one is from months ago.  I posted it to SCS, but realized that it never made an appearance here on my blog.  (Funny, its usually the other way around)

I love the way the colors turned out on this one!  I used the SEI Black Orchid paper pad for the teal and lime green.  The flowers are from my very first Unity  set ever....Flirty Flowers.  Its still one of my favs (but are there any Unity sets that I don't love....hmm, nope!) I stamped the image in Versamark, embossed it with white EP, then used my sponge daubers to go over each flower.  I finally added a touch of black pen here and there to help them stand out a bit and to pull in the black from the mats and ribbon.  And you know me, it just has to pop somehow, yeah?  And what better way than to add a touch of black and white to any bright color combo!

So have you guessed yet?  You should have with all these hints!  I was asked to be the Guest Designer for Unity for the month of September!!  Can I get  a HIP HOP!!  If you're a regular here you know that I have become a Unity addict!  I love the stamps, the DT, the forum at SCS, the other addicts, and of course the source of all the Unity happiness, Angela and her man Chris!  You guys rock and I am so happy to be  a part of the Unity family for this month!!  Thanks for having me :)

-Cyndi

Autumn Charlotte?

Ever since I first saw this Charlotte image from Whiff of Joy, I kept thinking I could make her into a Halloween Charlotte, complete with black cat and all!  Well, turning her toboggan into a witches hat didn't really work out, so I just dressed her for a nice chilly day going to the pumpkin patch instead.

She is stamped onto Papertrey white, then I pieced her hat with the same PP I used for the background...then added a pumpkin over the fur muff (I hand drew that baby believe it or not)  and the cat I decided should be gray instead of black since all 4 of my cats are some shade of gray:)  Yes, I really have 4 cats...and my DD has 3 hamsters...

The grass is from the CC Designs latest release of Sugarplums Scenery.  Lots of really fun pieces for all sorts of scenes you might want to create so that your characters aren't standing in an open space with no ground, or nothing in the air.  The sentiment is 2 separate words from a Unity set...Birds of a Feather...it has tons of single words in it...so cool so you can put together your own phrase!!

The sketch is from Katharina's blog Creative Ideas by Katharina...I thought that was very fitting since she does own the Whiff of Joy line.  And have you heard, the NEW "Willow & Oakley" and "Guardian Angel" lines will be released at Whiff of Joy  next Wednesday!  Can't wait!!

Tata for the evening!  I have been busy today doing some stamping for stuff next week...so lots to post soon:)  Have a great long weekend!  -Cyndi

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Winter  Charlotte & cat (Whiff of Joy); Sugarplum Scenery (CC Designs); Birds of a Feather (Unity)

• Paper: Basic Black(SU!); White (Papertrey); Kiwi Kiss (CTMH); Halloween mat stack (K&co)

• Ink: Palette Noir

• Accessories: Spiderweb embossing folder (Cuttlebug); circle punches, scallop circle punch (SU!); designer ribbon (SU!); Tangerine sugared brads (Doodlebug); markers (Copic); silver glitter pen (Spica)

SC191: Penny Candy

HIP HOP!  Its hip-hop Thursday for Unityand that means a blog-hoppin' good time and tons of free stuff given away at the Unity SCS forum  today...its a DAY LONG party!! (No, I am not exaggerating)  You can drop in any time between 10am and midnight central time!

Ok, I know I have said every month that the newest UnityKit of the Month is a must have, but this months...August is just to-die for!!  I just love every image in it...and there are a ton of them!!  I am so glad that Angela has Jessica on board as a new artist, cause she is the bomb!  And there are only 4 days left in August so you better hurry!

I pulled out this weeks SCS sketch challenge, some fun old paper that I LOVE and a brand new stamp and went to town!  Its hard to see but after I colored in all the candy in the jars I went back and added some shine with the Sakura clear glaze pen...there is also a bit of sparkle on the Penny candy sign!  The blue tag...no idea where its from...I got it in a kit ages ago...its actually transluscent but it went with the color scheme perfecto!

So come join us for the Hip Hop hoppin party today!  In the meantime, please say hi!  Happy Thursday:)

-Cyndi

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Remember Happiness (Unity)

• Paper: Riding Hood Red, basic Black (SU!); Flowerful PP (Junkitz)

• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir

• Accessories: blue tag (?); markers (Copic); red/white gingham (SU!); glaze pen (Sakura); red glitter pen (Atyou Spica)

I am a Unity Junkie!

Morning chickies!  This week a bunch of us that hang out in the Unity forum over at Splitcoast Stampers  are starting a new weekly challenge...kind of a customer blog hop or blog HUNT if you will.  Over in the right sidebar you'll see a bunch of new links...one of these girls today hasa brand spankin' new Unity set to give away as blog candy...so now all you have to do is find it!!

We are calling ourselves the blog hop challenge girls or pre-hop blog hoppers or something like that...we don't have an "official" name yet, but I loved that Maria called us the Unity Junkies, cause that is totally what we are!  Just can't get enough :) 

For this weeks challenge our hostess with the mostest is Tiffany  and she challenged us to CASE one of the Unity DT's cards...easy enough...those gals are one talented bunch!!  I chose a card from Heather B's  blog to case...her original was for embossing without embossing...thus the double stamped frame!

So, details for the card are below...but then go start hopping and find that free set!!  Also, the challenge is listed in the Unity forum on SCS if you want to play along:)  Thanks for blurfing by!   -Cyndi

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Remember Happiness, Hey Chick (Unity)

• Paper: Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip (SU!); White (Papertrey)

• Ink: Burnt Umber (Palette); Chocolate Chip, Whisper White craft (SU!)

• Accessories: Swiss dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Aqua Mist ribbon (Papertrey), markers (Copic); frosted lace Stickles

Double Challenge

I have been doing some stamping the last couple of days...but I can't show it all to you yet!  For now...here's a card I did for 2 challenges (well, really 3).  I used the color combo from Our Creative Corner  this week (Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumkpin Pie, and Chocolate Chip)...although I did tweak it a bit adding a LOT of black to the mix.  And the sketch is last weeks SCS...SC190.  The third challenge is in the Unity forum to do the SCS challenges using Unity stamps then upload them before Hip Hop Thursday...so 1 down for that one too!  I am just a challenge mad woman today...bwahahaha...

The {iheartu} is from Unity's  newest Kit of the Month for August..."Remember Happiness" and the owl is from last months..."Its the Little Things".   These KOM have got to be some of my favs that Unity has releases of all their kits, but remember...you goatta get it while its here...LIMITED EDITION...August's kit is only around for 1 more week...What are you waiting for?? Go shop!

• Supplies:

• Stamps: Its the Little Things, Remember Happiness (Unity); Notebook paper backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms)

• Paper: Ruby Red, Basic Black cs (SU!); White cs (Papertrey); Dude Collection PP (Prima)

• Ink: Palette Noir; Baja Breeze (SU!)

• Accessories: Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); markers (copic); Olive twill (SU!), black gltter pen (atyou Spica)

If you've got it Flaunt It!

Flaunt it chickie!  She is just strutting her stuff...I love her!  This is one of the adorable and hip chicks from the Unity  set "Hey Chicky".  I thought she would be gorgeous in the regal tones that were last weeks SCS  color challenge (here we go again a week late with the challenges!).  But I have always loved these dark yet bright colors together...Teal, Eggplant and Olive...right down my alley!!

The layout is based on Lauren's sketch from  Saturday...I just flipped it backwards!  The swirl on the sqaures and the swirly "grass" are both created with the top corner of the journaling stamp from the Unity July Kit of the Month "Its the Little Things".  I also added a bunch of little white dots to the square and the inside of the flowers on the PP circle.  The cute littel gems are from my stash, maker unknown, but I think they may be Me&My Big Ideas.

Thats it for now...but I have lots of new rubbah in da house and I'm excited to play with it all!

Thanks for blurfing by chickies!    -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Hey Chicky, Its the Little Things (Unity)
• Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive cs, Old Olive DSP (SU!); White cs (Papertrey); Euphoria PP (BAsic Grey)
• Ink: Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant (SU!); Palette Hybrid Noir
• Accessories: corner rounder, Turquoise & Lavendar glitter pen (Spica); sponge dauber; Circle nestabilities (Spellbinders); sparkles (?); markers: 08, YGo3, YG95, 00, BG23, BG45, B00, BV00, BV02, BV (Copic)

FS79: Blondie090277

I pulled out some more of my new Unity stamps this weekend that were beggin' for some ink and took on a few challenges :)

I'll share this one with you today...a fun card for the Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoast from last week.  I love this challenge...but I don't get to it very often.  But KIm's gallery was full of such fun cards I couldn't resist this week!  I chose one that used the cute little Clear Dollar Stamps' squirrel...I though the tree was really cute with the leaves at the top.

I changed the stamps, the pattern paper, and the embellishments, but CASED the layout and creative extras she put into the original.  I used the July Kit of the Month from Unity ("Its the Little Things") for the tree base, the owls, and the mushrooms.  The leaves of the tree were made with another Unity kit, "Best  Friends"...I stamped the whole flower (well, a lot of them actually) then just cut off the leaves.  These were then distressed on the edges with a sponge dauber.   The dots on the grass were creted with another stamp from that same set.  The top of the grass was created using the new Scallop border punch from Stampin' Up! I ran it through twice to get the spiky effect, then curled down the tops.

Overall, I had a lot of fun making this card!  I am normally not very comfortable creating a scene...its just out of my comfort zone, but I loved all the details from the original card and was determined to figure them all out with what I had at hand!

OK, thats it for tonight!  Thanks for flying by!  -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Best Friends, Its the Little Things (Unity)
• Paper: White (Papertrey); Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky PP (SU!)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Old Olive (SU!)
• Accessories: Key Tag, Scallop edge punches (SU!); teal "Mellow"buttons (Basic Grey); sponge dauber; jumbo brads (American Crafts? from my stash); markers: 0, B00, G00, YG95, E33, E09, E37, E29, W3(Copic)

A couple of challenge cards...

{{ETA:  Hey check  THIS out...I am the Watch Out Wednesday girl on the Unity blog!!  Can I get a Hip-Hop?!!  I am so excited and honored and it has been sooo hard to keep this a secret all week!

Also...what is up with the little blocks in my post?  They weren't there before??  Help...anyone??}}

First some housekeeping...see my post below for all the kazillion stamp sets that need a new home! � Also, I still have blog candy curtesy of Heather at H&M Stamps , so scroll down for that too!

Now, on to my cards! �Both sketches for todays cards are from fellow ATS�DT members. �The first is Lauren's�Saturday sketch for the week.� This one was really fun! �I started with the Unity �set Tiny Trinity...isn't it just adorable?? �I paired that with this fun new Cosmo Cricket paper that I ordered up from Christine�and took my color scheme from there.

The really fun part of this card is I took the swirl from the July Kit of the month journaling stamp, and used just the edge to make a hilltop. �I stamped that in Celery, then traced the outline with a black journaling marker, then colored in the hill. �I don't get creative that often but I am so proud of myself!

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Tiny Trinity, Its the Little Things (Unity)
• Paper: White (Papertrey); Wild Wasabi, Basic Black (SU!); Hello Sunshine PP (Cosmo Cricket)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir; Certainly Celery (SU!)
• Accessories: markers (copic); black buttons (Autumn Leaves); circle punches, corner rounder (SU!); white waxy flax (CTMH); orange jumbo brads (Queen &Co); dimensionals

Next up is my card for Dawn's�sketch challenge on the Our Creative Corner blog.� This one turned out pretty cool too...for the swirl element on the sketch I used the vine from Unity's� Floral Fantastical and then cut out around the natural flow.� �I loved the way this looked stamped and colord on a putty like color that I used last week so I tried to duplicate that on Sahara Sand. �Not quite, but its still pretty and different. �The main panel of flwoers is also from Floral Fantastical, and the sentiment is from the July KOM Its the Little Things.

Its hard to see but I used my Cool Carribean pad to stamp the background on the Teal paper...which is just yummy by the way. �Its from the SEI Dill Blossom line and it feels like wallpaper! �Well, thats it for now! �Thanks for stopping in. �Don't forget to say hi! � -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Floral Fantastical, Its the Little Things (Unity)
• Paper: Sahara Sand (SU!); Dark Chocolate (Papertrey); Teal (SEI)
• Ink: Palette Noir & Burnt Umber; Cool Carribean (SU!)
• Accessories: Cricle nestabilities (Spellbinders); Chick-a-doo brads (SEI); Chocolate twill (SU!); word window punch, white gel pen (SU!); copic markers

Double dose of Challenges

Hey guys!  I had a post half typed earlier and tried to save it but my "bleep" internet wouldn't cooperate and deleted it....soooo, here we go again, but a bit less chit-chatty.  I pulled up the Our Creative Cornerchallenge for this week...Christmas in July...ok I can do that!  Then I went to Friday Sketchersblog, but the sketch didn't make any of my stamps just jump out at me (I definitely have to come back to this one though cause it looks like a great challenge!)..so then I was off to SCS and pulled up the weekly sketch..Bingo!  It has a large central panel perfect for my new Christmas Joy set from Unitythat I have been dying to get inky!!

I think this turned out pretty fun!  I truly love the set...it was one of the first that I fell in love with from Unity.  I colored the images in trying some different techniques with my copic markers...hmmm...I still need practice!  The background PP from Heidi Grace Designs is really fun and shimmery and flocked and it went perfect with the holly images on the y...so that was just a no-brainer!  When I added a bow I kept feeling like it needed something so I stamped the little holly and cut part of it out, then glued that onto my ribbon like a charm...it was cute til I addded the stickles then Bam!  I love it!  I have a closeup here for you:

 Aren't the shimmery berries just gorgeous?!!  ANd of course thanks to my HGD paper I got to use my fav Christmas colors together again: Red, Celery and Pink!  So girlie!  (I claim not to be a pink kinda girl but, you know)

Anywho...thats it for tonight.  I will be starting up with peeks from H&M Stampstomorrow...and I just may have a little giveaway involved (but shh, don't tell everyone, hehe).  Have a happy and blessed Friday!   -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Christmas Joy (Unity)
• Paper: Jolly & Bright PP (Heidi Grace Designs); Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery cs (SU!); White cs (Papertrey)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir
• Accessories: corner rounder (SU!); Limeade Sugar coated brads (Doodlebug); Christmas red & Eucalyptus glitter (STickles); White tafetta ribbon (SU!); markers 00, RV10, R29, R35, YG03, YG11, Y21, Y17, C3 (Copic)

A little bit of Unity

Happy wednesday!  I was scheduled to give you a peeky of one of the new CC Designs stamps today, but Christine has encountered some unexpected problems and is delaying the release for a week, so all of my previews will also be delayed a week,  BUT that means I can start with some H&M peeks on the 1st :)

In the meantime, I have a couple of Unity cards that I haven't shared yet and what better day to do that than on the night of the Unity July mini-release, right?  SInce I am not on the DT I can't do peeks for Unity but I do have samples with brand new rubber released just a couple of weeks ago!

The first card is using one of the gorgeous new stamps in the July Kit of the Month..."Its the Little Things".  But you better hurry, there are only 2 days left to order this baby up!  I absolutely love this tree image.  I colored it in with some copic and SU! markers mixed, then added a bunch of dew drops in the limbs like flower buds...I think it turned out so pretty!

The card layout itself is featured over at SCS this week...the Joy fold card.  Its super easy to make one and they are so cool IRL.  For mine I used the Friend sentiment popped up on a dimensional to hold my mini card/layer down.  Scroll down for closer pics of it as it opens.

I also pulled out my handy dandy sewing machine again...yeah me!  Here's the opening:

   The supplies for this card and the next are listed at the bottom of the post.  The other card I made a while back and posted to SCS but forgot to put it on my blog.  It uses the new Eco Chic... a hot new smash for Unity!

I used the cute little tree as a branch to perch my birdie on...the bird is from Flirty Flowers, the rest from Eco Chic.  I am hopping off now so I can get ready to crash the Unity release party!  Happy wednesday!    -Cyndi

• Friend card:
• Stamps: Its the Little Things (Unity)
• Paper: Frog Prince PP (Piggy Tales), Rockland PP (Scenic Route), Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip cs (SU!)
• Ink: Palette Noir pad
• Accessories: markers G21, YG11 (Copic), Close to Cocoa marker (SU!), Oval punches (SU!); Cowboy dewdrops (Robin's Nest), Sewing machine

• Eco Chic card:
• Stamps: Eco Chic, Flirty Flowers (Unity)
• Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery (SU!), WHite cs (Papertrey), Olive DSP (SU!)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Orchid Opulence (SU!)
• Accessories: Orchid, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery markers (SU!), key tage punch, ticket corner punch, ribbons (SU!), markers (Copic), bold bright brads (SU!), recylcled brown fiber from Unity tag

LAD Monday...Le Jardin

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a great weekend...ours was pretty lazy, and I like that!  Only 4 weeks of summer til life gets crazy again so I will take all the lazy days that I can get!

I will have lots of peeks starting up in just a few days for CC Designs and H&M Stamps, but in the meantime...a little other stuff.  I pulled up the Lizzie Anne Designs sketch challenge the other day and tried to do a card with the cute new robot set...well that didn't work out so well.  I do have a couple of fun cards made with that set that I'll show you another time...but today I thought about that darn "easy" sketch again, then thought about this gorgeous set, "Le Jardin" that I won during the last LAD release party.  well...it worked this time and I love the result!  Not my cutesy normal, but the colors turned out fun and bold!!   The other part of the challenge was to create you own background paper, which I did for the card base!

I am leaving you with this as I head off to visit the in-laws for dinner.  Ciao chickies!!    -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Le Jardin (Lizzie Anne Designs); Birds of a Feather (Unity Stamp Co)
• Paper: white cs (Papertrey); Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black (SU!)
• Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir
• Accessories: Swiss dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Ribbon slot punch (SU!); Sweet Blush grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey); Black/white gingham ribbon (SU!); Flame Dew Drops (Robin's Nest); markers RV10, R35, R05, YG03 (Copic); Olive marker (SU!)

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

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)

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),

OCC Challenge

I have been wanting to do a challenge from the new blog,  Our Creative Corner...and I finally played along at the very last minute with the sketch challenge this week.

I am stuck back again on Floral Fantastical, the awesome new set that I won from Unitylast week!  This set is just too much fun to play with :)  I masked off the bottom of the flower stamp with tape and stamped that, then masked off the top of the watering can with tape and stamped it under the stems so it looks like the flowers are in the can (they are actually in a vase on the rubber).  That is all colored in with my copics and some spica glitter pens to add some shimmer and  shine! 

I added one of the floral borders to  the bottom of the 2nd layer (IRL this stamp is way longer...I just used part of it!!)  All of my 3 layers are multi-layered...funny how this gets a bit out of hand.  The hope sentiment is just one of many words in this set.   I punched it out with the small oval punch and popped it up on multi-dimensionals.  The flower can layer is also raised on dimensionals.  Finally I pulled out the last of my red Flame brads that I have been hoarding for just that extra touch.

I did some cool organizing this week but haven't snapped a pic yet so stay tuned for that.  Thanks for stopping by and have a happy Friday!  I will have a new sketch for you this Sunday!!  -Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Floral Fantastical (Unity)
• Paper: Real Red, Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery (SU!), White (Papertrey), Spring Fling PP (Pink Paislee)
• Ink: Noir (Palette)
• Accessories: Circle Fire Rhinestone brads, Small oval punch, 1/16" punch (SU!); markers 00, R05, R29, Y17, Y21, B02, BG23, YG03, spica glitter pens (Copic); Red ribbon (Michael's)

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