Unity Blog Hop

Hi everyone! I love challenges. If not for them, I might not steal the time needed to be crafty. So I usually try to make something for Unity's weekly Friends With Flair challenge. This is my entry this week. The sample we were offered to go by was a lovely vintage card that inspired me to go vintage, too. On my last blog post, I shared a card I made of caged birds, but this time, they are out enjoying a lovely cooling fountain coming out of a garden hose. I've been wanting to use this rhinestone flourish as a fountain for a while now.  I didn't have a stamp of a fountain so I just drew a garden hose for them to sit on. The collage paper comes from a new stack by K&Co called "Cut N Paste" (I fussy cut the rose from a second sheet of DP) and the lattice is from a huge new Journey stack by Me and My Big Ideas (MAMBI). I used the Dec KOTM for the quote and the Brave Girl kit by Melody Ross for the birds. The crochet trim and brad are by Stampin Up.

This card brings to mind yet another couple of frugal tips to share. Frugal tip #17: The Forest Green and Key Lime ink I used on the hose came from some great markers that I found for $1 each at Staples. They're made by Bic and they're called "Mark-It" fine-point permanent markers. Staples has them on display in a huge variety of colors. I wish I could say that they compete with Copics but they don't. I find a use for them anyway. Frugal tip #18: You know those travel packages of Wet Wipes? I pick those up at Staples for a dollar or two and keep them at my work desk. I use to take one wipe out and leave it out while I was working but it would dry out fast. Now I take one out, use it to clean the stamp I just used then I ball it up and stuff it back in the resealable package. I continue to use it that way and it lasts a lot longer.

Join in on the fun blog hop over at Unity today. Find the blinkie and post a comment and you could win a prize! Enjoy your day...

WOYWW and caged birds

How is already Wednesday again! Luckily, I was inspired this morning and love how it turned out. You know me as the "coffee-to-go-cup" lady. Hee hee. And underneath this new layer of stuff on my desk are 14 more coffee cups waiting to jump on cards. I can almost say I'm finished with them. But today's card uses Stampin Up's new Aviary clear set. I guess I'm loving birds at the moment. I think I'm going to have to create another card where the door of the cage is open and the bird has flown out because I feel a little sorry for the ones caged up. But they are cute. Except for the Memento Rich Cocoa ink, just about all the supplies are Stampin Up. The cardstock is Sahara Sand, the DP is called Newsprint (love it) and the blue ink is Tempting Turquoise. The cages are all raised with pop dots and I couldn't resist putting newspaper ovals underneath them (in lieu of lining the cages...) My warped mind came up with the greeting which I computer generated in American Typewriter font and brown ink.

Two frugal tips today. Frugal tip #14: If you love the paper that will be used as a mat, just cut out a section within 1" of the border and it won't be missed after you mat with it. Frugal tip #15: Look in the dollar bin of your craft store for those tiny alphabet stamps. Because they're usually packaged in a 28 stamp square, they may fill in the extra space with icon stamps like my little heart on my card. Frugal tip #16: When stamping a line image that will be popped off the page, use the same (light) patterned paper for stamping as the background of your card (like I did below). That way when you fussy cut and use foam dots, the image blends with the background. (Almost like you're seeing through the bird cages...)

Have a wonderful day and TFL!

Just a little frugal note...

Just when you thought I'd be through with this card template...sorry. I'm using it a lot lately because I'm trying to make a ton of cards in one shot to send to Operation Write Home for soldiers overseas. It's such an easy template but actually the nitty gritty is a little time consuming. Why? Because I stamped all the cups in white then again in patterns and had to cut them all out and adhere. Then, for some of the designs (not the Halloween one) I actually hunted down the words "caffeine" and "sugar" etc. in an old cookbook to put in the circle behind the cup. (I have a post of a card with that design a few days ago.) Anyway, it's been fun but I came up with Frugal tip# 13 (oooh, how halloween appropriate...lol) : use the leftover grid of adhesive when you've finished all the foam dots. I actually like cutting up the grid better because it covers more area when you're popping something up. Have a nice day!

For the Golfer

Well, if I didn't post this card, I'd have no post for today, so I went with it. Talk about plain and simple. But still waters run deep...hee hee (was that an unintended pun?) I mean, first of all, this "plain and simple" card took about two hours to make. It would be nice if all my tools were in one place, but in addition to hunting down certain punches, I computer generated my greeting and the very cool inside accessory. The outside says "This is not just a HAPPY BIRTHDAY card" and on the inside I made a small card that I'll laminate and put in notched cardstock that says that the bearer of the FREE PASS is entitled to a free round of golf with the giver. Our friend will love this as his 50th bday gift. Better than a sweater, huh?

The stamp set is The Back Nine by Stampin Up. I used Staz On Green because I wasn't sure if I was going to want to color it in with markers. I decided to leave it clean. The DP is from a Specialty Cardstock stack by MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas). Frugal tip #12: Save ribbon when you come across it. I used ribbon that was wrapped around a small 7Gypsies board book when I bought it.

Oh, and don't forget about keeping up with those rewards programs. I love Staples and every once and awhile I'll get a little reward check in the mail. I've decided that when they come I'm going to use them to stock up on the specialty cards and envelopes that they sell. This card base is a cool golden, shimmery paper and it has a matching envelope. Check out their display. They have lots of different sizes and shapes.

Have a great day!

FWF34 Pretty Please

Time for another Unity Blog Hop. Head there to see who's participating and be sure to watch for the "You found it!" blinkie. Make a comment on that blog for a chance to win a free stamp set!

Here's my submission for FWF challenge# 34. I was inspired by the sample card's use of complimentary Designer Paper (DP).  It's also a tribute to all the times we are hypnotized by something sparkly and our brains say "Can I have it?...Pretty pleeeeeease." Lol. I like the cheeriness of it. I took apart a vintage tag from Rebecca Sower and made it into a table complete with lace trim, I stamped the image with SU Regal Rose and added Smooch Illustrate to give it a shine, then added Sparklers (PSX Design) and used a new punch from EK Success for the label. I used the July KOTM for the greeting and Melody Ross' One Precious Life kit (Unity Stamps) for the shoe. TFL!

WOYWW and more frugal ideas

Quick post. You would think that I hadn't worked on anything since the last post but there was quite the flurry of different activities since the last WOYWW. I've just come back is all. This simple design had to be  continued so on a long car ride I cut out all the cups I'd stamped (Frugal tip #10: use your time wisely) and found some cute paper scraps for the bottom of the cups. I'm determined to make cards of all the ones I stamped. Then, Frugal tip #11 hit me. The tip is find another use for any given stamp. I realized that with Halloween approaching stealthily, my "What's brewing?" stamp could be perfect for a Halloween card when paired with a cute witch and some theme paper. Using the same design, I converted the sketch to just that theme. Now I just need to track down a cauldron stamp. Lol
TFL!

Today is the Day and Dreams

Two cards today. "Today is the Day" is my submission for FWF#33 (Friends With Flair at Unity). I love how coloring the bicycle with markers before stamping gave the image a watercolor look. The paper is by Colorbok (Forest Friends). The second card is "Dreams". Both cards use Unity's latest set by Melody Ross called "One Precious Life". I liked this girl chasing her dreams but I wanted to give her a skirt so I used an upside down flower and borrowed the wings and legs from an image on patterned paper in DCWV's Once Upon a Time stack (love this paper stack!) I had to add the sweet little butterfly dreams for her to catch! TFL. And enjoy Unity's Blog Hop today.

WOYWW, a couple of cute stamps and scraps

When I picked up this cute Amuse stamp of a "to go" coffee cup and it's matching greeting, I saw the cutest card sample on display. Since then I've been itching to duplicate it (complete with the Ranger white Enamel Accent on the lid). And since the paper piecing is so small, I figured I could (frugally) put some scraps to good use so I stamped it as many times as I could on one sheet of white c/s. I think the many extras will go into a pile to be sent to Operation Write Home ( a group that sends cards to soldiers). I see that going forward I will finesse the color combos, too, because I'm not sure my resulting card has enough contrast between the patterned paper and the c/s but it's a happy card as it is. (I'm especially pleased with the way I got the word "caffeine" placed just above the cup! Lol)
TFL!

Unity FWF Blog Hop

Here we are again. Another week of this delicious summer gone by. I hope you've been having fun.

It's time for another Unity blog hop. Head over to their blog to see the list of participants and then make yourself a nice iced drink and start hopping. There's always a ton of inspiration!

My contribution this week is a tribute to summer. The greeting and main stamps come from the June KOTM and they inspired me to do a beach scene. A few blog entries ago, I mentioned that I had picked up a $3 bamboo beach mat because I envisioned using the bamboo to add texture to projects. Well, considering the size of the mat, I think I'm set on my bamboo supply! I did use a small piece for, ironically, the beach mat in my card. I cut up an old towel to use here also. The flip flops were hand made. I wish you could see the detail. I cut out flowers from the patterned paper to 3-D on top and added a little bling to the middle of each flower. The boom box stamp came from the November KOTM and I stamped it 3 times to make 3-D layers. The paper came from an old DCWV Photo Stack pad. Most of the coloring of the main image came from Stampin' Up! markers but I snuck in a little Copic on the waves.

I hope this card puts you in a joyful summer mood! Thanks for stopping by.

Friends With Flair #32

Hello! A quick post before the clock strikes 12 because I have to post a new card after midnight for Unity Stamps Blog Hop tomorrow. Check back later.

This card is for the Friends With Flair Challenge #32. Every Friday, Unity posts a sample card on their blog and you are supposed to create a card that was inspired by it. I liked the four panels that the sample artist incorporated so I envisioned 4 panels of wallpaper (paper from Making Memories - Chelsea's Place kit). I've been wanting to use the Brave Girl kit by Melody Ross, so the butterfly girl fit the scene. I paper pieced her dress and added Stampendous Dot Sparklers to her collar and buttons, plus a little bling earring. I used the phrase stamp on a cool castle paper from the Once Upon a Time stack by DCWV. That became the picture in the frame on her wall.  I was really happy to find that the frame stamped nicely using StazOn on the My Mind's Eye glittered paper. All I had to do was cut it out. No messy glitter and embossing powder to deal with. The birdcage is also from the Brave Girl kit and fits the idea that butterfly girl can't abide birds in cages (she has wings, too, you know). 

Thanks for stopping by!

WOYWW

This stands for "What's on Your Workspace Wednesday". It's a group that shares just that: what we are working on. I like that I don't always have to have something done in order to share with like-minded individuals! Lol. My picture of my workspace today has some interesting features and if you know that I'm always on the lookout for great deals, they are, of course, part of the deal.

Today, I did a little hunting in the dollar bins of Michael's, 5 Below and Dollar Tree. At Michael's, I wanted to stock up on file folders not only because they're cute (and 4 for a dollar) but also because I used the plastic that they come in to store my 8.5 x 11 sheets of Unity rubber stamps (after I've moved them to a sheet of glossy paper-- works like a charm). To my surprise, all the folder sets I bought rang up at $1 except for the cute one in my picture. My bill showed that it only rang up at 1 cent! I didn't see any others like it in the bin so maybe that's their way of getting rid of the last of a kind? Good luck for me. I also got the cute Paula Deen recipe box for $1.80! I'm going to use it to store some little "go-to" stamps on my desk. At Dollar Tree, I found a couple of books that were each a dollar. One, I intend to read. It's called "Crazy Busy" and it's supposed to give advice on how to slow down. I'm game to read about that! The second book is in my pic. It's called "Fast Women" and it's a history of women in racing. I bought it because I'm thinking of ripping out pages and using them as a backdrop for cards using some kind of vehicle stamp. Maybe I'll even find one in my stash of a woman in a car. Love using book pages! What's not in the picture is the bamboo beach mat that I got for $3 at 5 Below. I'm going to cut squares off the mat and use them as texture on cards with some kind of complimentary theme (like summer, beach, etc.) So it was a fun day of shopping for crafting deals.

But the photo also shows the actual work I'm doing, too. I have 4 very cute Amuse stamps that are "Twilight" related: one of Edward, Jacob, Bella and her truck. I'm using Copic markers to color them and then I'll create some card scenes with them.

That's the tour. Thanks for stopping by!

Unity Friends With Flair Blog Hop

I am so excited to be included in this blog hop! If you're visiting and didn't know about the blog hop, go over to Unity and check out the list of blogs that are participating today. I used the "Love Bug" set, DCWV tree paper (from their Green Stack) and some cork paper that came in my "With a Cherry on Top" kit from the Caffinated Cropper. The scene had to have cans bumping in back of the love bug so I drew them around the XOXO stamp and strung them up with thread. I also used a couple of different punches to make the newlyweds silohuettes. Hope you get a kick out of this. :-)

Bro's birthday

I was in my LSS and drifted over to their clearance section. Mind you, it wasn't a dollar bin but my mojo was sparked when I saw a set of summer themed stamps that were perfect for my brother's July 5th bday coming up. And the set was 50% off. I pulled out my stash of rub-on letters and finally got a chance to use my COPIC markers on a project. The resulting card was simple but I like it.