A birthday cat...

Hi there!

I've read that "moving meditation" is good for you. Some people knit, others paper piece. I fall into the latter group. It's relaxing and fun, what can I say?  The chair and lamp are from the Comfy Cozy set at Unity stamps and the little owl is from their January '10 KOTM. Maddie the cat, though, is making her debut on my blog today. I got her from Lydia at Understand Blue (she modeled her after the real Maddie). I can just imagine the mischief she'll get into. Today, she's appearing on my Hope You Can Cling To Challenge #12 (making a birthday card with paper piecing). Only the owl knows for sure if her case is water tight. What do you think? You can find all the deets in my SCS Gallery.

Oh....and.....gee.....were you checking back to see who won yesterday's blinkie prize? Using Random.org, the winner is......

True Random Number GeneratorResult:13Powered by RANDOM.ORG

dclouser said...

What an amazing card! So creative and inspiring. Congrats on having the blinkie this week!

Congrats, Debbie! Let Jimmi know that you won this week's blinkie prize by emailing her at jimmi.mayo@gmail.com Give her your full name and address so she can get it to you!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

FWF Blog Hopping at Unity

Another Friday, another fun Friends With Flair hop starting at Unity's blog. Remember to keep your eye out for the "Flair Located Here" blinkie because when you leave some love on that blog, you are automatically entered to win a prize package!

When I saw last week's card sample for the FWF Challenge #48, the doily inspired me. It reminded me of a tablecloth so I dragged out Little Owl again for more fun. This time he's whipping up his Thanksgiving dinner (notice the apron). But you can bet he won't be serving turkey! So this year, in addition to being thankful for his friends and family, he's thankful for his veggies, too. Lol. I had a lot of fun setting his holiday table. Deets can be found on my SCS Gallery.

Are you still with me? Good because.....(drum roll).... I have the blinkie! Your loyalty to this post has been rewarded (hee hee). Just leave me a little love and you'll be entered in the random drawing tomorrow morning for the prize package.

Don't stop now, though. Lots of blogs to still visit and get inspiration from. Have a wonderful weekend....I'll be working on more Hope You Can Cling To challenges.... *smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

One more challenge card...

Is it midnight yet? Lol. My Friends With Flair Blog Hop post is coming by 9am EST tomorrow. 'Til then I just wanted to sneak in another Hope You Can Cling To challenge card. This one was to use ribbon and you can say I did. I'm hoping this little Suzi Blu cheerleader (from Unity--available through Limelight Papercrafts) will bring good cheer to someone's day. Thanks for looking. As usual, the card deets can be found in my SCS Gallery. Come back for the blog hop!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Another challenge card or two

I'm hooked on another set of challenges through the Hope You Can Cling To forum (see sidebar). This set is a little more daunting. One for every day of October and I joined it on the 24th??? We'll see how many I get done... Lol.

Here's my second one, the HYCCT25 button challenge. I hope to get a couple more done today so check back if you're curious!

This one uses a sweet set from Unity called Along for the Ride. Deets are on my SCS Gallery, as usual.

Thanks for looking!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Hope You Can Cling To Challenge and WOYWW72

Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) is hosting a forum called Hope You Can Cling To. Its purpose is to generate cards (through challenges) to send to the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX to benefit patients being treated for breast cancer and their families. HYCCT Challenge #24 was to use a girl image and the color pink. I love my Suzi Blu girl stamps so out this one came. Her dress just had to be pink and I gave her a layered petticoat to add a little frill. I find it fun to put different stamp sets together and this card uses four different Unity sets. Deets can be found on my SCS Gallery, but I have to tell you that her skirt is actually a large corner stamp! I keep coming back to my Once Upon a Time DP by DCWV when using these girl stamps because it's so fairy tale inspiring.

For my What's On Your Workspace Wednesday friends, here's my desk after making this card and my craft closet close-up is evidence that I finally organized my Unity stamps (but, whoa, the weight on those shelves is making me look bad! Lol). I have an up-to-date notebook with all the images so now I can browse through it and know where to find the stamp I want. The desk is still chaos that only I can maneuver, but that's the way I roll!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Happy H{ippity} Hop Day

Hello!
Back from vacay and what did I do? Entered the H{ippity} Hop at the eleventh hour, of course! Lol. That's how craft-deprived I was. Couldn't wait to get back to the craft desk...

These beauties are from Ippity's Fishy Philosophy set. I knew right away that I wanted them to swim in and out of the seaweed in the ocean so I used acetate to accomplish that. I stamped the seaweed with StazOn, colored in the leaves with a Bic Mark-It marker in Key Lime, then paper pieced the fish. Two to swim under the acetate on cool water DP and one lovely to swim above it. I stamped more ocean plants on the front of the card with Versamark Dazzle in Champagne. More deets can be found in my SCS Gallery. Hope you like it!

Join the blog hop here. There will be a random drawing of a comment on one of the blogs for a prize, so be sure to leave love wherever you go!
Happy day to you,

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Friday - Friends With Flair Blog Hop

Hello, again. Still away but thought I'd submit this for my FWF Blog Hop. It was a card I made for a Unity challenge that asked for stamping on fabric. I think the country linen I chose was a little too coarse for the ink but it worked okay for the postcard image, just not the sentiment. Had to paper piece that on. I used a great postcard background paper from K&Co and even snipped an extra stamp image to put on my postcard. I tried to come up with the most common name of street and city (I've heard the name Springfield is the most popular city name in the US!) All the deets can be found in my SCS Gallery. Wanna know a fun little fact that will get your blog hop juices flowing? The sentiment I used was from my blinkie prize package! I won back in August and was just overjoyed to get my prize! Now, click here to join this week's blog hop because if you leave a comment on the blog with the blinkie that say's "You've found it!", you'll be entered to win a prize package of your own!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Thursday - Inspired Challenge

Hello! I'm still on vacay so I thought I'd show you yet another card that I submitted to the Unity World Card Making Day Challenge. This was to be an inspiration from a home decor scene. I took a portion of the photo and made my own version using Unity's vintage postcard stamp. The deets are on my SCS Gallery. Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Wednesday - WOYWW and a challenge card

Hello all! If there's no workspace showing here it's because I ran out of time before leaving on vacay. If there is, yay me, I got to it! I will show you a card I made for a challenge at Unity that required some form of stitching on it. Go to my SCS Gallery for all the deets. Thanks and have a great WOYWW (I promise a chaotic workspace next week!)

P.S. If you're wondering what WOYWW is, click on the link on my sidebar and take a tour!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

PPS- who believes in serendipity? Quick story: while here on vacation with my family, I joined my mom at her exercise class the other day. I met all the wonderful people that she gets together with 3 times a week for this. One woman is an author of 3 books of poetry and prose and my mom spoke so highly of her that I asked her to bring a copy of her first book to the next class and I would purchase it. Today was the next class and something made me do a double take when I got it. The cover of her book has a tree with a swing. See the card I posted today? I set up all my vacation posts LAST Friday and this card was scheduled for today! How amazing is that? Life is full of strange and wonderful coincidences, isn't it? :-)

Tuesday - Hand made flower challenge card

Hi! Here's the card I made for the hand made flower challenge over at Unity. Check out the deets at my SCS Gallery. TFL and have a great day!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Monday - H{ippity} Blog Hop

Hi everyone!

Go to the {ippity} blog so you can hop through lots of {ippity} inspiration today!

This was the card I made for a swing card challenge at Unity. Love this {ippity} car stamp in the set called Authentic Man. I have all the deets on my SCS Gallery. TFL and have a great day of hopping!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Sunday - The distressed card challenge

Hi!

Here's the card I made for Unity's distressed card challenge. Go to my SCS Gallery for all the deets! TFL and have a nice day.

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Saturday, the painting on cardstock card

Here's the card I made for the Unity's painting on cardstock challenge. Go to my SCS Gallery for all the deets!

Have a great day,

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

FWF Blog Hop and Challenges completed!

Welcome to Unity's Friends With Flair Blog Hop! If you'd like to start at the beginning click here and buckle your seat belt because it's gonna be a wild ride. We've all been working on Unity's World Card Making Day challenges, so there will be lots of inspiration out there.

My Little Owl above was submitted to their paper piecing challenge and boy did I paper piece! Lol. He and all his ties couldn't escape my scissors...hee hee. It's just that he was trying to decide which tie was funkier!

I'd also like to announce that I completed all 23 challenges (as of 1:30 this morning)! Since dh and I are off today to visit my family and ds#1 in Texas, I've decided to post all my recent challenges over the next week. I don't want my blog to go dark while I'm gone so this way I can keep posting. (Of course, you can just go to my SCS Gallery and I give complete supply lists there, too.)

Have a wonderful day and get over to the hop!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Challenges (again) and WOYWW 70

The first card was for a Unity color challenge. I think I actually used all the colors since they were all fall related. I got Little Owl in the August '10 KOTM and used him a lot. I thought once the next kit came I'd be able to put him away but he still wants to play! He wants in on the candy corn so he thought of the easiest costume he could make: a pumpkin on the top of his head. I made him a little trick or treat bag from lunch bag paper and one of the cute little pumpkins on the tree.

The second card challenge was to create a birthday card so I thought candy apples would be nice for my sister-in-law's autumn birthday. The glossy accents on the apples add a nice effect!

My workspace. Don't have a heart attack. This is what it looked like before I went to bed last night. When I finish a card, I take a picture of it and then run upstairs to the computer to upload it to SCS. I take a sampling of the supplies I used in order to jog my memory when I'm listing everything with the upload. So...when I'm done with that I just bring it all back down and put it on my desk for sorting. Believe me, before I started on my next card, I had sorted things and had a nice 12"x12" space to conduct my business, hee hee.

A few things you see: the Lacey Squares die from Spellbinders that I used to make my baby card in the previous post; Stampin Up markers; Hodgepodge Hardware in the blue SU box; ribbon sets from SU; rolled up ribbons, button sets and lots of Die-namics dies from a recent order from My Favorite Things.

Thanks for looking. I'm hoping to keep adding to this post as I complete more challenges today so bookmark me and check back! Supplies are listed on my SCS Gallery.

Thanks and have a nice WOYWW!

More challenges...

Still chugging through these Unity Challenges... (I think I can... I think I can.... Lol)

When I first saw the little animals image in the July '10 KOTM, I knew what I wanted to do with it. How could they be anything but a toy train? So the mini card challenge was a good time to make that card. I love the sweetness of it....

I took the picture of the hibiscus in July when my plant was thriving. I'd hoped at the time that I'd get around to making it part of a project so the photo card challenge, again, was a good match. I didn't want to use patterned paper because I wanted the flower to be the focus so I had to jazz up the plain cardstock I used with an embossing folder, ribbon, hardware, a punch and crystal stickers. (D'ya think I overcompensated a little? I don't think so.... I'm happy with the balance.)

My aunt loves angels and recently gave me a book about them, so I made this thank you card for her. The challenge theme was "Soaring" so that's what my angel is doing. I used a couple of different Unity sets and hand drew the large cloud around my sentiment. I gave the angel a rhinestone face and a little umbrella that I cut from the flip side of the double-sided patterned paper I used. (Why an umbrella? If you look at the background paper carefully, you'll see that rain is coming from all the clouds.) The pop dots behind all the elements really give a good 3-D effect.

The last challenge addressed today was a one layer card. All my stamping was done on the card base, but when I wanted to use a good length of ribbon, I decided to cut slits around the ticket in order to weave it behind and through. I used 5 different Unity sets on this card. If you can't name them all, go to my SCS Gallery for the supply list!

TFL!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Challenges, challenges, challenges....

Hello!  I'm still plugging away at Unity's World Card Making Day Challenges...

I've included two today. One challenge was to make a pop-up card so when my ds needed a card for a friend turning 16 who was celebrating with a paintball party, I found just the right sentiments to add to my quick card in the Dec '09 KOTM, the Melody Ross kit called Brave Girl and the Ippity set called Authentic Man. I used a Sizzix pop-up template for the inside greeting along with a Tim Holtz grungeboard star (that I thought after coloring it red, looked like a good paintball splat! Lol).

The second one was a sketch challenge. My cards are sometimes way out there, fantasy-wise but the whole card usually works together. This time part of the sketch was to include ribbon which didn't exactly go with the scene but the dashes and circles on the ribbons seem to play nicely with the rest of the features. I use an adorable Itty Bitty stamp set is called "Nicest Place To Be" that I got as a bonus when I ordered some sets recently. Those "bots" do make a cute couple.

I always provide a full list of supplies of my cards in my SCS Gallery.

Check back periodically because I do hope to keep posting these challenges for the rest of the week.

TFL!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Ippity Hippity Hop

This is my first time participating in this hop! For those of you not familiar with Ippity, it is the line of Unity stamps sold through private agents, as opposed to stores or the Unity website. Check here for more info about the opportunity or to find an agent,  or just check out my friend Jen Marie's site to see these cute stamps!

I've used the set called Books a' Flutter to create this bookmark which floats behind the kids holding books. I kept it simple. The books are colored with Copics, the butterfly is paper pieced and they are both popped up with foam dots. A little gingham ribbon and done. The dp from The Grade School Stack by DCWV is so colorful, no other embellishments were really needed.

TFL and go to the {ippity} blog to see the list of sites participating in the hop today! Have a great day...

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

FWF Blog Hopping at Unity

Hello! Let's start with a frugal tip, shall we? Frugal tip #38: Before you put a coat away, stick some cash in a pocket. What a nice surprise a year later when you reach for it and you find fun money!

Starting around 11am EST, join in the fun at Unity's Friends with Flair Blog Hop. Everyone loves comments but if you see a flashing Unity blinkie that says "You found it!" be sure to leave a comment there and you'll have a chance to win a fun collection of stamps. Good luck!

I'm posting my two latest cards in the challenge marathon (a total of 23 before Oct 16th). To find out more about how you can participate head here.

I'm having fun with my first Ippity stamps. I used "Music of My Heart" on both cards because it's so versatile. Love that! The first card also uses the love birds from Unity's July KOTM and lots of fun embellishments, like that Tim Holtz keyhole and rhinestone brads and hearts. Can you guess that this was my submission for the Ribbon Challenge?

The second card was for a Shaped Card Challenge. I used the sheet music stamp to make a bird cage. I had to "wing it" (no pun intended) to create the top of the cage. I think the Copic marker helped define it. I masked the bird and added a little rattan edge for the table that the cage sits on and some hemp string in holes I punched on the side with a scalloped border punch. I needed something for the finial at the top of the cage so I just turned a rhinestone heart upside down and voila, problem solved!

Thanks for looking. You can find the list of goodies used on these cards in my SCS Gallery.

Have fun hopping!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

WOYWW70 - Not for the feint of heart

If there isn't a card or two accompanying this post, come back later. I will be adding some. On to the "feint of heart" comment.

I decided to show you, not just what's on my workspace, but also "what's around my workspace," so you'll know why I am close to breaking a leg every day. I figure that if I ever decide I'm not inspired enough to make something, I'll have time to organize it. Lol.

The desk, and yes, to the person that asked, it does have little recesses in it to hold various sized objects. It's called Scrap-N-Stor, I think, because if someone wants to save a FLAT project in process, it folds up and wheels away. I haven't done that since the day I promised dh that I'd put it away every night if I could just use this room for crafting!

To the left of where I sit is a coffee table that has the supplies for the baby books I'm supposed to be working on, ephemera that I think is going on vacation scrapbook pages (haven't scrapbooked in a while...), stamp sets, journals, magazines, etc. I just noticed that I have two tupperware containers on the table. I only need one to catch the bees that are coming in through my overhead lights (don't worry, the exterminator is coming tomorrow to find their little nest outside...Lol). Oh and the pink notebook is where I keep copies of insert that comes with my Unity stamp sets. I can leaf through the book quickly when I'm searching for images that will go together. Yes, that's Pikachu. Leftover from my ds' childhood. I squeeze his little paw and he keeps me company by saying "Pikachu" every minute or so for about 15 minutes. Lol.

Behind my desk, the chair I usually sit on (I have to stand on a step stool to take these pics), the SU 12x12 album that holds pages of scrap patterned paper from recent projects, the glossy photo paper I use to transfer my Unity stamps to for storage, all my Unity sets getting ready to be put in those magazine files chronologically.

The closet to the right of my desk. Holds more than can be listed. Patterned paper, Project Life album, inks, punches, books, rub-ons, ribbon, bling storage and so much more.

This is what I call my satellite studio because the mother lode of stuff is in the basement room that was supposed to be for the kids... but they got over it.

Have a nice WOYWW and please don't stage an intervention. I will not be cured! LOL

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr --- now you have proof)

More Unity Challenges

Unity World Card Making Day Challenges...continued.....

It was very difficult to conceive of a card that didn't have black matting somewhere on it, but for the "No Patterned Paper" challenge (#17), I even avoided the matting and went with a little masking and I have to say I like it. I could actually save the extra stamp in mailing it because it has no bulk. I'm really enjoying these Suzi Blu girls. And I'm testing the Ippity waters with this postcard stamp image. (Ippity is a Unity line that is sold through individual agents as opposed to stores or the company website.) Love that the postcard has writing on it. I just had to vintage it up with Ranger's Distress Ink. The Eiffel Tower and sentiment are from the Sept KOTM. Another fun fact: I made a happy mistake. I forgot to mask the girl when I stamped the postcard but I like the script on her skirt, so... no problem! Lol.

The shaker card was for Challenge #2. It just so happens that I was planning on making a shaker card for the holidays, so I had this neat "sweet treat" cup from Stampin' Up on hand to use on my card. The funny thing is that as much as I planned out the placement, I didn't realize that the "snow" in the shaker was going to wind up looking like it's drifting in mid-air! Lol. Oh well, it looks cute when it's flat. Too bad, the light didn't capture the extra "sparkly-ness" of the white paper. It's glistens, really.

Thanks for looking. Card specifics can be found in my SCS Gallery. Stay tuned because I really hope to do all 23 challenges, so I'll try to post often. Have a great day!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Unity Challenges #15 and #23

I just love Unity and who doesn't like being singled out every once and a while? The card I posted last Friday was mentioned by the lovely Jimmi today as one of her Sunday favs. Thanks, Jimmi!

Unity is continuing to celebrate World Card Making Day by hosting 23 challenges at Splitcoast --- all sorts of fun involved. Scroll down to Unity's Friday, Oct 1st post when you go here. What's great is that you can play along with as many challenges as you want for a chance to win a prize in each one OR you can participate in all 23 and be entered to win the grand prize: a FREE year of Kits of the Month! I'm up for the full challenge so I figure I have to do at least 2 a day until the contest ends on Oct 16th! Lol.

Here are my first two cards.

The theme of challenge #15 is bling, so I think the dragon qualifies on his own but the little cupcake fairy who refuses to be fazed by him as she makes her appointed rounds has a little bling going on, too! (Frugal tip #37: Keep your eyes peeled for inexpensive non-craft items to incorporate into your projects. This dragon cost $1 and was meant to be used as a laptop cling!) 

The theme of challenge #23 is going postal: create a card and coordinating envelope.

(Card specifics can be found in my SCS Gallery.)

Gotta rest up for another day of card challenges! Have a great day...

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

I have spent most of the evening doing the Unity FWF blog hop because it's like a good book that you can't put down! Time for bed, but since it's already World Cardmaking Day, I'm posting the card that I worked on before I started hopping...lol. It's for the Limelight Papercrafts challenge #57. You can find the challenge here. I always seem to finish a card when the picture-taking light is the worst (until I break down and get a light box...) so sorry if the resolution isn't great. Hope you like my little Queen of Fall. My card specifics can be found in my SCS Gallery. Now to bed, I have to get some rest before tackling all the fun that comes with World Cardmaking Day! G'night...

P.S. I almost forgot Frugal tip #36: these days, we all want the latest punches. Why not look in your stash for one you haven't used in awhile? These leaf punches have been sitting around for years!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

I hope this CHAIRS you up

Happy Friends With Flair Friday, everyone!

I was so looking forward to the Sept KOTM because I wanted to do a musical chairs card with that cute stamp. I found birds in my various kits that wanted to play along (and could fit on the chairs!) Sadly, one owl didn't get to his chair on time so he lost out. This card is meant to CHAIR him up. So, Frugal tip # 35:Stretch your stamp stash by combining unrelated stamps for a fresh look.

Thanks for looking. (Card specifics can be found on my SCS Gallery.)

Be sure and head here to start at the beginning of the Unity FWF blog hop. You are sure to find tons of inspiration there!

And check back here tomorrow. It's World Card Making Day and I'm making another Suzi Blu card!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)