yesterday...tomorrow...

first off...happy memorial day. a day to pay tribute to those who are not with us anymore, especially those who fought to save our freedom. thank you!

now, on to the h{ippity} hop blog hop! i got a new box of {ippity} goodness last week and i've been waiting to bust out one of the new sets. of course, i would love to open them all up, but that wouldn't do me much good, since i need to sell them!! so i picked the now and forever kit to use on this card. i've seen the flowers used over the past few weeks and love them! my friend suzi is going to chuckle when she sees this card! i also used the paper pack from the spring collection which has the fab paper from october afternoon. so stinking cute! my friend, sarah, made some atcs that had stamping on patterned paper. i loved it so i was inspired to try it out (other than just for paper piecing). i love how the butterfly flourishes look on the striped paper!

yesterday...tomorrow
stamps: ippity
cardstock: kraft, october afternoon pp, fancy pants pp, sassafrass pp
ink: onyx black
embellishments: glitter


so enjoy this weeks hop!! and don't forget to start at the begining over at the {ippity} blog. and visit my other blog if you want to buy some stamps. you just never now when you might get a freebie thrown in!!!

wedding cards...

i've decided i'm not great at wedding cards. a lady at work asked me to make her a couple and i've been stumped. i've put it off long enough so i had to get them done. i made two different styles, a cutesy one and a prettier one. in the second one, i paper pieced the couple and used a glaze pen to highlight some of the flourishes.

happy day
stamps: stamping bella, unity
cardstock: basic black, me & my big ideas pp
ink: purely pomegranate, onyx black
embellishments: satin ribbon, prismacolor markers
inside card: happy day



congrats
stamps: heidi grace, kim hughes
cardstock: melon mambo, buckaroo blue, american crafts pp
ink: rose red, pink pirouette, melon mambo, onyx black
embellishments: glaze pen, glossy accents

chicks rule...

t.g.i.f. this week has been eternally long. i'm so glad it's almost over. and it's memorial day this weekend, so does that mean summer is finally here? probably not in utah...but we'll see. by now you should know that friday means friends with flair!! here's my contribution this week. who says crowns on birds aren't cool?

remember to catch the rest of the blog hop back at the {unity blog}!


chicks rule
stamps: unity
cardstock: soft suede-su; walnut cream-bazzill; we r memory keepers & american crafts pp
ink: chocolate chip
embellishments: ribbon, stickles, bling
tools: corner rounder



ps. chicks do rule!!!

birds of a feather...

so i adore this little bird. he came in a set that i got at archiver's with some other little stamps. but he's got so much character! i also got the chair from a unity set. it's awesome. when i finished stamping the birds and chair, then colored them, i had an epiphany. ok, maybe epiphany is a strong word, but i wanted to see if i could figure out how to make some carpet. the chair was just begging for it! so i used some fun flock and hoped it looked a little like shag!

birds of a feather
stamps: unity, basic grey, hambo stamps
cardstock: certainly celery, tangerine tango, hot fudge, my mind's eye pp
ink: tangerine tango, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers, fun flock

hanging around...

sometimes clean and simple is good. at least that's what i decided when i finished this set of atcs for marie's little monkeys swap. i have quite a few monkeys. but i wanted to use this little guy. i thought he might look cute hanging form the tree. then i stumbled upon the sentiment while i was looking for the branch and it was a perfect fit!

hanging around
stamps: stampin up, purple onion
cardstock: soft sky, wild wasabi
ink: soft suede, chocolate chip, melon mambo, wild wasabi, baja breeze

original...

why does the weekend go by so fast? i don't always have a traditional weekend, with both saturday and sunday off, but when i do, it's over before i know it! so in a blink of an eye, it's monday. which means another h{ippity} hop monday! i busted out another {ippity} kit for this week's card. next week i'll have all new stuff. WOOT WOOT. so check out my {ippity} blog and stock up!!! special runs until may 30th!! one thing i've tried to figure out, since i don't do much (read any...) scrapbooking, is how to use the awesome journaling stamps that unity and {ippity} have (and other companies for that matter). the stamp under the scallop popped up is one of the journaling stamps. i love the border so i wanted to use it. and the scallop fit perfect to hide the lines! it just shows how versatile the stamps are!

start back at the {ippity} blog if that isn't what brought you here so you can see the other projects.


original
stamps: ippity
cardstock: very vanilla, river rock, kraft, my mind's eye pp
ink: sage shadow, river rock-su; onyx black versafine; old paper distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: ribbon-su
tools: nesties

wild rhino...

sometimes i join swaps without really thinking much about the theme of the swap. at the time i join, i think it will be easy to figure out. then, as time goes by, i realize it isn't so easy to figure out. the swap i'm talking about is an african safari atc theme hosted by marie. i've been putting off this swap for weeks, because i could not figure out what to do. as i watched the due date get closer, i decided i needed to work something out. so i hope this is going to pass! and look, ma...no unity! at first, i cut the pp too big, so i had to trim it. what i had left were these tiny strips. i thought they might look cute used like ribbon, kind of, so i decided to mix them with some hemp twine behind the rhino. gives it a different kind of look.

wild rhino
stamps: viva las vegas stamps
cardstock: dusty durango, soft suede, sahara sand, crate paper pp
ink: chocolate chip; onyx black; old paper distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: prismacolor markers, hemp twine, glaze pen

thread of love...

time for friends with flair friday! is it really friday already? i can't believe how fast this week has flown by (but yet how slowly at the same time). i can't believe that work gets so in the way of my crafting! but i guess if there wasn't work, there wouldn't be crafts to play with. i've done the 9-5 (ok, 8-4) gig this week at work (doing the schedule) and all i can say is i love my usual schedule of three 12 hour shifts. i realized last night that i needed to get this done so i could post in today. i had great intentions all week, but somehow it got put aside. but this weekend i hope to have craft-o-palooza in my little studio!! i paper pieced the spool of thread. this is actually an atc for a swap my friend suzi is hosting. i just haven't finished the whole set yet, like i usually take a picture of.

don't forget the rest of the blog hop starts at the {unity blog} ! thank goodness for friday!

thread of love
stamps: unity
cardstock: kiwi kiss, bermuda bay, american crafts pp
ink: kiwi kiss, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers, button mini brads-making memories

childhood summer...

sometimes people ask me if i scrapbook. i usually just laugh. i am definitely not a scrapbooker. i've tried. can't do it. this is the best i can do at an attempt of scrapbooking. it's for the summer circle journal (that is swiftly coming to a close). this is my entry for joanne's cj. she wanted something about our favorite childhood summer memories.

speaking of childhood, and not having one if it weren't for my cute dad being born, i'd like to wish him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

happy birthday, dad!!

childhood summer
stamps: unity, inkadinkadoo
cardstock: soft sky, pacific point, american crafts pp
ink: pacific point, onyx black
embellishments: su ribbon, may arts ribbon, prismacolor markers, staples
font: pea swimmy

hippos and things...

my niece turned 16 a few weeks ago. old news. sad part was her birthday bbq was snowed out! so we had a make up on saturday. and the weather was absolutely gorgeaous! i had a crazy busy week last week, so i was in a rush to make her card before her party and didn't get a chance to get a good picture. so sorry about the phone quality of this photo!! the party was fun and her cake was crazy!

hippobidietwoewe
stamps: basic grey, maryse carrier
cardstock: kraft, cloud 9 pp
ink: riding hood red, onyx black
embellishments: su ribbon, prismacolor markers, staples
font: snf playground blacktop


inside of card

cute syd and her cake

hoo-ligans...

friday. sometimes friday can not come quick enough. other times, it's here before you know it. the here before you know it was my friday this week. it's been a crazy up and down roller coaster week. and i'm glad it's almost over. on a up note, friday means friends with flair! hop on over to the {unity blog} to start this fwf blog hop from the start! i made this set of atcs for a swap that jenn, from over at the shack, is hosting. the theme is owls. and when i inked this stamp, the first thought that popped into my head was "hoo-ligans!"

have a great friday!!

ps i used the patterned paper from the paper pack from the {ippity} winter collection. great paper!


hoo-ligans
stamps: unity
cardstock: river rock, very vanilla, my mind's eye pp
ink: vintage sepia, old paper & pumice stone distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: prismacolor markers, buttons, embroidery floss, zing chestnut embossing powder
tools: corner rounder


pps i was looking for some stamps today and ran across this stamp on a website. this owl stamp from unity is called 'who-lagins'...it didn't even occur to me that it was 'hooligans' at the time!! i'm a dork! i was trying to figure out what a who-lagin was...figured it was an obscure name for an owl! d'oh!

new ippity goodness...

the new stamps from {ippity} are here!! click here to see all the deets!

more sneaky peekys...

from {ippity}...check them out here... ...new release is tomorrow!! woot woot!!

green tree...

i have a little obsession lately with tree stamps. i've kept it kind of on the down low...not like with my owl obsession (which i still have, thank you) where i used an owl on projects all the time. and i had a specific tree stamp in mind when i decided to host a tree atc swap. but i for the life of me could not figure out how to make it work for what i wanted it!! so i gave up and used this tree stamp instead. which is still totally cute. and then i found this quote. which made me like this stamp even more, so i could add the birdie. i know. i'm wierd.

green tree
stamps: unity, ippity, stampin up
cardstock: dusty durango, soft suede, my mind's eye pp
ink: soft sky, old olive, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor & tombow markers
font: snf delilah

hey, friend...

i hate to even admit this, but you can find some stamps and craft goodness in some pretty odd places. like this stamp of the little turtle, the one standing on the rock (yes, that's a rock...or my interpretation of one!) it's from a set of stamps that ek success has released from the american girl line. yep, even the american girl is getting in on the stamping action! i saw them at michael's and love the little animals that were in the set. go figure.



hey, friend!
stamps: basic grey, ek success, stampin up, inkadinkadoo
cardstock: going grey, american crafts pp
ink: pacific point, always artichoke, old olive, baja breeze-su; onyx black versafine; pumice stone distress ink-tim holtz
tools: 1 1/4 circle punch

just keep swimming...

guess what it's time for?? another h{ippity} hop blog hop!! woot woot! do you ever have those days where you just have to keep telling yourself to just get through the day and it will all be ok? that's what this card is for. dorrie was a wise one when she told marlin to just keep swimming! just keep swimming...good words of wisdom!

remember to start here if you missed the beginning of the h{ippity} hop so you can see all the other fun creations!


just keep swimming
stamps: ippity
cardstock: purely pomegranate, my mind's eye pp
ink: green galore, tempting turquoise, taken with teal, cool carribean-su; onyx black versafine; versamark
embellishments: chestnut-zing embossing powder, glaze pen, prismacolor markers, satin ribbon-su, hemp twine


ps don't {ippity} stamps rock?? you know you want some!!! and new releases come out on thursday!!!

happy mother's day...

i want to wish

my cute mom
and all the other mother's out there a very

flower bunny...

i knew in my head that i wanted to use this cute bunny stamp for chris's bunny atcs swap. what i didn't know in my head was that i would use this cute bunny stamp on a card earlier in the week! so sorry for the stamp repeat again! but isn't it sweet?


flower bunny
stamps: ippity
cardstock: barely banana, kraft, dear lizzy+american crafts pp
ink: onyx black, rose red
embellishments: prismacolor markers, prima flowers

graduation invites...

a friend at work asked if i would be willing to make her some invitations to her son's graduation party. i jumped at the chance, because i knew it would be a challange and thought it would be fun to try something other than a card. turns out, it's almost the same as a card! but it was fun making them anyway!! i made 25 of these bad boys. she told me her son thought they were "cool!"


invited
stamps: kim huges-chf, kollette hall
cardstock: handsome hunter
ink: onyx black, forest foilage
embellishments: prismacolor markers
font: snf metro

sew what...

can you believe it's friday already? and that means another friends with flair friday!! do you ever sometimes just want to say "so what?" to some people? i find myself thinking that A LOT! but i never really say it out loud. well, here's the perfect excuse! of course, it's a little different and maybe not so rude! the funny thing about this...didn't i post not too long ago that i was done with paper piecing? i guess i lied!

be sure to start {here} at the beginning of the blog hop so you can be on the lookout for the special blinkie. find it and comment for your chance to win 25 stamps from unity! woot woot!

happy friday!!


sew what?
stamps: unity
cardstock: very vanilla-su; fancy pants pp; my mind's eye pp; american crafts pp
ink: onyx black versafine; ice blue-colorbox chalk ink
embellishments: waxed cord, hemp twine
tools: corner rounder

new ippity goodness...

don't forget to mark your calendars!!

you can buy {ippity} stamps here!

plus today, 05/06/10, you can comment on the {ippity} blog for a chance to win a free set! click the picture above to go there.

one chick to another...

i love finding stamps that i knew in the back of my mind i had, but perhaps misplaced! especially ones i've never inked up before! that is the case with these cool chickens! and they are perfect for the chicken atc swap christie is hosting. plus i love this sentiment from amuse! i bought this chicken wire stamp the day after i signed up for the swap because i knew it would work somehow!


from one chick to another
stamps: gina k, amuse, prima
cardstock: dusty durango, river rock, very vanilla
ink: dusty durango-su; onyx black versafine; pumice stone distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: prismacolor markers

oh snap...

i promise i will start posting projects with stamps other than unity soon! i have just been playing along with the challenges over at scs for the unity anniversary! this is another card that i made for the triple take challenge. you had to follow a sketch, use 4 different patterned papers, and add a button or bling. i also got a new set of nesties on saturday (woot woot, 50% off coupon!) so i wanted to play a bit with those.

oh snap!
stamps: unity
cardstock: soft sky, blue bayou, kraft-su; we r memory keepers pp
ink: blue bayou-su; onyx black versafine
embellishments: prismacolor markers, stickles, buttons-sei, ribbon-su
tools: nestabilities

friend to friend...

and i bet you thought i was getting out of the atc game and back into cards, right? wrongo!! i was just making some cards for fun. of course i'm still in a ton of atc swaps, so i will always be making those! these are for christie's barynard swap. love the little cow expression.

friend to friend
stamps: gina k, unity
cardstock: baja breeze, my mind's eye pp
ink: blue bayou-su; onyx black versafine
embellishments: prismacolor markers
tools: nestabilities

hello there...

it's my first h{ippity} hop blog hop! i'm so excited to finally start using these cute stamps! i just love this little bunny. it's so cute! and i love the 'hello there' font. ok, fine. i love it all!!! i'm turning into a junkie for these stamps!! you can find my {ippity} blog here. and if you missed the beginning of the h{ippity} hop, then click here to see all the other fun creations! happy hopping!


hello there
stamps: ippity
cardstock: very vanilla, kraft-su; fancy pants pp
ink: onyx black, walnut stain distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: prismacolor markers, clear embossing powder


ps don't forget that {ippity} is having a new stamp release on may 13th! they are going to be cute!!

spring palooza 2010...

for the past three years, a group of stamping friends have gotten together in angola, indiana at this cute little place, the potawatomi inn, for an extended weekend of stamping and hanging out. we all met online, through a few different message boards, first from paper craft magazine, then the stamp shack. it's amazing what friendships have grown through a group of stangers! i kinda forgot to take a lot of pictures this year at palooza but here are a few. it was such a fun weekend!

row 1: kristi, chelsea
row 2: traci, kim
row 3: kathy, jennifer
row 4: angie, chris
row 5: mary
row 6: robin, robin

my crafting area for the weekend. believe it or not, i knew exactly where everything was!


how many will fit in the smallest elevator ever?


cheers!


the view from my room


i found a few more that my cute mom took...

i'll pull you through...

i made a couple of different versions of this card, at palooza. the first one i made for the unity blog hop, then fiddled with it a little. this version i used a different color scheme. i also added the inside sentiment that reads "i'll pull you through". i'm so digging these unity stamps (if you didn't notice!)

i'll pull you through
stamps: unity, basic grey, purple onion
cardstock: hot fudge-mft; fancy pants design pp
ink: onyx black, baja breeze, soft sky, certainly celery
embellishments: prismacolor markers
tools: tim holtz on the edge scallops die

cute as a button...

happy national scrapbook day!! of course i'm not a scrapbooker, but i certainly use all the products!! speaking of, do you sometimes wish you never would have discovered something? i could say that about a lot of things...chocolate, good chips & salsa, coke! but what i'm really talking about are unity stamps. (i swear i'm not a paid advertisement for them...i know it seems like i am!) i feel like a junkie. i see a set and i have to have it! but i can't help it. they.are.so.stinking.cute! perhaps i need an intervention. nah. there are worse things i could be addicted to!

i worked yesterday, came home and watched the jazz beat the nuggets (which is rare that i even watched a whole basketball game!), then headed to my craft room. i've learned that i do a lot of my best work late at night. i made this card for a challenge over at splitcoast stampers (another stamp message board!) for unity's 2nd birthday celebration. it was kind of a challenge because i've never had to be restricted to using only one brand of stamps. i'm sure i've made cards before with only one brand, but not intentionally. i like to have lots of options. you also had to follow a sketch and use ribbon and 3 buttons somewhere on the card. this made me think a little...ok a lot! and i love how it turned out.

cute as a button
stamps: unity
cardstock: old olive, very vanilla-su; fancy pants pp
ink: walnut stain, old paper distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: buttons; ribbon-basic grey; prismacolor markers; mini staples-bo bunny
tools: 1, 1 1/4, 1 1/2, 1 3/4 circle punches