Jun 28, 2012

dream...

what's the fun thing about cutting out rings? you get circles as leftovers! so i made a card using the leftovers!!    the card i made with the rings can be found here.

check out the unity blog for other friends with flair peeps!!  and have a fab weekend!!


dream
stamps: ippity
cardstock:  white, gable green, lovely lilac, tempting turquoise
ink: onyx black
tools:  silhouette

Jun 26, 2012

being creative...

i bought a new mixed media art journal the other day and as soon as i got home, i wanted to get it started.   i saw this quote on pinterest and thought it's so true. so this is going to be kind of a long post. i did a bunch of things with this page so i wanted to explain them a little bit.


being creative
stamps:  unity, smash*
paper: mixed media journal, becky higgins pp, dictionary page
ink:  walnut stain, broken china, worn lipstick, jet black
paint: gesso, acrylic
embellishments:  muslin, glimmer mist, buttons, tiny attacher, ghost alphabet
other: decoupage, bubble wrap, india ink

here are some close-ups of the page.  i cut some flowers out of muslin, then sprayed them with glimmer mist. and you see my favorite bubble wrap stamped all over!


i love using pages from books.  it gives such a cool look.  with this one, i wanted to leave the 'create' definition unpainted so it would stand out.


used more muslin to mat the piece of paper i stamped 'hobby' on.  also used a button for the 'o'.


using some of these plastic ghost alphabet letters, i laid them out, then sprayed glimmer mist over the top of them so they were like a stencil.  i outlined them with my favorite new pen.  if you like writing or doodling on anything, you need this pen!!



i loved this gelato thing where you make paint using gelatos, then realized halfway through the process i could do the same with thinned out acrylic paint. but i do love how it turned out.  i did add some white to the paint to make it a little lighter.


after i mixed up the paint, i used a very technical process i learned from tracy, know as "drippies", it left some tiny flecks of the gelatos that didn't get dissolved. the result looks cool.


and if you are still following this long post, here is the whole thing (when i remembered to take pictures!) from the beginning!!





Jun 25, 2012

one moment...

i hate when i need to send sympathy cards. and i don't keep a supply around for that reason. but i needed to send one to a friend's sister.  i used the new {ippity}set dream to be and one from unity (with sympathy) that is awesome for sympathy/condolence cards.  inside sentiment says:  with love and hugs.


one moment
stamps: ippity, unity
cardstock:  crumb cake, white, authentique pp
ink: soft suede
tools:  distress markers, corner chomper

Jun 23, 2012

thank you...

do you love dicuts?  do you love specialty cards?  scrapbook but hate cutting out things to go on your pages?  have you checked out the website creative cuts & more?   they have whatever you could imagine just for those reasons!  this card was made for my first post as a design team member for creative cuts & more.   check out their blog, diecut diva, to see my post!


thank you
stamps: hero arts, unity
cardstock:  date swirl, white
ink: wistera wonder, dusty concord, eggplant
dicuts:  scallop circle, small circle window a2

Jun 22, 2012

amazing...

happy friday, peeps!!  it's time for friends with flair.   i made this card for my hubby.  he is always amazing, but this week, even more so.  this was a pretty simple card...some patterned paper and a stamp (from what i know kotm).


amazing
stamps: unity
cardstock:  crumb cake, walnut cream, my mind's eye pp
ink: soft suede

and if you are thinking "why should i sit and look at a bunch of projects?"  well the answer, other than the obvious "because they are usually pretty awesome!"  is because you can win a bunch of unity goodness!!  last week,  i was one of the winners of this bounty.  woot woot!!  so take a few minutes, grab a beverage, start here and comment along the way.  you will never win if you don't play along.



and ps. unity is having a garage sale! lot's of [ippity} in the mix. don't forget to pick a chick (if not me, then someone!) before you buy!


Jun 21, 2012

hope.dream.believe

i had an idea in my head to make a trio of 4x4 canvases as a set.  but then i decided to make them individual.  here's how they turned out.  i used my favorite bubble wrap on them.  i cut out a butterfly on the silhouette from vinyl and used it as a stencil to paint.  the trail from the butterfly is india ink that i drew.  the words were painted with some stencils by folkart.


hope.dream.believe
ink:  india ink
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: bubble wrap
tools:  silhouette (bug)

Jun 19, 2012

winners...

last week i posted two seperate give-aways.   here are the winners!
the winners from the {ippity} release blog hop (from this post) are:

Blogger Miriam Prantner said...
So simple and sweet! Love stamping directly on kraft!

Blogger Crystal said...
This is stunning! I am trying to branch out and try more techniques in my art journal so I really appreciate you posting that video link!

and the winners from the random post (here) are:

Blogger JPScraps said...
Inspiration for me comes from blog hops, pinterest, sketches, and sometimes from the stamps.



Blogger Maureen Hayes said...
That is so sweet of you to share your wealth!! I think that inspiration can be found in so many places, I get it by doing different forms of art, for instance my art journaling influences my card making and scrapbooking and vice versa. I also find nature inspiring, I might take a walk and see a flower or a bird or a squirrel and be inspired. Fashion is another inspiration, the shapes and colors. Of course blogs like yours and others are a constant source of inspiration. Thanks!
would you all please email me your name 
and address so i can send your goodies!

what's cooking...

i love when you see something, don't love it, and then play with it and discover you really do love it!  that was how it was with this new set from {ippity}.  at first i thought, "i don't make recipe cards" or any thing like that so what would i use it for.  then i figured out i could just send a card to someone with this sentiment!  light bulb moment!!



what's cooking?
stamps: ippity (what's cooking?, bit o'burlap)
cardstock:  cherry cobbler, basic black, white, amuse pp
ink: cherry cobbler, onyx black
tools:  silhouette (recipe card, zigzag border)

Jun 17, 2012

one cool pop...

happy father's day to my cute dad!
i love you!!

one cool pop
stamps: unity
cardstock:  crumb cake, walnut cream, my mind's eye pp, authentique pp
ink: soft suede, onyx black
tools:  silhouette sketch pen (font: ck becky)


and happy father's day to all the other dads out there!

Jun 15, 2012

perfectly imperfect...

who knew that a box of rubbery goodness from unity, a container of golden gel medium, some paint and an hour would turn into this?  i ♥ getting crafty!!

thanks to donna downey's inspiration wednesday video, i learned a new technique. it is awesome and i highly recommend you watch the video.  i got the butterflies i printed from here.  stamps i used are:  poppy chevron, imagine it, and a couple me documented (4/12 smak kit).

and i can't belive it's friday already.  good times with friends with flair.  all the fwf players can be found here.  new unity and {ippity} stamps just released yesterday, so be sure and check them all out.  a few peeps will win free stamps for it!  and speaking of free unity bliss, check out my posts from earlier this week for your change to win more goodies.


perfectly imperfect
stamps:  unity, donna downey, christy tomlinson
paper: watercolor paper
ink:  burnt umber, soft suede, daffodil delight
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: gel medium, bubble wrap, butterfly printout

and if i haven't mentioned it before *wink* there is a huge sale going on!!  30 sets up to 60%off. 30% off all regular priced sets with code SUNSHINE30.   check it all out here!  you should definately take advantage!  this includes {ippity} to!   you can order {ippity} straight from the unity site, combining unity and {ippity} orders.  just pick {me} as your {ippity} chick or you can visit my {ippity} blog for all the details!!

Jun 13, 2012

blog hop time!

can you believe it's june already and time for another {ippity} chicks blog hop? welcome!  you should have arrived from jenmarie's blog.   if you did not, then don't forget to start at the beginning over at the {ippity} blog.  (click the blog hop image below to go there!)  i kinda feel like i cheated with this card, since it is so simple. but i love how it turned out.  i stamped the "dream to be" sentiment all over the card, with various amounts of ink.  then i added the bird

dream
stamps: ippity
cardstock:  crumb cake
ink: crumb cake, burnt umber
next up on the hop is christine.  check out her cute project on her blog at christine's creative therapy.  you can click on the image below to go to the beginning of the hop.

and you didn't think there would be a hop without a killer sale, did you?




if you need some {ippity} you can order them straight from the unity site and pick {me} as your {ippity} chick or you can visit my {ippity} blog for all the details!!  this sale includes {ippity}!  thank you for hopping with the {ippity} chicks!!

oh and how could i forget??  i will give one random hopper a little unity goodness.  so comment away and be sure to visit everyone on the hop!!  i'll pick a winner on monday, 6/18.





below is the list if you got lost along the way.  

are you ready??

are you ready for the {ippity} new release blog hop tonight at 6pm mst (7pm cst)??  
huge sale going on, too!!
and don't forget i'm giving away some free unity itty bitties in this post!

  if you need some {ippity} you can order them straight from the unity site and pick {me} as your {ippity} chick or you can visit my {ippity} blog for all the details!!  this sale includes {ippity}!

Jun 12, 2012

night owlie...

so i have been off work for the past four days.  it's been great.  the mister has also been off work.  we were going to go away on vacation, then decided to stay home and just hang out.  so we've done a lot of just relaxing.  he found a new game he likes (he's a little bit of a nerd, but who isn't?) which works for me because it gives me lots of time in my craft room!

i was obsessing over discovering new things on pinterest the other day and saw a cute owl canvas that was adorable.  so it gave me the idea for this  8x8 canvas.  consequently, this one looks nothing like what i thought it would, but i'm still happy with how it turned out.


night owlie
stamps:  unity
patterned paper: lilybee designs, authentique, we are memory keepers, american crafts
ink:  shabby shutters, walnut stain, seedless preserves
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: india ink-black, mod podge, modeling paste, bubble wrap

i have had a few goto places for insiration for all this mixed media madness. i have to credit my friend, cindi, for prodding inviting me to monday night ustream with tracy weinzapfel.  that pretty much started the spiral down this path!  so kuddos to tracy and cindi!  i also love things by donna downey and christy tomlinson.  those women are so crafty!!

a few people have asked to see how i do my canvases.  so i made a little video of one.  i made another butterfly canvas that i used from the mystery project to show what i do.



and if you are still with me after all of that...don't forget tomorrow is the {ippity} new release blog hop.  i have to say, once again, that i love this month's release!!  so stop on by tomorrow at 6pm mst (that's 7pm cst) and check out the new goodies!  there might be a prize involved!  

and don't forget i'm giving away some unity goodness with this post!

Jun 11, 2012

braver...

i have done a lot of mixed media stuff lately so saturday, i decided to make a few cards.  i love getting inspiration from all sorts of different places.  on friday, there were some pictures on the unity blog that were posted to get inspiration from.  i love the cake picture here, so i made this card based on the bright colored circles!

braver
stamps: untity
cardstock:  white, gable green, lovely lilac, tempting turquoise
ink: onyx black
tools:  silhouette

where do you get inspiration from?  i was the lucky recipient of some free stamps form unity during last month's new release blog hop, so i wanted to pay it forward.  leave a comment telling me what inspires you when you get crafty and i'll pick some random peeps to win a free random itty bitty.  comment by 6.14.12 6.18.12.

and don't forget you can still play along with the chick challenge!


Jun 8, 2012

you fill my heart...

another week has come and gone and it's friday again.  but that means it's that much closer to monday night!  i know, you are asking yourself, "who looks forward to monday night?"  well i do!!  because it means i get to hang out with tracy weinzapfel and the other monday night crafties at ustream (i use the term hang out loosely...not really getting together in the same place rather getting together at the same time online!)

and friday is friends with flair with the unity folks.  i used both unity and {ippity} stamps on this canvas.  a cool background type stamp from the may 2012 kit of the month and the sentiment from the {ippity} kit let your heart take flight.  this is a smash up of two of the monday night ustream techniques i've learned.  i used tissue paper to give the hearts dimension.  love the effect!!  and last monday, tracy made this using a stamp on part of the edge.  love it!!


you fill my heart
stamps:  unity, ippity
cardstock: white
ink:  onyx black
paint: gesso, acrylic
other: india ink-black, tissue paper

Jun 7, 2012

thinking of you...

who's the hot chick this week over at the {ippity} chick challenges blog??   that would be me!! so go get your {ippity} stamps inky and come play along.  did i mention there's a prize involved???

here's the card i made for this challenge.  my friend christie had her tonsils out last week so i made this to send her.  i saw a cute die for a flower box somewhere (who knows where!).  actually i think it was a window die, but i saw it turned into a flower box.  so i tried making my own out of cardstock.  i used a little white paint over the crumb cake cardstock to give it a white-washed effect.

thinking of you
stamps: ippity 
cardstock: cranberry crisp, crumb cake, white 
ink: lucky limeade, tumbled glass, burnt umber
other:  acrylic paint, prismacolor markers



so go grab some stamps, get inky and come play along with the challenge!  remember you can use both {ippity} and unity for these challenges!  if you need some {ippity} you can order them straight from the unity site and pick {me} as your {ippity} chick or you can visit my {ippity} blog for all the details!!

and one last thing...new release blog hop coming up on wedneday, june 13 @7pm cst!



Jun 5, 2012

fly...

this may be a long one, so hang tight!!

fly
stamps:  phyllis harris, unity
cardstock: fancy pants pp, book pages
ink:  jet black, pacific point
paint: gesso, acrylic, gelatos
embellishments:  prima flowers, muslin, glimmer mist
other:  sharpie marker, india ink-black & white, modeling paste

most people know i'm a pediatric icu nurse. nine years ago, i started in the icu as a new grad from nursing.  it was both terrifying and amazing at the same time.  every day i go to work, it still can be both terrifying and amazing at the same time.  but i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  i love what i do and i can't see myself doing anything else.

i have a lot of people ask me "isn't it hard?" and "how can you do work with sick kids?" or "how can you not get attached to the patients?"  the answer the first one is yes it is hard at times. devastating at times.  and at other times it's awesome.  i can ask nurses who take care of adults the same "how can  you work with adults?" thank god they can, because i couldn't!!  that's the beauty of nursing...there is something for everyone.  

the last question is an interesting one. yes, it's easy to get emotionally attached to your  patients.  you have to find a balance.  some kids (and their families) just touch  your soul in a certain way that you can't explain. but not all of them, luckily...or you would go crazy. there are many patients and families that i will never forget.  but for whatever reason i've had two patients that have left such an impact on me that i will be lifelong friends with their families.  i have blogged about my little angel, luke, before.  

this is norah.  she is one of those patients. and she has touched my life forever.


she has been a part of my work life for the past almost several months.  i would always get to peek in and see her smiley happy self every day i worked. and some days, when i was having an exceptionally rough day, i would go visit her for a little norah-sunshine therapy to remind me that things would be ok. i think her and her mom, shuana, were actually more helpful to me than i was to them over the past few month!!  but she took a big step last week.  so i wanted to give her and her family a little going away/graduation present.  and now that she is no longer a patient, it's officially legal for me to hang out with them!



i went to hang out with the two of them the other day.  we went to lunch, then went back to norah's room and crafted the afternoon away.  i loved that as soon as shuana opened the gift, she said, "well, we need to hang this right now!"  and grabbed a pin from the bulletin board and hung it on the wall!


Jun 1, 2012

light...

friday, friday!!  and time for friends with flair with the unity friends.   i have some friends going though a rough patch lately and i wanted to send them a card.  i made just a simple card. to get the light effect, i ink through a stencil.  have a good weekend!!

light 
stamps: ippity 
cardstock: burano, white 
ink: burano, daffodil delight
other:  stencil