july creative dare...

wow.  where do i start with this post?  tracy has started a monthly creative dare and it is so cool to think outside the box.  here's her post about the july dare. and here were the rules to the dare:

• Create a project using your favorite color pallet 
• Include YOUR Word of the Year on your project 
• OPTIONAL: Use the quote I used "once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for..." 

i swear that i choose a "word" for the year back in january.  but of course i can't find it anywhere!!  so i'm picking it now, even though the year is past half over. i've really stretched my creative side this year and i love it!  so create is my word for 2012.  i started with my favorite color as of late and added some more here and there.

she started to create
paper:  mixed media journal
stamps:  unity
paint:  acrylic, metallic paint
ink: india ink
other:  decoupage, bubble wrap, black pen, rub ons

i love the whole she art thing going on, too, even though i'm not such a girlie girl and usually don't get into things like that.  but i wanted to try and make my own girl, so being that this project was a dare, i figured it was the perfect time to try!! 

what are you doing to stretch your creativity??

merry & bright...

happy friday, peeps!!  i know it's not even close to christmas, but i'm showing a card i made for the creative cuts & more christmas in july bash over on the diecut diva blog. and wouldn't you know i used all unity goodness on it!!  so it's perfect for friends with flair!! and if you are unfamiliar with fwf, it's a friday ritual where unity peeps post creations.  and the bonus is two winners will get free unity stamps! so check it out over at the unity blog.

have a good weekend!!

merry & bright

stamps: jillibean soup+unity, unity

cardstock: kraft, white

ink: peeled paint, cherry cobbler, tumbled glass

embellishments:  glitter pen, glossy accents

sew what...

do you ever find yourself needing a card to say something to the effect of "who cares?" or "so what?"  like when things just keep happening and you have to tell your self that it will be ok eventually.  i made this to say something to that effect of "so what...i'm going to make the most of it instead of feel bad".  because sometimes life throws you so many curveballs, you just have to laugh or you will explode!  i have a friend going through that right now.  hopefully this will cheer her up a little!

i used the awesome {ippity} stitches of buttons stamp that is the fabulous feature over at the {ippity} blog today.  i love buttons and this stamp is full of them!

sew what?
stamps:  ippity, unity

cardstock: crumb cake, tangerine tango, soft sky, echo park pp

ink: onyx black

embellishments:  buttons

life is tweet...

wow.  i can't belive it's been over a week--A WEEK--since i've touched anything in my craft room.  ok, that's not exactly true...i did make a few posters for the family reunion last week.  but i haven't made anything crafty in the way of a card, art journal page or canvas in a long time!  (a week is a long time, come on!)   so i    pulled this out from a trip last april that i never posted on my blog.  i don't know who makes the stamp.  i got the image from my friend, lesa.  hopefully i'll get back in the crafting swing of things.  especially since tonight was monday and another awesome ustream session with the crafty peeps and i'm itching to get inky!

life is tweet

stamps: unknown

cardstock: white, daffodil delight, echo park pp

ink: daffodil delight, dusty concord

embellishments:  prismacolor markers

winter joy...

christmas in july is going strong over at the creative cuts & more blog, die cut diva. here's a sneak of the gift card holder i posted today.

about you...

yay!!  friday is finally here!!  time for friends with flair and the unity gang.  check it all out here. this is one of those "blast from the past" posts, since i have been a slacker with the camera this week. but it's a goodie!

about you
stamps: jillibean soup+unity, unity
cardstock: early espresso, walnut cream, bo bunny pp
ink: early espresso, fired brick distress
embellishments:  prismacolor markers, twine

and in honor of mr. unity's birthday yesterday, they are having a birthday sale!!  378 itty bitties to choose from.  awesome!! click the picture below to shop!!  and pick me as your {ippity} chick if you get any of the awesome {ippity} itty bitties.  they are on sale too!!

plus a bonus coupon for later shopping!!!

what's cookin' take 2...

playing a little more with the new what's cooking?  set from {ippity}.  i just think this little chef guys is too cute!

what's cookin'
stamps: ippity
cardstock:  cherry cobbler, basic black, white, amuse pp
ink: cherry cobbler, onyx black, white craft
embellishments:  clear embossing powder
tools:  silhouette (recipe card, zigzag border), prismacolor markers

there is a new feature each wednesday on the {ippity} blog, where one {ippity} set will be featured. called, the fabulous feature!  so check back for all the projects by the {ippity} chicks using that set!

in the process...

so i always post finished projects on my blog.  sometimes, i'll post the process of a project i made along with the finished project.  but i've never just posted about a project that isn't complete.  tracy just proclaimed it "share" day over on facebook, so i figured, why not!  i'll post about a project in process!  plus, without her, i might not even know what any of this stuff was!!  join us tonight over at ustream for the monday night get together (6pm pst).  best part of the week!

i started with a blank page in my art journal, then added a layer of gesso.  this is like a primer, sorta.  i saw some cute purple and white dotted project somewhere yesterday and it stuck in my brain, so i wanted to do something with that.  i have a great purple colored gelato, so i used that for the next layer.  the cool thing about gelatos...you kinda feel like a kid again using them.  i just scribbled all over the page, covering the whole thing.  then i spritzed it with water and painted the page.  it's so neat watching the medium transform!!  

anyway, that's where i'm at.  so now i'm off to finish it!

penguin box...

did you know that it is christmas in july over at the creative cuts & more blog, die cut diva?  all month long there is a new project every day.   here's a sneak of the penguin box i made.  go check out the projects,  escape the heat and think about cooler weather!

life brighter...

so are any of you fans of the show, next food network star? i love it. i know...what does this have to do with crafting? well, on this season, the room where team giada goes after the competitions, there is a lamp. and it's the coolest lamp! and every time i see it, i love it more. so when i saw this quarterfoil stamp, a light bulb went off! (hehe) i used this stamp from the stamp of the week and created a card inspired by the lamp i love from the show!  now it's time for friends with flair friday on the unity blog! 

life brighter
stamps: unity
cardstock:  not quite navy, summer starfruit, white, authentique pp
ink: not quite navy, onyx black, walnut stain, spun sugar, black craft
embellishments:  clear embossing powder

ps. i was able to copy a picture of the lamp from the show! 

true to herself...

looking for something to do on the eve of the nation's independence celebration? why not make a card?  i know nothing screams "it's the 3rd of july" like a challenge with the {ippity} chick over at the   chick challenges blog!!  (what can i say...i'm feeling much better!!)  i made this card today for such an occasion.  and i don't know that i'll ever get tired of this {ippity} set, angie girl:  dream with your heart. works perfect with this donna downey stamp.

true to herself...
stamps: ippity, donna downey
cardstock:  white, authentique pp
ink: chocolate chip, walnut stain
tools:  prismacolor markers

here's the sketch for this week.  there will be a new one on thursday, so you only have a day to play with this one!! as you can see, i mixed mine up a little.

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 have a SAFE and happy 4th of july!!

canvas swap...

ack!  i haven't blogged in five days?  oh that's right...i've been in bed for the past four days...sicker than a dog. but i'm hopfully on the mend.  so moving on...

i decided to host a challenge over at the shack to spread my new found obsession crafty love.  the swap: a group of us signed up and picked partners (well, i assigned partners), then each person makes a canvas for their person and sends it to them. whatever theme they want.  this is the canvas i made for christie.  and she told me she has received it, so i'm going to post it!  and the one i received from here was amazing!!!

not a hobby

stamps:  christy tomlinson

paper: tissue paper, glitz pp

ink:   jet black

paint: gesso, acrylic

embellishments:  muslin, glimmer mist, buttons

other: decoupage, bubble wrap, gel medium

font:  rough typewriter

i took the ideas from a few places.  i know i used this quote from pinterest last week on my art journal, but i love it!  i also tried the cool transfer technique again.  you can't see it very well, it's very subtle in the corner...a bicycle with flowers in the basket.

and talk about button heaven!!  then i got the stacked canvas idea from tracy's ustream class last week.  talk about open a whole new set of options!!

another cool technique i tried was printing on tissue paper.  if i print on regular paper with an inkjet printer, the ink smears when i use mod podge.  but i read that if you print on tissue paper, it doesn't.  so i tried that  and it totally works!

so if you get nothing out of my mixed media posts lately, get this...just try something new.  you never know where it will lead you.  if you would have asked me if i would have loved this so much, i would have laughed.  so just go out and try something new!!