Unity {Inspiration}

Welcome to this week's 
Unity Hop of Inspiration
Here's a list of the hop:
Erin (Guest Designer)
THIS WEEK'S UNITY SPECIAL

This week I decided to work with the new and amazing wood-block stamps
for St. Patrick's Day!  Growing up, St. Patty's Day wasn't that big of a deal, but it seems
that more and more people are celebrating the occasion...after all, it's the one day that 
everyone can be Irish!

I stamped the image, Lucky Friend, twice: onto green and white cardstocks.  
I glittered the entire shamrock using a Ballpoint-Tip Glue Pen by Martha Stewart and
green metallic glitter by Doodlebug.  Also by Doodlebug Designs are the Hello Spring
patterned papers, Sugar Plum Boutique Brad and Fancy Frills Lilac Border Stickers.
I just LOVE the lilac and shamrock-y green together!

So many possibilities with this next stamp, Happy St. Patty's...I went with little wineglass markers 
layered in bright colors of green and yellow.  A round punch made it easy to remove the
center of the image from the rest and then I layered with foam dots.
With the size of the stamp, you could also use a round scallop punch to cut out the actual image. 


Don't forget to comment as you go!  
Three $20 Unity Gift Certificates will be awarded to three random folks who've left a comment :)

**Time now for Shilo Mile's Blog**

Enjoy the inspiration!

I Am Toto

Hello, friends!  I'm up at the Paper Bakery Kits today with 
a sweet (if I do say-so myself) layout that I put together using one of the photos from my 
daughter’s last dance recital; as the title implies, she was TOTO :)   Yes, Dorothy’s Toto
 I started out with a light aqua cardstock and went to fun-town with all of the bright colors and textures
 found in the February Paper Bakery Scrapbook Kit!  After drawing out my circle with a template, 
I attached strips of the yellow dot washi tape to mimic rays of sunshine.  
And what better paper to use for a rainbow than the multi-colored striped paper by My Mind’s Eye.
 I used some green letter stickers from my stash to complete the title and layered it with the paper doily, colorful die-cut and flair buttons.  I love the added texture AND hint of sparkle brought by the sequins
 (yep, they’re in the kit too!)  I just attached them to the die-cut with brads.
 The white alpha stickers by Jillibean Soup made the perfect little sub-title around the sun. 
 I used my brand new dies by My Favorite Things (mftstamps.com) to whip up some clouds from the patterned paper.  With the three pieces of flair, I created a visual triangle that helps to frame my photo and make it the focal point.  I was hooked on flair, as they’re all over my creations this month :)
The February Paper Bakery Kits are now shipping...grab yours today!
www.paperbakerykits.com
Back tomorrow with a little Unity {inspiration}
See you then!

Favorite Things

Although Valentine's Day has come and gone for this year,
we wanted to share a few different ideas for
Doodlebug Designs'
LOVEBIRDS COLLECTION 
and show that it's more than just for the February 14th occasion!


For this layout I took photos of a few of my favorite things and
then made a collage of them with PhotoSheet program.
Around the photos, I made clusters of embellishments and a tag identifying what the
pictures were about.  Small snippets of paper doilies were also added to the cluster. 

Using the grid paper gave me plenty of room to journal about my favorite things!
Doodle Pops, Ladybug Heart Pearls and Icon stickers were just a few of the
outrageously CUTE Doodlebug Designs products that I incorporated into the design.
And the red and turquoise (or ladybug and swimming pool in Doodlebug language) are among
some of my favorite color combinations.
--Lovebirds Collection--
And be sure to stop by the Doodlebug Designs Blog to see the lovely inspiration there!

Wedding Shadow Box

Last week I shared a tutorial for a wedding keepsake at 
  1. Using a computer’s Word Program (or something similar), create a text box that would be the
    same size as the photo for the frame. The text box can be formatted to include a border of lines
    or dashes. Next, select a font (Centeria Script Demo) and begin typing the information that is to
    be shared. Print a sample and make adjustments if necessary .
  2. Next, attach patterned paper over the pre-printed area with a small bit of adhesive at the top.
    Place the paper back into the printer and print.
  3. Trim the patterned paper down to size.
  4. Apply foam dots to the backs of the two corrugated silhouette shapes and attach to the top of
    the patterned paper as desired. Place inside of frame.
  5. Using a high tack adhesive, attach a paper doily to the top, back of the frame.
  6. Attach a flatback adhesive pearl to the center of a felt flower. Adhere flower to the center of a
    paper bow with a fabric glue or Glue Dot. Adhere bow to the paper doily, allowing the bow to rest
    on top of the frame.

This would make a sweet presentation on a guestbook signing table or amongst a 
cluster of photos of the couple.  With a few modifications, place setting markers for the wedding party
participants could be created as well!

Curtsey Boutique Supplies:
Black Corrugated Cameo Silhouette Shapes
Black Felt Rose
Dusty Path (Cream) Paper Bow
4” Turquoise Blue Paper Doily
Other Supplies:
4x5 Shadowbox Style Picture Frame- Hobby Lobby
½” Adhesive Pearl- Paper Studio
Patterned Paper- Simple Stories
A PDF version of this tutorial is up at the Curtsey Boutique Blog

Have a wonderful week!

Fringed!

My turn for a monthly tutorial over at 
THE PAPER BAKERY KIT CLUB
I never really know about tutorials...this may be old news or completely new news to you,
but either way I hope you enjoy the little tut and a few projects with how I used the finished product.

How to make fringe from a sheet of tissue paper:





Here are two really cute things that I did with the fringe...albeit it's a little late for
Valentine's projects, but they could be easily adapted for other fun holiday packaging!
From a 6x12 piece of vellum, I made four small 2.5″ square pockets that I tucked printed Valentine coupons into!  A hand-cut heart and some fussy cutting from other papers added some whimsical charm.  I simply used a strong adhesive to attach the tissue fringe to the bottom of the pockets.

I created a small pocket with the vellum sheet included in the January Paper Bakery Scrapbook Kit.
  I layered on various matted pieces of patterned paper, along with the sweet die-cuts from Pink Paislee!
  I absolutely LOVE how the kraft tissue ties in with the sweet heart stickers, also found
in the kit.

I've had a creative blast working with the February Paper Bakery Kit.  
So full of bright colors that you can't help but *smile* as you go...plus there's flair buttons
AND printables that are exclusive to the Paper Bakery...stop by and sign-up today!

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to:
Liked you on FB and folllow your blog : ) Love both cards, they are breath taking, the colors and stiching are wonderful!!!

You are the winner of my Good Day Sunshine Kit!
Just email me at shellye819@aol.com 
with your mailing address.

A big, humongous THANK YOU to all who left comments and become
 followers here and on Facebook...I really appreciate all of you and the 
time that you take to leave such sweet comments. 

I'm still de-stashing and have two more really CUTE kits
that I'll be giving away soon!

Crazy Fun w/ Artisan!

Hope you all are starting the weekend off with a 
wonderful Saturday...the sun is shining here, which means a lot these
late-into-winter days!  
I was up yesterday at the Pink Paislee blog with a “Crazy Fun” Mini Album 
created with lots of wonderful elements from the Artisan and Portfolio Collections and colorful mists 
by Heidi Swapp.  Let’s get started…there are quite a few photos to share!

 To begin, I started with the Artisan 4×8 Album Covers.  I took a scruffy walnut ink pad to distress around the edges.  The canvas-like texture of the covers really take on the ink well and allows for even blending.  Next, I began layering and die-cutting different papers from the Portfolio Collection and then embellishing with an Artisan chipboard heart misted with Heidi Swapp Gold Lame Color Shine Spritz.

 For the Artisan butterfly, I removed the nozzle from the Tropical Teal Spritz and touched the tip of the ‘straw’ to the edges…this allowed a ‘wicking’-type of action…I love the way it turned out.  For even more distressing, I brushed the edges with the same scruffy walnut ink pad.  Before adding the remaining embellishments, I flecked on some of the Tropicana Teal to the doily shape.

 For the inner-workings, I used the Artisan Album Tab Dividers for the actual base pages.  To each one I distressed with either Heidi Swapp Color Shine Gold Lame, Tropicana Teal or Tinsel by spritzing the page and then blending in with a soft cloth.  I also inked the edges with walnut.

 I machine-stitched the papers and then attached them to the front of the Tab Divider sheets with a high-tack adhesive.  For variety, I left some of the Artisan elements in their original white state.  Photo Tabs from the Portfolio Collection were added over the actual page tab dividers…
I love the pop of black that the font brings!

 Using a ruler and black pen, I drew on lines for journaling to the backs of each page.  I kept the design simple by distressing the edges with walnut, flecking on various colors of spritz and adding a label sticker or stamped image.

 After adding a little Tinsel Spritz to the butterfly, I centered a small Artisan star to the middle.  A permanent black pen was used to color in the center of the star.  I used Tropicana Teal to color the background tab divider of this page.

 So many of the designs found on the Portfolio papers do the work for you!  By adding just a few buttons and a Tiny Tab, the top is complete.  I rubbed on a bit of Gold Lame over the Artisan chipboard heart and then attached it alongside the ephemera die-cut.

 Here I used one of the Portfolio Photograms, which will be the perfect spot for a 2×2 photo.  After pressing the ‘laugh’ sticker into place, I did a little zig-zag stitch with my sewing machine.


 I’ve declared that inking the Artisan Ribbons is my favorite thing to do!  I evenly spritzed the trim with Tropicana Teal and then allowed to dry before stitching into place.


 For the final page, I stamped the Portfolio sentiment onto a scratch piece of paper and then trimmed
 out and attached with foam dots.
There are so many ways to dress up and transform the Artisan Albums into your very own unique art-work!  Add more pages to create a detailed Project-Life style journal.  Add a pocket to the fronts of the tab dividers to customize a coupon or receipt holder.  Tons of possibilities…enjoy creating!
Visit Pink Paislee today!
 

Cards on Thursday


Thursdays are featured card days at  
Bella Blvd.

and since yesterday was Valentine's Day, we were asked to create cards of
amour du jour with the Kiss Me Collection, as well as any others that could capture
the true feeling of the special day of love.
I have a total of FIVE cards to share, so just hang in there :)

BEE MINE CARD


 I started out thinking that I would add a cute bee to the side of the Valentine journal card and then the idea struck me to leave the two journal cards attached and add the bee over the flower :) 
For the bee, I used a 1.5" and 1" circle punches for the body; I layered the head on with a foam dot and added a brad for the eye. For the wings, I used a 1.5" heart punch that I cut in half.
 A little pink chalk for the cheek area and this card was done!
Supplies:Kiss Me: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Bouquet Kisses, True Love, Cute Cuts; Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles; Ciao Chip Everyday Elements: Borders; Button Market: Pink Flowers

FROSTING TO MY CUPCAKE CARD

 So many of the Bella Blvd collections contain sentiments that are just perfect for Valentine's cards!
 I pulled a few things from the Birthday Girl Collection and added a small sticker from Kiss Me.
 I hand-stitched the corner stitckers to the cut-out before attaching it to the card front. In lieu of a 'cherry on top' I added a Punch colored crochet heart! 
Supplies:Kiss Me: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Birthday Girl: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Party Dress, Cute Cuts; Crochet Hearts: Punch; Designer Tape: Gulf Dot 12mm

UR MY ACE CARD

 Gotta have a Valentine card for the guy in my life :) 
Again, I used a non-traditional Valentine collection to bring this card together.
 One of my favorite color combos is orange and turquoise, so this turned out to be a lot of fun.
 I searched the internet for a catchy quote to go with a "playing card/game" theme and found this one by 
Eva Gabor: "Love is a game that two can play & both win". I just printed it out from my computer and added it to the top of the cardstock sticker.
Supplies:Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Ice; Plastino: Label Additions Stickers; Flirty: Label Additions Stickers; Family Dynamics: Cute Cuts; Birthday Boy: About A Boy; Sunny Happy Skies: Cute Cuts; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Yellow; Button Market- Masculine Mix

CRAZY IN LOVE CARD

If you look closely you will notice that the design in the True Love paper is made up of clustered hearts! 
With that in mind, I set out to emphasize a few of the hearts by layering with 1/2" punched hearts and in a diagonal pattern. After gluing each heart in place, I used a sewing machine to to enhance the hearts and lend a quilted look. Next, I simply layered a precut doily with one of the sentiment stickers and added a small piece of the Punch Feather and crochet heart off to the side. I wanted to keep the design to a minimum so that as many of the little hearts would show as possible!
Supplies:Kiss Me: Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Flutter, True Love; Crochet Hearts: White; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers; Feathers: Punch



 I love taking strips of paper and sewing them together to create a quilted design...this was made easy by cutting the strips from the Borders & Cute Cuts Paper! 
After determining the dimension of the cardfront, I cut a piece of plain cardstock down to size and then layered with the strips. I sewed them together in a small zig-zag stitch. 
Next, I used a doily die shape to make the focal point and then layered with sticker tabs, journal stickers
 and cut-outs attached with foam dots. To each side I added two of the new white crochet hearts 
and a small chevron bow to one-side. At the bottom I applied a dotted border sticker that I added a little hand-stitching to. Finally, I taped a small piece of the Designer Tape to a scrap of cardstock and then punched four small circles from it. I glued the circles in place over the green dots found on the paper. 
I really like extra detail that it brings, as well as a bit of dimension!
Supplies: Kiss Me: Borders & Cute Cuts, Flutter, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Crochet Hearts: White; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Dot


 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Phew!  That was a lotta cards.  The best thing is that a card of love can be given at
any time of the year...hopefully you can snag a few ideas to try :)

-GIVEAWAY-GIVEAWAY-GIVEAWAY-
 
I'm not complainin', but I get lots of fun stuff each month and often times I 
get duplicates of things that I all ready have....so, it's time to share some LOVE with one of you!
 Prize pack includes: 
"Good Day Sunshine" Untiy/Authentique co-branded stamp; baker's twine-My Mind's Eye; tiny flower-embossed clothespins-Little Yellow Bicycle; 12 small envelopes-Canvas Corp.; four vintage yellow-topped stick pins; 1 yard yellow swiss dot grosgrain ribbon- May Arts; two plastic yellow flowers; Gray Flannel Dew Drop ink pad- Imagine Crafts; and a wooden spool of grey doily washi tape.
To be entered into the drawing:
1- Follow my blog (it's over to the right-hand side, under Crafty Friends)
2- Like my Facebook page...if you have a Facebook account
3- Leave a comment on today's post
That's it!
**A winner will be drawn next Thursday, February 21st**

HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEKEND!

{be inspired} Unity Hip Hop & Giveaway!

 Welcome!
**You should be arriving here from Natalie Dever's Blog**
In conjunction with our weekly Unity Hip Hop, we're now
unveiling a brand new challenge called
{be inspired}

**These new challenges will start on the second Thursday of the month**
And don't forget to comment as you hop along!  
Three $20 Unity Gift Certs will be given away to three lucky Unity fans on Saturday

February's Color Challenge
Isn't that a beautiful board...a collection of my favorite colors!

Here's my card using papers by Doodlebug and one of the stamps from the 
January's Unity Stamp Kit-of-the-Month
This was so simple to put together...I love the idea of using this coffee mug to top off
any card that contains a gift card to someone's favorite coffee shop.  
I purchased the little white paper sack from Scrapbooker's Emporium and 
stamped the image directly onto it.  Next, I stamped the image onto the aqua paper, as
well as the pink dot paper.  I applied the cut-out mug onto the sack image with a foam square
and then topped with the cut-out pink heart.  
 A heart stick pin was inserted into the foam square on the back of the mug and 
then tied with a bow of twine from Doodlebug.

February's Sketch Challenge
I think it's so cool that the sketch reflects a couple of the stamps featured in the 
January Kit-of-the-Month!  I took a bit of a different angle, but still used the super-cute
mixed-media styled border stamp for my card.

 To begin, I cut a piece of white cardstock down to the size needed to fit the card-front.
I placed a scalloped die-cut chipboard heart (Scrapbooker's Emporium) onto the paper and then
spritzed a couple of times with Guava Spray by Stephanie Barnard (Clearsnap).  On the second
spritz, I focused more on the left edge so that it would have a blended look.

After allowing the spritz to completely dry, I stamped on the border image with a black
Staz-On ink.  I also stamped the image onto a turquoise cardstock and cut the larger hearts from it.
I applied them over the card with a glue pen and then stitched each with an X of white thread.
The sentiment was stamped to the same turquoise paper and added to the bottom, followed by
a border of doily paper.  I found the sweet heart buttons at Wal-Mart...they matched perfectly!

This week's Unity Stamp Special...

--GIVE A WAY--GIVE A WAY--GIVE A WAY--
As promised, I have a 'lil giveaway to giveaway!

I'm not complainin', but I get lots of fun stuff each month and often times I 
get duplicates of things that I all ready have....so, it's time to share some LOVE with one of you!
 Prize pack includes: 
"Good Day Sunshine" Untiy/Authentique co-branded stamp; baker's twine-My Mind's Eye; tiny flower-embossed clothespins-Little Yellow Bicycle; 12 small envelopes-Canvas Corp.; four vintage yellow-topped stick pins; 1 yard yellow swiss dot grosgrain ribbon- May Arts; two plastic yellow flowers; Gray Flannel Dew Drop ink pad- Imagine Crafts; and a wooden spool of grey doily washi tape.

To be entered into the drawing:
1- Follow my blog (it's over to the right-hand side, under Crafty Friends)
2- Like my Facebook page...if you have a Facebook account
3- Leave a comment on today's post
That's it!
**A winner will be drawn next Thursday, February 21st**
 Okay, I've kept you long enough today...time to hop over to Miss Shilo's Blog!
Enjoy hoppin'
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