Taking CASology for a Spin

 

It's time for a brand new cue word over at CASology!  Time to get those creative wheels spinning and see where this cue takes you!

For me, there seemed to be endless options, but I settled on an old phone!  Remember those old rotary dial ones?!  I used to love spinning the dial as a little girl.  These days, you're lucky to see one anywhere unless you're intentionally searching!

Stamps:  Unity (Neopolitan Bisque Soup)

I stamped the phone first and then stamped it a second time in black so I could fussy cut the dial.  The dial was attached to the phone with a foam dot and embellished with a single clear gemstone.  I stamped the speech bubble and sentiment in black and then fussy cut & attached it to the card base with foam dots.

Be sure and go say a quick hello to the design team members & this week's guest designer!  They work so hard each week to create inspiration!

Ardyth Percy-Robb
Deidre Payne
Hannelie Bester
Hazel Hodgkins
Jacquie Southas
 Jen Wills
 Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
 Kymona Tracey
 Melissa Chipperfield (You are here.)

Sherrie Mannion

Tracey McNeely

Guest Designer:  Michele

Then, don't forget to link up your own creation on the challenge blog by Monday at NOON (CST) for your chance to win a prize from Cindy B Designs, our sponsor this week!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Blunt Birthday Greetings

Friday.  Pinch me because I'm finding it hard to believe the weekend is already here again!  I'm finally feeling somewhat caught up from last week's travels!

I've had a card quietly waiting to be shared and today is its day to make an appearance.  It's Unity Friends with Flair day on the Unity blog and I used Unity stamps for this one layer birthday card!

Stamps:  Unity (One Day at a Time, Consider Yourself Vintage - sentiment)

I realize this card will have to be given to someone with the right sense of humor, but I couldn't resist using the sentiment!  The clock is stamped in SU's Soft Suede ink & it really gives it a vintage feel!

I'm beginning to gear up for one last summer vacation and DD's 1st birthday!  How is it possible that she's turning one in less than two weeks?  Big sigh!  Life really does pass like a dream and sometimes I feel like I'm blinking too much!

Have a fabulous Friday!

Hopping with Unity!

I am so excited today to be joining Unity Stamp Company for this month's {be inspired} challenge hop as a guest designer!  How'd I get so lucky?!  I happened to win the Unity {be inspired} Challenge with this card!  Still pinching myself over this one!

Let's get hopping!  The hop begins on the Unity blog, so be sure and head on over there after reading through this post!  This month's inspiration is full of fun colors and pretty images!   You can choose any of the inspiration provided on the photo to get your creativity flowing!  Maybe you're inspired by the colors or maybe by one of the sketches!  Maybe you're inspired by all of it!  You decide!

At first, I was drawn to the fun summer colors and created this card:

Stamps:  Unity (Good Day Sunshine)

I masked each color to mimic the colors in the photo's sky.  This particular image reminds me so much of my three boys!

Once I had this card done, I found myself drawn to the card sketch and ended up using the inspiration colors again, but followed the sketch using a combination of three stamp sets.

Stamps:  Unity (Change is a Good Thing, Here Today Here Tomorrow)

I inked the butterfly in all of the inspirational colors and then used grey as a grounding color in the design.  The little stripe of polka dots is from the February 2012 Kit of the Month.  I used a chevron stencil to create the left border.

Ready to continue on the hop?  First, remember to leave a comment for your chance to win a fabulous prize (see below)!  There will be two lucky winners!

 Okay, now you're ready to keep hoppin'!  Here are the links to the rest of the hop:

Have a fabulous Thursday!

A Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

Given the fact that I've had a few too many wordless days here on the blog in recent weeks, I thought I'd replace the typical wordless day of the week with a few words.

I spent some craft time with the boys yesterday during the morning hours and we had so much fun!  I got not one, but three cards made and DS2 completed a drawing of the Titanic.  I'll share that at a later date once I get a photo of him with it.  He told me I could share it!

Stamps:  Unity (April 2013 KOTM)

I played along with Unity's current color challenge...

I used a mixture of paint daubers for the background image.  I then fussy cut the little paint palette and brush, popping them up with foam dots for dimension.  I added three colored gemstones to add a little interest.

I'm loving that turquoise bubble gum machine!  And those jelly beans look rather good too!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Just Keep Swimming

It's Friday and that means there is a new Friends with Flair blog hop going on over at Unity!  It's been a long time since I've played along, so last night I decided to create a card using Unity stamps!

Stamps:  Unity (Fishy Philosophy)
Paper:  Paper Trey cardstock (white)
Ink:   SU (Basic Black, Island Indigo)
Accessories:  gemstones, foam dots, glaze pen , blender pen

I stamped the sea weeds and sentiment first.  I then stamped, colored and fussy cut the little fish.  After adhering it with foam dots for dimension, I added little bubbles of gemstone!  Pretty easy!

Have a fintastic Friday and a wonderful weekend!

 

Blooming Simple

The sun is shining, the snow seems to be melting and the weekend forecast isn't looking quite as ugly as previously mentioned.  Life is good.

After seeing this week's Pinterest inspirational photo over on Splitcoast Stampers Clean & Simple Challenge thread, I had to go find the one poppy stamp I knew I owned!  One from Unity!  I also remembered that I haven't played along with the Unity Friends with Flair Blog Hop for a very long time, so will be linking up today's creation over there too!

Stamps:  Unity (April 2012 KOTM flower, December 2011 KOTM sentiment)

I wanted to keep things delicate and white, so used a white on white layout and used only black ink.  I stamped off the sentiment to soften its impact on the card, hoping to keep the focal image in the spotlight!  I added three tiny red gemstones for a little interest and color.  So simple, but that's the type of card I prefer!  I'm thinking this will find a home in my rather empty sympathy card stash!

Now I'm off to wash our vehicle, make a library run and soak up some of that glorious sunshine with DS3!

Have a fantastic Friday!

 

Unity Star Flair

It's Friday again!  The weekend is just around the corner and we're trying to decide if we should head out on a mini, one-night family vacation or just stay home and enjoy ourselves on familiar turf.  It's supposed to only be in the 40's tomorrow for temperatures, so not so sure outdoor activities will be desirable with the boys.

I wanted to jump into Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop today as I haven't participated for at least a couple weeks now!  I chose to use a combination of stamps from a couple different Kits of the Month to create a clean and simple card.

Stamps:  Unity (June & August 2012 KOTM's)

I cut out and popped up the three stars for dimension and adhered them around the sentiment.  I was going to call it quits, but decided to add the same colors to the lower portion using strips of cardstock at different angles.

I hope you're having a decent Friday!  It's cool and windy again here.  Typical autumn weather.

I'll be back tomorrow with a card for the beginning of a new color duo challenge at Dynamic Duos!

Capturing Life

Stamps:  Unity

I'm busy capturing life with a lens this week.  I don't know about you, but I really miss the warmer days for taking photos once the weather turns cold and there is a sense of urgency going on within me right now to enjoy these last mild days of the year while I can!  After a summer that was a bit too hot to spend any extended periods of time outdoors with little ones, these fall days are calling us!  I have started a new blog for my photos and life as we know it here at our house called Jumpin' on the Couch, so if you like to read that kind of blog, hop on over and follow along as I take off on a new journey!

I love cardmaking & papercrafting, but want to keep those things in their own place.  Photography (of life itself) is my greatest love apart from my family, etc. and I'm excited to share in the days ahead!

Today's quick and simple card is for Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop that occurs each and every Friday!  I love any stamps related to photography, so when this one came in the mail, I squealed with delight!

Off into the sunshine!  I'll be back tomorrow with a card for the new color duo at Dynamic Duos!

Have a fun Friday!

A Friendly Hello

It's a cloudy day here today, but I'm going to share a bright, cheerful card to balance it out!  It's time for another round of Unity's Friends with Flair and I dug through my stash of Unity stamps last night, looking for something that grabbed my attention.  I found something in the July 2012 Kit of the Month.

I love blocks of patterns or colors and this particular pattern was screaming for some ink!  SU's Tempting Turquoise, to be exact.  I paired iti with some Daffodil Delight ink and added some yellow gemstones before calling it good.

It's the last day of school for the week which means it's time for a Fun Friday in our house!  I've got some Pillsbury Funfetti white cupcakes with sprinkles planned as a surprise for some special school boys in the house and then we'll munch on popcorn this evening, watching Dr. Seuss', The Lorax together.  They've been wanting to see it, but I've made them wait until we could get it from our local library.  They love Dr. Seuss stories & their bedroom is decorated in a Dr. Seuss theme too!

I'll be back tomorrow with a card for the new color duo at Dynamic Duos!

Have a fabulous Friday!

Hello.

Wanting a quick hello card to send off in the mail, I came up with a design so simple it will probably make you laugh out loud.  I think it delivers the message quite effectively!  Just feeling creatively lazy.  That's the real truth of the matter.

Stamp:  Unity

The stripes on the word were created by simply coloring it with a red marker first and then swiping a grey marker over the red.  I added a tiny red gemstone for proper punctuation.  Unfortunately, I was unable to capitalize the H.

I'm joining in today's Friends with Flair over at Unity.  I missed last week while on vacation and, being the addictive occasion that it is, I just couldn't let another week pass me by!

Have a fabulous Friday and don't forget to relax this weekend!  I'll be back tomorrow with a creation for Dynamic Duos!

Too Much Happy

After a fun-filled, sugar high day yesterday at the fair, Friday has arrived and we're gearing up for a weekend with family.  DH's sister and family are coming for an overnight stay tomorrow before they head off to start their vacation.  There will be five boys in the house once their two are added to our three, so things will soon be getting even livelier around here!  Better batten down the hatches!

For today's Unity Friends with Flair, I played around with one of the Itty Bitty sets.  It was getting a bit late by the time I started and I'm not so sure I'm all that happy with this card.  I just feel like there is too much bling and not enough interest, but I'll share it with you anyway!  I do love the image and sentiment as they remind me of our fair adventure yesterday!

Stamps:  Unity (Never Too Much Happy)

This made me happy yesterday...ice cold, fresh lemonade...

...and one funnel cake!

Have a Fun Friday!

I'll be back tomorrow with a card featuring the new color duo for the Dynamic Duos Challenge!

Friday Flower

It's Friday again!  That means it's time for Friends with Flair over at Unity!  I love participating in this each week because there are so many wonderful creations and lots of people participate!  I'm also entering this card into the Stamp It! Cards Hello Challenge in the Moxie Fab World!  There are so many talented card makers and just a whole lot of fun over at Moxie Fab!

I started out with a one-layer card, but just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that it just wasn't enough!  I ended up stamping another flower and popping it up with a foam dot on top of the one I'd already stamped on the card base.  I added some tiny dots to the flower center with a fine tip red marker and added a small gemstone to the center.  I also added tiny dots to the sentiment to coordinate the polka dots a bit more.

Fresh blueberry muffins and coffee await, so I'm outta here!  I'll be back tomorrow with a card for the new color duo at Dynamic Duos.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Friday Thanks

It's time for Unity Friends with Flair again and I have a thank you card to share today!  Moxie Fab is also having a Stamp It Cards Thank You Challenge, so this will be linked up there too!  What fun!

For this card, I used a combination of Unity's October & December Kits of the Month.  I'd seen a card by Erica in which she stamped a jar image on a window sheet to give it some shine and wanted to try it!  My photo doesn't show the glossy window sheet very well, but it's definitely shiny in person!  I actually stamped the jar twice, once on the window sheet and once on a white piece of cardstock.  I then stamped the yellow butterflies on the white piece by masking off the top and bottom of the jar.  I then adhered the trimmed window sheet image to the trimmed cardstock image.  The sentiment was also fussy cut and adhered using a foam dot.

Swimming lessons are done for the week and now it's on to summer school worksheets, reading and some good ole summertime fun!  After all, it's Fun Friday in our house!

I'll be back tomorrow with a card for the newest color challenge at Dynamic Duos!

Have a fabulous Friday!

Today is Your Day

Unity Stamps:  2/2010 KOTM, 3/2012 KOTM

I'm back!  After a busy & fun Fourth of July, I'm finally feeling like my feet are under me again!  For some reason, yesterday felt more like a Monday than a Thursday to me!  Must have been because of the holiday being thrown in there and having the whole family home for a day in the middle of the week!  Wow!  Two Mondays in one week!

For today, I made a birthday card using my Unity stamps since today is Unity's Friday Friends with Flair!  On top of that, Moxie Fab is having a Stamp It! Cards Birthday Challenge that's open until July 23!  That's a whole lot of fun to end my week!  Now I'm off to create a Fun Friday with my boys!  Enjoy your day!

Tomorrow, I'll be back with a card for a brand new color duo challenge from Dynamic Duos!

Dial Up

Boy, yesterday was hot!  I stepped outside just before noon and didn't stay out long!  It was one of those days where it feels like you are breathing water, not air!  Blech.  The boys spent a good portion of the day making a fort indoors with couch cushions and blankets!  Great entertainment!

While they were preoccupied, I put together a card for today's Unity Friends with Flair and also for the Stamp It! Cards Love Card Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Unity Stamps:  We Treasure You, Neopolitan Bisque Soup

This card actually uses two stamp sets from Unity (see above).  I cut out the telephone and the letters for "love" and popped them up with foam pieces.  The heart gemstone on the center of the telephone is a clear one that I colored with a red Copic marker.  I created the dot frame using a black marker, popped the whole main panel up with foam dots & rounded the card base corners.


Today's agenda includes a library visit and making plans for the weekend.  Wonder what we'll decide to do?!

Unity Friends with Flair

Friday.  Gotta love it.  Our weather has finally cooled down to a more enjoyable temperature, so I'm hoping for a good weekend!  I just love it when I can throw open the windows in the mornings and feel cool, fresh air making its way into the house!  Add to that the sound of the morning song birds and you have the beginning of a wonderful day!

Today is the weekly Friends with Flair Hop over at Unity.  I didn't get a chance to get into my craft room during the day yestereday, so last night I decided to spend some time trying my hand with washi tape!  Everywhere I look these days, washi tape is being used on something!  I found this cute polka dotted tape at Target earlier in the week and wanted to make something with it!

Here's my feeble attempt at making it work for me.  I was glad I had some stamps to help me out!

(Stamps are from Unity's May 2012 KOTM)

Have yourself a fabulous Friday and I'll be back tomorrow with a simple card for the beginning of a new color challenge at Dynamic Duos!

Unity Friends with Flair

It's been at least a couple weeks since I joined in the Friday fun at Unity, so I thought I'd create a card for today and play along!  It's a Friday blog hop with Unity creations and there are free stamps to be won!

I used a bird image for my CAS card today.  I had a little strip of leftover cardstock I'd stamped with a chevron pattern and put it to use!  I also added some yellow Stickles to the circle frame for a little sparkle.  Of course, some gemstones found their way onto the finished card too!  I absolutely love the sentiment!

I've got a painting project to finish up today.  I always love picking out new colors and putting a fresh coat of paint on things!  I only wish I didn't run out of steam after painting a couple days.  I'd get things done on my painting wish list so much faster!  Ah well, it's getting a bit hot to be painting indoors anyway.  I like to have the windows open and it's supposed to get up near 90 degrees this weekend!  Better go get the last coat on before it heats up today!  The boys are busy playing with bubbles and I try to work on things when they are preoccupied!  :)

I hope you have a wonderful Friday!  I'll be back tomorrow with a new color challenge from Dynamic Duos!

Flowers & Butterflies

I can get myself into trouble over Unity Stamps if I'm not careful.  The company has so many wonderful stamps that it's hard to choose just one or two stamps or stamp sets at a time!  Thank goodness for the Kit of the Month Club because that seems to keep my Unity cravings at bay!





Unity is the sponsor over at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog this month and I can't tell you how excited I am about it!  The theme for this month's challenge is Handmade flowers with butterflies.  To be honest, I have never made a flower before other than punching one out with a paper punch!  *gasp!*  Yes, it's true!  I have a couple flower dies in my stash, but just hadn't taken the time to use them until this challenge forced me into action!  Now that the first step has been taken, I can see myself playing with handmade flowers more often!

My card for the challenge uses stamps from one of my Kit of the Month kits and the flower was made using a Sizzix die.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up! and the decorative paper is from Echo Park.

Unity Friends with Flair

Every now and then I need a little reminder to keep my chin up.  We all have those days (or weeks...or months) when life just isn't the most enjoyable due to circumstances, etc.  It's good to remember that just because this moment or this day isn't looking so bright, that doesn't mean that the next moment or the next day has to be the same.  Each day holds out its own unique opportunities and I want to be looking for them and taking advantage of them!

I love this sentiment from Unity's April 2012 Kit of the Month!  I'm sharing this card over on Unity's Friday Friends with Flair link up party!  If you've got some Unity stamps handy, create a little something and join in the fun today!

I am also entering this into Challenge #32 over at Freshly Made Sketches!  Here is this week's sketch: