A card for Princess Taylor

Taylor Jones, the sweet little girl who inspired the 'Spunky Princess' set from Unity, is turning 4 on March 3rd, and the Unity girls are showering her with cards. *smiles* She's such a strong, courageous little girl, is always smiling, and her story has really touched me and the wonderful Chelsea, who first challenged us to send her some cards just to bring another smile to this sweet girl's face. (To read about Taylor and see pictures, click {here}) This is what I came up with:
It's sweet and girly, don't you think? The cherry paper at the bottom is hand-stamped, make-your-own DP (Rose Red on a coral-y pink shipping tag). I paper-pieced the cupcake using Rose Red and Pink Pirouette papers, and added LOTS of layers and foam tape (there is foam tape under the cupcake's Rose Red mat, under the Whisper White mat layer, and under the Rose Red mat layer!). Yep, it's going to cost me a bit more to post, but I think Taylor is worth it! *grins*
I also stamped the envelope with lots of flowers all around the edge from the same set. *wink*

I'm hoping to be back later with more to share, but it's been a slow week (at least stamping-wise!). The kitchen is mostly finished, and I've been spending most of my time this week trying to get everything put into the cabinets and drawers so we can get the kitchen out of the living room *wink* I'll post pictures so you can all see once I have it finished...

Have a wonderful weekend!! Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Whisper White (SU!); pink shipping tag (unknown)
Ink: Rose Red (SU!); Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Ginormous Sweet Cupcakes (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: rhinestone brads (K & Company); ribbon (American Crafts); foam mounting tape (3M)

One of those weeks...

It's been one of those weeks. There's just so much time, and so little to do...scratch that, reverse it. This week has been crazy! It's been fun in its own way, but definitely hasn't left me much time for stamping. Believe it or not, I started this card on Monday, and just finished it this morning!
The layout is Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #74, and the color combo was taken from Amy's inspiration challenge for the Unity Addicts this week (USC24). I took three of the colors from the image she gave us, purposely picking three that would challenge me. (*Confession time...I'm not a big fan of purple, at least not on cards, and I can't really say why.*) However, these three colors (purple, orange, and green) form a triadic color scheme, meaning that their positions on the color wheel form an equilateral triangle. So, as long as the tones you pick are similar, the combination will work. (See, I did learn something from my design and color theory classes! *wink*)

The card base is a Perfect Plum A2-sized card. I stamped the verse from 'Something Within' onto Whisper White using Perfect Plum ink, stamped a wish stick from the August KOTM with Apricot Appeal, and sponged Apricot Appeal around the edges. I also stamped the butterfly from the August KOTM onto a scrap of WW, sponged it, and trimmed it closely, then stamped this flower image (from the grab basket at Unity's CHA booth!) onto a circle of WW. I punched a scalloped circle with the blue Marvy Uchida punch, and mounted it behind the circle, and cut a panel of Perfect Plum and a panel of Wild Wasabi to mat the sentiment. Since green was the dominant color in the photo, I also cut two strips of Wild Wasabi DP to follow the sketch. Then I assembled everything, tying on a piece of Apricot seam binding, and mounting the butterfly with foam tape (using 2 layers under the wings for extra 'lift' *wink*).

I'm hoping to get to play along with VSN sometime this weekend (like maybe later tonight), so I'll be posting those when I finish them...hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White CS, 'Jersey Shore' DP (SU!)
Ink: Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal (SU!)
Stamps: 'Something Within', 'Remember Happiness' August KOTM (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: Apricot seam binding (Martha Stewart Crafts); scalloped circle punch (Marvy Uchida); foam mounting tape (3M)

Shout out to Sheetload!

So, y'all know how much I love ShortCuts (see {this post} for my review, and {this post}, {this post} and {this post} for some cards I've made with their products) ..but have you checked out their sister blog, SheetLoad of Cards? Each month, they put out a web-based, FREE newsletter showcasing their DT member's work, a sketch, and all the measurements to make a whole bunch of cards in just a wee bit of time using that sketch! It's AWESOME...go check out February's newsletter! (oh, and my Unity buddy Joy Stagg (aka daiseyfreak on SCS) is the featured designer for this month...HI JOY!!)

Go check them out!! *wink*
~Michelle

Viva La Verve (times 2)

Catching up on the Verve VLVFeb sketches...these are such great sketches (shout out to Amber!), and if you complete all of the month's sketches by the deadline, you get entered into a contest to win free Verve!

This card I actually started on Thursday, and finished Friday, but haven't uploaded yet. I used an approximation of the color combo Nichole Heady had as one of the PTI release challenges, and the VLVFeb02 sketch, and came up with this:
Oh, and I love, love, {{LOVE}} it! Something about the simplicity and the color combo just makes me *smile*!

The twist for this sketch was NO DESIGNER PAPER, so this is all card stock. The base is a standard A2 in Baja Breeze, and then I built up the card suing the sketch. The yellow scalloped circle is Summer Sun, cut with the Coluzzle, and then scalloped on the edge with my medium corner rounder. The white oval was also cut with the Coluzzle, then I stamped it with the sentiment and the flowers before adhering it to a scrap of Real Red and trimming closely to add just a hint of red mat. The Baja Breeze scalloped circle was punched with my purple Marvy Uchida punch, pierced in the scallops, and mounted to the card with foam tape. For the three dots in the sketch (on either side of the red panel), I used some Heidi Swapp Jet Black Bling. (LOVE those!)

Next up, VLVFeb03, with a monochromatic {twist}...
I've done *lots* of monochromatic cards, and I'm shooting for 'growth' this year, so I wanted to do a color I'd never done before. And ORANGE was that color. The only problem? I've only recently 'discovered' my love of orange, and hardly have any DP that is orange (part of that problem is that they don't make a lot of orange DP for anything other than Halloween...and I don't do Halloween). Happily, several of the Jersey Shore DPs are orange!!
The two polka-dot pieces were actually cut from the patterned strip sheet, so their width is whatever that paper had, but I love the variety of scale! The base is a standard A2 in Pumpkin Pie, and then because I wanted a lot of white, I added a 4" x 5 1/4" panel of Whisper White, with the edges heavily distressed. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of WW, and punched it out with the blue Marvy circle punch. Then, I punched a Pumpkin Pie circle with the pink Marvy punch, and discovered that the EK small corner rounder goes around the edge perfectly!! (Ah, gotta love those happy accidents!). I matted the two polka-dot pieces with thin Pumpkin Pie mats, and made a wide mat for the daisy paper, and scalloped the bottom edge with the same small corner rounder. Then I put everything together per Amber's sketch, adding foam tape under the vertical panel, under the right half of the larger-scale polka dot panel, and under the scalloped circle panel (with a double-layer of foam tape at the bottom right edge).

Thanks for stopping by today!! Have a wonderful week!
~Michelle

Supplies used (Gratitude Blossom):
Paper: Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Real Red, and Whisper White CS (SU!)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko); Old Olive (SU!)
Stamps: 'Beautiful You' (Verve Stamps)
Other: foam mounting tape (3M); Coluzzle cutting system; paper piercing tool (Tonic Studios); scalloped oval punch (Marvy Uchida); corner rounder (EK Success); Jet Black Bling (Heidi Swapp); black grosgrain ribbon (unknown)

Supplies used (Fun is Good):
Paper: Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White CS, 'Jersey Shore' DP (SU!)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Stamps: 'Beautiful You' (Verve Stamps)
Other: foam mounting tape (3M); Coluzzle cutting system; blue circle punch (Marvy Uchida); corner rounder (EK Success); white satin ribbon (unknown)

*giddy*

¹gid·dy \ˈgi-dē\ adjective:

1 a: dizzy <giddy from the unaccustomed exercise> b: causing dizziness giddy height> c: whirling rapidly2 a: lightheartedly silly : frivolous b: joyfully elated : euphoric

(*WARNING: excess gloating and giddiness ahead!*)

Oh yes, I am GIDDY! Why? Well, check this out:Can you believe it?!?! I won one of the PTI Anniversary prizes!! Out of 1407 comments, they picked MINE! **doing a happy dance**

So, what did I win? Check it out at the end of {this post} ...a Spring Basket prize package, worth over $100!! Including the amazing new set Tags for Spring, and a $50 gift certificate...so even though this will be my first experience using PTI, it's not going to be my last! *grins*

THANK YOU, TONYA!! (She's the one who let me know!)

Okay, that's enough for now... I'll be back later with some actual projects! *wink*
~Michelle

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the card I made for Philip, my DH, for Valentine's Day. It has no stamping, uses a black base, *and* I used paint around the edges...3 things that are not my norm, but Philip liked it, and commented on how cool the paint looked. *wink*
The card is pretty basic...I used my corner rounder for the scalloped edge on the right, the purple Marvy Uchida scalloped circle punch for the green, the pink circle punch for the pink, the yellow heart, and a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, which I cut in half for under the wings. The heart is mounted on foam tape for dimension.

Hope you have a fantastic Valentine's Day, and enjoy the 3-day weekend (for those of you who get to enjoy it!)!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Urban Prairie DP (Basic Grey); Basic Black, Apricot Appeal CS (SU!)
Ink: NONE!
Stamps: NONE!
Other: black ZIG Writer; foam mounting tape (3M); heart-shaped snap (Making Memories); punches (Marvy Uchida, Martha Stewart Crafts, and EK Success)

HHH - Fabric Flowers

Happy Friday, and Happy Hip Hop Hangover!! (Sorry I'm late with this post...it's been a crazy morning!) ..Be sure to stop by the Unity blog to see who else has posts for this Friday!
Yesterday's Way to Use it challenge (WT205) at SCS was a good one...using fabric on your cards. Last June(?) I went with my friend to a quilt shop (she a quilter, not me), and picked up a pack of 6" squares of Moda fabric. The colors and patterns were so vibrant and fun, I just had to have it for inspiration. So, I pulled that pack off my display bar, and got to work:
I used my Cuttlebug and flower dies to cut flowers from the solid coordinating fabrics (for a thin fabric like this, I had to add 2 cardstock shim pieces), cut a tiny hole at the center of each one, rolled them in my hands so they would fray a bit, and layered them together with a silver brad.

Next, I stamped the verse from Something Within onto a scrap of Whisper White using Real Red ink, and distressed the edges. I matted it with Taken with Teal CS, and cut another panel of TwT, and tore a panel of one of the fabrics, then built the card using Jen's Sketch For You To Try from this weekend on an A2-sized base of Kraft CS.

Hope you have a wonderful day, a very Happy Valentine's Day, and a great weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Taken with Teal (SU!)
Ink: Real Red (SU!)
Stamps: Something Within (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: 'Fresh Squeezed' fabrics (Moda); foam mounting tape (3M); silver brads (Making Memories); Pop-up Glue Dots

HHT New Release - 'Spin, Baby!'

HIP HOP!!I don't know if you've noticed, but I {love} Unity Stamp Company. Not only do they have the most fabulous stamps (they're #17 in the Stamping Top 50 after only 9 months selling their product, if that tells you anything), the also have the most wonderful PEOPLE. Seriously wonderful, caring, truly-a-community type people. If you haven't had a chance to go hang out in the Unity forum, you really, really should.

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to CHA and meet a few of them. They're even better in real life! *wink* Here's photo I cropped of Angela and me:
So, where am I going with all this?? Well, sweet Miss Angela let me pick out a not-yet-released single from her display before I left! And today, it's for sale!! HIP HOP indeed! *grins* So, just for you, and just for Hip Hop and its release, here's a card I made with it! (I've been saving it for this special occasion! *wink*)
It's a *gigantic* version of the sweet little pinwheel from November's KOTM "enjoy YOUR STORY...laugh"!! I love the whimsical style of this pinwheel, and it just makes me smile everytime I use the November kit! And now, I get to enjoy it in almost-life-size gorgeousness. *grins*

The whimsical style reminds me of the fabulous papers in BasicGrey's 'Urban Prairie' line, and I used SIX different papers from the line for this card. The only plain CS is the Apricot Appeal card base, which is 7 1/2" x 8 1/2", folded in half to create a 3 3/4" x 8 1/2" card that fits into a standard business envelope. I added an punched 'Morning Glory' edge at the card's opening, and adhered a stripe of 'Kettle' and a large panel of 'Weathervane' to the card base.
For the main image panel, I stamped the 'Spin, Baby' image onto a piece of 'Bluebird' for my image base, then again onto 'Bountiful' for the pinwheel and 'Petticoat' for the handle, and cut and paper-pieced the image together, adding a pink bling brad for the center. I matted the image onto a piece of 'Morning Glory', leaving just a thin 1/16" border all the way around, and added it to teh card, using foam tape. To finish off the card, I tied a scrap of ribbon into a knot for the pinwheel's handle, added three adhesive rhinestones to the corner, and stamped a portion of the 'Remember Happiness' sentiment (from the August 2008 KOTM) onto the card base at the bottom.

I hope you have a great Thursday! Be sure to go to the Unity blog to start the blog hop at 10am CST (8am Pacific), and to see the specials at 11am CST (9am Pacific).

Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Apricot Appeal CS (SU!); Urban Prairie DP (BasicGrey)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: 'Spin, Baby!' and sentiment from 'Remember Happiness' August KOTM (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: Scalloped edge punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); foam mounting tape (3M); pink bling brad (Karen Foster); adhesive rhinestones (Michael's); ribbon (unknown)

Painted Lady

*Note: This week's Unity Addicts Challenge is in the next post*

This week's Color Challenge was a tough one for me...I'm not really a pink and purple kind of girl! But then I saw the adorable house from Unity's January KOTM, and remembered all the 'Painted Ladies' (a nickname for Victorian houses) in San Luis Obispo, and *knew* they were meant to be together. Victorian houses often have very colorful paint schemes, and this is actually a very typical combo from the Victorian era. If you go to SLO, you'll see pink houses, and you could probably find one with this exact color combo: Pink Pirhouette, Perfect Plum, and Kiwi Kiss/Old Olive. *wink*

I stamped the house onto Whisper White, then colored it in with my blender pen and ink pads (to get the darker green, I used reinker). Then I started layering, following Julee's awesome Mojo Monday 73 sketch. To get the ribbon through the image panel, I laid it on top where I wanted it to come through, made two tiny pencil marks for the width, and then cut a slit for the ribbon to fit through using my favorite finger-tip knife from Fiskars. The image panel (and its Perfect Plum mat) and the pink base layer are on foam tape to give the card dimension. I taped the ribbon to the back of the pink panel, and put the pink bling brad through before attaching it to the card base.

So, all in all, I think I'm happy with how it turned out, though I don't think it's really 'me'. I'm definitely going to keep this sketch on hand, though...very cute and versatile!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirhouette, Perfect Plum, and Kiwi Kiss CS (SU!)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko); Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Bordering Blue (SU!)
Stamps: image - January KOTM 'Love, etc.' , 'home' - Tiny Trinity (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: Striped grosgrain (SU!); pink bling (Karen Foster); foam mounting tape (3M)

*BOOM* - USC23

Today's Unity Addicts Challenge comes from Lori..."For this week's challenge, come up with a tiny Valentine along these lines--one image, bright and colorful, Valentine-ish sentiment". (Lori's a school teacher, so she sees *a lot* of these kinds of Valentines!)

Here's mine:
I started by stamping the 'Boom' image onto a scrap of Whisper White (the scrap was actually perfectly sized...I didn't cut it, and I'm not really sure what the dimensions are...approx. 2 3/4" x 3 1/2", I think). Then I stamped the image again on a scrap of Jersey Shore DP, and again on a pink shipping tag I picked up a few years ago at a stamping convention. I cut out the parts I wanted, and pieced the turtles onto the white base. I colored in the 'BOOM' and the small heart on the bubble with straight Real Red reinker, and used the Real Red ink pad and my blender pen to add some shading to the heart (which mostly soaked into the tag's paper and didn't really show up!). The design seemed a bit off-balance, so I added a 'pond' for my turtles with a different piece of Jersey Shore DP. Finally, I added a piece of Real Red CS to the back to create a very thin mat for the card, and give it some stability.

Be sure to check out what the other girls have made for this great challenge, and play along, by checking out {this thread}.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Real Red and Whisper White CS, Jersey Shore DP (SU!); pink shipping tag (unknown)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Boom goes my {heart} (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other:

Love Grows - USCSC14

Being home with two sick little boys is, oddly, allowing me to get a lot of cards done. My 4-year-old wants me to 'craft with him' (which entails handing him crafting items such as tape, glue dots, my 'crocodile' aka Crop-a-dile, and scraps of goodies off my desk), and my 2-year-old wants to alternately crash in front of 'a show' and cuddle with Mommy. So, while crafting with Big D I do a bit of crafting of my own, and while cuddling Little J, I upload and blog! *wink*

So, here's the latest, based on Amber's fabulous Unity Sketch Challenge #14:

I stamped the heart tree from 'Love Grows' using various ZIG Writers to color the image for stamping onto Whisper White, then trimmed the image and stamped 'love grows' next to the trunk. I matted the image on Wild Wasabi textured CS, then found scraps in coordinating colors for the other two panels (Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red). I stamped 'love grows' repeatedly on the Rose Red scrap, and tied a ribbon and taped it around the Pumpkin Pie scrap. For the background panel, I cut a 4" x 5" piece of Jersey Shore DP (now retired), and punched a strip of Wild Wasabi CS, which I taped to the back of the DP panel. I adhered everything down onto a standard A2 Rose Red card base, and added some felt Flower Fusion flowers to the corner of the image panel. So glad I finally broke out those felt flowers!!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White CS, Wild Wasabi textured CS, and Jersey Shore DP (SU!)
Ink: Rose Red (SU!); Chocolate, Spice, Rose, Pure Orange, and Spring Green ZIG Writers (Kuretake Co.)
Stamps: 'Love Grows' (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: grosgrain ribbon (American Crafts); foam tape (3M); Flower Fusion I (SU!); scalloped edge punch (Martha Stewart Crafts)

Moxie Fab combo!

Here's another double challenge! This one for Sunday's Featured Stamper (FS105 - I picked {this} card of k dunbrook's to CASE), using the Moxie Fab Yellow and Gray color challenge for my color combo. That said, knowing the layout, color combo, and even which *stamps* I was planning to use, I *seriously* struggled with this one, and I DON'T KNOW WHY! Ah well, back to the growing pains, I guess...

I started with an 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" rectangle of Basic Gray textured CS, folded to make a 4 1/4" square base. I stamped the wheat/grass image from January's KOTM onto Whisper White, then used my Stamp-a-Majig to stamp directly over it for a darker image, and then to stamp off to the side for a faux-embossed/drop shadow look. Then I die cut and embossed the image with my Nesties, adhered it to a black paper from SEI's Charlemagne paper pack, and trimmed around to get a frame around the image. Next, I cut and embossed some DP from the same pack pack, adhered is to some Basic Black CS, and trimmed again. Then, I cut some 'Straw' DP from the Urban Prairie line of BasicGrey, adhered it to Basic Gray CS, and trimmed again. The final layers are a 3 3/4" square of Going Gray CS and a 3 7/8" square of 'Straw' DP. I added black brads to the corner of the Going Gray square, and then began layering, adding black ribbon around the card, and foam tape under the SEI DP panel and the image panel.

I stamped the sentiment onto Whisper White, cut it down to size, ticket-punched the corners, and then mounted it to a piece of Basic Black CS with the corners also punched. I added some Heidi Swapp Jet Bling to the sentiment, and was *finally* done. I like it now that it's done, but I felt like I was banging my head against Lori's brick wall all day yesterday!!

Hope you find something to inspire you on a creative journey today! Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Going Gray, and Whisper White CS (SU!); herringbone and black DP (SEI 'Charlemagne'); 'Straw' DP (BasicGrey 'Urban Prairie')
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko); Going Gray (SU!)
Stamps: January 2009 KOTM 'Love Etc.' and September 2008 KOTM 'friendship. LOVE. miracles.' (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: Foam tape (3M); Labels 2 Nestabilites (SpellBinders); Jet Bling (Heidi Swapp); black grosgrain (unknown)

MOPS Crafts - Lots of Love! (Pt. 2)

Here are the rest of the MOPS crafts we made for our Valentine sweeties...love notes to hide around the house, in that cute mailbox (see the Part 1 post), or wherever/whenever your heart desires, and a triangle treat box filled with dark chocolate Kisses (get it? 'Kiss me'? Sorry...my DH is the *master* of punny jokes, and it rubs off! LOL!)

So, first up...the punny Kiss box:
We started with a 4" x 8" rectangle of red card stock, and scored it per the tutorial on SCS. Before folding it, though, we stamped it all over with various Valentine-y stamps using Fired Brick ink. Then we folded it, punched the holes to hold it together, and tied on a stitched velvet ribbon. For the front, we stamped 'Kiss me' onto a scrap of pink paper, punched it out with my purple Marvy Uchida scalloped oval punch, and pierced the scallops, then attached it to the front with foam tape. EPLS!!

Here's a coordinated love note (the sentiment sounds best if you say it with a Southern accent like my sweet friend Kim *wink*):
For this one, we stamped the front of a 3"x 3" white card with the cupcakes from the December 2008 KOTM 'Little Reminders' using Fired Brick ink, and then stamped white circles (punched with the pink Marvy Uchida circle punch) with 'Kiss me', 'Sweet Thing', hearts from a retired SU! alpha set, and filled in around the edge with Jeanne's swirl from the January 2009 KOTM 'Love, Etc.'. We adhered that to a scalloped circle of DP, and then attached it to the front of the card with foam tape.

Last, but by no means least, my most favorite of the love notes:
Isn't it awesome?? Now really, what man wouldn't love that as a Valentine? There's no ribbon, no pink, no lace...just a BBQ, some 'studs', and a fun little sentiment. This one started with a red CS 3"x3" card base. We started by stamping the little grill onto white scraps with Stazon ink, punched it out with the blue Marvy Uchida circle punch, and colored it in with a red Prismacolor pencil. Next, we stamped 'Hey hottie' onto the card base, then punched the holes in the DP for the brads, added the brads, and adhered it to the card above the sentiment. Then, we attached the image circle with foam tape to the center of the card.

Hope you add a little love to your week! Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used (all):
Paper: Red, pink, and white from Valentine's Day Value Pack (bought at Michael's), B&W polka dot DP (Making Memories); 'Love Note' DP (ChatterBox)
Ink: Distress Fired Brick (Ranger Industries); Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: 'Kiss Me', and swirl from January 2009 KOTM 'Love Etc.'; Cupcakes from December 2008 KOTM 'Little Reminders'; swirly heart, arrow from October 2008 KOTM 'Thinking About the Good Times"; "Smooch", "Sweet Thing", and "Hey Hottie" from 'Mix-Up of Cuteness' (Unity Stamp Company); bbq (StudioG - from the Michael's $1 bins); Heart (on Kiss Me card) from 'Spunky Alphabet' (SU!)
Other: foam tape (3M); brads (Making Memories); punches (Marvey Uchida); Prismacolor artist pencils (Sanford)

MOPS Crafts - Lots of Love! (Pt. 1)

How cute are these?? This month is our MOPS groups' "Tunnel of Love" (the whole year is themed "Adventures in Mothering", and we're theming each month after a different attraction!). So, in preparation for Valentine's Day, we made love notes, a sweet little mailbox, and a chocolate treat box...in this installment, we'll take a look at the mailbox and one of the love notes. *wink*

First up, the box to put those sweet notes in:

Target had these in their $1 bin!! Can you believe it? To cover them, I cut different DPs into varying widths, and ran them all through my Xyron machine...that made this a peel-and-stick craft. (The 11" length covers the sides and nearly touches at the bottom, the 12" length overlaps on the bottom). For the front, the DP is cut to 3" x 2 1/2", and the corners were sanded off for the rounded edge. Then we stamped the love postage stamp from Unity's January KOTM 'Love, etc.' onto textured red CS, trimmed closely, and mounted to the front with foam squares.
For the flag, we stamped the heart from SU!'s 'Priceless' set onto white CS, cut it out, and attached them with foam tape. Then we tied on 3 ribbons for that girly touch. (And just so ya know, when I say 'we', I mean the MOPS moms...I'm not speaking of myself in the 'Royal We'! *wink*)

Here is the first of 3 different 'love notes' that we made to put in our mailboxes:
This is a 3"x6" piece of pink CS, folded to create a 3" square card. The background is stamped in Versamark using a SU! wheel (sorry...it's hard to see in the pic!). The front edge is punched with my favorite Martha Stewart scalloped edge punch, and then backed with a 3" x 1 1/2" piece of red CS. We stamped the 'Priceless' heart twice onto white CS, and cut them both out. One is attached directly to the card base, and the other is popped up on foam squares. To finish it off, we tied on a piece of black and white striped grosgrain.

Hope you enjoy the projects! Don't forget to make something for your sweetie (V-day is Saturday, you know!) *grins*

Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used (mailbox):
Paper: red textured CS (Bazzill); DP by Chatterbox ('Love Note'), Making Memories (black and white polka dot), and 7Gypsies (harlequin, brocade, and french script)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko); Distress Fired Brick (Ranger Industries)
Stamps: January KOTM 'Love, Etc.' (Unity Stamp Co.); Priceless (SU!)
Other: foam mounting squares (Making Memories); ribbon (Dashes, Dots and Checks)

Supplies used (2Hearts love note):
Paper: Valentine color pack (Value Pack)
Ink: Distress Fired Brick (Ranger Industries)
Stamps: Priceless, Lots of Hearts wheel (SU!)
Other: foam mounting squares (Making Memories); ribbon (Dashes, Dots and Checks)

Just say it...

(pssst...If you're here for the Unity HHH post, it's the next one down! *wink*)

Today's Limited Supply Challenge (LSC206) was to 'Say what you feel'...make a card where the *only* stamp you use is a sentiment. I don't feel this way today, but believe me, there are days where this quotation from W.C. Fields completely speaks to me!

This time, I started with the DP...a fabulous piece of Cosmo Cricket that I *never* would have picked up on my own. (Not because I don't like it, but because it's not "me", or at least not the old "me". The new, *growing* "me" is absolutely lovin' it. So, "thank you" to my darling, 4-year-old son for grabbing it at the LSS!)
I cut the DP to 3 3/4" x 5", then a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" panel of Basic Black for a thin mat, and mounted both to a standard A2 card base of Very Vanilla. Then I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of VV, and mounted it to a piece of DP from the same line of Cosmo Cricket. I cut four circles of DP and Basic Black using my punches, and began layering them onto the card base, threading some black grosgrain through a couple, and adding foam tape to portions of the DP circles (see the first pic for a close-up of that). I taped the grosgrain down on both sides of the card, and trimmed the ends, adding a black metallic snap to keep it from falling off the card. Last, I attached my sentiment panel over the top using foam tape.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend! I have a few more projects to share with you, so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black CS (SU!); 'Picnic' and 'Blowing Bubbles' DP (Cosmo Cricket 'Hello Sunshine')
Ink: Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Stamps: Edgy Eloquence (SU!)
Other: black snap (We R Memorykeepers); black grosgrain (unknown); foam mounting tape (3M)

HHH - Stretching some more!

Happy Hip Hop Hangover! I have another card that I used to challenge myself...still working on that 'GROWTH' goal! Check out these colors:WOW, right? Definitely not typically me, but I love how it turned out! I pulled this color combo from my SU! catalog...it's a DP called 'Pink Flamingo', and the colors are Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, and Summer Sun.
I used the VLVFeb01 sketch for my card, pulled out this adorable peacock from the Unity's January KOTM, and the sentiment from 'Hey Chick' (makes me laugh every time!). I stamped the peacock and the sentiment onto Whisper White, colored with reinkers and blender pens, and cut the image into an oval using my Coluzzle. Then I cut a second oval from Tempting Turquiose, and scalloped the edge with my medium corner rounder. The base is a standard A2 card in Real Red. Next, I layered a 4" x 5 1/4" panel of Tempting Turquoise (with corners rounded), and a 3 3/4" x 5" panel of Cameo Coral (corners rounded and embossed in the Cuttlebug). I added a strip of Summer Sun per the sketch, and taped Real Red grosgrain around the entire panel. I added my image panel using foam tape, and added a bow to the top, and rhinestones as shown in the sketch, and to the centers of the peacock's outermost feathers.

So...what do you think?? Did I pull it off? Too bright? I'd love to hear your comments!
Be sure to check out what the other HHH bloggers have today (either on Unity's blog, or in {this thread} on SCS).

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, and Summer Sun (SU!)
Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, and Summer Sun (SU!); Stazon Jet Black (Tsukeniko)
Stamps: Hey Chick, January KOTM 'Love, Etc.' (Unity Stamp Company)
Other: Coluzzle cutting system; foam tape (3M); blender pens, Real Red grosgrain ribbon (SU!); Cuttlebug and embossing folder (Provo Craft); corner rounder (EK Success); rhinestones (Michael's)

Verve's Project Parade #2

I just had to do another project for the Verve January Project Parade 'Kid at Heart' theme this month! *grins*

This time, I went with a super quick covered lollipop...you could whip these up for a class room of kiddos in no time flat! (I might reserve the Prima embellished one for the teacher, or maybe give her a whole bouquet! *wink*)

I punched two scalloped circles of DP using my purple Marvy Uchida punch, and adhered them to both sides of the lollipop with glue dots. Then I created a layered flower with some Primas and a button, and attached it to one side:
Then on the other side, I attached a punched circle of Whisper White, which was stamped with the Winnie the Pooh sentiment from 'Beautiful You' and colored with a ZIG Writer:
Soooooooooo EPLS!!

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: polka dot DP (Fancy Pants)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Beautiful You (Verve Stamps)
Other: flowers (Prima Marketing); button (Foofala); ZIG Writer, Zots adhesive dots (ThermoWeb)

Unity Addicts Challenge #22

This week, Carole challenged us to "Use a non-valentine stamp, in a valentine way ! You must also use ribbon and buttons on your card!". I combined it with the wonderful Unity Sketch Challenge from Amber, and here was my result:
I have to say, this is one *heavy* card! LOL! Definitely not one that'll be easily mailed...

I started with a standard A2 card base in Very Vanilla, and began building. I cut the orange polka-dot paper to 4"x4", rounded the two right corners, and added to strips of coordinating DP from the same paper pack. Next, I punched a scalloped circle from Chocolate Chip, and a circle from Whisper White (I actually originally did this on VV, but it looked too bland...the WW gave it a little more light). I stamped my favorite little owl from Mix-Up of Cuteness onto the white circle using Chocolate Chip ink, stamped the owl onto a DP scrap and some Creamy Caramel, and paper-pieced him. I adhered both circles to the base, then started playing with buttons, flowers, and a scrap of brown twill until I came up with my arrangement.

For the sentiment, I wrote 'loves you?' with a ZIG Writer, and then spelled out the 'Whoo' with chipboard letter stickers from Making Memories to give it a Valentine-y theme *wink*, and added three 'candy dots' to the corner.

Go to {this post} to see what the other Unity chicks are up to, and to play along! Thanks for stopping by today!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel CS (SU!); "Chloe's Closet" DP (Making Memories)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Stamps: Mix-up of Cuteness (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: "Chloe's Closet" Blossoms & Buttons, Noteworthy chipboard alpha (Making Memories); Glue Dots; 'candy dots' (I*kan*dee by Pebbles, Inc.); twill ribbon (Martha Stewart Crafts)

Growing pains

Don't get me wrong, I {love} how this card turned out. But it took me *so* long to finish this card! My word for this year is 'GROWTH'. I've been striving for growth in all areas of my life, and that includes card-making, so I've been trying to stretch myself in terms of colors, layouts, patterns, challenges, you name it. And I'm feeling the stretch, and in the end, it really, really is good. (But it can still be frustrating in the midst of the growth!)

Anyhoo, enough about me, and back to to the card. This one is for Julee's fabulous Mojo Monday Challenge #72. {Love} this sketch! The stretch for me on this one came with the mix of patterned papers. I started by pulling out some gorgeous Scenic Route 'Sonoma' line DP, and went from there...
The card base is an 11" x 4 1/4" piece of textured red CS, folded to a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card base. Next I layered on a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of DP, and used that for the rest of my colors. I cut a 1 1/2" by 4 1/4" strip of a coordinating DP, and a 2" x 4 1/4" strip of the textured CS, which I scalloped on one edge using my small corner rounder. I attached both to the base, tied on a vanilla satin ribbon, and continued with the main image panel. I cut a 1 1/2" x 3 3/4" piece of So Saffron CS, and layered it on top of a 2" x 4 1/4" panel of the textured CS, and scalloped the bottom edge with the small corner rounder again. The I stamped the butterfly sentiment onto a scrap of Very Vanilla CS, cut it to 1 7/8" width, and layered it onto a 2" wide strip of the red. I punched a scalloped circle from the red CS, and mounted it to the sentiment using foam tape. The butterfly was stamped onto a pink tag, trimmed closely, and attached using one layer of foam tape at the center, and two layers under the wings. To finish off the card, I added the 3 half-back pearls at the bottom right corner.

Here's to a little bit more growth! *cheers* Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: red textured CS (Bazzill); patterned papers ('Sonoma' by Scenic Route)
Ink: Distress Fired Brick (Ranger)
Stamps: Beautiful You (Verve); September KOTM (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: foam tape (3M); 2" scalloped circle punch (Marvy Uchida); pearls (Michael's); satin ribbon (unknown)

Kid at {Heart}

As soon as I saw that the theme for this month's Verve Project Parade was 'Kid at Heart', I immediately had this idea (it just took me almost two weeks to get around to making it!). Who didn't love conversation hearts as a kid?? I get nostalgic when I see them in the store around Valentine's Day, so, that's what I based my project on!

I took a box of conversation hearts, and first covered them with red CS (cut 4" x 8", and scored at 2 1/2", 3/4", 2 1/2", and 3/4", with the left over amount for taping at the back), then a piece of pink CS, cut to the same dimensions, but punched on each long edge with my Martha Stewart scalloped punch. I cut a 1" strip of red CS as a 'belly band', and tied on some black gingham ribbon for a little 'punch'. I took a scrap of the pink CS, stamped the 'Fun is Good' from Verve's Beautiful You set, and punched it out with my blue Marvy scalloped punch. After coloring in the letters with a ZIG Writer, I attached it using foam tape, and then added a little layered Prima flower to the corner. It was fast and easy, and you can still open the end to get to the candy inside! *wink*
Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: red and pink CS (Valentine pack from Michael's ...not sure of the brand)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Beautiful You (Verve Stamps)
Other: ZIG Writers; black gingham ribbon (JoAnn's); flowers (Prima); brad (Making Memories); foam tape (3M); Sweethearts (Necco)