Beach Bungalow Inspiration - USC36

It's Wednesday, and time for another Unity Addicts Challenge!! This week is my turn to pick, and I picked a Color Inspiration challenge (again...I {{love}} color, and almost always start my projects by choosing colors)! I find color inspiration EVERYWHERE. A tag off my clothes, the paint on a building, colors in nature... or a photo from a magazine article (which is where today's challenge came from):
(Image is from Martha Stewart Living) Isn't that just the most darling little bungalow kitchen?? I think it would be hard to be grumpy in a kitchen with these bright, sunny, fun colors. My challenge to the Unity girls was to make a project using the colors in this photo: Turquoise, tangerine, yellow, and lots of white. Here's what I came up with (thanks to the fortuitous arrival of my May KOTM...OMGosh, I {{LOVE}} it!!):
I have to say, I was totally jazzed about the idea to make the sentiment coming out of the chimney like a little thought bubble! *grins*

I paper-pieced the house out of scraps from my scrap bin, adding the hearts with foam tape for some dimension. I stamped the sentiment directly onto my card base (using a Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement), and then again onto a scrap of So Saffron to paper-piece the 'home', and colored in the hearts and doodles with my Prismacolor pencils. I tied on the ribbon and added the house with some more foam tape, then I drew the 'bubble' around the sentiment and the little bubbles leading from the chimney with a ZIG Writer.

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

Supplies used:
Paper: Classic White (Amuse); So Saffron (SU!); blue DP (Basic Grey 'Urban Prairie'); red CS (Bazzill); orange wood stain sample (Sherwin Williams)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: May KOTM '...Another Sweet Day' (Unity Stamp Company)
Other: Prismacolor Artist Pencils - Scarlet Lake, Yellowed Orange, and Light Aqua (Sanford); Tangerine Tango striped grosgrain (SU!); foam mounting tape (3M); black ZIG Writer

Unity KOTM Blog Hop!

Hi Hoppers! (If you've just come upon my blog, please go to Unity's Blog to start at the beginning...you'll be glad you did!)

For my project, I altered a small notebook using the August 2008 KOTM 'Remember Happiness' (STILL my all-time fave, though this month's May KOTM may win once it arrives!) and the February 2009 KOTM 'Endings & Beginnings'.
The trailer was paper-pieced using some of the 'solids' from Basic Grey's 'Granola' line, and I colored in the small hearts using a Pale Vermillion Prismacolor artist pencil. That was layered onto a Sherwin Williams wood stain sample, then onto black, and adhered with foam tape. I stamped the Remember Happiness quote onto a blue solid to create my own background paper, layered it with black, and tied on some SU! striped Tangerine Tango ribbon before adhering it to the front of my notebook with foam tape. I stamped 'enjoy' and 'journey' directly onto the notebook, and wrote my own 'the' to create the sentiment. *grins*

Thanks for stopping by!

Your next blog to visit is Jackie at http://stampingsister.blogspot.com/

Enjoy the hop, and have a fabuluous weekend!!
~Michelle

Happy Birthday Unity!!

Yes, it's official! Unity is ONE YEAR OLD today! (Can you believe it??) This company has completely renewed my creativity over the past year, and has provided me with some wonderful friends and experiences, too. {{Thank you}} Unity, Angela and Chris, the Unity guys and gals, Unity DT, and all my Unity Addict friends!

Here's a simple little card I made for one of yesterday's challenges (and completed after the deadline was up...c'est la vie, non?). The challenge was to a create a card with a special edge, so I pulled out my trusty Martha Stewart Crafts scallop dot border punch, some scraps of DP, and got started. I first stamped the image of the trees onto a scrap of Amuse white, and then again onto a striped mystery scrap (I think it might be daisy d's, but don't quote me), and again onto a scrap of Bo Bunny pink, and paper-pieced the trees, popping up one on a foam square. Then I distressed the edge with my scissors, and ran PTI's Blush Blossom ink over the distressing. The image was matted with a scrap of orange, and then mounted to the card with foam tape.
After punching the edge, I added a strip of blue DP, and a scalloped strip of orange to the inside of the card (to make my hubby happy when he opens it when I show it to him! LOL) *wink*

I hope you have a wonderful Friday! Be sure to check out the Unity Blog to see all the birthday happenings, and to find out who else is posting today!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Wild Wasabi CS (SU!); Classic White CS (Amuse); Orange and blue 'solids' (American Crafts); striped DP (unknown)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko); Sweet Blush (PaperTrey Ink)
Stamps: trees - April KOTM 'Fresh Beginnings', sentiment - March KOTM 'Simple Life' (Unity Stamp Company)
Other: Scallop Dot border punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); Lemon Tart Saddle-Stitched Grosgrain (PaperTrey Ink)

GIU #3 - LIVE all the days of your life, and a mid-week WINNER!

I {{love}} this sentiment!

Today's card was a stretch (color-wise) for me...I mean, seriously, it has pink and coral! But, in the end, I think it turned out pretty well! *wink*
This time I started with the image...I knew I wanted to combine the sentiment and this wonderful journaling spot from this month's KOTM from Unity, and that I didn't want them on plain ol' white (not that I have a problem with white, as you'll see tomorrow!). It took me a couple tries, but I finally settled on stamping the journal block with Versamark onto Baja Breeze, and then stamping the sentiment over the top with Not Quite Navy ink. I colored in the frame and the 'Live', and cut out the frame, trimming closely. Then I pulled out one of my mystery coral-ly pink shipping tags (I *think* I got them at a stamp convention, but I'm not sure who the manufacturer is), and cut off the top portion. I matted it onto white, aligning the edges of the three layers. Then I adhered them to the Kiwi Kiss card base, tied on some hot pink stitched grosgrain, and accented with rhinestones. Voila! EPLS! *wink*
On a side note, I wanted to point those of you that have asked me about my coloring to {this fabulous tutorial} that the talented Lisa Spangler made for the Hero Club Blog. She demonstrates in 9 minutes and 57 seconds what I spent several architectural rending labs learning and practicing. Truly, her video will give you all the basics, and then it's just a matter of playing with color combinations and practicing! (No blending solution, odorless mineral spirits, Turpenoid, or Gamsol required...though I do use those on occasion, too!) HTH!

And, (drum roll, please) the winner of my own extra little bit o' blog candy is:

#4 - StampinCathy

Love the Spring look! I'm so ready for Spring! Congrats on being the Unity's Stamper of the week. Can't wait to see what fabulous eye candy you have for us. Thanks

(Cathy, I'm going to attempt to figure out how to email you, but if you see this before I do, could you send me an email with your addy? Thanks!)

Thank you {{ALL}} again for the wonderful comments! Y'all melt my heart! *wink*

Thanks for stopping by! (Hopefully) See you again tomorrow!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, and Baja Breeze CS (SU!); coral/pink shipping tag (unknown)
Ink: VersaMark (Tsukineko); Not Quite Navy (SU!)
Stamps: 'Simple Life' March 2009 KOTM (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: pink stitched grosgrain (Dashes, Dots, & Checks); small clear rhinestones (Michael's); pink rhinestones (Studio18); Prismacolor artist pencils (Sanford) - White, Indigo Blue, Slate Grey, Lime Peel, Cream, Pink Rose, Pink