WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Thanks again for your encouraging comments during my week of Growing In Unity.  I had so much creating the layouts for the week.  There were an amazing 127 comments and random.org picked

 

#107

Emily H.

 

Emily, please email me with your contact info and the two itty bitties that you would like, so that Unity can send them to you.

 

Thanks again for your encouragement during this past week.  I read and treasure each comment.



FRIENDS WITH FLAIR FRIDAY GROWING IN UNITY

This is a two page layout I did featuring my parents and using paper by Echo Park. 

This is the left-hand page of the two page layout and I used the sketch from the Unity Stamp Company Challenge.  The tape is paper tape by 7 Gypsies.  The black cardstock is by WorldWin and the shimmery red cardstock is by The Paper Company and the white is from my stash.  I used Adirondack, Staz-On, and Ranger inks.  The banners are embossed using Stampendous shabby green embossing powder--love this stuff!  The twine is the red shimmer twine from The Twinery.  The vellum is from my stash.  I used Glossy Accents on the word GaGa, which is what the grandkids all call my Mother.  The banner and holly border stamps are from "A Simple Christmas".  I used the Marah Johnson "Carnivale" alphabet set again for the word GaGa.  The ruler stamp, love them/love her stamp, and the date block are all from the June 2012 SMAK kit.  The heart is from "The Time is Now" kit. 

This is the right side page.  I also heat embossed the banners like I did on the other page.  I also heat embossed the journaling spot using the Stampendous shabby green embossing powder.  In addition to the 7 gypsies tape, I also used some Tim Holtz tape.  The journaling spot stamp and the sentiment on it are from the "Throught All Time" set and the words mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather are from the "Roots and Wings" set. 

 

I'm very blessed with wonderful parents and wanted to do a layout of them this past Christmas.  My mother has been battling cancer and just finished radiation treatment on Wednesday for the second metastases.  Hopeful that it will stay gone this time.  Very thankful for the wonderful doctors and facilities at UT Southwestern. 

 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity stamps.  I am going to link this up to Friends with Flair, so you will have two chances to win some Unity stamps.  I have really enjoyed my week of Growing with Unity and appreciate everyone's sweet comments very much.  I will announce the winner on Monday for the two itty bitties. 

 



DAY 4 OF GROWING IN UNITY

Thanks for visiting my blog for the fourth day of Growing in Unity.  I have been touched and greatly encouraged by all of your sweet comments.  We sometimes struggle to use our stamps on our scrapbook layouts so that is what I focused on this week.  I have a huge collection of Unity stamps and my first love is scrapbooking.  By concentrating on scrapbook layouts during my Growing in Unity week, it helps me to remember to use these wonderful stamps when scrapbooking.  The SMAK kits are especially wonderful to use when scrapbooking, but there are also lots of great stamps in the regular kits of the month and the various other sets of stamps.   So the next time you work on a layout, challenge yourself to use at least one stamp on that layout.  That is what I'm going to start doing.

This is a layout I created using the first exclusive sketch that Trisha Hill created for my lss, Cat's Creations Scrapbooks.  The left page is the one that actually uses the sketch and features photos of my sister's family.  I used the "Grid Alpha" alphabet stamps for their name on the banner and then the family tag from the February 2012 SMAK kit.   I love this Grid Alpha (on sale this week!) and love the unique look it has with the grid.  The  facing page is just some random Christmas photos:  one of our spaghetti diner and my great nephew, Nick, enjoying his spaghetti.  Then I had to snap a photo of my husband, Butch, taking an after dinner siesta.  The "love it" stamp and the journaling circle stamp are from the May 2012 SMAK kit and the "I dream" stamp is from the April 2012 SMAK kit.  I used Adirondack ink, the ribbon is by May Arts, the paper collection is more from the St. Nick collection by BoBunny, and the striped borer stick down the middle of the page is from Close To My Heart.

I always make two-page layouts, so this is the facing page for the page I shared on Monday.  Sergei, my son's dog, is such a sweet and cuddly dog, but sometimes he gets irritated and starts growling.  He shows his teeth and growls and growls.  So, I wanted to show him growling--you can see my son grinning, since we all think it is rather funny.  I only used one stamp on this page, the journaling flag from the December 2011 SMAK kit.  I used a red pearl pen by Viva décor for the red dots on the journaling flag and glossy accents on "Bad to the Bone" and "Cute and Cuddly" on the designer paper by Karen Foster. 

 

Thanks again for stopping by my blog.  Don't forget to comment for a chance to win two itty bitty's of your choice from Unity.  I will announce the winner on Monday.

GROWING IN UNITY WITH CAT'S SKETCH FEVER AGAIN!

Thanks for stopping by for another day of Growing in Unity.  I hope you have enjoyed my projects half as much as I enjoyed creating them--so much FUN!  Today, I am using a sketch from my local scrapbook store (lss), Cat's Creations Scrapbooks, and participating in "Cat's Sketch Fever".

This is a two page layout I created using BoBunny's St. Nick collection and a sketch by CatNanDo for Cat's Sketch Fever. On the left page of the layout, for Nick's name I used the Carnivale alphabet by Marah Johnson.  Love this alphabet! The circle accents are from the February 2012 SMAK kit and I used Glossy Accents to make these look like epoxy accents.  The ribbon the banner is hanging from is by May Arts.  On the right page of the layout, the sparkly green ribbon is by May Arts and the bakers twine is by The Twinery.  The special stamp is from the January 2012 SMAK kit and the tags and year tag are from the February 2012 SMAK kit.  The patterned papers are all by BoBunny and the plain cardstock is by WorldWin.  I used a UniBall Signo white pen for my journaling.  The Adirondack and Powder Puff ink pads.   

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win one of two prizes:  A prize from "Cat's Creations Scrapbooks" for Cat's Sketch Fever (no international winners, sorry!) and a prize of 2 Itty Bitties (your choice) from Unity.   So, comment away and good luck. 

 

WOW, IT'S MY GROWING IN UNITY WEEK!

This is a two page layout I did of some photos my son took of John Glenn at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, at the fiftieth anniversary of John Glenn's orbit around the earth.  NASA hosts Tweet-Ups (socials) and draws names from those who enter and my son was fortunate enough to have his name drawn. 

I used the sketch #02 from the Unity Stamp Challenge for this layout, but made it into a two page layout.  My photos were bigger than the photos on the layout, so I just used two photos.  The paper is from Carolee's Creations and was in a goody bag that I received at one of Cat's retreats.  It was perfect for this layout!  I used washi tape from Teresa Collins and My Minds Eye.  The ink I used was from Stampin Up.  The quote on the tag is from the "Birdie Inspiration" set of stamps and the "now and then", arrow/chevron, and number stamps are from the May 2012 SMAK kit, and the stars are from the "Stylin' Stars" kit.  The title is made using some silver glitter Thickers by American Crafts.  The ribbon on the tag is from my stash and I used glossy accents on the rocket to make it stand out.  The cardstock is by Bazzill. 

I am also going to link this up to the WOW Wednesday linky party on the Cat's Creations blog.  We have a linky party twice a month, on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month and you have two weeks to enter for a chance to win a prize (no international winners).  Since I barely made it in by the deadline for the Unity Stamp Challenge, I will also enter this in that challenge as well.

Be sure you comment for a chance to win  two itty bitties (your choice) from Unity and a chance to win a prize from Cat's Creations.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you love Unity as much as I do!

 

GROWING IN UNITY WITH SOME CAT'S SKETCH FEVER!

I am really excited to have the opportunity to share some of my creations using one of my favorite products, Unity stamps.  I have joked with Angela that it is pretty sad when she has a sale and there is nothing for me to purchase since I already own it all.  I may not own all Unity stamps, but I do have a vast collection.  So, this week I am excited to be featuring these wonderful stamps on my projects.

Today, I am using sketches from my local scrapbook store (lss), Cat's Creations Scrapbooks, and participating in "Cat's Sketch Fever".

This is a layout featuring my son on his 29th birthday.  The patterned paper is from the Lost and Found collection by My Minds Eye.  I used Tim Holtz distress inks and the tiny attacher by Tim Holtz.  The washi tape is by Teresa Collins and My Minds Eye and the glitter ribbon is by American Crafts.  The shimmery paper is by WorldWin.  The dotted mesh across the top is by magic mesh and the brad is by My Minds Eye.  I used stamps from lots of kits:  the number background and @ sign- December 2011 SMAK; airplane from October 2009 KOM; tag from the March 2012 SMAK; son of our heart from June 2012 SMAK; banner from "The Best" kit; the letters are from "Frame this Alphabet"; the number 29 from January 2012 SMAK.  Bryan was deep in thought in this photo, and when I mentioned that he posed like "The Thinker" for the photos on the facing page.

The paper, washi tape, and ribbons are the same as used on the other page.  For the epoxy words, I used my Epiphany Crafts punch and epoxy stickers to make the custom embellishments for my page.  The words are from the November 2011 SMAK kit.  The journaling tag is from "The Best" kit and the months of the year are from the Simple Stories Yearography Itty Bitty.  The calendar stamp is from the new IOD kit "Welcome to my Life" and the clock stamp is from the IOD kit "Time Well Spent".  The words background stamp are from the December 2011 SMAK kit.  I really enjoyed making these layouts. 

I created this layout for the sketch that Trisha from Sketch Inspiration shared exclusively with Cat's customers.  This is a photo of my son and his dog, Sergei.  I was excited to get to use the picture wheel die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix and combine it with the stamp by Unity.  They have taken the stamp of the website since the wording on it is backwards, but I used it anyway since the print is so little and I wanted to use it on this layout.  Unity will replace the stamp for me.  The "Best Friend" stamp is from the May 2012 SMAK kit.  This paper collection is by Karen Foster.  The washi tape is by Glitz and the cardstock is from my stash.  The pawprint on the twill ribbon is from a stamp from the "I Ruff You" kit. 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win one of two prizes.  You have a chance to win a prize from Unity and a prize from "Cat's Creations Scrapbooks" for Cat's Sketch Fever (no international winners, sorry!).   So, comment away and good luck. 

 

WOW WEDNESDAY

This is another of the cards I made using the card bases by My Minds Eye.  In addition, the paper is also by My Minds Eye.  I purchased the coordinating 6 x 6 paper pad at Cat's to use with these card bases.  The cake is made using a stamp by Unity.  I love this cake image with the crooked layers.  I paper pieced it using different sheets from the paper pad.  The lacy square in the middle of the card was made using a Spellbinders pendant die--I love those things.  Then I cut a strip of paper to make a "belly band" on the card.  The sentiment on this card is also a Unity stamp...and after all, your birthday is supposed to be "all about you!"

Thanks for stopping by.  Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win some blog candy from Cat.  Also, go back to Cat's blog and comment on everyone's blog posts for more chances to win.  Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday!