GROWING IN UNITY DAY 5

I hope you have enjoyed my week of growing in Unity as much as I have.  I though I would end the week with something different.  Since I've shared layouts the rest of the week, today I will share:

the Christmas card that will be sent to our family and friends this year.

I start planning the family Christmas card almost a year in advance, when my local scrapbook store, Cat's Creations Scrapbooks, has a sale.  I actually already have next year's Christmas card designed and the supplies purchased (I'm sick, I know!). 

Back to the card for this year...

I used paper from Echo Park, Best Creations, Wausau, and cardstock by Bazzill.

The ribbon is by May Arts and I used my copic markers to color the image.  I am not an accomplished copic user, but still prefer the way they color over other markers.  I used a corner chomper by We R Memory Keepers to make the decorative corners.  The stamp I used is the "Find The Joy" itty bitty and I used Memento ink to stamp the image.    I have wanted to use this stamp on a Christmas card ever since I bought it.   I found a sentiment stamp at Cat's that went perfectly with this stamp and here we are!

Thank you all for visiting my blog this week.  I appreciate your kind comments more than you could possibly know.  I will use random.org to choose a winner on Sunday, so check back then to see if you are the lucky winner. 

WOW, IT'S FRIENDS WITH FLAIR FRIDAY!

When I was making cards the other day, I wanted to make some sympathy cards.  I always struggle with making sympathy cards.  I had the background paper by Basic Grey that I wanted to use, but then the challenge was to find some paper that coordinated with it since it was a weird color.  This paper from last year's winter collection by Fancy Pants coordinated beautifully with it.  I used some of my favorite crinkled crepe ribbon by Creative Impressions ( I think that is the brand) to give it even more color.  The stamp is from Bevy of Butterflies and I used my Creative Memories circle punch.  The ink I used is a Powder Puff chalk ink.

I also made some cards that could be sympathy or get well cards.  This card used one of the BEAUTIFUL big butterfly stamps from the Butterfly Beauty stamp set.  The background paper is from a baby collection by Little Yellow Bicycle, I think.  I bought a bunch of this paper when Cat was having a big sale since the colors are fantastic, it is a varnished paper with lots of texture, plus it works for travel, ocean, and lots of things--LOVE IT!  The rose paper is by My Minds Eye and the cardstock is by Bazzill.  The butterfly is stamped on a scrap of paper that I had.  I used a punch by Stampin Up to punch out the sentiment, which is from the My Thoughts are With You  set.  I love those sentiment collections since they are wonderful to grab when you want to make a bunch of cards.

I'm going to link this to the Friends with Flair hop as well as Cat's WOW Wednesday hop.  Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win from Cat or Unity.  Two chances to win--FUN!!!!  Go back to Cat's blog and Unity's blog to check out everyone else's creations and leave more comments for even more chances to win.  

FRIENDS WITH FLAIR FRIDAY

I can't believe I'm finally participating in Friends With Flair Friday.  It has been too long!  I spent a few days creating cards to replenish my mom's and my stash.  Of course, I had to use some of the fantastic stamps that Unity has for cardmaking.  To speed things along, I used sketches (card maps) by Becky Fleck - LOVE using her sketches for cards and scrapbook layouts.  I made the card pictured above using a stamp from the "My Thoughts are With You" kit.  I love the vertical sentiment!  The papers are from Bella Blvd., My Minds Eye, and Jillibean Soup, with carstock by Wausau.  The ribbon is by Offray.  This card is simple and fun.

This card features a stamp from one of my favorite series of stamps, "Wit and Wisdom" by Joslyn  I LOVE these stamps and couldn't wait to make a card featuring one of them.  The paper I used is by American Crafts, with cardstock by Bazzill and Wausau.  The ribbon is by Offray  The candle paper is embossed and adds some fun texture to the card.  I used Archival Ink by Ranger on both cards

My local scrapbook store, Cat's Creations Scrapbook in Mineral Wells, Texas, is where the majority of my supplies were purchased.  The birthday papers were actually purchased when she had some sale bins full of paper.  We are so blessed to have a great scrapbook store in our small town.  Lots of people from the Dallas-Fort Worth area drive over to visit our wonderful store.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity goodness.  Go back to the Unity blog and check out the creations by everyone else.  Visit their blogs and leave comments for more chances to win.  

WOW, IT'S FINISHED !

This is the lapbook album that I've been working on for the past several weeks.  This album was inspired by an album designed by Kathy Orta, aka Paper Phenomenon.  I also used Rachel's modification of adding a chipboard cover and one inch spines.  I definitely want to give credit to these ladies for coming up with the design of the structure of this album.  I used a Tim Holtz die to create the cupid and heart on the front of the album  I used Viva Decor "Ferro" on the heart and arrow.

When you open the album, you see this page  It has space for a large photograph  The scrolls above and below the photo mat were made using the Viva Decor mother-of-pearl modelling paste and a stencil.  The two "folders" you see peeking out of the side pocket on the left are actually mini albums:

I made these using a Coluzzle template and blade set that I have had forever.  The bottom mini album has a cascade album inside to hold lots of photos.

As you "turn" the page, you come to this page, which has a place for another large photo and two more of the folder mini-albums peeking out of the pocket on the right.

These mini albums were made the same way the other two mini albums were made.

The back side of the page has another flap and some tags slid inside a pocket.  The flap has a spot for another photo on it, and the tags will hold three to six photos.

As you flip that page you see this flap with room for another vertical photo and it then another cascade album is revealed, as well as a spot for a "landscape" photo - there are two of these, one on each side of the album.

That flap also opens up to show more places for you to put photos.

This is what it opens up to on the opposite side.  

Paper from numerous manufacturers was used in this album.  One of the things I enjoy most about scrapbooking is mixing and matching paper collections.  The main collection I used was an older collection from SEI.  I supplemented it with paper from My Minds Eye, Echo Park, Bazzill, Little Yellow Bicycle, Pebbles, Heidi Grace, and BoBunny.  I used washi tape on the hinges inside the album and some cloth tape on the outside from Oriental Trading Company (it is similar to 7 Gypsies Gaffer tape).  I used punches by McGill, EK Success, Fiskars, WeR Memory Keepers, and Martha Stewart to create some of the embellishments.  There are not very many embellishments because this is a gift to a non-scrapbooker and I wanted to make it easy for them to adhere their photos.  Plus, the addition of the photos will significantly increase the thickness of this album and if there are very many embellishments it would be too fat.  

Several people asked me about teaching this as a class at Cat's.  Cat and I talked about it and the class will be on Saturday, August 24th.  I will begin working on the sample album this weekend using a current paper collection at the store.  Stay tuned for more details about the class as the sample is created so that we can share photos of it and will be able to give you a price.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment.  This post is linked to Cat's Creations WOW Wednesday and you will be eligible for a prize just by commenting  

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!

 

FRIENDS WITH FLAIR FRIDAY

Thanks for stopping by on this Friday before Christmas.  I made some cards to give as Christmas gifts this year.  I purchased some boxes of My Minds Eye card bases and then went to work dressing them up.  Of course, Unity Kit of the Month stamps are fabulous for using on cards.  I used some tag die from Spellbinders and a 6 x 6 paper pad from My Minds Eye to create the sentiment tag.  The sentiment stamp is from the September, 2011 kit of the month.  I love those little banner sentiments in the kit of the month.  The butterfly is from a kit of the month that is no longer available, but Unity has lots of butterflies on kits that are currently available for purchase.

This is another card that I made from another boxed set of My Minds Eye card bases.  The script paper is from Bazzill and I used a Fiskars border punch on each side.  I used another of the tag dies from Spellbinders to cut out the tag for the sentiment.  The stamp is August 2011 kit of the month--love it!.  I finished the card off with a couple of rhinestones. 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win some Unity goodness.  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

I USED SKETCH INSPIRATION FOR MY CSI FRIENDS WITH FLAIR

This is the layout I created for CSI Case # 43, using sketch # 344 from Sketch Inspiration  The color scheme was black, sunny yellow, pale green, white, and medium green.  The black and white are in the background and photo mats, the pale green is in the paper clip, the medium green is in the distress marks on the background paper and the frame around the journaling, and the sunny yellow is on the flourish and the paper clip.  I used my gelatos to color the chipboard frame and flourish--LOVE them!  My evidence was the damask paper, the patterned brad, the black and white patterned script paper, and the flourish.  My testimony is the frame around my journaling.  I am really enjoying doing these challenges.  The test your creativity so much.  The background paper I used is from Authentique's Peaceful collection.  The black and white script paper is by Bazzill, and the black and ivory damask is from Teresa Collins.  The patterned brad is by 7 Gypsies, the paper clip and flourish are by Basic Grey.  The letter stickers are by Tim Holtz, the chipboard frame around the journaling is by Cosmo Cricket, and the flash card is by Teresa Collins. 

This is the facing page, using the same damask paper, background paper, and cardstock.  In addition, I used some tissue tape by Tim Holtz and paper tape by 7 Gypsies.  I used old paper distress ink on the cardstock where I stamped, using Unity stamps.  The date tag down in the lower right corner and the circle stamp around the brad are from the February 2012 SMAK kit.  LOVE those SMAK kits!  The brad is by 7 Gypsies and the journey title stickers are by TCP.  Had so much fun creating these two pages.