A Halloween Pumpkin

Woah! Two posts in two days! It's a miracle! :) Ok, so I have a card that I have been DYING to share with you! I must say that I am really pleased with how it turned out! I have been itching to play with some yummy Unity so I pulled out this old Kit of the Month from Sept. 2009 and found this adorable pumpkin that had yet to see ink! I stamped it on some SU! watercolor paper and then colored it with my markers and blender pen. I just love this coloring technique and hadn't used it in awhile.  Anyway, I paired it with some fun Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg paper and found the sentiment from the SU! set called All Holidays. The sketch is an old Splitcoast sketch challenge that I thought would be perfect for today's card. I guess I love that it's fairly simple yet detailed at the same time. Does that make any sense? Haha!

I made a video showing the process of creating this card as well. If you are interested, I would love for you to watch it! :) You can either find the video at the end of this post or click on this link to watch it directly on YouTube.

Here is a detailed look at the image.

And since it's been awhile since I've shared a picture of my sweet little Addison with you, here are a few pictures of us from our trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend! :)

Here is the video for today's card:

Almighty God

Today's post is going to be short and sweet! :) It's getting late, I'm still sick, and I need to start heading for bed! I know you have all been there before. Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your weekend so far! Nick and I were able to pack and move one load to our new house but I must admit that I was pretty much worthless to him. He did most of the work. I was just there for moral support I guess! Haha!

As for tonight's card, this stamp is the one that Patter Cross designed for Unity Stamp Co. I just love it! I used some Cosmo Cricket "Happy Camper" patterned paper. I embellished the card by sewing along the edges, tying on some ribbon, and adding some pretty pearls! The edges have all been sponged with Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink too!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a fabulous evening!

How About Some Unity?

Here are the projects I created during my Unity Guest Design term last month! I love how both of them turned out! The stamps from the card are from the "Feel the Joy" set and the images on the box are from both of the September kits! Thanks so much for stopping by today! It's Thursday which means I'm almost done with my week! Yippee!

The Very Last Hip Hop! :(

I am sad to say that this is my very last Hip Hop for a couple of reasons. First of all, my guest position ends next week and second of all, things are changing with Unity. You will have to stay tuned to find out more but I guarantee you it will be a great change! :)

Anyway, you should be hopping from the fabulous Natalie's blog! If not, make sure you start at the Unity blog! :D This week's hop is showcasing the seriously amazing September KOTM! Ok, when I say amazing, I mean it! This is probably my favorite kit EVER!

So for my card I used the gorgeous wedding image and coordinating sentiment that can be found in the kit. I paper pieced the dress so that it would match my card and added some pretty pearls to it. The paper I used is Stampin' Up!'s Nouveau Chic. The sketch is from yesterday's SCS Sketch Challenge. I'll spare you the boring details for today but if you do have any questions, feel free to let me know! :D

So now that you've seen my card, hop on over to the crazy talented Heather's blog! She is sure to blow you away!

Before you go, I did want to share these two pictures with you! :D On Saturday I met up with some friends at the Scrapbooking Expo in Colorado Springs. Hillary (and her baby Ruby) and Leanne (and her baby Mason) met me down there and I was then able to FINALLY meet my dear friend Maria! :D I knew she was sweet but I didn't even know the half of how sweet she REALLY was!

Here is a picture of Leanne with sweet baby Mason, Maria, and myself! Besides the fact that I look like a sweaty mess, I really love this picture!

After we left the Expo, my husband and I met up with some of our other good friends for supper! Here is a picture of me with my very favorite little boy (their 3 yr old son)! He's my joy on a cloudy day! :D Can you tell we like each other a lot! ;) He calls me "his Stephanie" and I call him "my little sir".

Only those who risk...

I just love that quote! It's so true! :D However, I am one who tends to not take risks so I suppose T.S. Eliot could teach me a thing or two! Hehe! So anyway, I created this card a week ago and it was posted on the Unity blog but I decided to share it here too. Both of the stamps used on this card are from the Unity August KOTM. I colored in the butterfly with my Prismacolor Pencils and gamsol and paired it with some beautiful SU! Cottage Wall dsp! To embellish the card I added some Rich Razzleberry ribbon, dew drops, and a sweet library clip!

That's it for today's card! Nick and I took a much needed nap this afternoon so this post is a little later than I had planned. Now we are headed for the school so I can check up on any last minute changes before tomorrow and then we are going to do something fun! We are not sure what that is yet but we know it will include us spending time together by ourselves! :D Yippee! I love evenings like these! I hope that you too are enjoying your Sunday afternoon/evening and for all of you teachers who are going back tomorrow or sometime soon, GOOD LUCK! :)

I'm needing Him today...

Front
Back

Do you ever just get sick of being hurt time and time again? That's where I am today. I am fighting another battle from within and I really just need the Lord's strength to help me up. My struggles have absolutely nothing to do with stamping but this is the best place for me to vent and share my frustrations. To be honest, I'm tired of it and I don't feel like trying anymore. I'm sick of pleasing others. I'm sick of allowing myself to get hurt and upset. I have had a hard week. Ok, really it's all been happening the past few days but it feels like an eternity. I'm to the point where I am making myself sick, literally. I don't sleep and I stress myself out. I won't be able to hold myself up much longer because I have been shoving my feelings in for so long. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings so I allow my own to be hurt. Oh how tiresome that can get.

Somehow, the Lord has provided for me. He knows what I need and He is so good. He has blessed me with a supportive husband. He sent me my dearest friend on the day I needed her the most. He has given me the gift of joy through one sweet little boy when I was not able to feel it myself. He even went so far as to have my father call me just to see how my day went even though He knows my father HATES the phone! It's the little things like those that help me to see how big our God really is and how much He really does love us. He comforts us when we need it, He gives us strength when we feel we can't give it much more, and He loves us unconditionally. He truly is a Holy God.

Now that I have poured out my heart. I want to share my project. I created this for Patter Cross's His Holy Name challenge. Now for those of you who have heard of this project you know that I am WAY behind! :) I don't care though because I really want to do it still. The first name is Holy. As I get ready to create these pages I leaf through the verses and write down the ones that mean the most to me and really speak to me. I then spend the entire week reading those verses, praying about them, and memorizing them. Obviously there are more than one! :)

I purchased the 7 Gypsies photo holder and have decided to create my layouts on the cards that fit the holder. The cards are approximately 5x7 which is about perfect for what I want to fit on them! I cover the cards in the patterned paper of my choice and print the verses in a coordinating color. For this layout I choose to use Cosmo Cricket's Everafter paper and stamped images from the Unity August KOTM. I added the embellishments and sponged the edges for a distressed look.

Here is what it looks like on the holder. We have decided to keep it in the living room so that our company can enjoy it as well. I can't even begin to express how excited I am about this project! It has already helped me in more ways than I can even imagine!

Hip Hop Thursday: Back to School Style!

Welcome to another fabulous Hip Hop! You should be arriving here from Wendy's blog. If not, start here at the Unity blog! :)

For my card I used this fun school house from the August KOTM in celebration of school starting back up. It means I have to go back to work but I can't tell you how excited about that I actually am! I look forward to teaching some youngsters! :D I used yesterday's SCS sketch challenge for my card and pulled out some of my retired SU! paper. I felt like the colors in this paper were perfect for a school theme! I stamped my school house, colored it, and cut it out so I could pop it up on dimensionals. I then added some So Saffron ribbon as well as 3 brads and a fun clip! Other than that, I think you can pretty much figure out the rest of my card.

So now that you have seen mine, hop on over to Renee's blog so that you can check out her fabulous creations!

A Loving Hip Hop!

Hehe! I just couldn't resist! Since today's Hip Hop is featuring the fabulous new August Incentive Kit "Sending My Love", I decided to dedicate this post to just that...LOVE! If you sign up to be a Unity Kit of the Month member during the month of August you will get this kit free! Before I move on, you should have hopped over here from the very talented Robyn. If you didn't, make sure you start at the Unity blog!

Ok, now onto the details! I have two fun projects to show you today! The first project is this card. I used the ADORABLE mailbox as my main image and I paired it with some Honey Pie dp from Cosmo Cricket! The arrows on the paper reminded me of cupid so I just knew that I needed to use it! :D Anyway, I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then used my SU! markers and blender pen to color it in. I added some stickles to the flag, butterflies, and grass since I didn't want them to be black. I then sponged the edges of my paper with some Tim Holtz Antique Linen ink. I sewed around three edges of the card and threw in a button for some added texture.

The next project I have for you is a little gift bag that compliments the card! I used my Fancy Favor Bigz Die to punch out the bag, put it together, and closed it up with some ribbon. I then stamped the sentiment and punched it out with my circle punch. I stamped the envelope on some dp, cut it out, and popped it up on dimensionals. The circle was then layered on some chocolate chip card stock and I applied rhinestones around the entire thing!

Well, that's it for my projects! Next on the hop is that very creative Heather! Now, since I decided to dedicate this post to LOVE I am going to share some of the things I love with you!

My husband!

My family!My friends!
My job!
The mountains!4-Wheeling!

and...STAMPING!

Now that's not ALL I love, it's just a short list. Now you have a glimpse into my life and I hope you enjoyed it!

My First Hip Hop!

Welcome to my very first Hip Hop! I am this month's Unity Guest Designer and I couldn't be more excited! :D I have loved Unity since I first saw their Giggle Grove set and now have a serious addiction! You should be hopping over from the very talented AJ (whom I met at CHA and let me tell you, not only is she hilarious but she is super sweet)! If you did not come to me from AJ's blog, make sure you start here! This week's Hip Hop is featuring the fabulous new Store Kit of the Month 100% Happiness! You can only pick it up in stores so if your store doesn't carry Unity, make sure you ask them to...actually...just go ahead and beg! :D To see current store locations click here.
For my first card I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try. I used some Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper for the background and can't decide whether I think it is too busy or not! I also decided to sew every strip on and it kind of tones it down a bit (I think). Haha! I used the sweet strawberry image for this card and punched them out so that it would fit in the circle. I colored them with my markers and blender pens and then added some crystal effects and stickles over the top. I tied some cute gingham ribbon over the top of the card and then popped my strawberries up over it. The sentiment was then stamped and punched out with my word window punch!

My second card uses this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. I used some fabulous Nouveau Chic designer paper for the background and sewed around the edge of it. I then tied on some Sage Shadow ribbon as well as a little piece of Basic Grey ribbon. For some detail I then used my ScorPal to create some scored lines next to the ribbon. I stamped the fun start twice and popped up the Apricot Appeal one for some added dimension! As a final touch I then added some pearls to the corners of the smaller square!

Now hop along to see what Maren has cooked up for us! I'm sure it will be amazing!

You Inspire Me!

I made this card for today's Taylored Expressions Cupcake Sketch AND for the Unity Hip Hop Hangover! For this card I used the Bevy of Butterflies stamp set and the new July KOTM from Unity. I paired it with some new Stampin' Up! paper as well!

Well, I have to keep this post short because we are on our way to Florida for vacation. I apologize for the fact that my posts will be pretty sporadic this next week and a half! You know where I will be though! :) I can't wait to share pictures from our trip AND CHA! Woohoo!

Before you go, check out the Unity blog for the other Hip Hop Hangover gals and then check out Taylor's blog for this week's sketch!

Want to see more? Sure you do! Make sure you check out the rest of the fabulous Cupcake Samplers! They're sure to be great!

Jami Sibley: More is More
Jackie Pedro: The Scalloped Edge
Donna Baker: Serenity in Stamping
Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme
Ana Wohlfahrt: Ink a Stamp
Vicki Chrisman: This Art That Makes Me Happy
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper

We remember the moments.

Isn't that SO true? Whether it be good or bad, we always tend to remember the moments that take place. I can accept that I have had my good and bad moments and I try so hard not to remember the bad, but you know it as well as I do that it can sometimes be impossible to forget them. Anyway, I have been doing some reflecting on my life today because the sermon in church this morning was on convictions and the relief we feel when we finally accept those convictions and go to the source for forgiveness. My pastor summed up conviction in a way that really made a lot of sense to me. He said "Conviction is our heart's way of trying to be whole with it's maker." Isn't that so true? It is for me at least. Anyway, I just really wanted to share that with you today because it has truly been on my heart. In fact, so much so that after church I came home and had a serious breakdown! :) I am so much better now but it hurt for a while there. It's the giant breath before the plunge that's the worse though, am I right?

Ok, so this card uses the Unity June Kit of the Month. I wanted to keep the quote the main focus on my card so I didn't add any images. I used my top note die to cut out the card with kraft and then cut out a piece of Deja Views Butcher Block dp (That you can pick up at Archivers for only $1.99!). I trimmed the edges of the dp so that you could see the kraft behind it. I then stamped the quote in Night of Navy ink and layered it on some Mellow Moss card stock. The ribbon is Offray and the charm was actually in some blog candy that I won from Laurie Schmidlin (thanks girl)! :D To add a little bit more interest to the card I added 3 simple brads in the bottom corner of my card. I really love the finished look of this card and hope that you do as well!

Well, that's it for my post today! Sorry for the ramblings but I do hope that it is ok with you when I choose to share my heart. It's who I am and I want to share some of that through my crafting! :D I want to wish you all a blessed Sunday and hope that you take the time to remember the reason for this day! :) Thank you SO much for stopping by! Take care!

Hip Hop Hangover!

Good morning and welcome to my Hip Hop Hangover creation! :D I made this card for yesterday's challenge which was to create a black and white background! I took the swirly stamp from the Bevy of Butterflies kit and stamped it all over the piece of whisper white card stock. I then layered that piece on my black card base. The dragon fly was then stamped with stazon and I colored in the wings with my colored pencils and gamsol. For a prettier look I then added glitter to the body, wings, and antenna of it. I used some bermuda bay and melon mambo to balance out the color scheme too! I punched out the sentiment (also from Bevy of Butteflies) and popped it up with dimensionals after coloring it in. The last thing I did was add rhinestones and ribbon pieces to embellish the card!

Now for the news! Remember when I said I was taking a chance by trying out for the Unity Guest Designer challenge with this card? Well, yesterday I found out that they picked ME! I was blown away! I did not think I stood a chance among all the fabulous creations that had been submitted! Wowza was I excited though! :D My term will be for August and I am so thrilled!

I hope you all enjoy your Friday! I plan on getting a lot done today! :D

Unity's Guest Designer Challenge

So I am taking another chance this week by entering this month's Unity Guest Designer challenge! Whew! It's a little scary, I'm not going to lie. I really feel like I put my heart on the line when I do things like this! Haha! Anyway, I don't have super high hopes because there were so many talented women who entered but at least I can say I gave it a shot, right? :) Anyway, this month's challenge was a sketch and the only other requirement was that we had to use either our May or June KOTM. I pulled out the adorable bee from the June KOTM since the image panels of the sketch were these 3 little circles. Now I wanted it to look a little bit different in each circle so I stamped the bees, colored them with my Prismacolor Pencils, and then punched them out by placing the bees in different sections of the circle (I hope that made sense). I paired the bees with my fun Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday paper and made it a little vintage looking by sponging the edges of my paper pieces and sewing all around the sides (this time I remembered to sew just the top flap). The sentiment is also from the June KOTM and I punched it out with my word window punch. I then spruced up the card a little bit more by adding some Kaisercraft pearls, vanilla taffeta ribbon and a giant yellow flower! Overall I REALLY like how it turned out. In fact, it is one of my favorites yet! I just hope that I'm not the only one who likes it! ;) Hehe.

Well, thanks again for stopping by today! I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday afternoon!

Friend to Friend

I just love the brightness of this card! It makes me smile! :D The colors are actually almost all new In Colors. The only extra color that is thrown in there is the Pumpkin Pie. Besides that you have your Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Crushed Curry. I used the flower image from the Unity June KOTM. I think this image might just be my favorite in the set! It's so pretty! Anyway, the designer paper that is used is the new Stampin' Up! Razzleberry Lemonade dsp and it has been paired with some Melon Mambo ribbon and yellow dew drops. I paper pierced the corners of the image panel and colored the flowers with my Stampin' Write Markers. I actually created this card over a week ago for the Featured Stamper challenge on Splitcoast but I am just now getting around to posting it! :) I guess that's really all there is to say about this card but if you have any questions let me know!

On a side note, my handsome hubby gets home today! I am so excited to see him and I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that I don't have to sleep alone again tonight! :) I have spent today making sure the house is cleaned and picked up as well as baking up a storm! He will not be a hungry man when he's home, that's for sure! Well, that's it for my ramblings this afternoon! Take care and stop back tomorrow for yet another card!

Sweet Unity

I wanted to share this card that I created for Wednesday's SCS sketch challenge. I used my new Unity Kit of the Month and Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper. I colored the ice cream cone with my Stampin' Write markers and then added crystal effects for a glossier look. I then popped it up with dimensionals. The ribbon is real red and the brads are not quite navy.

Well, that's it for today's post. It's been a pretty good week but I have definitely been missing my husband. Sleeping has not been the easiest thing. I have finally picked up some tricks that have helped. However, I am SO ready for him to be home that it's not even funny. I don't know how women whose husbands are in the military do it. They are amazing women, to say the least! :)

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well, we got back from our trip EARLY Sunday morning and now have Nick's parents staying with us so of course I won't get much stamping time in this week either. I feel like I have been neglecting all of you and I apologize for that. After this weekend things SHOULD get a little better! We only have 3 weeks of school left and then I have the entire summer to get creative! Yippee! Anyway, I must keep this short so that I don't feel like I am ignoring my in-laws. :) I used some more yummy Unity and My Mind's Eye on this one. I hope you enjoy your evening! Take care!