Winning!

Hey everyone! Thanks once more for coming by this week for Growing in Unity!

All told (not including a few rogue deleted posts), I counted 76 comments this week. I've used the handy random number generator at random.org to come up with a winner:

Congrats, Liz! You lucky duck, you :) Here's her winning comment (from Day Three):

You'll get your choice of one of the following sets:

Sending My Love

Bitty Backgrounds

Little Me

Bella Fiori

Homegrown

Hugs & Kitties

Handmade Holiday

Bella Trees

Imagine It

Check out your options and email me your choice, ok? Nothing like some new rubber to get a girl stamping ;)

Thanks again, everyone. Hope to see you around the blog again soon! Have a great weekend.

Growing in Unity - Day Five!

Well, hello again!

This is my last Growing in Unity day, and it's been a really fun week! I've loved hearing from so many new people -- thanks for stopping by! Today, I have a whole set of cards to share:

It all began with this card here:

This one just so happens to be a publication reject -- I think I submitted it for two or three different calls, actually. I guess I like it better than the editors, though, so here it is! I decided it needed a friend:

Same design, different details. And here's another:

Ooh, I flipped the design! And then I needed one more, a vertical format, just for kicks:

I might re-make this one with the sentiment positioned higher, but you get the idea. Anyone else have a tough time getting good photos of side-folded cards -- or anyone have tips out there?

All four cards use sentiments from Unity's fabulous She did it Anyway (a Melody Ross co-branded set) and I think they'll make a lovely little gift sometime in the future. Encouragement cards can be hard to make without going hokey, y'know? I think these would do the trick for me.

Each card follows the same pattern: a stamped sentiment  (thank goodness for the stamp-a-ma-jig!)with negative die-cut images popped up on a white A2 background. All the colors are Paptertrey Ink -- in the order of the photos: aqua mist, raspberry fizz, sweet blush, and hawaiian shores. The dies are PTI, too, except for the last one -- the swallows are from Amuse Studio. Ink is Basic Gray from Stampin' Up. If die-cutting isn't your thing, punches would do the trick, or any of the great images from this set would fit in just fine instead.

Don't forget: comment every day this week for a chance to win your choice of the following Unity sets:

Sending My Love

Bitty Backgrounds

Little Me

Bella Fiori

Homegrown

Hugs & Kitties

Handmade Holiday

Bella Trees

Imagine It

I'll use our friend the random number generator to choose a winner Saturday -- everyone who posts a comment by midnight Eastern time tonight (Friday) will be counted. Good luck, and I hope to see you next week...I might not post daily (whew!), but I'll have some awesome Amy Tangerine projects to share -- oh, how I love that line! I feel so lucky to have some of it in my possession before it hits stores!

Have a lovely day!

Growing in Unity - Day Four

Howdy, folks!

Another day, another Unity project! Today I have a layout...yep, more CHA photos! Well, pre-CHA, technically. Here you go:

{pardon today's photos -- we had a case of the grey rainies around here!}

All the stamps here (flowers, date tag, border, background stamps) are from this month's KOM, ...better together.  Let's take a closer look at one of those flowers:

All four of the flower stamps in this month's kit have buttons in the center. That's just asking for the real thing, don't you think? I did a bit of quick and simple paper piecing with each flower, topping them with buttons from my embarrassingly large stash of buttons. (PS: one bonus of being an 8.5x11" scrapper: leftover paper to piece with!) In this photo, you can also see an additional flower that I stamped a bit in the background.

{Sidenote: the blue panel on the page is also misted with turquoise glimmer mist. Last weekend, I took an all-ink class with Jen Starr, who's a Ranger and Tattered Angels educator. I finally understand my mists! Hooray! Tip of the day: Spray with conviction! Tip two: mist the back of your paper with plain ol' water, and it curls up way less.}

More simple piecing here. Used my Smash date stamp for the date. Handy little bugger. The papers here are all from Pink Paislee's Daily Junque collection, which I luuuurrve -- the colors are so fresh together! I'm pretty sure my good stamping pal and last week's Growing in Unity gal, Meg, is getting this collection for making it into the Top Ten in the current Gallery Idol competition -- and I think you have until about two pm local (Eastern) time today (Thursday) to go vote for Meg! whomever you like (aka Meg!).

Whew! One more day to go! I'll be back tomorrow with a totally simple card set. In the meantime, I have some comments to catch up on! Y'all are so sweet! Be sure to comment today and every day this week for a shot at winning one of the following sets:

Sending My Love

Bitty Backgrounds

Little Me

Bella Fiori

Homegrown

Hugs & Kitties

Handmade Holiday

Bella Trees

Imagine It

Enjoy your day! See you tomorrow.

Growing in Unity - Day Three

Hi all! I have another card for you today -- one that's pretty quick and simple, but is still, well, fabulous! Check it:

The stylish lady, animal-print background, and the "you're so" sentiment are all from the March KOM, Just You.  The "fabulous" is selectively inked from the awesome Coco Chanel sentiment in Undeniably You.

The card is an exercise in making myself use a stamp I have a hard time reconciling with my style -- in this case, that leopardy bit in the background. I admit wussing out a bit and keeping it subtle, but it does make a nice frame for my fabulous lady, no? I'm ok with that.

Speaking of Ms. Fabulous, she's colored very (very) simply with Copics -- simple Copic coloring is all I'm capable of!

I gave her some pearl accessories (pearls from SU), and popped her up for a bit of (mailable) dimension. If you'd like another take on this stylish chica and the leopard print, check out this post on Kasia's blog -- so cute!

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post and all the Growing In Unity posts this week for your chance to win a stamp set from this crazy-good list:

Sending My Love

Bitty Backgrounds

Little Me

Bella Fiori

Homegrown

Hugs & Kitties

Handmade Holiday

Bella Trees

Imagine It (Click on any set title to see it on the Unity site) See you with another layout tomorrow -- have a great day!

Growing in Unity - Day Two

Welcome back!

As promised, here's a layout featuring Unity -- in two ways: the stamps (of course) AND the photo!

As I mentioned in this post, meeting Maren was a total treat. This is the first of many CHA photos you'll see scrapped over the next couple months, I'm sure! I stitched on a twine "wire" for my birds, which are embossed -- as is the swirl in the lower-right corner. Note to self: next time, stitch the twine AFTER embossing. That was a "duh" moment, for sure. ;)

Peek closer:

The birds and swirl are available as part of the Donna Downy Unity set Embrace You. Love the large scale -- perfect for pages!  Embossing on textured paper gives a more rustic-looking texture, which I like. The ticket behind the title is from Here's the Ticket.

More embossing here -- I selectively inked a sentiment from May's KOM, think HAPPY thoughts, and added in some tiny type stickers to complete the thought. This was a great chance to  use papers from my July Scrappy Chic goodies -- Pebbles's Floral Lane collection, which is super-cheery. Grunged up the cheer a bit with layers of tape from 7gypsies and American Crafts. Cheerful grunge: I like it!

Hope you do, too! Remember to comment all week for a chance at some Unity goodies!  I'll be back tomorrow with more. Enjoy your day.

Growing in Unity - Day 1

Happy Monday, everyone!

All week, I'll be sharing a bit of Unity Stamp Co. joy with you all. The timing is great -- visiting the Unity booth at CHA last week was definitely a highlight of the show! I can't wait to get my paws on all of their new releases. You can get your paws on some Unity goodness too -- be sure to leave a comment on each post this week for a chance to win a stamp set! Hooray for free stuff ;)

I'll have a mix of cards and layouts for you this week. Today, let's start with a card, shall we? For this sweet and simple card, I used the Echo Park co-brand set, With Love:

This card is about 6x3.5" and uses a sheet from Sassafras's Sunshine Broadcast 6x6 pad, which makes a fun background for the bike and sentiment. I stamped the bike a second time on a leftover scrap from the same page, cut the wheels out, and attached them to the original image with brads and tiny washers so the wheels are able to spin! Clever, no?

You can (kinda sorta) see the dimension at this angle. A few pearls (Pebbles) and some twine (Papertrey Ink) finish off the card. By the way, the twine hides the seam where I pieced the background together so the border of the original 6x6 page would be continuous. Tricky!

I may save this one for our anniversary in a couple of weeks, but it would also make a lovely engagement or wedding card, don't you think?

Stay tuned for a layout tomorrow! Don't forget to leave a comment before you scamper off, though. Have a lovely day!

CHA, Day 3...finally!

Hi there!
In spite of my best intentions, it's taken a few days to get around to posting about our last day at CHA -- there's been so much to catch up on (including sleep)!

So, here we go:

Aside from placing all the remaining orders for (fabulous) product for Scrappy Chic, Chris, Katie and I really wanted to make sure we hit all the fun photo opportunities together on the last day. Here are a few:

We all had to get Smashed together -- I like my eyepatch-tiara combo! Chris as a hook-handed Statue of Liberty and Katie's giant mustache are very stylish, no? Chris thinks it would be a great idea to recreate the Smash photobooth idea in the store -- if you agree, be sure to let her know!

Between the three of us, we probably got more pics with Amy Tan than anyone else at the show! 

Dyan Reavely's awesome mixed-media style (for Ranger and Stamper's Anonymous) makes Katie very happy -- plus, she's super-nice!! Hi, Dyan!

What's a paper arts event without a Tim Holtz photo op, really? Katie only had to fight the crowds for a minute to sneak this one in ;)

"She did it -- I swear I'm innocent!" October Afternoon's saloon-themed booth made for some fun photos.

The one and only Maren Benedict took our order at the Unity Stamp Co. booth -- and of all the very sweet people we met at the show, I think she might be the sweetest! Plus, we ordered some awesome stamps, and I can't wait for them to come in. Bonus: I'll be the Growing in Unity gal all this week (starting tomorrow), so be sure to come back and check out more Unity goodness and get a chance to win a set just for commenting!

Now, how about a little eye candy?

Spellbinders has some cool new dies (nesties postage stamps, anyone?), but my faves are both on this card -- their new Edgeabilites line has really versatile border dies, and those butterflies are just gorgeous! I also like that a lot of the new Grand Calibur dies will work with regular-sized machines. Nice.

Ok, not the best photo, but Lily Bee's fall line is really pretty and warm and versatile.

Simple Stories! The new lines are just as fun as 100 Days of Summer -- plus their samples show just how quick and easy scrapping can be while still being totally charming. I now feel the need to try my hand at divided page protectors.

We won a drawing for this great G45 product, along with that super-cute lunch box all done up in their Wizard of Oz line. Excitement!

And finally --

We had to leave eventually, right? It was so much fun, made even funner because Chris and Katie are such a blast! Thanks, Chris, for taking us along.  

Here's our view on the way home:

See you next year, I hope!! Hooray for CHA!

CHA, Day 2

Whoa, it is late! It's been a long time since I've kept these crazy hours. How about a bunch of photos and perhaps a bit less verbiage this time around?

First, people:

Katie and I getting Smashed at the EK booth before the show opened this morning. We asked a very kind cleaning lady to take the first one. Thanks, mystery lady!

We keep running into Susan and Cath from Paper Crafts -- here, in the Studio Calico booth.

We all got photos with Nicole Harper of Studio Calico fame -- but she's also a friend of Scrappy Chic --it's her "local store," even though she drives TWO HOURS from Ohio to shop and crop there! That's dedication. Plus, she's super-nice. Hi, Nicole!

Katie had a nice chat with Teresa Collins...without realizing it :)

Hijinks ensued at the evening event. Just wait until you see the official photos!

Ok, onto some projects!! Prima (not usually my style) has beee-you-ti-ful stuff...and we ordered a LOT of it! Here's a taste of projects even I approve of:

Lots of fun goodies and amazing projects at Maya Road, too:

Ordering Studio Calico was easy because it's all so dang amazing:

We'll be ordering Unity tomorrow, but I stopped in today to say hi and snap some photos of projects:

(this one's for you, Em!)

And one more big order near the end of the day: American Crafts. Oh boy oh boy, that's a biggie!! There are really only samples up for Amy Tan's line, so how about a few more of those:

There's more -- of course! -- but I can't spoil all the surprises, right? Just know that we are ordering awesome stuff (Echo Park, Crate, October Afternoon...pretty much everything we've been drooling over), and the hardest part will be waiting for it all to show up in the store.

For now, sleep. Tomorrow: the rest! Have a lovely evening!