Friday, October 25, 2013

Friends with Flair Friday

TGIF!!!

I think I start all my FWF Friday posts with that.  This is my first post since my GIU week, and it feels like its been forever.  I am headed to a crop tonight, so I am pretty excited about that - hope to finally finish off a mini-album I was working on.  My focus has been mainly cards, so I'm really trying to get back into scrapbooking.

Sorry for the quality of today's picture, it was taken with my cell phone before I mailed this off to a friend.

I used one of the Unity sentiment sets - I love those sets!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Michele

Monday, October 7, 2013

Winners, Winners, WINNERS!!

What a better way to start the week than to announce the winners from my Growing in Unity week last week.  Thank you so much everyone for all the kind comments - it is such an amazing feeling reading all the feedback.  I realized in posting daily for a week, I definitely have a style and have decided challenge myself, by trying to work outside my 'normal' style.

I thought I would start off today's blog with one final card I made this weekend using another of the Stamp of the Week stamps.

You can't tell from the photo but I used glaze on the bottom of the acorns which gives them a nice shine.  I am thankful for all the kind comments left for me last week.


Now, onto the prizes:

First, the winner of the two free Itty Bitty stamps of their choice from Unity Stamp Company is:

Congratulations Jen!  Please email kelli@unitystampco.com and let her know you were my Growing in Unity winner.

Okay, on to my additional giveaways:
Day 2 Map of your Heart:

 
 
 
 
Day 3 Pumpkin Blossoms:
 
 
Day 4 I am Nuts:
 

 



Day 5 Miss you, Friend:




 
 
And drumroll please:
 
 
The winner of the full sheet of Unity red rubber, aka the October 2011 KOM, faith, hope, love... live it is:


Congratulations to Terri Burson, Karenladd, SHartl, Gaylynn and Barb.  Please email your addresses to me at michib2006@hotmail.com and I will get your stamps out to you.

Thank you again everyone for all the kind comments you left for me last week, I really appreciate it.

Michele














Friday, October 4, 2013

Growing Unity Day 5!

Yay! it's finally Friday - although that means it is my last day of Growing in Unity, so that is a little sad.  I have loved all the wonderful comments that have been left this week.  Although I realized as I've been uploading the photos of my projects this week, that I tend to stick with the same style, so I think an early New Year's resolution for myself is to try to change up my style a bit. 

On to today's project.  Again, I have used one of the Stamp of the Week stamps, 'Miss you, friend'  - and yes, I have a duplicate of this stamp to give away to one of the commenters on today's post.


I coloured the flowers using watercolour pencil crayons and then went over them with a blender pen.  I used another sheet from this wonderful paper pad that have these wonderful border edges which make pulling together a card so easy.  The sentiment would have looked great on the new wooden banners that Unity just released on Thursday - oh my they are so cute!!!  Friday also means Friends with Flair Friday, so make sure you head over to the Unity Blog to check out everyone's amazing creations. 
Remember too, that one lucky commenter this week will with their choice of two free Itty Bitty stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  Speaking of Itty Bitty stamps, Unity has a great sale on their Itty Bitty stamps this weekend.
Also, I will be drawing from one of the commenters this week, to win this wonderful sheet of red rubber - the October 2011 KOM - 'faith, hope, love....live it'.
 
Thanks again for stopping by - I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
 
Michele

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Growing in Unity Day 4

Good morning and welcome to my fourth day as the Growing in Unity Girl this week.  I am really enjoying all the wonderful comments everyone is leaving on my posts - thank you so much!

For today's card, I am using another Stamp of the Week, 'I am Nuts' and I paper pierced the peanuts and then ran them through my Cuttlebug with a texture plate to add a bit more reality to them.  I had this great paper with old fashioned elephants, but I was worried it may over power the peanuts, so I added some tulle over top to mute the paper a bit. 



I'm noticing I like to use dark brown as my base colour quite often :) 

and yep, you guessed it - I have an extra copy of this stamp which will go to one lucky commenter on today's post!  As well, one lucky commenter this week will win two free Itty Bitty stamps from Unity Stamp Company.

And as a final thank you for all the wonderful, sweet comments everyone is leaving, I will also be giving away a full sheet of amazing Unity red rubber - in the form of the October 2011 KOM - faith, hope, love....live by it.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you back here tomorrow.

Michele

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Growing in Unity - Day 3!

Good morning, and welcome to Day 3 of my Growing in Unity week.  If you are a returning visitor, thank you and welcome back.  If you are a new visitor - a great big Canadian hello!!

I took a little hiatus from crafting while we moved from Ontario back to Winnipeg, so this week was just what I needed to get my creative juices flowing again.  I really love using Unity Stamps as the images are really the style I go for and the customer service can't be beat!  Andrea rocks!!!

Todays project uses one of the Stamp of the Week - Pumpkin Blossoms and was created for a very special friend who I recently re-connected with when we moved back to Winnipeg.  She is a fellow crafter, so having an 'old' friend who shares my passion has really helped me adjust to the move (it just hasn't made its way into the mail yet).  When I saw this stamp released, I couldn't wait to ink it up and colour it.  Fall is my favourite season, I love the leaves changing colour and the cooler weather, and I tend to go to autumn colours for my cards on many occasions. 


This is another stamp that I have a duplicate of, so one lucky commenter from today's blog post will win this stamp set.  Not only that, but one lucky commenter this week will win their choice of two Itty Bitty stamps from Unity.  But wait, that's not all.....  as mentioned in my previous posts this week, I also happen to have an extra October 2011 KOM 'faith, hope, love.... live by it' that I am going to give away to one lucky commenter this week. 




Before you leave, I want to share a couple more Unity projects with you.  I attended Scrapfest13 at Mall of America a couple of weeks ago, and one of the classes I attended used some exclusive Unity stamps.  Talk about adorable stamps!!


The sentiment on the dog card is a little hard to read since it was stamped on patterned paper, but it says "I like BIG MUTTS and I cannot lie" - how fun is that!?!!

I hope you enjoyed todays projects and come back the rest of the week for more Unity inspiration and possibly some more giveaways.

Michele


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Growing in Unity - Day Two

Welcome to October and welcome back to my second day as the Growing in Unity Girl.  For those here for the first time, hello :)  I hope you'll hang out with me all week while I showcase Unity Stamps.  It wasn't initially my plan, but I am showcasing various Stamp of the Week stamps all week long.  Today, I went completely out of my comfort zone and made a tag.  I didn't participate in the Unity Tag challenge last week, but was so inspired by everyone's creations I thought I would give it a try.  Also, the stamp I am using, Map of your Heart just seemed to be the perfect tag stamp.  I played with distress inks and rub-ons, and then decided that a game spinner would be the perfect finishing touch.


Okay, time for some fun!  I have an extra one of these stamps, so I am going to give it away to one lucky commenter on today's blog post!  Remember also, at the end of the week, one lucky commenter will win two free Itty Bitty stamps from Unity.  And as a grand prize of sorts, one lucky commenter this week will win a full sheet of wonderful Unity red rubber - the October 2011 KOM - faith, hope, love...live by it!!!


How is that for some amazing giveaways?!  Trust me, you'll want to keep coming back everyday, as there may be even more giveaways. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday.
Michele

Monday, September 30, 2013

Growing in Unity - Day One!

Good morning and welcome to my week as the Growing in Unity Girl.  First, I want to thank Jennifer (sorry I can't remember your last name) who switched GIU weeks with me, as I was scheduled to be on in early April but my grandmother passed away, and Jennifer was sweet enough to jump in to take my week in April and let me have her week this week so I wouldn't miss out on the fun.

It feels like forever since I  have updated this blog, but for good reason, a lot has happened since my last blog post.  We moved back to Winnipeg in mid-May after 15 years living in Ontario.  We decided we really wanted our two sons to be closer to their cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  We were fortunate enough that my husband was able to transfer through his work, and I was able to secure a job here in Winnipeg before we even left Ontario.  However, we did downsize our house substantially, so finding room for everything has been a challenge - we are still unpacking boxes.  On a positive note, I was able to claim the loft in our new house as my craft space - I just wasn't able to focus on organizing it or doing much crafting until late August.

But enough about that - let's get to the focus for this week - Growing in Unity!!! I participated in this last year for the first time and had so much fun, I couldn't wait to do it again.  Just as a refresher - I get to showcase creations using Unity Stamps all week, and I get to pick a winner from all the comments to win TWO FREE ITTY BITTY STAMPS! How is that for fun?!  But wait, that's not all....(do I sound like a game show host? LOL!)  I am going to make this week even sweeter for those that leave comments.  I have a few duplicate Unity Stamps.  Many are Stamp of the Week stamps - one of which is featured on my Wednesday project - but I also have a full sheet of brand new red rubber - the October 2011 KOM (faith, hope, love ... live by it) that I am going to give away to one lucky commenter.  So there will be lots of winning this week.

For my first project, I am showcasing a card I made for a friends wedding using the April 2013 Kit of the Month.  I remember seeing a beautiful card during one of the Friends with Flair Fridays that used the hanging towels with a black and white background.  To see the inspiration for my card, visit Mary Ann's blog, Lakeside Stamping.

I used the same black and white colour scheme, with some damask paper and this is what I came up with:

I really like how it turned out with just some embossing, pearls and ribbon. 

Remember to stop by everyday this week and leave comments for your chance to win Two Free Itty Bittys from Unity as well as some Stamp of the Weeks and this gorgeous sheet of red rubber:
 
Looking forward to a great week!

Michele

Friday, May 3, 2013

TGIF!!

Which of course means Friends with Flair over at Unity.  Today's project I created for one of my 'card nights' that we were doing a Valentine's day theme for.  (yes, this is from back in January / February, but I just didn't get to share it yet).  I figured we would have lots of Valentine's cards, so I decided to do a 'treat'.  I found the instructions for the pizza box on Splitcoast Stampers, which paired perfectly with this adorable SOTW image.  I provided chocolates for everyone to put in theirs.





Sorry it's sideways.  I'm off to check out all the other inspiration on the Unity Blog.  Also, Unity is celebrating their 5th Anniversary this weekend, and is having an awesome sale ~ 50% off!!! Who does that?  Unity does!  Go shopping and have a great weekend.

Michele


Friday, April 26, 2013

Another FWF! whooo hooo!!

Good morning everyone!  It Friday - yay! what else can I say.  I had my ladies 'card' night last night and we made some great creations, and it was so fun to get crafty - I am really going to miss those ladies when we move.  Today's card is actually one I created for a card swap with some of the ladies on Crop Chocolate.  We were challenged to make a monotone card, using different shades of the same colour.  I had just gotten the cloud embossing folder and thought this Unity stamp was perfect for it.







Sorry for the picture quality, I took it with my cell phone before sending them off in the mail.

Off to go check out all the inspiration on the Unity Blog hope you are all playing along too!

Have a great weekend.

Michele

Friday, April 19, 2013

I'm back! Just in time for Friends with Flair

Wow!  I can't believe how long it has been since I posted!  Luckily, I've still been getting crafty, just haven't taken pictures and/or loaded them up here.  But what better time to start up again then Friends with Flair, you can check out everyone else's creations here.  You'll also notice Unity is having another amazing sale this weekend - spend $40 and you get $15 off, using a coupon code - how great is that!  I know I already took advantage of this last night and have some great Donna Downey kits on their way to me already.

The card today I made for a bridal shower I am attending tomorrow using the January 2013 Kit of the Month - I just love the heart banner.  I had some fun with the hearts, using crystal effects on one, smooch on a few and dazzling diamonds on the other.  The sentiment is from another KOM from May 2010 - I also added a rhinestone heart over the heart image in the sentiment.  The patterned paper is Echo Park.

 
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 
 
Michele

Friday, January 4, 2013

FWF - Yippee!!

It almost seems like that was my post title from last week..LOL!! One of the great benefits of being off on the 31st and 1st, was that it took no time at all to be Friday again.
Today's card (sorry for the picture quality, I took it with my BB) I created for a birthday party my 5 yr old son is going to tomorrow.  I used both the sentiment and the party hat from the Have a Hoot Itty Bitty (Jillibean Soup co-brand)  stamp, but to save time, I used the owl punch from Stampin' Up.  Then, just for fun, I added googly eyes :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I can't wait to check out everyone elses' creations.







Michele