Day 5 - Growing In Unity

Day 5 - Growing In Unity

So.  Day 5 is here, and yeah, I wanted to do FIVE projects... well, Wednesday had other plans for my week, but I had UNITY  (and ummm, Unity is FIVE letters too...just sayin') so my solution????  Use FIVE different stamp sets for one project!!  Woohoo. Come at me Friday!!! I already kncoked your Cousin Wednesday out like a light, so bring it on tough guy!! LOL

Now let's get to the fun stuff!!!  The project today was a beautiful card and matching gift tag.

I used the following Unity Stamp Sets to make this Gift Set with Greeting Card and matching Gift Tag:

Summer Girl

Be The Best

Sew Cute

Dreams Take You

Floral Scroll

The Summer Girl set is so fun. You really don't realize how big she is until you try to fit her on a 4inch wide card. Yeah, she takes up some real estate, and I LOVE her!! The swirls, the flowers, love how she is drawn and she is really fun to color too.

The Be The Best set I used the sentiment on the middle of the scalloped edge circle on the tag.

The Sew Cute set I used on the edges of the scalloped circle on the tag because it just looked too plain hanging out there in the middle, alone, probably lonely. It needed some flowers  :)

The Dreams Take You set was used on the middle of the scalloped edge circle on the card.  Again, it kinda looked weird hanging out there all by itself but I didn't have many tiny images to choose from to make a background..... hey Unity Peeps... Can we put in a suggestion to have some sets that have itty bitty teensy weensy (which could be a cute line) stuff to make your own backgrounds and fill in little blank areas... like little itty bitty flowers, and hearts and stars and tiny feet, and, and, ok, sorry, I got a little ahead of my self. where was I? oh yeah, plain! Background. Tiny Stamp. Hmmmm <lightbulb above my head>

The Floral Scroll set was used to fancy up that scalloped circle on the tag. I absolutely love the Dreams Take You sentiment, but it just looked like it was out there naked in a sea of teal on that huge scalloped edge circle. So I thought and I thought, and I thought some more (well, no I didn't. I really went into the kitchen and rummaged around for chocolate...no luck,... teenagers...mmmph) so upon my return I went back through my stamp sets and there it was... that little bunch of flowers attached to that pretty little scroll. hmmm could I make it work? Could I just ink the edges of the flowers and stamp the itty bitty edge of the circle??? Could I??  Well OF COURSE I could!!! I am a CRAFTER!!!  We could repair a transmission with foam tape, a hole punch, and 14 eyelets stuck together with embossing powder and crochet thread for pete's sake!!  I could do this!!! <start singing the ROCKY tune, you know you are thinking it, you are, aren't you!! I knew it!!!>  Yes!!!! I have WON the internet!!! I WILL ACHIEVE the Challenge of FIVE!!!! I used 5 stamps sets for ONE project!!! Victory!!  Adrianne!!!!!

Ok, ok, so I didn't win a boxing match, I just felt like this week threw me one midway...lol  Oh well, such is Life. Always a bump in the road somewhere. Good thing I can make beautiful cards and gifts  for people to help smooth it out here and there!!!!

Oh this week has been soooo fun!!! I have so enjoyed getting to show off some of my favorite stamp sets from one of THE BEST Rubber Stamp Companies on the planet!! Everyone has been so kind with their comments and I love all the feedback. Don't forget... I am picking two lucky winners to win some AWESOME Unity Stamps, so please leave me a comment so I can include your name in the drawing!!!

I am including a few random pictures of the project along the way. I will do my best to update this with all the other supplies I have used on this project this weekend, after some much needed rest.

My starting point, one awesome Unity Stamp set, and the most amazing things come packaged in their little envelopes... want to know what it is? (well, der, yes there is a rubber stamp in there silly!!) no...what else is in there you ask? I don't even know how they fit it in such tiny bags, but they cram in a truck load of INSPIRATION!!!!! 

yes smarty pants, I know it looks like I am doing it wrong. I was "lining it up".... (shhhhh I did do it wrong... lack of sleep can get the best of you...lol  at least it wasn't inked yet!!! )

This stamp is one of the funnest to color. SO many possibilities, yet looks completely amazing just stamped in black! 

Yep, you guessed it. I colored the circles.  I didn't have any cardstock that color so I made my own!! (just call me Martha McGuyver...lol)

What? you don't have any small stamps?? well, what is a crafter to do?? That's right... MAKE IT WORK!!! I inked just the one flowers and used it at the edge. Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! (and since I am the only one in here, I guess that makes me boss..lol lol)

Yep, used the marker on the edge to to make it look like another layer. Us Crafters.. we are crafty!! (or are we cheaters? I totally just cheated on that...lol  )

You notice...even my scissors are Unity colors...yeah!!  Their colors on their packages inspired today's card!!

Ta-Da!!! My final Growing In Unity Project!! <sniff sniff>  I'll be okay, really. no, really, I don't, well, yeah, okay, I need the tissue...lol 

To the people of Unity, Thank You! Thank you for giving these opportunities to your fans (I would say customers, but once you buy a Unity stamp, you are pretty much addicted and after that you are just like the ate up rock n roll fan that follows the band to every concert, but for us, we just follow their Facebook site... every. single. day. sometimes more than once. or twice. or ok ok ok I checked it 12 times!! stop!!  LOL  But really... Thank you for this opportunity, Thank you for the stamps two of these lovely people are going to win, and THANK YOU for just being a decent, honest, fun, exciting, company that pours tons of inspiration into our lives every day with all these beautiful things we can make and give. You really are a great company, don't change a thing!!!!

Day 4 - Growing In Unity

Day 4 - Growing In Unity

Day 4, you challenged me. I fought back...

with TAGS!!!!!

Yes FOUR tags because, well, Day 4...lol

so maybe yesterday I was a little crazy and a lot less funny.. Day 4 almost didn't happen. Unfortunate family emergency and barely getting these done on time but here goes... (note... I will be updating with more details tomorrow after some much needed sleep)

I thought using some of the Itty Bitty stamps to make some tags  would be a fun way to celebrate Day FOUR <Sung in my best Disney kind of voice> so here we go.

Of course Evelyn was still mad that I blamed her yesterday so she insisted she needed be on a tag and "she wasn't too tall, and she had balloons, and every body liked balloons, and she needed to go first and she never got to play with the ribbon yesterday, and dang it" Evelyn wanted to attend Day Four Party at The Crafting Castle!!!!!

These tags were so fun to make, and so easy with the awesome images that Unity Stamps cranks out.   I love making Thank You tags for people. I like dropping off a little sweet treat , a get well, or happy gift for a favor and I can attach this little tag to the gift, it has a "To and From" on the back and I can leave it at their desk to say thanks for helping out.  Everyone always comments on the tags. They make great little gifts too!!!! A package of pretty handmade gift tags is a great little gift and add in a set of matching greeting cards and you have a wonderful gift for someone that might not be as crafty as you but would love to give them to people they love.


The first tag I used was Evelyn. Oh Evelyn, so sassy yet determined to have her way with HAPPY HAPPY BALLOONS!!!

The Second tag I used the DoN't Be PerFect (Planner Gal) by Angie Blom
This stamp calls out to my soul. I have this long standing  joke in my house about Awesome and it brings a lot of laughs to our house with how flipping awesome we all are, so when I saw a stamp that had the word AWESOME with a great quote, I had to have it. I have used this one so much it probably have wear marks..lol

The third tag I used Badass Every Day
Now let me tell you a funny little story about this card... remember those teenagers I have been telling you about? Well one of them, just so happens to hate any thing real "girly and pink" so when I was showing her my tags ( I know, a teenager actually looked at something I made...lol ) I showed her this and she says "eh, it's okay" and I joked "Awww, don't you like the girly one?" and she shrugs, so I say "You know it has a cuss word on it?" <head whips back around>  "what?"  Yeah, it has a cuss word. , "Nuh Uh" <peers closer to read the whole thing" and the giggles begin...LOL After our day 3, it was nice to see a smile out of her and I just love this stamp. I often make it as a Bookmark and give to friends who might need the reminder to be BAD ASS EVERYDAY.

and finally the 4th tag, I used the Thank You stamp

...to me, the MOST IMPORTANT ONE, because, (yeah I know it's day four, , I am crazy about numbers, I know, calm down, that wasn't where I was going, hang on to your britches,, No I wasn't Thanking Unity... wait, YES I am thanking Unity, geesh that's not what I meant, that wasn't where I was going either,, <palm to forehead> can I just get to it?..) the 4th one is the most important because...

 I did this one in honor of MY MOM who absolutely LOVES Elephants and I can't say THANK YOU enough to that woman for the grey hairs I have given her, the wrinkles I have caused her, and the moments I worried her soul. Another Awesome Mom thing, she is turning SEVENTY FIVE in just a few days, so how about we get a few Happy Birthdays for Nana.... :)
LOVE YOU MOM!!!!

Ok folks, I promise to update the pictures with the supplies I used to make them, but I am barely hanging by a thread tonight and we have a long day ahead tomorrow so unfortunately it will be another late post. I have so enjoyed my week as the Growing In Unity girl and I look forward to seeing all the lovely creations these girls come up with.  For those of you that have followed along this week, thank you so much for all the wonderful comments, couldn't have been a better week to need the extra love. Hope you and all your families are safe tonight. Thinking of so many right now.

Night

Day 3 - Growing In Unity

Day 3... Growing in Unity

This card is SUPER SIMPLE and sometimes you just need simple. Especially on days you have grumpy teenagers.... I need A LOT of SIMPLE today...LOL

I used some basic white cardstock, black cardstock, and here we go again with this pink cardstock... Yeah, me, the person who hates pink, yet it kept calling me back, or maybe it was Evelyn, maybe she likes pink. Yeah, gonna blame Evelyn on that one!

 

Supplies Used

Unity Stamp Company - Evelyn Girl

Tsukineko - (Tuxedo Black) Ink

Stampendous - (Clear) Ultra Detail Embossing Powder

Spectrum Noir - AP3, PP2, PP4, PP5, PP6, TN3, TN6, BGR1

and since I have included a 2nd project each time, might as well include one here too....  This little guy was the FIRST Unity stamp I ever used...so yeah, I am a little attached to him. I wanted to make a cute Valentine box to put some candy treats in  for (yep, you guessed it) those grumpy teenagers. I put the owl on foam tape so he would pop out a little, but you can't really see it in the photo. Sorry.

Supplies Used

Unity Stamp Company - Hugs, Kisses & Birthday Wishes

Tsukineko - (Tuxedo Black) Ink

Stampendous - (Clear) Ultra Detail Embossing Powder

Spectrum Noir - AB2, PL1, HB1, GY3, MB2, EB1

ColorBox (Hot Pink, Lavendar, Turquoise) Pigment Inks

This little guy was also my first stamp I used to try out Paper Piecing.  (and I'm going to sneak a few pics of that project in here too....be gentle, it is a little rough around the edges), but it sure was fun to learn a new technique and he is perfect for paper piecing!!!

here are a few before pictures so you can see how I put him together. 

Paper piecing is great for those scraps of patterned paper you have laying around. 

Now to assemble...

More piecing together...

Then I had to give him some color....still not very good at coloring him yet, but working on it  :)

then I realized my white cardstock was just too plain, so I made another mask using a sticky note

Covered my stamped image with the sticky note mask

Then I just rubbed my ink pad across the cardstock while the sticky note protected my image. 

 

Added a strip of paper down the side

There. Done.  

 

 

I guess 3 projects on the third day is appropriate.... oh wait,,,did I just challenge myself to 4 tomorrow?  Ummmmm yeeah, NO!  LOL   I might be funny sometimes, but I am not crazy...LOL

Don't forget to leave comments so you can win some AWESOME Stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  I will be choosing 2 winners at the end of my week!!

I can't say in words how much I LOVE their company, their products, their inspiration on a daily!!! Best Customer Service too! Check them out here at UNITY STAMP COMPANY , you know, they always have something on sale!!! Now go fill up your cart!!   

Day 2 - Growing in Unity

Day 2 - Growing in Unity

Whew, day two...how does this time warp thing work?? It's already Day 2?? But Day 1 was like 5 minutes ago right?  Oyyyyy Never Enough Time In The Day!!!!!

I don't know about you, but this adulting thing is a lot harder than I thought! Can I get a refund? The J.O.B. thing and then PARENTING?? Wait, what? I have to do BOTH in the SAME DAY??? But, but, but <insert quivering lip here> but I have crafty stuff to do. <insert sad puppy dog eyes> I just want to play with my toys, I mean crafts, they are CRAFTS..... LOL

Ok... Day two.... Here we go....

I thought day 2 should be special, well, because, well,,,, there was day 1.. and if Day 1 got to play with the coolest Alphabet EVER, than Day 2 should get to play with the best Angie Girls set ever:

Kara And Melissa Girls

 ... Now before you get all huffy about me picking ONE Angie Girl stamp to say was my favorite ( I know, I know, I am trying to type quietly so all the other Angie Girls sets over there don't get all butthurt) but let me defend myself here. Ya see, I am pretty attached to this set because I named my daughter Kara, so you see, it WAS like picking a favorite kid, well in this case, Angie Girl, because well, Kara. See? #Justified  LOL  Ok ok ok, on to the card.....

Supplies Used

Unity Stamp Company - Kara and Melissa Girls

Unity Stamp Company - She Never Says Never

Ranger- Super Fine Detail (Black) Embossing Powder

Spectrum Noir Markers - BGR5, IG1, IG2, EB1 (Girl on left)

Spectrum Noir Markers - CR8, IG10, BGR2, EB3 (Girl on right)

Tsukineko - (Tuxedo Black) MementoLuxe Pigment Ink

Stampin Up - (Positively Pink) Classic Ink

and of course, when I made that card, I loved the background I created so much, I had to make another one.   So here is  Card #2 and a few Before and After pictures showing how I put them together.

Start out using the BEST STAMPS EVER....

Add in ANOTHER AWESOME STAMP SET!!!

Used my Stamping Platform to get a really nice  clean image...

Colored this Girl with Spectrum Noir Markers BGR5, IG1, IG2, EB1 

Colored this Girl with Spectrum Noir Markers CR8, IG10, BGR2, EB3

I used a large Sticky Note to make a mask for the Kara and Melissa Girls.  After I  stamped,heat embossed, and colored my image, I covered it with the sticky note and used the She Never Says Never stamp with the beautiful writing to create the background. (I used the smaller sticky note to cover up the bottom right since I wasn't smart enough to stamp left to right....nooooo I had to go all willy nilly and put it down random so it was kinda like I mopped myself into a corner...lol) 

Ok, I think that is Day 2!  Hope everyone is having a great week and somewhere, somehow, between all this adulting... I hope you are sneaking off to play with the Toys.... CRAFTS, I mean CRAFTS!!!

Day 1 - Growing In Unity 2018

OMG I am sooooo excited to be the Growing In Unity Girl this week!!!Acccckkkkkk  Yes, super excited!!! Truly an honor to get to do this with all of you AMAZINGLY TALENTED people!!!!

So...my first day, whew, tall order!!! I feel like I am trying to pick a dress to wear to the Oscars...LOL   WHICH CARD DO I PICK???? I mean, they are like your kids after you birth one right?? How could I pick a favorite? Well dear, I guess I will start with a VALENTINE card since my week fell during Valentine's Day.

Hope you like my spin on a Valentine..

Supplies :

Unity Stamp Company - Alphabetically Adorable 

UnityStamp Company - KOTM (Flowers) November 2014 

Tsukineko - (Tuxedo Black) MementoLuxe Ink

Stampendous - (Clear) Ultra Detail Embossing Powder

Spectrum Noir - (Pink CR4) Alcohol Marker

Marvy - Embossing Heat Gun

Scor-Pal - Scoring Tool

3m - Foam Tape

Recollections - Foam Mini Squares

Stampin Up - (Positively Pink) Classic Ink

Coats & Clark - (Black) Crochet Thread

To make this fun card..

I started with a white cardstock base, Using the Flowers from the Kit Of The Month, November 2014 (KOTM)  I used The Positively Pink ink to stamp the  Flowers on my white cardstock to create a background.

Next I stamped the letters on white cardstock, fussy cut them out(tried to be sneaky and just cut them in squares but they were too big for my card, so I had to cut them anyway. So much for short cuts..lol) I colored the letters using a Spectrum Noir Alcohol Marker (CR4). Ok, so I did get to do a shortcut after all. I usually try to use 2-3 colors but they looked great as is, so moving on.... lol

After I got the main parts done, I decided I needed some string, so I spent about  25 minutes trying to tie crochet thread into a cute bow .... note to self, skip the bow next time, they aren't your friends...lol The mini pink tag was much easier!!!!

Once I got all my parts together, I added mini foam squares to the letters, and a few strips of the 3m Foam tape to the back of my Black cardstock.

There you have it... Be My Valentine...Or Not. Thats okay too..lol

Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their week!! Happy Monday folks (yeah, I know, I shouldn't be this cheerful on Monday morning,) but, hey, I'm the GIU girl today, so yeah, Mondays can ROCK!!!

And since we need to ROCK it today... Here is  another card made using a lot of what was listed above. After I made the Valentine card, I just couldn't get past how pretty the Flowers from the KOTM kit was, so I decided I needed to make another card...

Used the same flowers from the KOTM, November 2014 kit and I paired it with the sentiment from the Unity Girls, the sentiment says "You keep me safe... I'll keep you wild.  Thought it was perfect for this card.

Ok, off to work I go. Hope all of you have a wonderful day, and don't forget to leave a comment each day so I can pick some winners for Unity Stamp Prizes!!

Check out their AWESOME stamps using the link below:

Unity Stamp Co

Some Unity Love

I am so excited to be doing the GROWING IN UNITY Design week in February!! Thought I would park some of my favorite cards I've made using their wonderful stamps from Unity Stamp Company.

 I will try to add descriptions this week!