Mountain Plains Crafters Christmas in July Blog Hop

Happy Friday and welcome to the Mountain Plains Crafters Christmas in July Blog Hop! This is the first blog hop I've had the privilege of being a part of, so I'm really excited. :) 

The ever-rad Clearsnap gave us three awesome products to play with: Colorbox ink, Smooch Spritz and Smooch pearlized accent ink! I've never used Smooch accent ink, so I was excited to try it for the first time. Here's what I came up with for our fabulous Christmas in July hop!

This is my absolute favorite Christmas stamp, Small Stuff Christmas from Unity Stamp Co! I used the Smooch Spritz in Cashmere to give my background some shimmer and texture. Next, I used the Colorbox ink in Saddle for both my sentiment and my tree. Note: Saddle is great for wood/branches when stamped off first! Then, I used the awesome Smooch pearlized accent ink in Spruce for my little pine needles; I really loved this stuff! Finished off with some glitter ribbon and a single red rhinestone and just like that, my first official Christmas card of the year is done! :)

Super big shoutout to Clearsnap for these awesome products; I am definitely going to be investing in more of the Smooch pearlized accent inks! The color is so pretty and shimmery and it layers so well. Woohoo, new craft supply discovery! ;)

I am going my own giveaway seperate from this awesome blog hop! I will be giving away one random stamp grab bag from Unity Stamp Co! This is super easy to enter using Rafflecopter below; this giveaway starts on Saturday and will run for a week, so stay tuned for the winner!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now it's your chance to win these awesome products from Clearsnap! All you have to do is comment on all the blogs listed below for your chance to win. The blog hop runs through this weekend, so don't delay!

Your next, and last, stop on the hop is the wonderful and talented Paula! Happy hopping!

Mustang Creations - Pam

Waving my Wand - Terri

Sheryl's Creative Corner - Sheryl

Mississippi McGyver - MariLynn

Meticulosity - Debra

Caffeinated Papercuts - Jennifer

Christina's Creations - Christina (you are here!)

Scrap Addict's Attic - Paula

Growing in Unity: WINNER!

Sorry for the delay in announcing my GIU winner; congrats to Patricia Meadows!

Patricia, please send me a message through my Facebook fan page or email me at tinaroxursox at yahoo dot com if you don't have Facebook. :)

Thank you to everyone who came by and commented on my GIU posts! As I mentioned before, I will be doing a giveaway...which will be NEXT WEEK--yay! If you're a stamper/cscrapper/crafter, you won't want to miss it. I have another giveaway lined up for the beginning part of August as well, so make sure you've either liked my Facebook page or are following my blog through Bloglovin' or email (links on the right!). I hope to have lots of people entering the giveaway! 

Have a wonderful week!

Growing in Unity: Day Five!

This week has flown by; I'm a little sad that my GIU week is up--tear! Since it's my last GIU day and I've been feeling extra crafty the past couple of days, I have two cards for you today!

This first card I just drummed up last night for my mom's birthday this weekend; my birthday is the 12th and my mom's is the day after mine on the 13th! She and I are both wine drinkers, so as I was scrambling around my stamp collection trying to find something to make her the perfect birthday card, I remembered this gem of a stamp, Age and Wine!

(PS--Mom, if you're reading this right now, look away and close the browser!)

 

I'm kind of seriously in love with this card. I used this rich, burgundy pearlescent cardstock that matched the Raspberry Ripple ink so perfectly and is reminiscent of merlot! The scrollwork is an Anna Griffin Cuttlebug die and the flowers are by Recollections. Look closely; the largest red flower is glittery and there's a sheer fabric layer above it! They are so gorgeous together and really make the card.

Warning: This second card has some profanity, so if you are offended by that, please skip it. I made this card for a friend who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, so I'd appreciate everyone refraining from leaving any negative comments! This stamp, F*** Cancer, is pretty straight to the point. I hate glitter getting everywhere, so I used some really rad glitter washi here for the diagonal stripes (you can't tell, but it's very glittery). I matched that with some gold sequins and threw on a couple of orange Doodlebug jewels to coordinate with the orange base. It took me a while to be able to make this card without tearing up, but my friend is done with chemo and remission is on the horizon, so yay. :)

That's it for today's post and my GIU week! I've had such an awesome week sharing my creations with y'all. Don't forget that later this month I will be doing a post-birthday crafty giveaway of some stamps and another crafty surprise or two! If you haven't liked my Facebook page...you know the drill.  ;)

Last, don't forget that all your comments on my GIU posts this week put you into a drawing for two Unity Stamp Co itty bittys of your very own, so make sure you've commented on all five posts and cross your fingers! Thank you for stopping by this week and have a great weekend! <3

Growing in Unity: Day Four!

Good morning! Wow, this week is going by so quickly, I'm kind of sad it's already Thursday. On the up side, another day means another GIU project for y'all to see! Today, I've got a pretty, soft colored card made with the May 2014 Hey Girl Kit of the Month.

This is one of my favorites right now! I always wonder how to use floral stamps and I'm generally scared about layering stamps, but this one came out pretty decent if I say so myself. ;) I absolutely love my Unity KOTM subscription; there's always something I love and can't wait to use and something I wouldn't have normally purchased on its own. This quote and these flowers are perfect examples!

I used the gorgeously shimmery Tsukineko Brilliance DewDrop in Pearlescent Purple and a piece of cardstock from the Anna Griffin Metallic Card Layers Kit, matched with a piece of pleated Stampin' Up! ribbon in Blushing Bride. The pearlescent effect from the ink and cardstock are so pretty with the smooth, satiny ribbon at the bottom. Here's a better look at the shimmer:

I am so proud of how this one came out...and now I don't want to give it away! :) Another reminder that every comment you leave on my GIU posts this week is an entry to win two Unity Stamp Co itty bittys--yippee! And don't forget to like my Facebook fan page if you're so inclined and want to be in on a crafty giveaway I'll be doing later this month. ;)

Thanks again for swinging by my little blog; see y'all tomorrow for my last GIU day! <3

Growing in Unity: Day Three!

Hello and happy Wednesday, y'all! It's heating up in Texas like crazy, so it's perfect weather to stay indoors and craft. Today is the third day of my GIU week (already?!) and today's project is a birthday card I made for one of my fashionista friends who turned 32 on July 4th! 

I have to give credit where credit's due; I totally took inspiration from the fabulously talented Erin Schreiner! When I first bought Claire {fashionista} specifically to make a birthday card for this particular friend, I immediately knew I wanted to pair it with this sentiment from Sassy Pants, which was designed by Erin herself! Great minds, right? I always color Fashionistas to look like whomever I am giving the card to, but the BEST part is that when I gave this card to my friend, she was wearing her hair up in a bun and wearing pink just like on the card--how funny!

So cute! Thanks for stopping by my little blog today. :) I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that every comment you leave on my GIU posts this week puts you in a random drawing to win TWO Unity Stamp Co itty bittys, which is a SWEET prize if you ask me. See y'all back here tomorrow! :)

Growing in Unity: Day Two!

Good morning and welcome to day two of my Growing In Unity week! Today, I am sharing two

birthday tag sets I made for a Swap-Bot tag swap. These were simple and quick to make

and would be easy to recreate again and again!

I used stamps from Sabrina {fashionista}, MAGGIE girl {it’s your birthday} and Bee Happy Hexagons, all from Unity, of course! The black chevron ribbon, stretch glitter elastic and net ribbon are all from May Arts; I am loving using more ribbon and fabric on my tags and cards lately, it gives such great dimension with little effort--which I'm all about. ;)

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some love; I read all comments! :) Be sure to come back tomorrow for another GIU project and don't forget, every comment you leave on my GIU posts this week is a chance to win two free itty-bittys from Unity Stamp Co! See y'all tomorrow!

Red, white and blue!

Note: If you are looking for my first GIU post for this week, please go here!

Hey, y'all! So, I know July 4th is over, but I made this really cute red, white and blue card to celebrate the holiday and for the Unity {show n tell} Facebook group's "Red, White & Blue" challenge!

You may notice I used this same sentiment on a different card in an earlier post; I try to buy stamps I can use again and again for different cards and the Unity Lasting Thoughts kit is really perfect for that. A stamper can never have too many good quotes/sentiments. :)

This was also for a washi card swap on Swap-Bot; if you're on S-B, add me and let's swap sometime!

I will be doing a fun, crafty giveaway later this month as part of my birthday celebration, so make sure you're following me by email or on Bloglovin' (follow buttons on the right side on the blog) and that you're "liked" my Facebook fan page if you haven't already. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Growing in Unity: Day One!

Good afternoon, all! I know I am posting this late, but I have been in Chicago on vacation for the last week and I left Sunday morning to make the 14 1/2 hour drive back to Dallas, getting in earlyearly this morning and passed out when I got to my bed! Super tired, but had a lot of fun. Now, it's my birthday week AND my Unity Stamp Co GIU week--so excited! :)

For my first day, I've got a vintage-y card I made for a friend of mine who is a total book addict. 

Isn't it super fun?? I got these vintage-type library check-out cards forever ago and never did anything with them. I used to love filling out these cards back in elementary school and knew I wanted to incorporate that little bit of nostalgia into this card. I distressed and inked the check-out card up quite a bit and used some frayed jute twine to fasten that fun little flower-shaped button on for some dimension (it's in the same Gumball Green as the card base). I used two Unity stamps here: the book stack is from Love is in the Pages and the sentiment is from I love BIG books. 

This card was really pretty simple, but I loved how it came out so much, I didn't want to give it away!  ;) Don't forget, every comment you leave on my GIU posts this week is a chance to win not one, but TWO itty-bittys from Unity Stamp Co--aweeesooome!

I also want to let you all know that I've got a giveaway planned for later this month as a late birthday celebration, so be sure to follow my blog on Bloglovin' or by e-mail, "like" my Facebook fan page if you haven't already and stay tuned for that fun little contest coming up! :)

 Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some love and I'll see y'all tomorrow with another creation! :)