You and Me

Howdy again! I'm back with another creation helped along by this last week's Mojo Monday sketch. I'm really into a groove lately with my cardmaking and I LOVE this week's creation. Here's the Mojo Monday sketch #381; I really like this one...

I usually stay really true to sketches, but I changed this one up a little and I loveloveLOVE how it came out. It's very ME! Take a look...

Cute, right?! That rad stamp is from Unity Stamp Co; it's called You Do This and trust me, you need this stamp set in your collection! I am loving big and bold stamps lately. The patterned paper is from the Stampin Up! Stacked With Love DSP stack, new for Valentine's Day--when I saw this DSP stack, I knew I had to have it! The slightly patterned black paper is from ADORNit's Blender Basics, the red bubbles are Queen & Co and the red glitter strip is some old ribbon from Michael's, doubled up and run through my Xyron. I love how everything came together!

That's it for this week; thanks for stopping by and leaving me some love! ;)

love

Three weeks in a row--I'm on a roll! Mojo Monday's sketches are really keeping me up on being creative, I love it. This week I made my first Valentine's card of the season! Check out the sketch...

Here's what I came up with...

I had fun with this one! I found this "Love is kind" Bible quote stamp and knew I had to make a Valentine's Day card for my mother. I used a stamp from Unity Stamp Co's December 2013 Kit of the Month: Happy Love Day and distress the inks with Tattered Rose. The patterned papers are from Echo Park's Head Over Heels pack. I embossed all those fun hearts using Cuttlebug's Cross My Heart embossing folder + border and topped it off with a few bubbles from Queen & Co.

I loved the stamp, but felt it needed some more sparkle. I went over the big "love" part of the stamped image with my Martha Stewart ballpoint-tip glue pen and sprinkled on some red glitter. Here's a close-up, but pictures don't do it justice!

This was such an easy card to create, but I love all the layers and slightly "alternative" colors for a Valentine's Day. Fun stuff! Thanks for stopping by and come back soon! :)

So Thankful

I should really be cleaning up right now since classes start tomorrow (yay!) and I still have Christmas decorations up (whoops), but I had to stop and post this card I made for this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge! I really love the sketches they make; they get my creative juices flowing when I'm in the kind of rut that's hit me lately. Here's this week's sketch...

Cute, right? It's simple, but enough to give me a little creative shove. Here's my take on it...

I love this color combo! The papers are all from Stampin' Up!; I used Coastal Cabana for my base and the layer backings and that pretty stripey paper is from the Sweet Sorbet DSP pack (from last year's Sale-a-bration). That cute little stamp is from Unity Stamp Co March 2014 Kit of the Month: The Reason Someone Smiles. I colored it in with my SU! 2013-2015 In Color markers and topped everything off with some pretty stitched ribbon I snagged at the Dollar Spot at Target.

Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by; I'll be updating a lot more often now that the holidays are over and I'll need craft therapy with school back in session. See you later!

You mean the world to me...

Hello and happy new year, y'all! It's been a while, but I'm back! I went through a bad personal crisis, end of semester, finals, family drama and my mom had surgery. After all that, I then got thrown off my former design team...not a fabulous month. But I am back and ready to craft away my blues, even if it's all on my own!  :)

I'm jumping back into things by joining Mojo Monday's card sketch challenge 378--the skinny card!

I love this sketch! I've never done a skinny card, so this was definitely a challenge for me. I decided to dig into my Studio Calico stash and this is what I came up with as a thank card card for a friend...

Nothing amazing, but I like it for a quick, simple thank you. The banners are the Stampin Up!

Banners Framelits Dies--I love these! I used all Studio Calico papers and stamps, although they're from old card kits, so I'm not sure what they're called! That circular sentiment is absolutely gorgeous; I heat embossed it so it shines and pops. That heart got a little smudged...oh, well! It's the thought that counts, right?  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Giving Thanks MPC Blog Hop!

Good morning, crafty people! Today is day 2 of the Mountain Plains Crafters Giving Thanks blog hop. This is the month where most of us (in the USA) are thinking about what we're thankful for as the holiday season begins. I prefer the word grateful in my own life; thankful means we are happy for something that's happened, grateful means we are simply showing our appreciation for something. Gratitude is a way of life and recognizing everything good. I am grateful for my health, my safety, my ability to gain an education and my family. What are you grateful or thankful for?

This week's blog hop is sponsored by the fabulous Unity Stamp Co and Tombow Adhesives (stop by their Facebook pages and thank them for sponsoring this hop if you have a moment!). In the grand scheme of life, stamps and adhesives may seem silly, but considering that creating can be a form of therapy in a hectic world for some of us, we at MPC are thankful for fabulous sponsors who help foster our creativity and inspire our readers/fans.

My project uses a stamp from Unity Stamp Co and Tombow's Xtreme adhesive. This is a Christmas gift for a friend whom I am most grateful for; I hope she doesn't see this! (April, look away!)

I think it came out quite pretty. The wood base is from The Wood Connection (I used the Plaque: Circle--so affordable and the possibilities are endless!) and the paper is from the Anna Griffin Lovely Layers 5" x 7" Cardstock Kit. I painted the base a neutral cream color, then cut out a piece of the patterned cardstock roughly to size of the face of the plaque and Mod Podge'd it down. I then sanded down the cardstock to size and Mod Podge'd the entire face and edges. I stamped my sentiment from the Unity Happy, Thankful & Blessed Kit of the Month on cardstock with Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler pigment ink, heat embossed it with clear powder and dabbed some distress ink around the edges. Last, I adhered my sentiment circle down with my Tombow Xtreme runner (pro-tip: this is THE adhesive for your envelopes; if you have the WRMK envelope punch board, you NEED this adhesive!) and Mod Podge'd it all again just to give it a finished look. A little hot glue and some Stampin' Up! Calypso Coral ribbon on the back and it's ready to hang. What do you think? :)

I hope this reminds my friend how grateful I am that she's in my life whenever she sees it. Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some love; your comments always inspire me to keep creating. Now hop on to the fabulous Debra Davison's blog for another creation. If you get lost, head back to the MPC blog and find your way. Make sure you enter the giveaway there as well--there is a wonderful prize in store for one lucky crafter and you won't want to miss out! Have a wonderful weekend!

Growing In Unity Blog Hop!

Afternoon, ladies! A while back, I was given the fun opportunity to be a Growing In Unity girl; I spent a whole week creating stuff using Unity Stamp Co stamps to show you and I had a blast! Today, we are doing a GIU blog hop using this week's brand new stamp of the week!

One lucky crafter has the chance to win a MONTH of the stamp of the week--that's so awesome! Unity Stamp Co subscriptions are seriously the best around, hands down. I'm a KOTM subscriber and it's so awesome to get stamp love show up in your mailbox! :)

I got this week's SOTM in the mail and was so happy, it's a gorgeous wintery stamp that's perfect for any of the upcoming seasonal holidays! I love the retro feel. Take a look at what I made:

It's not amazing, but I kind of like it! I used a pretty, retro tree-printed paper from Anna Griffin's Christmas Kitsch paper collection and matched up a pretty celedon ink with it. I used my new Simon Says Stamp bracket dies to make that pretty shape on the front layer and add a few white iridescent sequins for some shine. I like that's it's fun and visually appealing, but lets the stamp really take the front stage! 

OK, all you need to go is hop hop hop and comment for your chance to win that month of stamp of the week! You should have come here from Sheryl and your next stop is Crystal! There's a full list below in case you've gotten lost. Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

Tracy http://queeniesscrapmad.blogspot.co.uk/

Kristy http://mamasanity.blogspot.com

Sheryl igottacraft.blogspot.com

Christina http://christinascreations1.blogspot.com

Crystal Crystalamariscreations.blogspot.com

Angela http://angelascraftyspot.blogspot.com

Mandi http://faithhopecrafts.blogspot.com

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Hello crafty people and happy World Cardmaking Day! The cardmaking world is abuzz today with blog hops, Facebook hops, giveaways, contests and more. Over on the Mountain Plains Crafters Facebook page, we're having a tag-a-friend contest with an awesome prize from Graphic 45! Want to see what you can win? Take a peek below!

I'm already jealous of whomever wins!  ;)  This is a HUGE prize pack and it's so easy to enter, so make sure you swing by the MPC Facebook page and find the pinned post at the top to enter! 

Since Graphic 45 is all about the retro, vintage, old-world feel, the MPC design team decided to make cards in the vintage style. Now, vintage is not usually my style, but I tried; check it out:

I think it came out alright! I used some really pretty vintage-themed Anna Griffin cardstock and matched it with a sentiment from the August 2014 Unity Kit of the Month: Summer Collapsed into Fall. Distress Inks give pretty much anything a vintage touch, so I edged my sentiment and the little paper flower in Frayed Burlap. The pretty crocheted lace piece was a scrap from my stash.

SO, don't forget to hit up the MPC Facebook page, find that pinned post and tag, tag, tag away for your chance at that pretty Graphic 45 prize pack; thanks for stopping by!