GUI winners!!!

Good morning and happy Friday! I know this announcement is delayed, I've had a VERY busy week at work and school, but better late than never, right? The two winners of fabulous random stamp grab bags from Unity Stamp Co for my Growing In Unity week are...

Nancy Schueneman

and

Gina Furman

Congratulations, ladies! I'll need your mailing info to hand over to Unity to get your prizes sent out. If you have Facebook, you can head over to my Facebook fan page and send me a message.

For those who didn't win this time, I will be giving away some Unity duplicates I have in my collection in the next few weeks, so make sure you subscribe to this blog or like my Facebook fan page for updates! Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

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

Dignity and a birthday wish

Two blogs in two days--go me! I have another two cards to show off today, both using Unity stamps! The first one was a random card I made for a friend who has gone through some difficult times this past year; when people are on my mind, I like to reach out and let them know I'm thinking of them. I used this lovely sentiment from the November 2013 Strength & Dignity KOTM:

This was the first gatefold card I've made and somehow, magically, the patterned layer was guesstimated and came out perfectly. I used the "you're on my mind" sentiment from the same KOTM on the inside.

The second card is one I (sort of lazily) just whipped up for a coworker whose birthday was this weekend. I say lazily because I wanted to do more layers, but I had a lot of cooking to do tonight and wanted to get this card wrapped up quickly. I still like how it came out!

That jumbo birthday sentiment is from the Here's My Thought August 2013 sentiment kit. This is the first time I've used this kit; I used a raspberry-colored pigment ink and it came out so smooth and bold. Notice the little Queen and Co. bubble dotting the i in big; that's my favorite part. :)

I just noticed I used the same Spellbinders on each of these cards, labels four--how about that. It is a pretty versatile shape! That's it for today; as always, thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my creations! :)

Girl Power and a Wonderful birthday card!

Happy Sunday, all! Today I have two cards I've made, both using Unity stamps! First up, I had a request from my mom for a birthday card for her coworker. I wanted to make something colorful, but elegant. Of course, I used my all-time favorite Unity stamp set, Everything Wonderful. This is what I came up with!

I distressed all the edges with Antique Linen for a vintage tea-stained look and added some on the embossed parts of those pretty flourishes (Anna Griffin Cuttlebug dies!) and finished it off with Studio Calico pearls. I think it's way prettier in real life and the birthday lady loved it. :)

The second card I've got for you today is one I made just for fun; when I saw this cut file posted in the Cricut Design Space group I'm in on Facebook, I knew exactly which stamp from the I Am Woman sentiment kit I'd use with it...

I LOVE IT SO MUCH! Let me tell you, Wonder Woman was a complete PITA to put together, but it was totally worth it in the end. This card took me forever, especially since I had it stuck in my mind that I wanted the stamp inked up to look like the American flag, but I love how it came out; a fun, modern take on the original glamazon standing for all things girl power! I'm definitely keeping this card for myself. ;)

That's it for today! Thanks for stopping by! :)

April Unity {be INSPIRED} Challenge!

We're going out to celebrate a friend's birthday tonight and she loves handmade things, so I had to finally use a Fashionista stamp for the first time and put this together for the April {be INSPIRED} Challenge. I decided to go with the card sketch part of the challenge:

Pretty simple--which I like! I was daunted about all the coloring here, but I think it came out cute. :)

This was also my first attempt at paper piecing!I'm pretty proud of that fussy cut along the hem of her dress. ;) My favorite part of this card is her glittery shoes!

I also added some other glitter touches to her dress and the cake, but the shoes are just too cute. I used Stampin' Up! Dazzling Details in Silver Sparkle. The other thing I love about this card is that, since the stamp set came with three sentiments, one was really perfect for the inside of the card:

I can't wait to give this card away tonight! The stamp set I used was Sabrina {fashionista} by Tarcey Malnofski.

http://unitystampco.com/shop/sabrina-fashionista/

Now I've got to go get ready for tonight. Thanks for stopping by! :)