Amuse Calendar Project

2011 marks the 4th year of the amuse Calendar Project. Since it's inception, this project has raised over $11,500 for three different organizations - The Scleroderma Research Foundation, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Water 1st.

If you're looking to get crafty and need calendars--and who doesn't need a calendar? You should definitely check it out. For a small donation to a worthwhile cause, you'll get oodles of downloadable calendars that you can customize.

I can't wait to make my own cute little desk calendar as well as start making calendars as Christmas gift. With 3 kids, I have oodles of teachers and support providers who need gifts :-)

Check it out and get inspired here: 2011 Amuse Calendar Project.

Winner!

Thanks everyone who visited and left comments this week. I had a lot of fun sharing some Unity with you and I really appreciate the comments you all left. I'm glad I've discovered some other blogs to browse this week :-)

JanetZ is the winner. Be sure to email eryn@unitystampco.com to claim your choice of one of the following Unity Kits:


Margarita Moments

Along for the Ride

Berry Good Life

Grow Yourself extraordinary

Growing in Unity, Day5

Wow, I can't believe it's the last day of my week in GIU. It's been a lot of fun and I'm glad I'm back blogging. I don't think I can commit to every day but I'll be back 2-3 times/week.

This is another card that the pic doesn't do justice to. I absolutely love the fonts and sayings in many of the Donna Downey kits from Unity. Here are the deets on the card: Cardstocks used are SU Crumb Cake and SU Naturals Ivory (hope that is still the name). Inks used are Versamark Dazzle Champagne,
Brilliance Graphite Black, and Versamagic Hint of Pesto. Ribbon is PTA Terracotta Tile Grosgrain. Rhinestones are BasicGrey.

The focal piece is die cut with a Spellbinders Labels 4 die from SU Naturals Ivory and then sprayed and misted with Glimmer Mist in an orange and yellow color (can't remember the exact names and can't find them on the glimmer mist site--think it's pineapple and tiger lily). The sentiment and leaves are from Unity Store Kit that I can't find on the website but here's the bigger version: http://unitystampco.com/stamps/2454-UK438A_The_Artist_in_You Sentiment is stamped with Brilliance Graphite Black and the tree/trunk image is stamped and stamped off wth Versamagic Hint of Pesto. The cardbase is stamped with the bigger image in Versamark Champage and I thought about clear embossing it but was going for a softer look.


I punched a slot out of the focal piece and spine of the card to thread the ribbon through and as much as I love PTI and it's grosgrain, I wish this ribbon was a wee bit smaller.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win a Unity Kit.

Growing in Unity, Day 4

I know I said it yesterday but this week is flying by. It's been busy, fun, and hectic and I'm so looking forward to a family fun filled three day weekend!

I love coloring in the images from this Unity Kit, Berry Good Life. One of my biggest challenges with my Copics is coloring things that are red or pink. I get a lot of bleeding when I use reds and it's really bugging me. I started out with this image a couple times before I felt that I nailed it.

Here are the deets on this card. Cardstocks used are PTI Aqua Mist and Neenah Classic Solar White (which is my absolute favorite for Copic coloring at this time). Patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety Collection--another source of patterned paper I need to use and stop hoarding! Buttons are PTI Pure Poppy Vintage Buttons and ribbon is PTI Pure Poppy Satin.

The image from Unity's Berry Good Life was stamped onto Neenah Classic Solar White with Memento Tuxedo Black and then colored in with Copics and Spica Glitter Pens. The background was airbrushed with a Copic BV000 and air can. . .I think it's the D60 which has the little screw on thing on top. . .and it's way cuter in real life but since I'm taking pics at night with no real light, you're missing a few details. I rounded all the corners and bottom corners on the card base with my corner chomper. The focal image is popped up with dimensionals. I struggled to tie an semi neat and nowhere near bow (note to self, tie the bow before you cut the ribbon!) and then added 3 buttons to the bottom. To finish off, I'll line the inside of the card with more white cardstock, a strip of patterned paper, and then a handwritten note.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to leave me some love for your chance to win a Unity Kit--one of them might be Berry Good Life which I used here. Be sure to come back tomorrow for my last day of GIU.

Growing in Unity, Day 3

This week is flying by! Today is my kid's first day back to school. I cannot believe I'm now the mom of a middle schooler! How did my baby boy grow to be almost as tall as me and starting middle school? He's beyond excited and I'm excited for him. It's going to be odd not going to school with the kids this year. I really liked being the principal of their school and having all three in one place made life a lot easier. It's going to be crazy this year with the kids in two different places and me going to a different place as well but we'll manage.

Enough about me. . .you came to see some Unity, right? Today's card was for UAC #16. I love ATCs and couldn't wait to play along with this challenge. Since I'm pretty busy, I like to have a stash of ATCs on hand so that I have a quick focal point for a card for those days when I need one and don't have time to make it. This was a fun card to make and the pic doesn't do it justice.

Here are the details: Cardstocks used are PTI White & Lemon Tart as well as SU Basic Black. The patterned paper is from my BasicGrey Origins 6X6 pad--love this paper and have been hoarding it since I don't want to use it all up. Buttons are PTI Lemon Tart, Plum Pudding, and Spring Moss vintage buttons. After folding and scoring the white cardbase, I embossed the Lemon Tart piece with my Tim Holtz Sizzix Woodgrain embossing folder. Oh my! What deep impressions this embossing folder left. I almost didn't want to cover it up. This piece is popped up on dimensionals. I added the patterned paper and a small strip of black cardstock which had been punched with an EKSuccess Dotted Scallop Edge punch. I added a thin strip of Be Creative Double-Stick tape and sprinkled on some Doodlebug Designs black glitter. It's hard to see but it's so cute in real life. My ATC is another piece of the BG Origins patterned paper. I stamped the image from Unity's March KOM {Rockin' It Unity Style} with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on PTI White and then colored in the leaves with Copics. This piece is matted on SU Basic Black. I added the buttons and then rounded the corners of the ATC. To finish off the card, I mounted the ATC to the cardbase with dimensionals. I absolutely {heart} this card and it's going into my stash that I hoard since I can't bear to part with it :-)

Thanks for visiting and be sure to leave a comment to let me know you dropped in and be entered into a drawing to win a Unity Kit. Be sure to come back tomorrow to see what I've got in store for you.

Growing in Unity, Day 2

Here we are with my 2nd day of Growing in Unity. Thanks to all of you who visited and left comments yesterday.

I made this card for Mojo Monday 154. I rarely make square cards so this was a bit of a stretch for me. I don't like to pay extra postage so this one measures 4" by 4" and will still fit in a regular envelope.

Here are the details. Cardstocks used are SU Kraft. . .um, I mean Crumbcake, PTI Rustic Cream, Hawaiian Shores, and Smokey Shadow. Patterned paper is from BasicGrey's Max & Whiskers collection. The little bit of ric rac is PTI Black Felt that I die cut using my ric rac die. Stamps used are from Unity's February 2010 KOM {...nothing but blue skies}. I stamped the bird image onto PTI Rustic Cream and colored it in with Copics and Spica glitter pens. I really like how this one turned out and it's always good to have an extra card around to add to my stash.

Be sure to let me know you visited by leaving a comment and come back again tomorrow to see what else I've got in store for you. Thanks for visiting!

Growing in Unity, Day 1

I'm really excited to be in the Unity spotlight this week. I hope you all had a chance to check out Tracy's creations last week. She really rocked it!

I know it's been forever since I've blogged but one of my resolutions of the new year is to get back into it. Since I'm in education, the new year always starts in the Fall for me.



I kind of fell off the blogging bandwagon since work was a little stressful. I just started a new job and don't expect it to be less stressful but since stampin has been my stress relief, I might as well make the most of it :-)

Today's card is a clean and simple one. I find CAS hard to pull off but once I got this one done, I was bouncing in my seat since it worked! Don't ask me how many times I had to stamp the image to get it straight and in the right spot--one of these days I'll get over my Stampamajig fear and maybe I won't waste so much cardstock. Here's the deets on the card. The image is from Unity's July Kit of the Month, Happily Ever After. Cardstocks used are PTI's White and Stampin Up's Basic Black. Ink is PTI Fresh Snow. Ribbon is PTI Raspberry Fizz satin. The corners of the cardbase and black layered are rounded with my Corner Chomper. I colored in a few of the berries on the tree with Smooch Sassy Pink to match the ribbon. This card was made for the Unity Addict's Challenge #15: Black and White with a POP of color. I knew when I saw this challenge I had to do it since I looooooooooooove how hot pink just pops off black and white.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to come back tomorrow.